Roughly around the same time.
In an old, dusty road amidst the pile of wreckage and debris that are spread around the streets, one sole jeep colored in dark green drives in there, and aside from some scratches and bullet holes that are scattered in some parts of the vehicle, it seems to function well enough to make any turn whenever there's debris or other metallic parts on the way. All while the sun's rays reflect on every mirror it has intact, leaving a sparkling presence that can be spotted from miles away, even in the steepest of hills. It can be both a sign of life but also a sign of a target.
But regardless, it can mean there will be always someone who is standing on the surface alive and well.
Among the occupants of the jeep are three peculiar individuals. The driver is a light-skinned woman with brown hair with a green vest, the other's a light-skinned bald man with a sleeveless tanktop, and finally, there's the dark-skinned man with a grey bandana, all full of grime and dirt from what seems to be previous battles from long ago. And given the extent of the Zlocu's onslaught these times, it's almost like a part of daily life now.
Even though Amanda, Eron, and Marcello have seen better days than the ones as of late in the same month.
Although it has been a few days after the museum, there's still the mystery of the relationship between Logan and Amanda, with the topic being left unspoken for a long while as the three have attempted to regroup and rethink their strategy due to most of the resistance being wiped out in the museum. Even if the road is straight, they're still driftless on their destination, with almost nowhere else to and if they should still fight.
That is, until the walkie-talkie from Amanda's pocket starts ringing, to which she picks it up, placing it close to her ear without ever glancing at it as she presses the button. All while she keeps the same frown as she drives along.
"This is Amanda speaking. What now, 'Snakebite'?" Amanda asks while she keeps her other hand on the steering wheel.
"I know it's been quiet for a while, but I've found the weak spot for the walls dividing South LA and downtown LA and it's quite a doozy," "Snakebite" says, still in a thick British accent.
"And what would that be then? Make it understandable too."
"Hey, take it easy, lass. Well, in each corner of the wall, there lies a reactor near a small opening in each corner of them. They're best spotted once the main doors are opened to see them through. Of course, the Zlocu installed many security measures to ensure no one strikes the post in a rush, less it means that they're buggering off their own main posts in the open." Amanda merely scoffes in response.
"So, still not an easy task to commit then. Any potential way to bypass that?"
"Well, perhaps some sort of ambush and rapid attack may, but even if you do find the equipment, it can months to come up with the perfect plan so... Oh, some matters have come up, I'll catch ya later, lass!" With that, the transmission cuts off and Amanda places the walkie-talkie back in her pocket as she sighs for a bit, with both Eron and Marcello glancing at her for a bit during her convo with "Snakebite".
"So, any good news now?" Eron asks.
"There are weak spots in the walls, which can be the key... But even passing them by can be a bitch," Amanda replies without glancing at Eron, who merely nods in response to it, yet with a frown on his face.
"It's still a long road ahead, it seems. But quitting can't be the right answer," Marcello adds while glancing at Eron for a bit, yet keeping a firm stance as Amanda continues to drive.
"Keep it serious, Marcello. Compared to others or even... him, we're out of our element for this sort of stuff and such," Amanda replies.
"Doesn't mean there should be a lack of trying to, especially if we find others to help out." Amanda sighs in response.
"Look, it's even less likely we can get others to help people like us at this point because they know there's no point going forward, and they could at least live longer than die sooner."
"Some people can claim many things, but it can be proven when pushed otherwise, you should know that, Miss Amanda." Amanda groans a bit over that.
"Don't get too formal on me, man! Look, maybe we should look into this first instead of arguing like idiots right now if it pleases you."
"Well, you insist so." Marcello then glances at the city around him as she keeps driving further among most of the deserted streets of the district. Such sight is something that can provoke a bit of melancholy for those who want a place to live in, away from the ravages and cruelty of warfare. Many yearn to a return to a time when the sounds are those of the cheers of children and the breeze that cools the town.
But even that seems so distant nowadays, all while Marcello continues to gaze with pure silence, with his own thoughts left all alone while the rest keep theirs.
That is until Eron raises his hand.
"Y'know, you still haven't told us much about him... What's the deal with it, anyway?" Eron asks, to which Amanda can only groan a bit.
"Haven't I told you that it's none of your business, you dumbass? Isn't the word 'private' inside your head?"
"Hey now, Miss Amanda. I think he's something that should be important for us to know if we should keep moving forward," Marcello as he glances back at Amanda.
"You want to be intrusive right now, because if that's the case, then I should ask you if have anything left back at-" But just as Amanda is about to complete her sentence, Eron's eyes dart at something on his right, which is enough to make him gasp.
"Hey, stop the jeep, Amanda! Stop it now!" With those words, Amanda presses the pedal that immediately stops the jeep, and while the three stumble a bit from the force of the stop, they remain intact.
"What now, Eron?" Amanda asks as she glances at Eron with narrowed eyebrows while rolling her eyes and groaning for a bit.
"Look over there..." Eron says as he points in the direction he's looking at, with Amanda and Eron following suit. As soon as they catch a glimpse of what they see, they gasp for a bit as they step out of the jeep and grab their gear.
The sight is what seems to be a group of individuals cheering on something, ones with certain armors clad in black and red with blaster rifles, alongside others without armor but wearing black vests and even some tattoos of big crosses or two SSs on their neck and arms, carrying M16 and AR15 rifles as they cheer alongside the armored men. A rare union between Zlocans and Humans it seems like.
In the center, there are three tan-skinned individual laying on the ground, wincing and groaning a lot with bruises and cuts on the arms, chest, and legs while a certain individual kicks a young male right in the stomach, to which he screams a bit while laughter and cheers fill up the area. Said leg has a metallic prosthetic that's attached right to the heel of the feet, all while a familiar silver-haired man looms over the man with a grin on his face and the sword on the other side.
"Go, Dakrin!" a Human soldier shouts with his comrades following suit.
"Are we seeing more of their barbarism?" Marcello asks while taking cover with Amanda and Eron in a torn brick wall as Eron trembles a bit.
"It's their routine nowadays..." Amanda replies in a quiet tone, yet with a bit of trembling in it as well with her gaze highly focused on the beating itself. Her hands even clenching the Glock pistol in her holster to a rather harsh degree unlike anything seen before from her.
"For years, this world has been challenged by many who sought to change it, but there was one big issue; it was full of pussies and good-for-nothing weaklings!" Dakrin before stomping on the man once more, with the other two individuals, a young girl and another man of similar skin tone can do nothing but reach their hands out as they see their beloved being beaten to a pulp.
"Yeah, kill those fucking wetbacks and the faggot too!" a bulky man shouts with the others shouting in agreement.
"It's for this reason why the Zlocu came here on Earth, to get rid of filth like you!" Dakrin says while he continuously steps on the man's chest, who groans in response.
"We only want to live...!" the man says in a ragged tone before Dakrin further stomps on him, screaming a bit more while the others tremble and weakly try to reach out to him.
"Finish the job, Dakrin!" a younger male among the Human crowd shouts alongside others.
"To live for what?! To leech off the jobs all the good people in here desperately wanted? To bring a language and culture that's unfit for this land? To join up with even dumber mouthbreathers who can't accept their place?! Hell, you would go as far as to join the forces that betrayed everything that the US of A has stood for so long!" This part of the speech makes the Human collaborators cheer even more, while the Zlocan Knights only observe with silence yet one can tell that there are some grins hidden beneath the elements, likely over what's to next.
"Finish them now, Dakrin," a female Zlocan says while she stands guard with other Zlocans.
"Now, witness the moment where I, Dakrin Cavendish, will show the way of an evolved new world!" Dakrin says as he raises his blade in the sky, in preparation to behead the poor man who whimpers and closes his eyes in anticipation over what's to come. The cheering gets louder, as Dakrin clenches the hilt as he prepares to execute an innocent person.
All in the name of "evolution".
But just as Dakrin is about to swing the blade down, a gunshot is heard, and in an instant, something impacts the hilt of Dakrin's sword, flying away from his hand as it drops to a nearby rock. Dakrin flinches for a bit as he and the others glance in the direction of the gunshot.
Coming from none other than Amanda, standing up as she holds the Glock with two hands and clenched teeth as well.
"You...?!" Dakrin says as he growls a bit.
"You got some problem with them or what? Don't you have anything better to do than to pick on them?" Amanda says while she stands her ground.
"You fucking bitch, you ruined my finest moment! Well, you're not the kid, but screw it! I need someone to take this anger out on!" Dakrin shouts as he grabs the sword again with clenched teeth.
"Well, you picked the wrong peeps to vent, asshole!" Amanda says, but before any of them can react any further, a metallic canister is thrown above the brick wall where Amanda is, and it's in there where she covers her eyes. The canister explodes, releasing a big flash of light that makes the rest scream and even cover their eyes due to the blinding force of the flashbang. And just as they know, Eron rushes into the position of the Zlocan in front of him, screaming at the top of his lungs while Marcello steps up and with an M14 rifle, proceeds to shoot three of the Human collaborators right in the foreheads with fast precision, all while Eron tackles the Zlocan to the ground.
"This is... For what you have done to us all!" Eron says as he smacks the Zlocan's helmet with the butt of the blaster rifle, all while Amanda keeps covering fire with Marcello at the other Humans and Zlocans standing in the way. Dakrin tries to rush in to cut Eron, only to get his sword shot at by Marcello, the force being enough to make him stumble backward. This sheer combo is enough to make even some of the Zlocan Knights stumble back from Eron's strength and the combined firepower of Amanda and Marcello.
But just as Eron prepares to smack at another Zlocan, a gunshot is heard that is neither from Marcello's rifle nor Amanda's glock, it seems further away from where they here. And within the blink of an eye, a bullet impacts Eron's tights, which makes him scream and fall down to the ground as the other Zlocans and Humans regain their sight and open fire at Amanda and Eron, who then run back to the brick to take cover from the fire.
"Ah, guess you forgot about the precious Jeanette as well. Gotta thank her later, but now, let's finish this as they said!" Dakrin says as he glances at the direction of Jeanette, namely one of a house that's a few miles behind them. As this occurs, a bulky Human collaborator drags Eron to their zone with the other collaborators raising their rifles and pistols at them, all with one clear intent for interrupting them, with Dakrin going to finish what he started.
Right as the men are ready to pull the triggers, another set of gunshots are heard, all different from the weapons of Amanda, Eron and Jeanette. It's a set of nine bullets that impact the heads of nine collaborators who fall down in rapid succession by each gunshot without any time to react at all.
Dakrin glances in the direction of the shooter, and as he soons as he spots him, his eyes widen and protrude then starts growling heavily with clenched teeth while grabbing the poor man by the neck.
It's Julian, back in action, even when relying on just one arm.
"You... traitor!" Dakrin says as he's prepared to rush at him, but just as he does so, two piles of rock are thrown at incredible speed from another figure behind Julian who breathes heavily. One impacts Dakrin right in the chest and the other impacts a Zlocan on his left, the force being enough to crack the helmet a bit as he stumbles backward.
"Not as much as you!" Rita says as he steps out of a corner, rushing to tackle the Humans on the other side who try to shoot the other hostages, with one instance where she managed to twist the barrel of the AR15 rifle before snapping the light-skinned man's fingers and then knocks him with the butt of it in a matter of seconds.
But it doesn't end there, where as soon the Zlocans try to take their light blades off, a figure rushes in who proceeds to stab one right in the chest, then throws the body at a bunch and then proceeds to slash most of the Knights in quick succession, one with a red light blade akin by theirs by a certain young man with dog tags.
"Didn't see that coming, I bet," Rian says as he glances at Eron who then helps him stand up while Amanda and Marcello head out of cover, regrouping with him while keeping some distance between each other.
"More persistent warriors, such a wonder to see in here," Marcello says as he glances at Rian.
"That's good and all, but there's one asshole remaining," Rian says as he nods at both. But before they can turn around, a shrill scream is heard, with Julian and Rita glancing at the direction and both gasping at they see.
"What the hell are you doing now?!" Rita asks at the individual she sees. It's none other than Dakrin, who now has the little girl in his arms with his blade near the throat, with the lankier young man screaming while the other gets him as they tremble at the sight.
"Go ahead, make one step and I'll slice this bitch's throat off and Jeanette will blow your brains out!" Dakrin shouts as the little cries out from the pressure, with Wolfpac and the rebels standing paralyzed over this, with Julian in particular already wasting most of his bullets and being unable to recharge at the moment. All of them breathe heavily as they think of a way out of this, as hard it may sound, yet it seems that Dakrin has them on the ropes.
"You shouldn't do this... She hasn't done anything," Amanda says as she points her gun.
"Oh, I know she did something, and that's being a fucking nuisance... At least she will stop crying once I silence her for good...!"
"You will regret this if you do it," Marcello says in a firm tone.
"Like I said, making one more step or move... And she will kiss this world goodbye." As this happens, where most of the silence is audible within the group, a palpable possibility seems to creep in by every second, one that has plagued them for too long. Especially for Rita, who even breathes heavier than usual, then clenches her fist then starts rushing toward Dakrin as she screams.
"Rita, no!" Rian asks as she runs toward Dakrin.
"I warned you then!" Dakrin as he prepares to slice her. However, just as he's about to do so, he's enveloped by a familiar green aura that paralyzes his movement for a bit, which makes Dakrin and others gasp over this sudden shift. Especially for Rian whose eyes dart at every corner of Dakrin and the girl surrounded by the familiar green aura.
"That power... Is she...?" Rian says as he glances backward to see if the source of the power is located nearby, with Amanda following suit. And sure enough, as soon as they spot the figure, their eyes widen over what they see, with Rita glancing as well.
"Amira!" Rita says as she smiles a bit over the return of a member that's precious to the group. Despite the grime and cuts around her face and uniform, her grace remains as strong as it looks.
"Not you!" Dakrin says as he tries to break free from Amira's power, but before he can try anything else, Amira pulls the little girl away from him then proceeds to thrust her hand forward, sending Dakrin flying to a pile of trash cans behind him before impacting a car's door on his back. The impact is enough to make him groan a lot and due to this, Jeanette holds her fire.
"The alien companion of Logan...?" Amanda whispers under her breath as she stares at Amira for a bit, who is breathing a lot over her course of action as the two men and the girl embrace each other and weep while Julian and Rita head over to comfort them.
But before any of them can approach her, she catches sight of them, then gasps before her digital wings emerge as she flies far away from them up in the sky.
"Hey, come back here, Amira!" Rian says as he tries to rush at her to no avail. But before he can go on, a pair of missiles emerge from the sky, which then impacts the jeep where the three rebels traveled on, sending pieces of debris flying and one tire as well as the group dodges most of them.
Once the smoke clears out, the sound of rotors is heard nearby, and as they turn around, they see the sight of a Blackhawk helicopter with two missiles and machine gun pads, with the pilot being one peculiar blue-haired mute who lands near Jeanette's position, then she proceeds to board the helicopter as it flies near Dakrin's position where she snatches him through the collar.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing?! Let me finish them off!" Dakrin protests as Jeanette boards him.
"A retreat order has been issued, so a better plan needs to be formulated before more losses occur," Jeanette replies as she signals Vladimir to fly back to their position, all while she smacks Dakrin right in the head to get him to stop his behavior from getting worse. As soon as the sound rotors fade away into the distance, Amanda can only sigh as she shakes her head over the smoking wreckage of the jeep.
"Well, there goes our way of transportation..." Amanda mutters.
"But we found some brave new allies instead, don't you think?" Marcello adds as he glances at Wolfpac, who gather together as they see the three rebels.
"You could say you were saved by the bell. We did find them first but I guess you started so... that makes us even. Name's Rita, yours?" Rita says as she smiles a bit while shaking Marcello's hand.
"Marcello Bismarck at your service. This is Amanda Cruz and this is Eron Heartmann, fellow lost drifters like me and perhaps you as well," Marcello replies as he nods as well, to which Eron chuckles a bit and Amanda sighs as well.
"Eron . . . Oh, you're that guy from the transport, right?" Rita asks, her eyes widening as she glances at Eron, whose eyes are also widened.
"So were you . . . Neat coincidence, right?" Eron says as he shakes his head, with Amanda and Marcello glancing at him.
"So, fate has brought the two together for a new chance to mend your bonds it appears," Marcello remarks with a slight smile on his face.
"Here he goes again..." Amanda says as she grunts a bit.
"Strange fellows I see... Anyway, name's Julian, and he's the leader of the bunch, Rian Aguila. He can be an ass but he has what he takes," Julian says as he nods at them with some small smiles in them as well.
"So, you do seem to recognize that green-haired alien chick, don't you?" Amanda asks the group, to which some nod in response.
"She's called Amira but yeah. What about it? Met her before?" Rita asks while Amanda glances away for a bit, thinking a bit about how to answer.
"In a way, yeah... But only because she was with... a certain someone."
"And that certain someone is...?"
"Probably none of your business."
"I think she may be talking about Logan, right...?" Eron adds, which Amanda and the rest gasp in response, with Amanda trying to smack Eron before being grabbed by Marcello.
"Oh, so you know Logan? But how?" Rita asks while staying close to Julian.
"It's... It's a bit complicated for you to understand, and may not be even worth hearing," Amanda replies, still glancing away for a bit.
"I'm sure you will in time because honestly, he does to hide something that pains him a lot," Julian adds, to which Amanda only replies by sighing once more.
"And honestly we have a lot to say to him... But first, we need to find Amira first, she must be heading that way," Rian says as he sighs as well.
"How can we be sure to trust you?"
"Well... if the magician can heal up the waist of that poor Eron man?" Julian says as he points at Eron who still winces from the wound. But before they can try anything else, the sound of various footsteps are heard nearby, with the two groups glancing back in the direction of it. The three rebels merely widen their eyes while Wolfpac smile a bit at who they see.
"I got a little curatio for big boy here~!" Tany says as she swings her staff around then places it near the waist, and after some time, Eron moves the waist for a bit and breathes slowly as he smiles at Tany for this action.
"Thanks again, young lady..." Eron says as Tany smiles widely, with the rest of the EW close behind.
"You guys missed a lot, but now we've got a lead who may know Logan, and also where Amira is going at," Rian says as he glances at the EW behind him.
"Oh, sounds like a very fine update to me. Also, we can introduce ourselves later, we have to go find her first then look for Logan, are you in, mates?" Seiner asks as he glances at the three rebels. While Eron and Marcello nod rapidly in agreement, Amanda still looks down for a bit as she's thinking of an answer that may satisfy both her and others, yet may still feel hard to grasp.
"Amanda?" Eron asks as he glances at her.
"Right. At least we're together for now, but just under that condition," Amanda replies. With that, the three teams run to the eastern side of the place where Amira supposedly has flown toward to.
A turn of events has now reunited three peculiar groups who, although distant in backgrounds and skills, all share one common goal that may make them tighten even more.
To find out more about Amira and Logan.