Anari
Stealing the buggy of distracted soldiers made for a quick getaway. I kept Tyuyo strapped tight in the back seat while I sped down the road toward Zara's house. I really hoped she was home. And able to help.
With the whole Nikai-Kozuna situation, all the soldiers were converging on them- making it easy for me to freely flee. It took a while, but finally, Tyuyo was away from the battlefield. He watched as Kozuna and Nikai disappeared in the distance, amidst the flames and explosions.
"Kozuna said that thing is my brother, right?"
I looked in the mirror to see Tyuyo gazing to the side, looking dead inside. Seeing the expression of emptiness on his face made me hesitant to answer.
"Yeah."
"Then why are we driving away? We need to save Nikai!"
I sucked my teeth and sighed quietly, keeping my eyes on the road. "We will save him. But we're gonna need some help to do it. First, we're gonna make a stop."
Tyuyo seems to have built up a bit of tolerance for this bullshit, pretty quickly, too. But I guess trauma can do that to a person, even a kid. And he is Nikai's little brother. Courage is in his veins.
"Okay. I hope he'll be okay. And that Shin guy too."
"They'll both be fine."
***
Soon enough, I found myself parking in front of Zara's humble abode. I gazed across the plateau to take in the sight of The Primary under siege once again. Only that time, from within.
Even from this distance, I could tell those blue flashes were Kozuna. And Nikai's shadows, well- those are still clear as day. Where is Kozuna, now?
My chest throbbed as I stepped out of the buggy with Tyuyo. I took a deep breath and shook my head. I wasn't holding my composure as well as I would've liked. After a short pause, I knocked on the door. And a few seconds later, Zara opened it- wide-eyed and utterly stunned to see me still alive.
"ANARI!? Where have you been, you nimrod? We were worried!"
"Ugh. Save the name-calling for someone who actually deserves it. A lot's going on, in case you didn't notice, Zara."
"That got anything to do with the child you're pulling around like a dog? Who's the little guy?"
Yvira jogged over and hugged me before I could respond. "That's Tyuyo. Nikai's little brother." Yvira pulled her head back with a smile. "Where did you find him? What happened? The news said you went missing after the sighting of another cursed person. We thought Nikai was captured by Izanai at first, and we also kinda thought you died. OH! And what about Kozuna? It was reported he went missing also."
I rubbed my head and took a seat with a labored sigh. "Can't say I missed all these questions, but whatever. It's a long story- I'll give you the short version. We're still in the middle of a crisis. Zara, can you get in contact with Commander Kaiten?"
"Sure, but he's almost definitely busy. Why?"
"I'll make this as quick as I can."
***
Within a few minutes, I summarized everything that had happened the past few days to Yvira and Zara. Time was of the essence, and I needed their help to brainstorm a plan to stop and contain Nikai. Getting them up to speed was the easy part. Making a foolproof plan, however? Well, that was the hard part. And even if we could somehow succeed, the eyes of the entire clan would be on us.
Meaning two people who'd just recently been put on trial and another who went missing.
The whole point of me stopping Nikai a few nights ago was to keep him and everyone else under the radar. But we had to throw caution to the wind.
If only Nikai kept his emotions in check that night.
Running outside like an idiot and getting us caught really made things much worse. If the sneaky plan didn't work when the streets were practically empty, it definitely wasn't gonna work with soldiers literally everywhere.
Everything was in shambles. Hell, even from the distant comfort of Zara's home, with the curtains pulled to the side, we could see the destruction of the city. The flames rising in the dark of night- Nikai was looking unstoppable. Not even Nazun could hold a candle.
Coming up with a suitable plan for a foe like Nikai? Not the kind of task one could just mindlessly perform. It took us maybe a half-hour before any good ideas even began sprouting to mind.
***
Yvira scratched her hair nervously after she and Zara pretty much did all the planning. "Zara? Anari? Do you guys really think it'll work? Will Nikai survive?"
The strategy was actually quite simple, though we still didn't know if it would pan out. And only because of the extent of Nikai's abilities, especially under the dark of night.
Our idea was to have Kaiten bring a fleet of attack helicopters outfitted with anti-curse tech- the kind of stuff that might've been able to penetrate Nikai's shadow cloak. The choppers were to attack in formation and unison to strike Nikai down in one quick barrage of rockets.
We weren't aiming to kill him, but it was really starting to feel like there was no other way. Based on the live news feed, there didn't seem to be any possible route we could take that ended with Nikai coming peacefully. I could accept that, but Yvira was on the fence. And there was no way I could even begin to imagine what Tyuyo would be feeling as if things weren't bad enough for the kid already.
This is gonna be the most challenging mission yet. All we can do now is wait for Commander Kaiten's arrival.
I paused briefly and glanced at Tyuyo. "Stay here, Ty, we'll be back soon enough-"
Out of nowhere, everything started to shake violently. My little speech was stopped as another massive earthquake struck and the house threatened to collapse.
I felt a tremor like that earlier on my way here. What does Nikai think he's doing?
"What the hell is going on out there?" shouted Zara, dashing outside.
Yvira and I followed immediately. The three of us found ourselves staring over the hillside. The giant black apparition had grown even more enormous than when I last saw it, and it was much more frightening. I couldn't exactly tell what, but Nikai's transformation appeared different.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead. "Oh no."
"That's not Nikai, is it?" Yvira asked, backing away.
Shit.
"Where the hell is Commander Kaiten?"
Zara peered around. "He'll get here when he gets here, Anari. But where's Kozuna? It looks like Nikai is destroying everything in his path. Think Kozuna lost?"
Last time they fought- I don't even know what happened! I was unconscious! Did Kozuna even beat Nikai? Can he beat Nikai on his own?
"He said he'd handle it, but-"
"Someone order a ride?" called Kaiten from above.
Damn it, what's with you people and interrupting me?
Above our heads, a whirring helicopter hovered down slowly, with at least a dozen other choppers higher in the sky. Just as requested, Kaiten brought in the artillery we needed to win the fight.
"Hop in! We don't have a moment to lose! And not just because of this situation!"
The three of us took several steps back until the helicopter had enough space to land. But as we hurried in, we were greeted by a couple not-so-nice to see faces. Izanai and Helix.
Izanai patted Kaiten on the back with a smile. "Well, Kaiten! It would seem the curse situation has gotten out of control. They need to die."
"I hate to say it, but I agree. With killing Nikai."
Yvira and I both gasped, and I couldn't stop myself from raising my voice.
"No way! You're not killing him! Nikai is one of our childhood friends!"
As we took to the skies, Kaiten simply exhaled deeply. "Anari. Yvira. Take a look outside the window, look at all the destruction."
Listening, we gazed out the window with indecision. Craters, flattened houses, charred corpses, and fires were everywhere. As far as the eye could see. Yvira couldn't hold back her tears, and I couldn't bring myself to formulate a proper response.
No matter how we look at it.
"I'm sorry. I know how you've all been through a lot recently, but there's just no other way. He's causing more destruction than the Hanakai did. Most of the central district is nothing but ash and sand. Countless innocents were vaporized. We can't sit here and keep coming up with illogical reasons to leave him alive. Cursed or not, Nikai is becoming a victim of himself."
I could see the reasoning; I wasn't a total idiot. But there was that part of me that wanted to keep Nikai from being executed, despite all that'd happened. I hastily informed Kaiten, Izanai, and Helix of everything the five councilors did underground. And of our escape.
Maybe Nikai deserved jail time for what he was doing. But they needed to know that all the destruction was a by product of the council's actions. A product of the clan's doing.
But no one would listen.
Izanai narrowed his eyes at me, staring into my soul. "Listen, girl. Reporters have been watching from helicopters for a while now, and do you know what they've seen? They've seen Kozuna trying and failing to protect the clan. He's dealt with worse treatment than Nikai. Am I wrong? The difference is, he's still TRYING to protect those who've done nothing wrong. Nikai on the other hand will kill anyone for any reason. I could understand him directing his anger at the councilors, sure. But at another time. We have more pressing problems on the horizon. We don't need any more fuss WITHIN the clan. Nikai. Needs. To. Die."
I slinked down into my seat while Yvira was straight-up bawling her eyes out like a baby. By then, I was unblinking, and my hands were left trembling.
Zara exhaled deeply and simply rolled her eyes. "Toughen up a little. We all knew it was coming to this, somewhere in the backs of our minds. I don't like it, but it's the only real, working solution. If what you told us is true, Anari, we have to kill him."
"We're coming up on Nikai," mentioned Helix, after being silent for so long.
Kaiten crawled into the cockpit and tuned the radio to a communication channel. Meanwhile, Yvira and I pressed our faces against the windows as the helicopters began circling Nikai and got into formation. But while they prepared, Nikai lifted his shadowy arms and released electrical and icy blasts at the helicopters, forcing the pilots to take evasive maneuvers.
Half of the helicopters were struck with one or the other, causing them to plummet or burst. Luckily for us, our pilot was skilled enough to avoid the attacks. But that was the bare minimum; he was the pilot carrying high-value personnel.
The reflection of burning helicopters plummeting to the ground shined in Izanai's eyes. "What a fucking mess. Forget the strategy, Kaiten. Let the men know to fire at will. Dig that vermin a wide grave."
Everyone- except for Izanai- was left speechless. Not just because Nikai was firing thunderbolts, but also because he had ice-related abilities all of a sudden. Ice, another form of water, in a world where it never rained.
How is that possible?
Yvira's sniveling ceased. She pointed past the window. "Guys! Someone's on Nikai's shoulder! He's shooting ice into the sky too! I recognize him- the prisoner from Sand Tower!"
Kozuna's friend. He's helping Nikai destroy the city? If that's the case, where's Kozuna?
"His curse gives him the power to create ice? Why did no one know about this?"
Izanai pushed me away from the window. "It's official business. Mind your own."
I almost growled and attempted to punch Izanai square in the jaw. But Helix got in my way and caught my punch.
"Calm yourself, Anari. None of us knew."
Growing even more enraged, I jerked my hand from Helix's grasp and socked him in the neck. Helix stumbled back and coughed a bit with his eyelids shut.
"Don't act so innocent! You and all the other councilors knew all along! Livian and Isakai said a lot of things underground! Talking about using cursed blood- I know they tried using that boy's blood too! "
"Anari, RELAX!" Kaiten stepped in front of me. "If Helix knew, then why wasn't he underground with the other councilors conducting experiments?"
"Even if Helix didn't know-"
I took a step back, defeatedly falling back into a seat. My arms rested upon my knees, and I found myself hunched over. My mind had grown fuzzy.
Everyone stared at me while our pilot said, "Commander Kaiten! Sir! Your orders! I can't avoid their attacks forever!"
Kaiten walked back to the radio and cleared his throat. "All units. Blow up Nikai."
All this death and destruction. All this mayhem. Just what is going through your mind, Nikai?