Tying Loose Ends: The Final Battle

Tying Loose Ends: The Final Battle is the last complete book of the Man-Bear-Pig saga, accompanied by the short conclusion Epilogue: Remembering. These two stories together describe the end of the war between man and Man-Bear-Pig, and as well as the journey of RJ Hulse.

Content
Tying Loose Ends: The Final Battle

1 1. "Who was first contact?" RJ asked over the comm as his Apache flew past a crest of sand. "Team Garcia Diego, at roughly 0400," his pilot, nicknamed "Nano," replied. 2. RJ noted the scattered wreckage from his perch on the wing of 'copter. 3. He looked into the far horizon and saw the approaching shape of the nuclear waste containment center, and was surprised to find their approach had progressed so simply, with no incoming fire from anti-aircraft weaponry or any visible forms of defense whatsoever. 4. Whatever had brought down the previous flights was clearly luring them into the base. 5. Without anything to bar its path, the helicopter touched down on an oddly-vacant landing pad. 6. RJ pulled the charging handle on his AK-47, pumped his 12-gauge, and checked to make sure his Energy Sword was clamped firmly to his belt. 7. Satisfied, he jumped off the Apache's wing and looked around. 8. His radio began to pick up some static, and then a familiar, reassuring voice came through RJ's headset. 9. "RJ, my dude, I need a special delivery from you. I want one feather plucked specially from the Man-Bear-Pig Commander's headdress. Just a little memento to remember our old friend by," Matthias said, to RJ's amusement. 10. Matthias always found a way to calm RJ's anxiety with humor before battle. 11. "Sure thing, Lieutenant. I'll have your order prepared in 30 minutes or less, otherwise it's free," RJ replied. 12. He nodded to Nano, and the pilot shot him a quick salute as the helicopter lifted off. 13. RJ turned around to leave the landing pad when he heard the dull thumps of rockets leaving their launching tubes. 14. He looked back to find over a dozen surface-to-air missiles streaking towards Nano's dropship from concealed locations. 15. The Man-Bear-Pigs had been observing their invaders after all. 16. RJ only had enough time to allow a despaired "NO!" to escape his lips before the Apache exploded into a blooming flower of fire. 16. The charred remains of the 'copter spiraled down out of sight beneath the landing pad. 17. Filled with rage and existential helplessness, RJ stood silently as he realized how easily he could have gone down with the Apache as well, how easily he could have been the one shot dead from the back of a Dodge Ram in the midst of combat, as Kenneth had been. 18. The thought chilled RJ, and he quickly banished it from his mind. 19. Best not stand around paralyzed by possibilities. There was real work to be done. 20. Unbeknownst to RJ, deep within the base the Man-Bear-Pig Commander stood proudly before his completed projects. 21. They were magnificent, the perfect killing machines. 22. They seemed to radiate resplendence in their barely-contained violence. 23. They would bring honor back to the broken ranks of the disgraced Tyerven, the Legions of Larceny, and punish the disgusting humans for their unforgivable crimes of Hamicide (eating the flesh of pigs). 24. They were the elite. They were the Man-Bear-Hogs.

2 1. The newly-promoted Lieutenant Colonel Connex Treshford sat in his office, fiddling aimlessly with a pen, when Alberto and a pilot named Aliesha entered with a most unexpected guest. 2. They were escorting a towering Man-Bear-Pig, its wrists bound behind its back. 3. Treshford dropped the pen and stood up in surprise and something akin to pure shock. 4. What on earth was this vicious monster doing here? The MBPs had never been known to surrender. 5. "I know what you must be thinking, sir, but this one came willingly. Didn't even put up a fight," Alberto stated. 6. This amazed and perplexed Treshford to no end. Oh, this has to be good, he thought to himself. 7. Aliesha stepped toward the Lt. Colonel and handed him a small datapad. "Only thing he had on 'em," she said. 8. "He was also armed with a wealth of intel, sir, some of which you're gonna want to hear," Alberto continued, anxiously. 9. After a moment of contemplation, Treshford said, "He's made it this far without trying to rip anyone to shreds. In a show of good faith, release his binds." 10. They did, and the MBP silently rubbed his wrists. 11. "So, you have something you'd like to share with me, piggy?" Treshford asked, skeptically. 12. "Indeed, I do," the creature growled in a gravelly voice. "Your hero, RJ Hulse, is heading into a trap. The Commander knows he is coming, and intends to detonate the base and flee, leaving the human to a rather... "explosive" ending. 13. He is willing to pay any price to kill RJ, even the lives of his own troops," the creature said grimly. 14. Treshford found himself taken aback by the gravity of the MBP's tone; the thing was speaking earnestly. 15. Treshford cracked his knuckles and stood up. "And why exactly have you decided to forward to share this with your sworn enemies? Enlighten me," he asked nonchalantly. He looked over at the datapad. 16. "You are free to scan its contents. I have nothing more to hide," the creature said. "As for your question, I was once part of a secret project known as the Metanoia, overseen by our Commander. 17. The goal was to mold the physical elites of our race into the ultimate warriors through a series of painful reconstructive surgeries and muscle enhancements. 18. It was supposed to bring great honor and spiritual awakening to the chosen individuals. But there is nothing honorable about what the Commander has done to them. He will kill them all," the creature said. 19. It gazed out of the office's single window, out into the desert. "There is a dark force controlling the Commander, at play behind the start of this war. Our religion venerates One known in your tongue as the Papa Bear, but he has become... something else. Something destructive. He is no longer worthy of our worship." 20. The Man-Bear-Pig turned back to face Treshford. "There isn't much time left for you. For any of us, I fear." 21. Treshford, the highest-ranking officer at the base, knew he had to make a difficult decision. 22. "Prepare to evacuate the base. Then issue a quarantine lockdown on any cities in a 20 kilometer diameter," he ordered Alberto. 23. Treshford looked back to the MBP and held out a hand. 24. The beast looked at it skeptically, considering, then shook it firmly. 25. "Welcome to the good guys," Treshford said sardonically.

3 1. RJ had had a smooth entry into the containment facility, with only minor opposition. 2. It wasn't until he entered a large amphitheater, at what he assumed was the center of the fortress, that he discovered the true horrors that awaited him. 3. A series of gates lifted from the theater floor, and for a brief moment RJ was reminded of the brutal battles of the Roman Coliseum. 4. The creatures that spilled out of the gates and surrounded him weren't lions and tigers, though, but bizarre monstrosities that only vaguely resembled Man-Bear-Pigs. 5. They had horribly distorted faces, their rippling muscles looking as if they would erupt from under their yellow, decayed skin. 6. Their tusks were like huge, curling tree trunks. They were the most hideous things RJ had ever seen. 7. One of them stood before the others, and spoke in a barely-discernible, gurgling voice. 8. "RJ HULSE! FATHER OF ALL! We are the Man-Bear-Hogs, the Legion of Larceny, and by the might of the Frankinator have we been born anew to bring about your downfall. 9. No longer shall your kind be permitted to engage in Hamicide. We will ensure that your despicable diets come to an end." 10. RJ brought his rifle up and fired a steady burst into the creatures, roaring and cursing as he fought viciously. 11. The things were tough, if not downright invincible. He managed to knock a few off their gruesome feet, but there were plenty more to take their place. 12. RJ switched from his assault rifle to his shotgun, which seem to have a profound effect either. 13. He didn't want to waste plasma from the Energy Sword, so he decided he would use his only other weapon; the attached grenade launcher on the AK-47. 14. He had made sure to bring plenty of extra ammo, and his thoughtfulness paid off. 15. The explosives made short work of the creatures, and when the weapon was finally empty he used it to beat the stragglers down in hand-to-hand combat. 16. When the last MBP had fallen to the floor, RJ decided he's better hasten to find the Commander before more of the things attacked. 17. He looked around, but the gates had closed back, and his entrance had sealed off. 18. RJ went up to an observation room, and peered through the dark window. 19. He could barely make out a long hallway leading away from the room. That was his best bet, so RJ bashed the window in with the stock of the rifle. 20. After climbing through the modest hole, RJ started down the hallway in a steady jog. Time was running out. 21. Meanwhile, the Commander carefully pulled down a final precautionary lever and listened with growing satisfaction as the nuclear cooling systems shut down throughout the facility. 22. It wouldn't take long for the gases to heat up enough to send the entire facility into a lockdown alert. 23. He dusted himself off, and continued to his private hanger. 24. "Show time," the beast muttered with a smile as he heard the sound of the core overheating.

4 1. The hallway led RJ to a large, but mostly vacant, hanger. 2. A few Huey helicopters lined the far left side, but they seemed to be the only vehicles aside from a small ATV resting in a nearby corner. 3. RJ scanned the room for any signs of the Commander. He kept his back to a wall and walked toward the ATV. Perhaps if he... 4. Suddenly, RJ heard the sound of an Energy Sword activating. He turned around to find a tall Man-Bear-Pig wearing ornamental purple robes and a feathered headdress. It appeared to be blind in its left eye. 5. "RJ Hulse. You survived," it said menacingly. 6. "Surprised, much?" RJ replied as he activated his own sword. He took a defensive stance. 7. The Commander lunged, but RJ was able to parry the attack. He brought his sword down in an attempt to catch the MBP off-guard, but it recovered quickly, and shoved its sword at RJ. 8. RJ blocked it, and the two combatants locked blades for a moment. 9. "You've learned to use that weapon deftly, human. But it cannot save you," the MBP challenged. 10. It brought its sword back and swung again. 11. RJ ducked and tackled the Commander, pinning the monster to the ground. "Don't worry, I'm full of surprises," he replied. 12. The opponents fought for the next half hour. 13. They were growing tired, but kept at it, each hoping that they would be able to bring down their foe from exhaustion. 14. Finally, RJ brought his sword down on the MBP's with all his might, knocking it from the Commander's paws and out of reach. 15. The defeated Man-Bear-Pig fell to his knees, and scrambled toward a wall. RJ leveled his weapon at the creature. 16. "You won't kill me," the Commander sneered. 17. RJ remembered that day, seemingly so long ago, when the Commander had made a similar taunt. "You won't shoot me," it had said, back at the park along the boulevard. 18. Then RJ thought of all the deaths that the Commander had been responsible for: Kenneth, Major Alpone, Nano, and countless other civilians and soldiers he would never know. 19. RJ felt his anger rising, and wordlessly picked the Commander up by the collar of its robe. 20. "Even if you do, you will never stop my dark master. The Man-Bear-Pigs will live on forever," the monster said, and began to laugh maniacally. 21. RJ could take no more. He yelled at his foe, and plunged his sword through the Commander's chest. 22. The MBP let out a small, final gasp, and then collapsed on the cold floor. 23. RJ deactivated his sword and stood still for a moment, catching his breath. 24. He then leaned down, plucked a feather from the Commander's headdress, and tucked it into his pocket. 25. Now that that was done, he had to make his escape.

5 1. A loud explosion shook the structure of the building, and RJ turned to see a pile of debris land on the helicopters. 2. He looked to the ATV, still intact, and ran for it as fast as he could. 3. He mounted it, and raced out of the hanger down a service passageway at full speed. 4. He turned right, past another explosion and group of fleeing MBPs. The building was blowing itself apart. 5. He swerved the ATV around a falling pillar, and turned again to find a second, smaller hanger. 6. Feeling heat pressing down on the back of his neck, RJ looked back to see a wall of flame gushing toward him. 7. He yanked on the throttle and sped into the hanger, driving into the open hold of a Chinook transport helicopter and falling into the controls of the aircraft. 8. The explosion was beginning to envelope the 'copter, turning his world into an all-consuming ball of fire and shrapnel. 9. He swung the helicopter out of the hanger as the explosion licked his propellers and burned into his engine.

6 1. "No, no, he's coming. See, that must be him right there," Matthias said to Alberto as he pointed out of the open fuselage of the Huey. 2. But RJ had not come. 3. There was no sign that he had escaped the containment center before it blew. 3. The explosion was growing larger, the shockwave going on for miles. 4. "We've gotta get outta here, Lieutenant. There's nothing we can do," the pilot shouted. 5. Her voice was stern, but her expression was sympathetic. 6. Matthias looked back out the fuselage at the mushroom cloud rising from the explosion. 7. Everyone in the helicopter grew quiet. 8. Another lieutenant, known as Nina, came up to Matthias and put her arm around him. "RJ's not coming. It's too late," she said, sorrowfully. 9. Matthias stood quietly for a time, and then smiled weakly. "He never did bring me my damn feather."

Epilogue: Remembering

7 1. A large group of surviving Marines and militiamen had gathered around a barren hillside that had escaped the fury of the explosion, and held a service to remember those fallen during the brief but terrible war. 2. Matthias said a few parting words about RJ, and a small memorial was erected in the hero's honor. 3. Nothing extravagant or particularly eye-catching, but for those gathered there it was more powerful than any gleaming statue or audacious plaque. 4. Two paintball guns, mounted on scrap metal salvaged from the wreckage of the containment center, had been crossed to form an "X". 5. A pristine Man-Bear-Pig Chieftain's headdress rested on top of the paintball guns, and an activated Energy Sword sat at the foot of the memorial, plasma rippling across its surface. 6. The troops saluted the memorial, and fired a three-round volley into the desert sky. 7. After the service, the humans packed up and left the hill in a fleet of helicopters. 8. There was a lot of rebuilding for them to do in the near future.

8 1. However, the service was not over for a certain individual, who drove up in an ATV. 2. He silently stepped up to the memorial and placed a small object down beside the Energy Sword. 3. The last few weeks had been difficult beyond belief, ever since he had come to this realm on his quest to defeat his greatest enemy, the Frankinator. 4. He had assumed a new identity in the hopes of not drawing attention too quickly, but the Legions of Larceny had seen through his guise easily, and he had never been much one for subtlety anyway. 5. Now his sojourn in the Fo-verse was over, and he would continue on to reclaim his world. 6. He mounted his vehicle again and rode off into the distant sand dunes. 7. The object, a single beautiful feather from the Man-Bear-Pig Commander's headdress, shimmered in the setting sun as sand was blown in from the departing ATV's trail.

Next Installment
A Song of Destruction

Previous Installment
The Man-Bear-Pigs Strike Back