They arrived near the gates of the research lab. A quite infiltration would have been a sound idea, but what they found when they arrived were two figures standing between them and the justice that they sought. A large scalin figure next to a derlin woman stood there. The scalin man tossed a poor security guard onto the ground while the woman fiddled with her orb.

“Come out, now. You won’t get past us quietly if that’s what you’re aiming for.” He held a freakishly long sword in one hand. Something of that size should have been impossible to handle, but the man seemed to have some external power supporting him.

Firil called up Sincan from far away. “Think you can handle them?” she asked.

“Okshender can wipe them out without a problem,” he replied.

“We’re not here for your little safe, girl. We want the Gear. You took one of ours, so it’s only fair we take one back,” the derlin woman said.

“And don’t try playing smart. We’ve got this entire place surrounded. I’m only going to count to 3 before I let my soldiers put some holes in you.”

Firil slammed her fist down angrily. “3.”

She had to find some way to distract him. There isn’t anything, is there? I have to play along. “2.”

“Okay!” she shouted from her van. Firil pulled open the doors and walked out with the rest of the group following her. She recognized the scalin man as Vanalog, as the girl had called him. He and the derlin woman were stood near the parking leading up to the gate of the complex.

“You’ve seen to reason, finally. Now, call your pilot down.”

“Young Firil, my pilot has a plan.”

Firil looked around startled, wondering who had said that. Who was that?

“Don’t try and find them, girl. My soldiers are well trained. They won’t get caught by just anyone’s eye,” Vanalog said.

“It is me, Firil. I’m talking directly into your head.” She knew that was Okshender after hearing him one more time. I thought only Sin-Nevermind, what’s the plan?

Firil listened intently and waited, as Okshender ordered. The Gear landed in front of Vanalog, pleasing him as he admired the weapon. “Now, open wide and go stand with the others.”

Sincan’s voice came out of the Gear and complied to his demands. The pilot seat opened up to reveal… nothing.

Okshender took the opportunity to sweep his hand across the ground, picking up both Vanalog and the derlin woman and throwing them away. “Go!” he ordered.

Firil started walking but looked back to see that the rest of the group didn’t follow. “Come on! We don’t have time!” she shouted at them and the sounds of bullets firing began to blare across the battlefield. Okshender rushed towards the sources of the sound while Firil darted her eyes around everyone, wondering why they were still.

“You do, Firil! If someone doesn’t stop those people here, then they’ll just come back!” Moris shouted back at her. He shoved her and she didn’t have time to respond, instead continuing on with their mission. She ran across and flung herself over the gate. Sincan came out from behind her and started running with her towards the huge building.

They slammed open the doors and Firil dared not to look back, instead glancing around the various holding cells for the Ganvers and trying to spot a storage area somewhere.

“This way!” Sincan shouted and pointed towards a hallway that led deeper down.

****

Okshender sweeped through the surrounding area, knocking away dirt, grass and bodies. Moris noted that he wasn’t usually this brutal in fights. The Gear somehow knew where everyone was in a certain radius, as he didn’t seem to go for the targets that were much farther away.

Moris swallowed his fear and faced the scalin man running towards them. Vanalog didn’t seem angry but more excited. He stood with 3 other people, which he hoped would be enough to face off against them.

Vanalog paused for a moment and looked around himself. Several rocks started gathering around him in clumps. Moris dreaded what was about to come next, but steeled himself and opened the stopper on his water pouch.

While Vanalog was busy, his ally stepped up. One of her horns had broken off during the altercation, angering her to no end. Her orb shot forward with a burst of speed, giving Nato minimal time to use his Wind Wheel. At the last moment, he slightly nudged it off course, stopping it from hitting Moris in the chest. Moris summoned a bit of fire and threw it at Vanalog, who just blocked it with his blade.

For his fire to be effective, Moris would have to catch their clothing in it. Beside him, multiple figures ran towards both of their enemies in a straight line. The figures looked like him, Jake, Nato and the others. Vanalog didn’t swing to hit any of them, as he likely knew of their intangible properties. He simply kept swinging and Jake and Nato. He did some probing strikes, always pulling back towards the crystals he had placed before returning to swing once more.

Moris looked around him and noticed that Kos was missing. Had she mixed herself among her own illusions? He turned to look at the derlin woman and noticed her holding up Kos by her neck. Moris pushed a large amount of bewl into his Fire Wheel and shot a ball of flame towards her. It caught her on the side, causing burns over her and her clothes. She let go of Kos and turned towards Moris with a gun in her hand. Aiming it, she fired, lodging a bullet in Moris’ shoulders.

****

Sincan ran madly throughout the lab. This particular hallway was lined with cells filled with ganvers of all types. He gave them a passing glance on the off chance that there might actually be something important in one of those cells. Firil ran beside him with fervor, keeping pace as they ran out into a much more open room than the rest. The room was at the end of the hallway and looked massive from the inside compared the cramped hallways they had to deal with to get to this place. Sincan looked around himself and was glad not to find anyone waiting for them at the end.

He spotted a door at the other end and gestured Firil to follow him. They’d need both of their strength if they were going to carry it all the way from there back to a safe location. Sincan turned the knob on the door and walked in to find a messy area filled with documents, reagents and most surprising of all, a giant safe that sat haphazardly on a table. They wouldn’t leave it unguarded unless they really were short on time.

Sincan watched as Firil took slow steps up to the safe, vigilant of her surroundings enough so that she would not be caught in any kind of trap if they had one prepared. She reached it easily and lifted it with Sincan’s help. Sincan let go of the safe with one hand to open the door back up but froze as the barrel of a revolver suddenly pressed against his temple.

****

Jake struggled against Vanalog. The man was a trained fighter, enhanced by the crystals that he kept retreating towards. Jake and Nato gasped for breath as the scalin man gave them room to breathe. Jake noticed that more crystals had appeared around Vanalog.

“I think he’s getting stronger the more we go on…” Jake said to the man by his side. “One of us needs to get closer to those crystals. Take them out and we might have an opening to take him out,” Nato replied.

They both separated from each other as Vanalog came back in for another swing. He easily dodged the strike, and next one after that as well. Vanalog was struggling to get a hit on him it seemed, but Jake was confused as to why. He looked around and noticed that Kos was being choked out by the woman that Vanalog had brought with him.

Oh, she put the sense dampening ones near him. A clever trick. She hid her own crystals among the ones that Vanalog used. Jake lunged back at the man with renewed confidence, closing in on him even as the other man kept backing off. Jake could sense the confusion of the man through his Wheel. He took the momentary distraction created by Okshender to wrap his tie around his fist and charge it.

He swung a haymaker at Vanalog, while charging his shirt similarly. The result was the scalin man being launched several feet away and planting him on the perimeter walls. He slid down and attracted his sword back to his arm. A blast of dust, kicked up by Nato’s Wind Wheel, knocked into the blade, changing the direction the blade was facing as it shot into Vanalog’s hand.

The oversized sword couldn’t be stopped as it tore through Vanalog’s hand and split it in twain. The scalin man grasped his hand in anger and screamed but was drowned out by the noises of the bullets flying through the air.

****

Firil tried not to make any sudden movements. Sincan walked out of the door with his hands up while Shuk Vinters threatened him. The gun in his hand would only take a single bullet to kill Sincan. His body might have been enhanced by his Wheel, but it would merely be enough to lodge the bullet somewhat less deep in his brain.

“You too, girl. Don’t make me ask you separately,” Shuk said out. The man had a fierce look in his reddened eyes. It almost seemed like he was busy crying before he came here.

Sincan moved slightly and Shuk pressed the barrel further in. “I can react faster than an insect. Make any movements like that again and I swear I’ll smear your grey matter all over these floors.”

Sincan growled but obeyed. Firil thanked the goddess quietly that he didn’t try anything stupid. The other man behind Shuk didn’t surprise Firil one bit. Once again, her uncle had caught onto their trail and come here.

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“You know, I wasn’t expecting to catch two different annoyances in one place like this but it is quite a pleasant surprise,” Oxe said as he walked up to where Shuk was standing.

“You consider Sincan a separate annoyance, uncle? I assure you, he’s with us.”

Oxe chuckled at what Firil said. “No, no, not him. Those Hands outside. Thankfully they seem to be under control. I promised someone that they’d get their revenge, now I am just here to see that and another matter through.” He gestured to Shuk and Sincan.

Oxe stopped for a second and looked around, as if hearing something. Sincan took the opportunity to try wrestling the gun away from Shuk. He struggled feebly but Shuk was stronger and pushed him away. Before he could aim the gun again, Firil charged the gun and the ceiling oppositely, causing them to be attracted to each other. Shuk glared at her and she felt as if she was suddenly pushed back by a tremendous force. She hit her back on a table and slid down while groaning.

Shuk walked up to Sincan who was trying to gain some distance between him and the Solik. Firil stood up and noticed Oxe staring at her from across the room. She took a deep breath and spoke.

“I won’t stop, uncle. Never.”

“That’s what I hate about us.” He held a coin in a gloved hand and stared at it for a moment. Firil knocked over the table behind her and took cover. The sounds of gunshots ringing across the hallway started, riling up the ganvers trapped in their cages. Oxe must have gotten his revolver for him.

Another moment later, a massive dent appeared near Firil on the tabletop. She looked around for any weapons she could use and found some metallic medical tools strewn about on the ground. She picked them up and put all but one in her pocket. If she charged one next to the others it would cause them to stick together.

She looked out over the tabletop and noticed Oxe wasn’t there. She quickly turned to face the ceiling and found him standing upside down charging a coin. She charged the scalpel and it flied off to the ceiling due to the charges concentrated there. Oxe shifted his body to dodge the scalpels and barely made it. He shot the coin towards Firil, giving her a cut on her arm due to the speed of the coin.

He waited until the ceiling was uncharged and landed on the ground while Firil scuttled away towards more cover.

****

Moris held a metallic black sphere that he hung onto with his life. It moved all over the place, dragging him off his feet and into the air multiple times before coming down. Kos was below him, just trying to land a punch on the much better trained derlin woman. She was taking a beating and her face was bruised badly. She staggered back after taking a few more punches to her face. Her dazed expression worried Moris.

He pushed some water out of his container and shot a harmless glob of it towards Jake. The man looked back at him and noticed the sphere he was riding on top of. Moris pointed towards the derlin woman and Jake nodded. Suddenly, the orb lurched and started falling quickly towards Kos and the other woman.

Moris jumped off of it at the last second as the orb impacted against the woman’s chest and stuck to her. She grunted in pain and Moris looked at Jake to thank him but the man was busy fighting a mad and bleeding Vanalog.

Moris decided on a somewhat detestable course of action, or so he considered it, and created some flames that he shot towards the woman as she struggled to move. The flames hit the orb and slowly made it hotter, causing the derlin woman to scream again in pain. The red-hot metal of the orb was messing with its functionality, as it went all over the place before finally stopping and falling onto the ground.

The woman looked at Moris again and was about to fire a bullet at him but was pinned by Kos. Moris gathered all of his water out and formed the tip of it into ice. He carried the tip of the ice with the rest of the water, turning it into a stream which he fired at the derlin woman’s chest. With Kos holding her, the chunk of ice hit her square in the chest and knocked the wind out of her body. Kos stopped holding her and the woman hit her head on the concrete ground.

Though he knew he should have gone for the kill, he couldn’t bring himself to do such a thing.

****

Sincan ran backwards through the complex, trying to avoid Shuk and his wrath. The hallways of the lab weren’t suited to running, so he had hidden in the nearest room he could find. Taking cover behind shelves of miscellaneous things, he awaited the other man. The sound of the door opening gave him the opening to do what he wanted.

“I didn’t kill him, I swear! I avenged him. I caught the man who killed Cervo!” Sincan shouted out.

“A new excuse after the last one. Come out and die with honour, you fool.” He ran to where Sincan’s voice had come from and found no one there. Shuk heard another voice coming from a different location this time.

“If you’d stop trying to murder me, I could explain!”

Shuk kicked over one of the shelves in frustration and sent the others cascading downwards. “You’re a natural born liar. I know how people like you operate, because it’s how I operate. I won’t tolerate any more of your lies. The longer this goes on, the more uncertain you make me. That’s your goal behind this. And when I’m vulnerable,” he noticed one of the shelves moving after being knocked over.

He ran towards it and put two bullets into the body he saw there. It collapsed back into the glass it was made from, angering Shuk. “You’ll take a shot,” he said and reached for his ammo. He noticed it wasn’t there and growled.

Shuk walked slowly and heard a faint splash beneath his feet. He had hit Sincan with at least one bullet, so it would make sense for him to heal up a bit. He walked forward and almost fell over, watching as a small ice construct crept up to encompass his feet. He used his Force Wheel to smash the ice apart but didn’t notice the orb of fire coming towards him. He again pushed the flames apart and shot a bullet to their origin. The shot missed and he was smacked on the head with a flat sheet of metal, winding him. Sincan took the opportunity to take his gun and start running out.

Shuk slammed his fist down in anger on the counter he was leaning against and went outside. He saw Sincan running and gave chase. He was faster than the younger scalin by a moderate amount, so it wasn’t difficult for him to reach him and turn him around. He started bludgeoning the poor man, causing a few teeth and blood to spill out. Sincan summoned a small fire in front of him again, blinding Shuk for a few seconds. He held Shuk’s hands and summoned more fire, moving it towards Shuk’s body.

His clothes caught on fire and he headbutted Sincan to get him to loosen his grip. Sincan ran once more, and Shuk gave chase after making sure he wasn’t too badly hurt. They ended up back where they began, where Firil and her uncle were fighting with each other. Firil’s clothes were stuck with multiple metal tools and pieces, making it a bit hard to maneuver.

****

Firil took a quick look to the side and saw Sincan running into the room panting. He looked generally tired and injured. Oxe shot up from the ground and Firil felt herself being pulled towards him as well. She looked down at her clothes and dispersed the charges gathered there, making her fall back onto the ground. The metal stuck to her clothes instead flew towards Oxe, creating some minor wounds and resulting in him releasing a grunt.

Sincan tackled her and they both used the scattered lab to take a moment to speak. “Are you faring any better here?” he asked her.

“Not at all. His skin is as hard as diamonds.”

“Right, right. And you, his niece, are only telling me this now?” Sincan said, annoyed.

“Uncle wasn’t like this before, okay?”

“He must have gotten a stronger Wheel then. For someone of his status, that doesn’t seem too far-fetched.” Another bullet whirred past overhead and some curse words followed.

“Let’s take care of the lesser threat here first. Then we can focus on your monster of an uncle.”

****

Vanalog struggled. He’d been pushed to the edge finally. His arrogance in battle had led to a bunch of common men and women being able to match him. He cursed his own stupidity as he cradled his split hand. He didn’t even hear what that derlin man said before finally taking a quick and, although it was embarrassing for him to admit, strong punch and fell onto the ground.

****

Shuk struggled against the two annoying pests that came at him. Every time he’d try aiming towards one of them, his gun would be pulled in a different direction. He missed more than a few shots, allowing Sincan to pelt him with more fire and his annoying double.

As soon as he was vulnerable, Sincan encased the man’s hand in ice and punched him straight in the face. After a few more solid hits, Firil shouted at him from behind and he jumped out of the way, narrowly avoiding the giant table that knocked into Shuk at high speeds and pinned him against the wall. Shuk tried raising his hand one last time, his arm shaking.

He fired…and missed. The slight recoil he still felt was enough for him to drop his weapon once and for all. His visage dropped as the fatigue hit him all at once.

Sincan gasped for air and fell to his knees. “Wher-…. Where’s your uncle now?” he asked without looking back.

“He’s probably next to the safe. Come on, get up,” she offered him a hand. He took it and stood up. Before leaving, he turned back for a second and whispered under his breath, “…sorry.”

****

Oxe thought that with his niece running away, he would be able to take the safe quietly. His enhanced strength made carrying the object not much of a challenge. What he didn’t account for was the other 4 pests showing up.

Astonishment flooded his mind. 4 barely trained, weak, normal people had somehow come and beaten not only highly trained soldiers, something that would be embarrassing to any half decent militia, but had been enough to stall him. He was a Meyers; he was supposed to be able to accomplish great things.

So, his decision was made. He brought out two handfuls of coins out of his pockets and charged them. He jumped back, carried into the air by his strength and put his hands in front of him before charging his gloves the same. A magnificent torrent of metal sprayed out from between his fingers, carried by repulsion to cover the entire room in coins. Many of them hit his enemies, jamming into their bodies, causing bleeding and injuries that looked quite serious.

“Moris! No!” Oxe heard from behind the pathetic cover they were using. Oxe felt a pang of disgust at what he had done. But he assured himself it was a deterrent more than anything.

“If you do not wish to lose any more of yourselves, I’d suggest leaving right now. You will not have it,” he shouted so that everyone could hear. His declaration finished while Sincan and Firil walked into the room.

Sincan looked upon in horror at his friends bleeding all around him before turning to face Oxe Meyers.

“That was a warning. Try something like that again and It will be the last one you ever get,” Oxe said from across, but Sincan wasn’t paying attention to the man. He kept looking towards his friends, cycling between them to make sure none of their injuries were too grievous. He’d end it here, because if he didn’t, who would know what casualties it would bring upon the people he cared about.

Sincan stared at Oxe and a wall of glass spikes began to form behind the man. He put every ounce of bewl into it to make sure that it would not break before Oxe would. He then charged at the man, ignoring every single injury he gained along the way. Miraculously, Oxe was overpowered by him and flew backwards. One of Sincan’s buttons stuck to the man, so he silently thanked Firil as he carried the man towards the wall screaming.

Oxe hit it and shouted out in horrible pain. His voice was a shriek as Sincan let go, giving Oxe the opportunity to escape. Oxe didn’t take it, falling in front of Sincan instead, his back revealing a spike jammed into his spine.

Oxe fainted immediately after. Sincan stepped back and looked at Firil, who was looking back at him with open eyes. “I-I…”

She didn’t listen to him, instead going to her friends and checking up on them one by one. Moris was the only one unconscious. He was slowly healing the worst of the injuries, making sure no one bled out while they were unconscious. He was missing an eye, something that Firil had only now noticed.

“Just go get it, Firil. It’s what we came here for. We can ask Okshender to carry us away later…” he said with deep breaths. Firil still looked over them, just to find any injuries that Moris might have missed.

She finally looked back at Sincan and spoke. “W-We’ve caused enough trouble.” She was stuttering with every word, making Sincan regret it with every step he took towards the safe. They both walked towards the safe at the same time. Sincan stood a bit away as Firil knelt down near it and pushed each button slowly and methodically.

Finally, once she entered in the combination, a clicking sound came out. She held the door in one hand and pushed it down, opening it to reveal a bundle of documents tied together. With reverence, she picked up the documents in her hands, ignoring how her hands dirtied them. She looked at the first page and saw her grandfather’s handwriting.

It was his will.

She didn’t get anymore than a second to admire it before the screams of soldiers filled the hall in ranks. She clasped the paper and a man came out between the soldiers, clearly outranking them. He stared at them and sighed.

“This is one mess I need a detailed explanation of.”