Fusion Fall

by Jay-Washington

Kyrie Sims is a Level 2 Soldier. She can now participate in the fight against Fuse. But Kyrie soon discovers that she holds a dangerous past, and her heart just might be more lethal than any weapon she has. Can Kyrie make sense of her life long enough to defeat Fuse? Or will she end up being her own downfall?

1. Chapter One

Providence HQ is a lot different than Null Void. It's full of life, with trees and running water and actual clouds. Null Void is barren and grey, with flat ground and an endlessly dark sky; the sounds that I have grown accustomed to are the wails of our sirens and scheduled bells. Here, there is a light, choppy, whistling sound that circles around me and my team. My hand instinctively reaches for one of my lightning guns, but I don't grab it when I realize that the sounds I'm hearing aren't from a Fusion Spawn. I toss a rock instead and confirm my suspicions as a flock of blackbirds rise up and fly away from the tree.

QC frowns as the birds disappear into the other side of the forest. "I can see why they called this place the 'Petting Zoo'," he says to us. "This place is completely unhygienic, and my scanners say that Fusion Spawns have been allowed to inhabit almost the entirety of the southern quadrant." He sniffs and pushes his glasses further up his nose.

Beside me, MD shrugs. She runs a hand through her platinum blonde hair and twists it a couple different ways before deciding to pull it up into a high ponytail. A few unruly strands of hair hangs around her face, but she doesn't seem to pay it any mind. I wouldn't mind either. It looks like the sun is trying to hold her warm, cinnamon face in its rays. And who can blame it? "I guess that's why they needed us here."

"And how long do you suppose we'll be here," says XW as he slashes his lightning sword through the air. He ducks as if his invisible enemy has thrust forward his sword. "K? What do you think?"

He shouldn't refer to me so informally, and I can tell by QC's scowl that he agrees. Still, I consider XW's question anyway: "Depends on whether or not this is all just another test."

XW raises an eyebrow. "Still bitter about that, are you?"

"Why wouldn't she be," MD demands. "I am, too. They lied to us. What we did back there—none of it was real."

"Fusion Finn was real."

"Enough," says QC sternly. "There's no point in wasting anymore time being focused on what happened in the past. The Null Void wasn't what we were expecting, but we cannot let that detract from the skills we've learned."

I want to tell him that's he's wrong, but I'm too distracted by more twittering sounds I hear in the trees behind us. I notice that each group of sounds starts at a point in the woods closer to us than the last, but I don't know what that means.

They didn't teach me that part.

In the Null Void, my training consisted of a blindfold and headphones. No pictures, just sounds. And there was a heavier emphasis on my being able to detect and identify the subtle nuances in the sounds of Lord Fuse's minions than knowing what a group of birds sounds like.

The Petting Zoo sounds like all of the Forest-Type sounds garbled together. I can tell you the difference between a Shocktangler and an Electrotangler's wails, and whether they are thirty feet away and lying in wait or nine and about to attack. I have even seen and identified these differences on the field. But I don't know the difference between Ocean-Type soundtracks numbers thirteen and twenty-two.

The real world isn't a simulation.

I shush them as the sound of footsteps—Four? Five feet away?—reach my ears. "He's here," I say. We immediately fall in line beside each other and await our orders from Rex, who emerges from the woods in a casual stride. I assume he was the cause of the panicked birds.

He doesn't look any different than he did the last time I saw him—which wasn't too long ago, but Rex is one of the Heroes who rotates a lot between Basic Training at the Null Void and the Petting Zoo. He scratches the back of his head for a moment when he recognizes us.

"Welcome to my neck of the woods," says Rex as he crosses his arms over his chest. He looks us over with a somewhat friendly smile. "You guys reached Level 2 pretty quickly—can't say I'm surprised, though. Now that you're stronger, you're ready to start helping us with a new problem. Some of the Fusion Spawns—"

I stop listening, because I realize suddenly that I'm not overwhelmed with bird noises. I don't feel relieved, though, because this silence is way too close to the one in Null Void. And a lack of noise is never a good sign for us.

"Cyber Stingers," I yell when I hear a mechanical wing catch on a tree about seven feet away from our group.

Almost immediately, six Cyber Stingers reach our clearing and encircle us. They can only hover one or two feet off the ground due to their size, but they fly around us with unnerving speed. I take a second to confirm my initial Monster categorization on my NanoCom: "Careful, everyone—they're Blastons."

We won't be able to use the Nano we just earned. Monsters and Nanos are divided into three types, each made out of a slightly different type of Fusion Matter— Adaptium, Blastons, or Cosmix. The Academy stressed paying attention to the type of monster you're fighting, because the Nano you have active during combat can either help you or hurt you. Using Nano Finn won't exactly harm us, but having a Blastons Nano won't give us any added advantage in this fight.

Rex's arm morphs into a giant sword. I've heard stories about what Rex is like on the battlefield, but I've never personally witnessed his abilities. I'm so distracted, I don't even notice one of the Cyber Stingers is headed toward me until one of them strikes my right shoulder.

I curse myself for not noticing them earlier—I shouldn't have allowed myself to be so distracted by Rex—but am grateful I'm still in the Academy's standard issued uniform. Had my shoulder pad not been there, I would have definitely been stung. They may be weak, but their stings hurt for days and days.

"Don't let them get through the warp pad," Rex orders as he slices through one of the Stinger's metal device. It's supposed to keep their wings attached to them, but it quickly separates and sends the Stinger to the ground.

I'm distracted again as Rex detaches the Stinger's head, making the monster dissolve into Fusion dust. A Cyber Stinger to my right lets out a mechanical wail and shoots out a stream of toxic Fusion goo. Rex easily dodges it, but I'm not prepared after Rex moves out of harm's way.

XW tackles me to the ground and rolls us out of the way before the stream can hit me. He doesn't immediately get up. Instead, he props himself up on one knee and slashes his sword through the air, driving back another Stinger. "Look alive, Tread Head," he barks before he leaves to help MD.

I know better than to expect him to help me up, especially since I'm embarrassing our whole team with my incompetence. It's like the past two years didn't teach me anything. I roll myself onto my feet and try to come up with a plan as I watch as one of the Stingers shoots a stream of goo at QC. This is enough to spring me into action: I grab hold of my guns and race toward the Cyber Stinger, assaulting it with a a long course of electricity to try to get its attention.

I've got it now.

When the Stinger shoots goo at me, I'm ready for it this time. I use my right foot to send me into the air and flip over to bring both feet down onto the back two wings. Out of the corner of my eye, I see MD chasing after a lone Cyber Stinger as it races towards the warp pad.

The Stinger underneath me tries to distract me by slapping at my face with its front wings. I grab the wings with my left hand and pivot to trap them under my right foot. Before it can throw me off, I aim the gun in my right hand at MD's Stinger and fire.

My bolt catches the Stinger in its mechanical head and the monster veers off course, missing the warp pad by a few inches. MD fires two rounds from her gun and hits the Stinger in the center of its mechanical control box.

As it dissolves into dust, the Stinger that I still have trapped underneath me begins to squirm uncontrollably. When it throws me off, I land in the grass to the side. I hurry to scramble back to my feet, but QC quickly puts an end to the problem by slicing through the Stinger's head with his sword.

Someone offers me a hand, and I look up to see MD. I smile at her as she pulls me to my feet and say, "Thanks."

"Thought you were gonna let us fight them by ourselves," she chides.

"Next time, I will."

I turn suddenly to see the last of the Cyber Stingers explode into dust as Rex pulls his sword-arm out of it. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one watching Rex this time. He smiles at us and says, "Nothing like an early morning workout to get you ready for the day, huh?"

That was an "early morning workout?" In the Null Void, six Cyber Stingers is a full day of training—and never all at once. I'm winded after teaming up with someone to take down two. I can't even be sure how many Rex took out on his own. And I definitely can't think about when he even did that. All I can think about is my hammering heart.

Rex's earpiece beeps suddenly, and I hear a voice say, "Hey, Rex. It's Finn. Send the newbs up to meet me, will ya?"

Rex smiles at us as his arm morphs back. "Looks like Finn wants to talk to you." He jerks his thumb behind him. "If you head southwest for about fifty feet or so, you'll find a jump pad. Use it to get to the top of the waterfall. You'll find Finn up there. If you need me for anything, come and find me back here."

We salute him and walk off into the woods with our weapons readied. Before we get too far from him, I glance back at the portal Rex now stands guard over. It's not uncommon for a stray monster or two to wander into the Null Void through those warp pads, but I can't imagine having to deal with six in the Academy. Especially not so many Level 2 Monsters.

It used to happen a lot more frequently, but I supposed they must have changed protocols after the Fusion incident two weeks ago. Fusion Finn managed to find his way to the Academy's training labs, and our team was the first to find him. We defeated him, and leveled up, but I think the idea of Level 1 Heroes being attacked by higher-level Monsters worried the Academy.

"Stop," QC hisses at the rest of us, shaking me from my thoughts. There are two Heroes standing by a launch pad. Behind them is a stone wall that stretches above the trees themselves. QC catches them up on Rex's orders as I strain myself to find an end to the giant wall.

They acknowledge us with a simple nod and one of them says, "One at a time. When you step up to the launch pad, bend your knees and jump down on the center of the target. While in the air, angle your body in the direction you want to go. When you land, make sure you are in a crouched position."

None of us have ever used a launch pad before, and I'm grateful QC is first. He's always been the best at following orders. After he and then MD disappear into the trees, it's my turn to step up to the launch pad. I don't know if it matters how high I jump initially, but I figure I should put a little effort into it.

I cover my face with my arms as I break through a cluster of leaves. Once I'm in the air, I find the top of the stone wall: it's really a large building, though not one with a design I've seen before. The building is split into two sides, which are, in turn, united by a large stream that turns into a waterfall at the far right side. I can't see how long the waterfall goes on for, but the building itself is probably a little more than fifty feet off the ground; I was currently descending from eighty.

The feeling of being thrown so high into the air wasn't nearly as thrilling as the creeping feeling that I experience in my stomach as I eventually begin to fall back to the ground. I lean my head forward and aim for the space on the top of the building beside three little figures. When I get close enough, I stretch out my arms and do a frontflip to reposition myself. I land in a crouched position like I was told to, but it doesn't fully stop the shock that shoots through my soles as my feet hit the hard material.

I stand up and bounce on the tips of my toes as XW casually drops down beside me. He doesn't seem the least bit affected by the sudden landing, and I start to think that I shouldn't be either, so I stop jumping.

The guy standing at the edge of the waterfall is dressed much differently than most people we come across. I know MD can't wait to get out of her Academy uniform, but I think they make us look official. Compared to the Academy's Urban Rangers, Heroes like Rex—with his red jacket and striped shirt—look pretty casual. But this guy makes even Rex look formal. He has on a white bunny hat, a blue T-shirt, shorts, tennis shoes, and a backpack. I guess the T-shirt and shorts aren't that bad, but the hat really does it in for me.

He looks so much like his Fusion.

"Ready for some real adventure," he asks us with a smile. "I'm Finn. You must be the newbs from Null Void."

I don't like the word "newbs." It makes me feel inexperienced, and despite my hesitation with the Cyber Stingers, I know that I'm anything but that. Still, we've learned that we don't argue with people who have a higher rank than us, and despite his appearance, I know that Finn has a higher rank than us—we have his Nano.

Nanos are miniature copies of Level 5 Heroes.

He eyes the boys' swords enviously and pulls out his own in comparison. The Academy starts off all of the boys with swords, and the girls, guns. "Wicked lightning sword! It's totally math! Academy kids get the best prototypes, ya know?"

"Yes," says QC slowly. Obviously he doesn't know what to think about the higher-level boy either. "Did you have a mission for us, sir?"

Finn makes a face at the word "sir." "Well, it's not really a mission. It's more of an orientation, really. I'm just supposed to give you a tour of the Armory." He points at the ground under our feet. "There's some pretty sweet stuff in there. And now that you're stronger, you're gonna want stronger weapons. Although, if I were you, I might still keep that lightning sword."

I try to keep my disappointment from showing on my face. Getting new weapons is pretty cool, but I had hoped that we would come here for something other than fighting Fuse's minions and more training. I thought advancing to Level 2 meant that we would get to go on real missions.

I guess not.

Finn gathers us closer to him and inserts some sort of command on his NanoCom. The ground underneath us is actually a pad that Finn uses to lower us into the building. There's aisles upon aisles and even more columns of various weapons, but even this isn't enough to make me feel any differently about this tour. The reality is that we probably won't even be able to touch most of this stuff—Level 2 is better than Level 1, but that doesn't mean we can have a weapon that outranks us.

"Aw, cram!" Finn shouts suddenly. The rest of the team must look as surprised as I do, because Finn looks at all of us and says, "Sorry. Some Jumbo Spawns are causing some trouble."

I step forward, and I'm so excited about the chance to do something other than a boring tour, that I forget where my place is for a moment: "If there's trouble, we can help."

He shakes his head. "No, you guys stay here. Lance will be here in a moment to show you around. He'll be the really tall, kinda moody guy. Don't worry—we've got this!" Before I can make the mistake of arguing again, Finn sprints out of the room.

XW whistles as I sulk over to them. "I'm surprised at you, K."

"Shut up," I say. "You were thinking it, too."

"Be that as it may," says QC, "you should be more careful about how you suggest these things. Had that been anyone other than Finn, I'm certain they would've sent you back to the Null Void for your arrogance. And I know how much you would regret that."

"Not as much as I regret wasting my time on a stupid tour."

"I'm sorry the Armory isn't to your liking," says a boy behind us. I spin around to see a boy in dark jeans and a black shirt. His dark hair is styled in a way so that it comes down over only one of his grey eyes. "You feel like you've learned enough from all your staring?"

"Sir," says QC as we form a line beside him. He's probably more embarrassed than I am to have been caught openly disagreeing with my superiors. "Are you Lance?"

He gives us something that I think is supposed to resemble a nod. "So you're the ones I keep hearing about, huh? The second-year Level 1s who somehow managed to defeat a Fusion."

I don't think any of us know what to say to that, so we just keep quiet for the moment. I want to correct him—we're Level 2s now, but I've said enough. Lance opens his mouth to say something else, and I'm certain it'll be directed toward me for my insolence, but his NanoCom beeps rapidly before he can say anything.

Aside from a raised eyebrow and an exasperated sigh, Lance doesn't react much. For a moment, he seems to be pondering something as he looks at us. Finally, he says, "I probably shouldn't do this, but I hope you're ready for this. Those Providence amateurs captured Fusions Rex and Ben for study not too long ago. Of course, things haven't gone as they'd hoped and now we need to clean things up."

My heart begins to beat quickly. I'm excited again, but this time I manage to hold my tongue, because I think Lance is already saying what I want to suggest. Not a Fusion Spawn, and not a boring tour. An actual fight with real Fusions.

Lance leads us out of the Armory and towards the west wing of the building, where we pass signs that read "Practice Fields." I can't help but wonder for a moment why anyone would want to capture Fusions for study.

Everyone knows that Fusions are too unpredictable to attempt to handle in a contained environment.

"Fusion Rex is poisoning his containment area, and Fusion Ben is pumping his containment area full of Fusion goo. I'll take Fusion Ben. You guys go take out Fusion Rex. You might even get a Rex Nano out of it." He points us in the direction of Fusion Rex's containment area before he takes off.

When we reach the doors, a Dexbot Guard meets us at the warp pad. "Fusion Rex Containment Area: Verifying clearance...Verified. Entrance approved. Caution: Building interior corrupted by Fusion Matter. Initiate warp!"

MD squeezes my arm as she bounces on each foot. "Ooh, guys, this is so exciting!"

"Yeah," says XW. "I just hope Fusion Rex isn't half as good as the actual Rex is at fighting."

I hadn't considered that to be a possibility, and now I wonder if Fusion Rex will have the same abilities. I don't want to imagine the damage he could do with his shapeshifting powers.

"Nevermind about that," QC orders as we ready our weapons. "Just be sure to watch your step. My scanner says there's Fusion Matter everywhere."

Stepping in buildup Fusion Matter is dangerous. If it comes in contact with your skin, it can poison you. And if you let it go unchecked, you could become seriously infected, you could end up dying. Or worse, you could become a Fusion yourself.

When a human becomes a Fusion, they are classified as Fusion Spawns, giant green blobs that go around trying to infect others. A bite from a Fusion Spawn isn't lethal, though. They carry enough Fusion Matter to poison you, but not enough to turn you into a Fusion. And once they've bitten you, they die immediately. Almost like a bee after it stings you.

Luckily for us, when we materialize in the room, there's an easy and clear path to follow to reduce any Fusion Matter hazards. QC looks to me, awaiting my assessment of the room. This is a lot more like my training in the Null Void, and I'm much more comfortable identifying the sounds in the otherwise silent room.

I hear a scratching sound, and know that something is dragging its feet as it walks. The sound echoes twice as it travels down the corridor to us. "Fusion Rex is in a larger room at the end of this hall," I whisper, and QC begins lead us down the hallway.

I check my NanoCom to tell them what type of Monster we'll be fighting—Adaptium—and start to tell them when I see a message from Lance. I whisper for QC to stop before we turn the corner so I can read it.

"I have one, too. He's probably just checking in to say he's done already," says MD.

XW takes a moment to look at my face and then says, "It won't hurt to check."

WARNING! Fusion Ben is NOT in his containment area. I suspect he and Fusion Rex have come together! I'm on my way.

-Lance

My hand instinctively reaches for someone else's to hold, but it finds neither XW's nor MD's, and QC is too far away. I go, instead, for my weapons, and get them in my hands just as a low growl reaches my ears. I look up, in the direction of the growl, to see red eyes peering at me from the rafters above.

"Guys," I cry out as I shoot into the ceiling. "We have to get out of this hallway."

The rest of my teams acts fast: XW throws me over his shoulder with one arm and follows, QC, who leads us around the corner and gets us into a room similar to the size of the clearing we first came from. Sure enough, we catch Fusion Rex pacing furiously in the far right corner. I struggle to keep my calm as Fusion Ben drops from one of the openings in the ceiling with a threatening growl. I'm always surprised when I catch sight of how remarkably identical they are to their counterparts. If it weren't for their red eyes, I don't think anyone would be able to tell them apart.

When Fuse first invaded this planet, he used personal items from our Level 5 Heroes to create Fusion copies in the hopes that this would up his advantage on his side of the war. All they really do is annoy Heroes and Urban Rangers like us and cause disturbances in suburban areas. The most annoying thing about them is that a cloned Fusion doesn't really die; they simply regenerate in a different area.

I try to warn XW as he puts me down that Fusion Ben is lunging at us, but I know that he won't turn around in time, and I can't get a good shot with him leaning over me. Before Fusion Ben can land, he's launched backwards by a sudden bolt in the chest. MD passes in front of us, successfully landing shots to keep him at bay.

XW stands and races toward Fusion Ben with his sword raised. I turn around to the sound of clashing metal. QC is caught in a duel with Fusion Rex, who has confirmed my earlier concerns and has proved that he can morph his arm into a sword. With a low growl, he pushes back and flings QC into the wall behind him. He waits for a moment for QC to get up before he shapes both of his arms into large mechanical hands.

I lift my lightning guns as Fusion Rex raises one hand over his head and shoot into the crux of his elbow. His arm jerks to the side before crashing to the ground, and Fusion Rex turns toward me to give me a menacing roar.

Fusion Rex runs, toward me, but he's a little slower because of the extra weight. I stand my ground for as long as I can before I'm finally forced to retreat from the situation. I flip backwards twice, just barely managing to dodge Fusion Rex's attempts, and still trying to shoot whenever I can.

Fusion Rex raises both hands over his head, and that's when I think about Nano Finn. It's risky, because he's a Blastons Nano and Fusion Rex is an Adaptium Monster—Adaptium trumps Blastons—but I need the power Nano Finn possesses. I have just enough time to call Nano Finn before I have to jump a third time. Some Nanos have very specific powers, and Nano Finn's increases your control of your jumping ability. "Mathematical," Nano Finn yells as I use his power to slow down my jumping speed.

I land almost immediately after Fusion Rex's fists hit the ground, and swing both of my guns up until they're level with his chin, charging them up with an electric current. Before I can shoot him, though, he pulls back his hands, throwing me into the air.

I expect to hit the ceiling, but it never comes. Instead, there is a weight dragging me down by my feet. Just as suddenly as it came, it leaves, and I feel someone swing off of my right foot towards Fusion Ben. When I catch a glimpse of red hair, I know it was QC. I use Nano Finn's power to slow my descent as QC takes a running leap at Fusion Ben.

I shoot off a bolt to my right, and it catches Fusion Ben in the chest before QC plunges his lightning sword into the Monster. Fusion Ben lets out a loud and horrible scream before he dissolves into dust.

The kickback of the blast counteracts Nano Finn's power, and sends me flying backward. Pain erupts in my back as my shoulders catch the wall behind me. I expect to feel more pain when I hit the ground, but instead all I feel is MD.

She's bigger than I am and easily folds me into her as she rolls us back onto our feet. I recover quickly and see Fusion Rex, who's so preoccupied with XW that I'm certain he won't notice me when I raise my gun.

I'm wrong.

Fusion Rex extends one of his mechanical arms towards me, and when MD pushes me out of the way, my shot veers far right, straight for XW. I try to call out to him, but there's no need, he already see the danger and catches the bolt with his lightning sword. The entire thing becomes encased in lightning and XW is quick to drive his sword underneath Fusion Rex's ribcage. There is no scream this time. He simply dissolves, and I see that in the place of where both of the Fusions have disappeared, is a green computer chip.

XW lets his sword fall to the floor and puts his hands on his knees. In between all of his panting, he manages to get out: "Who wants to do the honors?"

QC is the first to make a move. He pulls out his NanoCom and inserts both of the computer chips. Except for the sound of us trying to catch our breath, the room is silent. A few moments later, eight Nanos appear—four each of Rex and Alien X.

I jump when someone starts to clap behind me and raise my guns, certain there is another creature we must've missed. I am shocked when I see Lance and Finn instead. Finn's the one clapping; Lance just gives us some sort of half-smile and crosses his arms.

I'm still in pain, and every part of my body is screaming, Lies, lies, more lies! right now.

"Congratulations," says Lance with his half-smile. "You're officially ready to graduate."

A/N: I decided I really wanted to restart this project! So I've swtiched the POV from 3rd to 1st to give you guys a better since of who Kyrie is and hopefully make her seem a little more flawed human. Let me know what you think and be on the lookout for later chapters! I'll be creating an update schedule soon and will update it in the description when I figure it out. Happy reading!