–I can’t move…– Candy whimpered, her voice trembling with constant sniffles as Voodoo and Daishi held her in place. Reaper kept pressing his scythe against her neck, drawing a thin line of blood. She tried to control her breath, but the more she concentrated, the more she trembled, each breath bringing her closer to the blade. A clap of thunder made her flinch, and to stop her from moving, Reaper held her in place with one hand on her shoulder and the other pressing the scythe harder on her throat.
–Yes, that’s it. Just stay still and wait. Let’s see how they get you out of this one…– Reaper whispered in her ear with an unnerving calmness that made her squirm. Candy reluctantly nodded but looked away, trying to avoid provoking him. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked forward, staring at each of her disturbed teammates, who continued begging for the torture to end. They noticed Reaper’s words drag on, almost as if he were waiting for something as Frost clutched his blades and subtly shifted his weight, ready to strike.
Just as Frost prepared to attack, the sound of ravagers rushing upstairs diverted everyone’s attention. The enemy was at the door of the roof; they could see them surrounding the Cloudstars and blocking the path back inside. But as the standoff was the distraction Reaper had been waiting for, Voodoo and Daishi vanished without Crisis knowing. Freak tried to escape, but she was caught by Frost, who stepped on her arm, keeping her in place. Panda had also noticed Freak’s attempt to run away, but Frost gestured for him to stay put as Reaper stayed behind Candy, keeping a close eye on everyone as he held her hostage by himself.
–Don’t… I got this…– Frost ordered quietly, keeping his cool and calming his teammates. He was containing his murderous urges for the sake of his squad and tried to take control of the situation. However, his death stare, while amusing, seemed to be ineffective against Reaper, who ignored the fact Frost was threatening Freak’s life and continued boasting his leverage.
–Oh, do you? You got a way to save your girlfriend?… It didn’t go so well last time, so I doubt you got anything but shame and regret. Look at you, you are probably already crying inside because you know you’ll fail again…– Reaper asked tauntingly, laughing in Frost and Candy’s faces. As much as Frost tried to contain it, he couldn't control his fury; his eyes burned with rage, only validating Reaper’s mockery. His stare told him everything, but Crisis could also see he was plotting something, much to their worries, and Panda and Nitro were seemingly objecting already.
–I know what you have in mind, it won’t work. Yea, and that other idea too, it’s futile. Listen to them, they know… Even that new fella, he’s a good replacement, might I say, even better tha-…– Reaper continued, growing more comfortable and now aiming his mockery at Saint. He looked just as livid as Frost, but unlike him, Saint held his sword low, concealing it as he waited for an opportunity to use it against Reaper. But before that moment presented itself, Frost decided to give in and entertain Reaper by negotiating.
–You don’t know what I’m capable of…– Frost responded scornfully, his voice now dripping with bitterness. He stood ominously on the opposite side of the roof, partly obscured by the heavy rain and mist. But his menacing aura didn’t deter Reaper for a single moment, and he didn’t hesitate to interrupt him with a belittling laugh.
–Oh, I do know… I know you’ll leave everything behind to come kill me, even if you could just let me go… No matter what, you’ll never get your sweet revenge. You could just listen and maybe get to save your precious, but you can’t have both. We all know that…– Reaper countered, holding his scythe closer to Candy as he toyed with her neck, forcing her to lean back.
Trapped in his hands, Candy couldn’t stop sweating and trembling, but as his hand brushed her shoulder in a way that made Frost’s blood boil, she saw a moment of reflection in his eyes. Frost’s resolve wavered again as he seemed to agree with Reaper for a second, realizing he was telling the truth, yet he still went against his suggestion. Seeing him tease Candy while drawing more blood as he pressed his scythe harder in an allusive manner enticed Frost to take a risky measure.
–You get away from her, or I’m this close to killing her too…– Frost ordered assertively. He stepped on Freak’s back and pointed one of his blades at her head, brushing away her hair to poke at the back of her neck. With her face against the wet floor, Freak couldn’t see Reaper’s reaction but could hear his unsettling laughter, which unnerved Crisis to the point where they were even worrying about her life for a moment.
–Go ahead, I wouldn’t mind… But I, on the other hand, would love to rip this pretty head open. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to see that, would you? Or maybe you are hoping I go through since it’ll give you another reason to kill me…– Reaper responded confidently, his grin and eyes provoking Frost further as he brushed Candy’s hair aside, boastingly giving him a clear view of Candy's fright. Frost's anger flared, shifting his stance to focus solely on Reaper and leaving Freak to cower on the floor.
–Shut it, or I will rip her limbs and bash your head to death with them…– Frost warned with a threatening but wary look, his tone increasing in hostility as the thunder matched the weight of his words. He was so absorbed in his hatred that Crisis was growing concerned, but Reaper continued to laugh, unfazed by his threat, though he seemed to like the picture Frost was painting.
–Even in a time like this, you fail to see your shortcomings… But, well, you gotta learn this lesson sooner or later. So, if you want to… Come shut my mouth… Let me see you take the shot now... Don’t miss this time… – Reaper mocked degradingly, rolling his eyes nonchalantly while laughing again. He gave Candy some space to breathe, pulling his scythe away and opening his arms. Though he wasn’t letting her go, Candy remained still, knowing she couldn’t move yet. But as everyone saw through his trick to provoke Frost, Panda and Saint looked at him, worried as Frost lowered his blades before raising one arm.
–I’m sorry…– Frost whispered to Candy with genuine remorse and a harrowing look that petrified her. She couldn’t understand his apologetic tone but soon realized why as Frost pulled out a weapon. Tears streamed down her face, and she couldn’t contain them anymore as Reaper held her close to ensure Frost had no chance of saving her.
Reaper sensed the attack and readied his scythe to despite Candy before Frost could reach. He had set his mind and decided the outcome; he was now waiting for Frost to get close to twist the dagger. Since he was fixated on Frost, Saint and Panda rushed to intervene, but it seemed too late. All Candy could do was close her eyes, seeing a glimpse of his teammates’ expressions of terror as they panicked at Frost’s seemingly reckless move. But instead of approaching Reaper directly, Frost took one step forward, swiftly pulled out his revolver, and within a split second, aimed it directly at Reaper’s mouth now that he had a clear shot.
As lightning struck a distant tower and Reaper twisted his scythe to cut Candy’s throat, Frost fired a single bullet without anyone knowing until they heard the bang. The shot flew past Candy’s ear, heading straight for Reaper’s exposed lower face. Despite seeing the bullet, Reaper decided to commit to his plan and attempted to slice Candy’s throat, only for her to duck right as the bullet struck his forehead. He was instantly knocked back, dropping his scythe, which Candy narrowly avoided with only a superficial cut below her chin before running to Frost and her teammates.
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Seeing Reaper down and assuming he was dead, Crisis rushed to protect Candy without a second thought, leaving Freak unsupervised. She immediately crawled to the roof’s edge and jumped off, being caught by her teammates below in the courtyard. Candy tried to compose herself as her teammates ran toward her, but she cowered upon hearing movement behind her. Frost saw Reaper get up but continued toward Candy to save her as he noticed his enemy was completely stunned for a second.
Despite taking a bullet to the face, Reaper was alive and shocked to be still breathing. He touched his mask, feeling the cracks, until he realized the bullet was lodged in his skull mask. He attempted to pull out the bullet, drawing blood as it managed to reach his skin, only to notice Frost charging at him with both blades to finish him off. Instinctively, Reaper reached for his scythe, and before Frost was right in front, he adopted a defensive stance. He blocked his blades just in time and began backing away toward the ledge. He was still dazed from the bullet, and as he failed to intercept a few of his strikes, it only took two cuts before Reaper chose to give up. He shoved Frost away with his scythe’s handle before taking one last step back and dropping off the roof into the omen-filled west courtyard. Frost moved to pursue him but quickly turned back when he heard Candy gasping for air and breaking into an alarming cry.
–It’s okay, it’s just a little cut. He didn’t hurt you… Look at me, you’re fine…– Frost reassured her, sounding caring but also urging Candy to stop cowering and trying to cover her wound. He placed a hand on her back to hold her in place, with the other trying to inspect the small cut on her throat. She didn’t respond and seemed to choke on her tears, prompting Frost to turn her around, and to his relief, she was only crying in distress. She finally opened her arms, and as Frost tried to wipe the blood, she reached out for a big hug. He looked a bit uncomfortable at first, but since it seemed to ease her pain and calm her down, he gratefully hugged her back, though struggling to smile amid the chaos.
Despite protecting Candy, the squad had little time to regroup as more enemies emerged. Ravagers from inside the tower began spilling onto the roof, shifting their focus from the Cloudstars to Crisis. The omens seemed to have won the battle at the hangar and now were about to reach the roof as well, aiming at Crisis. While Frost comforted Candy, Nitro, and Kiwy were shot at, who retreated while Panda ran to the hole with his shield. They sought a way to fight back and leave the roof, but not jump off like Spook since they had to support their allies back inside. Panda covered the hole and kicked off any omen who climbed up, while Nitro, Saint, and Kiwy confronted the ravagers at the back, blocking the door to the tower.
Nitro could do little and was too injured to lift his arms, so it fell on Kiwy and Saint to clear the way. The latter had used nearly all his energy and stayed back to support as Kiwy attacked first, without even assessing the number of enemies in the way. She managed to scratch the first ravager before being surrounded and needing Saint to pull her back. He made the decision to retreat since they couldn’t get close to the enemy without being overpowered, and now back to Panda and Nitro, they looked at Frost for instructions.
–Back up! Stay close together!– Frost ordered as he was done consoling Candy and helped her get up. Despite her emotional state, she wiped her tears, shook off the fear, and as Frost handed her guns, she began shooting at the ravagers. Her bullets contacted a few ravagers but barely made a dent in the swarm. With no choice, Crisis followed Frost’s command. Panda turned cautiously to the ravagers while the team gathered behind him, protecting them from the omens below at the same time. Yet, the ravagers quickly cornered them at the roof’s edge, leaving them desperate.
While EchoForce willingly cornered themselves, Crisis fought desperately to escape their precarious position. Even Frost and Kiwy struggled against the overwhelming number of ravagers and were pinned down. Panda managed to defend them with his shield but only blocked frontal attacks, leaving the rest to fend off enemies on the side. Despite their efforts and blocking three directions, they were left with no room to continue retreating to the roof’s edge. Out of ammo and with Candy in her last magazine, they resorted to melee combat, leaving Saint, Frost, and Kiwy in the front. But their weapons were no match for the ravagers, as they had stolen omen rifles, so there was no longer any difference in who they faced; they were doomed either way.
The atmosphere intensified their hopelessness. Thunder strikes synchronized with ravager assaults; lightning continuously hit the towers and parts of the base, reinforcing the sense of inescapable danger. Enemies closed in like the encroaching fog, asphyxiating them and obscuring their vision. Panda, Frost, and Kiwy kept backing away until they realized they were pushing their teammates. Nitro, Candy, and Saint were nearly falling off the roof, keeping only one foot on the ledge. With no option left but to wait, Nitro moaned from the discomfort of being cramped, Candy began to tear up again while looking back at the pass in the distance, calling for help in silence, and Saint was too tired to process the fact the squad couldn’t protect him anymore. For the first time, there was a high chance he would perish with them.
Frost, putting away his blades, turned to hug Candy and shield her from the enemies. Kiwy sought comfort in the group while Panda remained facing forward out of obligation, as he looked prepared to drop his shield and join the squad in their final moments. But in that moment of absolute despair, Saint alone refused to accept their fate. Despite being at the back and the last to be killed if Crisis were to give up, he squeezed his way to the front, standing next to Panda and drawing his sword. Candy noticed his determination but reached for his shoulder, trying to pull him back. When he turned, she was taken aback by his fierce expression. His eyes were filled with spite and desperation, mirroring Frost’s rage but uniquely driven by a resolve born from numbing terror.
Realizing their lack of options, Saint hid her fear under a courageous frown. All reluctance faded as he embraced his decision with a maddening determination, empowered by Dominion’s increasing energy. The squad noticed his intent and tried to stop him, but he was too resolute and furious to be swayed. He gave Candy a bold stare to confirm their doubts, and before anyone could intervene, he pushed Panda’s shield aside and stepped forward. He exposed himself to the ravagers’ swords and axes in front but stood firmly between them and his squad with his sword in hand.
Dominion began glowing sky blue, shining brighter as Saint mustered up more courage to attack. Before the sword was fully charged with color, he leaped at the ravagers, swinging his sword aimlessly but fiercely, managing to slash a few and force the others back momentarily. Catching the enemy off guard, Saint’s unexpected aggression gave Crisis a brief chance to regroup. He only pushed them back about a foot or two before he got desperate and tried to kill as many as possible. But as he dove into the midst of the horde, he was quickly surrounded and began taking hits.
The squad watched helplessly as Saint disappeared into the crowd, failing to follow without breaking formation. Panda attempted to push forward, but the ravagers, currently focused on Saint, quickly turned back to the rest of Crisis and separated them. Just as the ravagers didn’t expect Saint’s head-on attack, they didn’t anticipate lightning striking near the roof. It didn’t scare them enough to stop pummeling him until a bolt struck the center of the roof, near the giant hole. This forced the ravagers to look up, momentarily pausing in the realization of their danger.
The lightning strike electrocuted everyone around. Some ravagers were fried to a crisp, though Crisis couldn’t see them through the mass of enemies. They only saw the lightning strike in front of them and felt its impact. Though it wasn’t clear who or how many had been hit, the reactions of the surrounding ravagers suggested that anyone directly struck was surely dead. As the smoke cleared from the charred bodies, Crisis braced for the worst. However, amid the mass electrocution, one figure stood out, not only surviving but seemingly empowered by the strike. They absorbed all the energy as they emerged with newfound power, ready to harness it in an irrational outburst as a last-ditch effort.
| I NO LONGER GOVERN MY SOUL
I AM COMPLETELY IMMERSED IN DARKNESS
AS I TURN MY BODY AWAY FROM THE SUN |