[Normal P.O.V]
The car ride towards Pike's Peak was rather quiet. They took Astrid's Sedan for a more casual approach. Passing through rows of trees and bushes, they continued to drive through the dirt path up the hill. Hayden had a grim look on his face as he drove along the dirt path towards Grimmel's plant. In fact, everyone had the same look, but for different reasons.
Hayden was angry, no... seething at himself. Every bit of his mind and heart is telling him that this was wrong. That something wasn't right. He was going to bring an innocent kid in a dangerous plant where there's a chance she might die, and he hated himself for that.
Klarisse was still shocked and hurt from the news she received from Hayden yesterday. Only he, Klarisse, and Astrid knew what happened. Beneath her heart, is an undeniable boiling rage burning in a pit of lava. She didn't know who was she aiming her anger at, but she needed to release it somehow.
The last four were doubting Hayden's plan. It's reckless, dangerous, and worst of all, even he himself doesn't know if it will work. Astrid was worried for Hayden because the plan mostly circled around him. She wanted to help but she got a really firm and strict order from Hayden to not interfere.
The only one who had a very bubbly attitude is Ezra, who sadly, has no idea what she's in for.
For the first time, Hayden didn't want to finish a mission. To him, this was worse than the battle against Drago. He doesn't know why, but a very dark feeling inside of him is slowly rising. He tried to shake it off, but it was no use.
His eyes wandered to the rear-view mirror, where he sees Astrid talking with Ezra. Even though she had a smile on her face, it was clear that she had a lot in her mind, and Hayden knows what she's thinking about. It was about the question she asked yesterday on their date;
Flashback
Hayden and Astrid walked hand in hand along the stone path. Ezra skipped along the lines that slithered across the path. A slight breeze rustles the leaves making them fall to the solid ground one by one.The air was warm, the beams of sunlight glowing on my skin. Flowers were vast, concealing the freshly cut green grass.
For once, Hayden felt happy. He now has the love of his life by his side, a kid that calls him as his father, and each night, the nightmares no longer haunted him. It was like the dead finally allowed themselves, and himself to rest. He only wished for this day to go forever when suddenly, Astrid squeezed his hand.
"Hayden..." She said, which prompt them to stop. Her heartbeat began to quicken, as the words got stuck on her throat.
Hayden whirled around to face her, grabbing the sides of her face with a smile. "What is it, Mi'lady?" He asked.
Astrid took a deep breath, and exhaled with her eyes closed. "Do you think we'll ever have a normal life?" She said, opening her eyes and staring straight at Hayden.
He was a bit surprised at the question, and to be honest, he doesn't know the answer to that. His life is always going to be full of danger and trouble. Enemies will always be hiding in every corner, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. With his current job as an assassin, he will continue to kill and destroy. The amount of blood on his hands will only grow as his life goes on. But will that be the meaning of normal? Will normal be him, going out in dangerous missions and risking his own life? Is that the normal life he'll have?
But then he realized, it's not his life she's talking about. It's theirs. His eyes slightly widened at the thought. What does she mean by that? He decided to voice out his question.
"What do you mean by that, Astrid?" He asked.
He watched as said girl widened her eyes and blushed. She turned her head away to hide it, but it was too late. Hayden tried to hide the smirk on his face but ended up kissing her on the lips for a chaste moment, which only made her blush burn more.
"What is it? You can tell me." He said to her with a comforting smile.
"I- uhh... It's just that... do you really think we can make this work?" She replied with an almost hopeful look in her eyes.
Hayden's heart melted at that look. He wanted to say it will, and that everything would be okay. But he honestly doesn't know. Their lives are entirely different now. Everyday, their lives will be at risk, a chance of death. Will they both be strong enough to if one of them gets caught in it?
He breathed out a sigh, "I don't know the right answer for it. But I'm willing to try..."
That wasn't the answer that Astrid was looking for, but it was the one she needed. Even she herself didn't know the answer, but she's glad they thought the same. A wide smile graced her lips as her hand rose to clasp over Hayden's.
"And I'll try as well..." She said.
Hayden smiled back, "Good. I guess this will be a challenging mission."
Astrid scoffed with chuckle, "I guess it is."
"Anyway, let me go to the bathroom first. I've been holding one for a while now."
She breathed out a laugh, "Way to ruin the moment, Hayden."
"If you were in my spot, you'll do the same." Hayden snorted.
"True, true..."
He was about to run off and go to the 'restroom', when Astrid called him out again;
"Hayden, I have one last question."
He hummed, turning around to look at her with an arched eyebrow.
"Will you be willing... to spend the rest of your life with me?" She asked warily. Her heartbeat began to quicken again when he saw Hayden's emotionless expression.
"That sounds like a proposal, Mi'lady." He replied tonelessly.
Astrid had to swallow a gulp as she replied with a shaky voice, "Wh- what if it is?" She cursed herself for sounding like a love-sick maiden.
A moment passed and the same expression was still plastered on Hayden's face. Astrid thought that she messed up, and she was about to deny her own words when suddenly, in a flash, Hayden marched forward with heavy steps, grabbed the back of her head, and puller her into a passionate kiss.
Her knees immediately felt weak, daring to buckle. Luckily, his hand snaked around her waist and pulled her upward. Her hand rose to his hair, and tugged him forward as she returned the kiss with equal force. Astrid felt like it was her first kiss all over again.
They were like two sides of a magnet—a natural force between them that kept them attached. With her eyes closed, Astrid found herself lost in space and time, soaring through staggering heights. Her mind went blank. Jolts of electricity shot from her lips into her toes. Her stomach flip-flopped, her bones turned to jelly, and a feeling of lightness spread in her chest, running through every nerve and fiber like a tidal wave.
When Hayden broke the kiss, she was in a daze. He pressed his forehead against hers, panting. The couple broke into a grin as they tried to catch their breaths.
"I'll marry today, tomorrow, and forever. I don't care if it needs to be legal. As long as you or I say it, then it's official. Your wish... is my command, Mi'lady." Hayden breathed out.
Once again, Astrid felt like she was in cloud nine. No, higher than that. The man she loves is literally declaring that he'll marry whenever she says so. And what he said was true. It doesn't matter if it was legal or that it has to be recorded. They are part of a organization of assassins for crying out loud. What they do is basically against the law. What will another law breaker will do to them?
Her breath got stuck in her throat, and she ended up squeaking out, "Ditto..."
"Eww, mommy and daddy are so lovey-dovey!"
The two had completely forgotten their nine-year old companion, who was grinning at them, with purple eyes sparkling with amusement. They ended up laughing at their situation, the fact that what Ezra called Astrid didn't go unnoticed by them. But it will be fitting. Soon anyway, they will be a family.
....................................
A smile reached up Hayden's face. At least there's something he'll look forward to. But for now, he'll need to focus on the mission, and kick Grimmel's ass. Luckily, he wasn't going to have to wait long. The form of the plant came to their view. Two cooling towers stood tall above the trees like massive cones. In between the towers, is the containment building which was a rectangular prism-like structure with hundreds of solar panels built on the roof. The pumps stood in between the structure and the cooling towers as a bridge between them. Green and black steam spilled out of the exhaust pipes from the containment building.
Who knows what Grimmel has been cooking up in there. They passed through the gate, which was surprisingly but suspiciously wide open. That's when they saw a group of soldiers waiting for them in front of the main door. A tall and lithe man stood in the midst of them, donned with a leather robe. His hands were clasped together, a smirk plastered on his face that slightly irked Hayden.
They slowly parked in front of them. Hayden made sure to step on the brakes and stop, in about an inch from Grimmel's body. The gesture temporarily made the old man wince but he quickly recovered.
All of them began to disembark from the car and standing in front of the group. They all sported an unreadable expression. Hayden, who was clad in his black Night Fury armor, stood in front of the lithe man with a dull look. His signature mask strapped on his face along with his hood. The men accompanying Grimmel felt intimidated of the man. Especially with his gauntlets that looked like could break a person's bones just by flicking it. Each time the purple hue light pulsates in his armor, they would wince, expecting an attack to just pop up. His special pistol hung across his gun holster on his waist, with his sword on the other side.
The others were wrapped with their issued Drakos uniforms—A red long-sleeved shirt, with a black rune-engraved vest. Each of them had a different kind of coat around them, that symbolizes as their style and honor. Brown leather straps snaked along their black combat pants, and their leather tactical boots. Their weapons were easily shown out, either on their waste, ankle, or back. Astrid proudly held her shining axe on her shoulder, a smug and firm gaze aimed at the unnerved soldiers.
The staredown lasted for exactly ten seconds, before Ezra popped out with a grin, that broke the heavy atmosphere.
"Ooh, hello gramps!" The kid exclaimed, purple eyes glowing with excitement.
All eyes immediately turned to the kid. Ezra, who is unaware of the tension and the gravity of the situation, walked towards Grimmel with a curious expression. Her mouth was open, in awe of the old man who as staring at her with a grimace.
"Why is your face all weird?" She asked with an innocent tone. "Your hair is like a broom... with dust." Then she gasped. "Are you a human broom?!"
Leave it to Ezra to insult the bad guy without even knowing he's the bad guy.
Zythid resisted the urge to face-palm, while the others tried to stifle their laughter. Hayden is desperately trying to tell her to stay back by widening his eyes and gesturing his head. Ezra tilted her head to the side with a frown, then her face lit up.
"Ooh, I should go back?" She asked for confirmation.
Hayden painfully nodded as Ezra skipped back to his side and held his hand. The rest silently breathed out a sigh of relief, as Grimmel stared at them with an arch eyebrow.
"I see that you honored your part of the deal." He said with a scoff.
"And when are you going to honor yours?" Hayden remarked. "I hope it's right now because I don't have much time."
"Patience, my dear Night Fury." Grimmel chuckled lowly. "Or should I say, Hayden Harrison Haddock?"
Hayden's eyes narrowed at the old man's smug face. He completely forgot that among the three tyrants, Grimmel was the most cunning one. He hates to admit it, but his intellect rivals his.
"Yeah, yeah. You know my real name. So let's get the tour going, shall we?" Hayden replied with a roll of his eyes, trying to play it off.
"I suppose..." He smirked, which now irritated Hayden, before spinning around and snapped his fingers in the air. "Come on, now. Let's get this over with."
Hayden and the others glanced at each other, before following Grimmel to the building. The sliding doors opened with hiss as they walked towards it. As soon as they stepped inside, it felt like they just entered a whole new world. The atmosphere felt fuzzy and strange. There was little noise, only a humming sound. But that's not what the facility strange.
In this dimly lit facility nothing but the machines meets their first gaze. There is no movement and no odour of any kind. There are lights, but like the stars in a night sky they do little to lift the blackness, showing only the activity of the hardware - plasma screens of gigantic proportions with text that's too far away to make sense of. Though it's a strange laboratory/facility, the feeling is more of being in a high tech cave the size of a stadium, black metallic roof above, black metallic floor below.
Soldiers were stationed in almost every corner and line in the facility. They continued to follow Grimmel through the whirring machines. The white coated scientists moved in choreographed silence as they drew pipettes of fluid from one tiny tube and transferred them to others. The hum of machinery was like a soft whisper in the background. Tubes of a strange liquid substance were lined across the air and through the wall, which they believe is another room.
Hayden and the others moved in silence, simply observing the strange machines and the unknown substances they've been cooking up. Ezra was a bit frightened by the machines and the fuzzy atmosphere because it reminded her of her experiences back in Drago's. Hayden felt her trembling form so he tightened his grip on her hand and sent her a reassuring smile.
Unknown to them, Hayden silently and discreetly pressed a small button on his prosthetic using his other foot. Then, from a small opening on the heel, poured out a dense form of an unknown liquid, drenching the ground as he walked. The liquid flowed along the gaps of the metalic tiles on the ground, completely covering the entire room with the liquid.
"Tell me, Fury. How did you know about my plant?" Grimmel suddenly asked.
"There are a lot of conspiracy theories about your company, Grimmel. I'm amazed that you don't know about it." Hayden replied.
"Oh, I do know about it. I simply let the people guess whatever they want but they will never find out whether it's true or not."
"But here we are. Walking around your cloning plant that's is supposedly cloning animals and creatures. Or worse, humans."
"No, Night Fury. Even better." He announced with an ominous tone.
They reached another set of iron doors, locked with three sets of bars that probably weighed a ton. Grimmel walked towards the doors and raised his finger on the top. As he lowered his finger down in a straight line, a small bright light buzzed out and followed his finger, cutting through the doors. Once his finger reached the bottom, the doors opened and Grimmel waltzed in like it was a normal occurrence.
Hayden was about to make a witty remark but it died down in his tongue when he saw what was inside the other room. He stopped moving, stopped breathing, while his heart speeds up to olympic sprinter rate. Rows of experimental containment tanks were lined along the sides of the room. But what really disgusted Hayden, was that the organisms were humans. Strange green liquid surrounded the submerged humans. Some were underdeveloped while some were mature. From fetuses to adults. But all of them floated with tubes attached to their naked bodies, which protruded from the tanks and towards the front of the room, where a tarp seemed to cover a much larger object.
Hayden had completely forgotten about Ezra, until he felt her hand left his. He momentarily snapped out of his thoughts to call out for her, who seemed to be walking towards a specific tank. The words died in his mouth as he looked at what Ezra was looking at. The resemblance was uncanny. The light chesnut hair, the faded freckles on her skin, and the same exact shape of her body. No, it wasn't a resemblance. It was a total copy.
Ezra watched as the little girl, which resembled everything about her, floated in the green liquid with her eyes closed. It was clone of herself. Ezra turned around, with trembling eyes and a look of fear etched on her face. Hayden immediately regretted bringing her. The rest simply stared slack-jawed at the facility before them, horrified at the person who created such disgusting experiment.
"Why do you even need her, Grimmel?" Hayden hissed out. "You have thousands of clones. Why do you need her?"
"Because these are empty shells. No life. No spirit. No soul." Grimmel explained with a smirk. "And your little girl, possesses all that. Do you know why... she immediately felt attached to you?"
Hayden simply growled in response. He didn't care about Ezra's origins. He accepted her as she is, and nothing would change that.
"It's because she was created that way. To whoever she feels indebted to, she will feel an immediate attachment to said person. You rescued her, am I right? Because of that, her mind created an illusion that you are her father, and she lives only to serve you. She will do everything you order her to. But for now, she is young. But soon, she will develop that mindset. Just like her sister."
Hayden flinched at the word. His face contorted to a grimace as his glare pierced through Grimmel's form. "Sister?"
"Ah, you didn't know about that? Her sister. She, I think, adopted the name Artemis..." Grimmel declared.
His eyes widened at the name. "It's her. The mole. Wait, if she's her sister, then that would mean..."
"Yes, Night Fury. Artemis is also a Dragon. To be specific, an old and prehistoric dragon called the Changewing." Grimmel revealed as he walked towards the object that's been covered by a tarp.
"Then why can't you get your soul and spirit from her?" Hayden questioned. "They're sisters, aren't they?"
"Yes, but she's already matured. Her spirit and soul has been stripped off, along with her heart and emotions. It was a mistake, but luckily she has a sister." He stated, gesturing to the terrified Ezra. He then spread his arms in the air, and shouted, "And this, Night Fury... is the the source of all my work!"
The tarp was then removed from the object, and exposed for them to see. In that suspended moment, a fraction of a second drawn out to infinity, Hayden's brain offers an explanation and yet rejects it simultaneously. This is the stuff of science fiction, of movies, of horror. The tank contained murky liquid that reached up to the brim. What floated inside the tank is a life sized version of the toy he used to keep on his bedroom window sill as a child—a dragon. It floats, corpse-like, but it can't be dead. To its mouth runs a shiny metal tube as thick as a car exhaust but gently arced to insert into the beast's mouth. He sucked in a sharp breath of the dust-less air, suddenly seeming so thick and stepped forward for a better look.
Around the prehistoric beast's neck is a million tubes wrapped around it, puncturing through its tough skin, and the same are fastened around all four of its legs. Its skin resembles an old lizard than a majestic creature—grey, rusted, scaled. Yet in that mouth must be teeth sharper than the finest blade that Gobber could create. Its eyes were slits, and burning red that must've terrorized even the most bravest humans. It wings were tucked in, but even if it were functioning, Hayden doubted that it could carry the large behemoth.
"What the hell is this, Grimmel?" Hayden snarled out. "You're messing with nature and science. This is fucked up."
"This... is the Titan Wing. It harnesses every single power and attribute of every dragon that used to fly in the air." Grimmel chuckled lowly. "And I'm not messing with nature or science, Fury. I'm helping it grow."
The rest only stared at Grimmel in disgust and horror at what he's trying to do. This was more sick than anyone could ever imagine. Ezra kept close to Hayden, clutching his leg with a tight grip.
"Now, Night Fury..." Grimmel turned to them with his hand outstretched. "Give me the child."
"Like hell I will!" Hayden yelled out firmly, stepping in front of the little girl with a protective aura. Even the others, who drew their weapons and circled around the kid with a deadly glare. The soldiers moved forward, surrounding them. "I don't care if this kid is your creation. This kid is now my daughter, and she can call me her father any time of the day. She's now under my protection and if you want her, you have to do it over my dead body."
Grimmel let out a maniacal laugh, "I knew you were going to say that! Guards, app-"
"I knew you were going to say that as well." Hayden cut him off with a grin. "Those machines outside... I bet they're the life support of these clones and including that dragon?"
"Ha! You don't have the time to tamper with anythin, Fury. My men-"
"Who said anything about tampering?" He replied, cutting off Grimmel once again.
"How about..." He then unsheathes his blade, activating its flames. The smoldering licks of fire caused the soldiers to wince temporarily. Hayden then pressed another button, which allowed the flames to burn stronger and hotter, until it burned blue. Raising the sword, he stabbed it on the ground behind him, to the confusion of Grimmel and the soldiers.
But then, a spark flew off. And all of a sudden, a trail of blue flames brust out in the ground, and rapidly burned in a straight line towards the other room. The doors were closed, so they couldn't see what was happening. But the sounds of people screaming, machines exploding, the smell of smoke and burnt flesh and metal, and the burning light of the fire on the other side of the doors told them what they needed to know. All the containment tanks lost its light anfd glow. The tubes no longer functioned as all the machines whirred off, including the one that stabilized the dragon.
Grimmel's face burned as red as the flames outside. It was obvious that Hayden had outsmarted him for the moment, but a smirk grew on his face as he yelled out at the top of his voice, "Get them!!!"
The remaining soldiers then surged forward, as the Hayden's group charged to meet them. Ezra quickly hid behind Hayden's body as he yanked off the sword out of the gun, and pulled out his pistol, firing perdect headshots, all the while blocking Ezra's veiw of the actual killing.
More soldiers rushed in from the front of the room, lining in a straight formation, and aiming their guns at them. Both Lazarus and Camilla saw this, and immediately went to action.
Lazarus wildly sprayed bullets at the soldier in an abnormal kind of accuracy. Camilla dodged every bullet that came into her way, while hurling knives directly at them. Astrid yanked her axe off from a soldier's body then charged at the group of soldiers ahead of her, swinging her axe like a raving Valkyrie. Zythid swung his chain-scythe around, cutting down every soldier in his path. Some of the bullets accidentally hit a few of the containment tanks, causing the green liquid to spill out and the humanoid bodies to fall down on the ground.
Klarisse expertly wacked some of the soldiers' faces with her staff, intentionally hitting their weak spot like their kneecaps, shoulder joints, and the jaw. She didn't notice the soldier sneaking up behind her with a knife. The soldier lunged forward, only for his body to be blown away by a mysterious purple blast. It didn't kill her, but it completely knocked her out cold.
Klarisse saw the body crumple to the ground, and her eyes locked with Ezra's, who is almost as surprises as her. She flashed her a grin, before Ezra broke her gaze from hers and continued to fire a barrage of purple blasts at the soldiers.
Klarisse almost laughed if it weren't for Grimmel, who she saw from the corner of her eye, aiming his crossbow directly at Hayden. His back was turned, busy fighting of a squad of soldiers so he didn't noticed the bolt whizzing through the air. But Klarisse did.
Her mind went to overdrive, as she immediately rushed towards him. The bolt tore through the air in blazing speed and Klarisse forgot about her own life and jumped in the way of the bolt, piercing her through the chest. The force of the bolt was enough for her body to be blown sideways and connect to Hayden's, toppling him over.
Hayden's heart suddenly stopped, his eyes widening as he recognized the body. Sudden flashes of Nuffink appeared in his head as the same scene replayed over and over in his head. The blood pouring out her body. Her skin paling as her chest rose slowly and heavily. The light in her eyes only flickered weakly. His heart immediately tightened, along with his throat. He broke out of his state of shock as he instead saw red and black, and the boiling rage in his body surged out as a pained scream of anger and denial.
"KLARISSE!!!!!"
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And just to be clear, the liquid that came from Hayden's prosthetic was the rum that he ordered to get. Rum is very flammable and mixed with the right chemicals, it can be a lot more dangerous