Chapter 9 - Ashfall

After a few more minutes, Courtney finally stops her attack, as she exhausts the majority of her firepower. She transforms back into her normal form, as she falls to her knees as all of her senses come back to her.

She calms down as she looks up around her, her eyes widen in shock at the sight of the destruction she's caused. She looks up at the cleared, blackened path through the city, filled with nothing but ash, rubble and smoke, the destruction spreading from the bridge where she stands straight through the city all the way to the forest on the other side.

She breaks down in tears as a huge wave of guilt and regret washes over her,

"Why... why the hell did I do that...?"

She questions herself, as she started punching the ground continuously out of regret,

"Why the FUCK did I do that!"

Courtney screams at herself as her fists start to bleed as she punches the ground, the ground below her starts to crack and rumble as she does. While the city in front of her continues to be covered in smoke, some buildings still continuing to crumble into rubble, smoke and steam continues to fly everywhere as well.

"I killed all those people... For what? To escape? To continue committing crime and threaten the world even more!? What the hell is wrong with me..."

Courtney continues to say to herself as she scratches the coarse road, now covered in her own blood and tears, slamming her fists against the ground and punching continuously as she throws a tantrum, when suddenly, she freezes in shock when she hears heavy footsteps coming from the smoke within the city,

"Do not worry, girl, not everyone died from your attack."

A familiar, deep, arrogant, traumatizing voice shouts to her from the smoke, causing her to start trembling in fear, as she gets up and looks over at the smoke to see what's there.

She takes a few steps back, as suddenly, a man completely made up of lava walks out of the smoke with heavy footsteps, as goops of lava also drips down as he slowly regenerates,

"I should be lucky that my power isn't just to generate and manipulate lava... I'm made of it as well!"

The man says with a proud smile as his body slowly switches back to normal as he finishes regenerating, revealing himself to be the lava general as he lets out a sadistic laugh.

Courtney continues to take a few steps back in fear as she realizes who it is. She then stumbles, falling on her back as she continues trying to get away from him,

"F-f-father..."

Courtney says in a low, terrified tone as she continues crawling away from him, unable to keep her eyes off him, as the general only continues to smile and laugh as he walks towards her, enjoying the sight of Courtney's fear.

As the two continue to face off, Courtney eventually gets backed off into a corner, as she's trapped in a dead end, that being the huge gap of the destroyed part of the bridge from earlier. Courtney trembles in fear as she just lays on the ground, unable to do anything but to wait and prepare for the worst as the general continues to walks slowly towards her, laughing maniacally as he cracks his knuckles, making her feel even more fear as he continues to make slow, heavy steps.

He gets ready to capture her as he begins to imagine the horrible things he could do to torture her when he does. When suddenly...

"Courtney...!"

A familiar, worried, reassuring voice, yelling out for Courtney can be heard within the smoke from the other side of the bridge, along with quick, light footsteps, as Courtney is snapped out of her fear as she hears the familiar voice.

She then turns back to the other side of the bridge behind her to see who it is...

"Courtney!"

The voice continues to yell out to her, as it gets closer and closer with the light footsteps continuing to move closer as well, when finally...

Gavin comes running out of the smoke, panting and sweating heavily.

"Who the hell is that...?"

The general wonders in confusion as he watches the young man running out of the smoke. Gavin quickly sees Courtney on the other side of the huge gap of the bridge,

"Courtney!"

Gavin calls out to her once again, continuing to run to her as he then stops, standing right on the edge of the gap, oblivious to the other person there,

"Courtney, are you alright!?"

Gavin continues to yell, as he continues to ask her as he checks on her.

Courtney just sits there on the ground, her eyes tearing up in joy as she lets out a sigh of relief, holding back sobs and more tears like a huge burden just got laid off, along with that huge sense of relief as she realizes that Gavin is still okay, and also remembers why she did all of this for...

"Gavin! Don't move, stay back, alright?"

Courtney calls out to Gavin as he stands there on the other side, as Gavin then realizes the situation they're in as he finally notices and looks at the lava general standing there in front of her as well, as Gavin starts to get worried even more. He thinks about what to do, trying to help his girlfriend once again,

"Gavin, please, just go leave!"

Courtney yells at him as he stands there in a dilemma once again, thinking whether he should leave her or if he should try and help her again.

But then, Gavin looks into Courtney's pleading eyes,

"Gavin... please... just trust me, I can do this..."

Courtney begs him with a soft voice, with her teary, pleading eyes, as Gavin continues to struggle to make a decision.

Eventually, Gavin takes a deep breath and sighs, as he finally gives up. He then looks into Courtney's eyes with a look of trust, as he just nods, finally deciding to listen, before running away, trusting her with all his heart for her to hopefully survive and escape out of there...

Courtney lets out a sigh of relief as Gavin finally listens to her, as she gets up, now filled with a huge boost of confidence after seeing Gavin, and seeing him give her his complete trust.

She stares down the general from across the bridge as he smirks at her, clashing his fists together, causing a small shockwave that blows Courtney's hair and dress a bit, while she stands her ground.

All of Courtney's fears are now gone, all of her trauma and bad memories put aside, as she feels more motivated and ready than ever, as she remembers who she's been fighting for, who she's been trying to survive out here for, who she's been committing crimes and running away from the law for just to be there for him. The one man who's been there for her at all times, the one man she wants to protect, the one man who changed her life, and the one man she loves... Gavin.

She stands her ground as she takes a deep breath, preparing for the worst as she takes her battle stance, getting ready to face her fears and fight it herself, as the lava general also takes a battle stance, even mocking her as he continues to smile, telling her to come get him.

Gavin continues to run away, but stops to look back one more time to watch his girlfriend as a truly magnificent moment unfold: The Most Dangerous Criminal in the World, versus The Strongest, Most Evil Military Leader in the World, in a battle between a father and a daughter.