"Did that monster do anything to you?" Danny asked Nyx as he walked alongside her and Nate. She tensed for a moment but gathered herself just as fast.
"Well, other than the hostage part, yeah. He lured Neri and I into a trap." Nyx lifted her shirt slightly to show the bandage around her stomach. "He stabbed me, the knife was coated with that Gift inhibiting drug so I couldn't fight back." Nate clenched his fists but didn't look at her, he said he would always protect her but he let her go wandering around the city and straight into a trap. He got complacent, he let her down.
"Here we are." Orion's voice broke Nate out of his thoughts as they all halted down the hall from Kuroi's office. The group exchanged a slightly worried look, Danny had been shot, Nyx had been stabbed twice and had no powers, Nerissa had no powers, and Orion was weakened from his fight with Ezekiel and only had two dragons left. They were at a severe disadvantage in this fight. "Here's my idea, there's a good chance that Kuroi doesn't know about my defection yet. So I'll go in first and try to get him to lower his guard, then you guys rush him with everything you have. I'm counting on you." Orion looked at everyone with hard eyes, Nyx bit the inside of her lip. She had no idea if she would even be able to help in her current state, it hurt to walk because of her leg and any sudden movements caused great pain because of her abdomen. And to top it all off, she was powerless.
The group approached Kuroi's office silently before everyone but Orion stopped moving and got low to the ground. Orion nodded at them and turned towards the door before he opened it and stepped inside, he turned to his left and the group knew he was facing Kuroi.
"Master Kage, the threat...has been eliminated." Orion acted exhausted as he spoke, or maybe he wasn't acting. As they watched, Orion's demeanor seemed calm, but Danny saw him tense when Kuroi spoke.
"What about the girls?" Kuroi spoke in a flat tone. Nyx felt Nate's grip on her hand tighten slightly.
"The enemy failed to rescue them, they are still alive and secure." Orion spoke with a slightly shaking voice, the group exchanged a look.
Kuroi hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Good, bring them here so I can begin the recruitment process." A look of shock spread across the group's faces, Orion tensed at his words and seemed like he was frozen for a moment. His eyes shifted to his left at the group for a split second at the exact moment a vision crashed into Danny's mind. He heard Kuroi growl softly before saying "That's what I thought." And suddenly, a pin straight spike of shadow shot through Orion's heart. Danny was brought back to reality with wide eyes and he sprinted forward without thinking. Clutching his other handgun that he had taken from Damien, he heard Kuroi say his line, right on cue. Danny dived into the room, tackling Orion out of the way just before the spike stabbed through him. So close in fact, that the spike sliced through the side of Orion's arm instead. Danny rolled over his body and brought the handgun up on one swift motion and fired. The group ran forward and into the room and saw Kuroi retracting a tendril he had used to block the bullet.
Kuroi's head turned slightly to see all of Sanctuary's agents staring back at him. "Well, Orion. It seems as though you have become a traitor." Kuroi started as he looked back to Orion as he was starting to stand up. He was clutching his bleeding arm where the spike had sliced him. "A pity. I actually had high hopes for you, oh well.. " Kuroi paused as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a smartphone, the screen had a large button on it. Above the button was Orion's name, Orion's eyes widened in fear before Kuroi spoke again, "I'll do better next time." He said with a smile before he pushed the button. Danny's head whipped to Orion as he wailed in agony and fell to the ground.
"Orion! What's wrong?!" Danny shouted as he kneeled down next to him, shouting loudly so Orion could hear him over his own pained wails. Danny gasped softly when he saw reddish black splotches appearing on Orion's skin. Danny looked over at Kuroi, "What are you doing to him?!" He yelled in anger.
Kuroi smiled, "Call it insurance, in the event of rebellion, so I can easily dispose of the failed clone and try again."
Danny gritted his teeth, "He is NOT something to dispose of, he is a PERSON you SICK FUCK." Danny yelled angrily before he raised his arm and fired his handgun three times with quick succession. Kuroi quickly manifested a large wall in front of him to block the bullets before lowering it again.
"You don't know who you're up against, boy." Kuroi warned him in a dark tone. Suddenly, a small black disc collided with Kuroi's hand and knocked the phone out of his grasp. It clattered across the ground before coming still and exploding from Nyx's bullet. Kuroi looked over at her and Oliver as Nyx stood up straight from her kneeling position.
"I don't think you know who you're up against." Oliver said with a cocky smirk on his face.
Kuroi smiled a toothy and slightly manic grin, "Then show me." He said confidently before he lifted both of his arms in a twisting gesture and summoned a small army of shadow puppets, filling in his large office. One of Oliver's barriers formed in between Kuroi and Danny, who was still looking over Orion. He had passed out from the pain but the reddish black splotches stayed on his skin.
"Come with me." Oliver said as he gripped Nerissa's wrist and pulled her alongside him as he ran towards the two boys. Nerissa didn't protest, she wanted to look him over anyway, if Danny trusted Orion, she did too.
"What did he do to him?" Danny asked his sister as they got to him. At this point, Nate, Nyx and Rhys had began taking out the puppets, they weren't very strong so it wasn't a struggle. Nerissa looked over the splotches on his face and neck before unzipping his jacket and looking down his chest. She noticed that the splotches looked to be deep in the skin as well as right at the surface.
"It's almost like that button did something that attacked his cells directly..." Nerissa talked so quietly it was almost like she was talking to herself. "Without my ability I can't tell the severity, part of his liver or heart could be affected and that is...really bad." Nerissa looked at her brother with concern.
Danny took a deep breath, "Then we better finish this quickly." He stood up and rubbed his bullet wound gently to try and ease the aching. "Ollie and Nerissa, I need you two to protect Orion. I want everyone to get out alive, that includes him." Danny said with certainty in his voice as he turned around and pulled out the clip of his handgun, seven bullets left. He slid the clip back in and looked to the fight, his friends had disposed of a good amount of Kuroi's puppets. Danny's eyes looked at Kuroi, he was watching the fight with an amused look, but he wasn't participating. These puppets are effective against multiple enemies. The fact that he started with this type of attack means one of two things; one, he is testing us and gauging our skill level so he knows how much effort to put into the fight. Two, Kuroi isn't effective against multiple opponents, he's too narrow minded. He sets his sight on one person, leaving himself open to attacks from anyone else. Scenario one is more likely. Which means...I can force him into scenario two.
"Danny?" Nerissa said quietly and she looked up from Orion. Danny turned around slightly to look at her. "What are you thinking?" She asked him in concern. Then, after a short pause, Danny did something that no one had seen from him in a long time. A big, genuine, eyes closed grin spread across his face. The kind of happy smile that Nerissa used to see on her twins face. "Something stupid." He said in a happy tone as he held up his handgun. He sprinted out from Oliver's barrier, Oliver crossed his arms.
"Your brother's an idiot." He said to her.
Nerissa looked at him and narrowed her eyes, "He is not, Danny is brilliant." She said as she looked back down to Orion who was stirring slightly, but not fully awake. He was groaning and whimpering softly, radiating discomfort.
Danny sprinted towards Kuroi, ducking under the slash of a passing puppet before Rhys slashed its head off with his claws. Danny was suddenly crouched down in front of Kuroi with his handgun pointed upward into his face. Kuroi looked down at him with surprise before he quickly brought his hand up and gripped Danny's wrist. He pulled Danny up farther so his gun was pointed into the air when it fired. Kuroi attempted a counter punch with his free hand, aimed around Danny's liver. A punishing hit, if it landed. Danny caught his wrist and they were locked in a struggle for a moment. A vision then crashed through Danny, a spike shot up from the ground and stabbed straight through Danny's stomach.
Danny gritted his teeth when he was brought back out of the vision, he made a split second decision and leaped up. He brought his feet up and planted them on Kuroi's chest and shoved him back as hard as he could. Danny's life was spared by a hair as the two separated. Danny slid back across the ground and glared at Kuroi.
"Impressive." Kuroi said as he stood up straight. "I can see why my son has such eyes for you."
Danny didn't answer, he looked at Kuroi with a blank face before Kuroi tensed. He suddenly felt a presence approaching fast. He looked over and saw Rhys lunging towards him. The group had destroyed every one of the puppets and we're now going for him. Kuroi swiped his arm in front of him and a tendril lifted from the ground and swiped Rhys out of the way harshly. Rhys flew out of the second story window and the group halted.
"RHYS!" Nyx shouted before she looked back at Kuroi with anger, she could hear Nerissa and her other friends make similar expressions of worry. Nyx sprinted forward and Kuroi tried to swipe her out of the way as well, Nyx leaped over it and was in the air above him, Kuroi sent a swift spike towards her. He knew that Nyx couldn't dodge effectively while in the air, seeing as she was powerless. Nyx didn't even flinch as the spike was destabilized from a knife that was thrown into it from the ground, by Nate. The knife spun in the air before Nyx caught it and threw her gun down to Nate. Danny watched them in awe for a moment, before he heard Nate's voice in his head. Lift your gun, we both shoot him at once. Wait until Nyx is clear.
Danny lifted his gun and waited, Nyx came down and tried to stab the knife into Kuroi but he stepped back once and narrowly dodged it. Nyx smiled before she spun the knife 180° in her hand and went for another swift stab. Kuroi reacted and brought his arm up, he grunted in pain as the knife stabbed through his forearm. Kuroi learned something in that moment, glaring into her manic yet cold eyes.
She may be powerless, but she is also fearless.
"Ugh, you wretch!" Kuroi growled in anger before he swiped his arm to the side and threw Nyx away from him and into the wall. She grunted as she hit the wall hard, she slowly stood up before she realized the knife was still stuck into Kuroi's arm. He gripped the handle and pulled it out before Danny and Nate fired their guns at the same time. Kuroi blocked the bullets again with walls of shadow. Kuroi dropped the wall and threw the knife at Nyx with impossible speed. She couldn't react, not without her Gift. The knife was stopped by Oliver's barrier instead, he looked at her with a small smile.
"I thought you guys could use more power in this fight." He said confidently as she walked next to Nyx. She smiled slightly at him before she ran towards Kuroi again, scooping up Nate's knife from the ground as she passed it. Oliver manifested a barrier beneath his feet and launched himself into the air as he manifested another above him. He planted his hands on the barrier and launched himself downward, straight at Kuroi as Nyx was coming up on him fast. Oliver reached Kuroi first and planted his feet onto Kuroi's shoulders, shoving him onto the ground hard. The hardwood floors cracked and splintered from the force of the impact. Kuroi grunted before a shadow tendril wrapped around Oliver's throat from behind and pulled Oliver off of him. Nyx went for a swift stab to Kuroi's throat, but he quickly rolled out of the way and she stabbed into the wood floors instead.
Danny and Nate cursed under their breath, they couldn't use their guns and risk hitting Nyx or Oliver. Not without getting closer at least, however they stopped in shock when Kuroi did something they had never seen before. He brought his fist away from his body slightly and released it slightly, shadows coated his arm and sprang out, taking shape into a sharp edge and a fine point.
"Oh, you wanna have a knife fight?" Nyx said quietly with an even tone. "I can do a knife fight."
Kuroi's lip curled in irritation, "I assure you, you can't." He leaped forward and started to slash his shadow blade towards her. Nyx brought her knife up and parried, slightly shocked by Kuroi's extreme physical strength. Danny brought out his knife and ran in as well, hoping to help her since he couldn't risk firing his gun. Nate gritted his teeth, I'm useless in this fight if I can't use my gun. What do I do? He asked in their minds, hoping for someone to answer him.
Just look for an opening, I'm sure you'll find it. He heard Nyx respond as she fought Kuroi alongside Danny. Kuroi knew however, that going for Danny in this situation wouldn't work, he would only see it coming. Kuroi slashed at Nyx, she quickly ducked and avoided it as Danny brought his arm up to stab Kuroi in the stomach. Kuroi used his free hand and grabbed Danny's wrist, he then brought up his foot and kicked Danny away from him, hard. He turned to Nyx as she was rushing him again, but Nyx gasped softly when her foot wouldn't move. Nate saw it too, Kuroi used his shadows to secure Nyx's left foot down. Kuroi gripped Nyx's shoulder and lifted Nyx off the ground as he shoved his blade of shadow right through her stomach...
Nate felt like this second would never end.
Everyone felt like this second would never end.
"I warned you." Kuroi said darkly in Nyx's ear before he threw her to the side and off his blade. The group stared in a stunned silence as Kuroi slowly approached Danny, who was the closest to him.
"What...have you done?" Danny asked him as he looked up from the ground, he didn't even get the chance to get up from being kicked down.
"What must be done." Kuroi responded. Suddenly, one of Oliver's barriers manifested above Kuroi and slammed downward, pinning Kuroi to the ground as he groaned in protest and tried to free himself. Danny's head whipped behind him and saw Oliver frantically scrambling to his feet and running towards Nyx. There was blood running down the side of his head, but he didn't seem to care about that right now. Danny then looked over to Nyx, blood already pooling under her, Nate, Nerissa, Orion, who seemed to recover enough to regain consciousness, and now Oliver who had run over to her. Danny slowly stood up, his heart quietly breaking just from the state Nate was in.
"Nyx?! Nyx! Say something! Come on, hermosa...not like this..." Nate yelled as he lifted her up in his arms, his voice got softer as he leaned down and placed his forehead against hers. She was still alive, but not very coherent, breathing heavily. Nate's head suddenly whipped up and looked at Oliver. "How fast can you fly with your barriers?!" He asked urgently.
Oliver quickly nodded, "I understand, give her to me." Oliver quickly bent down and picked up Nyx bridal style. He turned and sprinted towards the window that Rhys had flown through. He stopped at the window and looked back. "Are you gunna be okay?!"
Nate stood up and glared at Kuroi with pure hatred in his eyes, "Yes." He said coldly.
Oliver turned and leaped out the window, onto a barrier that he had manifested. His eyes caught Rhys who was on the ground, unmoving. Oliver quickly flew down and scooped up Rhys as well, he placed a few fingers under Rhys' nose and sighed in relief as he felt breath. Oliver then flew his barrier off into the sky, determined to get to Sanctuary as fast as possible. "Don't worry, buddy. I got you." He whispered almost to himself as he carried them away.
When Oliver leaped out of the window, Nate, Nerissa, Danny and Orion walked towards Kuroi before the barrier faded away. It's source is out of range now, and Kuroi got to his feet.
"Kuroi..." Nate growled in anger, Kuroi wouldn't look Nate in the eyes, he knew better. "Orion." He said as he turned his head to his new friend. Orion nodded and sent out his two dragons at light speed, one coiled around Kuroi, and the other gripped his chin in its jaws and forced Kuroi to look towards Nate.
Kuroi struggled in anger and frustration before Nate finally managed to catch his eyes. They flashed red to match Nate's as his face coiled into rage again.
"Do you have any idea, how badly you just fucked up?" Nate's voice was laced with contempt as he stared at Kuroi's empty expression. Nate knew that Kuroi couldn't answer unless Nate permitted it, but Nate also knew that Kuroi was still aware of what was happening around him. He knew Kuroi could hear him. "You tried to take her away from me, you tried...to take her...away from me." Nate repeated himself through his gritted teeth before he calmly lifted his handgun and checked the clip. One bullet left. Perfect. Nate slid the clip back in and lowered his arm to his side. He looked back and looked at Kuroi Kage with a blank stare. "Kneel, cabrón."
Kuroi's body shook as he tried to resist the command with intense fervor. It meant nothing when under the influence of Nate's Gift. Kuroi finally dropped to his knees and Nate smiled darkly. He lifted his handgun and placed it against Kuroi's forehead as the others simply watched. No one had the guts to stop him, no one wanted to stop him anyway. "What you just did is undoubtedly the worst mistake of your life. Luckily for you, it's also your last. Your son is next." Nate growled out before he fired the gun and Kuroi fell backwards and his body finally was finally still, and devoid of life. It was done. It was finally done.
In the next room, Soul could hear most of the fight, she could hear gunshots, she could hear the dull thuds of impact. She could hear Nate frantically calling Nyx's name. Her hands were shaking, she heard one final gunshot after a long quiet pause. For some reason, her chest hurt. It felt like a part of her just died, but at the same time, she felt an unbearable weight lift off her shoulders. Her head snapped up when she heard frantic footsteps running towards the room she was in, the door slammed open and Danny ran into the room. Soul's eyes widened in concern as she saw the bloodied, makeshift bandage on his shoulder. That was a gunshot wound. Danny stared back at Soul with relief on his face, and Soul felt at ease.
She knew he wouldn't leave her behind.