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Bounded Warriors

As we took a brief respite from the chaos, the air around us was heavy with mixed emotions. Kyriah, her face a mask of sad resolve, approached Alexander. He was slowly regaining his footing, supported by Ivory and me. With a tone that was more dutiful than empathetic, Kyriah offered her apologies. "I'm sorry, I couldn't let the clones get away and have them regroup," she said, her words efficient, almost mechanical, reflecting her focused mindset rather than heartfelt regret.

Alexander managed a weak smile, trying to cut through the tension with his characteristic humor. "I'd rather be powerless than dead," he joked, attempting to lighten the mood. "It's going to take some getting used to, feeling this... vulnerable," he admitted, his voice soft, as he pressed his finger upon his skin, curious about the feeling.

Alexander's next words were tinged with a wistful irony as he glanced around at us, "Guess I'm not part of The Sunspears anymore, huh?"

Ivory responded with a warm, reassuring smile, "You'll always be part of The Sunspears. Powers or no powers, we're in this together." Her affirmation seemed to bolster his spirit.

The brief pause allowed us all to catch our breath momentarily. The distance still echoed with the sound of ongoing battle. Ivory's gaze hardened as she looked toward the direction from which she had come. "We need to get ready. The fight is far from over," she declared, "We have to go back, help the others, and fight off the remaining clones."

Ivory woke Charles up, making sure he was okay. I wanted to go next to Kyriah and talk to her but she was looking ahead, her mind set only on stopping Davos. I saw a glimpse of this side of her when she saw Gustavo, but it was such a while back that I had completely forgotten she could be this intimidating.

As we prepared to return to the battlefield, Ivory proposed a safer option for Alexander and Charles. "Let's head back to the rooftop where we left Annabella. It'll be safer for you two there," she said decisively. She gestured for me to grab onto Kyriah, who in turn reached out to Alexander, who held Charles, ensuring we were all connected for the teleport.

The teleportation process this time felt unusually laborious and strained as if we were pulling a heavy weight along with us. It could have been due to Ivory's fatigue or perhaps the challenge of teleporting so many at once—a task Ivory typically avoided.

We re-materialized with a jolt on the rooftop, the cityscape sprawling beneath us. Annabella was already there, peering over the edge with concern and alertness. Seeing her up and about washed a wave of relief over me. "Annie!" I called out, my voice filled with relief.

She turned and, seeing us, her face lit up with joy and relief. She ran to me, and we hugged tightly. "You left me!" she exclaimed.

"Only for a moment, you know that I always come back," I replied with a smile as she smiled back.

Meanwhile, Ivory quickly briefed Alexander and Charles on the plan. "We're going to go back to where the others are, but I will leave you guys here. It will be too dangerous if all of you come along. The remaining clones and Fabian—"

Before she could finish, Annabella interjected, "I want to come with."

I immediately objected, "No, it's too dangerous," thinking of the unpredictable battlefield that awaited us.

However, Ivory saw it differently. "Annabella could help us. She can safely identify who is the real clone or not from afar, which is much safer than Jessie's way, which requires her to be dangerously close to being able to touch them to know if they're the clones or not."

"We don't even fully understand what Annie is capable of," I responded. "Her powers seem linked to her emotions—she identified the clones when she was anxious and uncertain, and that force field appeared right when she was about to die."

Kyriah listened intently with a surprised face, absorbing the implications of Annabella's abilities. She remained silent, her thoughts churning.

Alexander, though sidelined from the fight, was excited to hear the news of Annabella's new powers and supported her decision to join the battle. "You're already two people down," Alexander chimed in, looking at Charles' beaten body. "You need all the help you can get."

Annie's eyes met mine, pleading. Seeing her determination and the support from the others, I finally gave in. "Okay, but you stay close to us, always within sight," I said with a protective tone as Annabella nodded eagerly.

As Ivory, Kyriah, Annabella, and I bid farewell to Alexander and Charles, Alexander's wish for good luck echoed in my ears as we vanished from the rooftop. A moment later, we reappeared atop another building, and the reason behind Ivory's worn appearance earlier became painfully clear. The landscape below was a vision of devastation—this side of the neighborhood had suffered the worst of it all, with hardly any structures left intact. The few houses that still stood were isolated, the closest a good mile away, scattered like distant islands in a sea of rubble.

Below us, the number of Mateos clones had thinned significantly, but the ferocity of the battle had not diminished. Ryan and Yelena were each locked in fierce combat. Ryan's bursts of electricity lit up the destroyed landscape as Yelena moved with the agility of a coiled spring, her body stretching and recoiling as she lashed out at the clones, her movements fluid and precise.

Blood and cuts marred their skin, and their clothes were torn and dirty signs of a prolonged and brutal fight. Despite their exhaustion, they fought on.

Further back, tucked behind the remnants of broken walls, was another group. Owen, Liam, and Braden huddled protectively around Jessie, who seemed to be the focal point of their small fortress. Daniella zipped around the perimeter, her movements a blur as she kept watch, her super speed leaving faint trails of red in the air.

Each of my friends and teammates was pushing beyond their limits. The sight ignited a fierce protectiveness within me. "We need to help them," I said, urgency lacing my voice. "They've been holding the line all this time. It's our turn to step up."

Ivory was about to teleport us back to the group guarding Jessie, but a different plan formed in my mind. I could see Ryan and Yelena struggling against a seemingly endless wave of clones. Their faces, weary yet determined, sparked something in me. "Ivory, can you drop me into the middle of that fight?" I asked, gesturing toward the thick of the battle.

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Ivory turned to me, one eyebrow arching in surprise. "You want to jump right into the mayhem?" she asked, skepticism clear in her voice.

"Yeah, just like with Nicholas on Itayó. I mean, it's not often I get to play the hero." I replied with a half-smile. "Want to see how it feels to drop in when things seem too hopeless. Or should I wait until they're almost dying?" The joke was light, but the underlying truth was serious—I wanted to make a difference there and then.

Ivory rolled her eyes but there was a hint of amusement in her expression as she grabbed my arm. "Just try to land on your feet," she quipped, and with that, we were gone in a blur of motion.

We reappeared not on solid ground but several feet above it, right in the center of the battlefield. As I fell, adrenaline surged through me, and I planned my entrance. I wanted it to count, to be memorable—not just for the others, but for myself, to feel that rush of jumping in and helping when they least expect it.

The ground rushed up to meet me, and the moment my feet touched down, I thrust my hands towards the earth. The impact unleashed a wave of ice shards that spider-webbed rapidly across the battlefield. The shards sprang up like deadly spears from the ground, skewering the unsuspecting Mateos clones as they advanced.

Caught completely off guard, the clones had no time to react. As each one was impaled by the icy projectiles, their forms dissolved into the now-familiar shimmering lights, which floated upwards and vanished into the air.

As the ice shards settled and the echoes of my dramatic entrance faded, the remaining clones turned their attention toward me. Shock flickered across their faces as they assessed this new threat. Ryan and Yelena also paused in their battles, taking a brief respite as they watched the spectacle unfold.

Ryan's voice cut through the brief silence, loud and laced with relief mixed with his usual bravado. "Finally, cabrón! Where the fuck were you?!" He grinned broadly as I approached, lending my ice powers to his electrical assaults to thin the ranks of clones he was battling.

"I would've thought you'd have this handled by now!" I teased him as I jumped to his side, and we began fighting back-to-back, blasting through the enemy lines.

"I could've! But what would that say about you, huh? I can't make you look weak!" Ryan replied between breaths.

"I'm just glad we're all getting back together," I said, ducking a swinging attack from a clone. I glanced around, scanning for the others. "Where's Cristofer?" I asked, hoping he was okay.

Ryan pointed towards a swirl of dust and debris a little distance away. Through the haze, I could just make out the figures of Cristofer and Fabian locked in an intense battle. Cristofer's shadow tentacles were bigger and longer, dozens of them swinging at Fabian, but he bounced back quickly after each hit. With his brutal physical assaults, Fabian easily broke through Cristofer's shadows, which could not hurt him or restrain him for long.

Then, a cheerful shout drew my attention back to where we had left the others behind the broken walls. It was Daniella, her voice ringing out with unmistakable excitement at seeing Ivory again. "Ivory's back!" she yelled, her speed making her almost a blur as she moved around.

"We've confirmed most of the team is who they say they are," Ryan explained as we sidestepped another clone's attack. "Except for Yelena. We haven't gotten to her yet. Caleb's running on fumes; he's been swapping everyone around to safety, especially Jessie. Mateos and Fabian were especially interested in her, so everyone else is protecting her."

Any of our powers would be dangerous in Davos' hands, but Jessie's psychometry would be the worst of all. With that, he'd know everyone's past and secrets. He'd be able to clone us to perfection.

"Let's clear a path to regroup," I suggested, feeling the urgency of the moment.

As Ryan and I braced for another onslaught, a familiar flicker of light announced Ivory's sudden appearance beside us. Eagerly, I asked about Annabella and Kyriah, hoping she too would join us to end this fight quickly.

But Ivory shook her head. "Annabella stayed back with Jessie and the others. She says that she can't feel her powers right now, so we're still relying on Jessie. And I told Kyriah to stay back and guard them. It's too risky to have her up front with her powers—we can't let what happened to Alexander happen to someone else," she explained flatly. Her words made sense, but a part of me rebelled at the thought of Kyriah being sidelined, even if it was for the safety of the group.

Before I could dwell on it further, a body crashed to the ground nearby, stirring up a cloud of dust. It was Cristofer, and from the looks of it, Fabian had thrown him with considerable force. I rushed over, helping Cristofer to his feet. "Good to see you're still alive," he grunted, wincing slightly from the impact.

Fabian quickly followed behind Cristofer, descending from the sky a few meters from us, the ground cracking under the sheer weight of his landing.

The clones of Mateos gathered around him, visibly frustrated. "Kyriah's powers are such a cheat!" one clone muttered, echoing the sentiment of his counterparts.

I cut him off sharply, my patience wearing thin. "Heard that already from the other clones before they all died," I retorted, the edge in my voice clear. The clones' faces twisted in annoyance, and they turned to Fabian, seeking direction.

Fabian, however, seemed unfazed by their complaints. His attention was solely on me, a strange relief coloring his features as if he had been waiting for this moment. "I knew you would survive and that I would see you again," his tone oddly warm, his smile unsettling. "I've been waiting for this, Ellion," he said, flexing his fingers.

The way he looked at me, with something akin to satisfaction, sent a chill down my spine. It was as if he saw me not just as an opponent but as a pivotal piece in his twisted game.

As the tension between us thickened like the prelude to a storm, I stared down at Fabian, feeling every muscle in my body tighten in anticipation. All the battles fought so far, everything we have accomplished, and everyone we have gained and lost, and he is the only one standing in our way. "We end this here and now."

The nearby clone of Mateos shifted uneasily, his concern palpable. "Most of us are gone, and those of us here don't have the energy to create more. This is all that's left," the clone admitted to Fabian, his voice filled with desperation.

Fabian's expression hardened, and grudging respect twisted his features. "I underestimated you all," he conceded, his gaze sweeping across our assembled group. "It seems Ellion's influence has enhanced your teamwork and sharpened your instincts. I thought to deceive you with my clones, to pick you off one by one. But you've proven to be more difficult than I expected."

He paused, "Kill whichever is closest, and fast." Fabian said to one of the clones while keeping his eyes fixed on me. "I'm still intrigued, Ellion. Show me what else you've got," he challenged a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth, inviting me to prove my worth by fighting him.

Ryan scoffed loudly. "Talks about cheating, yet he's the biggest cheater by using more than one power!" he yelled out to Fabian, but he ignored him.

"Cristofer, handle the clones while you, Ryan, help Yelena escape. Ellion and I will take on Fabian," Ivory commanded.

Cristofer did not like that plan, "Not a chance. He killed Zeke and Mateos! It's my fault things have gone this far, and I will end it!" he recanted.

"I get it, Cristofer. All I feel is rage and guilt, and my head is telling me the only way to mend it is to break him apart." I looked at Fabian with intense eyes. "But we need to make sure everyone is okay first. You're faster and have ranged powers, you could fasten rescuing Yelena. I promise I won't end it quick and will leave you a piece for when you come back." I smirked at Cristofer, who wasn't fazed by my light joke but seemed to calm down.

"Be careful, Ellion," Cristofer said softly. "He's stronger than he looks. I would've been gone if it wasn't for my shadow form. He's using his magnetism to repel physical attacks, but it seems there's a limit to what he can deflect."

Cristofer moved to engage the remaining clones with a swirl of shadows, while Ryan darted off to aid Yelena, his electric powers lighting up the battlefield with each step.

As Ivory and I faced Fabian, his lips twisted with anticipation, "I didn't want it to end like this, I thought I had more time, more time to spend together. But no matter, the end was always going to be the same." he said with cold eyes, ready for whatever came next. As I did too.

There were no more words that I wanted to say or hear. All I wanted was to break him.