ChronoWar: Resurgence

Memory of The Past: The Catalyst and The Empathy- Part 2

2135, 4 Days Earlier.
Location: Central Hub of New Eros, Floor 100: 'The Headmaster's Throne'.

Lauren sat on his rather magnificent throne, humming a dark tune, enjoying the different kinds of pleasure he was being given. Just then, a small screen popped up, reading "Warning- Important Item Stolen".

He sighed, swiping away the screen to his side. Then, he clapped twice. In the blink of an eye, one agent appeared.

"Bring me the person who has failed his most important task to protect and guard."He ordered politely.

"As you wish, Headmaster."

The agent disappeared into thin air. Lauren waited for a few seconds, utilizing the time by stretching his arms, stressing out and drinking his favourite blueberry-flavoured juice. He was almost finished with it when a doctor ran and fell on the purple carpet on the floor.

"So, you must be the one who failed the job. What, I want to know, were you doing when that item was stolen?" Lauren enquired.

"S-S-Sir, I couldn't notice who stole that! They were too fast and stealthy, None of the guards noticed that till-" The doctor sutured.

"Silence. I don't want any more of your stupid excuses, trying to make me guardless so that the people rebel against us. You had one job. ONE JOB. And you still failed. Didn't you even try to lock the room?" 

"I-I-I did, sir, b-b-but they must b-b-be a h-h-hacker... a r-r-really good hacker... Otherwise, w-w-why would-"

"Will you stop stuttering already? They once said, think before you speak." Lauren hissed.

The doctor became silent.

"You must have heard of our motto, right? 'Hurt once, Pain multiple.' The failure to protect such a valuable thing is like hurting us. And now, you shall pay the price." He continued, standing up from his throne.

The doctor thought it would be a good time to stand up and run. But when he tried to get up, he couldn't. It felt like a black hole had been implanted on the floor.

"You were once asking me how I look behind this blindfold, right?" The Headmaster approached him. The doctor's heart was beating so fast that he could hear it. He wanted to run, but the force of a black hole stopped him.

The Headmaster slowly reached out for the back of his head, where the cloth was tied to and untied it. He then lowered it, with his eyes closed.

"Henceforth, as a parting gift, here it is. Thank me in the afterlife."

In a quick motion, he opened his eyes. The doctor realised why he had hidden them under a cloth for so long. They looked completely black like he was lifeless, but their strength was like a million black holes combined, crushing the barehanded doctor into millions and millions of atoms as he screamed in agony as the Headmaster laughed maniacally...

--Somewhere, near the ground floor--

Alex ran as fast as she could, trying to avoid the bullets flying across the floors as she descended to the ground floor via the dim stair pathway, clutching what seemed to be a tablet tightly. Her heartbeat was racing at full speed, her legs felt like she was about to die, and her lungs puffed so much air at once that she felt like collapsing at once. But she knew she wouldn't. As an AI, she was forced to work beyond her limits. She's seen worse before.

I won't stop till I get to the ground floor... I'M COMING, AVA!

She reached the open glass bridge where two elevators stand at the ends of it. She was halfway there when she saw icicles above her. She stopped and dodged backwards, while the icicles landed on the bridge, freezing the part of the bridge. She then looked back to see who did that.

The Headmistress, Ericka, held a white flag with the symbol of a black flower in her right hand.

"Got you. You're too quick to escape, it seems like." She tutted. "But now, it's too late, kiddo. Hand over the log file."

"No. Not till the world knows what your so-called 'government' has been cooking up tonight."

"Ah. such bravery, I see. But I'm sure that they'll be able to handle the surprise, you see. Sudden messages scare people."

"I don't care. You'll also scare people when you send them the surprise anyway." Alex mocked.

"Funny will. But it won't last long. I warned you once. And I think you will reject the second warning, so let's make this quick." Ericka said, lifting the flag.

"You don't deserve the last name of Rei." Alex tightly gripped the lightsaber staff. The yellow lightning tattoo gleamed brightly.

In a flash, the two charged towards each other, shouting. Ericka made a diagonal stroke with her flag, shooting five crystals at Alex. She dodged to the side, still running at her. Ericka ducked when she swung her weapon horizontally, aiming at her torso. She then charged like a bull, pushing Alex for a few meters, before backdashing. Alex spun her weapon a few times with her left hand before taking it to her right hand and bending down on her knees, shouting:

"ELEMENTAL TECHNIQUE: SUDDEN LIGHTNING STRIKE!"

In the blink of an eye, she jumped very high, aiming to thrust at Ericka's heart. But when she came down, Ericka instead used the pole of the flag to defend herself, like a shield, henceforth blocking the attack. The impact force was so strong that a few seconds later, Alex's blade hit the floor and Ericka slid backwards a few meters away. The pole wasn't broken, though.

Alex's eyes were fixed on Ericka as she lifted her weapon and threw it with all her might. The weapon spun mid-air, creating a blur of motion before it landed perfectly in Alex's hand. With a quick flick of her wrist, she hurled it towards Ericka, who swiftly dodged it by moving her head to the side. In a flash, Ericka's hand shot out and grabbed the weapon, her grip firm and unyielding.

"Such quick weapon skills... Where did you learn them from? Is it from... 'Her'?" Ericka asked in a motherly tone, as her flag disappeared in white mist.

Alex frowned, her hands clenched.

"If I would, I'd kill you now, at this instant. But, since we're from the same family and you're time hasn't come, you can live. Now go, save your sister. Elemental Technique: Mysterious Caves of a Frozen Hill."

Using the weapon in hand, she made a horizontal cut which quickly spread towards Alex. She didn't feel like reacting to this attack. She felt cool like she was in a cave. A cool cave.

--Port Aria--

On a moonless night, Alex suddenly found herself in a tall building, which looked more like a spaceport. The air was cool and silent, and so was the ambience.  She could see the entire city on her left, and an 'endless' ocean on her right. But below her...

She saw numerous corpses of guards lying on the floor, with missing body parts. One had his head missing, the other had been cut into two. She also saw a blue-haired girl fighting a spider-like robot. 

She checked her pockets, but the tablet was gone. That's when she remembered that after Ericka left her alive, she went straight to the newsroom to give the data and information to her friend, who's a reporter. She sighed with relief. Her weapon was also with her, somehow.

Now that the important work is done, It's time for an attack that can one-shot that bitch down below.

And she summoned the weapon in her hand, jumped and shouted to increase her speed to cut the robot into two halves:

"ELEMENTAL TECHNIQUE: THUNDEROUS ENTRANCE!"

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