Oscar was getting tired.
His right arm hung at its side. He'd been grazed by a knife a few minutes before. Luckily, it was only a small nick. That didn't mean it didn't hurt, though.
The battle in the shadowy ravine had begun to die down a bit, but Kismet was still fighting. Frost surrounded herself with a wall of ice and was directing sharpened icicles at anyone who dared to get near her.
Breathing heavily, Oscar clamped a hand over his bleeding forearm and took a moment to look around. Emily was crouched behind a stack of crates with her bow drawn. Every now and then, she'd let off a blast of sonic energy from her mouth at a group of arriving Kismet soldiers.
Theo was still zipping around, knocking soldiers to the ground and stealing their weapons, but it was clear he was tiring as well. He wouldn't be able to keep that up forever. His asthma and fatigue would catch up eventually.
Oscar's eyes widened.
Andre.
He had seen when the boy had his arm severed by Apex. It was a gruesome sight that he feared he wouldn't be able to erase from his memory.
Andre had been carried from the battlefield by a few Atlas agents. Oscar just hoped he was still alive. If he learned that his friend had died because of what Apex did, he would probably spontaneously combust into a cloud of hellfire and reduce every Kismet soldier to a pile of ash.
Clenching his jaw, he turned his attention to Lycan, who was currently barreling through a small squad of Atlas agents. They shot at the werewolf-like Prime, but their bullets did nothing against his tough skin. The huge beast swung a claw at one of the agents, sending their body flying like a ragdoll.
Oscar sneered.
You're going down, dog.
Yelling like a maniac, he encased his fists with blistering flames and ran at Lycan.
#
The battle in the ravine had lasted for at least another twenty minutes before Atlas eventually overcame the rest of Kane's forces. Oscar, with help from a few of Emily's explosive arrows, had defeated Frost. As for Lycan, he'd finally been defeated by Oscar—with a little help from some of Emily's explosive arrows.
His large, still body laid face down on the ground with blood matted to his fur. A chill trickled down Oscar's back as he stared at the creature.
Once the fighting finally ceased, he let out a massive sigh of relief and dropped to his knees. His muscles ached and a throbbing pain tore through his arm, but he didn't care. They actually did it. They managed to defeat Kismet, once and for all.
Wiping the sweat from his face, which was peppered with snowflakes, he noticed something shooting into the sky. He tilted his head upwards to get a better look.
A beam of red energy torpedoed into the clouds. Within seconds, the entire sky had turned the color of blood. The world darkened as the sunlight struggled to break through the crimson veil. The snow falling from the atmosphere ceased for a moment.
Everything went silent.
Oscar's heart thumped in his chest. He heard his blood rushing in his ears as he gawked at the bleeding sky.
Oh no.
Wind whistled past him. It seeped into his bones and grabbed hold of him like an angry ghost. He shuddered.
Then the snow came down again.
Snowflakes tinged with crimson particles fell down from the heavens like a bad omen. Their intricate shapes were marred with the knowledge of their contents; of their creation. Of their meaning. Oscar held his hand out reluctantly and caught one.
It melted in his palm and left a red residue against his tawny skin.
He swallowed the truck-sized lump in his throat.
"Oh no."
He dropped to his knees, tears brimming in his eyes.
They had failed.
In a flash of grey and black, a panting Theo materialized beside him. His brown hair was plastered across his face. Dried blood decorated the skin below his nose. For once, he didn't seem hyper. His eyes were bright with activity; they were dull and heavy with the weight of failure.
His shoulders drooped as he gazed upon the sky. "What the hell is that?"
Oscar stuttered. He couldn't even bring himself to answer the speedster. His entire body went numb as more snow settled on his shoulders.
"Has anyone seen Chase or Stella?!" Emily called out from somewhere behind them. Panic consumed her words.
Theo glanced at Oscar, who was looking down at the ground with his eyes glazed over.
"C'mon," Theo said while his shoulder. He jogged over to where Emily was standing. Sighing dejectedly, Oscar stood up and followed behind him.
"Where did they go?" Emily asked again, her tone more urgent. The bow in her hand trembled and she couldn't stay still. "Where are they?"
"I don't know," Theo told her. He cautiously approached her, his own hands shaking. He carefully wrapped his arms around her. "I'm...I'm sure they're fine."
For their sake, Oscar hoped he was right.
He stood there for a few seconds, just watching as Theo tried his best to get Emily to calm down. Her breathing had quickened, and she had buried her face into his shoulder. Oscar dug his foot into the layer of snow beneath him and looked away.
He had never seen Emily like that before. He wasn't sure he wanted to again.
As he glared at the ground, a memory from earlier in the battle popped into his head. His eyes widened.
"I know where they went."
Emily lifted her face from Theo's shoulder. "Where?"
"While we were fighting Kismet, I saw them go down that tunnel over there," he answered while pointing at a dark corridor off to the side. "I think they were going after Kane."
She cursed under her breath. "We need to go get them."
Theo's eyes darted around as he let go of her. "You don't think they're..."
Emily shook her head. "Let's not think like that, yeah?" She turned to the two boys. "Let's go."
The three young Primes nodded at each other one last time before taking off for the corridor leading to their friends.
#
They found Chase and Stella with Kismet's behemoth of a machine.
The entire scene made Oscar want to gag, cry, and yell at the same time. Beside the screens attached to the Asclepius laid Kane. His face was pointed towards the sky. His blue eyes stared at the red clouds, still and unmoving.
Theo clamped a hand over his mouth.
Oscar spotted Stella unconscious on the ground. His chest tightened as he approached her. He quickly checked her pulse and let out a deep breath. "She's breathing."
"I don't think he is, though," Emily said as she pointed at their fallen team leader.
Oscar glanced at where she was indicating. He sucked in a breath as Chase's body on the ground. From where he stood, he could see a wound in the boy's stomach. Blood poured from the gash in his abdomen and stained the snow-covered ground.
But that shouldn't have been possible. Chase's skin could stop a bullet without breaking.
"We need to get some medics up here," Emily said. She ran over to Chase and pressed her hands over his wound. She then looked at Theo. "Go get some help. Quickly."
He nodded. "On it." He vanished in a streak of silver, leaving Oscar and Emily alone with their injured teammates.
This can't be happening.
"What're we gonna do?" he asked, his voice just above a whisper.
Emily didn't respond at first. He wasn't sure if she hadn't heard him or if she was choosing to ignore him. The vein in her temple pulsed as she continued to apply pressure to Chase's stomach.
After a while, she shook her head and wiped her face, smearing blood across her cheek.
"I don't know, Oscar," she answered. "I don't know."
#
Oscar sat on the edge of an Atlas truck. He was missing a shoe and a bandage wrapped around his right bicep. A mercenary got a lucky shot in and sliced his skin with a knife. He'd suffered a few minor injuries and bruises, but that was the worst one.
The others hadn't been as lucky as him.
The fighting ended a little while after the sky turned red. Atlas reinforcements finally arrived on the scene, forcing the remaining Kismet soldiers to surrender. It didn't matter, though. The Asclepius had been activated, the Primonium spreading across the atmosphere as they spoke.
It was over. They lost and Kane won.
When the battle ended, he, Emily, and Theo rushed to where the machine was. They found Kane's dead body lying on the ground, a few inches away from Apex's sword. Blood seeped into the snow like splotches of paint on a white canvas.
They found Chase and Stella almost immediately after. Luckily, they were both alive. Had they found their team leader any later, he surely would've died.
The two of them had been carried away by jets and taken to the nearest hospital to assess their injuries. Oscar and the others stayed behind to assess the damage of the battle.
He felt numb. All their hard work, all the blood they shed, amounted to nothing. Kane succeeded. Now, they had to try their best to save as many people as they could. He'd been told Atlas had been developing some sort of antidote to combat the effects of the Primonium. It wouldn't be finished for another few weeks.
In the meantime, warnings had been issued around the world, urging people to stay inside until the entire thing passed. Once the element got into water supplies, it would've been harder to contain. A myriad of problems would arise from the event.
He held his face in hands, letting out a defeated sigh.
Ahead of him, a few Atlas guards ushered Frost and some of her Kismet comrades to an extraction vehicle. The woman shot him a pointed look. He couldn't even muster up a joke. He simply watched her go in silence.
He retrieved his lighter from his pocket and examined the engraving.
"Ah," someone said before sitting next to him. "There you are."
It was Victoria. He nodded at her before returning his attention back to his family heirloom.
"What do you think is going to happen?" he asked.
She shrugged and leaned back against the door of the vehicle. Her leg was bandaged, and an ice pack was strapped to the side of her arm. "It's hard to say. But the bright side is that we've got Kismet. Kane is dead and we've got most of their men. Once we round up the rest, they'll be done for good."
He supposed that was good news. But it paled in comparison to the events of the day. They may have defeated Kismet, but their ultimate goal had still been achieved. Kane got what he wanted, even if he paid for it with his life.
Victoria took his hand and squeezed it. "Hey? We're gonna be alright."
"How can you say that?"
"Look, I'm not the most optimistic person in the world," she began, "but there's no use moping about it. We've still got a job to do. People will need our help. We're gonna have to pick ourselves up and do everything we can to make up for today."
He sighed and ran his other hand through his wild hair. "Yeah...yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks." He smiled weakly at her. She returned the gesture.
After a while, she cleared her throat and said, "Sorry about the whole double-agent thing."
Shaking his head, he laughed humorlessly.
"I would've told you guys, but I needed it to be a secret," she said. "I knew my father wouldn't approve. I had to prove to him that I could make a difference."
He nodded. "I get it. Your plan was pretty risky, you know. It needed a lot of luck."
"Yeah, I know." She stared at her boots. "Still worked though."
"Barely."
They shared a laugh, looking into each other's eyes. She leaned over to him and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. His muddy eyes widened as a grin plastered itself upon his face.
"Did you just," he looked around to see if anyone was watching them. Of course, no one was, "kiss me?"
Her lips twitched and she turned away from him. "Oh, shut up, Oscar." She then glared at him, sticking her index finger in his face. "Mention that to anyone and I will shoot you in the face."
Oscar pretended to zip his lips closed. "Don't worry, I won't ruin your rep. This will be our little secret." He winked at her.
She regarded him with disgust. "Don't do that."
He feigned ignorance and winked at her again, this time exaggerating it. "What? You mean that?"
She laughed, nodding. "Yes, that."
Grinning, he started winking rapidly at her. To anyone else, it would've looked like he was trying to get something out of his eye. Victoria clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling her laughs.
His smile widened.
Maybe she was right. Maybe they would be fine.