Wehen she triuned and saw the ski masks, saw the men climbing outr of the van, hurrying to cut them off, to seize her, Sydney felt something in her break. Some part of her had still held on to the hope that they could coexist, that she could keep her life intact, keep everything together. It was a hope she had to give up on.
"Sydney! You can save yourself from damnation! Turn yourself in!" Her dad shouted, alchemists pouring out of the deserted restaurant. The fury that ignited, the anger that flowed, Sydney stopped running, paying no mind to Eddie's shocked gasp and stood her ground for the first time.
"Damnation? Well, If you've condmend me so, I guess there's no point in hiding anything else." She snarled, reaching into her memory, into the preprepared components, the long hours of working over the spells. It was highy advanced, and incredibly dangerous, to reach for themagic without physical components to safegueard, but Syndey was done being safe.
She cast her hand out and scowled, letting the incandescent rage inside of her bubble out in a gout of flame.
Screaming. Her spell had caught the main group of alchemists flat footed. The smell of searched flesh wafted away, some still clinging to life, uniforms dripping off of them from the heat. Some lay on the ground, smoking and blackened. But, where her father had stood, there was nothing but a small patch of white asphalt- bleached by the immense heat.
"Sydney, we've got to go." Eddie said quietly, shaking her shoulder. A few fallen alchemists laid behind them, courtesy of Eddie dispatching them. "Sydney."
"yeah. Just, give me a moment to-" She turned and puked, near empty stomach seizing and expelling acid and pain. She coughed roughly and heaved again.
"C'mon. Let's get you home." He said, gently guiding her away from the scene.
"Adrian." She whimpered. "Take me to.." she collapsed in his arms. Holding her up with one arm, (and realizing that he really shouldn't be able to) he fished out his phone.
"Hey, Adrian. Where are you?"
"We're on our way. I'll explain when we get there. And if Marcus is thereā¦. Tell him to get the ink ready. There's no way she's going to be able to hide. And Adrian, be careful with her. You'll see."
The newpaper headline the next day perhaps did the most justice:
Tactical Nuke Takes out Diner
