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The Deep Sea
The Final Stand

The Final Stand

Nate watches the sub as it ascends, knowing he's being stupid, that he should have let them come along and assist but he thinks "This way only I'll go insane"

"Uncle will be mad at me for pulling this kind of stunt...mom will be panicking and dad...dad will know that I won't be stopped" he whispers to himself or maybe it's to the people watching the live feed.

Meanwhile at Crisp's home, Molly is in fact panicking and has decided to sit downstairs instead with Redacted and Alaric who decided to switch to the current channel just to see how their exploration was going.

"What is he doing?" Redacted asks.

"The foolish child is planning on confronting Cthulhu alone!" Molly groans "It's a great tactic to keep others safe but a terrible tactic to win...Cthulhu is a million times stronger than Nate currently is!"

"So you don't believe in him?" Crisp asks, having appeared.

Molly sighs "No...I do believe in him" she looks at Crisp suddenly much more calm "Nate is both smart and powerful...the problem with this fight...the deciding factor will be if he can use both at the same time and rise to be even more powerful than he has ever dreamed of being..." She looks down and smiles "You're right. I shouldn't worry when I know he can handle this...after all you've trained him well"

Crisp smiles at her "You've changed. You would have claimed that you had trained him in the past but now, you don't even take a little credit...I'm not the only one he's learned from." He ruffles her hair as he went into the kitchen to eat something while they all watch Nate's final stand.

Meanwhile back with Nate, he's swimming toward Cthulhu's city while the Deep Ones watch him from the side, sneering at him a bit. He should be terrified after all of Cthulhu's tricks but he's oddly calm, still partially insane but calm. There's a feeling of serenity inside of him, a feeling that he can handle this, that something new was just waiting under his fingertips for him to unlock, whatever it was. The city of R'lyeh was nightmarish, all broken, cracked and covered in algae. At one point it was probably a gorgeous city but after years of being underwater, it changed.

The cold voice of Cthulhu is heard, this time not just inside his head but echoing all around the city "You think you stand a chance against me little boy~ No one can ever not become insane from just a single look~" he laughs coldly.

"I've seen you once before and your games have never made me insane" Nate says calmly while thinking "That's right...I only truly lost my sanity when I did that healing but Cthulhu's tricks didn't send me over the edge at all...Cthulhu is powerful and he probably can make me go insane but...I'm not going to make it easy for him! Even if I have to break every bone in my body to keep the insanity at bay!"

"You are proud but you are nothing like either of your parents and you never will be~" Cthulhu snarls.

"You're right...I will never be either of them but I'm done trying to be!" Nate growls as he finally stops in the center of the city "I'm not going to try to be someone I'll never be...I'm Nate son of Crisp and Molly, child of a god, child of a legend and when we're done here, defeater of Cthulhu!"

Cthulhu arrives, towering over Nate, tentacles spawning out like long hair in a swimming pool. His scaly dragon-like wings had holes in them which Nate is sure means he can't fly with them and his claws are so sharp and long that they could probably slice a diamond in half with no effort. "Foolish child~ You dare to believe that you will defeat me~ When I am done with you, I'll show your dear parents what has become of their precious child~ Oh how Molly will come undone when she sees what I do to you~"

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Nate's hands ball into fists at his words but simply says "Then do it." After a few seconds, Nate speaks again "You can't can you? You can't actually hurt me...your biggest strength is driving people insane, nothing else..."

Cthulhu growls and attacks, his claws barely hitting Nate as he jumps to the side, glad that the city seems to work more like a city without water than an underwater city. He rolls to get back onto his feet quickly and hides behind a building. "Haha, you run and hide instead of standing and fighting~ Your afraid of me~"

Nate touches his head, feeling the beginning of the insanity starting to set in but he's not going to let it take over, not yet anyways. "I'm not afraid...just playing this game smartly" he thinks to himself before he moves seconds before Cthulhu tears the building apart, ducking behind another building and carefully making his way around, until he was behind Cthulhu, stopping whenever he gets a feeling that he's starting to look this way. Staring at Cthulhu's back from behind a building, he doubts the dagger in his hands will do him any good but stealth attacks and keeping back will be his best shots at beating Cthulhu so he flings the dagger before ducking as the dagger hits it's target and Cthulhu swirls, his claws slashing through the building behind Nate, right where he had been standing mere minutes before.

Nate quickly scrambles behind another building a little further from Cthulhu and feels his head start to pound before cooling as a scene flashes before his eyes. Cthulhu beaten, lying in front of his feet with chains wrapped around his body and a woman smirking coldly beside Cthulhu. The image is gone as quickly as it had appeared and Nate is certain it's what is to come but also knows better than to let himself be fooled into thinking that he had already won. "Chains..." he thinks to himself, still feeling that power bubbling inside of him.

"Come out little boy~ You cannot hope to beat me with puny daggers and cleverly hiding~ You cannot beat what is immortal!" Cthulhu shouts, laughing maniacally.

Nate takes a deep breath and comes out from hiding as he thinks "He's right...I can't beat something that's immortal by hiding and throwing daggers...I need something that can stop him but what?"

"Ah there you are little boy~ Come to accept your insanity~" he asks laughing maniacally at Nate.

"Maybe I don't need to hurt him...I just need to beat him!" Nate realizes and dodges another slash of Cthulhu's claws and jumps over a tentacle. He can feel power surging, and he can tell it's something immensely strong yet the image of the smirking woman makes him hesitant to reach out and use it.

Dodging another tentacle, Cthulhu growls angrily "YOU WILL GO INSANE!!" Nate feels his head pound and can feel the edges of his sanity start shattering.

"Whatever I do, I need to do it now!" He thinks and the image of Cthulhu bound and helpless in chains appears in his mind. "Chains...I can make him unable to attack back with his claws and tentacles meaning the only thing left to worry about is the insanity part." Nate twists and lets the overwhelming power sink as the feeling of a different power rises. Swirling golden portal-like things appear all around Cthulhu and golden chains lash out from the portals, wrapping around him, binding him to the floor. Nate can feel his sanity slipping more and more as he backs up until he's hidden inside a building. He watches from the window, careful not to be seen. He doesn't know why he hide but something inside him, screamed at him to hide.

"YOU WILL PAY! COME BACK HERE AND FACE ME!" Cthulhu shouts, struggling against the chains. He cannot escape the chains yet his powers remain as if the chains are only able to contain him. As he struggles the woman from Nate's mini-vision appears, smiling cruelly.

"Hello Cthulhu~" she says, almost purring the name. Nate feels the chains lose their power as his sanity hits its limits and the chains uncoil, returning to nothingness. Cthulhu laughs as he stands up.

"Whoever you are, you will die in place of the fleeing little boy~" Cthulhu laughs maniacally.

"Oh~ I don't think you understand your current predicament~ Great Cthulhu, your power is now mine~" she says before doing something and his power is stolen from him. Nate covers his mouth and hides. His heart is beating fast and his mind hurts but he makes no sound and the woman laughs before she says loudly "NOW I AM YOUR MISTRESS!"

Nate can hear the Deep Ones celebrating the strength of their new leader and after a bit, he feels inside that she is gone along with the Deep Ones. Slumping inside the building he touches his head as his sanity slips more. This city, so caked in Cthulhu's power, is causing his sanity to disappear. He stands on shaky legs and stares at the drones as the footage cuts out.