AN: The illness persists, but it has lessened a good bit. I cannot guarantee that this chapter will be the best thing imaginable, or if it is even 100% coherent. However, it does conclude the battle arc. All that is left is the ending for the volume and the epilogue.

Also, I must remind you that even though this is billed as an interdimensional death game, it is also designed as an action comedy. So... keep the comedy bit in mind. Thanks.

Chapter 15.2: Game On!

Darkness, the source of fear for humanity since its ignoble beginning. In recent years, mothers had tried to soothe their children's fears. There was nothing hiding under the bed. There were no monsters hidden in closets. There were no beasts hiding in the darkness of night waiting for the moment to strike.

Times had changed. No mother living in the current world would dare deny that there were things in the darkness that would devour her children.

Scott ran as best he could through the ever darkening streets. The day had nearly come to an end and the dark hours of the night were soon to be upon him. It would not be the darkness of a city at night. It would be an omnipresent darkness that only those who lived far beyond the modern cities would ever witness.

He leapt atop a wrecked car then spring-boarded forward at a high rate of speed to reach the second level of a nearby apartment building. Scott needed to get out of sight as quickly as he could. He heard the heavy footsteps of his approaching death and knew that being out of sight was the only way to handle the situation.

The heavy metal music that had suddenly begun to play when the battle had started was subdued now. It had moved back into the background, like a party had been going on in someone's college dorm room, but the party goers had shut the door. It was still there, but lessened by the thin wooden barrier.

Scott's breath came heavy as he slipped along the side of the building's second floor. He had to come up with a plan, but he did not even know where to start. His weapons were next to useless, and his only real damage dealing ability was a close combat concept that would make the fight play out like a mongoose fighting a cobra. He would have to hit the bastard many times, but one good strike from his opponent could spell Scott's end.

Direct combat was out, or at least a last resort. He was forced to consider alternatives. However, while he did so the background music began to grow louder. The footfalls of the monstrous zombie mecha grew louder at the same time. His doom was walking closer with each passing step.

Could it sense him, somehow? Were his movements merely predictable? He had to know.

The champion moved as quietly as he could in the darkening twilight. He slipped around the corner of the building and peaked around the opposite corner. Scott's chest rose then fell quickly after he drew in a sharp involuntary breath. It was there, but it was different. The undead monstrosity seemed to be even bigger than before. Now it also had a sword arm, and what appeared to be an arm fashioned into a gun.

Eyes, red as the blazing sun at dawn, cast their hellish gaze on the landscape. The music grew louder and the monster grew bolder. It began to attack cars, and then the closest buildings.

The monster's blade slide along the asphalt and produced a loud scraping noise that made Scott bite his lower lip. "Come out little one. Daddy has a present for you." said the monstrosity in a surprisingly cheerful voice.

Scott knew that he could not mount a proper defense at his current location, so he moved out once more. He slipped quietly down the back stairs and then ran toward a derelict convenience store on the far side of a short parking lot.

The music died down again for a short time as he ran, but once he reached his newest goal it did not take long for it to begin to grow in volume once more. The heavy footfalls of the beast came louder even as the music did. Scott's nose wrinkled in agitation. He grimaced at the realization. Before he had merely considered it possible, but now he was certain. The bastard could hear the music as well. The red robed man was using it to track him.

Scott looked around quickly then started to run toward a small collection of houses on the other side of the road. A loud whistling sound caught his attention. He looked up in time to see a blue mass of energy streak downward toward those buildings like a comet. It splashed down in the center then exploded with incredible force. The houses were blown completely apart in the process, and a smoking crater was left behind among the ruination of what he had thought would be a good next hiding spot.

"Oh, the music's still playing... Guess he wasn't over there..." said the gravelly voice of the undead behemoth, though its tone was quite cheerful.

The whistling sound came again. Scott immediately realized what that meant. There was only one other large building that would be within the distance of the music. He ran forward like hell itself was trying to bite him in the ass. He barely made it a dozen steps before the next explosive energy blast rang out.

The convenience store was made of sturdier stuff than a few dilapidated houses that would have been old and worn even before the apocalypse. Still, it did not stand a chance. The building exploded forward in a shower of brick and mortar. Scott was sent flying with great force and ended up being knocked into a nearby ditch. It was a large drainage ditch that sat on the side of an old abandoned railroad track that ran parallel to the road.

"Damn. Aim was off." muttered the red robed man as he bore witness to the crater that was created well behind the convenience store. It had done its job, but most of the explosive force had been wasted.

Scott's vision swam for a moment. Blood leaked slowly from several large cuts on his back, a silent testament to the hit points he had regained from taking a restorative. He had no doubt lost several in that explosion, but for the moment he was only battered, not broken.

He blinked as he realized something. The blast had sent him flying toward a large storm drain. Scott mouthed the words, "The sewer..." then crawled toward the grate.

This city had a strangely spacious sewer system beneath it. If he could get down into it, there might be a chance.

"Music's still going..." muttered the robed man. "Where the hell is he?"

The red lights beaming from the monster's eyes scoured the area. Scott remained hidden from casual view due to his position. Soon, he had pried the grate up and entered the sewers. While the bastard above fruitlessly searched the landscape for the one he sought. His prey leaned heavily against the sewer sidewall and walked away from the battle on shaky legs. After a few minutes passed, the shaking ceased. His movements became stronger even as the music died down.

The night was coming. He had to be ready to fight the monster in the dark. More to the point, he now had a few ideas. The cobra had struck. It was now time for the mongoose to dance.

**

Night had come, and with it had come the darkness promised earlier. Twin red headlamps set to the highest light levels swept across the area in search of the elusive prey. The red robed man seethed inwardly. Over an hour had passed since he had lost the champion. Only now had he begun to track him properly once more due to the music.

Sometime after blowing up those buildings, the music had died down. It had taken a while to find a proper trail, to make the music build once more.

"Come out and face me, you little shit." muttered the man. Less than sixty percent of his power was left. The operation was taking too long, and using the heavy gun had taken large chunks of his energy. There was no quick way to recharge on this world, not anymore.

He strode heavily down highway, his headlamps swinging from side to side while he scanned the area. He passed a small lumber yard that he gave no concern for and continued onward. On a fence nearby a sign that read: Caution Flammable Materials, could be seen next to a gate that was slightly ajar.

"The highway overpass?" he asked thoughtfully. Up ahead, he caught sight of a high bridge that formed an overpass. Numerous vehicles had been abandoned both above and below it. The closer he drew to the area, the louder the music became. "Bet he thinks he has a trap set up..."

Red Robe looked to his system statistics then frowned. "Do I risk it?"

With a shrug, he powered up his secondary weapon, the heavy gun, then fired off a massive shot toward the overpass in a lazy arc. In splashed down with a thunderous explosion that rocked the area. Cars flew sideways and the entire overpass shook from the force of the blast.

"Well, if he's up there... He ain't happy." said the robed man with a laugh. The music did not die down in the slightest, however.

Red Robe moved forward confidently. He would get the rat this time. No matter where he scurried, it would only take one good hit to finish things.

He took his time moving forward. Several minutes passed while the beast searched the area with his headlights. Red Robes' prey was nearby. The music told him so.

It was not until the giant undead mecha reached the overpass that its pilot noticed something odd. It was barely noticeable, but there was a scent in the area. Encapsulated inside of a rotting mecha, one might think there would be many terrible scents. However, it was not the scent of rotting flesh or methane that Red Robe smelled. "Is that gas?"

The zombie mecha's head lashed left and right. Soon the lights fell upon the sight of a small trickle of fluid that trailed downhill from an overturned fuel truck. "Bah, nothing to worry about. Just an old wreck."

He continued onward. Thinking to check above before worrying about the interior of the overpass, the beast reached up and converted his weapons back into hands before he gripped the rails. An awkward pull-up brought the creature upward toward the top of the overpass. He just wanted a quick peak since he had already bombed the area. Walking all of the way around would be tedious.

The moment that its head cleared the guardrail, Red Robe caught sight of his prey. Unfortunately, for the cobra, the mongoose was already prepared.

Scott slammed the little red pickup truck he had hefted overhead down atop the unprotected skull of his deadly foe. A loud crashing sound echoed through the air. It was followed by several similar sounds as Scott beat at the monster's head and hands with a light-duty S-10 pickup truck. The windows were shattered. The engine was knocked loose. One wheel fell off in the process.

The guard rail gave out just before the truck did. Panting heavily, Scott tossed the truck down atop the fallen monstrosity then proceeded to heft several neighboring vehicles over the side. A few cars had been sent flying by the explosion, but what the monstrous mecha pilot had not counted on was the fact that his prey was not stupid enough to simply wait atop the bridge. A trap had indeed been set, and the fool had walked right into it.

"I'll kill you. You bastard!" screamed Red Robe just before a Honda Civic crashed down from overhead. One interior camera cut off as the mecha's left eye became too damaged.

He struggled to free his machine from underneath the weight of several tons of abandoned vehicles. Unable to convert his hands back to weapons due to the need to pick up and push the wreckage away, he was never able to see the real danger coming until it was too late. Twin fireballs bounced into the night. They lit up the air in a majestic display of dancing flame that would have delighted audiences around the world. However, their goal was neither wonder nor whimsy. They were agents of death guided by the hands of a wily mongoose.

What Red Robe had thought of as just a trickle of gas from an overturned truck, was revealed to be something far more sinister. Flames licked up along the surface of the cars nearby. They ringed the area completely, and soon even the vehicles atop the beast caught fire.

The whistling sound of pressurized fuel canisters would have been a considerable warning for anyone capable of paying attention. However, the mecha pilot was busy pushing away flaming wreckage. Just as he was about to free himself from the last of it, an explosion rocked him from the side. His zombie mecha fell hard to the left only to get blown back by another carefully placed explosion.

Propane tanks, whatever gas could be found, and anything flammable in the area that could be acquired and hidden for the attack, the mongoose had planted them all. Said mongoose had already vacated the area as soon as the first flames had begun their dance. He had not wanted to be caught in the ensuing explosions. The night was still young as well, and he had doubted this would be enough to end the beast.

The cobra had been cocky. Scott had bet everything on this chance to weaken the beast. He had suspected that the bastard would bomb the top of the overpass then become overconfident. What could one little man do to such a behemoth? Now the cobra knew that the mongoose was ready. Scott knew that his opponent would be more cautious next time, but for now he could not worry about that. He had to get out of the area. He did not have the fire power to finish off the beast, and tossing cars off the overpass wouldn't work to do that much damage now. Not with the large amount of wreckage below. It would reduce the help that gravity gave to his cause.

A short time passed. The explosions stopped, and the fires died down. Charred black, and full of hate, the zombie mecha rose from the wreckage. Chunks of its flesh had been burned away to reveal blackened bone, but it was still active.

"Shield's out..." said Red Robe in a voice quiet as the grave. His power was low due to forced regeneration to maintain his systems and life support. He could no longer use his heavy gun if he intended to continue with his summoned mech. He would have to rely on lesser firepower and his sword arm for the hour and a half that he had left.

The trail had gone cold, but not so cold that he would be unable to find his prey once more. Red Robe searched the area with his one remaining headlight then moved toward the music.

Scott had gotten far ahead of the beast, but now he was at a loss. What did he do when he came again? He doubted that the trap had finished the bastard. For all he knew, it had barely hurt the thing. "He probably won't fall for something like that again. Now what?"

A zombie moaned loudly and staggered toward him from out of the darkness. Scott took it out with a well-placed shot then looked to where it had come from. He had not seen many zombies since the battle had started, but since heading in this direction he had run across over a dozen of them. He was obviously in an area that he had not cleared before during his day trip. "One of these things could bite me when I'm not looking... Better be careful."

A thought occurred to him, and he checked his mini-map. "The second place of interest... it's about twelve miles north of here."

Scott considered that for a moment. That thing would find him eventually. The music would lead it toward him once he stopped moving. Either he could wander around aimlessly, or head toward a place designated as interesting and hope that it led to something useful.

He made his decision then set out as quickly as his legs would take him. His flower power was starting to run low. He could feel it. It would work for a full day if he did not do much with it, but he had used his super jump, spent a lot of time running at full speed, and even used his special fireball controlling method to make certain that he hit the right spot earlier. Running and normal jumping did not take up much power, but it did constantly draw on it. Time was running short.

Scott blurred through the suburban streets while ignoring the zombies that staggered from the nearby houses. He hopped from one zombie head to the next as he bounded through a small herd of the beasts then continued on his way.

It did not take terribly long to find the supposed sight of interest at the speeds that he could run. Yet, maintaining that speed for several minutes at a time had taken its toll on him. He could feel his energy bleeding away. It would take a short while for more of that power to be leached out of his body to replace what was taken. Eating the flower and the seed created a sort of internal battery for the garden forces. Most things like running, normal jumps, and even fireball creation were taken from the battery instead of the active floral power. Such things took the equivalent of a few seconds of energy out of what might be a twenty-four hour power.

Every time his active energy was used, however, a large portion of the battery power was consumed to try to replenish his active floral power over time. His battery was running low now after several hours of being active and the heavy use it had utilized in the last stretch of time. Several hours of energy would need to be expended just to regain a single floral power point. He had only regained two points since the battle in the parking lot.

What he now suspected, but had not considered before, was the possibility that his flower power also provided something of a secondary defense. It was highly likely that his abilities had neutralized more of the damage he would have taken than he had realized. In a way it was like the basis of the game that the world had been patterned after. In that specific game, the hero would eat a mushroom and grow much larger. That mustachioed hero could perfectly withstand a single attack that would normally kill him.

In this real-life death game, the garden powers acted in a similar way. They reduced physical damage somehow, but unless he could actively view his status, he would not know exactly how much. The energy had been cut off when he returned to his home point last time. Either way, it was not just his hit points that had helped him survive this long. The possibility that taking damage would also reduce his battery life, so to speak, was also something to consider.

No matter the reason, the added help had begun to lessen. Soon he would be nothing more than an ordinary scrub once more. He had, perhaps, a few hours tops if he did not use his special abilities further.

A place of interest could literally lead to anything happening. The first place he had found in this particular story mission had sent him to the Imperial Garden, and allowed him to gain his new powers. The second place of interest might send him across time and space, or it might be something else altogether.

Scott checked his mini-map twice once he arrived. The so-called place of interest was an empty field in the middle of nowhere. It was half a mile off the road, and featured nothing but grass and empty promises. Even in the darkness of the night, he could not make out anything distinguishing about the place.

"Shit." he muttered casually. What was the point in coming here? Even if he had managed to do damage to the undead bastard earlier, fighting in the open was stupid.

He started to leave, but stopped himself. There had to be something here other than an empty field. It took far longer than he would have liked, but after running around that field in the dark for a few minutes, he did discover something interesting.

"The hell?" he asked softly before reaching out to touch the thing. Said thing was a crack in the air. A scent reminiscent of lilacs and gooseberries flowed outward from what appeared to be a thin tear in the world itself.

Curious, Scott stuck his finger through the tear and noticed warmth on the other side. He wriggled his finger inside the opening a bit, in the special way that a proper tear in reality might like, then noticed that the air tore further.

Scott ripped open the supposed hole in reality to reveal that it was not so much reality that he had torn, as a thin membrane surrounding a small log cabin. From the outside it had been completely invisible. Hell, he had walked through the area that the cabin stood a few times and had not noticed anything. It was not until he actually tore through the membrane that a hidden reality was revealed.

He walked into what he agreed had to be an area of interest then looked around. The background music was still subtle, so he knew that he had a least a little time before the bastard reappeared. If he was lucky, he would find something amazing here that would let him finish things.

The door was not locked, but then why would it be? The only one who should have been able to enter the place was whoever had placed it there.

Inside the cabin, nothing extraordinary jumped out at him. There were working lights, and there was running water.

Otherwise, the top two floors seemed to be nothing more than an ordinary house. Scott found a few odd bits and pieces that caught his attention, mostly figurines shaped like zombies. Otherwise, there was nothing too interesting about the place.

It was not until he entered the basement that things changed. Downstairs he passed through a steel door that had been conveniently left open. Inside the basement, he discovered a room of horrors. Cadavers were strapped to steel tables. Each of them was in a different state of decay. Some seemed quite fresh, others had been cut apart with surgical precision. In the far corner, he found a table off to itself. There was a female corpse on the table that had been formed from various different parts. Each piece had been sewn on with immaculate stitching. Yet, she had the top of her skull left open. It seemed this corpse creation lacked a brain.

"Bet this is that asshole's house or something." Sure, it was just a guess. However, a room full of corpses on tables did seem like the sort of place the red robed guy would call home.

Off to the left he found another door. It led to a short corridor. On the other end he found himself inside another room. In this room, however, there was only a single table. The walls were lined with row-upon-row of shelves. On those shelves there were dozens, perhaps several hundred small glowing crystals seated upon little tripod holding devices.

The table held one such crystal as well, but it was much larger. There was even something inside of it that seemed to move like a viscous liquid. The music had not changed yet, so Scott reached out to see what the thing was. Upon touching it, the crystal flared brightly with a brilliant greenish light. It was knocked loose in the process and a subtle hissing sound echoed through the room.

The floor raised upward on the other side of the table. A glass display case was revealed. Scott looked into the case and saw a bizarre sight, even for this place. A little orange kitten with fluffy fur was curled into a little ball. The rise and fall of its little chest proved that it was merely sleeping and not dead.

"Seriously?" asked Scott. The most secret thing in the secret hidden area was a fluffy little cat?

Suddenly the cat wriggled in place. Scott hopped back and reached for his firearm. Instead of doing something menacing, however, the cat merely stretched languidly then lashed its fluffy little tail.

Scott pulled his weapon anyway. One never knew what would happen in a place like this. Nothing did happen for a brief few minutes so Scott opted to use his other hand to pull a power bar out of his pocket. He had not eaten anything in quite some time. A little snack was in order while he figured out what else he could do about his real enemy.

As soon as he took a bite and began to chew, the cat rolled over toward him then sleepily said, "Meow?"

It sniffed at the air then opened its eyes and looked at Scott. Rather, it looked at the power bar in his hand. Kitty rose up then moved over to paw at the glass cutely. The movement revealed that it had a collar, a rather thick one to be honest. Scott was uncertain how he could have missed such a blatant thing. A little bell hung down from the front, and a name tag above it on the collar revealed a probable name.

"Princess?" asked Scott. Was that the cat's name?

The cat's eyes widened. It rose up and pawed at the glass with both paws now. Scott looked at the cat for a moment then back to his power bar. Had it recognized its name?

"Is Princess your name little fella? Does that mean you're a girl?" he asked the cat. The cat nodded then eyed the power bar once more.

"Hungry?" asked Scott. He gripped his firearm tighter. In a movie asking such a question usually led to someone being eaten.

The cat nodded once more, proving that she understood more than just her name. Scott idly considered giving the cat a piece of his snack but the worst case scenario happened. The music began to grow louder. The bastard was coming!

"Shit, got to get out of here!" snapped Scott.

The cat meowed loudly, desperately. She slapped at the glass case repeatedly with its paws.

He nearly left anyway, but who knew what the bastard wanted with the kitty. "Hey cat. Get down."

Scott lifted his weapon and the cat's eyes widened in surprise briefly before it dived to the side and covered its head with its paws. "Smart cat..." said Scott lightly before he fired on its prison. The glass case proved highly resilient to weapons fire, but not immune. Scott had to fire five times before it broke.

The cat lifted her head after the firing stopped then looked around in wonder. There was now enough space to squeeze through if she wanted.

"Gotta go, best of luck cat." said Scott before turning to rush back toward the first floor. The kitty delicately extricated herself from the wreckage of its prison then looked toward the door. Her eyes narrowed slightly then she took a deep breath. Princess hopped down from her former prison then casually padded toward the door.

Back outside, Scott ran out the door just in time for the membrane to disappear. He had hoped to escape into the woods before the bastard caught him, but it did not work out that way.

"Found you, fucker! Who'd have thought you'd get into my house?" Red Robe pointed his swordarm at Scott then said, "Didn't touch any of my collectibles did you? Get that funk of yours all over them?"

The zombie mecha was much worse off than Scott had originally guessed it would be. Badly charred, bone hanging off in several places, it had seen better days. Unfortunately, so had Scott.

The champion attempted to flee the area, but a rapid fire series of energy bursts shot out toward his position. The mecha pilot had used his submachine gun to good effect. Scott screamed in pain as several of those shots tore into him with incredible ferocity.

His screams continued to echo into the night air as the shot that had hit most completely continued to work its fell magic. He had taken two glancing shots that burned his flesh, but the shot to his shoulder had gone deep. He fell limply to the ground and gasped in agony as his the meat of his shoulder spread outward then popped free, much like how his own plasma shots would expand inside of a zombie's head. Half his shoulder was lost in the process. Blood poured from the wound, only his inhuman damage resistance and current vitality allowed him to even remain conscious. Even that would not save him for much longer.

"You ran a merry race, but looks like its over. If the gods were worth a fuck, I'd suggest you say your prayers now." said the giant zombie in the voice of its pilot. The mecha pilot aimed his weapon, a feral grin on both his face and the remaining face of his mecha.

It was then that the most terrifying sound that the red robed man had ever heard echoed through the air. "Meow."

"No way." said the pilot. He whipped his gunarm from Scott's location to the front door of his house. "You did not let it out!"

From out of the darkness strode the embodiment of a nightmare, a little orange cat. The mecha pilot gasped loudly. His mecha took an involuntary step back. "Fuck me!" snarled the man before looking to the fallen champion. "Do you know what you've unleashed, you fool?!"

The gunarm began to charge up. The pilot intended to finish Scott off then and there. Unfortunately, for Red Robe, the cat hopped in front of Scott then sat down pretty as you please. It then stared at the giant mecha with half-lidded eyes. "Meow."

Red Robe began to breathe heavily then took another step back. He grit his teeth then stepped back again. "Dammit..."

The cat raised up her paw cutely then made a little pawing motion toward the giant abomination. She tilted her head to the side, closed her eyes, and sweetly said, "Meow."

"Oh fuck this! I don't get paid enough to deal with this shit!" snarled Red Robe, his eyes wide, and his panic real. He quickly ordered an emergency evacuation and triggered the destruction sequence for his mecha. The giant zombie fell backwards and the chest cavity exploded open. The entire cockpit rocketed outward then zoomed into the night sky. Red Robe fled as fast as his rocket assisted cockpit could allow him to flee.

Princess watched the pilot zoom away then tilted her head lightly to the side. The remnant of the zombie mecha burst into flames as it was designed to do upon being defeated. The blinked owlishly then turned to her badly injured savior.

She sniffed at him a little then tapped his shoulder with her nose. Scott was barely coherent at this point, but he was conscious enough to realize that a message screen had appeared before him.

A completely ordinary cat wishes to be your friend. Do you accept?

Yes | No

Scott accepted the ordinary cat's friendship just before he passed out. Princess tilted her head to the side then casually licked his shoulder. Not long after, the bleeding stopped completely.

Princess made a smacking sound with her mouth then unleashed a happy kitty sigh. She then began to rub her face against Scott's cheek. Some might consider that a sign of kitty affection. Anyone who actually understood what a cat was all about, however, would know that action for exactly what it was. Princess was marking her territory.

The cat nudged his ear with her nose then softly whispered, "Me-ow..." before a decidedly sultry and uncatlike chuckle emanated from the adorable little thing.[/b]