"Enough stargazing, ya meatheads! Get back to work!" yelled the mercenary leader.
Another wave of grenades rained down.
The thugs closed in on the containers closest to them, broke the door locks using crowbars, and started loading military and medical supplies into the trucks.
The few elementals among the thugs, clad in cheap black-market gear, pushed forward.
The guard soldiers threw smoke grenades to cut off the line of sight.
The elementals didn't stop.
The guards opened fire, but even the cheap gear tanked the bullets.
"Shit! Load up anti-gear ammunition! Make every bullet count!"
The mercenary leader walked right behind them, smiling, unhurried.
"Ahahaha! Now THIS feels AMAZING!"
Two thugs ran ahead, crouched and aimed rocket launchers, and fired.
The rockets zoomed forward at the guards.
"Incoming!"
They dived away, but not everyone could make it far enough and braced for impact.
A large, transparent water shield formed.
Two booms echoed on the barrier, covering the sight in flame and dark smoke.
The soldiers' eyes widened. They looked behind, eyes landing on Julianna standing a few feet away—lance in her left hand, right hand glowing with elemental energy, pointed at the water shield.
Cassie was right behind her, charging up explosive arrows.
The two Solheim guards who followed her in were deploying a full military arsenal from their designated housing units—rifles, vests, helmets, and consumables.
"Cover Her Royal Highness!"
Julianna lowered her hand. The shield dropped.
Two flaming arrows followed instantly, landing straight into the rocket launcher barrels.
Both launchers exploded, throwing off the elemental thugs holding them.
The other halted.
The mercenary leader groaned. "Damnit, it's you two $@&#!"
He pointed his right-hand cleaver at them and yelled,
"Leave none standing, ya hear me?!"
The thugs screamed and charged forward with their swords, battle axes, and hammers.
The Solheim guards and zone soldiers took up firing positions and pulled triggers in unison, slowing them down.
Julianna and Cassie got into the cover right beside the captain.
"They're stealing supplies from the containers!" said the captain.
"Backup is on the way! We have to buy more time!"
Julianna thought for a second. "I have a plan,"
"It's risky and experimental, but we have to try."
"I need some to cover me while I flank left, and a distraction from the right side."
The captain nodded and signaled the other soldiers.
"You heard her!"
Julianna then looked at Cassie.
"You'll have to hold the front line here."
Cassie nodded and instantly moved.
Julianna started towards the left side of the container zone. Six soldiers followed behind her.
Eleven more soldiers moved to flank the right side. The rest stayed and braced themselves for a dogfight.
The thugs closed in. The soldiers scattered and opened fire with anti-gear ammo, causing additional damage to gear shields.
Cassie intercepted any melee thugs trying to close the distance.
The mercenary leader's gaze landed on her. He stomped his right foot on the ground—a shockwave traveled through in a straight line towards her.
She couldn't react. The wave slammed into her like a cannonball, sending her flying and rolling on the ground.
Her gear shield protected her. She checked her HUD.
"SHIELD INTEGRITY: 92%"
Cassie pushed herself up, groaning. Her eyes landed on the mercenary leader already swinging his cleaver at her. She held up her staff.
The heavy cleaver landed on the staff with a clang!
Her arms jolted backwards from the force, but she managed to block it.
"You again, you scum! I'll never forgive you for what you put Vi through!"
Both Solheim guards aimed at the mercenary leader, but couldn't shoot. He was too close to Cassie.
Adrenaline kicked in. Cassie pushed him back.
"Infusion!" Both blades of her staff erupted with flame. She charged at him without hesitation.
The mercenary leader swung his cleavers.
"I'll crush your bones!"
"HAAAA!"
A group of seven, in full black uniform, heavily armed with rifles, helmets, vests, ballistic shields, and necessary equipment, made their way through the dimly lit corridors of the boys' dormitory. They suppressed their footsteps and cleared every corner with precision as they moved.
The hallways were empty, as if the dorm had been abandoned years ago.
The team kept pushing forward and eventually arrived at the door of their target's room.
Kyoya's room.
Six soldiers took position. The team captain signaled the seventh soldier.
The soldier stepped forward.
The captain started a countdown with his fingers.
Three. Two. One.
The soldier kicked the door with full force, smashing it open.
Four other soldiers instantly rushed in and pointed guns in every direction.
The living room was empty.
The team captain signaled again.
The four nodded and spread out to search the entire dorm room while two stood guard at the entrance.
They checked every corner that could hide someone. Under the bed, under the tables, behind the curtains, in the cupboards, in the toilet.
Nothing.
The two at the door observed their surroundings until one of them noticed a door two doors away open just enough for someone to take a peek.
He nudged his comrade and gestured at the door. Both quietly walked over to it.
One stood back while the other stepped forward and kicked it with full force, smashing it open.
Justin burst out of the room with his Great Hammer.
"Hey! You'll pay for that!"
The soldier held up his ballistic shield.
Justin swung on the shield with full force, sending him flying and crashing against the wall behind.
The other soldier quickly pointed his rifle at Justin. But right before he could pull the trigger, Werner dashed out from Justin's right, kicked the rifle out of the soldier's hand, and stepped aside.
Kyoya aimed and fired his dual pistols. The shots connected and exploded on the standing soldier, knocking him back.
The noise alerted the rest inside Kyoya's dorm room. They all rushed out, pointing their guns and rifles.
Just ahead at the four-way intersection of the corridor, three Solheim Guards were hiding. One of them unpinned a flashbang and threw it at the soldiers.
The soldiers groaned as the flashbang went off, blinding them.
Behind the soldiers, three more doors opened. All four of Kyoya's friends quickly rushed out, carrying buckets of water.
They threw water at the soldiers, soaking them. One of Kyoya's friends channeled his elemental energy, freezing the water and the soldiers in place.
Justin rushed in with his hammer again and swung on every single one of them like a barbarian. His strikes shattered through the ice, sending them crashing against the wall and knocking them out.
All seven soldiers lay on the ground, some unconscious, some groaning in pain.
Kyoya's friends gave each other high-fives.
A few other students stepped out of their dorms to check the situation.
Kyoya stopped beside Justin.
"Thanks. I owe you one."
Justin huffed.
"They smashed my door!"
Viara's eyes never left the transparent sky above. It had just begun shifting back to normal.
The sudden ringing of a phone startled her. She looked behind.
Cassie's phone was behind her on the seat.
"Wait, she left her phone?!"
The phone continued ringing.
Back at the boys' dormitory, Kyoya had his phone pressed against his right ear.
"Come on, come on... Answer the call."
A click echoed into his ear.
"Lysandra, can you hear me? Are you two, okay? Where are you right now?" he asked in a single breath.
"Kyoya..." Viara's voice came from the other end.
Kyoya blinked.
"Elysia, you have Lysandra's phone?"
"Umm... Cass followed Miss President into the container zone," Viara replied.
Kyoya's eyes widened.
"Wait, what?! Are you serious?"
"I... wasn't enough to stop her. I'm sorry."
He palmed his face.
"Ugh... Is that girl planning to get herself killed?"
But quickly regained his composure. "Are you safe, though?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Great. Send me your location and stay where you are. I'll send Werner to pick you up."
"Okay."
Kyoya cut the call and looked at Werner.
"I'll go find Lysandra."
Werner nodded.
Kyoya then turned to his friends.
"Tie these invaders up. Pretty sure they'll stay knocked for a while."
One of his friends gave him a thumbs-up.
"You got it!"
Justin approached.
"Hey! We have orders from the director to stay in the dorms until the dust settles."
Kyoya pinched the bridge of his nose, already bolting towards the staircase.
"Do you think I care about orders when my cousins are in danger out there?!"
Werner and the Solheim guards with him followed behind.
Justin let out a long sigh.
"This guy..." he murmured and followed after them. "Wait up!"
Kageri went through a few consoles, plugging in Hector's pen drive in each one after another.
She turned on the third of five consoles in the room and plugged in the pen drive again.
"How about this one?"
"I'm checking. Just need a second to crack the lock," Hector replied through comms.
Andreas stood at the doorway and watched the transparent sky above for a minute before walking back in. "How far did you tell her to push him?"
Kageri chuckled. "I didn't."
"She wanted him to take her seriously. She got what she wanted."
"Focus on the task," Hector said.
"We have to make the most of this opportunity."
The console unlocked, giving Hector full access. He immediately began going through the system to map the academy's network.
Andreas's eyes shifted sideways towards the door as metallic footsteps reached his ears.
"Seems like we're not alone after all."
"I need more time," Hector comm'd.
"How long?" Kageri asked.
"Thirty minutes."
Kageri looked at Andreas and nodded. Andreas nodded back and approached the console.
The footsteps closed in as fast as possible. Madoka and Finn slid to a stop at the door.
Kageri's gaze shifted, landing on Madoka.
"Oh, hey. It's you."
Madoka's eyes widened and then instantly narrowed.
"You…" She pointed her katana at Kageri.
Kageri unsheathed hers.
"I suggest you two not get in our way."
Madoka took a combat stance.
"Stop the other guy," she murmured to Finn.
Finn adjusted his gauntlets with a confident smile.
"Copy."
Madoka instantly charged at Kageri before she could take a stance.
Kageri didn't need to.
CLANG!
Both katanas collided.
Kageri had blocked effortlessly.
Finn tried to run by them towards Andreas.
Kageri pushed Madoka back and swept Finn's foot.
Finn staggered but adjusted into a forward roll and continued towards Andreas.
He aimed a punch.
"Step away from the console, please."
Andreas didn't react till the last second.
Just as the punch neared, a battle bracer deployed in his right hand.
Finn's hand suddenly stopped.
"Huh?"
It was now in the grasp of Andreas's right hand.
Finn's eyes widened.
"He caught it in a blink?"
Andreas slowly forced Finn's hand into a twist.
"So, this is Resilient Knight? Mr. Morrison sure is one hell of a weapon-smith."
Finn's teeth clenched as he struggled to control his own arm.
"You know him?"
Andreas chuckled. "I'm a fan."
Battle bracer deployed in his left hand, right as he finished speaking, and he threw a hard punch at Finn.
Finn caught the punch with his free hand, but he couldn't endure the force.
Andreas kicked him in the stomach, staggering him back and sending him back to Kageri.
Kageri traded slashes with Madoka, neither landing a clean hit.
She dodged Madoka's next attack, quickly shifted position, and elbowed Finn in the head.
Finn regained his balance and charged at Kageri alongside Madoka.
Kageri dodged them both.
Andreas stepped in and pressed his right knee into Madoka's stomach.
Madoka felt a lump build up in her throat as she went flying back, crashed into a table by a wall, crushing it, and instantly vomited on the floor, coughing.
She didn't hesitate and pushed herself back up, wiping her mouth.
Finn swung heavy punches at Kageri relentlessly.
Madoka infused her katana with ice.
She dashed back into the fight with slashes, the blade leaving a trail of mist behind each swing.
Kageri sidestepped and parried everything Finn and Madoka threw at her.
Andreas aimed a single medium punch at Finn.
Finn reacted quickly and held his arms in front of him in an X-shape, deploying his forcefield.
But the kinetic force was too great to withstand. Andreas's punch sent him flying out the door.
Finn crashed into the metal corridor railing and broke past it. He tried to grab the railing but barely missed and started falling straight towards the ground four floors below. "Whoaaa…"
Madoka sprinted out the door instantly.
"Finn!"
Kageri didn't try to stop her.
Madoka jumped off the corridor and swung her katana, sending a surge of ice and creating a curved slide just as Finn was halfway through the fall.
Finn landed on the slide, slid down at high speed, and crashed on the ground with a roll.
Madoka slid down right after and landed on her feet, clutching her stomach.
"You alive?"
Finn groaned as he struggled to push himself back up.
"Yeah… My gear feels heavier, though."
Kageri stood at the broken railing four floors above, gazing down at them.
Andreas went back to working on the terminal.
Madoka looked up at Kageri, panting.
"We have to get back up there."
Kageri glanced behind at Andreas working on the console, then back down at Madoka and Finn.
She took a step forward and jumped down, softening her landing using wind at the last moment.
Madoka and Finn took a step back.
Kageri walked forward, spinning her katana.
"While he's busy working, I'll be more than happy to keep you two kids entertained."
Kyoya's black car sped down the road.
Werner was driving. Kyoya was in the front seat, trying to contact Cassie's gear.
No response.
Justin and the other two guards were in the back seat.
The car was soon passing by the academy building.
Justin looked out the window at the dimly lit academy courtyard.
Three moving figures caught his eye. He leaned in harder.
"Is that… Finn?"
From his perspective, things clearly weren't looking good.
"Drop me here!" he said.
The car braked hard.
Kyoya looked behind.
"What do you mean, drop you here?!"
"Where are you going?"
"To help them, you dumbass!" Justin replied, already rushing out the door, deploying his gear and Great Hammer.
Kyoya looked out the window, confused.
"Who?"
His eyes landed on Madoka and Finn, who were looking exhausted, engaged in combat with another female figure who seemed to be dominating them.
He groaned, eyes shifting over and over between the fight happening in front of his eyes and the road leading to the container zone.
His left hand clenched into a fist.
"That woman is giving an S-rank a run for their money. She must be dangerous."
He palmed his face and let out a sigh before taking off his seatbelt and opening the car door.
"Werner, go find Elysia. I'll deal with this mess first."
Werner nodded.
"As you wish, Master Aquila."
Kyoya stepped out, closed the door, and quickly followed behind Justin.
Werner stepped on the gas pedal. The car sped away.
Finn went rolling on the ground from Kageri's kick but got back up in the same motion.
Madoka exchanged strikes with her fast enough that both katanas became blurry to the human eye.
She upswung on the ground. A spiky trail of ice crawled out straight towards Kageri.
Kageri dove away.
Madoka performed two more upswings immediately after the first, changing angles each time.
Kageri dodged again and jumped over the third.
Justin jumped at her with a roar, swinging his hammer vertically.
Madoka noticed and dashed away to the right.
Kageri reacted with plenty of time and dashed backwards.
Justin's strike slammed on the ground with a loud thud.
Kyoya deployed his gear and pulled out his dual pistols mid-sprint.
He fired five flaming shots at Kageri.
Kageri swung her katana with precision, slicing through each bullet without any problems.
Kyoya slid to a stop beside Justin.
Everyone took their combat stances again, their faces serious.
Kageri lazily ran her fingers over her blade.
"Done yet up there?" She comm'd to Andreas.
Andreas chuckled.
"Why? You need help down there?"
"Not really. Just wondering if you want to miss out on the fun."
Madoka, Finn, and Justin charged at her in unison.
Kyoya stayed behind and aimed.
Kageri backflipped away to dodge the first wave of swings, then took her stance as another round began.
In room 407, Andreas finished setting up explosive charges by the console.
"What's next?"
"I've finished mapping the system. Keep things busy while I execute," Hector replied over comms.
Andreas turned away from the console towards the door.
"Good. Take your time," he said, slamming his fists together.
He arrived at the broken railing and looked down at Kageri in a one-versus-four.
He took a step forward on the ice slide, slid down fast, jumped right before the end, and landed next to Kageri, sending dust flying.
Madoka and Finn paused.
Justin rushed in and swung straight for Andreas.
Andreas took two steps forward and threw a precise punch.
The Great Hammer collided with the battle bracers.
A strong shockwave exploded outward!
BOOM!
The ice slide shattered into white dust!
Both white cars remained parked by the container zone gate.
Viara's face fell once more as she looked out the window at the dark smoke flying from the container zone. The sound of gunfire and explosions never ceased.
Her face darkened, palms pressing harder against the glass.
"Why?"
"Why am I… so useless?"
"I… I bring shame to the Warrior name."
She looked up at the sky again. It was completely back to normal now.
A Solheim guard stepped out from the car behind and approached.Viara noticed, quickly masked herself with her usual smile, and stepped out of her car.
"My Royal Lady, we received word from Mr. Werner Voss," the guard said.
"Once they arrive to escort you, my comrades and I shall head out to aid Her Royal Highness."
Viara nodded.
"Please, ensure she returns safely. I'm grateful for your service."
He gave a polite bow.
"We are merely doing our duty, My Royal Lady."
Viara's gaze shifted past the guard and landed on three small container trucks speeding down the road towards them.
Viara froze, her eyes widened, and her breath quickened. "...Why am I getting this sudden ache in my chest?"
The trucks closed the distance in mere seconds and violently slid to a stop in front, beside, and behind the cars, blocking them. The containers' doors burst open with a loud thud. Groups of five armed soldiers in black uniforms rushed out of each container.
The Solheim guard reacted fast and deployed his full military arsenal. The driver from the first car and the two guards from the second car rushed out while deploying their equipment. They all stood in front of Viara like a wall and aimed their rifles.
The armed soldiers quickly got into formation and aimed.
"Nobody moves, or we will shoot!" yelled their ring leader.
"Don't be foolish. You're outnumbered. Drop your weapons and hand over the princess!"
"What do we do now? We're surrounded…" a guard whispered, gripping his rifle tighter.
"I'm trying to think!" the Solheim guard currently in charge whispered back, voice tight.
"We have to buy time for Mr. Voss. He's our only backup."
"But we don't have time, though! If a bullet slips into a car's fuel tank, we're all dead!"
Viara's breath caught as the whispers reached her ears.
"This is bad… What should I do?!"
"I can deploy my gear. But that will prompt a fight. I might survive, but the others…"
"No, can't risk it."
"I can send a message for help. That could work! I just have to be sneaky."
She hid behind the guards and quietly pulled out her phone. The moment the screen turned on, her eyes snapped to the signal bar.
"It's… empty. Are they using signal jammers?!"
"Oh no! What now?!" She put the phone away before anyone could notice.
The armed soldiers started closing in slowly.
"Drop your weapons!"
The guards took a step back, never lowering their rifles.
Viara stepped back, too. Her back hit the car. She let out a shuddering breath.
"Even while being an elemental, I can't protect my people…"
"I'm nothing more than a burden."
A Solheim guard tried to reach the back of his utility belt.
All armed soldiers took an aggressive step forward.
"Don't try anything! Final Warning! Drop your weapons!"
The Solheim guard's hand halted.
"Stop!" Viara screamed, pushing through the guards and stepping forward.
All the guards froze.
All soldiers aimed at Viara.
"You're after me, right? Fine, I-I'll go with you," she said, voice low and shaky.
"But you'll have to let everyone else go."
One soldier walked forward.
"You're in no position to negotiate—"
The ring leader raised his hand, cutting off his speech and stride, and looked at Viara.
"Do as I say. Comply, and we'll only take you."
Viara paused, then hesitantly nodded.
One guard tried to argue.
"My Royal Lady—"
"Drop your weapons," Viara cut him off.
"I don't want anyone to get hurt."
The guards exchanged a defeated look, hands clenching harder on the rifles. Then, one guard dropped his rifle in front of the soldiers and raised his hands. Others sighed and followed.
All four rifles hit the asphalt, piling on each other.
A soldier stepped forward and took them away.
"Good… Now, hand over your house unit," said the leader.
Viara's face fell. She reached behind her scalp with both her hands and detached her gear housing unit from the band of her ponytail.
Another soldier stepped forward and took the housing unit away from her hand.
"Move," said the leader, gesturing at the truck in front of the first car with a nod.
Viara complied, slowly turning and walking towards the truck, behind three soldiers.
The ring leader looked at the soldier to his right and whispered,
"Clean things up."
The soldier nodded. He looked at the Solheim guards and snapped his fingers.
Ten soldiers instantly rushed forward and tackled the guards against the car.
The guards groaned, trying to fight back. But each one of them got detained and taken down to their knees by two or three soldiers.
The noise reached Viara's ears. She froze and turned around.
"Wait! That's not what we agreed—"
Right as she took a step towards them, a soldier raised his rifle and hit her below the neck with the rifle stock.
Viara yelped, tripping over and crashing onto the hood of the car with a bang.
"No… stop…"
She pushed against the hood, struggling.
Her teary gaze landed back on the guards fighting against the grip of the soldiers.
"I failed… again."
"Why?" Her chest became heavier at the thought.
"Why are people so cruel? Do they not have a heart? Even a shred of mercy?"
Mercy… A familiar word.
As familiar as the voice that echoed in her head at that very moment.
"Show them no mercy, until they are begging for it."
"Give them a taste of their own medicine."
"Fear is part of being a Warrior…"
"...give those people a dose of their own medicine?"
"...they won't learn."
Her eyes darkened, breathing quickened once again, heavy with the pain in her chest. Tear drops hit the dust on the road. Her face stuttered as her teeth clenched.
Every nerve in her being pulsed harder.
Her voice broke as she let out a low growl.
"..."
"I'm DONE being weak."
Flame flared in her pupils. So did the tears at her feet.
"Protect them…"
The soldiers aimed their rifles at the guards, about to pull the trigger. The guards braced themselves for the inevitable.
The flame on the ground rushed at the guards.
The soldiers pulled the triggers.
Guns rang out.
The flame appeared before the guards and formed a fire wall.
The bullets couldn't pass through and melted on the spot.
The first soldier charged at Viara with the back of his rifle again.
The flame divided into countless parts and rushed at each soldier, climbing their bodies and igniting their rifles on fire.
All the soldiers panicked. They shook their guns to get rid of it. Didn't help. With no option left, they dropped their guns as they melted in flames.
The Solheim guards didn't miss the opportunity. They pushed themselves up and jumped at any panicking soldiers closest to them.
All parts of the flame converged and divided back into six parts again.
Each part formed a five-foot-long and three-foot-tall four-legged animal.
Lionesses.
The second soldier pulled out his pistol and fired at Viara.
A lioness formed and stood in front of Viara
The bullet hit the lioness' flaming body and melted.
The lioness roared, forcing him to step back.
Viara pointed at the third soldier who was holding her gear housing unit.
The lioness jumped forward, and before the soldier could react, she landed a paw strike hot and heavy with flames on his helmet.
The soldier's head snapped to the ground, landing so hard that the visor of his helmet shattered, giving him a concussion.
The first and second soldiers turned to run.
The lioness jumped on the first's back, throwing him off, and hopped onto the second, pinning him to the ground.
Viara rushed to the unconscious soldier and grabbed her housing unit from his grasp, quickly securing it back on the band of her ponytail.
She focused. The housing unit responded.
Fiery orange nanoparticles crawled out and covered her, forming her gear once more after weeks of staying dormant, Death Embers.
Her right hand clenched, and her scythe formed.
Behind her, screams, groans, and roars echoed. The guards were in hand-to-hand combat with the soldiers. The lionesses equalized the numbers. Some covered the guards' backs, while others went full physical assault on the enemies, knocking them left and right.
The ring leader was shooting with a pistol while covering himself with a ballistic shield.
Viara closed the distance.
Seeing her, the leader raised his shield.
Viara swung her scythe. The molten metal blade made contact with the shield.
The scythe passed through without resistance. The shield showed a clean glowing diagonal orange line, and then the Kevlar on the shield puffed out black smoke before the lower half finally separated and fell.
The ring leader panicked and dropped the rest of the shield. He aimed his gun at Viara.
Viara landed a hard kick on his helmet before he could shoot, knocking him out.
She looked around.
The guards had retrieved their equipment. All soldiers now lay on the ground, either unconscious or barely moving and groaning.
All six lionesses regrouped around Viara, brushing against her leg and leaning into her patting hands affectionately before fading away into warm, orange embers.
Her eyes softened, but she couldn't smile. It wasn't over yet.
A black car finally arrived at the spot.
Werner and two Solheim guards stepped out.
Werner approached Viara.
"I am terribly sorry for being late, My Royal Lady."
Viara turned towards the container zone gate.
"Mr. Voss! Do me a favor and clean things up here, please. I have to go find Cass."
Werner gave her a polite bow.
"With pleasure."
Viara rushed away and entered the container zone.
A soldier tried to push himself up.
Werner slammed a kick to his face while walking by.
"Be a good boy and stay down, would you?"
A taxi stopped one block away from the academy building.
"This is as far as I can take you, kids," said the driver.
Max hopped out of the taxi quickly.
"Thanks for the ride!"
Alex followed him while Edric paid the driver before stepping out.
Alex looked at Edric.
"Where to from here?"
"Commands from the director to help at the academy courtyard," Edric replied.
Max pointed at the academy building, already moving.
"I hear gunshots! Let's hurry up!"
Stelle watched all the chaos unfold on the big screen from the administration division. "Team seven, report position!"
A group of military armored vehicles was speeding down the road towards the container zone. "We'll be approaching the breach point in five minutes!"
Stelle switched channels.
"Backup is five minutes away. Container zone, how are you holding?"
The captain responded.
"There's a dogfight! They're stealing supplies. Leviathan is working on—" His voice cut off.
"Container zone, repeat!" Stelle called.
"Container zone, come in!"
She looked at the operator at the main console, who was rapidly working to get things fixed.
"All communications are cut off!" the operator said.
Suddenly, the big screen flashed red as warnings popped up left and right. The main console operator froze.
All the other operators at individual consoles were yelling into their mics as their consoles also flashed red with warnings. Everyone froze.
The screens glitched, and a logo appeared.
A white Zero (0) wearing a wide-brimmed hat.
Stelle's jaw tightened.
Saya continued flying over the prison area, scouting.
That's when her comms went static.
"What the?"
She checked her gear HUD. Her communication module was working fine.
She thought for a second, then took a U-turn and flew straight towards the academy.
Sayuri checked her comms module. It was fine. A flicker of light caught her eyes in the night sky. She knew who and where they were going.
She stayed at the prison as prison guards locked criminals back into their designated cells. She needed to stay until everything was back to normal.
The night was dark. There was no moonlight. Only lampposts illuminated the streets.
Metallic footsteps echoed in the dark. Zen walked along the footpath of an empty road, clutching his left arm.
His head was dizzy, his vision was blurry, and his gear was cracked and shattered in different places.
He spotted a bench just ahead. It was like finding an oasis in the desert. He approached it and sat down carefully, finally getting the chance to catch his breath.
He checked his left arm, which was leaking corrupted purple smoke.
He leaned back on the bench as his hood and mask retracted. Fresh air hit his face.
He popped his gear HUD to check his comms module. It was half damaged, but functional. But there was no signal, even though he was far from Kuroha's gear's jamming range.
He checked for signals. Only Saya's gear connected to the line.
"Zen, status report!" Saya comm'd.
"…Threat neutralized. How are things on your end?"
"Comms from command are down! I'm flying back to the academy."
"...Copy. Meet you there."
The line closed.
Zen didn't move. He wasn't able to yet.
After a long pause, he sighed.
"Shit."
He thought about pushing back up. His body refused to move a finger.
He palmed his face. He had palmed it with his right hand. His left eye landed on his left hand through the cracks of his fingers.
Another long sigh.
He brought his left hand to his chest and channeled.
His arm zapped like being electrocuted, prompting a groan.
Zen's breathing quickened.
"The corrosion will take some time to neutralize."
He stared at his left arm.
"Just… give me enough to move…"
He brought it to his chest again and channeled green elemental energy.
The arm flared again. But that didn't stop him. He kept it a slow, continuous stream of energy rather than a burst as he always did.
His body felt slightly better until a lump built up in his throat.
He coughed up a clump of blood on the concrete.
He wiped his mouth before his hood and mask slid back on.
He pushed himself back up on his feet.
Just as he took a step forward with his right leg, the leg supporting mechanism in his gear's kneecap broke.
CRANG!
His right knee hit the concrete with a heavy thud.
He breathed in ragged gasps as nanoparticles from his shoulder shifted to the kneecap for repairs.
"Alpha… Get up damnit!"