by Vee Bosse
Laran nodded at Milli who smiled at him in confidence. Laran indeed pressed the button, listening to the computerized voice in the distant city that had started counting the final ten seconds down. The moment it reached five, Laran’s EMP had activated, thus silencing everything. They stood in silence for a few minutes in the midst of the desert landscape that they now found themselves in, holding back the anxiety that existed in the back of their minds. Ten seconds passed by with no explosion, thus signaling that San Antonio had been saved from Julius’ self-destruct mechanism.
“Laran, I knew it! That fucking nerd, you completely stomped him!” Laran smiled excitedly, allowing himself a few moments to breathe before they went on their way to find their other teammates. But just as they turned their backs to the city, it was Dane, Dee, and Kasper that made their presence known. They rocketed down next to the duo, blocking their path.
“You guys, I guess that quick hack that I had pulled in haste worked earlier. Welcome back, we missed you guys!” Laran took a couple steps out towards them, making sure to grip Shibiki in case his technical genius was not completely full proof that day.
“Laran Esparta, Milli Russet?” Dane pronounced, in his typical southern drawl. “While I’m thankful n’ all for our reunion, I think I should let ya’ll know that I think the three of us are dead. Wait, don’t tell me, this is the afterlife, or something?!” Laran nodded negatively excitement, as he and Milli jubilantly smiled at the sight of their seeing their old fallen friends once again.
Kasper and Dee looked on in contemplative silence, seemingly realizing quicker than Dane that they had all been revived as androids. Dee sighs, looking towards the ground in penitence as he prepares to speak. “For myself, I would request only this. Please ensure that the hate that now poisons this world does not poison you all. I have told Christian that, and I would now tell you this advice in hopes that you pass that on to the rest our previous comrades. Hold steadfast, hold on to hope. Always.”
Milli and Laran looked at each other, suddenly feeling the tears well up in their eyes once again. “You guys don’t have to be dead, we can all find the rest of our friends together! You guys are back now!” Milli declared with a pleading look. As for Kasper, he suddenly took a hold of his black shades as he handed them casually to Laran. They both became shocked to finally see Kasper’s eyes in their honest form. They were a brilliant shade of bright magenta; although you could still tell that he was blind.
“I’m not sure if that will work. In case our mechanical bodies give out, here’s something to remember me by,” the blind sensor declared with a rigid stoicism, as Laran nodded to take his glasses with a look of optimism.
However, just as they were all enjoying their reunion, Kasper turned his back to them in sudden shock, gazing at something unknown and unseen. “No! I can feel something coming this way, alarmingly quickly. This is going to get bad!! I think we need to run, right now!!” Kasper declared, suddenly and uncharacteristically alarmed to the extreme.
“You can feel something coming from yonder?” Dane asked in confusion.
Dee suddenly turned his head, with a look of serious fury erupting from his face. “Apparently, this energy is powerful. Much more powerful than Dylan Rook’s or Revenant’s. I don’t know where they are now, but this isn’t them. Go ahead while we hold them off,” Dee demanded with no hesitation.
Milli suddenly leapt forward, rage building inside of her at thought of the three taking this new threat on by themselves. “We will stay and help you!” Dane suddenly transformed his arm into a massive metallic cannon, one that appeared to pack a frightening wallop.
“Understand one thing, Mrs. Milli. With what’s appearin’ on that horizon, ya’ll are gonna be as toasted as a lizard gone belly-up in the desert. Just get going, I don’t know if we can protect you both for long.”
Dane’s words hit them both hard, but they looked at each other in contemplation. “We’re already dead men, who do not want more of our friends to join our situation.” Kasper declared, as the three of them turned their heads once more towards the oncoming threat. Laran scoffed at the frustration of letting them take their place in the battle, as he grabbed his wife’s hand once more so that they could make their hasty retreat in the other direction.
A frightening voice can suddenly be heard close to them out of nowhere. “Ah, they’re leaving, and you three are staying. What an amazing decision.”
“Laran!! Fuck! Fuck, it’s him!!!” Milli shouted as they both gravity leapt away with furious speed. Indeed, their eyes became focused upon the one and only Jayce Wolfgain.
“Based on what we saw from him in Japan, I don’t think that anyone in our entire group can face him alone.” Laran was not able to provide even an ounce of comfort to his wife in this face of this grave threat that had suddenly appeared, yet he instead gripped her hand even tighter, launching them both away with all of his might.
“But Laran, he is dragging a couple of people behind him, like he defeated them. Can you make them out?” Their eyes grew even wider than before as they looked back amidst their fleeing launch.
“Eh!! I massacre two of their friends, and the others continue to scurry away like cockroaches. You three intend to stop me from killing them? You’ve already entered oblivion, let them have their turn.” Jayce’s white hair, and radiating blue eyes were unwavering along with his antagonistic grin. He unsheathed his sword of Sapphire Radiance once again, and prepared to strike down the three androids that now stood before him.
“I was going to make that cyborg, Sabrina Phillipi, my number nine agent if Julius were to succeed. Since he has miserably failed, I will simply leave that spot vacant. Considering none of you are worthy of filling her shoes, this will be a quick and effortless battle on my part.” Dane, Dee, and Kasper were now poised to strike Jayce with their cyborg-powered punches and rocket launchers, when Milli’s voice came into the picture once again.
“What did you do!? Isaac!! Benedict!?” Dee yelled in fury as the three cyborgs took a good look at the figures that lay on the desert floor behind Jayce as well, and an equal sense of shock and fury overtook them as well. Jayce could only stand and mock them all with a hellish smile, slamming his sword into the ground in an effort to draw his prey closer to him with a taunt.
“Yes, those two behind are your slain comrades. You will be next.”
“I’m...not finished...yet.” it was a bloodied and massacred Isaac Chopin that was somehow able to get to his feet once more. His spilled blood painted his face and brow like it he was a piece of artwork, as he hobbled to his visibly-hurt feet. “Tripleese, ultimate attack...Three-Pointed Strike!” Isaac was indeed able to clutch his sword in his hands, even after having been beaten almost to death by their archenemy in the middle of a Kansas field; his and Benedict’s attempt to protect people looking for refuge was no good after running into their archenemy. Isaac allowed his sword to be gracefully broken into three identical pieces as they surrounded Jayce at an equal distance of diameter.
“Now!!!” Isaac gave the sword his command, and all three pieces lit up to release their own massive beam of energy, hitting Jayce at once in their circular center for a ferocious white explosion.
“My turn!” Dane launched a massive rocket at their enemy, all while Laran and Milli stood in the distance to see how the fight went.
“Isaac is still alive, how can we just leave him behind, Laran! He can’t walk, let alone escape from Jayce!” Milli pleaded, as her husband thought of his plan to attempt to get Isaac out of there safely.
“Now, our turn!” It was the blind fighter Kasper, and the wise man Dee King that leapt into the air; their fists became frighteningly energized as they landed down on Jayce’s location, sending a wicked shockwave from their combined attacks’ explosion.
“This should stall him for a while,” Dane quipped, as he looked back to see Laran and Milli standing closely behind them as they had ceased their speedy retreat.
“Fucking assholes?! Wh
y are you guys still standing there like a couple of goons! Get away, now!” Dee exclaimed, having lost his usual patience. Suddenly, it was Laran who appeared in front of them all, to their chagrin.
“We aren’t leaving Isaac behind...not happening!” Laran declared as the three androids scoffed in frustration while Milli poised her arrow at the large dust cloud that was now blocking their view of the enemy. Laran’s shadow teleportation was effective, as the angle of the Texas sun provided a very good base that Laran could use to teleport at his will.
“Benedict, can you hear me? Please tell me you are alive, even just barely,” Milli yelled from her arching spot.
“Benedict’s gone...Jayce completely routed him. I was lucky, but with his wounds, I knew he didn’t have much of a chance,” Isaac managed to say in his badly injured state.
“That’s a shame. I carried them both here so that I could evoke your friend’s emotions, and I think the mission has been accomplished. Even if only halfway successful.” Milli could no longer hold in her emotions at the sound of Jayce’s foreboding voice calling from inside of the dust cloud.
“Enough of your bullshit! Here’s an exploder arrow to chew on. Laran! Get Isaac, and bring him back by teleporting through your shadow, now!!” Milli wasted no time in launching that arrow into the cloud, and yet another fierce explosion rocked where Jayce had stood.
“Got it!” Laran took Isaac by the shoulder, nodding at him as a means of comfort.
“Laran, I’m thankful for this rescue, but we have no time,” Isaac said as he began to feel light-headed from blood loss. Suddenly, it was the Blue Sapphire sword that alone emerged from the dust cloud, and Jayce held it out without revealing himself.
“Time’s up. I’m done playing around.”
It was without announcement that Jayce’s aura instantly expanded all around them, almost instantly bringing them to their knees in anguish. “It’s...it’s just like back in Tokyo! Laran, we have to go!!” Milli fell to her knees with the rest of her allies, even though she was much farther away. Laran, with all of his might, defied the ungodly force that had now fallen upon all of them, and was barely able to teleport to where Milli was. Isaac grimaced in pain, still glad that Laran had successfully teleported with him for their escape.
“We’re out of here! The cyborgs can fight his aura more easily than we can!” Laran said as Jayce emerged from the cloud, and stepped away from Benedict’s lifeless body; his smile had disappeared. He was now focused, calm, and collected. Dee launched forward without any further hesitation.
“Nonetheless, you will taste my punch as well!” Dee’s fist had indeed become ignited with crimson power again, and he leapt into the air to give the Dark Leader his best shot.
Suddenly, it was with a single, amazingly well-placed blow that Dee’s android head was severed from his body. “Dee!” Dane yelled, while Kasper leapt forward to give Jayce a mighty kick, when he and Dane found their heads missing in one fell swoop as well. The three androids had literally lost their heads in an instant, as sparks flew out from their severed ends. Jayce triumphantly swung his sword to his side with a self-satisfied smile, looking around at his surroundings as though he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
“Hmm, they seem to have escaped my sights. Where? I know not.”
Meanwhile, the scene shifts to Laran, Milli, and Isaac as they escape Jayce’s reach at full speed. “Laran, I’m glad we got the chance to see them again, but running away like this still doesn’t feel right!” Milli said, glancing at Laran who was propelling them away in mid-air with his shadow energy, while also clutching a nearly-unconscious Isaac as they flew. They realized that he was still losing blood, and that they needed to find Jassa very quickly to get him treated.
“We’ll need to communicate with Dr. Jassa to get her to help with Isaac. We’ll use the communication headset as soon as we can, then Haynes should be able to teleport her over here with his dimensional technique.”
Milli nodded at Laran’s announcement as they turned their attention forward as their gravity leaps propelled them ahead with an impressive force.
“I don’t remember giving you permission to save his life.”
Their worst nightmare had suddenly appeared before their bewildered eyes, once more. To their fright and dismay, another massive gash appeared in Isaac’s side at the hands of Jayce’s sword, as a flurry of his blood spilled on the Texas ground below. Milli pushed them as far away from Jayce as she could with her gravity leap, making sure that the three of them could land on the desert ground as pleasantly as possible.
“I guess, maybe it was wishful thinking that they could stall you for long, and that we could outrun you,” Laran said as he drew Shibiki with haste.
Milli rested Isaac on the ground as his eyes began to go dark, pulling out one of her last remaining arrows. She aimed it directly at Jayce’s head, as the two of them prepared to do what they had to in order to survive.
“Is Sir Isaac dead yet? I do all things in proper order, and two or three people dying out of order is a grave annoyance.” Before he could further taunt them, it was Laran who suddenly disappeared before his eyes. “Let me guess, this is where you teleport behind me, using my shadow. That’s unique.” It was in an instant that Laran did indeed appear behind Jayce, yet it was as equally quick that Jayce was able to plunge his Sapphire Sword through Laran’s vital spot.
Milli’s jaw dropped in horrified shock and awe, watching her husband’s eyes grow wide in terrifying surprise as he fell to the ground helplessly, suddenly coughing up a mess of blood. She wanted to find the voice to scream, yet her voice simply would not come. “Yes, Isaac is dead. At least, that’s going to be my convenient assumption. Laran, you have the floor next.” Milli suddenly found the words, and it was quite a horrendous, rage-filled cry of woe. She gripped her last arrow by hand, slamming her bow to the ground in fury as she leapt forward to personally stab her husband’s would-be murderer.
“Too impatient.” Jayce wasted no time in releasing his sword from Laran, causing his blood to scream to the ground in ferocious amounts.
“Laran,” Milli weakly muttered, feeling Jayce’s sapphire sword pierce through her before she could even blink. She crashed to the ground with a frightening impact as the arrow that she had intended to stab Jayce with tumbled to the ground in defeat. Jayce had made short work of them all, utterly wiping out seven rebels in just a matter of minutes. Milli and Laran joined Isaac on the ground nearby, while Jayce sheathed his sword in satisfaction.
“Kasper’s shades, and Dane’s guns. They were souvenirs to remember your dead friends by. Kind of ironic that your lives only had as much time left as theirs had, isn’t it?” Isaac was still somehow able to hold on to his life, unable to keep silent at the sight of two more of his friends being massacred before his eyes.
“Why...are you doing this to us? Please...PLEASE DON’T KILL US!! PLEASE!!” Jayce allowed his taunting smile to show on his face once more as he found himself overjoyed at the sight of Isaac’s desperate tears and pleas for mercy.
“Good question, especially since I was in the same boat, literally, that you guys were in before. It’s a simple answer: it is because you all chose to save the people of this disgusting planet. Back in Tokyo, I told you guys that it was a join or die situation. You all chose the ‘die’ option. So, here we are!”
Upon hearing this, Milli, Laran, and Isaac grimaced in pain, crushed by the terrible feeling of utter helplessness. “Well, I was going to just let you all bleed out, but I’ve changed my mind. Bon voyage!”
With a fierce speed, Jayce had unsheathed his sword once more; the coup de grace delivered to Isaac’s neck was without mercy. As the bloodbath continued, Jayce turned around to see Milli and Laran holding hands as the life faded from their eyes.
“It’s impressive that either of you can move at all, with those wounds.” Laran ignored their oppressor’s endlessly mocking words as they took their last moments to stare into each other’s eyes.
> “Laran...I love,” Milli’s final words were cut off. It was one more callous act from the Dark Leader who only did as he pleased. Jayce had ended Milli’s life in an instant; Laran would no longer fight his death. He closed his eyes, fully embracing the shadow that had become his new reality. The world turned black as Laran briefly felt Jayce’s sword impact his neck. Blood gathers below, as the crows begin to circle above.
GAME OVER
Chapter Sixteen
A Lesson in Philosophical Metaphysics
Haynes stood next to Dr. Jassa in their makeshift headquarters. They had taken refuge in a random Nebraska cornfield, hiding amongst the thick rows of corn that seemed to be harvested by solar-powered robots. “Luckily, we were able to steal some communication diodes as we fled Japan. Doctor, who have we received statuses from?” inquired Haynes, who was busy cleaning his glasses as his lengthy and well-kept hair rustled in the wind.
The doctor’s shimmering black hair was also finding the wind disruptive, as the sun was getting close to setting underneath the flat Nebraska skyline. “Well, it appears as though Winkle and Andrea were able to take out Jayce’s lackies in their respective cities, although Winkle reported that she wasn’t able to save Chicago in her escape.”
Dr. Jassa wore the communication diode that was able to transmit one’s message telepathically using a neural technology. It was one of the more memorable advances of humanity in the last century, revolutionizing the way that people could communicate over long distances. As the doctor adjusted the device that could be worn on anyone’s head like a headset, she listened intently for more voices. “Westin was able to put on his device and tell us the good news earlier. I am very thankful that he and Christian were able to stop the Eastern Latitude’s advance. Westin went off to stop the remaining ninja army himself in California, and Christian is heading this way now.”
Haynes nodded in relief that they were able to get the job done themselves, yet worry took precedence in their minds once more. “I have still heard nothing from Benedict or Isaac. Neither have Sabrina, Laran, or Milli communicated back at all this evening,” said Jassa as Haynes suddenly turned around to get a good view of the setting sun. “We positioned ourselves here so that I could use my sword’s teleportation to get you to the battlefields of our friends. You would be able to quickly treat and heal anyone who had been injured, but I suppose that I didn’t think about a contingency if they were not physically able to communicate back to us.”