An ex-lover's game

"She's waking up." I heard VECTOR say as someone gently moved me. My body regained motion as my vision became clear, the pain swarmed through my body like water down the stream. The upper part of my helmet was broken and the enhanced vision was damaged. I discard the piece and was able to see with clearness my surroundings; no more enhanced vision. Wolfpack peered down at me. BERTHA and VECTOR kneeled around me, while LUPO was urging BERTHA to do her job. BELTWAY was behind me, laughing and acting as my support. SPECTRE and FOUR EYES, were on guard. We were inside the hospital, in the abandoned lobby as no signs of infected seemed apparent.

"How do you feel? Can you move?" LUPO asked. I moved my body and the stinging pain on my shoulder prevented me to rise.

"I have a dislocated shoulder." I told her and she nodded. "What happened to the enemy?"

"The tyrant chased them away, and there were too many of the infected to stay. FOUR EYES distracted them with a pheromone while BELTWAY carried you." VECTOR explained. I caressed BELTWAY's leg to demonstrate my gratitude. BERTHA guided my back to the floor, there, she took my arm and moved it to feel my shoulder joint, then she pressed hard. There was a sharp pain, followed by the slight comforting ease of the movement of my arm.

"BERTHA fix you up good." BERTHA claimed.

"Thank you."

"Careful next time, mon amie." LUPO said as she turned around and reported our location to Command. SPECTRE was successful in reestablishing our connection with Command. VECTOR aid me to my feet, even if he did not verbally expressed it, his actions alone was proof that he somewhat cared for me.

"Wolfpack. The number of survivors in Raccoon city may still have information that could damage the corporation. We don't have time to hunt them down individually, so we are going to knock out the power grid that will take out the city's telecommunications; we can't let anything get out that might link us to the outbreak. We are sending you some electromagnetic pulse generators that you will use to deactivate the power plant in the northern sector of the city. A supply chopper is inbound with the generators. Rendezvous with it on the Raccoon city Hospital rooftop helipad." Command instructed.

"Objective confirmed. We're moving into the hospital now."

We walked down the isle, my abdomen ached and my legs dysfunction slightly, but I was able to walk with the team. Upon entering the hospital hall, Nikolai's voice was heard, but we could not locate him.

"Good evening, Umbrella security service, and Galatea. Hope you haven't forgotten your friend, Nikolai. I see you escaped my little diversion at City hall."

"How is he... Tracking us?..." SPECTRE wondered as he searched for him. Nikolai continued to speak.

"Unfortunately, my client... Can't have you interfering with out little side project. So, I've rigged up a few toys to keep you busy." He said, and triggered something from his hiding spot to cause the infected to swarm into the hall.

"Here, use this." VECTOR quickly gave me his pistol because he thought that I could not use my rifle. I narrowed my eyes at him, and to demonstrate that I was capable of moving just as fast as him, I disabled the infected with mere combat skills.

"Show off." He simply said. My body ached more than ever but I did not complained. When we cleared the hall, another swarm of infected burst through the doors with explosives attached to their heads.

"Shit! They're rigged with explosives!" VECTOR said.

"Oh, Zombies go boom." BERTHA commented upon witnessing one of them explode.

"Watch your distance!" LUPO yelled.

"Aww, he did all of this work for us? I'm flattered." I said, and I could almost see VECTOR's glare when he turned his head in my direction. I was holding them back by shooting the infected in the head, and triggering a domino effect. After the hall was cleared, we moved on, but Nikolai was still watching us.

"Ha ha! My little contraptions seem to be working perfectly." No one said a word, they were upset, and we moved through the hospital with much speed. We reached a door that was locked by a keycard, but whatever was on the other side was urging to escape.

"That is a Bio Organic Weapon waiting for us." I told them as I searched for the keycard in the security room. We could hear the growling even from afar.

"Be ready for anything." VECTOR told us, I held the doorknob and slowly slid the card. Several mutated infected attacked us with their tongue and we did all we could to keep them back. I was able to see some infected with explosives on their head and fired at it to eliminate the threat. As we reached the next door, my arm began to vibrate, notifying me of the mines with laser triggers that were set up inside them room.

"Trip mines with laser triggers. Not bad. Watch out for those beams. I can defuse them pretty easily." BELTWAY noticed as well, and as an expert, he defused them, then he allowed us in. We climbed stairs and walked through rooms, and the objective was still far; the hospital was massive. Upon nearing the stairs that would lead to the roof, Command notified us that the helicopter with the electric magnetic pulse generators was inbound and urged us to move. While moving up the stairs, we encountered more mines, it was getting old.

"Goddamit! Watch those trip mines!" LUPO yelled over the radio, despite us being behind. But I understood why she was upset, Nikolai's games were time consuming, and time was a factor we did not have.

"How many bombs does this guy have?" BELTWAY was more surprise than annoyed.

"He was thorough, but knowing Nikolai, this is not his last trick. I sense something much worse is going to happen." I shared. BELTWAY removed the mines once more and we finally were able to reach the rooftop, but upon doing so, we encounter a pack of crimson heads. A process in which selected infected will go through in other to mutate into something more powerful and deadly.

"What kind of zombies are these?" BERTHA asked, apparently, she was the only one who was not aware.

"Crimson heads! They are going through the V-ACT process to mutate." FOUR EYES explained. The Crimson heads moved with speed and were extremely aggressive, we had to keep our distance. We cleared the rooftop, and heard the helicopter not far from our location; It was a step forward to extraction. I stood on the helipad with VECTOR, while the other waited near the door

"What are you going to after we return to Rockford island?" He asked an inevitable question. I did not wish to discuss it over the microphone because everyone could hear it, but I did not refrained. VECTOR rarely spoke about personal matters, in fact, back at the base, you could not get a word out of him that did not involved his military life.

"Perhaps start a family, if i am allowed of course, and if Umbrella does not penalize me for deserting them."

"A family?... With who?" He sounded confused.

"I have yet to figure that out. Wait... Would you like to be the father of my children?"

"No, I'll pass." His answer was a quick and satisfying one. I laughed until my lungs could not withstand, then BELTWAY jumped into the conversation to mock our intimacy.

"I'll be the daddy of your kids, but I ain't taking care of them."

"Thank you, but no. There is a 99% chance that I would take you out with a knife as you sleep." Now it was BERTHA who was laughing. I cherished the moment like a relic. We were bonding strangely as a team, but that moment was ravished from me when my arm began to vibrate uncontrollably. It was an enemy hiding nearby, on one of the buildings. I heard a single gunfire, followed by a burning ache on my leg, then I collapsed on the helipad.

"Sniper, take cover!" I commanded. I was bleeding from my leg, the bullet was inside the vastus lateral muscle. Despite avoiding the bone, I could no longer apply force to my right leg.

"It's... Nikolai..." SPECTRE said, but I was already aware.

"Shit! DRACO, hold on!" VECTOR picked my head up as I continued to bleed and laughed uncontrollably due to the amount of pain I was in.

"He got me again, the bastard... He is going to shoot down the helicopter." I told him. The UH-60 Blackhawk was on sight, I could see Nikolai aiming through a sniper rifle. The helicopter immediately lost control when Nikolai fired. It as spinning down and then crashed on a nearby street. Nikolai held up something small in his hands as he gazed at me, and then, the ground became unstable and the helipad blazed in flames. The force of the explosion knocked me off the rooftop, separating me from Wolfpack. I landed on my back on the lower rooftops of the hospital, and despite the impact, I could not remain immobile and rest; the hospital was on fire and the infrastructure was collapsing on itself. I limped as fast as I could, disregarding my state, but I needed to patch the wounds because I was attracting unwanted attention. My only option was to take refuge in the nearby clock tower until my body was ready to take on another mission. I limped away from the hospital because I was detecting MA-125 within the complex, Umbrella was dispatching them to clean up any unwanted garbage, that, or they surfaced from the underground research facility. Regardless, I was not going to stay and find out.

I enter the clock tower through a beautiful room with paintings and a chess board. There were no infected in the room, it was safe, I took a deep breath and sat down on the sofa. I placed my leg on the table and examined the wound. The skin around the bullet wound was bruised and sore, after the adrenaline settled in, the pain was intensified. I retrieved the small first aid kit from my pouch and began to operate on my leg. I illuminated the leg with a flashlight, but placed it in my mouth to use my hands with ease. I used disposable gloves to prevent infections, with trauma shears I cut through the strong fabric of the black suit, and areas around the wound to eliminate excess blood. I used antiseptics to clean the bullet wound, and sanitized the tweezers with fire, then I began searching for the bullet. I moaned as silently as possible, it was not the first time I have been shot, however, the area of the bullet determines the intensity of the pain. I successfully extracted the bullet and closed the wound with butterfly closure strips, then I added petrolatum gel and gauze pads to further close the wound. After treating my prime wound, I tended to the other small wounds of my body that were caused by the fire. For those wounds, I used a pad soaked in cooling gel to ease the burning sensation.

I did not stay in the room for long because I heard noise, I needed to investigate. I limped down an empty corridor and entered a room with two portraits behind the door, and as I limped further, there were book shelves and small round tables. Books placed on the floor and tables, the room was warmly decorated, perhaps they used it as a study room to inspire great minds. I continued into a strange corridors with cobwebs that covered the floors, corners and clinging of the corridor. There was a corpse in one of the corners, the man died of poisoning, most likely from the spiders, and there was a dead one nearby. Someone else must have eliminated the bio organic weapons from the first floor because I did not encounter any threats. The zig-zag corridor took me into a room with many clock and statues as display, but there was nothing of interest there. With knife in hand, I aimlessly wandered through corridors and room, I was searching for water to hydrate myself and a comfortable place to rest. I became lost, and found myself inside a chapel. I noticed the body of a woman resting on the altar, and approached it to investigate. She was wearing boots, a skirt and a blue tube top; her outfit did not suit the occasion. I squeezed her cheeks and she slightly opened her eyes.

"Who... Are... You?..." She struggled to speak as she raised her head.

"No one in particular... Wait... I have seen you before. Yes... I recall. You are Jill Valentine, former member of S.T.A.R.S. And it seems that your are infected with the T-virus... Perhaps I should dispose of you..." She was weakened by the virus and could not defend herself, but I was not going to kill her. That was not my priority.

"No... Please..." She said and I chuckled.

"Do not fear, it was a joke, I will not assassinate you. I am simply seeking refuge." I said to her. I leaned against the altar to rest my leg and admire the chapel. She was silent afterwards, resting in a nightmare she was desperately attempting to escape. Just then, a man entered the room, he noticed me as a threat and aimed his gun at me, but I had the knife over Jill's throat.

"Drop the pistol or I will slit her throat." The man did not think twice about dropping his gun, and he kicked it towards my direction. I smiled under the respirator and limped towards the gun, but I thought that he was going to attack me, due to my condition.

"My name is Galatea Volkova. I apologize for threatening the life of your friend, as you can see, I am not in the greatest of conditions. I needed to confirm if the person who accompanied her was not dangerous." I extended my hand, and after several seconds, he gave in and shook it.

"I'm Carlos Oliveira." He was reluctant with me. I noticed his UBCS uniform, and moved away to sit down. He seemed clueless and harmless to know the truth.

"I see you are part of the clean up crew. I have witness many of you die like vermin." I accommodated my leg and leaned back.

"It was crazy when we landed. Our forces were wiped immediately. Wait, you work for Umbrella too?"

"I am an elite, Umbrella Security Service. I have devoted eighteen years of my life to Umbrella... It almost seem like a lifetime." I tilted my head back and closed my eyes.

"If you're an elite, how come you look like you came from the grave, lady?"

"Oh, you mean these wounds? It was my former lover, Nikolai."

"Sgt. Nikolai did that to you!?" He almost sounded surprise.

"He has done much worse, and I want to believe he shot me out of love... You must be from his platoon then. You are lucky, you know. He fed his team to the infected. I saw it on a security feed. He also exploded the hospital to eliminate my team."

"You were there!?... I didn't want to believe it." He frowned.

"I was on the rooftop... Nikolai and I have a history together. I know how he is. Be wary in your next encounter with Nikolai. He is a wolf in disguise." I began to drowsy. "Listen, Carlos... I lost a good amount of blood, and I would like to recuperate before my next mission... I will request a favor from you." I threw the pistol with the last of my energy, he caught it in mid air.

"What's the favor?"

"Would you be so kind as to get me... Water..." He nodded, but before leaving, he injected Jill with a vaccine to cure her from them virus. As I watched him leave, my sight blackened and I lost consciousness.

I must have passed out for a day, because when I awoke, the sun was setting and I was alone in the chapel. There was a bottle of coconut water on the floor beside me and three oranges to replenish my blood cells. I removed the respirator and gulped down the coconut water, followed by the oranges. I had forgotten how famished I was. After several minutes I attempted to contact Wolfpack but I was not successful.

"Command to DRACO, come in, over." My signal must have appeared on his screen.

"DRACO reporting... Sending coordinates now."

"We thought you died in the hospital explosion. Wolfpack reported you MIA. They are advancing to their next objective."

"You cannot dispose of me with ease, Command. I lost the signal to communicate with Wolfpack. Transfer me to their comm channel. Requesting mission update."

"Forget Wolfpack. You have a new objective. Management wants you to assassinate Brian Irons, chief of police and Annette Birkin, head researcher of the underground research facility. We have received information that Irons was sighted in the police department. Annette Birkin is within the Underground research facility, we believe that she is connected to the outbreak. Both target hold vital information about Umbrella. Find them, and dispose of them. Do not fail us, Volkova." A sense of disappointment rushed over me as I learned that I would not reunite with Wolfpack; I was becoming very attached to them. On the other hand, it was the first time that I heard Command speak in a serious tone. He was upset on a normal basis, and I took his commands with ease, but tonight, there was something in his voice that caused me to refrain from commenting as I usually did. I was their last resort, and no one but me could accomplish the task. In his voice there was trust, otherwise, why would he had mention my surname?

"Copy that, Command. I will not disappoint you." I wanted to believe that Command cared for me. We have been in contact since the beginning of my military life, back at Rockford Island, and our relation has been an unstable one. But tonight was different, or so I thought. It was the only way of coping with the madness that surrounded me.

The police department was very far from the clock tower, walking there was possible but time consuming; time was a luxury I could not afford. I looked inside every vehicle that was parked outside of Saint Michael Clock Tower, until I found the dismembered body of a civilian with the keys to her automobile. I inspected the car for infected, there was a child devouring an infant in the rear seat. I shot the child in the head and disposed of the bodies by simply throwing them on the side of the street. I did not have the time to stay and analyze what I have witnessed, I dismissed it like nothing of the sort. I drove by the corner of the clock tower and took a right on Raccoon city street to central street, downtown. It was the most efficient route to the Police department, and in matters of minutes, I was there.

There were many roadblocks, most likely placed by the policemen during the outbreak, and in my condition, I could not jump over them. I had applied pressure on the bullet wound by wrapping extra bandages around my leg to prevent the pain from immobilizing me, it was a success. However, I experienced discomfort as I walked or stressed the muscle. I limped around the police department, encountering many infected and attempting to avoid as much as I could. I gained access through the grass section in front of the police department and allowed myself inside the main hall. No signs of survivors, they must have escaped, but they left a mess of scattered papers behind and blocked doors. I wandered through the first floor with caution, I could hear the crows violently croaking outside of the building and infected entering through the broken windows. Due to my condition, the first floor was risky, I lacked the swiftness, and ability to kick my foes. I returned to the main lobby and locked the door behind me before the infected began to crowd. My radar was detecting a T-103 and several irregular mutants roaming around. Why would a tyrant roam within the police department? What was it searching for?

I took the stairs to the second floor and opened the door to the waiting room. I used my knife to dispose of the few infected that idly dragged themselves behind me, I did not use the gun because I wanted to remain undetected by the T-103. I searched the waiting room and found a diary, it belonged to Irons's secretary. In it, he expressed Irons's love for strange arts and was curious to know who the chief of police acquired such money to buy the pieces of art. As I placed the diary down, I heard footsteps and strange noises in the corridor, I went to investigate it. The corridor was darkened, with only dim light as the only illuminating source, there was a bio organic weapon near me, I followed the hissing on the ceiling. I was attacked by a mutant, tongue lashing first, wrapping around my wrist. I launched itself at me, I used the blood on the floor and slid under it and avoid the claws. I pulled its tongue to lure it, and when it attacked once more, I used the blood and my other leg to swirl and build momentum; I stabbed the mutant in the heart, causing it to collapse over me. I endured all the pain to emerge victorious, my training prepared me for this. I owed it to HUNK, he pushed my body beyond the limit, even when he impaled my leg, I remained highly functional.

I continued to limp through the corridor that led to the chief's office, there was a helicopter through the wall, blocking the door, but someone had already placed detonators to create a new way. The explosion was recent. I entered through the wall and into the chief's office, it was empty. However, there were stains of blood on the desk and his chair was turned; he was recently here. I pressed the button and accessed the elevator that would take me to his secret passage, and as I walked through the corridors, I heard him scream. I quickened my paced and upon entering, I shot him in the head. When his body collapsed, an embryo emerged from his neck and fled to the sewers. From the corner of my eyes, I saw a shadow, and turned out of reflex, aiming at the red haired woman that was protecting a child. For a moment I simply stared, analyzing them, I did not capture their presence when I entered.

"Please, don't shoot." The woman said as the little girl clung behind her. I lowered the pistol upon sensing their innocence.

"I apologize. I thought you were a threat." I saw the corpse of a beautiful young woman, stiffly resting on the floor. I approached her and analyzed the body, it was hard like the stuffed animals in the trophy room. He must have murdered the girl because there were not bite marks, only a bullet in the abdomen. The only conclusion I had was that he desired to keep the young woman as a trophy. What a sick man. "I was searching for this man. Several young women went missing some months ago and the evidence led to him." It was a white lie, no harm could be done.

"You work for Umbrella?" She took a step back, I needed to continue my lies.

"Formerly. I was... Forced to work for them, but now, I want an escape route. The streets are crawling with infected, and there is a T-103 searching for something to break."

"I see. Well, my name is Claire Redfield, and this here is Sherry." Claire Redfield? This is the woman that was meant to receive her brother's diary. The little girl was shy and reluctant in my presence, but I recognized her immediately from the picture in Birkin's laboratory.

"Sherry Birkin? You are William's daughter." I told her but she fear me. I removed the respirator to gain her trust.

"You know her?" Claire asked.

"Not directly. I used to work for her father. We are acquaintances of adolescence."

"You know my daddy?" She asked with tears eyes, finally coming out from behind Claire.

"I do. I am searching for him, do you know where he is?" The littler girl shook her head, of course she does not know. I placed the respirator over my nose and mouth, and fixed my posture to meet Claire's eyes. "I am Galatea. I am content to see survivors. I know my way around the sewer system, and if you two are attempting to escape, now is the chance. We should leave before that T-103 locates us."

"Alright, we will follow you." Claire said with a determined look on her face. If she was only aware that remained with them to locate Annette Birkin.

I lead them through the cavernous passage in the Taxidermy room and before we realized it, we were in the south sewer entrance. We did not encounter any infected, someone must have traveled through the passage and disposed of them. The water level elevated above the ankle since the last time I was here, and on some corridors, the water was above the knee. We had to take a brief break because the little girl was exhausted, I watched the area as Claire and Sherry sat. The sudden vibration on my arm alarmed me, I shifted my eyes to the railings above us and crouched as the T-103 patrolled.

"Claire!?" Sherry almost gave our location away. I glared in their direction and Claire placed her hand over Sherry's mouth. It was dangerous to stay, I silently limped towards them to escape, but Sherry accidentally splashed the water and the T-103 spotted us.

"Run!" I told them. All I could hear was the sound of the water as we ran. I limped at Sherry's pace while Claire led the way to the labyrinth of corridors. We reached a dead end, and the gates were locked. As they gasped for air, a floodgate suddenly opened underneath Sherry, and she plunderedto the lower sewage level.

"Sherry, where are you!?" Claire yelled as she stared through the opening. If she wanted to chase after her, she should of have jumped.

"Claire, I'm here!"

"Try to find a way around. I'm coming for you!" I heard The little girl's footsteps splash through the water as she ran away. Then Claire turned to me with concerned eyes.

"I have to go back for her, she needs me." She told me, but I could not assist her in finding the girl, I had an objective to fulfill.

"I cannot assist you, but we can rendezvous in the underground facility. Once you find the girl, search for the platform and use the underground gondola to travel to Umbrella's factory. I will be waiting."

"Alright!"

Claire and I separated in the intersection of passageways. I limped cautiously with knife in hand, but I was not prepared for what I encountered at the end of the passage. Alpha team... After a year of interacting with the members, a year of fulfilling operations before I deserted Umbrella, a year of trusting and relying on my former members, they had a special place within my heart. Despite working for Umbrella, and the constant turmoil between us, they were good people, my comrades... Here they were, their corpses scattered about, with their blood splattered on the walls. The sight caused my heart to ache and my lips to quiver. Conrad and Zack were hanging from a ledge with their armor broken, but Derek had a fate much worse. His armor was pierced, indicating that he was stabbed in the heart, to then be devoured by rats. This is how the water sources were infected, the rats carried the virus. Miguel's body was near a mutated arachnid, but he must have been attacked twice, because he had bandages around his head. He did not survive, and he was very charming... What a waste... Goblin 6's corpse was near the gate to another passageway, she was my favorite from the team. I touched her shoulder, lamenting the loss, but something miraculous happened.

"Draco... Is that you?... You don't know how happy I am to see you." She grabbed my arm, I could hear her raspy voice breaking into a cry.

"Hold on, I will tend for your wounds." I retrieved the first aid kit and attempted to remove her helmet, but she applied force to my arm.

"I can't move my legs, I can't feel them... I think they are broken!" I did not wish to hear that, it was not a good sign.

"Be calm, I will examine your body." I reached inside her uniform and touched her spine, the lumbar was fractured, there was no possible way for her to stand, or survive. She could read my eyes as I placed the first aid kit inside of the pouch and she cried.

"I don't want to die, Galatea... Please..." It was a personal matter, no codename were needed in her final moment, and I was lamenting the occasion.

"Natalia. Your lumbar is damaged, you will not be able to walk. There is no salvation for you." I wanted to coat those words with sweetness.

"Don't leave me!" She cried as I stood on my feet and removed the lock from the pistol, and watched me replace the magazine. She began to shake her head in disbelief.

"Can you comprehend the situation, Natalia? If I allow you to live, the infected will maul you to death... That, or the rats will. I cannot aid you, but I can provide you a way out." I aimed the pistol at her head. "Please... Forgive me, comrade."

"Galatea... Don't do it, please!" When she screamed I pulled the trigger. The bullet took her life immediately. I had assassinated GOBLIN 6. The sight formed droplets in my eyes, I needed a moment to sit down, a moment for my actions to sink in. There was a void in my heart, how could I allow them to have meaning in my life? Why did I? Perhaps it is because of my solitary ways and lack of family, that they were able to take a piece of my heart. It ached. It ached more than any wound, more than betrayal, I detested the emotion and my action... But there was no other option.

I left the passage and walked further down to a different one with cables hanging from the wall. Those cables lead to the platform of the stationary underground gondola. I was getting close to my objective, all I needed to do was access the control room and switch the panel to operate the gondola from the outside. I switched the panel and walked to the platform, but he was there, my former lover.

"What a pleasant surprise. Tell me, did you like my welcoming gift?" His smirk caused me to take a step back.

"Nikolai..." His name was bitter on my tongue and the reminiscent memories were like a drop of honey to coat the taste. I was more saddened than enraged, yet I melted before his silvery eyes.

"Don't tell me, I already know." He grinned as he slowly paced towards me. He expected me to move against him, but I stood my ground. Nikolai pulled my respirator and tore it from my face, tossing it far from us. Then he gripped the back of my hair and pulled me into his moistened, scarred lips. His tongue forced its way inside of my mouth as I attempted to fight, but soon gave into the desire that scorched my soul. His muscular body, that I dreamt about since the first time, emitted such warmth that cause my knees to tremble. I wanted this man, I longed for his touch, I craved for his fabricated love. Why?... Why are his feeling not mutual?

"Nikolai... I..." I could not express my thoughts. My words muffed by the internal turmoil I attempted to swallow.

"You're just another dog working Umbrella, and you will die like one." He pushed my chin with his fingers. He mocked me with his grin as he took several steps backwards, and unsheathed his knife. "I know that you are a double agent, that is why it wouldn't have worked between us." The ache of betrayal returned as I placed my knife between us. Despite the intense emotions that burned for Nikolai, I was not going to allow him to trash me and dispose of me.

He attacked first, knife slicing the air as I avoided the blade of death. He aim to kill me, purposely attempting to stab my abdomen. I was efficient with a knife, counteracting his attacks and avoiding them. I sliced him his shoulder and bent backwards, kicking the knife from his hand as I performed a flip, but Nikolai was not an idiot. He grasped my bullet wound with much force and griped my throat, forcing me against the floor with his strength. I moaned to release pressure, but rolled when he attempted to smash my face with his feet. We were like wolves fighting in a storm, engaging in combat. As he threw a couple of punches, I managed to get behind him, front flip on his shoulder and throw my weight downwards to drag him down with me, then I immobilized his arms with my legs. I dove to taste those bitter lips of his for one last time, but I was gentle and bit his lips when I withdrew. He did not fight it.

"You never stopped to consider how I felt and what I am feeling now. All you care about is your prize... I grow exhausted of this pathetic game, Nikolai."

"Puppets doesn't have feelings." I was taken back. "How does it feel to be the puppet of a corporation that will dispose of you sooner or later?"

"Rather pleasant." I wanted to cause disruption within him, making him realize that not all was a nightmare. "I utilized their sources, honed my skills with each day and became an elite. I was trained by none other than HUNK himself. I am one of his best soldier, I hold such title with pride!"

"If you were trained by my rival, let's see if you can beat me." He wrapped his leg around my body and dug his fingers in the bullet wound, I had no option but to free him from the lock. He took the opportunity to take his knife but as he turned to face me, I threw my knife at him. The blade impaled his shoulder, near the joint. He released a groan as he dismissed it and charged at me. With my knife, he sliced my arm and my leg, but they were minor cuts. I performed a cartwheel kick on his face that only enraged him more.

"I expect nothing more from HUNK's pupil, but enough games. It's time to end this." He retrieve his gun and fired at me. At point blank I performed my signature move, a point au foie, directed visage, by punching him on the nose and kicking him directly on the rib. The kick could easily break his organs, depending on the amount of force, but I refrained from doing so. Then, as he groaned, I performed another cartwheel kick that sent him off the railing.

"Nikolai!" I did not have time to grab his hand. Nikolai plummeted to the darkness and I was desperate. I just wanted to immobilize him, not injure him or worse, assassinate him. I placed the respirator on my face and returned the knife to its place. Nikolai's knife was not far from me, he dropped it before plummeting, I took it as his last parting gift.