The final piece, based off the most lovely of Arnold's portraits. That 8B pencil is a powerful thing...I will have to master it one day.

Anyway, here we go with the end of the saga. There is some "graphic imagery" at the end so take note.

First Part: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6985449/
Part Two: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6986652/
Part Three: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6987234/

---

At least, that's how he planned it.

It seemed that the corrupt organization that had previously kidnapped Her had once again ensnared her in their demonic clutches[11]. They sent another video to Arnold, this time with two well-dressed men in the foreground. One was the Groucho Marx man from earlier, introducing himself as V, and the new fellow to the right of him, wearing a weasel mask, was named K. The two stepped aside to reveal Her in the background, who was again being abused by the naked horse-headed man (which was of course, all virtual). The two demanded Arnold to do a series of humiliating tasks to show his love for the woman. These included doing the truffle shuffle for three hours straight, drinking zit juice, wearing an assless fursuit to a mall while wearing a shirt that said "I Am A Huge Fag!", and the worst of all, going to a karaoke bar and sing Aerosmith in front of the entire audience. Borealis was very amused by the whole ordeal, but were somewhat concerned with Arnold's complete dedication to proving himself to this woman he had never even had a relationship with before. No matter; they finally demanded Arnold handed over the Excelsior program, which would prove useful to them. Arnold hesitated, so Borealis reminded him of what was at stake. So they gave him the night to think it over, if he really wanted to do this.

Arnold thought for a long time, would he give up his lifelong brainchild that he had worked on from his childhood? Or the beautiful woman that was being held by these fiends? The choice was obvious. He was to do the honorable thing and save the woman. But he would also get Borealis to pay for their crimes against Her.

The next morning, Arnold awoke to the sound of alarms. It was his main firewall, which was under attack from Borealis! They had apparently had it with Arnold's inaction and were taking what they thought was theirs from his omniserver! He rushed down into his safehouse, and proceeded to have an intense cyberbattle with Borealis. But it was to end in failure, as a small syntax error allowed Borealis to break through and complete fuck everything six ways from Sunday. It got worse; they had also activated the emergency self-destruct located in the bomb shelter, and it was set to go off [12]. Freaking out, Arnold fled to his speedboat, taking everything he could with him. He sailed until he reached the shore of the small island The Lifeguard had taken him to in the past. He gasped at the ground. He had lost everything he had owned, but it didn't matter. As long as he had her, he would make it. [13]

Walking up to the cottage on the island, he spied a letter. Opening it, he found it was from her. The letter told that she had managed to escape, and that Brenton, who had somehow survived the explosion, was also the leader of Borealis. In order to finally free her once and for all, he had to finish Brenton off. It was the only way to end this. This was Arnold's last mission.

He polished off his Glock, and sent a mental message to Brenton to be prepared. The letter instructed him to meet Brenton at Death Valley during High Noon the next day. He was to bring his gun, with only one bullet within it. Arnold polished his Glock, and tested it to make sure it still worked after the fight at the warehouse. Now, he could end this.

In the shadows behind the cabin, The Lifeguard stood, laughing silently to himself. His part in "playcasting" had been completed. Now all he did was sit back and enjoy the show.

The next day, both Arnold and Brenton gathered their things and drove out (taking different routes as per instructions) to Death Valley. At high noon, Arnold arrived to the meeting place. He took his gun out, and checked it for damages. Everything was fine on his end, so he began to walk forward into the cracked desert in front of him. The heated expanse looked like it went on for an eternity. A fitting end, Arnold thought. Soon, he saw Brenton in the distance. His enemy, at last, was in plain sight. Even still, Arnold must challenge him according to Gentleman's Rules. It was only proper when fighting over a woman. Finally, the two stopped in front of each other, ten yards apart. Brenton began to speak.

"Arnold", Brenton laughed. "I guess you didn't chicken out? I suppose you should have, there's no way you're taking the former Gato Viejo down."

"You...", Arnold muttered. "You wanna bet? I know how to use this thing, motherfucker."

"You wanna battle so damn bad, Arnie? Fine. I've gotten tired of your bullshit anyway."

"It's ARNOLD."

"Whatever. I've been around enough people having stupid names for a long time. Yours doesn't make any difference to me."

Arnold held his ground. He couldn't let this beefy drug lord and cybercriminal intimidate him. "Look, you know why we're both here."

"Yes, we're competing for Her. And I'm damn sure I'll be the last man standing here."

"Well, take a look at this." Arnold reached inside his "handy pack", a modified fanny pack he used to carry "necessities". He produced a gaudy ring with a cloudy yellow gem embedded in it. The same ring his mother had given him for graduation. "This is my class ring, and I'm going to give it to Her once we get married. You want it?" Arnold tucked the ring into his shirt pocket so that it wouldn't get in the way. "Come and get me, Brenton."

Brandon glared at Arnold. "I'll be sure to take it off your hands when you have a bullet through your skull."

Arnold grasped his gun. "We'll just have to see about that, now will we?" He readied his Glock, thinking of the paradise that awaited him. "We shoot on three, got it?"

Brenton held his gun out in front of him. "Hmm-hmm. Well, sorry kid..."

Arnold began to count down. He had to concentrate. "Three."

"You've look as though you've had a hard life, like I have..."

Everything in his life, from Roland, to Su Ai, Julian, the EBS, Borealis...it all led up to this moment. "Two."

"But don't be offended when I have to say..."

He felt a tranquility flow over him. This one shot...and it would all be over. "One."

"Your time here is ogre."

May She give him strength.

BANG!!! BANG!!!

...

The two shots shattered the silence of the valley into a million invisible pieces. The smoke was still coming out of both of their guns, and the two stared at each other in disbelief. The were both figuring out who would drop over dead at any moment. And then it hit them. The bullets She had provided were blanks.

Arnold couldn't believe it. This was to get both of their blood pumping. Well, it had certainly worked. Arnold said, "This isn't what she wanted. You know how we have to end this."

Brenton laughed. "The old fashioned way, am I right?", Brenton remarked, and then drew out his katana, ASPERGER (Assualting Spiral Power Eclipse Reacharound Ghostbuster Estonian Rapetrain). It glittered with ten different precious metals. But Arnold could tell that Brenton was no such katana master as Kaijuro was. A bit disappointing, but it did make things easier.

Arnold drew Anubis, and the two stared each other down. After a few moments of sizing the other up, they rushed at each other. But Arnold had a trick up his sleeve. At the last moment, he mustered all of his power and jumped over Brenton as he was rushing towards him. At the highest point of his jump, Arnold swung his blade around him like a whirlwind. He landed with finesse, and Brenton stumbled in the other direction, unsure of what had happened.

Then Arnold sheathed Anubis, and Brenton exploded into a storm of gibs. No challenge at all, he thought. Now, it was time to clean up and claim his prize.

He covered Brenton's chunky remains with sand, and attached a pipe bomb to Brenton's car. He rigged it to explode, but not before taking Brenton's prized sunglasses. Putting them on, he detonated the bomb while he was driving away. Taking the freeway back through Independence, it was time to claim his prize.

The EBS and Borealis took notice of what had happened. They never dreamed in a million years that Arnold, the pasty doughboy, would be the victor. But it mattered not. They wanted to see where Arnold would go from there. Manticore had a pretty good idea, and invited the other leaders to join him for the final spectacle.

Arriving at Her apartment, Arnold's heart was racing. It had been so, so long since he had felt her loving embrace, seen her gentle smile, and was graced by her presence. Knocking on the door, he waited for what seemed like years, but was only a few minutes. Then, the door opened, with her in the doorway.

"Hello...my love. I see you have escaped the confines of those wretched thugs." Arnold spoke.

The woman stared at him, tilted her head to the side, as if confused.

"Oh...I see you've already blocked that horrible event from your memory. It's doesn't matter, you're the only thing that I care about now."

She gave him a small smile.

"I have so much to give to you...we can share this experience, together. I can give you anything you need, anything you want. All you have to do is ask."

Her smile grew into a big grin. She was enjoying this.

"Please...I want to be with you...forever."

The grin on her face turned into a full-blown smile. Her teeth glowed like the moon on clear nights, and twinkled like the stars in the desert sky. Arnold was awestruck. She looked at least ten times as beautiful now.

And she motioned Arnold closer.

It was time for the victory kiss. Arnold, neglected for so long, was finally at peace.

And they embraced. The two locked lips, Arnold's wrinkly salmon cuts wiggling around Her polished wax works of art. This was a dream come true, and soon, her tongue went into his mouth, and their two mouth muscles danced a serenade of saliva and salvation [14]. Arnold was in heaven.

And then she bit down.

Blood erupted out of Arnold's mouth as She began to suck. The blood flowed out of him like a volcanic explosion, and She eagerly drank it all up. He tried calling for help, oh god oh god what had he done why did this happen was this a trick oh my god what was happening is this actually happened oh my god please save me oh she tricked me oh oh oh oh god help me help oh oh...oh..ohhh..ohhh...Arnold's life force began to slowly fade away as She finished her meal. Finally, after Arnold had completely been drained of his blood, she unlocked herself from his disgusting cheeto-encrusted lips.

And she looked at the mirror. Her eyes now glowed a fresh, deep red. It was wonderful for her. Passion always made her meal taste better, and she had certainly caught a great catch this time. It had been around a good ten years since her last feast. Sure, rats, dogs, and cats could normally satiate her...but there was nothing like a lovestruck sap to really fill her up. This "Arnie" fellow or whatever the hell his name was, was absolutely delicious, and filling too. It must've been all those fatty foods these Americans liked so much nowadays. She licked her lips, and cleaned up. While she was certainly reinvigorated from the little geek, people were certain to ask questions. That always bugged her, all the questions people asked after her meal was finished. So now she had to move out, but it wasn't a problem. Traveling was no stranger to a being like Herself.

She gathered her things, and left the house. The EBS, watching from the building across the street, knew the job was done. They went inside her apartment, which was somehow in a state of extreme disrepair, as if the room had been stuck in time for a long while, and had only recently been released. On the ground, they found the corpse of Arnold. His skin was completely white, and all of the color had been drained out his hair and eyes. In his hand was an old bouquet of roses, rotten and wilted from age. Surveying the mess, they called up their "cleaners" to refurbish the place and to dispose of Arnold's corpse. Their job here was finished.

In the middle of the Navajo desert, Manticore arrived to the site where Arnold's body lay. He was originally to be food for the passing animals, but somehow they weren't entirely interested. Strange. Manticore emptied a gallon of kerosene on the makeshift pyre Arnold lay on, and threw his lit cigarette on it. The pyre went up in flames, and Manticore drove off, back to California. He only said one thing during the cremation; "What a nerd."

...

Some amount of time later, a trucker was driving down I-10 into Texas during the middle of the night. The limitless expanse in front of him was always so calming during the full moon, and it cheered him up. It would be a while before another rest area, so he made due with what he had until then. Just at that moment, he spotted a woman on the side of the road. She was waving him down! Well, now he couldn't leave such a vulnerable lady out in the harsh wasteland like that. So he pulled over and invited her for a ride. And what a knockout she was! The trucker drove off, jubilant. Maybe he could get to know this lady a bit more?

He tried to strike up a conversation with the woman on a few occasions, but she didn't respond. She would only smile at him every time he asked her something. "Was she one of those deaf-mutes?", he thought. Who cares? If anything, he just got a big ol' karma bonus on top of escorting a gorgeous woman to town.

After hours of driving, the trucker finally reached his destination in San Antonio. He told the woman to take care of herself. San Antonio was kind of a rough city, but she only smiled at him. "She'll be okay", he told himself. "Got that kind of look to her that tells me she knows what she's doing."

Looking at the city in front of her, she began to laugh herself. It was a simple, yet haunting giggle. She hadn't been here for about...a hundred years? Two hundred? It had certainly changed, in any case. And with change comes new people...and new blood. She couldn't wait to try. Everything WAS bigger in Texas, after all.

She licked her lips, and started into the heart of San Antonio. She was in the mood for a little breakfast.

----

[11] Arnold wondered for a moment about how She had been captured, after she was sending him letters from Her own residence only a few-Who gives a shit? She's in trouble! No time to think about the obvious!

[12] Don't think too hard about why Arnold had installed a self-destruction device in a safety bunker. The smack had taken its toll on his mind by that point. Also he thought it would be cool.

[13] For a more in-depth look at Arnold's cyberbattle and escape, look here: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/6956675/

[14] I am so very sorry for describing this. Gotta have at least one gross out point!