Men Are Weapons of War
Chapter 4: Unusual
"Who is this?" Mark looks towards Vaughn, who still has a slight blush on his face.
"That is not important. However, your sister will be killed in the next ten minutes unless you head over to the abandoned factory. The Chain Militia is waiting for you."
"Wait, you're—" The person hung up. "But, I thought he was…wasn't he…" Mark's eyes become unfocused and his mind wanders elsewhere.
"Mark? What's wrong?" Vaughn stands up and gets close to Mark. Mark looks at Vaughn.
"Well, I thought…never mind. Anyway, I'm not sure who it was, but we should head towards the abandoned factory. It's been a while since I've seen Chelsea in battle and I don't want her to get in trouble. Let's start heading over." Mark begins to walk away and Vaughn catches up with him.
"You sure you can do this? You did just only recover a couple days ago…"
"I'll be okay. Don't worry so much, Vaughn…" He flinched as he walked and the multiple cuts along his body began to close and loosen the blood flow. Vaughn watched in amazement and kept up with Mark.
"Well, how are you with motorcycles?" Vaughn began walking towards the parking garage.
"Motorcycles? Well, I've ridden one before…when I was sixteen."
"Well, I ride a motorcycle. Hope you won't mind too much, but cars are too big. I prefer motorcycles." Vaughn walks up to a black Harley-Davidson motorcycle. He hands Mark a helmet and begins to start the engine. Vaughn shows Mark how to sit on the motorcycle and he fastens his helmet on his head. Mark grips Vaughn's stomach from behind. "Ready?"
"Ready." Starting up the engine, Vaughn and Mark ride out of the exit ramp and onto the streets. The wind gushes against Mark's body, almost exciting him. He holds onto Vaughn tighter.
"Which abandoned factory is it?"
"It's at the other end of the city! It's the old incense factory!"
"Got it!" Vaughn brings up the speed and connects with the freeway. It's loud and deafening, but Mark cannot shake the feeling of excitement from his body. He grips tighter, which makes Vaughn blush. Vaughn sees the exit and gets off on the exit. Going down a residential street, he rides it to the end. They reach the factory and Vaughn stops at the front of factory. It's somewhat silent, which alarms Mark. He gets off of the motorcycle and pulls out a sword from his hand. Slashing downwards, he destroys the door into two. Lloyd and Anita huddle in the corner and Chelsea is currently fighting Gray. Ignis attempts to retrieve Anita, but the Key and Lock Militia stands in his way. Anita notices Mark and runs towards him.
"Mark!" Everyone diverts their attention to Mark and Vaughn, who finished parking his motorcycle and locking it up. Grey, noticing Chelsea and Will distracted, kicks Will away from Chelsea. Ignis runs towards Mark and Vaughn grabs Mark's hand. Mark changes into his sword form and blocks Ignis' gauntlet. Both Militias push against each other, but Mark's power surpasses and pushes the Dark Militia back. The Key and Lock Militia, allow with her officer, take Anita and Lloyd outside of the factory.
VAUGHN! Throw me in Chelsea's direction!
"Huh?" Vaughn notices Chelsea being held down. Grey's foot rests on Chelsea's chest and they appear to be talking. The safety is turned off of the pistol aim straight for her head. "Got it." Vaughn throws Mark in between Chelsea and Grey. Time seems to slow down. Mark takes the bullet meant for Chelsea in his shoulder and pushes Grey away. The blood begins to seep from the hole in his shoulder blade. When the pain registers in his body, swords emerge from his back and pile onto of another to create sword wings. He screams out in pain as the swords force themselves out of his body and his green eyes become black. Vaughn senses something is terribly wrong and runs towards Mark. Chelsea tries to call out to Mark, but he seems to have lost his hearing. Grey recovers on his feet and begins shooting at Mark. Mark takes a long sword and dodges the bullets by jumping on top of the big sword. His wings disperse into a halo surrounding his back. Mushing his hands together, he suddenly releases his hands and the barrage of swords directs their tip towards Grey. They separate and ram into Grey's body. Chelsea and the others watch in horror to see Grey skewered in such a terrible way. The twin pistols are thrown out of Grey's hands and blood sprays all over the swords. The long sword disappears along with Ignis and the Dark Militia. Will rushes to Chelsea's side, but she keeps her eyes on Mark. Claire reverted from her gun form into her human form and she's trembling.
"Chelsea, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?" Will helps her up. Chelsea tries to step towards Mark, but Will holds her back in concern of her safety.
"Mark, what's wrong? What's happening to you?" Chelsea yells at Mark. Mark gives her a slight glance and she seems the darkness in his eyes. Vaughn notices it and tackles Mark to the ground. Mark fights Vaughn, punching him in the cheek and kicking Vaughn in the stomach. Vaughn stumbles back, taking a few deep breaths.
"Mark, you need to stop! You are out of control, you idiot!" Vaughn trips Mark by sweeping his feet underneath. "Mark! Calm down!" Vaughn got on top of him and grabbed Mark's neck. Mark tried to breathe and in his attempts, he regains control and his eyes resume their normal color. Vaughn reluctantly moves his hand away from his neck and Mark coughs for air. "Well, you're back." Vaughn stays with Mark as he recovers. Mark closes his eyes and falls asleep, his wound healing while he rests. Chelsea and Will examine Grey. Claire is next to him and she's in shock by the wounds Grey has received. Grey breathes his final breath and Claire nudges him.
"Grey! Grey, please, hang in there! Don't leave me!" Claire begins to cry and tries anything to make Grey open his eyes. Will checks his pulse and finds that it's stopped.
"He's dead." Will looks at Claire and she's trembling, shaking her head back and fort.
"No! No, he cannot be dead! Anything…Anything but that!" She gets up and tries to hug her own body with her arms. She shivers and she falls to the ground. Her body stops moving once she hits the ground.
"Claire!" Chelsea runs to her side. "Claire! What's wrong? Claire!" Chelsea tries to wake Claire, but her eyes show no motion despite the fact that she is still breathing. "What…What is this?"
"This…we've never experienced this before!" Will takes in notes for the events. "Grey is dead, and Claire is alive but cannot move or respond to us."
"That's because that's what happens when a Militia kills a contractor." A girl wearing a black cloak, dress and pointed hat walks into the factory. She holds a wooden wand that supports a huge clock. "It seems that Mark has overexerted himself, so I will be your informant." The wand changes into a pale with pale blond hair and a braid on his left side. He wears a light blue cloak and a white shirt. He wears dark jeans and a watch on a silver chain around his neck.
"A…Another Militia? But, there's only…" Chelsea tries to recall her memory.
"Key and Lock, Chains, Twin Pistols, Sword, Scythe and Darkness…right?" The young man stares at Chelsea. She nods. "I cannot tell you anything about myself, but I can tell you this: Claire is now in an eternal sleep. She continues to breathe, yet she cannot interact with us. There is no way to wake her up and she will stay in this exact state until she loses her will to live."
"But…But I didn't know anything about this! I was raised in the same laboratory as Mark, so how come I don't know about this?" Chelsea grabs the man's cuff of his shirt. Will stands behind her, slightly worried.
"Because Mark hasn't told you yet. Right now, he's fighting to stay in control of himself after obtaining full release of his powers. Wouldn't it be more important to sweat the small details like this and take care of the person closest to you? Mark will tell you about this in due time."
"And how do you know that? Give me a straight answer!" Chelsea grabs his cuff harder.
"I cannot. Because," He shoves Chelsea away and Will successful catches Chelsea. "Mark will reveal all the answers." He walks away from all of them, but he turns around before leaving. He says one final thing before vanishing away with the witch-like girl.
"Only Time will tell."