[https://i.imgur.com/fLxIFQb.png]

I cannot stay. Forgive me. I should never have found it. I’d been warned, but I did not listen. I’ll leave everything behind, in hopes that they take it instead of me. I hope I can return to this place someday, to add another entry to this journal.

Goodbye.

-From Professor Shokolov’s Journal, Final Entry

AxEl balled up the clothes he had brought and stuffed them into the case. There was a singular light on inside of their room, and they were handling their belongings as fast as they could. Anagen tapped a stack of sheets against the desk and put them neatly inside one of the folders she had. Nook set aside the first case and pulled up a second, opening the flap and throwing whatever he’d brought inside as fast as they could.

“Ana, what about the second location?” AxEl asked as he put away the toothbrush and other toiletries.

“I’ve set it up already. It’s going to be less comfortable than the hotel, but we can make do until it’s time,” Anagen replied. Outside, birds chirped and cars honked in the late morning.

They had begun packing the moment they’d woken up. They’d had to brush off most of the dirt off of their clothes and sneak into the hotel as fast as they could so no one would ask questions. After what they’d been doing in Heravina, it was evident that HoonUl was going to take action sooner than later.

“You’re both arsonists. And insane ones at that,” Nook said, though he didn’t stop either.

“Sue me,” AxEl joked, but Nook only grimaced. Both Anagen and Nook were at the other edge of the bed, away from the door, so they didn’t hear the footsteps coming up the stairs. AxEl raised a hand and the both of them stopped packing for a moment. The birds still chirped, but the footsteps had stopped right as AxEl and his group had.

They stood for a moment, a bead of sweat dropping down AxEl’s face. It fell on the carpet, no noise coming from it. AxEl saw something in his Phantoms and jumped the bed.

“DOWN!” He shouted at the both of them, grabbing both Nook and Anagen. The sound of hundreds of bullets started, riddling the door with holes along with the walls of the room. AxEl heard the casings fall outside until the fire finally stopped. He saw someone kicking down the door and saw armed men approaching.

No, no, no… The men looked professional in a sense that AxEl had never seen. They didn’t hesitate, spraying the side AxEl was on with more fire. Anagen and Nook pulled out guns of their own, small pistols that could easily be hidden. AxEl had only his knife in its sheathe, which he pulled out. He put some Firewire and Prophecy in his mouth, then began to move.

AxEl crawled over to the edge of the bed, picked up a pillow and threw it at the gunmen. He jumped afterwards, from the side. The pillow was riddled was with bullets in the air, but when they saw AxEl coming towards them, they took some time to switch. There were three in total in the room itself, with the glimpse of more outside. He stabbed the first through the hand, making him drop his rifle. The second and third were shot through the head and shoulder respectively. The men outside saw this and aimed their rifles towards AxEl, who grappled the gunman he’d stabbed, pulled the knife out and pushed him towards the entrance. The other gunmen struggled with the weight of the first man. AxEl used the opportunity to hold onto the sides of the door and kick them down the hallway. They fell towards the nearby stairs and Anagen and Nook could come out. Nook kicked the gunman he’d shot on the way out, knocking him unconscious.

The stairwell that led to their rooms wasn’t a tiny one, either. It was a spiralling staircase that went down to the bottom of the building. Exits were built into the staircase that ended in those same hallways that encompassed their rooms. The gunmen were already coming back up the staircase, and AxEl rushed towards them.

The Phantoms showed him where they would shoot, which AxEl avoided. He weaved around the bullets of the first man, slashing across his eyes and kicking him back into the group. He looked behind himself and it chilled his blood when he saw more people coming down from the hallway window.

“Behind you!” AxEl shouted, then rushed up the stairs. He was shot at but avoided the bullets until he made it right above them. He jumped over the railing of the stairwell, jumping on top of the gunmen. Their ranks scattered upon seeing him, but they wouldn’t stay that way long. There were only a few men left, so AxEl dodged away from the line of fire. One of the bullets hit the railing behind him and he felt the shrapnel enter his back. AxEl grunted and grabbed the gun away from that gunman, throwing him off the stairs as he screamed.

He blindly fired the gun, the recoil making it shoot everywhere in the halls. The bullets dispersed the people, and a few even hit some of the other men. The gunmen redoubled their efforts on him and AxEl didn’t find any Phantoms where he could dodge it. He instead jumped off the stairs himself, hoping he would catch himself on the other end.

He fell on some steps and rolled downwards, but caught his hands on some decorative implements on the side of the railings. AxEl brought himself, the knife in his hand. He rushed back up, but by the time he got there, he saw only bodies littering the platform. Bleeding men and women covered the stairs and AxEl looked around for his friends.

He rushed back in the hallway, but all he saw were two more intruders dead near the balcony. He heard a wince and ran back into his room, seeing Anagen patching Nook up.

“Stop moving! I’ll be done in a moment!” Anagen said, tightening a bandage around his bleeding shoulder. She touched it and Nook let out a grunt, looking at her in anger.

“It didn’t hit anything vital at the least. You’re lucky for that,” Anagen told him, yet he didn’t seem pleased. He looked at AxEl and the anger returned to his face. Nook stood up despite his wounds and walked up to the man, staring him down.

“You’re never going to be satisfied, are you?” Nook asked him. AxEl had bruises all over his body that made him ache, so he was even more short-tempered than usual.

“What are you talking about?” AxEl asked.

“I got shot, AxEl! What if the bullet had been just a bit to the left, huh? What if it’d hit me right in the head?” Nook asked. AxEl backed away from the man and Nook looked downwards.

“I can’t follow you into hell,” he said with a despairing tone. AxEl looked at the dagger in his hand, and his own eyes staring back at it. It hid his use of the Bullets, but he could still see glimmers of it.

I am leading them to their death, aren’t I? AxEl sheathed the knife in his hand and put a hand on the frame of the door as he walked out.

“Get out of here, both of you,” AxEl told them. “I know where HoonUl is today. I’ll do what we planned and take him down, once and for all,” he said as he left.

“AxEl, wait!” Anagen tried to say, but once she walked out he was already gone.

****

AxEl ran. He had on his hand the same glove that he had used the previous night. He jumped the roof he was on and landed roughly on the next, the shrapnel in his body cutting into him. You threaten my friends.

He jumped another roof, and someone below shouted in awe at him. The next roof was further away, so AxEl took a running leap and hit the perron with force. He didn’t stop for a second, heading up the stairs even as people came to look out. You hurt my family. AxEl jumped down, sliding down pipes and popping out into the streets. He ran fast, sweeping past people fast enough to leave them gaping.

Your stranglehold on this country ends today. He ran past the streets and stopped a car so fast it began honking at him.

****

Anagen and Nook walked down the steps slowly. They were both tired from the morning and before they could question they met with someone. The cops that greeted them on the steps looked bewildered. One of them was tall and thin with hair on the sides of his head while the other was short and light in skin tone, though he was twice as wide as the first man.

“You’re okay?” the front officer asked. He held himself for a moment, eyeing the condition Nook was in before moving to hold him up.

“We need to take the both of you to a hospital,” the officer said and Nook grunted in approval. Anagen went along with them and the officer’s offered them a seat in their cars. She glanced at her own vehicle parked at the sides. It was burning and shooting smoke up into the air. She spared it a glance and some amount of regret. AxEl won’t have an easy time of it getting there.

She sat Nook down in the officer’s car. He was breathing heavily, and winced every few moments. The bandage had begun to bleed through and Anagen couldn’t suppress her worry. When she entered the car herself, the officer closed the door for her.

They settled into the vehicle themselves, oddly quiet. Then the doors locked and the muscular one between them looked back.

“Settle in nicely. We’ll have you to an emergency room in no time,” he smiled at her, and she tried her best to return a cordial one. The car began and turned away from the wide hotel towards the road. A call rang in Anagen’s purse and she almost ignored it, but snapped out of the trance she was in and looked at it.

“Anagen, are you okay?” Lex asked her from the other end. His voice was frantic and she could hear something popping in the background.

“U-uh, yes, Lex. We had an altercation with some armed men, but otherwise we’re okay. What’s that sound?” she asked, and got her answer a moment later. Gunshots, and they had gotten closer.

“We’re huddled in one of the warehouses! Where are you?!” Lex shouted on the other end. She heard a scream of battle and more gun rounds firing off. Anagen spared a glance for the officers in front of her, but they were chatting amongst themselves.

“W-we’re with the police, Lex. Keep yourself and the others near you safe, and leave as soon as you can,” Anagen ordered him.

“Can’t, Ma’am! It’s not just us! They’re hitting every spot we have in the city!” Lex said from the other side. She heard the clack of a magazine being loaded in, then several more rounds firing off.

Everywhere? Then AxEl… Anagen knocked on the glass between her and the police officers to get their attention.

“Where are the other attacks happening?” she asked them. Maybe if we can get there before AxEl does…

“What other attacks? Yours was the only one, ma’am…” muscular officer replied. Anagen stared at him for a moment longer. She observed it for a long while. He’s… lying. Anagen didn’t let it show on her face though. She looked outside her own window and saw that they were moving outwards. She recognized the street too, and it was nowhere near the hospital or on the way to it.

Anagen glanced over at Nook, who was still clutching at his wound and lost in his own world. He muttered something to himself, quiet enough that Anagen only caught glimpses of the words “Reaper.”

She made sure the officer was turned away from her before testing the door on her side. Locked, it wouldn’t budge open no matter what she did. The world closed in on Anagen and she felt fear course through her veins. Nook was hurting, AxEl wasn’t anywhere near her, her own enforcers were stuck in an all-out war and she was the only one who could do anything about it.

****

AxEl’s whole body was covered in sweat by the time he reached the storage unit. It was a nondescript one that he had visited with Lex and OkIx beforehand. There were hundreds of the same kind of compounds lined up by themselves. He heard fire coming even before he made it to the area it was in. All it did for him was speed him up.

AxEl ran to the lane his warehouse was in, he saw a car parked and several men behind it. Once they spotted him, they fired. They had the same glowing grey eyes as him, and his Phantoms had shattered as soon as he arrived.

I should’ve brought Nook along. He pulled out the vials of Airwaves he had and fixed it to the glove, feeling the rush. He was there during the visions. What if this doesn’t succeed because he’s not?

AxEl took out an entire cigarette for Firewire and took the time to smoke it, despite the commotion right next to him. BannIh said the future would change. Has it already?

He stood up and jumped onto the top of the storage units, running across them and drawing attention from some of the firing squad. AxEl jumped, taking out his knife and landing on one of the assaulters, impaling her. Then let’s hope it hasn’t changed too much.

He kicked another behind him before trying to pull the knife out, but it stuck. When another gunmen aimed it towards him, he rolled over the car to the other side. The woman under him was riddled with bullets and had a knife lodged in her chest, leaving AxEl without a weapon.

There were more people inside the storage unit and when they aimed at AxEl, he raised his hands. Realization passed through their faces and they fired over him, at the ambushers. AxEl rounded the truck as well. He grabbed the rifle out of one of their arms when they were reloading and hit him upside the head with it. His airwaves provided no benefit towards people of similar prowess, he learned when the others aimed at him quickly after he had disarmed the first of them. He retreated backwards, bullets whizzing past his head.

Unexpectedly, he fell to the ground and hit his head against the pavement. Above him, one of the assaulters was pushing down on the rifle AxEl had grabbed. AxEl tried to push it to the side but the man was stronger, keeping the weight on top of him and sliding it towards his neck. He began to choke AxEl out, but stopped immediately. AxEl knew why, because a bloody hole had sprouted out of his head. He fell on top of AxEl, pinning him to the ground.

AxEl struggled to get the men off, hearing the starting of an engine near him. He looked over at the car wheel he was next to. The wheel began skidding and the car took off soon after, leaving him on the ground as he pushed the corpse off of himself. AxEl stood up and went over to his knife, taking it off the corpse and sheathing it again.

“Boss! You’re okay!” a voice said from inside the storage unit. AxEl looked over to the familiar face of Lex, who sported a few new wounds and cuts. A bit of his clothing was charred as well, but AxEl linked it to the giant cracked hole in the unit.

“Lex, the weapons. Did you get them?” AxEl asked between breaths.

“Over here!” OkIx said. Blood smeared his face and he looked intense in a way that he rarely saw the man. OkIx brought out grenades for AxEl, along with a mask that he could wear over his face. The mask was a kid’s kind, looking like a lion with a large mane.

“That’s the best mask you could find?” AxEl asked.

“We could pop down to the store and pick you up another one,” Lex answered.

“Not now, Lex.”

“It’s the only one we could procure, Sir,” OkIx told him. AxEl turned it over.

“It’s fine I guess, then,” AxEl replied. He put the mask on, hooked on the grenades and put the guns at his side despite his aversion to them. Just in case, he told himself. He rose up and straightened himself, making sure all of his hair was tucked behind the mask.

“Lex, OkIx. What about the other locations?” AxEl asked them.

“They’re under attack too, sir,” they replied.

“Assist them. Save as many of them as you can,” AxEl replied, then walked out of the storage unit.

“Sir,” OkIx called out. AxEl turned to see and the man threw a set of keys at him.

“It’s in the parking lot near here. Take it,” OkIx said. AxEl nodded and turned back. Then he ran.

****

Anagen struggled in the seats. She couldn’t get a comfortable position. The buildings were thinning, but she had an idea that they were moving away from the city. She swallowed the lump in her throat and pulled out her gun.

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“Nook, please, take this,” she said to him as she put a small bit of the hash in his mouth. “Keep your eyes closed,” she told him as she took some herself. The officers were still pointed forward, which she counted as a blessing.

She held the gun under the glass so the ‘officers’ couldn’t see it. Singing a small prayer, Anagen fired and the bullet stuck in the grass. Both officers instantly turned towards her with a look of hate and shock. Anagen didn’t hesitated, firing more shots point blank until they broke through and hit the driving officer in the neck.

The man let go of the wheel and pushed against his bleeding wound. The wheel turned all the way to the other side and the car swerved off the road and into the doors of a confectionary. The car crashed through the empty and dark shop, hitting the display on the other side and jerking all of the passengers forward with immense force. Shards of glass flew, civilians screamed and Anagen and Nook hit the glass.

****

OkIx had no trouble with death. But the blatantness of it, the slaughter that was happening in front of him was unnerving to deal with. It didn’t help that despite the situation, Lex seemed to keep a cheery disposition.

“I’ll be honest, I expected someone like you to break under this pressure,” OkIx said to the man. They were running to another location, their weapons thinly veiled under a coat OkIx wore.

Lex looked back, giving him a slight smile. “What’s being depressed going to do in this situation?” he asked OkIx.

“Make you seem saner,” OkIx scoffed. They finally found the location. It was an old and tiny shop that they had bought out for their own purposes. It was located somewhere they wouldn’t arouse too much attention and held a small back room that they could use for storage. Right now, however, the front of it was on fire, with smoke climbing out. Upon seeing the sorry condition, and the squad of armed men firing into it, they got to work.

****

AxEl stopped in front of the building he had been looking for. There were people out in the streets, so he made his way inside quickly. At the front desk sat a man who had looked bored with his job until he noticed AxEl.

“Out,” AxEl ordered and the man scrambled out of his seat. He ran past AxEl and out of the door quickly after that. AxEl stomped slowly through those halls, letting his footsteps lead him.

He stopped only when he came upon the first contingent of guards inside of the building. Not taking any chances, HoonUl? Should have thought of that earlier. AxEl thought, unpinning the first grenade on his belt.

****

Lex and OkIx helped the other enforcers up. Some of them were hurt severely while others suffered only scratches. They had bunched them up and sat them up against a wall.

“We’re going to take you out of the city. Keep each other safe in there while OkIx and I scrounge up the rest,” Lex told them, leaving them with a smile. The both of them ran towards the car that their team had parked.

It was an unsightly thing, a small buggy that seemed ten years out of date. The both of them stared at it with loathing.

“It’ll have to do,” OkIx said, opening the passenger side seat.

****

Anagen dreamed of pleasant things. Of finishing the job and getting back home, resting and eating a homecooked meal. She dreamed of her apartment, her beautiful car and of her friends, enjoying their presence. But that dream was shattered by the sudden jolt of pain that went through her body.

She awoke to find herself strapped inside a burning car. The front engine was on fire, illuminating the bloody and unmoving bodies of the people who had taken her and Nook. She averted her gaze from the sight, dropping the gun still in her hand and helping Nook.

Come on, Nook, wake up, she thought as she shook him, though he did not move. The door beside her had busted open by itself and she kicked it with her leg to widen it. She grabbed Nook and pulled him, but the belt held him in place. She unhooked the belt and it snapped back to its place.

Anagen coughed, breathing in some of the smoke that was enveloping the shop they had crashed into. She stepped on cracking pieces of glass and hauled Nook. He was heavy and the angle she carried him at was awkward, but the Firewire compensated. She hauled him out of the car and dragged him through the wreckage of the shop out into the streets of Heravina. Several people stared at her and Nook chose that exact moment to wake up.

“W-what?” he gasped.

****

HoonUl would consider the day quiet a great venture. He had spent the entire morning planning raids to excise the singular most annoying infection he’d had in his entire life. Surrounding him were the members of his council. People who knew nothing of his actual ventures, just what he could provide them.

HoonUl laughed behind the backs of these fools, but for now he had to placate them with what he’d been up to recently. The meeting room he was currently in was a long one. It had a single table that extended from his side to a set of double doors. Chairs littered the edge of the table and a giant set of windows overlooked the street below. HoonUl didn’t like to see any room he owned to be unfurnished, so he had all sorts of baubles placed inside of it.

A sword hung from one side of the room. A carpeted covered the floor they walked on. A lion’s head was mounted behind HoonUl. Apart from that, a whiteboard hung behind him and a giant TV from the side. He had an image to maintain, after all, so being caught lacking would only cultivate defiance.

“We’ve launched several raids in the morning and plan on launching several before the day is over. IrshAnd, can you please contact the chief to get an update,” HoonUl said, turning towards the rosy cheeked man.

“Uh, yes, will do,” he said, fiddling with his own phone. Then he stopped– all of them did– when they heard the first boom. IrsAnd dropped his phone to the ground and the entire room turned towards the doors.

“What… was that, HoonUl,” another of his managers asked him.

HoonUl tightened his grip on his seats. It couldn’t be. He didn’t move from his spot inside the room.

“Guards, get in here!” he shouted, his voice reaching all the way outside. Yet no one came. Another explosion this one much closer, and the entire room shook. Several of the men inside the room stood up. They weren’t fighters. They didn’t even have any weaponry on them. They were just businessmen and women.

HoonUl clutched his hands on the table. There was a sound of… something coming from outside. The doors finally opened, and an illuminated figure walked in. There was a fire behind him. He wore a children’s mask on his hand, and HoonUl was so baffled he barely moved.

The figure moved inside, leaving the door open behind him. He had all sorts of weaponry strapped to him. HoonUl’s only weapon were the Bullets he kept on his person at all times, but those would be slower than a bullet to the head.

The lion faced figure moved towards the beginning of the door. People parted, moving to the edges of the room. The only person who stayed was HoonUl, who stayed at the end of the table. He ripped a single grenade form his belt and took the pin out, throwing it in the middle of the room.

Screams went out, people ran and a bright explosion shook the room. HoonUl crouched down and splinters flew across the air, embedding themselves in the wall. The figure didn’t turn as people ran past, only fixing his face on HoonUl under the desk.

****

“You’re a maniac!” HoonUl shouted at AxEl from across the room. Everyone had shuffled out, leaving them as the only two people inside. The fire behind AxEl had spread to the beginning of the room. A new crater presented itself, leaving the table broken into two halves.

AxEl took off the mask and threw it behind him, walking forwards. The end of the room crept closer and a certain serene feeling began to fill AxEl. Multiple Bullets coursed through his veins. The only indication he got of an attack was his Phantoms splitting.

AxEl raised his hand up defensively and let the blow come. HoonUl had popped out from his hiding place and swung at him, but the blow had been weak. AxEl had taken Firewire, so his body could handle it. He grabbed HoonUl’s arm and threw him across the entire room. He landed near the fires and cursed as a blaze made it to his sleeve. He patted the fire out and stared back at AxEl, who was stone-faced.

“Couldn’t fight me on even terms, could you? So, you decide on terrorism. This is going to end badly for both you and I, AxEl, don’t you think?” HoonUl said, trying to distract the man. He circled around the approaching AxEl, placing a hand on one of the pedestals, atop which rested a vase.

“Anything that happens after your death is just a bonus. Taking you down is all I’m here for,” AxEl replied. His eyes were glowing grey once more.

“Hmm, petty,” HoonUl said, throwing the vase at him. AxEl punched it out of the air. While he did, HoonUl came in from low and uppercut him, sending AxEl backwards. He felt a motion near his sides and rubbed at his chin.

HoonUl had moved backwards and was holding a grenade in his hands.

“Damn things never were my forte,” he replied, struggling with the pin while throwing it at AxEl. AxEl mimicked what he had done, taking shelter near the table. But then a second grenade fell on the other side of it. AxEl didn’t think, climbing onto the table in the moment he had before the explosion came up behind him and threw him towards the windows. They cracked, but didn’t break, leaving AxEl sliding towards the ground.

AxEl felt ringing in his hears, but also the faint sound of someone talking over it. His hearing and sight came back just in time for him to take a peak at what HoonUl was grabbing.

“It really is more a decorative thing. But when you’re in need of a weapon, I suppose…” he said in a mocking tone, bringing the extravagant sword down.

“I don’t remember where I got this blade, just that it belonged to some famous general. They had it chiseled with all sorts of markings for each of his kills, if I recall correctly,” HoonUl said, lecturing. AxEl pulled out his own dagger and rushed towards him. They traded swipes, AxEl’s quicker and cutting into HoonUl near his arms and legs, but never close to his chest.

HoonUl would take wide sweeps with the sword, backing AxEl up near a fire or something else. He seemed to control the environment with himself, making him trip up. When he couldn’t avoid AxEl’s slashes, HoonUl would instead use his Airwaves enhanced speed to let the blow become a glancing one.

AxEl and him continued like this until one of the this took him on the hand, and broke the vial of Airwaves he had on there.

AxEl’s hair rose up on its ends as a wicked grin took HoonUl’s face. AxEl tried to back away to put in a new vial, but HoonUl would lend him no quarter.

“Eventually your Airwaves is going to run out, AxEl,” HoonUl said. “Tick tock!”

He did a downward slash and AxEl sidestepped. He grabbed onto the blade and bumped HoonUl away from him. HoonUl slid across the ground for only a moment before facing him.

AxEl pointed the blade at him, holding him at bay. He fished the vial out of his pocket with his other hand and placed it in his glove.

“Clearly, you’ve got me at a disadvantage,” HoonUl said, though he held his hand at his back. HoonUl flashed the gun he had pickpocketed off of AxEl, raising it right above him. AxEl blocked with his hands as HoonUl fired from the pistol. A single shot hit the sword, and the only other one hit him in the forearm. It felt like his flesh was being parted, the bullet digging in and breaking his bone. AxEl dropped the sword and instead jumped towards the table again.

He held his arm in his hand, breathing through his teeth. Damnit, when’d he take that? AxEl thought, cursing himself.

“Brought down by the weapon you brought to me. Are you suicidal, perchance?” HoonUl taunted, trying to dig into AxEl’s brain. It worked, since any plan that AxEl thought of forming wouldn’t come to him.

He looked over and as soon as the feet circled over to his side, AxEl kicked one of the chairs towards HoonUl. The chair flew in the air, catching the man off his guard and distracting him. AxEl shoulder tackled him after that, sending the both of them into the blaze.

HoonUl hit AxEl with the butt of the gun, stunning him for a moment and stopping his movement. HoonUl tried to move away, but AxEl grabbed him with his good hand. HoonUl pointed the gun at him, but AxEl knocked it out of his hand with his own wounded one. The pistol fell into the flames and the both of them were left breathing in smoke.

They coughed in its midst, punching each other. HoonUl would target his wounded arm, taking his shots at it until it was left purple. But then he slowed down. AxEl saw it in his movements, they slowed down.

As if… as if his bullets had run out. HoonUl must have realized it as well, as the expression on his face changed slowly to fear. AxEl took the opportunity to punch down on the man, sending him to the ground.

HoonUl placed an arm on the ground, and AxEl stabbed down on it with his dagger, pinning the man to the ground. HoonUl let out a guttural scream and AxEl stepped backwards, wiping at his nose. HoonUl stared at him with unconcealed anger.

“Staring daggers at me, huh?” AxEl insulted, but it seemed HoonUl didn’t appreciate it. He began a series of expletives against him and everyone he knew, threatening them, or vowing revenge.

“You’ve done nothing but shepherd death since you came into this business. Killing your way through countless people, some innocent, just to reach me?” HoonUl said through coughs and winces.

“And for what purpose? Revenge? Deposing me? What did you gain?” HoonUl asked, yet AxEl kept staring at him. You’ve made your point. His business is gone at this point. He’ll die in the blaze anyway, a voice said inside his mind, urging him to back away. But AxEl knew he couldn’t. It had to be done in the proper way.

“Do you remember when you killed my father?” AxEl asked. The flames crackled around him and a room fell in on itself, but HoonUl simply stared. Then he scoffed, looking down at the dagger.

“Revenge, then. You…” he stared back up at AxEl with one last look of defiance, “Hypocrite.”

Then AxEl shot him with the second gun. He shot him several times. Over and over, he riddled the man with bullets until he realized he had tears in his eyes. Once the gun started ran out of bullets he just stood there for a moment, and threw the gun aside.

HoonUl’s corpse bled from a million spots. AxEl didn’t care for the sight. He walked towards the room they had fought in and stepped inside. He looked at the window, noticing how they had a large crack in the dead center. Then he kicked it, breaking away the glass and letting in fresh air. AxEl took a deep breath of that air and heard the sirens of patrol cars.

“I did it, dad. All for you… I’m so sorry…” he said, even more tears coming out. “But I’ve got others to take care of now. I hope you’ll forgive me if I can’t keep doing this for you anymore.”

****

Anagen waited on the curb in the middle of the night. They were near the edge of the city, yet she didn’t even consider that safe for their current endeavor. Nook lay on the pavement beside her, eyes blank as they always seemed to be these days. Anagen sighed, glancing at the time and wondering where AxEl had been.

He should’ve been here by now, but wasn’t. She’d texted him the location and waited for Lex to procure them a vehicle, and now all that was left was for him to arrive. She couldn’t leave without him, after all.

She heard steps before she saw him. A dirty looking man who had gloves on. He sported a rueful look about him and had cuts all over his body, but Anagen would recognize it as AxEl anywhere. She stepped off the curb and approached him hesitantly, raising her arms.

“Is he…” she asked him. He just nodded, slowly.

She absorbed the situation for a moment. They’d taken on the largest drug lord in the entirety of the country and won. Now all of his power was up for grabs, and many people would be looking to get in. Anagen let out a chuckle, as the only thing on her mind was how she was about to get a lot more work.

“I can’t believe we did it,” Anagen said out loud.

“How does it feel, AxEl?” Nook asked. AxEl turned to look at his friend, and felt regret for the expression.

“Like it’s done. Let’s go,” he replied, and they left.

Nook chose to drive, leaving Anagen in the passenger seat. AxEl took up all the back seats himself. The night sky was cloudy this time, but AxEl didn’t mind the look. He wasn’t particularly in the mood for stargazing, given the exhaustion in his bones. His hand still hurt, though he’d gotten the bullet within removed. He laid his head back and asked himself a single question.

Am I satisfied? The lamplights moved past, along with them civilians who were recovering from a hectic day. The news would be filled with the reports that were to come, describing the events that had occurred and announcing HoonUl’s death. But AxEl had done it. He’s achieved what that vision so long ago had told him.

He’d achieved what he’d not been able to do for a long time. Mom’s alright, Nook and Anagen are alright. He didn’t need to worry about any of them. But an odd sense of melancholy enveloped him as well. He glanced over at Anagen, who had fallen asleep in her seat, and Nook, who was driving with his head set straight.

“I’m sorry,” AxEl said abruptly. Nook’s head didn’t move, however.

“For what?” Nook asked.

“For everything. You shouldn’t have had to be a part of what I did,” AxEl replied.

“What’s done is done, AxEl. Move on.”

AxEl nodded, accepting the sage advice of his friend. His journey had taken him through peril, through more men and women than he ever thought he’d come into conflict with. Through the Reaper himself. And at the end of that path, which he hadn’t even followed fully. What does it mean then? He thought back to BannIh’s words. We both kept seeing the reactions to each other’s futures.

AxEl began to put it together. But that’s not the only way it can differ. I can change my own actions… which changes my own future…

Another memory, one much more recent than the talk with BannIh, popped in his head as well. Something Ohlas had told him in their last meeting. Nonsense. I never forget a good prospect for our organization.

Through that entire process, AxEl even forget the first question he had asked himself, even as the scenery passed and he fell into a slumber.

****

The first place they arrived at was AxEl’s house. The extravagant mansion had been forgotten in their mission, left to stay dark for days on end. AxEl let himself in the house, unlocking the door. The three of them were in no mood to parse anything that was to come. They yawned, rubbed their eyes and tried to go to the nearest bed they could find.

Near the entrance of the house, AxEl turned on the lights and lit up the room. The brightness stabbed them in the eyes, but they took it in stride. Nook walked forward, and AxEl followed behind ever so slowly. Anagen came in last, stretching her arms as she walked in.

“We’re going to have a large cut of work ahead of us now that the Company is gone. AxEl, I’ll need you up bright and early tomorrow,” she told him, yet AxEl didn’t respond.

Nook looked at his friend, and saw something more than melancholy on his face. AxEl looked as if he was about to cry right there. And despite all that had happened, Nook still asked.

“AxEl, are you-” A fist to the stomach, and all the wind was knocked out of Nook. Anagen screamed curses at AxEl, and Nook only looked up. AxEl was crying, yet he didn’t seem to wipe the tears.

“Why did you hit him?!” Anagen asked.

“What are you doing…?” Nook asked, yet his voice was cut with heaving. He clutched his stomach with both his hands, drool dripping from his lips.

“You tipped the Questor off that we were in Heravina, didn’t you?” AxEl asked.

“N-no… I wouldn’t….” Nook tried to defend, but AxEl cut in.

“And then you were busy. On the same morning that the Questor was about to leave the city. You went there to warn him again. But you didn’t catch him in time,” AxEl presented.

“I….” Nook started, but he couldn’t come up with any argument. Anagen was the one to run towards him, standing between him and Nook.

“You can’t just accuse someone of something like that, AxEl! Nook would never do that!” she said.

“How do you know?!” AxEl exploded, and Anagen winced.

“I’m…. I’m sorry, but he did. Didn’t you, Nook?” AxEl asked. Nook wouldn’t meet his face. He had turned it downwards, keeping himself silent for the moments that followed. AxEl shoved Anagen aside and stepped up to his friend, raising a fist.

“I’m sorry, brother,” he said, before punching Nook so hard he fell unconscious.

****

Nook awoke on a comfortable bed in Hell. The side of his face burned and was puffed up. He was on a soft bed, with a toilet nearby and a desk. The entire area was spacious, yet its decorum was ruined by the bars that acted as it’s fourth wall. Nook looked at those bars and realized his situation.

I’m in a cell. Though his wounds burned, there was a numbing sensation to it, as if someone had given him something. Beyond the bars of his cell, he only saw an open room that was sparse.

At the far side of the room, Nook saw someone walking down a flight of stairs. He recognized it by the sound rather than the sight, and leapt from his bed to see it. The figure should have been familiar to him, though, because it was the sullen faced AxEl who had come to greet him. Nook walked to the far edge of the cell and turned away from him.

“Hi,” AxEl greeted, and Nook gave him not even the courtesy of a greeting. AxEl cleared his throat for a moment and continued despite that.

“I got you some medication for the… punch,” AxEl said. Nook almost said something in insult, but he didn’t care to give AxEl the benefit of conversation.

“Well… If you need any food or entertainment, just ask which ones and I’ll give them to you. I don’t want to keep you in this cell, but I can’t trust that you won’t expose our crimes if given the chance, Nook,” AxEl said.

“Your crimes,” Nook said, barely a whisper.

“Our crimes, because we both did it,” AxEl said, bracing against the bars and sending a clank echoing through the giant room they were in. AxEl took a deep breath and backed away from the bars, and continued.

“I can’t bring you anything connected to the internet. Ana and I’ll be visiting you almost every day too, in case you get lonely.”

“AxEl?” Nook said, eliciting a genuine pang of emotion from AxEl.

“Yes, Nook?” AxEl said. Nook turned from his corner and walked towards him, his face a mask of normalcy.

“I hate you,” Nook said, cracking the mask and revealing a twisted expression of anger and regret.

AxEl didn’t avert himself from that gaze, nor did he try to counter Nook.

“I know,” he simply answered.

“Then why don’t you kill me, AxEl? Like DoxEn, like AnIn, like LokIn?” Nook asked, his knuckles twisting around the bars, shaking them. AxEl looked up with a sad smile on his face.

“Because, Nook. You’re my best friend,” he answered.