The last rays of sunset had long since faded from Chief Ramirez's office window, leaving only the harsh fluorescent lights to cast their unforgiving glow across his weary features. His hand was halfway to the light switch when a commotion erupted in the hallway - running footsteps and urgent voices growing louder by the second.

The door burst open with enough force to rattle the plaques on his wall. Vivian stumbled in, her usually composed demeanor shattered, followed by two officers whose faces had gone chalk-white. The fear radiating from them made Ramirez's blood run cold before they'd uttered a single word.

"Sir!" Vivian's voice cracked with barely contained panic, her hands trembling as she gripped the doorframe. "The Grim Reaper - we've confirmed it! An Evolved Auron! They're facing off against Angelo and his trainee right now!"

The color drained from Ramirez's face as his worst fears crystallized into horrifying reality. His coffee cup slipped from nerveless fingers, shattering against the floor. Neither he nor his officers even flinched at the sound.

"What?!" The word exploded from him as he surged to his feet, his chair slamming backward. "How in God's name did this happen?!"

"There's no time for details!" Vivian pressed, desperation making her usually professional tone sharp with urgency. "His trainee managed to get a distress call out - they need immediate backup!"

Ramirez's fist struck his desk hard enough to make his name plate jump. "Where?!"

"Wine Street!"

"Wine Str-" The chief's eyes widened with dawning horror. "That's on the other damned side of the city!" His voice rose to a roar that made the windows vibrate.

"Exactly!" Vivian's composure cracked completely. "Sir, we need orders, NOW!"

The chief's training kicked in, pushing aside his shock as he barked rapid-fire commands. "Every available officer, mobilize immediately!" He jabbed a finger at the ashen-faced officers behind Vivian, sending them scrambling into action. "Contact our people at the factory - tell them it was a setup! Redirect to Wine Street, maximum speed!"

Vivian spun toward the door, but Ramirez's voice cracked like a whip: "Wait!"

She froze mid-step as the chief's next words carried deadly weight: "Alert all non-Auron officers in the vicinity - weapons free, full tactical response."

"Sir!" Vivian whirled back, horror evident in her features. "Standard firearms against an Evolved Auron?! That's suicide!"

"If it's a low level Auron, there might be a chance," Ramirez's voice carried the weight of command decisions that could cost lives. "Now GO!"

As Vivian's footsteps faded down the corridor, Ramirez turned to face his reflection in the darkened window. The fluorescent lights cast deep shadows across his face, aging him a decade in moments. His whispered curse carried the weight of a prayer: "Damn it all to hell..."

He snatched his hat from its hook with enough force to send the stand toppling, but he was already striding through the door, leaving only silence and scattered papers in his wake.

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For one glorious moment, hope flared in the ruins of Wine Street as Bill's devastating wind attack sent Jill crashing through concrete and steel. The unfinished house groaned and collapsed, burying the Grim Reaper under tons of debris. Dust billowed outward like fog, coating everything in a fine gray powder.

"You absolute idiot!" Angelo's voice cracked with a mix of fury and fear as he rounded on Bill. Blood from his chest wound had already soaked through his uniform, turning the fabric a dark crimson. "I gave you a direct order to run!"

Bill stood his ground despite his trembling legs, his wind aura completely spent. "I couldn't just leave you to die!" The raw emotion in his voice echoed off the abandoned buildings.

"Congratulations," Angelo snarled, "now we can both die together! Is that what you wanted?!"

"But look, she's still down!" Bill's defiant response was overshadowed by Red's panicked voice slicing through their shared consciousness.

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO MORONS STANDING AROUND FOR?! FUCKING RUN!"

Angelo's eyes widened as reality crashed back in. "Oh shit, right!" He lunged forward, ignoring the burning pain across his chest as he grabbed Bill. Energy tendrils erupted from his body, launching them away from the collapse.

Behind them, a scream of pure rage shattered the night. The sound was followed by an explosion that lit up the street like daybreak as Jill's evolved power obliterated the wreckage entombing her. Chunks of concrete rained down around them as they fled.

"Fuck," Angelo muttered, yanking Bill into one of the skeletal houses. His aura winked out instantly, plunging them into darkness. One hand clamped over Bill's mouth as they both tried to control their ragged breathing. The rookie's heart hammered so hard Angelo could feel it through his palm.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"WHERE ARE YOU, YOU LITTLE WORM?!" Jill's voice carried a twisted sing-song quality that made their skin crawl.

Blue's measured tones whispered through their shared mind, "If she moves in the opposite direction, we might have a chance to slip away under cover of darkness..."

"I KNOW YOU'RE AROUND HERE!" Her words echoed off empty buildings before her voice dropped to something almost playful. "Fine. I know exactly how to flush out little weasels like you."

The air itself seemed to vibrate as she raised one skeletal gauntlet. Metal coalesced above her palm, growing and writhing until it formed a massive sphere that gleamed dully in the weak streetlight. The wrecking ball hung suspended, promising nothing but destruction.

"Oh fuck me," Angelo breathed, his whisper barely audible.

The sphere crashed through the first house with devastating force, reducing it to splinters and dust. "Not here," Jill's voice dripped false disappointment. The ball retracted only to smash through another building. "No, not there either. What about... here? Or here?"

Each impact drew closer to their hiding spot, the destruction methodical and inevitable. Finally, Jill's silhouette appeared before their refuge, her perfect features twisted into something inhuman as she smiled.

"Time's up," she purred.

The wrecking ball screamed toward them. Angelo's aura exploded to life as he burst from cover, the sudden movement throwing Bill clear. The rookie tumbled behind a pile of rubble as Angelo fell to his knees in the middle of the street, chest heaving as he faced down death incarnate.

"Hehehe, finally found you," Her voice carried the satisfaction of a cat cornering its prey.

Desperation drove Angelo to action. With a cry that was half defiance and half fear, he unleashed an energy beam at mid range. Jill's response was almost lazy - her scythe swept up in a graceful arc, drinking in his attack until the weapon glowed with stolen orange light.

"Now now," she chided, as if speaking to a particularly slow child, "know when to admit defeat." Her eyes gleamed with twisted joy as she savored every moment of his growing despair.

The situation had deteriorated beyond Angelo's worst fears. His uniform, torn and bloodied, clung to him like a second skin as he crouched before The Grim Reaper. Each breath came in ragged gasps, sending sharp jolts of pain through his ribs where Jill's scythe had carved a path across his torso. Blood dripped steadily from the wound, each crimson drop a stark reminder of his mortality.

With both Red and Blue's physical forms destroyed, forced to retreat within him to recover, Angelo felt more alone than he had in years. From his peripheral vision, he could see Bill's terror-stricken face peeking out from behind a chunk of debris, his mentor's desperate situation etched into every line of his young features.

Jill's laughter echoed through the devastated street, a sound that held no trace of sanity or mercy. She twirled her scythe with deadly grace, the orange glow of Angelo's absorbed energy dancing along its blade.

"Look how far the mighty have fallen," she taunted, her voice rising with manic glee. "The feared Angel of Death, cowering like a wounded animal! Don't worry - I'll make sure they engrave something fitting on your tombstone. 'Here lies another corrupt officer, reaped like the worthless chaff he was!'"

"Come on, think!" Angelo's desperate thought echoed in their shared consciousness. "There has to be a way out of this."

Red's response blazed with fury. "That evolved witch! One lucky break and she thinks she's invincible. If I could just materialize again—"

"Focus!" Blue's mental voice cut through with razor precision. "We need to create distance. In our current state, close combat is suicide."

Jill stalked closer, her footsteps deliberate and predatory. "I heard you give criminals an ultimatum. What's wrong, Angel? No righteous speeches about justice? No final judgments to pass?" Her lips curled into a cruel smile. "How disappointing. I expected more from Novaria's most infamous executioner."

Panic surged through Angelo's thoughts. "We'll never outrun her in this condition! Other options, now!"

But it was too late. Jill's muscles coiled like a serpent about to strike. "Die knowing you failed, 'Angel.' Just like all the others!" She launched forward with explosive force, her weapon singing through the air with lethal intent.

Angelo braced for the killing blow that never came.

When his eyes snapped open, the world seemed to swim into focus with cruel clarity. There stood Bill, his young frame somehow looking smaller than ever in his oversized uniform, with Jill's scythe protruding grotesquely from his chest.

The weapon's handle slipped from Jill's suddenly nerveless fingers. "No," she whispered, stumbling backward. "No, no, NO... not again... not like him..." Her brilliant aura flickered and died as she retreated, her earlier bloodlust replaced by horror.

"BILL!" Angelo's scream tore from his throat as he lunged forward, catching his falling protégé. "Stay with me, rookie. That's an order!"

Blood bubbled at Bill's lips as he fought to speak. "I really... messed up my first week... didn't I, boss?" He attempted a weak laugh that turned into a wet cough. "Mom's... mom's gonna kill me..."

"Don't talk like that!" Angelo's voice cracked with desperation. "MEDIC! SOMEBODY GET A DAMN MEDIC HERE NOW!"

Bill's trembling fingers clutched at Angelo's shirt. "Listen... please..." Each word seemed to cost him tremendously. "You showed me... what it means to be strong. Not just... powerful, but strong... inside..."

"Save your strength," Angelo begged, tears falling freely now. "Please, Bill. You've got so much to live for..."

Through the pain and encroaching darkness, Bill's voice grew fainter but more urgent. "Promise me something... you're not bound by your limits... You can reach the top... even the Arch Tournament... show everyone... what the Angel of Death... really means..."

"Stop it!" Angelo's voice broke. "You'll tell them yourself! You hear me? That's another order!"

Bill's bloodied lips curved into that same earnest smile he'd worn since day one. "Sorry, boss... but this time... I've got to disobey..." His grip weakened. "I believe... in you..."

The fingers gripping Angelo's shirt went slack. Bill's eyes drifted closed, that unwavering smile still on his face - the same expression of carefree innocence he'd shown on their first meeting. Even in death, he looked like nothing more than a rookie excited about his first day on the job.

In their shared consciousness, Red and Blue remained utterly silent, their usual banter replaced by a heavy, grief-stricken quiet. Behind them, Jill's broken murmuring continued, lost in her own private hell of memories and regret.