Long pushes up his glasses which seem to keep falling down his nose

"Alright. When Jager drained away the energies of the area, Deasthsquad was robbed of his energy completely. I had some left. Jager drew off the clones leaving me to battle the original. There were no words, merely brutal action. Deathsquad stood his ground under my assault, his physical strenth matching mine. My claws cut into him, but never enough to seriously wound him. his blows cracked my ribs, and he succeeded in throwing me off twice. Once he grabbed my tail and threw me as hard as he could, which lead to me plummeting down and pounding him into the deck. His grip was enough to crush the bones in my tail. His whip sword left bloody gashes across my arms and torso. I tried to knock him away from the ship and he used my momentum against me, slamming me into the deck at over fifteen hundred kilometers per hour. My left hip dislocated on impact and darkness threatened to envelop me. I staggered to my feet amidst a rain of blows, then there was a sharp pain in the left side of my torso. Deathsquad embedded his weapon up to the hilt in my chest. I swung my upper right arm around, and he caught it. He had me cold, blade embedded in one side, holding my fist on the other. He cracked my right arm like a whip, snapping it in several places. I roared in pain, my Rage had finally won. I brought up my second right arm, burying my claws into his armpit and amputating the arm. The impact knocked him away and pulled the sword free, spraying my blood everywhere. Heedless of the pain I attacked him all out, my claws tearing into him, my jaws snapping at his face and throat, which he managed to keep from them. I was running on fumes energy wise, soon my defenses would fade. Then it would be over. Deathsquad knew it too. Though out of energy, he was still formidable, I lose some of that without energy. I felt the bite of the whipsword again, this time 2 of my ribs shattered sending shards into my left lung. I couldn't heal the wounds anymore. Breathing became hard, my concentration was waning. The deck was covered in blood, mine, his I guess it was pretty equal. I steeled my resolve for one last gambit. I called up energy from my spirit, the essence of who I am. I asked for the power to finish this. My paws began to glow with the same blue light that my eyes exude. The Tiger in the Flames roared as I put all my remaining power in one shot. I roared with it, as the azure blast of energy hurtled towards Deathsquad. When the attack hit his body was engulfed in flames, flesh peeled away and bones disintegrated under the onslaught, not to mention a large portion of the deck. As the light faded, I succumbed to my wounds. I knew I was done, my blood was everywhere except within me. I reverted to my normal form, laying on my back, looking at the star filled sky. As blackness crept in and the sensations began to fade I saw Jager, his hand on my chest. It was fitting I thought, done in by an old rival from the Business,it was after all what I expected. He said something, I nodded once and expected to feel no more. I felt energy returning, my body jump started, my healing abilities desperately trying to keep me alive. My wounds began to heal, I felt blood in my veins again. I tried to stand, but found even that beyond the limits of my broken body. I laid there, allowing my body to do it's best at repairing the damage. I lost consciousness the pain of my injuries was very great, I awoke in my bed at my home outside Tokyo."

Long's eyes seem to lose focus as he recalls the battle,, his whole posture lends to how difficult it was, how close he'd come to going with the Reaper.

"Damn..."

That was Sakurako's first thought to all this. Jager had been in earlier, but she didn't want to tell anyone he stopped by.

"So, Long, you and Jager were fighting DS, Conduit and Typhoon were saving the HMII, and from what it sounds like, your impromptu plans worked."

She turns towards Saimhe.

"I think these guys had the ball covered, dont'cha think?"

She actually smiles, before addressing all her visitors.

"Again, thank you, everyone. You saved my hide, and you stopped DS. If the world actually knew of this, there'd be alot of thank yous handed around."

"Thanks from the families of DS's victims, The friends and family of the sailors he killed to take the Jimmy Carter, Thsoe that feared his appearing. The children who experienced nightmares at night over his very existance..."

She pauses for a moment.

"Not to sound overly dramatic, but that's about the size of it. My mistake actually did some good in the world... pretty nice for a change."

"You guys should actually be proud of what was accomplished... although some personal demons had been revealed in the process..."

She sighs.

"Who am I kidding, I'm being selfish and stupidly covering it up with false gratitude, aren't I?"

She starts speaking in a mocking tone.

"Well, little miss Hino is at it again, having others take caer of her problems again..."

"Dammit, even when I'm outgunned and need help I get chided... What am I gonna do, let that psycho kill me outright? Crap..."

Well Endeavor, There were several news Copters in the air around us.."

Long trails off then smiles.

"You might catch a glimpse of me and Jager in Combat from the outside, but I seriously doubt the cameras were able to stay on anyone all the time. Now if you would like to see first hand as opposed to hearing how things went down, I can link our two minds together, and show you that way."

He chuckles slightly.

"My son was absolutely terrified when he found me at our home.. That was magnified when he saw the few snippets that leaked out on the Opnet. He has this very Idealized view of me, of Elites in general. Seeing his father covered in blood and ripping someone's arm off... Well it wasn't exactly a pleasant suprise for him."

Sakurako remembers the incident at Mexico City that her and TechnoKat were partially involved in. She's seen blood. Some caused by her. She doesn't relish it nor is she proud of it. Her expression stays down. not liking the description of blood. For that day she also shed her own. It is not a color she likes.

"I know what pain and blood and fear are, Long. I know what you went through. Although only by assessing my own experience."

"I wonder just how much of me was hurt that day outside of my body. He said... Things to me. Scary things. I..."

She starts to hold her head with her right hand.

Long walks over and gives Endeavor's shoulder a very gentle squeeze.

"Don't pay him any heed Endeavor. He is now merely a footnote in the history of the world, a bad memory. Don't let his words upset you, or lead you to doubt yourself. If you let the things he told you eat at you, then even in death he wins. He came across to me as someone who not only wished to posess you, but to break your spirit as well. Don't let him win."

Long releases her shoulder and walks towards the door.

"I need to go now, but if you want I can by stop by again, you know how to reach me. I know you can make it through all this Endeavor. Take care now."

Long walks out of the room and the hospital and releases his controls. Power floods back into his systems as one of his powers kicks in. His tail unfurls, and stripes appear across his human form. His eyes shine as pupiless cerulean pools and he vanishes in a flash of light.

Saimhe places a hand on Endeavour's shoulder. "Long has a point, but don't dismiss everything that a madman says. Sometimes truth and wisdom can come from the strangest places."

She smiles at the pink-haired nova. "Nothing's ever easy, but anything worth having never comes easy. When this is over, pray for DeathSquad as much as yourself, honey. For all of his faults, he's taught you some important lessons."