Edward slid down the face of a tall skyscraper, his eyes quickly scanning over the rooftops of all the nearby buildings for signs of other Nexuses. Where just ten minutes ago he’d been doing his best to maintain a low profile and avoid detection, now he was desperate to find other Nexuses and help them. Or at the very least, confirm that there were no huge casualties.
His father had been one of the first to notice the attack. In the stands, the civilians gathered to watch the second day of the Nexus Games had received a huge shock when suddenly, without a preamble, the huge screens showing all the fighting Nexians had gone blank. Most assumed it was due to technical difficulties. His father had been visited by a sudden and overwhelming sensation, however.
It would later be discovered that the loss of the video feeds had not been by accident. Libera Terra, the human terrorist group that had staged this attack so well, had cut power within the city completely by destroying a dozen generators that kept the lights on. In the daylight, the only sign of this had been the screens turning off. But if any of the spectators had been as naturally suspicious or fearful as Will Andrews, their suspicions were confirmed with the first explosion.
It was by sheer chance that the Water Nexus had been closest to the area reserved for spectators. Less than a mile away, in fact. There was never any danger to the humans watching, of course, but their close proximity meant that they could all hear the liquid nitrogen grenade that had killed Olivia Smith.
In the enclosed box from which all the Alphas watched the event of the day, Will Andrews had leaped to his feet at the sound of the explosion, with Michael a split-second behind him. The former soldier knew the sound of weaponized explosives well. He shared a quick look with the Alpha of the Thunder Nexus, his eyes narrowed.
“The generators,” he said quickly. Will nodded in agreement. “Can you get them back on?”
“I can power the one that covers the intercom,” Will said. “Bai Xiao, it’s underneath us. Can you-”
The Earth Nexus Alpha, who had been one of the leaders constructing New Toledo before the fall of the Soul Nexus, knew the layout of the city’s infrastructure like the back of his hand. He didn’t wait for Will to finish his question. Before he was even out of his seat, he’d waved one hand, opening a rather large hole in the ground. The fine tiling of the floor shattered under the impact, but the flying shards of porcelain posed no danger to Will, who nodded his gratitude and immediately jumped in.
At the bottom of the large tunnel that his friend had opened, Will found three Libera Terra members gathered around the smoldering wreckage of what had once been a perfectly functioning generator. They spun around as he appeared and lifted their weapons, but they never stood a chance. Will summoned three different tines of lightning from his fingertips in one simple move, each hitting its target directly in the heart.
He glanced over his shoulder as Michael slid in after him. “In another time, I would have been horrified to kill.”
“There’s no point in feeling bad,” Michael said brusquely. “They attacked first. We have no choice but to protect ourselves.”
Will nodded, but couldn’t seem to muster a reply, so he continued talking. “I don’t know what I can do, but I had a sense you needed me down here.”
Will nodded again, but this time he had a response ready. He pointed to the thick cable that jutted out of the broken generator. “I need you to sever that cable.”
Michael did so, creating a tiny but powerful jet of flame from a fingertip, using the improvised soldering iron to shear through the thick cable in seconds. Will quickly picked it up, and without waiting for it to cool, ripped back the protective covering. “I’m going to power the intercoms personally. You’ll broadcast the message across the city. Here’s what I want you to say…”
“Attention, all Nexuses! We are currently under attack by a foreign organization! This is Alpha Michael Reeves speaking. If you are not currently engaged in battle, return to your Alpha at once. There are human spectators here who must be protected! If you encounter any trapped or fighting Nexians, you are to assist them.”
Will, gritting his teeth as he felt his whole body vibrating with the force of his electricity, threw out a quick addition. “Tell the Thunder Nexus to scatter. It’s their only hope. They can’t fight large forces, and they’re perfect to support and guide the Nexuses here.”
“Thunder Nexus, your Alpha has instructed you to scatter. Do not attempt to engage the enemy unless it is to support the other Nexuses. Assist the others in returning.”
And so the Thunder Nexus had done exactly as instructed. Eric had rushed back to where the Air and Water Nexuses were still locked in battle. James and Kenta had run in opposite directions, both searching for Fire and Earth. Assuming they were alone, they were equally vulnerable. Edward and Matt also went their own ways. It made a certain logical sense for them not to move too closely together. They were the fastest Nexus, so they could avoid enemy attacks, and also provide reconnaissance. Once Eric helped clear the Air Nexus, they could reinforce that later goal.
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Edward had spotted a cluster of humans charging out of a nearby building as they broke apart and ran in different directions. A few of them tried, and failed, to shoot Edward down as he raced up a building. It would have been only too easy for him to beat them all, he’d thought. But he had enough common sense not to engage them in case there was a trap. Which there probably was.
It took him the better part of that first ten minutes to find the Earth and Fire Nexus. They were together, he realized and surrounded on all sides by humans. At first, he thought it was the Fire Nexus just attacking the Earth Nexus as usual. But then he realized that the flames were not in fact coming from Nexians, but flamethrowers held by humans.
Flamethrowers, he thought. An ideal weapon, considering which opponents they were up against. Sure, it couldn’t do much damage to a Fire Nexian, but the extreme heat did rob them of their powers. And the Earth Nexians could conjure simple barriers to protect themselves, for a flamethrower could never have the power of a Fire Nexian’s blast. But they couldn’t advance to fight back without fear of being roasted alive. Enhanced physical traits or not, they couldn’t withstand a sustained stream of fire like that.
Edward switched directions without thinking, aiming for the rooftop of the building behind the attacking humans. He didn’t want to run straight down the face of the structure and announce his presence with the flash of lightning. Instead, he broke down the door at the top, and raced down the stairs as fast as he could, taking the longer route, which only cost him an additional ten to twelve seconds.
The Libera Terra strike force had no warning of his attack. He went for the flamethrowers first, effortlessly dashing between each of them with his speed and striking them down with punches and kicks. In the blink of an eye, or so it must have seemed to the humans, the Nexians found their greatest weakness evaporate. They reacted almost immediately, smashing through the earth barricades and falling upon their attackers.
Even without the flamethrowers, the humans gave as good as they got. Shotguns, assault rifles, and all kinds of guns fired, and a few brave humans even stepped in to fight the exhausted Fire Nexians at close quarters. They were clearly well-trained and well-equipped with fire-resistant clothing and stout melee weapons to break apart earth traps and rocks flung at them.
Edward shot down two humans wielding large shotguns with lightning bolts, then punched a charging opponent with a knife, sending the attacker reeling back. Then, that young child from the Earth Nexus landed amongst the horde of Libera Terra members, wielding a short knife. Edward watched in awe as he didn’t even attempt to use his Nexian powers. Instead, he danced around his attackers, who seemed clumsy and lumbering by comparison, making precision cuts with that little knife.
In a matter of seconds, the attacking human force had been wiped out. Edward threw aside the last victim of his surprise attack, nodding in the child’s direction. “I don’t want to know where a child like you learned to fight so well. Frankly, I’m afraid to ask, but I’m glad you knew what you were doing.”
The child gave him a half-hearted glare and chose not to comment in reply. Instead, he turned to his own Nexus and the exhausted Fire Nexians. “We should move as fast as we can. We don’t know how many more of them there are, and the Fire Nexus can barely stand.”
Edward couldn’t argue with that last statement. After the attack of the Water Nexus, they’d barely been in fighting condition, and that last attack had taken a terrible toll. He could see the figures lying on the ground behind the Earth Nexus barrier line. He couldn’t tell if they were dead or just unconscious. He found that he didn’t want to know the answer. Charlisa was moving among them, using her healing powers to try and resuscitate them. Only a few were coming around, and those that did were in a pitiable state.
“Where’s Richard?” He asked. He couldn’t see the Fire Nexus captains. “And Emmet? And… that other guy. Jared?”
“They took off earlier,” Charlisa answered, stepping past him. “At least, that’s what Janna told me. They got the Earth Nexus headband and ran once they were beaten by the Water Nexus.”
So they’d most likely be keeping a low profile, Edward thought. At least that meant they had less chance of being spotted and attacked by the human terrorists. Frowning slightly, he looked back at his mother. “The others haven’t been by, have they? James or Kenta?”
She shook her head. “And Eric? Matthew?”
“They were fine the last time I saw them,” he reported. “Now that I know you guys are safe, I should go find them.”
“No,” she said firmly. “You’ll help me get the Fire and Earth Nexus back. The others will find their own way to safety.”
He accepted her order without complaint or hesitation, glancing again at those Fire Nexus members who were still lying lifeless on the ground. “I hope they didn’t suffer as badly as you did here.”
“They were caught by surprise, and already exhausted,” his mother said, also looking at the others. “They never saw the attack coming, and they lost so many before they caught up.”
Some instinct made Edward look around then. H glanced in either direction down the empty street, then up to a nearby rooftop. Something was perched up there, but they ducked out of sight as soon as they made eye contact with him. He half-turned, intent on racing up the building to catch the stranger, but Charlisa reacted more quickly, putting a hand on his arm. “Leave them, dear. We have a job to do.”
“They’re definitely not a Nexian,” he muttered, not hearing his mother’s warning. “They’re probably going to report that you weren’t wiped out as planned.”
He took a step forward, but Charlisa tightened her grip, and he became aware of what she was doing. “Oh. Right. Sorry, Mom.”
She held his eyes for a moment longer, making sure he wasn’t about to disobey her and rush off after the human he’d seen. Then, she released her grip. “Good boy. I’m not going to lose you like I did my father.”
He bit his lip, not sure how to reply. Of course, he’d never met his grandfather for whom he was named. All he knew was from the stories that his parents had told him. For a while, he’d been mortified to be named after his mother’s father, but once he’d grown up, he’d come to terms with it. Now he was honored to be named after the man. From all that his parents and other Nexians had told him, Edward Ambrose had been a great guy. His grandson could only hope to live up to his reputation.
“Let’s go,” he muttered, his eyes burning at the thought. He’d been born into and raised by the Nexuses. He couldn’t stand to think that there might be more injuries, or worse, deaths. “Dad will know what to do when we get there.”