Chapter 7 - Hollow's Bell

It was a tenebrous, soulless night. Not a single star gleamed in the dark sky, not a single platoon of official enforcers in the street, not a single individual wandered the sidewalks, constantly flashing with a boundless set of street lights. The moonlight engraved a silver lining among the city’s silhouette. Perhaps an epic foreshadowing for what was inevitably intended to transpire. Ryoku would not agree.

Ryoku wandered the street, wearing a black, leather coat, his hands placed in his coat pockets, indifferently fondling on the small bit of pocket change. On Ryoku’s ears were headphones, reverberating a silent melancholy through the shadows. A man used to living in the shadows, obscured from civic communities and public eyes. Ryoku’s eyes opened, revealing the scarlet laced, blood drenched eyes, staring up at the hazy moon stymied by the clouds in the sky.

“Death is the only thing that is a promise in life,” Ryoku said, not particularly to anyone. In his free time, Ryoku rather enjoyed being poetic, reciting lines from various poems and songs he had heard in his lifetime. Ryoku vanished with an immense speed, his body appearing through a flicker of dark matter, re-appearing on the nearest rooftop, the stars twinkling before a colossal twilight. “My blood streams through my veins cold, searing my one existence into a tragic fate foretold ♪.”

“Is that a song, Ryo?” a man said, sitting next to Ryoku on the rooftop. One second ago, he literally was not there. This alarming entrance had no effect on Ryoku, in fact, he was expecting him. His face remained distant, hidden by the fabrics of his hood garment. Ryoku turned casually to the new advent arrival, closing his eyes. A large rumble roared in the city tops, followed by a streak of lightning.

“Not quite, merely a recollection of my posture and trials,” Ryoku said with a sigh, watching the flowing midnight clouds. “Poetry is but a sword of lightning, ever unsheathed, which consumes the scabbard that would contain it.”

“Anything else you wanna spring outta’ your ass my way?” the man asked with a hearty, yet somewhat frantic chuckle. His voice resonated with a sinister string. Ryoku’s sense of humor clearly collided with this man’s, however.

“Have you completed the task Haize has allocated to us?” Ryoku asked, completely changing the subject matter to more pressing, serious matters. “We each have our own part in this; you had better be doing your share too, since you have time to criticize me.”

The man threw his hands up, “Oi, absolutely, Ryo!-“

“Don’t call me that.”

“I’ve apprehended the girl,” the man said. “She knows nothing.”

“She does know something. She knows much.”

“Yeah? You try interrogating her then hotpants. I’m telling you, she’s stubborn as a mule – won’t talk at all. I actually had to force her to talk to me. Man, she really has no manners.”

“Weak minds are easily deceived. She is but a mere mortal, after all. We do not often look underneath the underneath-“

“Okay look if you’re gonna start getting all intense serious face and poetic again I’m leaving. Seriously, no one thinks you’re cool when you do that.” the man stood up. Ryoku sighed in response, finding this conversation more of a nuisance than an actual business leap.

“What of your second task?”

“Oh? Right,” the man’s hands lifted up to his hood, pulling it down, draping over his back. He grinned, revealing some considerably thrilling fangs. He smiled delightfully.

“Those little twerps have successfully traveled through the Timestream to this day and age.” Zeru said, smiling as if it were all a little game he was playing, and winning. “They’re playing right into our hands – even Prince Sidian is so gullible.”

Ryoku remained silent, observing the dusky sky once more, allowing a light breeze to flow gently in his face, the chilling night air was dazzling. “Sidian does not concern us,” Ryoku spoke bluntly, the mere mention of Sidian’s name sending an intense chill down his spine, rummaging down his body. Ryoku apathetically shook it off. “Our target is Willman.”

“It’s no sweat anyway,” Zeru said with a light laugh, folding his arms, looking down over the city alongside Ryoku. “With Willy’s big sister on our case, it’ll be even easier. We may even get admission to Nebelion!”

“Nebelion’s passive customs will ultimately lead to their demise,” Ryoku said. “Those two siblings, along with that family of theirs, will lead to a revolution. Our goal is to see it through.” Ryoku closed his eyes. “Which is why, as long as circumstances do not condone, we are not allowed to meet face to face with Willman. If he sees me…” Ryoku lifted his hand to his face, clenching his leather gloved fist. “It could tip any natural balance in the Timestream, to the point refurbishment is unattainable.

Zeru chuckled heartily, standing up, he strode over to the door for the entrance of the rooftop casually with no care in the world. He placed his hands behind his head while watching Ryoku. “Hey dude, heard of that new organization that is suddenly skimming into public animosity.”

Ryoku turned to Zeru, cutting his eyes Zeru’s way. “Vault or Aura?”

“Aura,” Zeru said with a trivial smile. “They seem interesting.”

“How so?” Ryoku questioned, barely showing an apparent interest any way.

“They have an interesting goal, interesting cast, and an intriguing leader,” Zeru replied with a quirky smirk. Ryoku did not seem amused or concerned. Zeru sighed, “Guess I have to spell it out for you.” Zeru walked toward Ryoku, staring at him from the back. “We need to make a trip.”

Ryoku’s eyes narrowed. “My heart trembles with the solid ache of vengeance.”

“My apologies, Ms. Winterstone, but we cannot identify the properties of the War Rune,” the attorney said with profound apologetic tone.

A red haired woman with mid-back length red hair which curled elegantly in blissful strands behind her back, leaving coiled bangs stranded down her forehead, wearing a black as night corset with a royal purple lining, revealing a large portion of her stomach, while sensually revealing a savoring flavor of cleavage. A red rose adorned between her breasts on the corset. She wore a black knee length skirt with a purple wrap tied around her waist. She placed her hands on her hips as her most notable feature, her amethyst eyes stared coldly at the attorney. She flicked her crimson hair out of her face with a turn of her neck.

“Yes you can, and I ordered you to do so,” Rouge replied gravely with a cold, stoic stare. “Unless you aspire for termination in your near future, you will uncover the secrets of that rune. It’s the only lead we have, and I intend to use it,” The attorney replied, before placing his hands before his waist, presenting himself in an orderly, honorable fashion. He set off, leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.

Rouge sighed, looking out of the window of the main Aura headquarters. The rain began to pick up immensely, and before long, a deafening roar of thunder blasted through the heavens, followed by a swift flash of azure lightning, lighting the first half of Rouge’s face as she stared callously out of the window. Above all else, she felt desperate inside. She slowly bit her lip as she turned away from the window, the lightning outside reflecting off of the window glass. Her crimson hair drenched in her face as she gazed down at her feet.

“These runes must be the secret to K.I.’s power. I have to uncover this power, and defeat them myself. I at least owe that much.”

“How do you intend to do that?”

Rouge heard the voice, the hollow voice called across the room. At first, she thought it was in her subconscious. She then heard the constant ringing of a bell inside of her head. It was a strange bell, hollow in its resonance, as if it had no soul, no meaning at all into its melody. Rouge closed her eyes, rubbing the temples on her head. She sat on her desk in her rolling chair, pressing the intercom button on her phone to her secretary on the first floor.

“Please, turn on the A.C immediately. It’s a little stifling in here.” She requested, more like demanded, resting her head on her desk. All of the stress at work must have finally been getting to her, in a horrid way. She usually dealt with stress well, but this day in particular had been very nerve-racking. After seemingly discovering a secret to the world’s enemy’s ominous energy source, they were unable to crack the code to using it and destroying it without discovering how it worked was nigh impossible. With all of this on her mind, she needed breaks, but never wanted to go through the initiative to take them. She never had time, time was not easy to come by, and it waited for no one.

“We meet at last, Blackrose Rouge,” Rouge heard the voice again, but this time, she could swear she heard it from the ceiling. She looked up, flicking on the lamp light at her desk as she looked up at the man literally standing from above her ceiling, his feet planted on her wall. The black leather jacket was the first thing she noticed, followed by his shaggy/spiky black hair. He folded his arms as he stared at Rouge with apathetic crimson eyes, Rouge’s amethyst eyes, perplexed by the man standing in front of her, or rather above her, jumped out of her seat.

She reacted immediately, reaching for the quadruple bracelets fashioned around both of her wrists. She tapped one of them, conjuring up a large array of miniscule needles to surround the man, and stab into his body around his neck, aiming to sever his veins and neck muscles with a dangerously accurate display by all 10 needles. To her surprise, the man simply unsheathed one black dagger with blood red edge linings, deflecting the needles all in a three severe slashes, small sparks glistened in the room, as the small droppings of the needles echoed in the empty room with the exception of these two extraordinary people. The man landed on the ground, holding his right arm above his face twisted in a horizontal curve, he twirled his dagger in his hand, sheathing it in his pouch just below his belt for his black gothic style chain pants. The man looked up, flicking his black stylish hair out of his face with a single swipe. Rouge merely looked on in disbelief. She suddenly backed up, but a scowl remained apparent on her face.

“Who are you? How did you find me? What do you want with me?”

The man’s face came into view with a lining of sapphire light from outside of the window, illuminating the face of that of Ryoku. He held his black gloved hand toward Rouge clenching his fist in midair.

“A black heart reminiscent of ghastly intentions, I stand before you, my lady, not as an act of contravention.” Ryoku lifted his index and thumb fingers in midair, pointing at Rouge. “You are the Aura leader, am I right?”

Rouge regained her balance, glaring seriously at Ryoku. “Answer all of my questions first, and I’ll answer yours.”

“My name is Ryoku,” Ryoku replied, placing his hands casually in his pockets. “I have intel on your organization, I know all of your goals documented on every last one of your private investigated files,” Ryoku said, midsentence Rouge gasped, but attempted to remain composed, as to not give away anything dire. She still wasn’t sure she could trust this man, after all.

“I want you; because I believe you could use my help, as much as I could use yours.” Ryoku said, bowing in a sign of respect for Rouge. “I come humbly before your presence, Blacksheep, as an ally, fighting the same war of generations to follow, were we not to act on the Black Doomsday.”

Rouge’s eyes widened. “H-how do you know about that day?”

“How do you?” Ryoku countered, glaring seriously.

“You brought it up,”

“Actually, you did, just now.”

Rouge scowled, adjusting her bracelets on her left wrist. “What are you playing at? You think you can barge in my private office and request for assistance from us? The fact you got around security only further proves my point.”

“There is need for haste,” Ryoku replied simply, folding his arms. He slowly walked forward to her, to the point their bodies were nearly touching. Rouge stepped back, as she felt the warmth of Ryoku’s breathing, that sweet scent of breath she ironically loved. Rouge’s eyes glanced around the room before glaring back up at Ryoku seriously.

“As far as I’m concerned, you have nothing to offer me, even if you are talented in the stealth and precision department.”

“We are after the same prize,” Ryoku said simply. Rouge’s eyes widened as she looked up at Ryoku’s. She waited for him to continue, which he did. “You want the spawn of The Kid, do you not?”

Rouge looked down, nodding barely. “How do you know all of this?”

“I told you, I have intel,” Ryoku said, turning his back to Rouge, he walked toward the open window, looking outside, another flash of blue lightning illuminating his visible complexion. Rouge stared from where she stood, swallowing, awaiting Ryoku’s next move. She used her hand to flick a strand of crimson hair out of her left eye.

“K.I. and the Vault, they’re both in the way, don’t you think?” Ryoku asked nonchalantly, looking out of the flashing window. Rouge watched his gaze, shaking her head slowly.

“Vault is more of a nuisance, but they do have one crucial member I’m interested in,” Rouge replied rather fiercely. Ryoku turned his head slowly, cutting his eyes at Rouge. “The one by Willman.”

Ryoku’s eyes widened slightly, as if she had struck a petite interest in him. “Is that so?” Ryoku asked. “Yes, he is possibly the most interesting. If you have any dreams of putting Aura on the map, both of them must be terminated.”

“I don’t have any intentions of putting Aura on the map, I only care of ridding the corrupted stains placed on the map,” Rouge replied rationally. “K.I. has declared war. Unless we act soon, the more powerful organizations, like Aura and Vault, will be the first to go.”

“The first to go will be Nebelion,” Ryoku corrected her.

“That’s debatable.”

“Perhaps.”

“I want to help you, Rouge,” Ryoku replied. “But in doing so, I need a favor from you.”

“I never agreed to help you, so why ask for a favor?” Rouge replied frigidly.

“At least hear me out,” Ryoku said, his gaze turning dead serious. “I have long since abandoned my sentimental values, and in doing so, I have restored myself to an elevated portion of self enlightenment. With no more sentimental attachments, before we go any further, I must ask that you kill me.”

Rouge gasped, glaring at Ryoku. “What the hell are you playing at?!” She reached for him, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket. She threw him against her desk, clearing away all of her accessories. Ryoku merely grinned.

“My life is meaningless, and above all a nuisance. Killing me would ensure that Willman would never have to lay eyes on me.”

“You just said you would help me! What would killing you do at all?! That makes no sense! You make no sense! You’re bothering me!” Rouge was screaming, her voice cracked in irritation.

“Then why do you care so much? Your hesitation is apparent. If it holds no sentimental value to you… then strike me down in cold, merciless blood, dear Blacksheep… Stephanie Winterstone… or can you not do it?”

Rouge gulped, shoving Ryoku against her desk, she leaned against the wall. “Are you seriously implying that I have some sort of sappy concern with your well being? That I care about you?”

Rouge forced a smile, “Why are you doing this to me?”

Ryoku smiled in return, walking toward Rouge, he took off the glove for his right hand, caressing her cheek vigorously, with a full intent of passion. His body overlapped hers over the wall, practically pinning her. “My heart aches for you. I want to construct all of the broken fragments of your mind and body, and paint a beautiful new world, one that is not tainted by the corrupted pigments of the new world’s ideals.” Ryoku said, his voice barely rising above a whisper, he said, biting off of her ear ever slightly. Rouge’s cheeks turned a bright patch of crimson, her heart began to beat faster. Could she possibly have wanted this as well? “We can make a night you won’t forget, we can do it anywhere. In doing so, I will show my world.”

Rouge pushed Ryoku off of her, glaring at him with a nearly savage intent. “Get out.”

“Won’t you at least consider my gallant offer-“

“I said leave!” Rouge raised her voice, panting slightly. Ryoku slanted his eyes with a small nonchalant expression. He put on his earphones, drenched his black hood over his head, and walked out of the room, his body disappearing in a surge of dark matter, disappearing along with the shadows, his presence no longer lingering in the room.

Rouge touched her cheeks, they were burning. She felt her chest, her heart was throbbing. She attempted to fight back tears in her eyes, but the surge could not be stopped. Rouge wiped her eyes on the back of her palms, as she looked out of the window. The lightning flashed once more, revealing her mystified face of a dignified leader of an underground organization.

“How stupid… I’m the one who has abandoned their sentimental values… but why… do I care about that jerk?” Rouge stood up, kicking her desk across the room. “I won’t let anyone screw with me!!!”

The ominous ring of the hollow bells ceased.

It was a dark, ominous forest, the only sounds heard of nature were the crickets chirping, but even they would cease among this portentous presence in the woodlands. Inside of the darkened, obscure forest was a pair of demonic statues with twisted, unorthodox faces. The faces weren't natural, and most were carved with a certain corrupted intuition. They personified the essence of life and death. The statues each held up a crystal orb, reflecting off of it the surroundings of the area. As a man walked forward, the crystal balls enveloped with an intense shine. A bloodied scythe carried among the man's back, a large black cloak concealing his identity. Among the accessories adorning this man, besides the scythe, was a necklace of twins dragons performing a helix dance among the centre, of opposing colors of blue and red. It had a shiny, rune-like texture, and glistened off of the crystal balls. Among the scenario inside of the forest, a golden flame ignited, where five other shadows sat, their eyes peered toward the arriving reaper.

“Ah ah, I’m late again, aye?” the man asked, rubbing the back of his head with an innocent, blood carved smile.

“Ehueueue! it’s not really a problem, Asasin, these central point meetings are always unusually boring!! And this night moon bores me!! I just want to eat it and gobble it all up in one stop man!!!” the second man, a golden lightning aura discharged from his fists as he pumped them together, a pair of chestnut golden eyes stared at the opposing man.

Among the center of the group was a man with crimson, death defying eyes. His eyes narrowed, cutting toward the man, Asasin, folding his arms. “Asasin, I trust your hunt went well?”

“Ah yeah, totally,” Asasin replied with a cheeky grin. “Every last member of the Nikusan Tribe of the Middle East, wiped into purgatory. It was pretty sweet, how they begged for death.”

“They were the first to challenge us, thus they will be submerged in perdition first,” the leader replied. “But now, we have a new target.”

“Eh?” The lightning, crazed hyena type man spoke up first. “Vault is it?”

The leader walked toward the fire, the golden flame illuminating off of his face, revealing the face of a corrupted young man bent on the annihilation of the entire human population, the man who had declared the end of the world. The one they believed in and had faith could do it.

“We will move once more, as the Khaotic Sins of Perdition,” he said, the other four members stood up, bowing before their leader. "The Hollow's Bell has ceased. We are free."

Sidian smiled atrociously, a very nasty smirk, as the golden flame from behind him glistened with beautiful sparks behind him, further defining his nature. His grin widened with the flare of a true madman, his eyes widening with a crazed obsession.

“I hereby deem the end of the world.”

Chapter 6 - Purgatory

Trav’s aura flared across the battlefield in a raging display. The pure atrocious aura was black. Debris layered the entire studio remains. The whole confines inside of the vine prison expelled a venomous sensation. Xero effortlessly swatted the rubble with a simple swipe of his metallic hand, bursting the debris into even smaller pieces. Xero stood tall and firm, observing Trav’s unusual aura in the most random power up.

“A syringe… that syringe.” Xero observed, noticing the needle Willy had attempted to put away slyly, however, nothing much could escape Xero’s stare, much like that of a hawk upon a ground prey. “To think you would give that to a mere mortal. Although, I suppose there would be nothing much I could expect out of the morally corrupted Prince Sidian.”

Willy couldn’t let it go, the fact Xero referred to him as Sid, the man he had despised since time allowed him. Willy squinted, staring up at Trav with pristine curiosity. His aura had completely engulfed the area, but what’s more, was his ferocious, bloodthirsty grin. Trav’s body learned forward, his arms spread out wide open, a fanatical smirk expression, as even more apparent by his sudden gesture, a twitch. Trav’s eyes widened with ferocity.

“LET’S GOOO! I’LL SPREAD YOUR METALLIC GUTS THROUGH A TWO KILOMETER RADIIIUS!” Trav exclaimed, inhaling a large amount of air, his chest expanding along with this. Trav expelled a large, inhumane roar with a vicious tongue, a tongue that was no longer the reply of a human. The roar alone created a mass shockwave, expanding the area with a field of rubble, even putting a dent through the vine force field alone. Elementia even took note of its immense physical power. Her eyes looked up, a sudden expression lightened her eyes, fear, perhaps?

Could this be the psychological impact of his sudden power surge…? No, this is different, the aura is… dark. I would even venture to say evil. Xero thought. Xero narrowed his eyes and retaliated, holding up his right arm, two arcs opened through the center front and back on his arm, the cartridges expanded, attracting a mechanical set of twin guns, or as Xero calls them, Flash Blasters, which of itself expanded in an arc, creating two rows of nearly five blasters. The blasters charged up, the front side charging a set of red energy, the bottom a set of blue. As Xero prepared his attack, his right eye surged with an influx of new data. The data scurried through his eye in a flash, and in that one instant, Xero read it all, his eyes widened.

“That biomass… you are a spawn of The Kid. Not quite the same, but the genetics are unmistakeable. That syringe, was a syringe of his own powers.” Xero stated, practically to himself, but enough to carry its decibels to Willy, where he heard it all.

“Wait… what?! No… that’s not right! It can’t be! Your sensors are way too screwed-“

“So all along, it was a ploy with that boy. Whose biomass, I do not have data of. Very well, I must eradicate these K.I. monsters!” Xero charged his beams, but in that short instant, Trav vanished from even Xero’s sight. Xero contorted in a look of confusion and horror. He looked around, above, below, everywhere; his sensors couldn’t detect his presence.

“LOOK ABOVE BOYO! COMIN’ DOWN AT YOU… LIKE A HURRICANE! HAHAHA!” Trav exclaimed wildly, as Xero just noticed, Trav appeared above him, leaping down from below, using both cupped hands, smashing Xero’s metal face in. “OH SHIT! That’s hard as… metal! Right?!” Trav flipped on the ground, glaring up at Xero with a sinister resolve. Xero glared down at Trav, pointing his Flash Blasters his way. Trav’s eyes widened, a sudden smile crept on his face, as Xero prepared for fire.

“Trav… no! You can’t take that from point blank range… get out of there!” Willy exclaimed, almost desperately, yet helplessly, from where he stood. Being helpless bothered Willy, which was apparent. If it wasn’t his defeat that bothered him, it was just being able to do nothing while Trav’s marble bag was bursting with every passing second.

Trav laughed hysterically, Xero clearly not amused. Trav lunged for Xero in a chaotic swerve, clearly beyond reasoning now, grabbing Xero by both of his arms in a crossed approach. Upon fire, Trav forced Xero’s arms to position Elementia and Yuki’s way. “I’ll break you. I’LL PULVERIZE EVERY PARTICLE IN YOUR TIN HEAD!” Trav clenched his fists, bending his arms forward in front of his chest. In doing so, he dragged Xero towaerd him, head-butting him directly on his metallic forehead. Trav laughed hysterically, Xero glared menacingly. The dark aura around Trav began to concentrate, most noticeably around his face. The dark  aura began to take physical form, condensing pressurized air around his entire body. The debris began to shake and rumble underneath the stained canvas of dismay. Even Xero could feel this.

“Obviously, you are one of them,” Xero said. “That biomass. That aura, there’s no mistaking it. In that essence, I will destroy you as well. Since you now pose the greater threat, I only feel you should be the first to lose your life. Such a shameless act on a whim. You’re just like the rest of the K.I. scum.” Xero dragged his body back, lifting Trav up along the process. Xero’s arms glistened in a red blaze, as he forcefully overpowered Trav, freeing his arms with a simple yet powerful pull horizontally with his arms in opposition. Trav swung his arms, swinging madly in the air, before catching his fall only two meters from his opponent.

Trav flailed his arms aside, extending his arms outward in a ‘come get me’ stance. Trav expanded, letting loose a roar compacted with adrenaline, but more than that was the obvious intent to kill. Willy, though unable to express, was deeply disturbed by the transformation.

What is this? This can’t be a part of the phase for the CPES, I don’t remember experiencing this drastic of a change, especially so soon.

Trav lunged forward, hurling a punch with great force and velocity. Xero took the punch head on, even stumbling back from the impact. Xero appeared not physically injured, and his outward emotions expressed no sign of concern, but his artificial eye was surging with constantly incoming data.

Trav launched himself forward again, propelling himself, aiming for a swift spin-kick for Xero’s chest. Xero compressed his fists, as metal spikes protruded from the surface of Xero’s mechanical knuckles. Trav seemed to pay no mind, but Xero grabbed Trav’s leg. Trav aimed for another kick, as Xero threw Trav into the vine wall, charged with an impressive speed far beyond any human capabilities, punching Trav in the gut. Blood splattered across Xero’s face and the ground. Xero simply stared nonchalantly at Trav, who growled in Xero’s face.

Trav laughed maniacally, grabbing Xero by the shoulders, pulling him down to his head level and head-butting him into a sweet world of hurt. Trav’s head bleeded from the impact, as Xero flinched back; he leaped back, glaring at Trav.

“If you knew how to use your new power, you may have had a chance. But this is too early for you.”

“You will regret this, in the next world.”

Trav glared up, Xero’s arms began waving in the air in a spherical activity. In doing so, red glyphs were drawn in the air, before revealing the cryptic symbol of Pendulum in the air directly in front of Xero. Xero expelled his arm cannons forward with a commanding gesture.

Out of Xero’s arm compartments dispatched a large array of scarlet tinted metal chains, glowing with an ominous coat of plasma energy. Trav attempted to claw at the chains with an impeccable speed, generating a large burst of ginger sparks. Xero merely shrugged off Trav’s attempt. Even with his newfound power, he could put no dent in Xero’s ultimate offence.

“Wrong counter. The Chains of the Cybernetic Spectrum are completely invulnerable to any attack. And now, allow me to demonstrate the true Lost Arts of the forgotten Pendulum, lost in the fabrics of time.” Xero’s arm compartments closed, Xero traced his hands in the air around Trav’s general vicinity once more. A circle glyph with the same Pendulum seal appeared underneath Trav. Followed by another one that overlapped the original, an even bigger one, and so on, until there were 10 in all. The glyphs and their ancient text circled the ground in a slow clockwise turn around Trav, whom at this point was struggling with all of his might to free himself from the confining clasp of the plasma chains, which were of itself sinking into Trav’s skin. Trav’s dark aura expanded, he screamed, a high pitched scream that pierced the ears of all in the area who heard the intense decibels. Xero however, seemed unaffected in the least.

Willy closed his ears, glaring with discomfort at the scene unfolding right in front of his eyes. “Trav!!” Willy exclaimed, leaing on the vine wall within the inside of the rubble station for support. Xero’s casually turned to Willy, his head cocked to the side almost arrogantly, yet coolly. Willy glared at Xero, absolutely despising his look. Willy, above his hatred for losing virtually anything, hated to be looked down upon.

“I don’t know what it is you want, but I’m the one you’re after, right?!” Willy exclaimed, holding out his arms in an invitation. He knew what he was doing was reckless, but if Trav’s death was burdened on his conscious because of him indirectly, he could never see himself letting it go. His heart was already in a concentrated ache with the death of one of Trav’s close friends, whom was still oblivious to everything, and right now, didn’t care. He just met him yesterday, well actually 23 years ago. “Well then coward, come and face me. Obviously, I’m the bigger threat here.” Willy waved his arms, followed by a rather harsh cough, Willy barely getting the scratch out of his throat, spitting a small pool of blood on the debris.

Xero’s red cybernetic eye turned to Willy, the red eye dilated, surging with masses of information by the second. “To think the great leader of K.I. would sell himself out on such an emotional whim. Yes, heal up those fatal wounds, clear up that puddle of blood and apply a healthy dosage of lozenge, then I will kill you first. Otherwise, stay clear, Sidian Shamal.”

“Ancient Arts; Ten Seal Explosion,” Xero said, hardly above a whisper. He turned to Trav fully, finishing his finger tracings in the air, Xero struck an intense pose, and the glyphs began to glow with an concentrated flash. The energy began building up fast, as the pure force of the technique began to drive Willy himself into a corner. He looked on in shock.

“Damn you Xero! Stop this!”

Trav stopped struggling, his body now held by the tightened chains. Trav spilled no blood, as the pure heat energy from the plasma chains seeped into his skin and closed up the wounds as the wounds were made. Trav’s scream echoed throughout the city in a large frame. Xero reacted not to the insidious voice, that was slowly fading back into humanity. Trav’s humanity slowly began to seep back into his body. His mask began evaporating in the air in a mass black swirl of dark, twisted energy. Trav’s eyes rolled back in his head, his mouth wide open with saliva pouring out, his head leaned back, his body restricted by the conniving chains.

Willy saw the sight, his eyes widened in horror. He attempted to run toward the two, but his injuries proved that fatally impossible, he couldn’t do it. He tripped over a fragment of rubble in the destroyed vicinity. Willy fell on his knees, a sharp portion of glass pierced into his knee, causing Willy to groan in pain. His blood began to taint what he soon found was a body underneath him. Willy covered his mouth and looked away, resisting with his entire urge to vomit. His eyes gazed tirelessly at Xero, noticeable bags placed under his eyes.

“I can’t let you… do this! I will crush you all!”

With that last statement, Willy’s eyes widened, a blue tranquil energy appeared around his body. Within that same instant, he noticed the entire world around him was blue, and frozen. The world was frozen. He was the only one moving. He looked around, his eyes plastering everywhere, looking for anything, anything to break this wretched curse. He had no idea what was going on, and in his position, he didn’t feel like contemplating it too much.

“You want to save your friend’s life?” a voice all too familiar to Willy echoed in his head, echoed all around him, drilling into his ears through his brain. He clenched his fists, grasping the rubble, he suddenly sat up, throwing the piece of the burned rubble at 7 o’clock his first position. A shadowy figure walked past the rock, simply sidestepping it with ease. Willy glared at the red burrowing eyes of his visitor in the frozen planes of space/time.

“You have destroyed your friend’s life,” Sid said, staring down at Willy with the impeccable glare of a madman who had lost his happiness a long time ago, who lived with resentment everyday for who he was, a look Willy was all too familiar with. Sid cocked his head back, chuckling slightly.

“What’s so funny?” Willy asked, attempting to get back on his feet. Sid simply stared down at him with an unfortunate yet amused pity. “What the hell are you laughing at?!”

“You’re losing, Willman. You have lost this battle. You are a loser.”

“Shut the hell up,” Willy said, glaring at Sid, a vein popping in his head, his eyes bulged with an anger incomprehensible to even him right now. Sid knew Willy all too well, he knew how to drive him into a corner, even Willy knew that. Sid always won, he hated him for it. He was better, he couldn’t accept such a weakness, especially to another man. “Where the hell are we, anyway?”

Sid looked back down at Willy with a nonchalant smirk. “This is my world. The frozen vacuum of space/time I am able to freely manipulate to my liking; The Frozen Terrestrial. I can even drag others into its vicinity.”

Willy crouched on one knee, bending the other, he placed his hand on his right knee, the other on the ground. “Because of you… this is happening to me. This is all because of you. You son of a bitch…” Willy said, trembling with many mixtures of emotions. “Why the hell are you doing this to me?!”

Sid stared at Willy, as if it were a trick question. “Because you are the most familiar with the games I like to play. In fact, I would venture to say you’re the only one I can play my games with.”

Sid laughed. “I need you Willy.”

“And you need me.”

“RAAGH!” Willy charged forward, throwing a punch at Sid head on, using every ounce of willpower he had left to muster. Sid simply gripped Willy’s arm with his forearm, then elbowed Willy in the face. Willy fell back, before Sid side-kicked him across the chest, sending Willy crashing into the vine wall, which didn’t flinch an inch at Willy’s impact. Willy began panting, glaring up at Sid. Even now, he was finding it hard to breathe. Xero’s damage on top of Sid’s was adding up fast, even multiplying. Willy would not give up though.

Sid pulled out something from his pocket. “Don’t be so hasty. I have a gift for you. I understand you’ve been looking for this?” Sid pulled out a syringe, the same style as the one Willy used, however, the crest was different. It was the traditional crest of the Edward Reid laboratory foundation on the center. Willy’s eyes widened slightly.

“Syringe? There was another one created after us?” Willy asked. Sid pointed down at the syringe Willy used for Trav lying on the floor. Willy looked, picked it up, and examined it. His eyes widened in complete horror and guilt when he seen the crest on that one.

“You… you didn’t…. You…” Willy was speechless, now trembling with even fear. He gritted his teeth. “You… bastard… you switched them?! You mean I gave Trav…”

“He was the one destined to use it, after all. Sooner or later, I would have done the same. Or, even they would have acted before me. It was his destiny to become us, and it is your destiny to watch in anguish, as everything you know and love will fade into an abyssal fissure.” Sid held up his hand, grabbing Willy by the face. Willy grabbed at Sid’s hand, but was easily overpowered. Sid raised his knee, kneeing Willy in the face. Willy fell down, his nose and mouth spilling blood. His eyes wandered lifelessly around the imprison, but the one guy he couldn’t seem to shake out of his mind, was Sid.

“I’ll keep in touch Willy.” Sid said, his voice faded. Willy never seen him leave, he was just gone. He didn’t even notice himself flip back into reality, the colors began fading back to normal, time’s flow continued.

Willy gritted his teeth, and was now crawling toward Xero, his effort and drive unmatched by anyone else. Xero simply shrugged him off, finding it odd that he was even passionate about this. He tainted a trail of blood along his way. Willy’s eyes began to flash, his vision finally completely blurred, his hearing began to distort and wander. He was fading out of consciousness. For once, he was totally helpless, he could do nothing but watch before he drifted off into a realm of slumber.

“Well, it’s about time,” Elementia said, folding her arms, standing above Willy’s unconscious body. Her Pendulum cape blew sideways along the patterns of the wind. “With that cyborg chick down, there’s no one who stands in the way of Sire Xero now. Please, Xero, finish this.”

“Yes,” As Xero intended to finish the Ten Seal technique, a Xero’s chains were suddenly slashed open with a sword, even the seemingly unbreakable Cybernetic Spectrum chains. Xero glared to his east at 3 o’clock. Within that same instant, Xero’s eyes shot a beam of concentrated plasma energy at the designated position without a moment’s delay.

As the smoke cleared, the end hilt of a golden crested sword, a double edged golden crested sword, with two parallel blades attached to the hilt. Xero’s face was caved in by the sudden attack. The sword flipped stylishly in the air, a gloved hand catching it, stabbing it into the ground, placing his feet next to each other squatting over the sword. His samurai armor coat with an illuminating golden trim appeared in the light. Elementia in general’s eyes widened at the sight of this newcomer.

“The Vault’s Golden Eagle of the Rose,” Elementia said, swallowing profoundly, yet she remained outwardly uninitiated, merely surprised. “What brings you here?”

The man’s sapphire eyes looked over to Elementia, his face remained nonchalant. He slowly smiled, “Elementia, the Elemental Eclipse. What a very… graceful appearance. You’ve changed, inside and out.” The Golden Eagle said, his eyes lit with a warmth of a sun, yet narrowed boredly and lifelessly, as if he was not interested in any of his surroundings. “But really, there’s no need to be so formal. I do go by the name of Sabre these days, my lady.”

Elementia walked toward Xero, whom attempted to help him on his feet, yet Xero profoundly refused her hand. He stood up, brushing himself off casually. “To put a dent in me, you are something. Yet…” Xero said. “My scanners detect nothing on its data banks. You are a complete mystery to me.”

Something about Xero’s statement made Elementia uneasy. Her face flustered, she bit her lip, yet tried to hide her outward emotions, something she naturally was good at. “Sabre, you do realize by apposing Pendulum, you oppose us? By opposing us, you oppose the world?”

“I think K.I. already beat you to the punch,” Sabre said, flipping off of his sword, landing with a stylish manner, placing his hands inside of his arm sleeves. “You are wasting your time here. You should leave. You have already made a very ungraceful mess.”

“The core of K.I. lies in front of you, and you are willing to let him walk?” Xero declared nonchalantly, his eyes burrowing into Sabre’s, who remained unaffected, swatting a fly at his shoulder as Xero talked. “More importantly, you dare turn your back on us?” Elementia merely watched from afar.

Sabre walked toward Trav, picking him up on his shoulders. He walked toward Willy, performing the same task on his opposite shoulder. Sabre looked down, his eyes wandered toward the News Station. Sabre’s attention turned to the android sister of Yuki, his eyes widened slightly, for the first time since his arrival, he showed a genuine care for his surroundings. He trembled slowly, turning his gaze slowly back to Xero.

“You sadistic bastard,” Sabre said, a vein popped in his head, as he glared at the male android of the cybernetic duo. Xero’s eyes broadened slightly, his face remaining nonchalant. Sabre walked toward Yuki, now weighing her across his shoulders with the boys. Sabre’s head remained low upon the encounter. He turned his back toward the Pendulum duo.

“You’ve fallen so low, Tetsu Kagame. I will make you burn.”

Xero’s eyes widened, he faltered back slightly. Elementia closed her eyes and shook her head. Sabre leaped out of the hole made in the vine prison.

“Yuki… my graceful love, what has he done to you? I never knew…” Sabre said, closing his eye, a tear washed down his face as he leaped toward the rooftop, away from the ever scarred battle of the US News Station of Heretic City. What he carried on his backs though; was the portal to a whole new awakening to a new world.

A world free from the indulge of purgatory.

Chapter 5 - Road of a Renegade

Trav dashed across the city suburbs, attempting to avoid any sort of other human contact as possible. The city was an enormous riot. If it’s like this only here, I don’t even want to know what it’s like globally. What the hell is going on though? Trav thought, narrowing his eyes up ahead. Trav leaped up across of a fruit stand, knocking down a sack of potatoes in a stand along his way. As a potato fell from mid-air into Trav’s grasp, along his trail, he caught the potato with a bizarre mix of luck and expertise, and took a scrumptious bite.

“I’d better cut this corner. At least the city is still recognizable in this time.” Trav said, clearly acknowledging that by now, this was not the current time. The date on the calendar walls was one dead giveaway. 2024, 12 years after his normal time stream, into the future. At the moment, Trav’s thoughts were much too obscured from the events that happened in his own time stream to care about what was going on here, other than finding the one man he knew was the key to unlocking the many hazed secrets of this epoch maze, Willman.

As Trav made his turn down a bleak alley, two strangers approached him, grabbing him on the shoulder. Trav looked back, glaring back at the baggily cloaked men as if to say he was in no mood to tango with the likes of these lowlives, which on of itself, he thought, would be anything more than contradictory.

“What’s in the bag?” one of the men said, whom was wearing a particular light gray hat, with a black outline, the phrase SN sewed onto the center. The other man’s face was concealed through the confines of the hoodie’s hood fabrics. Trav’s eyes narrowed, barely turning his head to even acknowledge them there.

“Go away,” Trav said rudely. “I don’t have time for this bullshit,” Trav forcefully tucked his arm away, heading in the direction to the alley. The hooded man beamed a twisted smile.

“Hey, what a brave little gangster. That’s gonna get ya’ killed in these parks,” the hooded man took out a magnum, aiming the gun for the back of Trav’s neck from afar. Trav stopped upon hearing the words, and the rustle of the gun. Trav’s heart began to pound, not exactly the situation he wanted to be in, not that he didn’t have experience with it, it was just the worst timing. How that always happened to him was beyond him.

“Since the world is gonna end anyway… might as well go out with a bang,” the capped man said, revealing his grillz along with his beaming, cocky smile, walking toward Trav, drawing his own similar style magnum. He walked up behind Trav, stroking the tip of the gun to the back of Trav’s head, the hooded man still covering from behind a distance. Trav closed his eyes, straining.

“What are you talking about?” Trav asked simply, a large scowl layered across his face.

“Word on the street corner is, those K.I. monsters are wiping us out,” the capped man answered with a surprising calmness. “Man, it’s the end of the world. Before we die, we’re gonna do what we love to do, what we’ve lived to do for our whole lives. We love killing little wanna-be sap bastards like you.”

Trav gulped. He had to think of a way to get out of this situation quick. With the hooded man from behind covering from a distance, attempting an attack on the capped man was risky. Still, he was feeling brave. Trav’s eyes beamed instantly with a newfound courage.

Trav swiftly reversed his body around to eye level with the capped man. He reached for his hand, attempting a grab for his wrist, which however was easily interjected, as the man jerked his arm back, and then reached around with his free arm, knocking Trav across the face. Trav coughed up blood as the impact left him red cheeked with a stain of blood across his mouth. These guys weren’t just gangsters, they were skilled fighters as well, even more skilled than Trav, who had much experience, but never officially trained.

Trav caught himself on the wall in the dark alley, glaring up at the capped man, who stood above him. The man held his gun in between Trav’s forehead, a large smug smile creeped upon his face.

“Die!” the capped man pulled the trigger. Trav’s eyes flashed before him. He wasn’t sure where he was at the moment. When he felt the warm liquid splash across his face, he thought he had been shot. He opened his eyes slowly, noticing a downed man, and a panicking partner. His blood soaked through the sidewalk, pouring from the fresh gunshot wound on his chest. The other man ran away, down the corner. Trav sighed. He had no idea what just happened, but he was glad it did.

Trav turned, seeing a feminine figure standing in front of him, blocking his path. Trav’s eyes widened as he took a good look at the woman, he knew all too well.

“Yuki?”

“It stimulates me to see you have made it this far,” Yuki said, adjusting her glasses casually, a cold, calculating blank expression lit upon her face. Trav looked on, confused.

“Wha-what are you doing here?” Trav asked, not concerned with the suspicious statement first said.

“That is not essential at this moment,” Yuki said bluntly. Trav was caught aback by her sudden bluntness, perhaps because he didn’t see any indication of her true personality during their first encounter 12 years ago, but technically yesterday. He remembered it just like it was yesterday, really. “I told you we would meet again, Travis Reid.”

“Was everyone else here dragged into this time period as well?” Trav asked. Yuki shook her head. “What exactly happened during that fight in the gym?”

“In layman’s terms, everyone from before is here, however, they were affected by the sudden shift in time, they were, unlike you, not sent through the time stream.” Yuki answered. “To be more precise, you and Willy are the only two who were not affected by the time shift caused by Sid. Everyone else has lived their lives in these past 12 years. Sid directly sent you two through a time portal, along with himself.”

Trav’s eyes widened. “You’re serious? So, Willy is here? I knew it. Where is he?!” Trav asked, in an almost pleading manner. He placed her hands on her shoulder, which he noted mentally were extremely cold, even with the layer of cloth bandaged on.

“I can sense Willy’s biomass, but there are a few issues with my internal logic,” Yuki said, again with the bluntness. “Come with me.”

Trav nodded. “Right.”

---

Willy leaped up, propelling himself toward Xero at an extreme speed. Willy’s muscles bulged, his fist clenched. He threw a punch at Xero, whom was, to his surprise, easily able to block with his hand. Willy’s eyes widened in shock, as he instantly felt the hard steel clash through his hands, creating a bloody mass in between their fists. Willy groaned in pain, yet remained strong and vigilant.

Willy flipped back, catching himself on his feet smoothly. Willy picked up a firm stance, wiping the blood from his knuckles atop of his shirt. Willy didn’t care about the pain, that wasn’t what was important. An innocent life was taken, for no apparent reason. He hated it, but had to live with K.I. for so long. He was not, for once, going to let this continue, anyway he could, anything he could do, he would.

Willy leaped toward Xero once more, forcing the rubble to clash with his feet, Willy threw a kick at Xero, landing a hit on his gut. The force of the kick was powerful, sending small yet noticeable shockwaves through the air. Even Xero doubled over slightly, his armor finally perhaps penetrated? We’ll see, but things were looking up now. However, it was odd Xero had not attacked yet, he only seemed to take Willy’s assaults, as he continued to punch and kick away, aiming for any and all vital points in the super android. However, that was hard to come by in the first place.

Xero finally retaliated, with a small smirk, he head-butted Willy, who didn’t see it coming through sheer speed alone. Willy’s head was instantaneously busted open, a small gush of blood leaked, soaking the ground below. Xero kicked one of the debris of the wrecked building toward Willy’s face. So he wasn’t going to play fair, but he was strong enough as it was, even easily overpowering Willy at 200% max power. He was no ordinary opponent for sure.

Willy kicked the debris away, however, in the brief moment it took him to do so, Xero took the advantage and disappeared. Willy leaped back, flipping through the rubble stylishly. When he landed, he felt two metallic hands grab at his ankles from below. Willy’s eyes widened, as he was suddenly propelled into the air by a large velocity. Willy yelled in despair.

“Shit!” Willy attempted to regain balance by flipping upright in the air, but would find, that would be impossible. In that moment, Xero’s built-in propeller rockets from his back erupted in crimson flames, he clotheslined Willy from above, nearly snapping off his neck in the process. Willy’s vision began to fade, as he was immediately taken off guard, the air knocked out of his lungs.

Xero continued the assault, barraging Willy with a montage of blows, Willy having no way to defend him. Xero had blurred his vision through the last attack. Xero’s face remained nonchalant through the assault, while Willy was fighting for his life. Xero grabbed Willy by the arm as he fell, and lifted his hand toward Willy’s face. Willy looked, although still blurred, he noticed a small pentagram-like symbol engraved on Xero’s palm, which began to glow consistently, yet swiftly.

“That ability of yours, it’s just like I remember it,” Xero said casually, placing his hand closer to Willy’s chest. Willy attempted to retaliate, glaring at the android with all his fury. “To unleash the potential of your body’s limits through a burst of limited power, releasing all restraints on the user. It’s useful… yet very risky; a double edged sword.”

“Gaah!” Willy yelled, overpowering Xero, elbowing him across the face. Xero flew higher into the air as Willy landed on the ground on all fours. He began panting furiously. Damn it… none of my attacks are getting through to him. I guess I’ll have no choice but to go even further… and use my Justice technique. Willy stood up, flexing his entire body in a fit of determined rage. His muscles began to bulge, veins clearly visible on his body.

“Two hundred fifty percent!” Willy declared angrily, his muscle’s mass increasing even more, over twice as much strength he had possessed now. Xero remained calm, Elementia was even chuckling to herself in the background.

“What a fool. If only he knew… Xero is the worst possible opponent for him,” Elementia said with a fitting sigh.

Willy launched himself toward Xero once more, charging head on. His eyes bulged as he fast approached, throwing a punch with greater power than before, fifty percent more power to be precise. Xero took the hit head on. Willy’s fist bounced off of the impact, as his bleeding knuckles took on even more force. The force of the impact could be felt even outside of the vine dome. Willy felt he was clashing with a bulldozer. Willy although had the determination to never give up.

Xero lifted up his head, grinning slowly. “Is that all? How disappointing.” Willy’s eyes widened, his shock couldn’t be contained this time. Xero took head on a punch from Willy at two hundred fifty percent his normal muscle mass, and he shook it off? Like hell.

“What the hell are you?” Willy asked, glaring at the metallic man.

“I told you, I’m an android.” Xero replied simply. “You’re probably wondering, ‘why are my attacks having absolutely no visual effect on him?’, right?” Xero asked. Willy’s glare remained in confirmation. “I was programmed with your design. All of your fighting methods, techniques, even your eating and sleeping habits, have all been recorded in my data banks,” Xero said, his red eyes shimmered with a lightning mass of new incoming data, simply upon observing Willy. Willy’s eyes broadened at the sight. “Immediately during collection of this data, the right side of my brain, which is completely robotic, considers every and all possibilities for a counter attack. The left side of my organic brain, picks the best possible counter attack. I have a sixth scent, naturally, for choosing the best course of action out of up to 200 possibilities.”

Xero charged for Willy. Willy put up his guard. As Xero approached, he couldn’t keep up in the end, as Xero aimed for Willy’s chest, just below his rib cage. Willy coughed up blood, as he skidded through the rubble of the former news station, flipping up into the wall of the vine field, completely immobilized. The loose vines in the wall wrapped around Willy’s body, completely encasing him. Willy attempted to break free, but moving the whole right side of his upper body proved useless. It hurt, a lot. Willy screamed, due to the pain indulging his body.

“W-what kind of attack.. was that?!” Willy asked, in between pants, and coughs of gushes of blood. Xero grinned, walking toward Willy slowly.

“I just disassembled your rib cage. If my calculations are correct, your right lung should be pierced by your very ribs. I could have taken it a step further and destroyed your liver as well. However…” Xero began, his face contorting into a serious demeanor. “I want to see the absolute agony on your face as I kill you. After all you’ve done to this world… and me personally, you have this coming, Sid.”

Willy groaned miserably. He was in no position to talk back at this rate. He was panting more heavily by the minute, finding it much harder to intake air. Suddenly, he felt a cold hand upon his chest, which began to heat up as the palm touched his heart. Willy gritted his teeth, trying with all of his might to break free, but to no avail. Xero and Elementia had him trapped. Elementia found this whole scene delightful, she laughed vigorously at the entire vista.

Willy’s flesh around his heart began to burn. Soon, he felt his entire body began to feel like an internal oven. Willy screamed in suffering. Steam picked up from the wound Xero was placing upon him. Willy felt his power dimming down to normal, his muscles were retracting. For the first time in a long time, he felt restricted, confined. He could do nothing at all.

Willy felt the pressure rise off of his skin’s surface, as he looked up; his vision returning to normal, Xero was gone from where he stood. He was kicked off balance by a new presence. Willy and Elementia looked on in perplexity at the new arrival.

“Looks like I’m in,” Willy heard the familiar voice. He looked over, seeing the familiar figure as well. The boy walked toward Willy, holding up his hand.

“What the hell happened to you, man? You look like spewed up shit,” Trav said with a strange pristine confidence. Willy grinned, accepting Trav’s hand. Trav attempted to pull Willy out of the vine prison, but had no luck whatsoever. Trav began panting, loosening his grip on Willy’s hand. Willy’s eyes narrowed.

“How did you damage Xero anyway? Or even distract him?” Willy asked. Trav looked up at Willy, rubbing the back of his head.

“Well, that wasn’t me,” Trav said. “I found some company on my way here. If it wasn’t for her, I never would have found your ass.”

Willy examined over to the side, seeing the arrival of a young girl. Xero stood up, his eyes expanded at the sight of the younger girl. Yuki stared calmly and boldly in front of Xero. The gust of wind patterns blew her hair gracefully to the side in a perpetual gesture.

“Yuki… why are you here?” Xero asked with contracting, observant eyes, giving Yuki a sense of déjà-vu.

“Older brother, you must cease this senseless hostility,” Yuki said apathetically. Willy and Trav both looked on in astonishment.

“Older brother…? That android is your brother?!” Trav asked, completely dumbfounded. Willy gulped.

“Affirmative, she’s my sister,” Xero answered, glaring at his younger, graceful sister. “However, my sister should learn to keep her nose pecked out of other people’s businesses. You have no business being here, none of this concerns you. Please leave immediately, as I do not wish to demolish you.”

“Brother, please…” Yuki said, her voice and expression changed into that of concern. Xero smiled.

“Even as a complete android, your feelings are intact. Seems your layer of cold metallic skin on the outside is only a self-pitied cloak of your true virtue. Inside… you are still that feeble girl I grew up with.” Xero said. “You have not changed as much as you believe.”

“Brother, listen, this is not about me! Nor is it about us!” Yuki said, raising her voice, her eyes glaring with a fierce resolve, which even drew Xero back a bit. Xero narrowed his head down closer to his chest, staring with his resolute crimson eyes, on the edge, ready to make any move at all. She placed her hands between her breasts clasped together.

“That is not Sid!”

Xero’s face warped slightly yet notably in surprise. “What? That’s impossible. His biomass is the exact same as those stored in my data banks collected over years of research. It has to be him.”

“He is not the one called The Kid. Please, do not harm him!” Yuki pleaded with her older brother. “Tetsu, he is not the one you should be after. He is an enemy to K.I., just as you are. You two have no reason to fight. Just please… release this dome and let him help you. Let us help you. You have no need to cling to the life of a renegade!”

Willy looked up in alarm after Yuki’s last sentence, more notably the last word. It rang in his head like a broken record. Renegade. A word he was all too familiar with, and probably the one he used the most. Willy rested his head down. Yuki released stream of pure sapphire energy from her fingertips, releasing Willy from the confines of the vine wall. Willy landed firmly on his feet, still panting, gripping his chest for dear life. His whole body at this point was numbingly painfully. Trav kneeled beside Willy, helping support him.

“Damn, that looks bad man,” Trav said, unsure of what to do clearly. Willy groaned in pain, yet continued to remain strong. He even attempted to stand up, and was able to for a few seconds before collapsing. “Forget it bro. You’ve been done in.” Trav said, noticing the pentagram seal placed on his chest, right directly on the flesh for his heart. What the hell is that…

Xero cocked his head back, as if seriously contemplating the circumstances. Xero lifted up his index finger, pointing it at Willy. “You say, this boy is not Sid? Then who is he?”

Yuki followed Xero’s finger, following his point to Willy. Willy glared up at Xero. “My name… is Willman. I’m… just an average boy… who hates to lose…”

“Willman? I have no such data in my vault,” Xero said, not retracting his finger at all. “The fact that your biomass is remotely similar… no… it is the infamous leader of K.I., clearly informs me you are Sid. For that, I cannot allow you to live.”

“Brother, no!” Yuki said, running toward Xero in an attempt to finally plead with him. Xero looked on in wonder. Suddenly, the wonder turned into a calm gaze of malice. As Yuki neared Xero, Xero raised his finger toward Yuki, straightening out his entire hand, he fired a red surge of plasma energy toward Yuki. Yuki’s eyes widened, as immediately as she had seen, she was hit. With a simple slice, her head canister fell off, the top of the cap completely burned off, and enclosed due to the super heating of the plasma bolt. “And you… for defending this worldwide criminal, deserve nothing more than to be thrown out with this trash.”

Trav’s eyes widened in revulsion. “How the hell could you do that?!” Trav asked angrily, whom was easily ignored. Willy watched on in horror. He clenched his fists, crushing the rubble underneath of him. He gritted his teeth together in fury. He attempted to power up; however, his body was too beaten and battered to respond. Xero narrowed his eyes toward Willy.

“I wouldn’t. I have placed my Containment Pentagram Seal upon you. Your reserves are sealed. Even if your body were not failing you, you would not be able to power up any more than your current state.” Xero smiled slowly. “As I said, I was programmed to combat your fighting style to the very last ounce of data.”

Willy felt completely hopeless, yet again. As he skirmished upon the rubble ground, something fell out of his pocket. A small container with a special sticker placed on it. Willy slowly smiled through the pain. He knew what to do.

Willy looked up at Trav, picking up the container, tainting the container with a built in syringe with spilling blood. Trav looked down at Willy.

“What is that?”

“This is the syringe… that gave me my abilities to increase the reserves… of my power,” Willy said with a slight cough, spitting up blood. Trav noticed he spilt it unintentionally on his shoe. He hated seeing Willy like this, but what could he do?

“What?! You’re giving that to me?!” Trav asked. He didn’t know how to take the news. Willy forced a smile.

“That’s right. I kept an extra with me, just in case. I was waiting… for the right moment to use it. Trav, take this, please. In my condition… I’m useless at this moment. No one can save us… but you.” Willy said, although Trav could tell, he was only just desperate. So was Trav.

“Fine. I’ll take it,” Trav said, extending the needle out of the container. It dripped with a clear liquid. “Here goes…”

Xero took notice of the syringe. He raised his finger toward Trav. “For aiding a worldwide criminal, you must die as well.”

Trav’s eyes widened, his face contorted in shock. “Shit! We should have kept him distract-“

Abruptly, someone latched on to Xero’s back, covering his eyes. They dug into his eyes, blinding his organic eyes. Xero groaned in pain.

“And it seems… you’re still as arrogant as ever, brother!” Yuki disgustingly said. “You didn’t even notice… or have you forgotten my ability already of organic cloning?”

“You conniving little bitch… you will pay for your insolence, sister!” Xero’s body began to light up, as even more suddenly, a crimson aura erupted around his body, followed by an oval-shaped plasma field surrounding his body, expanding as it went on, propelling Yuki back into the vine wall, for which she was trapped.

“Elementia… deal with her. Leave the boys to me,” Xero commanded. Elementia grinned, walking slowly toward the trapped Yuki.

“This won’t take too long. She’s already in my grasp,” Elementia said with an arrogant smirk. Yuki glared at Elementia as she approached.

Trav stuck the needle deep into his arm. He moaned, as it intensified over very short time into a scream. Only seconds after injecting the syringe, Trav’s body began to tense up. His heart began beating rapidly, as if overcome by the sudden force of the serum placed within his body. It flowed through his bloodstream almost instantaneously, he couldn’t believe it himself. His muscles massed up to twice their size, he screamed in utter pain, yet it was good pain. It felt so good. The power… felt good, it was a powerful sensation he had never felt before in his life. How he had gained such power and confidence so quick… he didn’t know, nor care. His body shook with a sweet contentment.

Trav grinned, as a bizarre aura came about him, his muscles had increased almost twice their size. His eyes, however, were darker. His aura was black. Xero sensed this. Though blinded in one eye now due to Yuki’s assault, he still could sense Trav’s presence. His good, cybernetic eye began reading the data signals of Trav’s biomass. His eye widened intensely.

“What the? No way! What is this…? He couldn’t possibly be…” Xero said, his face now twisted from confidence into a frown, not of cowardice, but of staggering realization.

Trav raised his hand above his head, extended his thumb downward toward Xero, then cut his throat fictionally.

“Someone is gonna die today.”