MLFW Part 9- "Fatal Encounter"

"Fatal Encounter" is the ninth Part of "Miracula Luxia: Four Worlds". It was released on 22.02.2020.
== Plot ==
After a series of unfortunate events which led to the death of Annie, Jared began to hate Farrar and his army even more. His hatred will never fade away until all of them are dead.
However, he will try to be more diplomatic. He will try to lure the foolish leader into his trap and when he falls for it... that will be the last mistake he will ever make in his entire life. Because this will be the end of his entire life.
In this Part, the citizens of Paris, led by Jared and the merciless, bloodthirsty thugs, led by Farrar will come face to face. Today, we will find out who is truly the strongest out of the two factions.
Will Jared and his allies prevail, defeat Farrar and his thug army and end his menace once and for all? Or will he give Jared one last unpleasant surprise before he finally perishes for good? Find out now!
== Story ==
Jared looked at the undead Gary Nixom and smiled.
"Look at you."- He said- "As hostile as you were in life. I didn't know you for a very long time, but I felt it when I first met you. You are a true villain who will do anything to make his master happy- even killing the loved ones of his enemies."
"But you should know that you're pathetic, Mr. Nixom. You're nothing more than a selfish, arrogant person who can't make his own decisions and fight for his own side. Or for the good side, in our case."
"Anyway, soon we will make you useful once again. You were a doll when you were alive and you're still a doll now, when you're an Undead. Your strings were not severed when your soul left your body. They remained for someone to use. And we will make the best use out of them."
"I know that Annie wouldn't have agreed with our plan if she was still alive, but it is for the best. We need every tactic to defeat Farrar once and for all- even if the tactic is not exactly fair."
He removed the bag from his head, but not before putting shackles (given to him by the Mayor) on his arms.
As the undead Gary Nixom tried to attack him, Jared put a chain around his neck and put the bag back on his head.
He looked at Lancelot and the mayor.
"I'm ready when you're ready."- He said- "So? Are you?"
Lancelot nodded.
"I've never been more ready than right now. Let's finish those fools off!"
The mayor nodded as well.
"Me too. I will command our forces to surprise them and kill every single one of them when you give them the command. They will pay for what they did to our proud city... and our dear friends."
Jared nodded and noticed something hanging in Gary Nixom's pocket. He took it out and realized that it was a picture of someone.
He looked closer. It was a picture of Farrar- his employer.
He shaked his head.
"He respected his employer so much that he died trying to hide where he truly is. He was strong, but he was not invulnerable, like he thought that he was. He was just a small piece in the big chess, a useless black peon. Nothing more than that."
"Farrar is no more different than him. And he will fall down just like his beloved right hand. By his beloved right hand. So he better be ready, because the haunting hour is coming closer with every passing second. And there is no way he can stop it from coming."
Having said that, Jared dragged Gary Nixom with his chain and left the room to prepare.
He stood in his room, unable to comprehend what happened in the past few days. How he lost one of his loved ones to the jaws of evil. How he had to change from "kind and caring" to "caring and merciless". And, most importantly, how he and Lancelot were forced to kill a living person and use him for their own purposes.
He felt disgusted seeing what he had become and how his heart had become somewhat darker, his soul more vengeful, his eyes more serious. He looked at the undead Gary Nixom and sighed.
He wanted to send him away or put him out of his misery. But the vengeance in his heart did not allow him to do. Not yet.
For now, he has to use him as an ally. Later, he can decide what else to do with him.
"I feel bad for taking his life."- Jared expressed his regret for his past actions silently- "But there is no going back now. I must keep moving forward and think about our (hopefully brighter) future. This is my primary priority and I must focus all of my energy on doing it."
Having said that, he stood on his chair until he heard a knock on his door.
He opened it and saw Lancelot with another man.
The man was wearing the clothes of a doctor. Jared immediately recognized him. It is Dr. Daniel Nixom- Gary Nixom's older brother!
"Greetings, Jared."- He said- "I heard the unfortunate news of my brother's passing and I wanted to see him. This young man told me that he's currently with you. May I see him, please?"
Jared nodded.
"Come in, Dr. Nixom. Your brother is over there."
Dr. Nixom stared at his brother and noticed that he had a bag on his head. He tried to remove it, but was stopped by Jared.
"It is for the best, sir."- Jared said.
Dr. Nixom nodded.
"I understand. He... he's dead, but he's not exactly dead. Am I right?"
Jared nodded.
"We did not put him down."
"It is a suffering to live like this."- Dr. Nixom said- "Maybe we should put him down after this madness is over. But I will leave to you to decide whether you should put him down or not."
Jared was surprised by Dr. Nixom's words. Somehow, the doctor was understanding about his brother's death and was slowly moving on from it. Maybe he knows that his brother was in an alliance with Farrar.
"But, he's your brother!"- Jared exclaimed- "Why don't you grieve for him?"
Dr. Nixom shaked his head.
"He was a friend of that wicked fiend known as Farrar. Worse, he was his right hand, that fool. He even sent his thugs to capture me and help them develop a cure for his sickness! I did not tell them anything, so he just told them to lock me up and torture me until I "spit it out". I may have still regarded him as my brother, but there was one difference- I had lost all of my respect for him. And for that, I will never forgive him, neither in life, nor in death. I never will, mark my words!"
Lancelot smiled.
"We knew that you are a person of honor, doctor!"- He said- "We knew that you would never join Farrar's army and act against us!"
Dr. Nixom smiled as well.
"And why would I, my good friend? I would never abandon my friends in Paris just to join a man with a big army and an even bigger ego."
Jared giggled.
"I like your sense of humor, Dr. Nixom."- He said- "Even in those dark times, you still try to make our day brighter, like you always have."
"Of course, Jared. Anyway."- Dr. Nixom continued- "I heard that you're going to use my brother against the ones he respected so much- Farrar's army... "
Jared looked at him, afraid that he will lash out at him for trying to do so.
Instead, the aging man simply patted him on the back.
"So I wanted to come here and wish you good luck in defeating him and his wicked thugs. I hope that my brother (or what is left of him) helps you out against him."
"And, if you need any help treating your wounds or the wounds of your allies, you can rely on us. Me and the rest of the crew at the medical facility will do our best to help you out!"
Jared nodded.
"Thank you, Dr. Nixom. We will prepare now."
Dr. Nixom smiled and began to leave the room.
"May the gods bless you with good fortune, Jared. Stay safe!"
With that, Dr. Daniel Nixom left the two young men alone with his undead brother.
Jared and Lancelot spent the whole day talking about what happened recently while the mayor prepared Paris's soldiers and citizens to fight Farrar's army and defeat them.
After the clock was at 23 PM, Lancelot left his room to get some sleep. Jared laid on his bed, the recent events still burning in his mind like a wildfire.
The next day was pretty uneventful for our remaining heroes. Stephanie visited Jared to look at Gary Nixom.
She looked at him coldly. Then she spit at him.
"Idiot!"- She said and sat on Jared's bed.
Jared looked at her and did the same.
"Are you still angry about what happened?"- He asked her.
She nodded, seemingly aware that he was going to ask her the question.
"Of course I was! For what happened to poor Annie, I would have done worse to him. I just let you guys do it, because I felt like you are more level-headed than I am right now and you'll make a better decision to punish him."
"So?"- She looked at Jared- "Your plan to make this worm act against his own employer's still standing. Right?"
Jared nodded.
"Yes. I want to make Farrar suffer as much as Annie suffered before she died."
"Understandable. Good luck doing that."- Stephanie said and left Jared alone.
For the rest of the day, the boy sharpened his blade and readied his bow, getting ready for battle if something goes wrong with his plan. He didn't want to take any chances.
Finally, the day of judgement began. Jared got out of his bed, washed his face in the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror.
He noticed that the old, friendly Jared was no longer there. In his place, a new, more determined Jared had come to reside in Jared's body. 
This one is ready to do whatever he can to keep his allies alive and show the enemy that he's no longer the meek hero they used to make fun of. A real hero, whose soul burns like a wildfire, whose body is like a meatshield- ready to protect the good people around him, whose heart is made of gold- always beating for the good of the world.
He smiled, realizing that he had become stronger than ever. He left the bathroom, picked up his equipment from his room, grabbed and dragged the undead Gary Nixom by the chain and went to the meeting place.
There, he saw Lancelot, Stephanie, the mayor and a dozen of guards, ready to protect the city, should something go wrong with the plan.
"Good to see you, my friend."- Lancelot saluted Jared- "Are you ready to make Farrar pay?"
Jared nodded.
"You know I am!"- He said excitedly- "Let's finish this once and for all!"
All of them waited for Farrar's army to come and demand their precious right hand back.
Finally, they arrived. Farrar approached them on his horse and stepped down.
"I've come, Kaos."- He said- "Now give me my right hand back."
Jared smiled and shaked his finger.
"Nuh-uh! First, the agreement!"
Farrar sighed.
"Fine. We'll leave your stupid city alone. Now give him back!"
Something worried Jared. He was unable to believe Farrar's words at 100%, but gave him his precious right hand anyway.
Farrar looked at the chain around his neck, as well as the shackles around his arms.
"I hope you've been treating him well!"- He said angrily.
Jared smiled.
"Oh, don't worry."- He said- "We just had to... restrain him. He's all fine."
Farrar looked at Gary Nixom (who had a bag on his head) and tried to tak to him:
"Gary? Gary, old friend? Can you hear me?"
He didn't hear anything. Just a bit of low growling coming from under the bag.
"Quiet as you always have been, eh? Well, at least you're okay."
He looked at Jared and grinned.
"Well, now it's time for you to die!"- He said.
Jared was shocked as the rest of his allies prepared for battle.
"But... I thought that you... "
Farrar shaked his head.
"And to miss this golden opportunity? To capture one of the biggest cities on the planet for myself? I didn't come here from Avernum just to sit and watch how you weaklings struggle with your everyday lives! I came here to conquer!"
He turned to his thugs.
"My army, attack them!"
As the thugs attacked Paris's defenders, an angry Jared approached Farrar and looked at him coldly.
Without another word, he quickly unshackled Gary Nixom and removed the bag from his head.
Suddenly, Farrar realized that his right hand was no longer alive.
"What... what did you do to him?!"- He screamed.
Jared shaked his head.
"He was foolish enough to attack us, just like you. He met his fate. And now you will meet yours. Mr. Nixom, attack!"
The undead Gary Nixom pounced on Farrar and bit him on the arm before he threw him to the side and stood up.
He felt weak from the bite. He decided to leave the area and recover.
Jared tried to run after him, but the villain was just too fast for him to outrun.
"Come back here, you coward!"- He screamed as Farrar left the area to recover.
Then he got back to helping his allies fight the thugs and noticed that an undead Gary Nixom had joined the fight as well.
His arrival turned the tides of the battle, as many thugs fell to his bites and no one of the still living ones was able to kill him.
"This... was a very smart move."- The mayor remarked Jared's superior intelligence- "Jared, you are truly a brilliant strategist!"
Jared smiled.
"I do my best, Mayor. The best for our city to be safe."
"I know you do."- He said and continued fighting the thugs.
Eventually, all of the thugs died. Jared and the rest of his remaining allies took a break from this 6 hour long battle.
"A small victory for us and a huge victory for Paris! Good job, fellow fighters!"- Jared complimented his allies for doing well in the battle.
However, they heard yelling behind them. The movement of lots of feet marching behind them.
They looked back and saw Farrar with the rest of his army- the most powerful, most wicked thugs who our heroes have not battled yet.
Farrar smiled as Jared stared, shocked that he was still alive.
"How... how are you still alive?"- He stared at him, unable to comprehend the fact that Farrar is still alive after the bite.
Then he instinctively looked at where his arm used to be. Now there was only half of an arm, a bloody bandage stopping a potential heavy bleeding.
"It's because I'm a survivor."- Farrar said slily- "I'm a man who can't die easily, a warrior who will keep finding until every one of you is dead or imprisoned. I. Will. Never. Die!"
Jared drew his blade as the huge man charged at him, his only hand holding a heavy sword.
The two of them engaged in the battle of their lives. Farrar attacked Jared with his blade, like he never has before, trying to knock the boy to the ground and finish him off for what he did to Gary Nixom.
Jared, on the other hand, fought valiantly, patiently waiting for Farrar to show a weak spot where he will strike and avenge the death of his beloved Annie.
"You are the person I hate the most, do you hear that Kaos?!"- Farrar screamed as their blades clanged in unison.
Jared nodded as he calmly parried the huge man's blows and attacked him back.
"It is the same for me, Farrar. I will make you pay for what you and your heartless monsters did to Annie!"
Farrar laughed and he continued angrily attacking Jared.
"Hah! Annie was nothing! She was weak and unable to defend herself. She was relying on your help, Jared! And you didn't protect her! You just let her die and now you want to kill me, because me and my army did what was best for her. She wasn't fit for this world, Jared!"
Jared's look turned from calm to angry in an instant.
"What did you just say?!"- He screamed as he counterattacked with his sword.
Farrar smiled as he parried the blows with ease.
"Annie was nothing! And I'm not afraid to say that now. You should have picked Akari, Jared! She was braver than this girl, this former shell of a hero!"
These words made Jared even angrier. He began to angrily attack Farrar, the huge man still blocking his attacks.
Finally, after twenty minutes of fighting, Farrar managed to push Jared to the ground.
As the boy tried to regain his senses, the man pointed his huge blade at his neck.
"And now, you'll join your beloved Akari in the afterlife. And then, the entire city of Paris will be mine!"
Jared raised his eyebrow.
"How can you tell? Even if I die, my allies will still defeat yours."
Farrar laughed.
"Defeat? That ain't a word in my dictionary! The word I use is crush! And we will utterly crush you until there's nothing left of you to fight back!"
Jared looked around in horror as Farrar's words turned out to be quite right.
Many of his allies fell in battle, slain by Farrar's thugs who vicously stabbed them numerous times before jumping to new targets.
Jared shaked his head.
"No... "- He said- "This cannot be. After all we did, after all that we lost, we're still going to be defeated by you?"
Farrar smiled.
"Oh, don't worry. We'll probably leave some of you in the dungeons for interrogation, but the rest of you- the biggest troublemakers will be slain. Starting with you!"
Lancelot tried to help Jared by attacking Farrar from behind, but was stopped by a thug who tried to kill him. The man had no choice, but to fight him.
Farrar looked at the fight for a while, smiled, spinned his huge blade a few times, like he had all the time in the world to do so and finally raised it to stab Jared.
Jared closed his eyes, finally accepting his fate.
"No! Jared! Don't give up!"- A familiar voice in his mind screamed at him.
Jared shaked his head.
"No. It is all over. I know when to accept my fate and feign my defeat. I cannot do anything else. I tried and I tried. But it was all in vain."
" "In vain"?! Oh, come on! You did so much to keep this city safe and, in the end, you're going to let it fall. You're going to let your allies die to the petty thugs and Farrar? No! You should stand up and fight! If this is your last fight, you should fight with honor. Fight until you breathe for the last time. This is what true heroes do! And the person who I see here... is not a true hero."
Jared shaked his head.
"I am trying my best, alright? I may not be a true hero, but I try to show the world that I am capable of protecting it. And if you think that I'm not able to, please stand aside."
"Then prove the world that you're able to protect it from evil. Defeat Farrar and show him that heroes never give up!"
"You know what?"- Jared said and opened his eyes- "You're right. I'm not a weakling. I am Jared Kaos- a hero who has dedicated four years to protecting the good people he meets. And this hero will not give up without a good fight. So let's fight this jerk back!"
He grabbed his sword and successfully parried Farrar's blow as he stood up to fight back.
Farrar was shocked that Jared was not surrendering yet.
"What are you doing?"- He said, amazed- "You should have given up! I should have killed you! Why are you still fighting?!"
"Why are you still alive?!"
Jared smiled as he brandished his blade.
"As long as there is someone who I must protect, I won't allow myself to die. I will keep fighting until I win. Or I lose the fight. I will not feign defeat, not until I still have strength in my body that lets me continue pushing on and continuing to fight."
"This is what a kindred spirit taught me when I felt unsure who I really am. And I am going to teach you a lesson, Farrar. A lesson that you will never forget."
"The lesson that true heroes never give up!"
With that, the two of them continued fighting. Jared fought back with much more force, like he has never done before. Farrar tried to parry his blows as Jared clanged his blade against his armor, blow after blow.
After a half hour of tirelessly fighting against his nemesis, parrying his blows and striking him back, Jared finally realized Farrar's weak spot.
"That's right!"- He said to himself- "Farrar's trying to protect his abdomen from being hurt. Maybe that is his weakest spot!"
He quickly disarmed the huge man and stabbed him in the abdomen.
As the huge man screamed in pain from the blow, his former companion- an undead Gary Nixom (who had just killed a large portion of the thugs by himself) approached the unsuspecting man, lowly growling as he did so.
"You pathetic fool!"- Farrar screamed- "Do you know what you're doing?! If you kill me, my army will slay you! You will be slain by them! There is no escape from your destiny, don't you realize it?!"
Jared smiled and kneeled to get a better look at him.
"Well, to be honest, you are right about one thing, Farrar. There is no escape from your destiny."
He watched as an undead Gary bit him on the shoulder.
"And your destiny is to be defeated by the one you hate the most, as a lesson for your past bad deeds. So, goodbye. You will not by missed. Not by us, not by your army. Not by anyone."
Jared stood up and kicked him to the ground. The undead Gary began to maul and kick his former employer in the abdomen as he screamed in pain.
Jared shaked his head.
"In the end you were just another piece. A useless peon with visions of grandeur who tried to show his ego to the world while trying to bring it to its knees. A man who doesn't know what it means to lose members of your family. And friends. And other people around you."
"I can see it on your eyes, Farrar. Even though you lost some of your soldiers every day, you didn't care about it. You just cared about conquering more and more lands, making them yours in the process and destroying all that the people have made, what they have fought for. And now..."
He raised his sword in the air as the great villain watched helplessly.
"This final blow will be for everyone who fights for the good of the world. For the ones who are still alive. For the ones who fought bravely and died protecting all that is sacred. For Annie. For mom, and dad, and my sister. For Lancelot. For Stephanie. For all the citizens of Paris. For the world. And, most importantly... "
"For our future!"
He quickly stabbed Farrar in his new weak spot- in the chest and watched as he looked at him in fear, unable to comprehend the fact that he just lost the war against the ones he hated so much. And also lost his life.
In his last moments, the huge villain looked around and watched all of his allies die from either their undead companions or Paris's soldiers.
"This... this can't... be... I should have won. The lands... the lands were so weak. I would have made them... stronger... but they fought against us."
"No... it's not over. Fight... my... dark warriors. Keep... crushing those... weaklings... "
Farrar finally succumbed to his wounds.
Jared looked at him one last time. He could not believe what he was seeing. The leader of one of the strongest hostile armies in Avernum- Warlord Farrar was dead by his own hands.
The man whose ego went to the skies and made him arrogant and always ready to conquer new lands was now lying on the ground, dead.
Thus came the end of the almighty Lord Farrar- fierce fighter, leader and conqueror. Tireless villain. And bloodthirsty foe of many good people. His corpse lied on the ground, a grim testimonial to what would happen if any more enemies come here and try to fight the good citizens of Paris.
Jared looked at him a while longer and noticed that the former villain's skin is slowly going gray.
Finally, Farrar opened his eyes, having reanimated into an undead. Jared quickly pinned him to a wall, rendering him unable to harm anyone.
He looked around as the citizens of Paris gathered around him to celebrate their hard-earned victory.
"Citizens of Paris!"- Jared began- "Today's challenge was a nightmare for all of us. We had to endure this neverending army of thugs and miscreants, led by the biggest villain of them all- Lord Farrar who fought so selfishly, trying to bring not only our city and the whole Avernum, but the whole world to its knees. But there was one thing that he did not know- that we, the citizens of Paris, do not give up without a fight. No matter how hard the fight, no matter how hopeless the situation seemed for us, we still fought against them with all the strength that we had. We didn't give up. We were not cowards. And in the end, we were rewarded with a well-deserved victory. The thugs are now dead, what's left of them will flee and tell tales of our bravery for others to fear. And, most importantly, the leader of those fools is now dead."
"Celebrate, my friends. Because today... is a very special day. The day when we finally showed the world what we are capable of!"
He smiled as everyone cheered and yelled the words "Long live Jared Kaos!".
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Three weeks later...
The city was now much calmer. The rest of the thugs negotiated a peace with the citizens of Paris and fled to unknown lands, never to return.
In the meantime, the citizens prepared a ritual to burn Farrar's undead corpse for what he had done.
"In the name of all that is sacred."- The priest said- "Today, you shall be purged, unclean child!"
Jared and Lacelot set the undead Farrar on fire and waited until he became a burned corpse.
Somehow, even after he was burned, he was still alive. But this didn't bother our heroes. They simply carried what remained of the former villainous leader near the gate and pinned him to a wall.
"This will make them think twice before going against the righteous citizens of Paris!"- Lancelot exclaimed.
Jared nodded.
"We may be merciful, but that doesn't mean that we won't fight back if we're attacked."
He watched the road as Dr. Daniel Nixom approached them.
He shaked their hands and smiled.
"I congratulate you for what you have done, brave heroes of Paris."- He said.
"Thank you, Dr. Nixom. You also did a great job back there."
Dr. Nixom smiled.
"I always do my best, boys. Anyway, I wanted to talk about by still undead brother."
Jared noticed that he was carrying his undead brother with a chain.
"Yes. About him... "- The boy didn't know what to say.
Dr. Nixom understood what he was feeling and nodded.
"Don't worry. I know that you didn't want to kill him. But justice said otherwise. And, he is better off dead for us than alive."
"But we must still do something about his undead body. So, what do you think we should do? I will trust your judgement on this one."
Lancelot leaned closer to Jared.
"Maybe we should put him down. The poor man has suffered enough. Even the man who caused the death of my sister doesn't deserve to be in such pain. Kill him."- He whispered.
Jared nodded.
"Okay. Let's put this tortured soul down for good."
Lancelot gave him a knife and he approached the undead Gary Nixom.
He patted him on the shoulder and shrugged.
"I'm sorry about what happened, Mr. Nixom. But duty calls and I had to take an action for what you did back there."
"But that doesn't mean that I'll let you suffer forever. No, I will put you to eternal rest. I hope you live a good live up there."- He looked up and stabbed the undead Gary Nixom in the head, finally putting him down.
Dr. Nixom held his (now dead) brother's corpse. He finally showed an emotion other than empathy and ignorance- grief. He began to cry, finally realizing how much his brother meant to him.
"I should have done something back then."- He blamed himself in front of the boys- "Sure, he was a little out of his mind. He was not well. And I just ignored him and moved on."
"And this is what it led to. Oh, I would give anything to bring my dear brother back and show him that the path he is walking on is not the right one. If only I could... "
He shed a tear and looked at Jared.
He was unable to say anything to him, but his expression said it all. He wanted to be left alone.
Jared understood that and took Lancelot away from him as he walked away.
"Why are we going away from. Dr. Nixom?"- Lancelot wondered.
Jared shaked his head.
"He wants to be left alone and I respect his wish. So we leave."
He noticed Stephanie running towards them and waved at her. She waved back and approached them.
"Jared. Lance... "- She said, still panting from the running- "The ceremony is going to happen soon."
"What ceremony?"- Jared asked her.
Lancelot stared at him, confused.
"What do you mean "What ceremony"?"- He said to him- "The burial ceremony! To bury my sister and the other people who fell in the battle. Let's go!"
Jared nodded and the three of them approached the ceremony, which was almost over now.
== Trivia ==
* This is the longest Part in all "Miracula Luxia" spinoffs and possibly the longest Part in the whole "Miracula Luxia" series.
* This is the last Part when an antagonist dies.
* "Fatal Encounter" was probably the hardest Part to write, all the heroic moments that happened in the Part also making it the most "interesting to write" so far.
* Originally, Farrar was supposed to live until the final tenth Part of "Miracula Luxia: Four Worlds" when he was supposed to be executed by the vengeful citizens of Paris for his crimes. However, AleksProdzBG (the creator of "Miracula Luxia") decided that it would be best for Farrar to die before Part 10, just so his story would be concluded in a more dramatic way, more interesting to the readers than a simple execution.