Isaac, Babs, and the little snake on his shoulder traversed through the inferno to the far end of the office. They came across no more civilians during their short journey - Isaac had saved two of them and killed one of them, Babs killed another three, leaving two unaccounted for. He trusted their rescue to Squad 1 and continued on.
I only got betrayed by one civilian after saving him. Babs had to kill three of them. I wonder if she felt awful afterwards the same way I did.
Babs’ face maintained its usual clarity and confidence, but there was a strain to her eyes that rarely appeared. She seemed to be reaching the end of her rope as well - but Isaac wouldn’t make the same mistake again. Once they captured Sam and escaped the burning the office, he would no longer confuse her for Kassandra. His old friend was gone, and though it pained him, he also knew she wasn’t the one who continued to inspire him while training in the Navy. It was Babs who took the time to be his friend and confidante; Isaac intended to repay the favor once they finished the mission.
Finishing the mission, of course, would ideally involve capturing, not killing, the Eight-Steps Killer Sam. That would be a tall order, especially after he killed one of their own.
The snake hissed as they cleared the final row of cubes. They arrived in a similar clearing, the blasts of battle having knocked away all the cubicles and debris to create open space for the two combatants. Illuminated by the flames, Mackenzie and Sam stood across from each other, their shadows flickering across the back wall of the office. She had been right earlier - the constricted space put Sam at a disadvantage. He gripped his sword tightly, but the drops of blood on the floor below it came from Sam himself. He had wounds across his face and a sharp burn on his shoulder.
In contrast, the wounds on Mackenzie’s face seemed self-inflicted. Blood trickled out of her nose and ears from overuse of her powers. Crimson red dripped from her fingers, but that was likely because she attacked Sam across the face. She had her |Twilight Sphere| up and took short breaths; the second she retracted it, Sam would likely attack.
Energy flared as Isaac fired the electric charge of his |Fists of Anji| and Babs shot her |Winds of Change| in unison at their final opponent. Sam jumped backwards just in time before the ranged attacks struck. Mackenzie used the opportunity to retract her Sphere; she collapsed to a knee as blood rocketed out of her nose.
When they arrived next to her, Mackenzie used Isaac's sleeve to wipe her face. Isaac could only frown, but at least she was still alive. Sam had wasted no time in attacking the group in the lobby, but his wounds slowed him now, and he used the sudden lull in combat to recover his strength. The lull was just a fleeting moment, however; Babs still looked fresh and fired off more |Wind Palms| at him. Sam used his sword to deflect each of them, but the steady barrage forced him backwards toward the fire behind him.
In one fluid motion, Sam deflected a Palm and then disappeared into the flames, seeking to escape into the inferno raging across the rest of the office. Mackenzie immediately fired off a |Twilight Beam| in his general direction; the resulting explosion when it struck debris knocked Sam back towards them. Babs was on him, whistling now, using the blasts of air to pin him down as she approached.
“The other cultivator died,” Isaac admitted as he and Mackenzie joined Babs. “We need to capture Sam alive.”
“Negative,” Mackenzie simply answered. “I will kill him.”
“But the mission-”
“I am the mission.”
“You’re not thinking straight-”
“He killed my fucking brother!” Mackenzie gripped him tightly on the shoulders; her eyes were bloodshot. “You understand, don’t you? Your brother dies and you vow to overthrow an entire government. My brother dies and I vow to kill his assassin. What makes your vow okay? Why can’t I fulfill mine?”
Her nails plunged into the flesh of his shoulder. “Because to advance your vengeance, you need to deny me mine. That’s why. Now, I’m going to kill this man, and you’re gonna stand there and do nothing. Understand?”
Isaac shook himself free. Mackenzie moved to slap him, but Isaac caught her hand. “Calm down! I admit - it started off that way. I only wanted to destroy the military dictatorship to gain revenge for my brother and Kassandra. But-”
Kieran lay dead in a pool of his own blood. A dozen marines stared lifelessly back at him on the Melusine. Children in rags tried to rob him and Babs merely to survive. Foreign corporations and State Police gunned down striking Patuxet miners.
“There’s evil in this country,” Isaac finally said. “It’s not about changing this country to avenge someone. I want to destroy that evil and create a country where people can live in peace. I don’t want us to live in a world where people die before their time, where people are forced to kill and sacrifice life and limb to survive. That’s why I want us to take Sam alive. That’s the goal I’m striving for.”
“I appreciate the touching moment, but I’m still fighting over here!” Babs called out. She was dangerously close to Sam now; after swiping away a Wind Palm, he lunged forward with his sword. Mackenzie immediately threw up a |Twilight Sphere|; Sam slowed considerably, giving Babs enough time to jump backwards out of harm’s way. She fired off more |Wind Palms|, but the repeated big blasts of air fanned the flames around them; the inferno began to close in on them, threatening to trap them against the wall.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
But that also meant Sam would be trapped as well. And considering the three were arrayed against him, he became a cornered rat. And no doubt - he would fight like one. Babs had fired so many Wind Palms that each succeeding attack grew weaker and weaker. Sam deflected them as his own energy returned to him; right as the equilibrium was about to shift in Sam’s favor, Mackenzie stepped forward.
“Duck!” she ordered. Babs did as instructed, kneeling out of the way right as a |Twilight Beam| raced overhead. Since the |Twilight Sphere| was already up, Sam didn’t expect a Beam as well. The blast caught him square in the chest and scorched his hakama black as he slammed into the wall behind him. The Sphere and Beam both disappeared as Mackenzie stumbled forward. Isaac caught her before she fell; blood trickled from her mouth. She wiped her face on his sleeve again, then stood up under her full power.
“Surrender,” she instructed. “I won’t ask again.”
His back against the wall, Sam’s face contorted, likely running through his options. Isaac relieved Babs and stepped forward with a powered fist; he was well aware Sam might use one of his steps against him, but his opponent looked significantly weakened. The subsequent rustling sound felt so quiet yet also deafening amid all the carnage. When Sam disappeared, Isaac protected his neck with his one powered fist and his stomach with the other, but nobody whizzed past him. Instead, droplets from an autumn drizzle flew in through the new Sam-shaped hole in the wall.
Isaac punched the hole open even wider. Sam had stepped straight the wall; he now limped to freedom along the rooftop of the building adjacent to the Machigonne office. In her current state, Mackenzie wouldn’t be able to make it across the gap. Isaac expected Babs to use her wind powers to glide Mackenzie down, but instead, Babs herself flew off, propelling herself across the air in Sam’s direction. Though the tall girl frowned, she allowed Isaac to scoop her up bridal-style before leaping out of the burning building.
The roof of the new building rushed up to meet Isaac; he landed against the asphalt and set Mackenzie down. Babs, meanwhile, flew all the way so she would land in front of Sam to block his path. Sam stepped and disappeared, intent on striking Babs right as she landed; there was a sharp whistle as Sam’s blade struck a blast of air, stopping him in place. He then engaged Babs with conventional swings of his sword, but Isaac closed the distance and delivered an uppercut that Sam just narrowly dodged. Wind and fist and sword struck against one another in a blurry set of movement and motion that culminated with Sam stepping and disappearing away from them. He emerged on another side of the roof, prepared to step across to the next building, but a |Twilight Sphere| engulfed him. It immediately retracted and dragged him back to the center of their roof. Mackenzie couldn't hold him forever, though; the Sphere reluctantly retracted away from him.
With Sam in the center, Isaac, Babs, and Mackenzie formed a ring around him. No way to escape. The three watched him cautiously; though his injuries slowed him, Sam could still step towards any one of them and slice their necks open.
“Do you even know what you’re fighting for?” Sam called out. The three paused; nobody expected him to talk.
“Do you?” Isaac countered. “Aren’t you just a mercenary?” Sam seemed no different than Jackson - nothing more than a mere soldier of fortune.
That just made Sam laugh. “For a time, you’ve been right. I killed whoever they told me to kill, at long as I got that briefcase full of money at the end of if. But then…things change.”
The clouds broke above him; the drizzle turned into a torrential downpour in a matter of seconds. Amid that backdrop of rain, Sam looked to the sky.
“There’s evil in this country,” Sam finally said. “For so long, I was blinded by money. But then I found the Restorationists. They want to destroy that evil and create a country where people can live in peace. They don’t want us to live in a world where people die prematurely, where people have to risk everything precious to them just to survive.”
The trio who surrounded him shared brief glances with each other.
“After hearing something like that, how could I ever simply fight for money ever again? No. I’m fighting for something greater than myself.” He let out a soft chuckle. Rain glistened as it slid down his sword. “The cause will prevail, but it appears I’ve lost this battle. I didn’t wake up today thinking it would be my last day on earth. I don’t want to die. I really don’t. Just once, I want to see her again…Suni, who stood with her back to the outfield wall…”
Sam raised his sword. “I’ve taken many lives. But if I can at least say I played a microscopic role in establishing peace on earth for all time…nobody will remember me in the annals of history. But I was there.”
Rather than slash the stomachs of his opponents, Sam moved to cut his own stomach open. Isaac’s eyes widened as Sam plunged his sword toward himself; the distance was too great for any of them to stop him. The sword appeared closer and closer to his stomach, the steel ready to cut right through flesh-
And then his arm stopped. Little Oksana the snake wrapped itself around his hand, wrist, arm, and elbow, preventing Sam from moving any further. Isaac hadn't even noticed it leaving his body during their fight. As Sam struggled against it, the three saw their chance.
I don’t know if Mackenzie will kill him or not, Isaac realized. I need to capture him first.
In unison, the three prepared their ranged attacks. They all punched the air - the electric charge of the |Fists of Anji|, the visible shifting cascade in the air of the |Winds of Change|, and the black invisible surge of the |Twilight Beam| raced against each other, each seeking to get there first.
Isaac wasn’t about to watch yet another person die in front of him. He put everything he had left into this, pulling off his most successful ranged attack so far. The Beam lagged behind, Mackenzie so weakened by the earlier fighting, meaning Isaac just had to defeat Babs. It was the closest thing he had ever seen - but his charge reached Sam first, blasting him across the legs and knocking him to the ground. The sword clattered away, and Oksana maneuvered itself to bind his hands together behind his back.
With that, the raid ended. Just like that. The three cultivators caught their breath on that asphalt roof. The rain continued to pour.