April 9, 2056
"Open fire!"
All at once, bullets start flying towards the Flag Bearer, but to no effect. The Protection Barrier surrounding him instantly disintegrates the projectiles before they even make contact with him. Thinking on his toes, a Shard gets the idea of using his AT and quickly gets it out and fires. Again, it does nothing and frizzles up as soon as it hits his Protection Shield and with one swift move from his hand, he unleashes a shockwave that sends a line of soldiers down. The gunfight erupts once more as Fed troops begin to reappear, firing from within the Command building. Macy orders a retreat and we hightail it back to some barracks.
"What the hell is a Flag Bearer doing here?!" Flash exclaims.
"I don't know but we need to move now!" Frost shouts before ducking to avoid a bullet.
Suddenly, a grenade lands in front of us and we immediately scatter in each direction. A few seconds later it explodes behind me but now I find myself separated from my squad and under fire. I sprint for a nearby doorway only to find more Feds inside. I then find out that in my escape I dropped my weapon leaving me only with a blade.
"Пристрели ее!” One yells and raises their weapon.
A shot rings out, but I sidestep just in time before rushing the group. Tightening my grip around the handle, I slice through his torso before grabbing and turning him around. Another soldier comes up and fires at me but only hits his comrade's body. Using my other hand, I grab for his holster and pull out a pistol which I use on the other Fed. With a bullet piercing through his head, he falls but two more Feds take his place. I finally let go of the lifeless body I was holding onto and run to an adjacent room.
They follow right behind and as soon as the first one enters, I empty a magazine into their body and turn to the second. With the swing of my sword I make contact with her hand where the blade cuts cleanly through the flesh and bone. She wails in agony and holds onto her blood squirting wrist. I seize my chance and finish her off with another cut through her throat. She falls gurgling and I take some time to regain my breath.
It's short lived, however, I'm greeted by a figure charging me when I look up.
It's the Flag Bearer.
Before I can react, he's already on me and he lands the first blow. His hand shoots forward and unleashes a blast of Divinity that overcomes my Protection Barrier, causing it to shatter. The power is immense as I'm sent flying through a wall and into an adjacent room. I let out a gasp and begin coughing from all the dust and smoke.
"I knew I recognized those eyes." I hear him taunt from somewhere within the room.
I recover quickly and take a stance while glancing around me. The flashing effect of my barrier makes it difficult for me to see.
"I'll admit, I was hoping that blast would've incapacitated you," He continues to say, his voice seemingly echoing around the walls. "You must be the real deal huh?"
Without warning, he emerges from the smoke, his sword slicing through the air. I deflect it in time, our blades clashing with a metallic ring. As we break away, I instinctively raise my hand towards him and open my mouth. "Divine J-" I stop midway with the cast as I bite down on my tongue and take a step back from him.
No... don't do it Luna... don't do it.
We continue to exchange blows, attacking each other in a blur of motion as our battle takes us room to room. He's strong... and fast. I'm starting to tire out and his relentless attacks keep me from escaping. Never would I have thought a Flag Bearer would be this much of a challenge. I'm usually on the offensive during sparring training but this guy is on a completely different spectrum. Any move I made was swiftly countered. I'm pulled from my train of thoughts as he lunges forward and delivers a powerful strike that staggers me. Then, in quick succession, turns to land a direct kick on my abdomen. Once again, I'm launched through a wall and land outside with pieces of concrete and wood landing around me. I groan in pain and roll on the ground as I hear his footsteps approaching me.
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"I was told not to kill you, but he didn't mention anything about being rough with you." He chuckles.
Clenching my teeth, I fight through the pain and finally get back on my feet to face the Flag Bearer. He stops in his tracks, seeming surprised.
"Resilient, aren't you?" He says, swinging his blade in front of him. "Still... I was sure you'd be stronger this." He starts circling me while continuing on with his rambling. "I've heard the stories you know. About how the Shattered Shard possesses a considerable amount of Divinity and could cut down a group of soldiers in a matter of seconds without remorse. Yet... back there, I saw you hesitate on your Enhancement. Why was that?" He suddenly stops and points his blade at me.
I stand there panting and holding onto my side as he waits for my answer.
"Why... Why did I hesitate you say?" I murmur before looking up at him with a smirk. "Did you want me kill you right then and there?"
The Flag Bearer stays quiet for a second before snickering and casting, "Divine Haste."
In a flash, he appears in front me, his blade in motion as he drives it through my right shoulder. I scream from the pain as he pushes me back into a concrete barrier and pins me. I soon lose all strength in my arm as he leans into my face. "Don't make me laugh girl. A frac like you could never harm me!" He spits before twisting the blade and causing me more pain.
My vision is going in and out and I'm losing a lot of blood. But just as I realize I might have to use my powers; gunshots erupt as a barrage of bullets hit the Flag Bearer's Barrier. They fizzle up before doing anything but do distract him long enough for me to head-butt him which allows me to pull the swords out and stumble away.
"Frost we found her! Send backup to the east side of the compound!" I overhear someone say behind me.
Turning around, I see a squad of Shards and Sentinels engaging with the FB. He charges them now and cuts the first Shard down with ease before turning to slash a Sentinel across their torso. Two Shield Bearers now start shooting as he moves his attention to them. He takes the bait and lunges but before reaching them, the pair get together and connect their Shields. "Divine Phalanx!" I hear them yell just as the Flag Bearer swings his blade and makes contact with the golden glimmering shields. They hold firmly before shouting another Enhancement. "Divine Reflect!" Their shields glow brighter before condensing and suddenly shooting into the FB. He gets catapulted backwards and crashes into a parked car, completely totaling it. The Divinity around him flickers as he groans and struggles to get to his feet.
Wow... that's the first time I've seen Shields in action against Divinity attacks. I kind of want one now.
The FB is starting to recover and appears ready to fight again but then stops and looks up. I also look up towards the sky and hear the distant sound of thumping from helicopters. Reinforcements. More Shards and Sentinels have arrived and begin to open fire on the Flag Bearer. I watch his lips utter something before retreating in between a few buildings and vanishing in the woods. A few soldiers pursue him as the others secure the area and help tend to my wound.
"You're going to be alright, Luna. Divine Heal." A medic casts as I feel their Divinity course through me along with wave of relief. I was saved.
A few moments later, Frost comes around the corner and sprints up to me quickly.
"Luna! Are you okay? Are you injured anywhere else?" He frantically asks with that worried look on his face I've seen way too many times.
"I'm okay! Really. I am. It was just the shoulder where he got me... ouch!" I reassure him while wincing from the bandages they put over my wound.
"I couldn't find you anywhere after the explosion." He continues, " After clearing out the rest of the Feds I sent a few guys to look for you and now I'm finding out you were fighting the Flag Bearer. Are you insane?"
Am I? No one else would've faced against a FB like that. But it was a fight for survival, and I had no other choice.
"I don't know. Would you call me insane?" I ask with an eyebrow raised.
He sighs and backs off to give me room. "No. I wouldn't."
Overhead, the helicopters arrive and hover above the compound. Smoke pillars rise in every direction and bodies lay dead from both sides. After a while, we had managed to find the HVT hiding inside the command building alongside a multitude of intel that we crammed into bags. The mission was a success but thinking about all the deaths that occurred makes me rethink raid during our trip back to the border. And with a Flag Bearer now confirmed within The Federation, this operation just got more serious.
Yet... there was still one thing that loomed with me for the rest of the day. The FB had mentioned that he was told not to kill me... Was he intending on capturing me? He also seemed to have known that I would be here... It made no sense, but what I did make out of it was that someone in the Federation had a target out for me...