Brett was no fighter, nor was he some kind of metahuman of any sort. But he was a fellow survivor, and he’ll be damned if he let his allies get hurt. He scrambled to his feet and charged at the woman swinging a bat at Masako.
“Get AWAY FROM MY GIRL!”
He sent her sprawling on the floor with a hard push. Brett raised his swollen purplish arms, easily blocking another slow swing from a man. His wounds screamed at him, but he ignored them and pushed the man away. A sharp pain shot through his waist as another bat connected with his flesh. Brett yelped, more in shock than pain; he had not thought there was still room in his body for more bruises.
He covered Masako with his body, shielding her from the hits that pelted him relentlessly. His assailants’ movements were slow and uncoordinated, but they had the advantage of numbers. And it was frighteningly effective.
The chief hunter sank to the ground, slowly overwhelmed by the blows on his body. The sound of wood hitting flesh pounded in his ears so loudly, he failed to notice the ceasing of the humming sound.
“YAH!”
The wall of people surrounding him suddenly crumbled. Thuds sounded as the people around him were flicked away effortlessly. Some of them got to their feet and charged blindly towards the woman again, but were only sent flying even further back by a heel kick. They were clearly no match for the three-time fighting champion of Sector 161. Brett broke into a weak smile at Marianne and William as they took over the job of fighting off Firdaus’ residents.
The body in his arms stirred.
“Masako, you’re alright!” His tears almost brimmed over in relief. “The Red Clover did it! She actually managed to do it!”
Masako blinked slowly in his arms and smiled weakly at him. “You’re safe… too. Thank god…”
“I’ll never let you get hurt again.” He hugged her tightly. “Masako, I like you too. I-”
“I know.” Masako grinned slightly at him as she got up to her feet. “It was too obvious.”
A loud explosion interrupted them from above as the brainwashed residents fell to the ground unconscious. Rubble from at least five floors up collapsed to the ground, though it was far ahead enough not to pose a threat to them. Brett squinted his eyes at a human figure falling amidst the collapsing rubble. A person…? Wait, is that-
The metahumans ran forward, seeming to notice the same thing. Brett followed them.
“Yuxia!” Masako cried out.
Brett’s eyebrows furrowed at the sight in front of him. Bloodstains streaked all over the Red Clover’s pale face, her body spasming a little as she coughed out yet another puddle of blood. Her eyes were wrought with pain, but her lips curled into an uncomfortably forced smile.
“It… it’s over… Firdaus is dead… for good,” she breathed. “Is Henrik… okay?”
“Save your strength,” Masako held Yuxia’s hands, trembling slightly. Her voice was thin. “You’re gonna be all okay. We’ll take you back-”
“No, it’s too late.” Yuxia’s head rolled to the side, revealing the bite wound on her neck. “It… it’s alright, Masako. I… I want this.”
Brett felt a slight breeze as William landed gently beside him, carrying a barely conscious boy in his arms. Henrik fell to his knees in front of Yuxia, tears streaming down his face.
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“Henrik…” Yuxia’s face strained with effort to lift her hand to his face, but only her fingers twitched slightly. “I’m so proud… of you. Look after yourself…. when I’m gone, will you?”
“I… I will…” Henrik nodded, sobbing into his hands. “Thank you for everything, Yuxia.”
“I’m sorry, everyone… For all the trouble… I’ve caused… And thank you.” Yuxia closed her eyes serenely. “For accepting… a sinner like me.”
Her voice trailed away as her breath reduced to a whisper before going out like the last embers of a dying fire. “Dad, Aaron… I’m h…”
The jagged breaths stopped.
“Rest in peace, soldier.” William went down on a knee and bowed his head. Everyone else followed suit, paying their final respects to the Red Clover.
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William looked on grimly at his fellow residents pouring into the dining hall. They rounded up Firdaus’ apparently confused residents and herded them into smaller spaces. He spaced out, trying to think of what to do with these survivors.
A tap on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts.
“About Yuxia…”
“Right. You wanna do it now?” William asked.
Marianne nodded. “Better to do it early; don’t wanna risk her turning. The least we can do is preserve her dignity to die as a human.”
“Theoretically speaking, she shouldn’t turn as long as the transmitter is in her suit since it’s still keeping her bio electric field stable,” William said. “But you’re right; better be safe than sorry. Are you okay to be the one to destroy her body, though?”
“I’m the only one who can cremate her quickly enough.” Marianne looked down. “In our misunderstandings, I treated her with so much hostility when she was still alive. This is the least I can do for her in death.”
“Just in case Mr William can’t get out in time, I’ll be there to put a bullet in her brain if she turns.” Henrik’s voice chimed in.
William turned around in shock. “What, no! You’re a child, I can’t possibly let you witness-”
“I’m no child. Not anymore,” Henrik said firmly. “It’s my responsibility to send her off. No one is stopping me.”
“Let’s get to it then.”
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The Red Clover’s funeral was over in less than ten seconds. William moved faster than he thought he would, despite his mind drifting off half the time. He leapt clear of the danger in a single bound, barely feeling the thousand degree heat that seared through the thermanite suit and reduced Yuxia’s corpse into ashes.
William handed the transmitter to Henrik without saying a word. The boy accepted it with an equally silent thanks and held it close to his chest as his eyes leaked once again. William trudged to the entrance to brood by himself, but Marianne followed him out.
“I really hope that plan of yours is going to work, darling.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“You know damn well what’s going to happen if it doesn’t.” Marianne pulled his arm. “So let’s not entertain that notion. I… I don’t want…”
“I know.” William held her tightly. “I’m sorry. Whatever happens, we’ll face it together alright? I promise I’ll never go off on my own again.”
“Is there really no other way around this? I mean, we could just leave him be-”
“That’s just gonna delay the inevitable,” William said. “It’s only a matter of time before he finds another enhanced as evolved as me. We need to shut Zacharias down before he does.”
He forced a smile at Marianne. “Besides, I’m covered. You guys are supporting me, right?”
“Still…” Marianne looked down before suddenly shaking her head violently. “Gah! Alright Marianne, enough with these negative vibes! It’s just another ring match; we can do this!”
William looked lovingly at her before pulling her in close to him. “Yes. Yes, we can.”
“I love you.”
They shared a slow kiss.