2 hours later.
The sun still radiates above the sky, yet no warmth can be felt from it, not in these times. The streets are nearly devoid of any sign of life, nothing but bodies with torn flesh, wreckages of cars in almost every corner with varying degrees of burnt metal, as well as various types of animals lying around between the sidewalks, roads, benches or even near the doors of houses. Only the fewest of living beings that are not the Zlocu or the Enforcers remain, ones who rather remain shrouded in the deepest darkness they can find in every zone, whether it's a building or an item.
It's come to the knowledge of many how sometimes one's struggle may be another's favorable position, and if said unbalance is dared to be reshifted, then every measure is taken to be kept that way. Given the state of South LA for many years full of marginalization and division, many could say that this division by the Zlocu is merely an enhancement of what's already there. But for others, many wonder if the new ones who struggle are even those who work for the Zlocu, regardless of their rhetoric and other statements.
But do they know about it?
Any private thoughts of how they wish to inflict any unimaginable thing on those who joined the "other"?
Maybe.
Yet this is something that they do not want to talk about.
As the main quartet walk through the streets, they all do it without any word being uttered at the moment. Not even the chatterbox that is Tany, who doesn't even smile at them as they approach the zone where the Reborn and hostages are said to be located. She wants to do everything that can lighten up their minds after what they have seen, what they have witnessed.
But even so, she is well aware that there is a risk that could set off their minds at the wrong time possible, something she doesn't want like this.
Not when there is the risk that both Logan and Amira dread the most ever since being stationed in South LA.
The risk of senseless deaths.
The risk of wasted lives.
From this point, it's when Logan and Amira will stop at nothing to prevent those, no matter what it can take and no matter the offer that's told to them in any circumstance whatsoever.
Both Logan and Amira take a left turn in the street, stepping aside from a barrier of two cars that crashed with each other, with Seiner and Tany following suit. Seiner in particular uses his tablet that shows him a bird view of the plaza where the hostages are held. A drone's view to be exact. With this in mind, Seiner walks a bit closer to Logan as he leans near his shoulder while showing the tablet in front of him.
"It's only a few miles ahead, so it's best if we can use a distraction as you swoop in," Seiner says.
"Please do, Seiner. Everything must be done if it means to accomplish this," Logan replies in a near whispery tone without turning around to face him. Seiner merely sighs in response as he heads closer to a corner with a road leading to the plaza.
"Look man, there's no point moping about this, but..." But just as Seiner is about to continue, a barrage of missiles is heard from the right side, heading right to their position. Tany leaps into their side as she raises her staff high above her head.
"Varriar Shield!" From this spell, a blue shield of energy forms around her as well as the other Warriors. As the missiles impact right in front of them, Tany flinches a bit as she musters her strength to maintain the shield up as much as possible while the rest of the teammates duck under it.
The smoke clears up steadily as Tany lowers the shield while keeping her staff close to her chest, where there's now the sound of jet propulsion that's descending. A chuckle is faintly heard as well as the figure responsible from the strike reveals themselves.
It turns out to be one mechanical being with jet engines strapped to the back, a dull grey color in the whole body as well as some heavyweight legs that has some weapons strapped down. The only flesh that's present is the face, showing a wide smirk of a bald man.
None other than one of the first Reborns, Jack Dean.
"C'mon, you thought that it would be a one-step highway? You need the pitstop first," Jack says as he chuckles for a bit. From there, Amira steps in with a scowl on her face, igniting her red light blade as starts her combat stance.
"It is you..." Amira mutters as she glances at Jack.
"Oh, and here's the sweet little princess of... Sorania. Honestly, that's kinda of a funny name," Jack says while tilting the mechanical neck.
"Don't you dare mock her, you monster," Logan says as he steps in next to Amira, all while holding the Katana stance of Coraggio and pointing it toward Jack, still not reacting to anything.
"And you must be the pretty prince for her, am I right? Must be one hell of a lucky bastard!" Jack laughs once more, with Logan and Amira still scowling at him with their weapons at hand.
"Oh great, someone with a worse tongue..." Seiner mutters.
"Hey, at least I'm not the worsely worse now, righty right?" Tany says as she winks at Seiner, to which he groans in response while he has his hand near the belt.
"A One to Four match it looks like? Well, if there can be something to make it fairer for me..." Jack says as walks side by side, glancing at every corner of the spot as the EW keep their stances toward him.
And within seconds, blaster and gunfire is heard from a nearby street a few miles from their current position, which makes the group glance around at the source of it as Jack points at it with a smile.
"There it is! Want to risk staying here for my sake or what?" Jack taunts as he detaches two laser blades from the wrists, keeping them wide as he starts his combat stance.
"...Seiner, Tany, you two go," Logan says without glancing at them, which makes them gasp for the order.
"But, what about-" Seiner tries to say but Amira raises her hand.
"This one is our fight, one for our own sake, you are needed elsewhere, but if we do not save them..." Amira replies, also without glancing to face them. As both glance at Logan and Amira for a moment, pondering about their course of action, an explosion is heard in the same direction as well, to which Tany grabs Seiner's arm.
"She's right, we can't let those poorly poor people die for this, let's go!" Tany says as she rushes while grabbing Seiner who despite muttering a few words due to the sudden action, doesn't break free as he glances at Logan and Amira one more time.
"Good luck, you two, we'll see each other around!" Seiner says as he walks away from their view, now leaving Logan and Amira back on their own to face Jack who still chuckles over this.
"How beautiful of her to know the priorities of guys like you. Too bad it will be for naught, as I will deal with them once I'm done with you two. Mr. Brando and Raven will be sorely pleased for this."
"Not under our watch," Logan replies, this time with a near-raspy tone as he further clenches the hilt of Coraggio.
"Well, do your worst then." With this, both Logan and Amira rush toward Jack as they yell in unison for a bit, preparing some slashes right in his chest. Jack, however, manages to parry both of them, making them slide a bit back yet still using all of their strength to keep their stance steady.
"Ah, going for first blood I see. Suitable for the most bloodthirsty bunch!" Jack says as he leaps forward with his back jet engines ready to slice the duo. However, just as he's about to move his blades, Amira pushes her hand forward, releasing a gust of wind that's potent enough to send Jack flying around the street. The speed is so great that it's enough to crash on a nearby bus, denting the right side of it.
Despite this, he merely chuckles as he steadily gets up and swings the blades around his arms, still with a wide smirk on his face.
"Guess I should have expected that... Get to it, you filthy beasts!" Jack shouts as Logan and Amira rush at him again, where each swing and slash is blocked or parried by Jack in every single turn, yet Logan and Amira answer in kind the moment Jack does the same even when dual-wielding the blades.
In one instance, both Logan and Amira use each turn to keep one blade of Jack locked while using a window to slice some of the metal parts in Jack's chest. Amira gets the first one through a vertical slice in the torse, and with Logan's turn, he goes for a horizontal slice near the thorax.
Even though Jack manages to parry some, the force of each slice is enough to make him stumble and even flinch from the sheer force of the strikes, to which he levitates upward with his jet engines once more.
"You, the bane of the Zlocu? Don't make me laugh," With that, he flies further upward and then descends while preparing to strike at the duo with his two blades with a vertical and horizontal combo. He starts a flurry of these slices as Logan and Amira either parry, block or dodge each attack and aside from some cuts on the arms and cheeks, they keep standing as both use a window from the flurry to kick the chest where one of the cuts is located.
With this, Jack flinches once more, which makes him clench the teeth he has left while the jet engines start igniting even hotter than before stomping the ground two times. Then within the blink of an eye, he flies toward Logan and grabs him through the neck as he pins him down to a nearby wall. Tightening his grip as Logan coughs a lot, he then raises his light blade to slice the neck down.
"There, problem solved and we're all jolly and fine!" But just as he's about to slash Logan, a green aura envelops him which stops the blade right in his tracks, and then he's pulled in his back. And before he knows it, he catches a glimpse of a scowling Amira flying with her digitized wings, pummeling him to a nearby wall with all the speed and strength she can muster. Once pinned to a wall while still surrounded by a green aura, Amira raises her blade and proceeds to stab right on Jack's neck.
"You... You... You...!" Jack tries to speak yet the voice glitches and gets a bit static the more he tries to speak, and without a single word, Amira slices through the neck on the right side, sending the head down as the body falls.
With that, the first stop has come to a close.
Logan rushes to check on Amira as both breathe heavily, their faces still having some cuts on the cheeks as well as some dirt due to the force of each strike. Despite this, Logan merely nods while placing his hand on Amira's arm as she looks down on Jack's body.
"Thank you, Amira..." Logan says as he smiles a bit.
"I... did not want to you see in danger," Amira replies as she turns away for a bit, even covering her face for a bit.
"I know. But still, let's move on," Logan says as both start running back in the direction of the plaza where the hostages are held. Both run in almost the same posture as well as the same ragged breathing, while their gazes are focused on what's in front of them without turning to each side or to their backs.
For they know of what's to come if they're not fast enough to save those who can be dear to others, or even for them, but regardless, it all comes down to a single motive, one single goal that may be made of hope.
Or perhaps mere desperation to face reality.
No more senseless deaths... No more wasted lives! Logan and Amira will deal with it no matter what.
They both reach the center of the plaza, where they are greeted by four figures. In front of them are two other Reborns, one with a bulky body with a chainsaw arm and the face of a dark-skinned man divided between a robotic half on the right side and one of flesh on the left. Adam Gordon is back in action. The one next to him has a lighter metallic body, with a near pale complexion, yet has some electric rings around the wrists, as well as the sole Reborn with white hair.
Behind them are two Humans who are tied up to metallic poles, both tan-skinned. One is a man with a tattered black suit, short black hair and bruised cheeks. The other is a woman who wears a violet dress that's tattered from the waist, has brunette hair and many cuts around the face and arms.
This sight is enough for both Logan and Amira to gasp as their eyes widen enough to show the whites.
"The major and his wife! You two...!" Logan says as he clenches his hilt of Coraggio while Adam merely laughs in front of them.
"Guess Jack didn't have the sharpest mind after all. But no matter, you two have to reach for us first," Adam says as he gestures at his surroundings, while both the major and his wife breathe raggedly.
"There's no point in this fight. It's best for you to just quit if you all want to die slower," the pale Reborn replies with a frozen expression on his face.
"There's always a point if it comes to saving people. If it means fewer lives to be wasted senselessly... I will give it my all!" Logan says while he keeps his stance as well as his scowl that's aimed at Adam.
"Oh, you want a challenge then? Very well, should you win, these two go free. But if you don't, then you can make a good guess of what will happen," Adam replies as he readies his chainsaw arm, with his companion merely stepping forward as electric sparks fly around the rings in the wrist. "Get ready, Oruma."
"Yes," Oruma replies as keeps the same stance from before, with Amira following suit with her light blade.
It's now or never in here, to see if the chance to spare more will come to fruition.
Amira starts first she prepares a vertical slash aimed at Oruma's chest. The moment the blade is about to reach Oruma's body, however, he leaps to his left in an instant. As Amira tries to continue her flurry of slashes, Oruma swiftly evades all of them, almost as if his body is reflexive to any sort of strike that's incoming to them. This happens while keeping the same frozen expression as always.
What is he made of?!
Meanwhile, Logan goes for a stabbing attempt right in Adam's neck, only to be parried by the chainsaw arm that throws Logan to the floor, then kicks right in his face and sends him backward. All of this while Adam laughs for a bit.
"Do you really think this mere laser sword will bring an advantage against me?" Adam says as he approaches Logan who is steadily standing up while trying to keep a straight composture. Adam prepares to slice Logan down with his chainsaw, but he manages to block it with Coraggio with all the strength he can muster. Logan pushes Adam back for a bit, yet he doesn't lose composure.
"The last princess of Sorania... you should look for a quicker mercy by stopping this," Oruma says while he continues evading most of Amira's strikes and slashes with his remarkable speed, whether it's through the head or the chest, he manages to evade it all while keeping Amira breathing heavily.
"You do not know a thing about me..." Amira replies as Oruma starts swinging the rings around the wrists in the direction of Amira, who then moves her blade to block the strike just as it's about to reach her. While she manages to stop the blade from slashing her, electric sparks fly around her, which makes her clench her teeth for a bit while keeping the force in the hilt.
"I do know your moves based on data, however," Oruma retorts. "This is why you should quit this now."
Meanwhile, Logan and Adam continue their back-and-forth attacks and dodge through parry or through their bodies, yet Adam keeps pummeling Logan to nearby walls or being stomped to the ground due to his heavyweight body. Logan manages to roll backward and leap up just in time to start a series of slashes and slices near Adam's head. However, he manages to block most of them through his chainsaw arm, with the sparks from the sharp blades nearly reaching Logan's eyes as he closes them at every chance he gets.
"Ah, this frustration, the same I had when I was a weaker being of flesh... Why not join the Zlocu, young boy?" Adam says as he revs the chainsaw arm once more.
"Because it's my choice," Logan replies as he parries the chainsaw attack for a bit. Adam stumbles backward for a bit, yet keeps the same posture as always.
"A poor one, I'd say," Adam retorts while Logan begins another series of slashes around Adam's body. Like before, Adam manages to evade and block most of them with either the chainsaw or the body that he has. However, in one particular strike, he manages to strike the right arm as he raises it, cutting a bit of the outer exterior just as Adam kicks Logan away. For this alone, he glances at it and stares at it for a bit.
"I'm a fast learner, at least...!" Logan replies while smiling for a bit.
The duel between Amira and Oruma continues at the same pace, with Amira still unable to land a hit on him even when flying with all her speed, with Oruma landing every possible electric strike in every window of opportunity he can get.
As Oruma begins his third set of strikes with both arms, however, Amira takes a deep breath as she observes the trajectory of where Oruma's strikes will go, with every possibility taken into account for the next move she may perform. With both swings with the electric rings, Amira pulls pieces of debris on both sides with her arms in Oruma's direction, which he manages to spot and swings the rings to cut both pieces.
With this, Amira manages a swift slash at Oruma's left eye, this time the blade manages to cut through it as sparks fly around the slash while Oruma stumbles backward and covers his scarred face. This sight is enough to make Oruma stutter a bit.
"You hit me...? How can that be...?" Oruma asks.
"Like you said, if you read mine, I can read yours too," Amira says as she straightens her posture. The moment he tries to make for another rush, Amira leaps upward and before Oruma knows it, she stomps his head right to the floor in a swift motion, her wings digitizing back to her the moment she lands.
As for Logan and Adam, Logan manages to land a series of cuts around various parts of Adam's body, with each one slowing down his movement as well as cutting up the velocity of the chainsaw. Even as Logan bleeds from some cuts on the arm and cheek, he keeps up the momentum.
All while growling heavily.
"This is pure luck on your part, it's not true learning!" Adam shouts as he starts stumbling on each step he takes while trying to trike Logan. Logan replies by making a swift stab at Adam's robotic eye in his other half, the strength being enough to make Adam scream from a short circuit going around his body at the moment. And before he knows it, Logan lands a strike on Adam's back with the hilt, the sheer sudden strength being high enough to pummel Adam to the floor.
"And you didn't earn this body rightfully either," Logan mutters as he stares at Adam's twitchy body for a bit, before glancing at Amira who both run to cut the ropes of the Major and his wife. All of them breathe heavily as both shake hands with Logan and Amira over this deed.
Maybe now it's where they can finally break the "curse" they've been inflicted for so long?
"Hey... You sure you're not hurt badly, mister Major?" Logan asks the man while holding him tightly by the shoulders.
"Oh no, no, no... Certainly not. It's merely a flesh wound," the Major replies while chuckling a bit.
"Either case, it is best for you to get to safety," Amira says as she glances at him.
"Yeah yeah, as you say so, you pretty being. Say, how bout we can invite you to a gala once this is all done?" the wife asks while nodding at Amira.
"It'll be a fantastic gift, indeed, as long as we live!" the Major replies as he limps with Logan by his side. But just as they take another step, a blaster fire is heard nearby, and within the blink of an eye, the blaster impacts right in the major's forehead, sending some red chunks flying backward and even pushing him downward with incredible speed. This is enough to make the smiles drop of the three.
"No! Please no!" Logan screams as he rushes down and kneels to check on the major's corpse, with the hole making a puddle of blood right below the man's head. Logan breathes heavily as he tries to check the pulse on the man's chest while his chin trembles and winces as well.
All the while Amira and the wife glance at the direction where the blaster was shot from, their lips quivering and trembling shoulders.
"You didn't win fair and square..." Oruma says while standing up in spite of the cuts on the face and body.
"Don't think mere banalities of Humans will cut it...!" Adam also says in a strained tone before firing another shot, this time on the wife's chest, the resulting impact also exposing red chunks to the floor while the wife is thrown back by the force of the blast.
Amira can only stare at this with wide, tearful eyes as she breathes heavily while Logan screams and sobs at the Major's body.
It seems that despite their efforts, the "curse" still remains.
"You think you can decide like this...? After what the Zlocu did...?!" Amira asks as her voice breaks while glancing at the two Reborns who merely smirk at them.
"She would have died anyway, it's the rules of nature..." Oruma retorts.
"No... Don't go on that damn spiel again..." Logan says in a growling tone as he slowly turns around to face them, his tears falling while breathing heavily, clenching his teeth as well as holding the hilt of Coraggio even tighter than ever.
"You do not get to decide what the rules are... Not when it involves that have not done anything wrong to you..." Amira retorts in a similar tone as well.
"Everyone has done something wrong every once in a while, why do you keep that stupid fantasy about Humanity anyway?" Adam says while trying to stand up, yet the ground starts shaking as the duo's breathing gets heavier with every second, and even for Amira, gusts of wind fly in her direction as she clenches the hilt of the blade.
All pointed out with one familiar mantra.
"Because many have died more than needed... All we want is for no more... No more... No more senseless deaths... No more... wasted lives!" Logan shouts.
With that, Amira throws Adam to the building behind Logan then flies in front of Oruma and tackles him as she screams at the top of her lungs, crashing down to a gate in a nearby building as stragglers and other civilians rush around to see the scenery that's going on.
Logan on his part merely walks as he breathes heavily, the muscles and veins straining against the skin and his lips pulling back, showing the teeth. There is nothing else to do, only to show retribution against Adam for what he has done.
Inside the crumbled door, the stragglers are merely staring at Adam's metallic body while trembling and clutching together. But before they know it, Logan comes rushing in with a scream as he starts slashing most of Adam's body, managing to even slice the left arm as well as stabbing the main fuel that acts like the heart.
But as the others try to run past them, Logan's sight is so focused on Adam that he doesn't count on how wide the slashes he gives can be, which ends up cutting some of the escaping stragglers on the way in.
"No more! No more! No more!" Those are his words punctuated by each stab and slice he gives to Adam, his body losing more and more pieces which limits his movement. When he's not saying anything, he downright screams in front of him as he continues tearing him apart with all the strength he has.
***
Amira, on her part, merely slams Oruma on the ground with her telekinetic powers repeatedly while inside a torn-down room, with the stragglers hurling up in one of the corners as they tremble from this sight.
Yet she pays no heed to them, for her mind is solely focused on tearing Oruma part piece by piece, starting by tearing the arms apart with her telekinetic powers, then grabbing his head as she slams it down four times with increasing force, each showing more of Oruma internal exoskeleton with wide eyes over this sort of action. She is not screaming like Logan, but she keeps her clenching teeth and wide eyes as she commits the deed.
Then, with one last action, she stabs right in the chest, where the power cell is located. This makes Oruma twitch heavily with the voice sounding like it's glitching out. It goes on for a few seconds before Oruma stops any movement, both from the face and the legs.
With this, Amira releases her blade from the chest as she breathes heavily and looks around the tattered room. Glancing at the trembling crowd, she tries to approach them, only for one of them to throw a wooden plank at her.
"Why... are you doing this?" Amira asks as her tone softens.
"You... you killed them...You monster!" the man says as he points at something behind Amira. She glances at her back, to which her eyes widen and stops breathing for a bit, for she realizes what also happened as she attacked Oruma.
It's the hole where she stormed in, and near the walls, are the bleeding bodies of bystanders hurled up together due to the impact of the blast. Many of them being me and women of various ages.
"Get out! Out, you filthy monster!" a woman shouts as she and others throw more stones and wooden planks at Amira, to which she runs away in response, flying away to a rooftop in a nearby building.
From there, it's where tears fall once more, slumping down as she covers her face while she sobs a lot from what happened, especially with what she senses on Logan.
One where he's on his knees, slamming his fists on a brick wall while his tears fall down, now caught up to what he has just done before killing Adam.
Both counts of trying to avenge only resulted in the deaths of bystanders by their own hands. No one else to blame but themselves.
Logan... You too? Oh no... Please no... Why...? Of all the days that had to progress with such a turn of events, this one may be the worst of the bunch.
Two times they had chances to do something to set things right.
Yet they were lied to twice.
With their retribution only worsening things, it has done nothing but shatter their image among most civilians for something that they couldn't foresee. A burden that's now heavier than ever due to the events of that day.
One hard enough to keep them both split, their sorrow only witnessed by the cold winds of the evening as their weeping only echoes across the silent streets of the plaza.
We wasted them... We brought them an unnecessary death... We...