The sword cut neatly into his coat, leaving a large tear. Will was fortunate though to avoid suffering any damage himself. Still, she left no real time to put distance between them. Valerie was a voracious predator cornering her wounded prey. Will found himself on the defensive all of a sudden, and Val knew it. He was pushed back to the rows of pillars. Luis would not be down forever. His only real chance was his latent tactic.
There among the golden brown columns, Will found his advantage. She swung at him, but instead of blocking, he maneuvered behind a pillar. The neoartium edge cut deep into the marble stone. She pulled the swords free, but for a few seconds she’d actually lost sight of her target. Her eyes darted about while every second that passed only added to her anger.
Will lunged from a pillar behind her. He didn’t make a sound, but his wounded foot slowed him down. No matter, the tip of his sword stabbed into her right thigh. Before it could go too deep, she swung out with her sword, hacking into Will’s arm. Both pulled back before either lost a limb, but Val now stumbled as well. Will’s bicep had also suffered an injury. He could feel the arm losing strength at a steady rate and assumed she’d cut into one of his vital cables. Will ignored that fact though, refusing to hesitate. He lashed out with his wounded arm. Conversely, he soon realized Val had him. His arm swung far too slowly. From his cyborg perception, the arm seemed to move as if weighed down, and he knew she saw that just as easily as he did.
Valerie made a quick motion, kicking the butt of the sword’s hilt. Will failed to get a tighter grip on his weapon in time, and the blade was sent flying out of his hand. The stolen sword flew through the air, but Will did not turn his eyes toward it at all, not even as he heard it stab into the floor. If he was to stay in the game, he had to keep his eyes focused on the frontline. He attempted to push her back with powerful swings, but his opponent deflected each strike with relative ease. If it had not been for the injury he’d already inflicted on her, Will had the sure feeling she would have been smiling.
Without so much as a single warning, she went for her finishing move. Valerie used her wounded leg to swipe his legs out from under him in a flash, Will landing on his back with a thud. At that precise moment, he knew he had no time left to wear her down. It was now or death.
He hurled his sword in his desperation, the weapon spiraling as it came at her. He had put all his strength into the throw and it showed. She was taken aback, but she instantly struck out with both her swords. The collision caused Will’s sword to shatter, but he had no time to mourn the loss of the weapon.
Val shut her eyes as shards of the sword cut her face all over. She was ever persistent though and refused to halt her attack. Opening her eyes, she dove at Will unsuccessfully, stabbing into his bullet-worn coat, which she ruined further when she removed the blades. The beaten and battered garment fell to the floor as Valerie turned to see Will approaching. In one hand was nothing, but in the other was a grenade, which he hurled directly at her.
All Valerie could do was brace for the shrapnel and explosion, but was surprised by what felt like pin pricks. She looked down at her body to find herself covered in tiny metal objects. The cyborg then felt the electrical shocks, first from her swords, which had also caught several of the tiny machines. She immediately dropped them, but the convulsions continued from the few still on her body. Valerie, brought to her knees in her agony, tried to reach for one of the small warheads, but her arms fell limply to her sides.
Will marveled at the fact that she was actually struggling to get up, vividly recounting the sheer pain of when he first encountered the metal parasites. Then again, not as many of the ticks had attached to her as what he experienced. He couldn’t stand to watch her like that anymore and walked over to her. She tried to strike him, but a blow from his forearm left her down and out. As she lay there on the floor, something rolled from her pocket. Will’s eyes followed it as it finally came to a halt, the ring glimmering. And yet you still fight, Val? Why? He looked back at Valerie who now laid still.
A sword flew through the air, straight into Will’s upper chest, pinning him to a pillar. For the first time during his entire service to the UNR as a super soldier, he felt true raw pain. His HUD warned him of the breach to the pectoral plate, his inner mechanics had suffered great damage. Will felt blood ooze out of the corner of his mouth, and looked over to see Luis returning fully to his feet. Even though his temple was bleeding, that ever-prominent smile was on his face. He began to walk toward him, a perpetual march of death. Will gripped the hilt protruding from his chest with both hands and tugged sharply. However, the first attempt did not have enough force and the only result was more burning agony. The blade was embedded too deep into the marble. Luis’ deranged smile grew.
“Come on. Don’t let me down, not now in the finale.”
Will took in a deep breath, and this time put all his strength into the task. After a few seconds of straining, an ear-shattering crack was heard as he pulled out the lower half of Luis’ snapped sword. Will walked forward, leaving behind the bloody upper half still stuck in the pillar. He found himself gazing at the floor in daze. Hold on, he told himself, hold on, hold on!!
He regained focus and looked forward again, only to receive a palm punch to his face. The blow sent him flying a few feet, skidding across the slippery marble, and leaving behind a smeared trail of blood. Will rolled from his back onto his side before struggling to stand. Luis continued to calmly stroll his way over to Will and stopped a yard or so short of him. The super soldier watched as Will sat up slowly, before fully returning to his feet. Pathetically, he took a fight stance. Luis could have busted into a gut-wrenching laugh, but he only maintained his smile.
He walked right up to his opponent, a hairbreadth away. Will grimaced as he felt the tip of Luis’ boot under his bottom lip. The blow sent him to the ground, but he landed on his hands before regaining his posture. Unit 18 performed a windmill kick though Will grabbed his ankle tightly.
As soon as he had both hands on Luis, Will used little effort to hurl him at a pillar. Luis used his nimble reflexes to ricochet himself back at his enemy. Unit 21 ran head-on at the target, planning to deal a counter-strike, but Luis predicted his movements far too easily and outstretched his arm, the clothesline move once more landing Will on his back. Will got to his quivering knees, still using his palms to support himself, and Luis planted a foot down on his skull. As his face smashed into the marble floor, Will’s fingers could only brush against his oppressor’s boot side, his resistance weak.
Luis kept the pressure steady as he knelt down and reached into Will’s pocket. He held the hidden EMP grenade as he straightened. He peered at it, and then crumpled the little weapon like paper, feeling a small amount of pain as the electricity surged. Will felt the shards of its inner mechanics sprinkle onto his hair. He’d lost his only advantage. He had failed to save either of them. His head flared with agony, but he could hear his old friend speak:
“Did you do this for that daughter of mine, Alyssa? Her and my wife? How noble of you. After all, they are quite beautiful.”
Suddenly he felt Will’s hands latch onto his ankle with surprising strength. Luis briefly lost his balance as Will threw him off. The cyborg was up on his feet, his gaze distraught. Blood dripped down the slope of his face, but he paid it no mind. Luis’ smile shrank before completely vanishing.
“You must really be dense. I’m personally insulted.”
“You mean,” Will said as he took ragged breaths, “you know?”
“I know quite a bit about them actually, dare I say everything. I vividly recall their fragrances, their soft skin. You actually suspected I didn’t know at all?”
“And you just continue to submit to Venloran regardless?”
“Naïve to the end. You’d really sacrifice the perfection this country has sustained for your own sentimentality?”
“Sentimentality? Our lives are in ruins!”
Luis wiped the tears from his eyes.
; “You want to sacrifice stability and peace for the will of the individual. Those people you’re protecting are fools, just as you’ve become. Their revolution will resolve nothing. It will only start a bloody war for a cause you don’t even believe in. It’s nothing more than blind selfishness disguised as righteousness.”
“Even though my family had to die to maintain this utopia?”
“They killed their share of people before they died, I’m sure you’re aware of that much. Let’s be clear with each other–they were, in fact, guilty.”
Will felt his anger falter. He’d pushed that fact aside to avenge the dead, but it was unavoidably true. Just as Luis had read his thoughts, Will now read his friend’s as well.
“All the soldiers I met in combat today were faces I recognized. Some I knew better than others. But out of all of them, there was one person, in particular, I didn’t see.”
Luis’ brow furrowed as his jaw went tight.
“I didn’t realize how much she meant to you. Nor you to her. She was a good soldier, loyal and fierce. True pain was something foreign to us, wasn’t it? Up until now.”
“You’ve adopted a fantasy, but I guess that’s natural considering how little you remember. I, on the other hand, remember far too much, Will. Funny thing is people always speak of hell as a fiery place of burning torment. They don’t have any idea what it’s really like, how lonely and cold it is. My life prior to Venloran was a true taste of hell, with no purpose and no real future. On the fringes of my own self-demise, he pulled me from the abyss.”
“Yes, we are the guardians of this society,” Will said aloud, reveling in his self-abnegation for a few seconds, “but I valued my family over anything.”
“Did you? Regardless, you know I stand opposed. Drop the illusion that you can save me.”
Will came to grips with that reality and realized there was a line between the two of them. He’d been avoiding it all this time, but now it was clear as day. Luis got ready for yet another assault, his sole mission to achieve victory.
Unit 18 thought of his sword jabbed into the floor behind him, but he also noticed Val’s swords lying not too far from Will. He knew his opponent was contemplating the same thing. He decided not to give him the chance. Luis ran into a series of flips, culminating in an agile leap at his opponent. Will did not budge, blocking the first few punches as Luis landed. A good one clocked Unit 21 in his cheek, and he rebutted with a fist to Luis’ lower jaw. The two were worn down enough that neither were able to dodge the blows and merely took them in stride.
Luis lashed out with a fearsome kick in the midst of it all. Will, however, was too fast this time and caught him by his leg. In that rush of adrenaline, surging through every fiber of his being, Unit 21 saw a brief glimmer between two of Luis’ fingers. He recognized it as the very hira-shuriken he’d used to decimate his opponent’s SAW earlier. The final blow, he’s going for it. Will used both arms, despite the failing strength in one, to swing Luis like a rag doll. Before he could hurl his trump card, Luis was smashed into a nearby pillar. Still, Will completed the circle and finally released his hold on him.
The cyborg flew through the air, slamming into the statue of the cyborg endoskeleton. The impact knocked the breath out of Luis, and he landed flat on his face. For the first time in the fight, his body truly ached, but Luis wouldn’t stay down. At that moment though, the statue had withstood all it could. Just as soon as Luis hopped to his feet, he was cloaked in a cloud of dust as over six tons of concrete came down on him, crushing him between that, and the already ruined marble floor.
Will applied Luis’ ideology to himself, knowing it was the only way for this conflict to truly climax. He set his mind solely on victory. He needed to move fast, and he did so. Meanwhile, Luis trudged out of the rubble, more than a little roughed up. Will was limping toward him, one of Val’s swords in hand. Luis calmly strolled over to his sword, pulling it from the floor.
The two walked right up to one another, Val’s longer sword scraping against the floor slightly. The distance between them closed quickly, and the second they came within a hair’s length of one another, the blades met with extreme ferocity. Each stroke of Luis’ weapon was fierce and fast, unrelenting and abrasive. Will was managing to deflect though and neither gave a single inch of ground. Will attempted to break this with an elbow to Luis’ chin, but it hardly seemed to register on his adversary’s face. Whatever pain Will had been banking on wasn’t there.
Luis’ eyes were full of boiling anger and the retaliation was simple. Unit 18 kicked his opponent in the shin, in his weakened leg. Fuck…Luis quickly shifted his grip on the sword as Will fell to his knees. As his adversary raised his weapon, Will slashed right into his abdomen. The edge of the blade cut clean through everything: the synthetic flesh, the neoartium, till finally, it halted as it hit the air again.
Luis took a step back before Will jabbed up to the hilt of his sword right between the chest plates of his armor, right into the power-coupling center.
Will’s pupils trembled as he felt the cool edge of Luis’ blade against the back of his neck. He could feel it already slightly embedded into the flesh. With just a second of exertion, he could easily slice through Will’s armored vertebrae and behead him.
“Looks like you hit the sweet spot,” Luis laughed as blood spurted from his mouth, staining his teeth, “but I’m more than capable of dicing your fucking head off.”
“Then what the hell are you doing? Just fuckin finish us BOTH!!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.
Luis smiled as he spoke softly.
“We are both but mere soldiers, and our purpose is only to serve. Yet you deemed yourself worthy of more. You have opened Pandora’s Box, and many will die on both sides because of you. I want you to experience all of your friend’s deaths, and you will.”
Will heard Luis’ sword clatter to the floor, and soon his friend joined his weapon. Val’s sword had a faint golden glow, steaming now as it again touched air. Luis’ eyes began to fade: Will knew it was the result of the damaged power cell. His locomotion would be the first to go, and, before long, every last bodily function would cease to operate. His gloved hand could hardly twitch its fingers, and yet his smile was still present. At this point, the loss of power had caused his eyes to appear a pure grayish-white, with no pupil or iris visible at all.
“You preached to me about the sanctity of life, and yet you killed a man who last saw his daughter many, many years ago.” He looked away as he let out a chuckle, “Your aimless morality will beset you, especially as you discover details your omnipotent gaze somehow missed. The horror of it all will consume your mind.”
His face became still as all movement came to an end. Will stood over him for a few moments, unsure about the future more than ever. Damn it, Luis. Grief hit him with the force of a tidal wave, and along with it fear and…rage. Damn you. Will began to feel light-headed, as if all the blood in his body had stopped flowing. His mouth was dry.
“I’m sorry, Luis Viramontes.”
But it hadn’t all been for not.
Will knelt down next to Val, laying her sword with the other one again. Even though he did it gently, the room had become so quiet the metal resting on the marble created a chilling echo. He lifted her head up with one hand, while his other grabbed the golden ring. Will looked at her still form, her once deadly strength now limp. Her beautiful face was marked indiscriminately with the jagged cuts from the shards earlier, but she was still with him. He was ever thankful for that. Will decided the ring could wait till they were at a safer location. He prepared to slip it into his pocket, just as a firm hand took hold of his wrist.
Will realized she was conscious as her emerald eyes revealed themselves. Despite her prevailing strength, most of her body still wasn’t functional. When she spoke, her voice was soft.
“Please…” she held up the shaking hand, and Will realized it was taking all her strength to do so. He nodded, and placed the ring on her finger. He felt a s
mall smile on his face.
“I know what you want to do. You want to take me back to those--people.”
“Yeah, they can help us. We’ll finally know all we want to know,” Will’s joy crept through him as he said it.
“Will, I want to ask you something, and you cannot lie to me. Promise?”
“Anything, Val.”
“Is he still in the service? Is he one of us?”
Will’s smile shrank before completely dissipating. He wasn’t sure he could say it, and he wanted to avoid the question. Lie, like how they’d lied to him. He felt disgusted all of a sudden, and not just at himself. He could not allow himself to do it. It’d only further the struggling. All he could do was shake his head. He watched as her emerald eyes reddened.
“He would’ve wanted you to carry on. Would have wanted it for both of us.”
“I’m done fighting, Will, for any side. I just want to be with him.”
Will choked.
“Val, I--I can’t.”
Even as he spoke those words, he felt a straight edge dive into the pit of his stomach. I’ll give it to her. You have my word, no matter what happens. Will shuddered. No, I completed the mission! He tried to convince himself that his friend had been a figment of his imagination. He could not. In the height of his frantic state, he realized she was not after a simple conclusion. He only embraced that when he recounted his old friend’s faith.
“Blind faith, even when faced against death?” he said coldly.
“Hope that the impossible is indeed possible,” she said in return.
Will ate his confliction. He reached over her again, grabbing one of her swords. Valerie pulled herself up with all she had and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Will held her tightly, and she could feel his body quivering, almost violently. It was the first time she’d heard a super soldier sob, and she dare not look into the face of it. All she could think to do was hold him as best she could. There was a surge of pain in her body, and Valerie realized it was not the blade. She could taste the warm, salty tears on her lips, but she managed to smile.
Reverence Page 25