Chapter 12 Chapter 12 The Final Fight for Love

(6 months later)

A new ray of future seemed to arrive for Nathan, as his father struggled to wake him with the first ray of the morning’s bright sunlight by sliding the curtain’s aside.

“Son,” he called, planting a tiny kiss on his teenage boy’s forehead. “Time to go to school. Today’s your final exam, you can’t afford to miss it!”

Nathan raised his arms in the air and stretched them thoroughly, and finally after multiple sessions of eye-rubbing and yawning, he got himself out of bed.

“Relax dad, they are just finals,” he asserted sleepily, grabbing his towel to take his shower.

Nathan had won himself a new and ordinary teenage life after rescuing his father from the facility that day. As he took the shower, he recalled that day when he had placed his father in the car and administered the serum which de-froze his blood and brought him back to life. It was a day of rejoice for Nathan, as he had not only gained his father back, but his memories were restored by his dad gradually. He recollected his life before the serum was injected into him by that darned alchemist Terence. Although he had got his father back, his mother seemed to have passed away while giving birth to him. It took a few months for his dad to get used to the new world, (although it was quite a tedious task for Nathan to teach his father about the contemporary technologies and accessories which puzzled him to bits.)

Nathan wrote his final exam of Physics efficiently, and was accompanied by his loyal group of friends Clair, Daniel, Ethan, and of course, Emily during lunch hour

“Damn! That paper was a piece of cake,” boasted Daniel, filling his mouth with a chocolate muffin.

“Yeah right! When you get the results, we will notice you crying on the paper,” scoffed Margarete, rolling her eyes in complete disapproval.

“No chance! I was totally equipped this time,” Daniel dug into his socks and rolled up the sleeves of his polka-dot shirt to proudly show them the handful of chits that he had sneaked into the exam hall.

Ethan sighed dejectedly, and buried his face on the table.

“Are you okay Ethan?” Emily asked, her face with full of concern.

“I was up all night gobbling up that entire bloody textbook, and when I received the paper…my brain just shut down and I couldn’t recall a thing,”

Emily placed her palm on his shoulder and consoled him.

“Yeah its fine Ethan, god forbid if you are not able to clear it, then you can re-sit-“

“I don’t want to re-sit any paper!” he yelled, banging his fist against the table, startling Clair and Margarete, and diverting others’ attention towards their table.

Daniel and Nathan tried to calm him down but he got up abruptly and left.

“It’s alright, he’ll get over it, I know him,” piped up Emily, causing Nathan to raise an eyebrow, but it went unnoticed by them.

“Anyways! Guys listen up, since it’s the end of our finals I have decided to throw a pool party at my place starting at eight pm tonight,” Danial announced with immense exhilaration. “So if everyone has to turn up without any excuse. I don’t wanna hear any bullshit excuse okay?”

“That’s awesome!” shouted the rest of the group simultaneously. “We all will be there!”

“But what about Ethan?” asked Margarete, quietly..

“No worries guys, I’ll hit him up and make sure that the hot head makes it to the party. Otherwise I’ll kick his ass!” Daniel exclaimed, gobbling up his sandwich, and as the unpleasant noise of the school bell hit their ears, all the final year students in the cafeteria bellowed with joy, celebrating the end of a sixteen year journey…

Nathan faced quite a tough time selecting the outfit for the party. Since the theme of the party was ‘The eighties’, he just couldn’t figure whom to dress up like. Eventually, after beating his head looking for nearly an hour, he decided to dress up casually in torn blue denim jeans and a plain white T-shirt. Thus, as a result of this confusion, he was an hour late to the party.

Danial’s house was buzzing with every essence of what a pool party is supposed to be; there were filters of booze in every corner of the place, sexy girls dressed in skimpy dresses of the eighties era, metallic music being played by a rock band on a concert-size stage set right by the pool. There was so much hullabaloo that Nathan could barely hear anything.

Spontaneously, someone patted his back and when he turned, his eyes popped out. Emily had worn a pink wig and was donned in a purple spandex outfit, it was a weird get-up but she still looked elegant.

“Woah…you look…unusual, yet, gorgeous,” he commented, scanning her from head to toe.

“Aww, thanks babe,” she planted a peck on his lips and gave him a tight hug.

“Where’s our group Emily?”

“Well Clair and Margarete are yelling on top of throats up near the stage and Daniel is busy hitting on some cute blondes,”

“What bout Ethan?”

“Well, as expected, he didn’t show up. I think he’s still worked up about the Physics paper,”

“Perhaps… Anyways, why don’t we just grab some drinks and then take a dip the pool,” Nathan suggested, giving her a flirtatious wink, while she responded with a sensual look and agreed.

The party seemed to get wilder with every moment. People diving into the pool like fishes, and dancing like nutcases to the deafening music. The celebration was a reflection of the euphoria they felt at finally being done with school.

Nathan Emily drank a few glasses of booze and then got into their swimming dresses and dived into the pool themselves. Splashing water over each other, the love birds seemed to rejoice thoroughly and celebrate their love in the most exhilarating manner that they could. They got closer towards each other in the icy blue water, and after gazing deeply into each other’s intense eyes, they wrapped their arms around each other and shared the most passionate kiss ever. Soft music began playing in Nathan’s mind, which couldn’t be extinguished by the heavy metallic band, as he felt Emily’s honey-sweet lips. They kissed for nearly fifteen minutes and then got off the pool shivering like maniacs.

“Brrr,” quivered Emily, wrapping her arms around her body. “It’s too cold Nathan, I’ll just rush to the restroom and change. I’ll meet you at the dance,”

“Yeah me too,” said Nathan, and they both darted towards two of the numerous restrooms in Danial’s gigantic house. Nathan instantly changed into his casuals and went to the dance floor. The band had halted their ridiculously ear-cracking music and had begun to play some romantic tunes. The wild wrigglers turned into romantic couples, as the soothing music turned the atmosphere sensual. Half an hour passed, but there was no sign of Emily. Nathan began to get a little impatient and slightly worried as there seemed to be no sign of Emily across the house. He called her thrice but there was no reply.

With anxiety taking over his calm mind, he decided to visit her place thinking that she might have gone home to get something. But before he could take a step towards the parking area, his eyes widened with shock….and his heart started beating faster….as his eyes fell on the ninja who was staring at him from the gate. It was the same ninja whom he had encountered that night at Devil’s bar.

Fully determined to confront him this time, Nathan sprinted towards him as fast as his mortal legs could take him. The ninja, with his extraordinary senses, had sensed him sprinting and so he bolted away. They arrived onto the main road and cars started zooming past them but Nathan continued the chase. The ninja turned and had a quick glance at him when suddenly, a speeding SUV arrived dashing towards him. For a second, Nathan felt that the ninja would be hit, but a second before the impact the speedster leaped into the air, and with an incredibly baffling front flip he flew over the car and landed back on the ground.

Shoving aside the shock of his miraculous stunt, Nathan continued the chase, dodging speeding cars and bikes as the drivers shouted abuses at him. After an intense chase that lasted twenty-minutes, the ninja came to a halt right in the middle of the highway. And as Nathan was on the brink of a collision with him, he turned around in a flash and caught hold of his white t-shirt. Nathan struggled desperately to set himself loose but his grip was too tight. The ninja held him at arm’s length and gazed into his eyes through the slits of his mask for a few seconds. Nathan felt like he knew the eyes, as though he encountered him a dozen times before. And before Nathan could struggle any further, the mystery man spun around and hurled him into the air like a discus. Nathan was sent flying into the air and landed with a horrible thud on the grassy area behind the highway sidewalk.

His body began throbbing horribly and his muscles ached. With a substantial effort, he got onto his feet, his left forearm had deep scratches and had begun to bleed. He moved slowly towards the sidewalk, and was just thinking about taking a taxi to go home, when he felt something in jeans pocket. Digging deep inside it he found a note, which left him thunderstruck and the ground beneath him nearly vanished. It read: ‘If you wish to get your girlfriend alive, then come to St. Marko’s Lab tomorrow at 6 pm, alone, along with a sample of your bone marrow… or else…I’ll deliver Emily’s body to your home,’

Nathan felt as though lightning had struck him right in the chest after reading that note. Time had passed so smoothly in the last six months, since the time he had got his father back and placed an end to Alice and Terence. Now who was this new enemy? And why did he want my bone marrow? These questions bulged inside Nathan’s mind as he grabbed a cab and rushed to the nearest clinic to get a sample of his bone marrow extracted. There was no way in the world that he was going to let a scratch come to Emily.

The following evening, Nathan geared for his mission to rescue his love. He put on his ninja armor and equipped himself thoroughly. And for the first time ever, he wished he had had his healing powers back, at least till the time he faced Emily’s abductor, who undoubtedly was that trained ninja assassin. Nevertheless, bearing his own extraordinary ninja skills and the power of love in his heart, he set out to fight one final battle for love.

Nathan arrived at St. Marko’s lab located in the outskirts of the city. It was an abandoned facility since the Second World War. The area surrounding the lab was deserted, and the air felt spooky and eerie, as the sun began to set. He got out of his SUV, with the sample of his bone marrow lying safely in his pocket and began marching towards the entrance of the small facility which appeared like a bunker. The sun set gradually, and darkness spread across the area making it even creepier and scary. Then spontaneously, a large flash of light shone from above and covered a small portion of the area where Nathan stood, giving him the feeling that he was sent on a stage.

Nathan felt a presence lurking in the shadows, and placed his palm on his sword’s handle in the anticipation of a surprise attack. A few moments later, another flash of light fell on the ground, revealing the figure of the ninja whom he had chased the previous night. The ninja walked towards him unhurriedly and gestured him to hand over the bone marrow sample.

“Where is Emily?” Nathan demanded loudly, his palm clutching his sword’s handle. The ninja ignored his question and continued to solicit the bone marrow. “First take me to my girlfriend, and only then I will hand over the sample,”

Eventually, the ninja lowered his hand and gestured Nathan to follow him. Nathan loosened the grip on his sword’s handle and began following him. They approached the lab’s entrance, but before Nathan could take another step, the assassin turned around and punted him squarely on the chest, which sent him flying backwards. However, Nathan back flipped in the air and landed steadily on the ground.

“Why…don’t you guys, ever understand the language of gentleman?” lamented Nathan, withdrawing his sword and ready to battle. Gripping his sword with both swords, he bolted towards him and attempted to strike his chest but the ninja was too fast for him as he swerved sideways to dodge the strike. Nathan struggled to strike him desperately, but the assassin dodged them effortlessly. After leaving Nathan breathless, he removed his own sword and slashed Nathan’s forearm.

Nathan yelped outrageously, and moved a few steps away from him. His forearm had initiated bleeding again. Burning with immense rage, he darted towards the assassin and the battle of swords began. The clunking of steel echoed across the deafening silence of the area and could burst a man’s eardrum.

The ninja was unlike any other assassin Nathan had ever face. He was exceptionally skilled and too quick for him. Finally, Nathan performed a side flip and struck him on his masked cheek. It began to bleed, but then Nathan noticed something which blew the wind out of his lungs….The slash began to heal instantly and was replaced by fresh smooth skin as though no wound ever existed.

The ninja then lowered his sword, and revealed his face. And what Nathan viewed, completely removed the ground beneath his feet….It was….

“Ethan,” he whispered, unable to believe what his eyes were showing him. “But…but how? Why?”

Nathan dropped his sword and was rooted to the spot in shock.

“Well Ethan…I think I should give you the privilege of knowing the truth about me,” he asserted, chuckling coldly. “My name is Ethanos Barnes, a hundred-year-old ninja warrior who worked for Terence. I am the one who betrayed him by injecting the immortality serum inside his own blood during the First World War and the one who threw you off his castle into the lake out of pity,”

Nathan recollected this piece of information told to him by Terence himself that day in his lab. And now everything seemed to make sense.

“After becoming immortal I lived a free and luxurious life for thousand years, until, I met you at our school. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you there. I had no personal grudge against you, but the only thing that made me your enemy was-“

“Emily,” Nathan completed the sentence for him.

“Yes…she was my girlfriend, the love of my life, but when she betrayed me by dating you, I decided to end your life forever. So I faced Terence again after a thousand years and made a deal with him to give your bone marrow to him, and kidnapped Emily, as per my plan, so that I would rescue her, become her hero again and get rid of you forever. But you thwarted my plan. I didn’t lose hope, I used your half-dead father as a bait and lured you again into Terence’s lab but again you won. Not this time Nathan, I will slaughter you to bits today and Emily will be mine forever!”

Saying that he bolted towards Ethan, and made an attempt to strike his face with his sword, but Ethan was too quick for him this time and he pierced his sword directly across his chest and right through his heart. Ethan’s heart went right out of his back and got stuck to the edge of Nathan’s knife. Ethan’s mouth bubbled with blood and perished on the ground as Nathan withdrew his sword from his chest.

“Well, well, well,” chanted a voice from behind. “You have never failed to impress and surprise me Nathan. You have accomplished the impossible today. Murdered an immortal. An incredible feat I must say,”

As Nathan turned to look, he noticed Terence emerging out of the lab accompanied by at Alice, who was holding a roped Emily on her side. They were surrounded by nearly twenty ninjas.

“Emily!” shouted Nathan, moving towards her. But Terence placed a gun on her forehead and shook his head sarcastically.

“Not so fast lover boy. The only way that you are gonna get your lady love, is by giving me that elixir in your pocket. And this time, I am dead serious boy, either you give me that bone marrow or watch your girl die… Choice is yours,”

Nathan, looked at Emily dejectedly, her forehead was bleeding and her face looked sore. With contemplating any further, he moved towards Terence. But before Terence could raise his arm, he did a somersault and kicked the gun out his hand, grabbed Emily and rushed towards his car.

Terence and Alice, accompanied by their ninjas jumped into their military cars and chased them.

Nathan sped the car as fast as he could and they reached a mountainous region. Emily took the wheel and Nathan shot the tires of the ninja’s and Alice’s jeeps with his shotgun, which fell into a ditch on the side of the road.

Finally, they reached the top of a mountain and stopped the SUV. Terence and Alice caught up with them and got out of the car. Terence shot a bullet at Emily’s shoulder and she fell on the ground. Nathan let out a roar of agony and charged towards Terence, who shot two other bullets which hit Nathan on his stomach. But Nathan didn’t fall, he miraculously charged towards him and thrust his bloody sword right across his heart. And taking him to the edge of the mountain, he pushed him down from his peak. But before he fell, a tiny bottle came flying out of his lab coat and landed on the ground.

Nathan looked at the bottle which read ‘The youthful elixir’. In that wounded state, he limped towards a dying Emily and for the sake of his love, emptied the tiny bottle down her throat. Emily’s eyes opened, and with a final smile of relief...The ninja’s mortal life concluded in his love’s soft and warm arms.