“Fuck you!” Aaliyah yelled through the pain. “My partner's about to kill your friend anyways—you're finished… w-whatever the hell you are!”
Thank you for your reminder.
The stranger pulled his cloak over himself and partially obscured those disturbing, blackened orbs.
We must finish viewing the fight; I want to watch you feel the outcome.
“Excuse m—what the fuck are you talking about!? He’ll win—he always does!”
The One Who Impales is our weakest, but that is enough to overcome a small threat.
“Before we go then,” Aaliyah pleaded, “who is behind all of this? The bombing, the attack on the Bureau, Genod & Portis… is it all the same group? What does it mean?”
I found the answer at the corner of two streets. One named after the Citadel's First Tree and the other named in honor of a fallen soldier. Because of foolish actions, there will be a war with Noboros on this night. If the Bureau makes us an enemy and forces our hand, we will destroy them.
The stranger seemed indifferent to her presence altogether and departed toward the ongoing conflict. Aaliyah glanced toward the ravaged scene before coming up with a new plan; she looked inside of the black bag she’d acquired.
--
Tavon had spent the majority of the battle trying to avoid attack after attack from Spilsbury's seemingly perfect offense. That's all it is, he thought while fighting to catch his breath, he doesn't stop striking. Doesn't become fatigued.
As Spilsbury swept a diagonal arc of his right blade and simultaneously thrusted forward with his left, Tavon leaned into his opponent and allowed himself to be grazed on his uninjured shoulder. He managed to work his way around Artemis, who reacted by pirouetting and slashing low and horizontally in a move that could end the struggle by dismembering the assassin’s legs! Tavon jumped and forced part of his weight on both swords, which he urgently pressed downward! –And within a brief second, he focused all of his power into his right leg and, while anchoring himself on Spilsbury's swords, his kick soared through the air before crashing into his enemy's skull!
Surprisingly enough, The One Who Impales backed away and appeared stunned. Tavon used this short lapse of time to focus everything into his working arm and struck the center of his opponent with enough power to break away fragments of bone. Spilsbury was thrown backward by the impact and uttered something that resembled a shout of agony.
His offense is too focused. It was intended to hide something, and, although this thing is a killing machine, his body is vulnerable. It's his core weakness. His attacks are meant to keep me from getting close, because by closing the gap I’d overpower him too easily. Tavon grinned, momentarily feeling something close to intelligence. He was resolute in his coming victory!
And just like that, he gasped and collapsed to a knee while grasping at his chest.
Jutting out from him was a smaller shard of bone that Spilsbury had projected and shot at him! Tavon looked over to see that one of Spilsbury’s blades had broken in half. The kidnapper had launched it in his direction!
“I honor your commitment to your own survival. How brave of you to fight someone far beyond your own ability; alas, every war has its casualty.” Spilsbury briskly moved toward Tavon as he attempted to stand but continued to fail in his efforts. His blood loss had become significant, and now the assassin was fighting to stay both alive and awake.
Spilsbury continued speaking. “I will execute you using a move passed down from my own culture.” He raised one of his swords. “You’ll be delivered to Fate with a direct thrust into your heart. My stance, speed, and power is enough to ignore whatever will you may have left. Verily, will I give you a brave one's death.”
Aaliyah arrived and had recovered a handgun from the black backpack from earlier. She prepared to raise it in order to stop Spilsbury from continuing, but the other kidnapper glanced back before she could move. Dark swirling vortexes stared back at her…
--
Aaliyah
--
W-where am I?
Flat earth all around me. Grass colored grey and leaning lifeless below my feet. I’m not in the building anymore—I’m not anywhere! The dead land stretches on for miles, centuries of empty plains. There’s open air around me, but I can’t breathe. Anxiety. Oh god, anxiety. I’m on my knees, and there’s only dark clouds above. What’s happening?! I’m gasping for air; I’m scared, and I need to breathe! I tense my body, anger resurges. I HAVE to breathe!!
Oxygen returns in short bursts, and so I look above me.
Dark craters now fill the heavens. Two vacuums threatening to absorb the clouds around them and seeming to draw me toward them with a rush of air.
It’s then that I have to see His damn face again. His body is on the ground where I last left it. Blood spiraling from His forehead once more. Eyes glazed over. Suddenly, they look to me and a smile forms on His decayed features. I remember Him. I remember Him every day.
“No!” I scream. It’s a horrible memory.
And I hear the thing’s voice again:
Fascinating. Now I understand, but my question is to you, dear human: Do you?
Is this why you stand beside a murderer?
“He deserved it.” I reply bitterly.
The face changes. It’s Sikes now. He’s trying to provoke me, but my rage only builds. I have to save Tavon.
I’m looking at Odwal again, but he opens his mouth to form the words of the dark one above: “You failed me,” He says, “like you failed everyone. You’ll fail the one you love as well.”
I grit my teeth. “No.”
No? Can it be? You and the murderer…? Impossible. Succumb to your madness now. Do not dally, my dear.
Odwal’s body shifts back to Him again. I won’t look at Him. I’ll break through.
I stare at the darkness above in defiance. “No!”
No.
--
Janelle
--
To everyone’s surprise, Aaliyah broke through just as Spilsbury sprinted forward to end Tavon’s life. She raised her weapon and fired!
A bullet flew from the barrel and caused Artemis to step back—but not in time to avoid it completely. The round penetrated and shattered one of his blades; Spilsbury recoiled and shrieked in pain.
“Now, Tavon!” Aaliyah spun to aim her firearm at the other Death Clan member.
Tavon started to move but stopped in fear upon automatically being compelled to gaze at the man with demonic eyes. Aaliyah became frozen as well and shook as sweat beaded across her brow.
“I-I… can’t shoot…”
“A…Aaliyah.” A tear escaped Tavon’s eyes as he looked to her.
I can’t save her, he thought. They’ll kill us both. I’m not strong enough. Not yet, but now’s too late.
The stranger’s eyes had evolved to take up the majority of the area. Spilsbury—while attempting to regain his composure—said rather calmly: “An unneeded intervention.”
The dark figure responded, It wasn't enough of a challenge for you, Artemis. He chuckled. The female shall prove herself yet. She, too, has been blessed but remains asleep.
“Oh? It's been a while since I've felt genuine pain.” Artemis Spilsbury looked to Aaliyah and slowly straightened his back before taking a few steps forward. He stopped while facing the three of them and simply smirked: “There’s two of them now. Nevertheless, this execution has only just begun!”
The One Who Impales suddenly became aglow with some manner of distorted space, as if small fractures had appeared in the universe surrounding him and began spewing a strange, blinding light. Spilsbury's entire frame started to change; his bone structure shifted and rapidly transformed into a more malleable, sponge-like material. It quickly fused its multiple and splintering shards together, creating a completely different body structure for Artemis.
“Shit!” Aaliyah exclaimed, temporarily regained control of her body, and was about to fire her weapon before…
It was looking at her again. The stranger's Eyes buried themselves into her mind like intrusive, ethereal fingers clutching and violating her will itself.
She began viewing more flashbacks of her past—and at first, they were accurate depictions. But after some time, moments she'd remembered in her life began having odd changes she didn't quite remember. Slowly, these constant, aggressive flashbacks turned to nightmares, and Aaliyah had been so absorbed that she didn't notice when she'd fallen over and couldn't move.
Her strength nearly outweighs his own. A much different kind of strength.
Spilsbury stood before Tavon as almost an entirely new life form. He’d transcended his former appearance and now consisted only of dense bone. The One Who Impales had taken on a bulkier frame with enlarged extremities and glared at his opponent from a pale face displaying bright, pupil-less eyes which demonstrated a fierce vigor. His injuries had relocated themselves to mostly his forearms in order to weaken their effects, and Spilsbury was once again renewed.
It was a fight Tavon knew he couldn't win, but he refused to give up on his life, to surrender Aaliyah’s life as well. He was released from the grasp of the Eyes and dashed forward. Tavon expanded both of his arms in sheer mass before plowing his attacks into Spilsbury, who easily deflected each strike and absorbed a portion of the blows!
No! There's no way he can just—
Tavon lunged at his opponent and weaved strategically to place jabs across Artemis’ body, but Spilsbury simply faced those moves without allowing himself to be pushed back, and he anticipated most of Tavon's attacks using his forearms! The situation became even more desperate as Tavon lost strength in his legs and was nearly overcome with nausea. He fell forward and was caught by his opponent.
“Tavon!” Aaliyah screamed while rendered completely helpless. “Don't hurt him! Fight me instead!”
“It is over.” The One Who Impales spoke in a somewhat sorrowful manner. He hefted Tavon by his neck and a slender shard of bone began to extend from the top of Spilsbury's free hand.
“Please! STOP!”
He thrust the shard into the assassin’s torso before hurling him across the area. Spilsbury became silent as he watched his opponent become motionless as he lay sprawled on the floor.
Aaliyah was horrified.
“Amazing.” Spilsbury uttered. “He's still…”
Alive. The dark figure in the room interjected. And he plans to keep going. Tragically, his body isn't quite listening. Kill h—
There followed a moment shadowed eerily with a silence Aaliyah didn't understand.
We must go now. The figure finally spoke.
“I will end him quickly.”
The figure shook its head, cutting off Spilsbury's rebuttal. The One Who Impales stared back at him for some time. “You mean, they’re wanted alive? But why?!”
Ours is not to question.
“But we’ve—”
Remember our Unity. Unity prevails, Artemis.
Spilsbury scoffed in disgust before briskly walking toward Aaliyah. “This isn’t over. NO ONE is meant to see our faces!”
“You cheap bastard!” Aaliyah prepared herself to fight using everything she had left within her. I’ll break free again.
Spilsbury walked past without even looking in her direction and disappeared behind the shadowy figure, whose shoulders slumped in disappointment.
HE disapproves, and so we obey dutifully.
… And in an instant, it ended. The kidnapping, the battle, Tavon's struggle for life.
The two strangers disappeared just as quickly as they’d arrived. Aaliyah felt her will return and she rushed to Tavon’s aid, who was attempting to at least prop himself up with his knee.
“Don't move!” She fought back tears and embraced him. “The police should be here any second! –I already hear them!”
“D-don't… bother…” Tavon responded as his breathing intensified against the pain.
“Tavon. I won’t let you die!” Aaliyah shouted.
“Run,” he said, “meet with the police and explain what happened.”
“You didn't see it, Tavon!” Aaliyah yelled. “You didn't see what that… Thing did! An entire task force turned on itself; that bastard made them do it somehow! Tavon, there was so much death.” She began to sob.
“Leave me, Aaliyah.”
A dart buried its way into the detective's neck, and she gasped at the stinging pain which followed. Aaliyah attempted to get to her feet but promptly collapsed as her body became numb, and she quickly fell unconscious.
Tavon saw the ones who’d arrived and felt a sense of relief upon recognizing them.
“Don’t worry. It’s to protect you…”
16
Hop, Skip, and Jump
--
Janelle
--
SOME TIME BEFORE AN INWARD REBELLION had occurred, the United Clans of Wanre bombarded one of its own cities which had proved resistant to their form of government while maintaining a general acceptance of migrating Hayashi populations. The act stood as a reprehensible stain in their short history, and Wanre had begun developing explosive devices that could decimate almost everything within a large radius. This is why the United Clans were initially referred to as a nation that came to rely solely on remote combat using drones and robotics to deliver IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) in their conquests of settlements before conducting brutal raids on its remaining inhabitants. Wanre thus developed a group of special operation soldiers known as Iotz; they were the Clan’s greatest computer scientists as well as effective hackers who piloted a series of drones carrying incendiary explosive devices—weapons that could set mass fires to agricultural communities existing in the surrounding dominion.
Task Force 1-17, a small team of Iotz, infiltrated one such community once belonging to Wanre known as “Acre” and formed their own patrol base in an area not typically frequented by the City Watch. Their team leader, Captain Franken, had ordered his men to stand by, sustain their presence in the area, and watch the activities of Acre. They were to conduct temporary surveillance which would feed information back to a higher-ranking official about the new rebels.
After more than a week, Captain Franken was ordered to prepare an arsenal of explosive ordnances. Not long afterward, they realized that they'd been provided with more drones than needed—the majority of which were equipped with incendiary grenades; also, there remained others bearing fragmentation grenades enhanced to become even more devastating than their original counterparts.
To make matters worse, something completely unexpected happened during this operation…
Wanre's bureaucratic government often made errors when it came to controlling its military. Captain Franken's superior, a Colonel in the Wanre Army, disagreed with a fellow Colonel on how the situation in Acre should have been approached. As a result, another task force had been assigned to bomb the same village using military-grade predecessors to cruisers with Hell-fire missiles attached. Due to Wanre's foolishness, the entire community was set upon with explosives and reduced to a burning void within the Earth. They'd managed to obliterate almost everything in sight; Acre became a mixture of body parts and the debris of collapsed infrastructure.
Although it was obvious to Captain Franken that nothing could’ve been salvaged from the destruction, he was ordered to proceed with raiding operations. Task Force 1-17 stealthily moved in and quickly lost morale upon seeing only fire and smelling burnt flesh…
In the center of Acre, a rather large crater had formed in the ground as the result of several concentrated explosions in the same area. At the bottom of the crater, there was a charred corpse, and it resembled a woman. Below her, there appeared to be something else.
“Sir, do you want us to clover-leaf out? We can cover more ground on our own.”
Captain Franken sighed before ruffling his hair. “Yeah. Might as well; this is a waste of our time.”
“How do you mean, Sir?”
Franken turned
his head to look at him grimly. “We just killed a bunch of randoms, people who could've been unarmed with no intention to fight. We wasted so much life here because Wanre hates the Hayashi.”
The soldier laughed. “We get paid to make problems go away, don’t we?”
Franken shook his head and looked away before ordering: “Spread out. We move now.”
“Wait,” one of the soldiers shouted, “do you hear that?”
“Sounds like crying.” Another team member exclaimed.
Captain Franken moved closer to the crater, which emitted the faint sound of wailing.
Upon closer inspection, he saw it:
A baby having been smothered by the woman's body in order to protect him from the incoming blasts. He or she kept crying out beneath the weight of the dead mother.
Instinctively, Captain Franken affixed a gas mask to his features and rushed into the center of the crater to retrieve the toddler! He quickly wiped him off before looking into the baby's bright, striking blue eyes. The Captain saw something in him.
“What the fuck?!” A soldier exclaimed.
“Is this the only survivor? S-Someone's newborn?! He's gotta be some kind of fuckin' demon, Sir! Who could survive something like this—how could a newb—”
“Shut up!” Captain Franken admonished them, “Something like this doesn't normally happen in a world full of…” He gestured to the surrounding area. “This. We should accept it as it is… a miracle.”
“Sir, this isn’t normal. What if… I don't think—”
“You don't think what, soldier?!” Franken glared at him.
The Captain had focused so intensely on his own career that he’d given up marrying and having children of his own. Franken imagined that he'd never raise his own kid, and so in this child he saw an opportunity.
Franken began to speak using his own version of wisdom. “Some would say this is blasphemy, but no government is absolutely righteous. The ones above me often don't see the situation from our eyes; they establish a bigger picture—something that would never fuckin' matter to us. But men, there are times when we can shine!” His voice bellowed at them. “We should relish in moments like these, because here is an innocent casualty of war we can help—a survivor. Do you all understand?”
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