MLPH C3, P4- "Friends Until The Bitter End"

"Friends Until The Bitter End" is the fourth and penultimate Part of "Miracula Luxia: Patient Hope" 's Chapter III. It was released on 01.06.2020.
== Plot ==
Even after losing most of the dearest people in his life, Jared continues to hunt the professor down and try to bring him to justice for all the crimes that he has done against humanity.
The battle between Humanity and The Undead is almost done. However, there is one last obstacle in the way:
The final battle.
Will Jared overcome his fears and win the battle, saving humanity once and for all? Or will he succumb to the undead horde, becoming yet another victim of it?
There is only one way to find that out...
== Story ==
The professor laughs maniacally.
"So you really think that you won?"- He asks Jared- "Just because you got me in a corner, you think that you've won?"
Jared shakes his head.
"It does not have to end like this professor."- He tries to be more diplomatic- "I know that you did this only because your feelings are hurt. Please, surrender. It is better for both you and me if you do."
The man smirks.
"I've already made my choice. This world is way too unclean. It has to be cleansed."
Just as Jared tries to shoot him, a huge band of undead, called by the professor's whistling approaches them, enabling the man to escape once again.
"See you next time! Or maybe not. Hahahaha!"- He says and flees further into the mist.
Jared fights valiantly against the undead, taking a large portion of them out. However, it becomes clear that he will not survive this battle.
"It looks like it's over."- He says- "Oh man. If only I could say goodbye to my family."
"But... it does not matter. They're far away from this mess. They won't need me anymore."
Just as he is about to let an undead maul him, his family comes to the rescue, saving his life.
"Mom? Dad? Sister?"- Jared says- "Why... why did you save me? Why aren't you somewhere else, somewhere safer than here."
His father shakes his head.
"And leave my dear son to fight those monstrosities all by himself? No way am I going to let that happen! We're a family and we will fight them together!"
His mother nods.
"I told you earlier and I will say it again, sweetie. We will always be with you, no matter where you go. We will always keep you safe, until we die."
"Now let's bring those deadheads where they belong- back to the grave!"- Jared's sister finishes.
The family fights against the undead as they slowly close in on them, taking them out one by one with brute force and unending courage.
"We're going to win this one, professor!"- Jared yells as he delivers a nasty blow to an undead, bashing its head in with his pistol.
Creature after creature, the undead army starts to get smaller, despite the best efforts of the professor to keep them intact.
However, he soon manages to draw a huge horde of undead towards the Kaos family, completely surrounding them in the process.
Jared's sister watches as the professor tries to run away.
"He's getting away! But... there's way too many of those deadheads surrounding us. We can't give chase!"
Jared's father shakes his head.
"No, my dear. There is still a way for us to win this endless battle."
With a single, quick move he grabs Jared and throws him away from the approaching horde.
"Dad! What are you doing?!"- Jared questions his father's motives.
The man shakes his head and points at the fleeing professor.
"There's no time to think. We must act! If we don't, then we will... "
He sighs.
"No. There's no time for regrets. Go chase that fool down! We know that you can succeed."
Jared stares at his family.
"Wait! Before you go, take this!"- His sister yells and tosses him two things- a small piece of uranium, as well as a small locket.
"The laboratory below has a machine that keeps the undead alive. Use the uranium to destroy it amd restore the world back to normal. As for the locket, keep it so you can remember me. And all of us."
"Don't forget us, little brother!"
Jared graps the locket in the palm of his hand and puts the uranium in his pocket.
"I won't, sister! I definitely will not forget you!"- He yells as he is forced to flee.
As the undead close in on his family and start to devour them, Jared hears his mother's last words:
"Go get them, honey. Show them how strong you are and remember that Mommy will always... always love you!"
Jared tears up as he runs away from the undead.
He looks back and sees their lifeless corpses laying on the ground.
"No... no... why... why is this... happening?"- He stutters as he falls to his knees.
Then he sees the professor and quickly remembers his mission. He stands up and furiously runs towards him with full speed.
"PROFESSOR!"- He screams in pure rage- "I AM COMING FOR YOU! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY!"
He feels something tingling in the palm of his left hand where he holds the locket. He puts it in his left pocket and sees a small wisp of white flame, formed by the rage in his heart.
Without another word, he shoots the wisp towards the fleeing professor.
Suddenly, the small wisp turns into a huge fireball and hits the professor in the back, sending him flying into a wall.
Jared approaches him and points his gun against the wounded man's skull.
"You shall not see the light of the day!"- He yells- "For what you made my family do for me, I will make you feel the same pain that they felt."
He grabs him by the coat.
"You will be fed to your beloved undead!"
Just as he is about to do so, the professor's assistant appears behind Jared and disarms him, pinning him to the ground as he does so.
"Ha! Not so easy, kiddo!"- The professor yells and turns to his assistant- "Kill him."
The assistant nods and points his weapon at Jared.
However, before he has to chance to strike, a small bullet flies through the back of his head, sending him to the ground.
John approaches Jared and the professor, pointing his gun at the man.
"I saw what your precious undead monstrosities did to Jared's family!"- He says- "This crime shall not go unanswered! Not today!"
The professor shakes his head.
"My children do what they have to do. It's their instinct. They hunt those who are unworthy."
"And it seems like your friend's family was unworthy."
Suddenly, Jared becomes very angry and grabs the professor by his throat, beginning to choke him in the process.
"I will make you swallow those words back in your dirty mouth, you worm!"- He yells- "Don't you dare call my family weak! They were good people, fighting for what is right. And what did you do?! That's right! You took them away from me! You and your precious children. Your precious, brainless children!"
As he is about to choke him to death, John stops him.
"Wait, Jared."- He says- "I think that it's better if we let him live."
Jared stares at John. Then at the dying professor. Then at John again.
Finally, his loyalty towards his friend prevails over his lust for revenge. He throws the professor to the ground.
"You can count yourself as lucky for having survived an encounter with me today."- He says stoically- "But if you make any wrong moves, I will not hesitate to kill you. Do you understand that, Professor?!"
The professor nods, afraid that Jared might kill him.
"Alright. He's been taken care of."- Jared says to John- "Let's end this madness once and for all."
Soon, the three of them arrive at the entrance to the sewers. After a small walk through them, they arrive back in the lab where Jared orders John to tie the professor with a nearby rope.
Without a moment of hesitation, his friend does the deed and soon, the professor is unable to move at all.
"Just because you got me doesn't mean that you've won!"- He yells at them.
Jared smiles.
"I am so sorry to inform you of this, dear professor."- He says mockingly- "But we have already won, no matter what you do next."
"No! No you haven't"- The man screams and tries to free himself from his restraints.
However, he is immediately stopped by John who puts his gun against his head.
"One more move and it will be Game Over for you."- He says to him calmly.
The professor nods.
"Fine!"- He says- "But you still cannot destroy the device."
Jared smiles and pulls out the piece of uranium from his pocket.
"Are you sure about that?"- He says.
The professor gasps.
"Uranium! Oh no! The only thing that can melt my machine completely!"
"And we're going to use it right here, right now."
Jared forces the uranium onto the surface of the device.
Suddenly, a chain reaction happens, forcing the machine to enter self-destruct mode, giving Jared and John exactly one minute to escape.
"Wait! W-wait! You can't leave me here!"- The professor says.
"You won't... will you?"
Jared and John ignore him. Instead, they simply get out of the room, leaving the man for dead.
As the professor screams and tries to free himself, our two heroes manage to escape the lab just in time, taking cover as the blast destroys the whole sewer.
Jared emits a sigh of relief. However, John does not.
"Is something wrong, my friend?"- Jared asks him.
John sighs and shows something to Jared.
"I'm bitten."- He says stoically.
Jared gasps. Tears roll down from his eyes.
"No! Not you too!"
John smiles.
"I'm so sorry. You're on your own now."
Jared shakes his head.
"Even if you become one of them, you are still going to come back! I know it!"
John shakes his head.
"No. It is too late for me. The world needs you, Jared. You can't just leave it behind."
Suddenly, Jared grabs John's arm.
"No, John. I refuse to lose you as well. You know what we promised each other, right? We fight for each other, until the bitter end. We do not give up. We just fight, and fight."
"We are not cowards, John. We are heroes. And I plan to keep it that way."
He takes the dying John away from the city just in time as the cleansing ritual begins and all of the undead start to return to their original human forms.
As they get out of the city, they see Jared's undead family.
"Mom... dad... sister... "- Jared says, unable to comprehend the fact that his family is no longer among the living.
However, just as they are about to kill him, they return to normal.
As the family embraces each other, John starts to fade away.
"You've done it, Jared. You have saved the world."- He says and fades away.
Jared starts to cry. His family tries to comfort him, to no avail as the undead continue turning back into humans.
A few days later, Jared is back to his normal life.
However, something is missing within his soul. Is it a memory? Is it someone very important to him?
Or is it just a wish for something to come true?
Whatever it is, Jared is currently drawing it.
When he finishes, he wipes tears from both of his eyes.
"I will never forget you... John."- He says as he admires his new painting.
It is a painting of his dearest friend and companion- John Braveheart. The man who inspired him to be a better person, a true hero.
He puts the painting on the bed as he hears a knock on the door.
When he opens it, he sees his sister.
"What is it, sister?"
His sister smiles.
"Jared, I have a huge surprise for you! Someome came here just a while ago. Someone you really want to see. He's downstairs."
Jared hurries downstairs and sees the person waiting for him.
"Hello again, my dearest friend."- The person says and smiles.