Speaking up… Elephant man asks:
Elephant man: …And… who are you?
AC69: …That's not really important right now.
AC69 raised his hand and pointed his thumb at himself.
AC69: …But I'm your last opponent of the day.
Elephant man looked on, the bold claim interesting him, although he assumes he shouldn't take it too seriously.
Elephant man: Well then… you better not disappoint, boy…
A smug look appeared once more on Elephant man's face, the most common look he seemed to keep when he was about to face off against someone.
Elephant man: …Because I'm hardly entertained here with these two…
Elephant man then put his hand up near his face and clenched it into a fist as his smugness turned to a psychotic smile, with his voice raising and filling with ecstasy and cockiness.
Elephant man: I've been longing for a good opponent! …So, don't you dare even THINK of running away, you hear child? Because if you do, you'll suffer the same fate!
AC69 stayed silent, the lightning striking once more and illuminating the scene. Elephant man began to laugh loudly after he threatened his opponent.
Elephant man's smile calmed down. He tilted his head up and put his hand behind his big, flappy ear, like he was gesturing to show he is trying to hear something.
Elephant man: …alright then… I SUPPOSE THAT MEANS YOU'RE READY!
Suddenly, Elephant man chambers a deadly punch and bursts forward to deliver it with more powerful force, only for AC69 to simply dodge it. AC69, not even caring to move his position or stance, begins slowly forming a small Scen ball in his hand, a strange sound emanating from it.
Elephant man tries more and more to attack AC69 with simple but powerful blows, all of which he continues to simply dodge while he gathers the Scen in his hand.
Finally, after dodging for a while, AC69 jumps away and puts his arm out, revealing the now big Scen ball in his palm. Shifting his stance and preparing himself to launch, AC69 supports his arm with his other---But just then, jumping upwards with both of his hands raised, Elephant man brings down all his weight and tries to violently slam AC69 downwards as he yells out.
As Elephant man misses his attack, AC69 sees a perfect window to attack when Elephant man is bent forward and defenceless. Cleverly, AC69 keep his stance while he jumps away and releases the Scen ball at Elephant man.
バアーーーン!
After the ball had made contact and imploded, AC69 steps back and waits for the smoke to clear up, but before it had, a hurt and enraged Elephant man leaps forward at AC69, coming forwards with a powerful straight punch.
Quickly, AC69 realises and coats both his arms in Scen, blocking the punch at the very last second, sending a shockwave as a result of the clash.
AC69 struggled back and forth, trying to absorb the force of the punch. Then, out of nowhere and unpredictably, Elephant man swept his fist across and broke AC69's guard. What felt like a split second before AC69 could even realise he was startled, came another punch that he had blocked. Then, soon came a barrage of them, all coming from different angles, but still at the same speed and ferocious power.
AC69 continued blocking, up, down, left, right, centre, right, down, left…. His arms began to get more and more sore and the coatings of Scen weaker.
Elephant man kept on going, AC69 becoming overwhelmed, slower, weaker. Then, he failed to block, and doesn't have enough time to react, causing him to get hit with a brutal knee to the gut.
AC69 yells out just as Percivin had, except his yell ended quicker. Saliva shot out of AC69's mouth---his stomach and torso in paralysing pain as Elephant man got more amused and satisfied.
The knee had stunned AC69 and blown the wind out of him. Angrily, AC69 tries to force himself to move, alas he is unsuccessful.
Elephant man once more grew cocky and savagely kicks AC69 to the ground, not even caring to let him move even a little. As the rain began getting more intense, so did Elephant man--- kicking AC69 and beating him down even more, AC69 yelling out every single merciless kick he received, until eventually, he had stopped yelling, and Elephant man grew bored once more.
Disappointed and unsatisfied, Elephant man crouched down and lifted AC69 up by his arm, lightly lifting his upper body off the ground.
Elephant man: …Hm… done already…? I thought you'd last longer…
The lightning struck once more, and the rain intensified.
Elephant man: …But now, you've dropped just as your little friends have. Like flies… FuFuFuFuFu…
Elephant man quietly laughs to himself, his disappointment turning to mockery and shaming. Elephant man crudely drops AC69 and walks off, likely to find his next opponent. AC69's claim had disappointed; he was just another weak fighter.
…Bowsette… drenched and soaked… laying on the ground, tired and hurt, unable to get up.
…Percivin… laying on his back, his eyes closed, and body damaged… rain dancing upon his tired body.
…And now, AC69, bloodied and bruised. Stepped forward to save his friends and defeat a powerful and reckless threat, only for him to be ruthlessly and "pathetically" defeated. And laying on the ground, as he had failed to do something he was relied upon for.
…And his helmet, another thing to suffer scuffing and scratches. Once again, it had broken a little bit more.
Angry, not at Elephant man, not at the rain, not at the pain, but once more, at himself. He muttered to himself, under his breath as Elephant man's steps faded out into the distance and furtherly muffled from the heavy rain:
AC69: Dammit…
Determined, he digs his fist into the ground in anger and tries to get up, shaking and twitching as he struggles to gather the strength to lift himself. Refusing to let Elephant man cause any more damage, and anybody else to get hurt, he begins pushing himself to his very limits, just so he could get up.
スーーーーーウ...
But then, all of a sudden… far off in the distance… a quickly approaching soaring sound is faintly heard above the rainy clouds, and with it, a Scen signature.
As soon as he felt the signature while trying to get up, as faint and subtle as it was still present, within a split second---he suddenly felt as though he had suffered a heart attack---he had recognised it.
AC69 immediately snapped his head upwards at where it was emanating from above the clouds, coming to a complete stop and turning his full attention to the Scen signature…
It grew clearer as it approached faster, AC69 beginning to grow shocked and anxious. It was familiar. Very familiar.
Slowly, the sound along with the signature draws closer and closer… the signature getting more and more clearer as it approached.
As he had stayed still and focused more and more, while the signature and the sound grew closer, AC69's mind began to race and think multiple thoughts all at the same time, debating and panicking and anxiously waiting. His breathing turned heavy, his breath shaky, and slowly, goosebumps began to form under his skin.
He began to feel that strange, almost striking feeling in his lungs and chest that would only ever strike when he would feel nervous or scared. It striked--- with every breath---every new and old thought--- every single passing second he waited.
"There's… there's no way… It can't be it—it makes no sense. But… it must be! It must be, it's—it's way too similar! It's not similar, it's the same!"
ドキドキドキドキドキ.....
スーーーーーウ...
The sound and signature finally grew closest, now hovering closely above the clouds---it's sound clearly audible and the Scen signature as present as it shall be above the clouds.
AC69's heart began to beat as fast as it ever had, his arms and hands and body shaking from the sheer and pure adrenaline in his bloodstream, and his breath heavy and partial.
Then, off in the distance, a large bang was heard above as it parted the rainy clouds,
and a small black form dashed out of the parted crack in the dark sky, the soaring sound following closely behind it---
and the Scen signature riding the black mark, as clear as it was all those years ago.
Immediately, everybody within in the vicinity had finally noticed and drew their attention to the bang and the new Scen signature hovering around in the sky.
Then, all had been caught off guard and with sudden confusion, unable to recognise or even think of what the Scen signature may be here for. Slowly, as it approached AC69, the mark began to morph into a form, with arms and legs and a head.
Finally, as AC69 had stayed stunned, anxiously awaiting the reveal of the signature---
He had been shockingly proven correct, as the black mark was revealed to be a young woman, and the sound following it quickly and swiftly soared directly towards AC69 resting on the ground from the far distance it originated from---
AC69 had gathered himself and yelled out in utter shock, confusion, and emotion:
AC69: …HALI!!!!!
（"はりーさんー!!!"）
Completely ignoring the rest of her surroundings, in one swift and clean swoop, the woman hovers low to AC69's level, just barely touching the ground, and picks him up by the neck---slamming him back down into and dragging him across the ground.
As he is painfully dragged into and along the earth, AC69 instinctively holds onto the woman's arm that's holding his neck, trying to somehow break the grip and hurt the arm.
Quickly the friction builds up, and AC69 begins to feel heat on his back contacting the ground, all the while the woman still forcefully pushes him into the ground.
The woman pushes him hardly and far, travelling meters and meters away from the area until eventually she lets go and throws him away, a few meters away from where they had stopped---now far from Elephant man and everybody else.
As AC69 lays on his back, his injuries throbbing and his back burning as the cold rain continues to drench him and his clothing, he reaches at his neck, trying to handle the pain there.
…Then, quickly, the woman dashed towards him and stood over him as he laid on the ground---her long, black coat flapping backwards in the wind, lightly lifting off of the ground and a small sound audible as it gently swayed in the air.
AC69 slowly tries to open his eyes and see through the wet visor of his helmet, littered with mist and raindrops falling downwards. Vaguely through the visor, he sees a figure in a long, black coat with big, messy hair---partially getting drenched from the rain--- and makes it out to be the woman.
Then… the lightning striked…
The woman takes a few small steps, then crouches down over AC69's injured and helpless body as he lays in the same spot.
The woman rests both her arms on her knees as she crouches down and stays in place, her long coat extending far down as she crouched--- it's edge just lightly touching the ground.
She slowly lifts her hand, moving it towards AC69's helmet---before lightly planting it onto his wet visor---and trying to move it upwards.
AC69 instinctively lifts his hand to try and prevent the woman from lifting his visor, but alas, he is too weak, tired, hurt. And so---he lets it happen.
His visor begins to get slowly peeled back, and as it lifts with the woman's hand, AC69 feels the cold air rush in from below the visor as it lifted.
…Raindrops fall onto the small window---and the eyes that were covered by the visor, now revealing AC69's two eyes, and between them, the bridge of his nose.
Although he was tired, when he saw the dark silhouette of the woman crouching over him---just barely visible from the backdrop of the dark clouds---his eyes widened in shock…...
….and truth.
The woman seemed to pause after lifting his visor, not saying or doing anything. Only remaining in place.
…. And then… almost suddenly… it looked as though it were right behind the woman…
The lightning brightly and powerfully struck….