The Commandant slammed his crate shut and slung his bag over his shoulder. There would be no more injections, for today was the day. Flicking his wrists, he left the site of his crashed ship and headed straight for the Hero Association building. Many gawked and shouted at the Commandant as he stalked his way through the streets, but he paid them no mind. He even walked past a few heroes, who ran at the sight of him. The Commandant marched forward, until his goal reached his view.

The Hero Association building loomed overhead, a giant dark structure to which the Commandant tilted his head at. As he drew near, an alarm began to sound at the front gate, and several massive robots emerged from their hiding spots in the ground. Seconds later, each of the robots was reduced to piles of molten scrap, and the Commandant punched his way through the front entrance, annoyed.

Within the building, people scrambled away from the Commandant, yelling and screaming for help. The Commandant kept moving, ignoring every black-suited man or woman who fled in his wake. He stepped into an elevator, and waited as it brought him to the top floor.

"You-you can't be in here!" yelled the receptionist for the uppermost floor. "Someone call security!"

The Commandant stepped out of the elevator and walked past her, rage building up in his mind. His hands enclosed into fists as he stepped into the meeting room for the S-class heroes, empty and quiet. Stealing a chair and sitting at the head of the table, he flung both of his arms to his sides.

Off in the distance, a section of the HA building exploded into fire, a great inferno sweeping through hallways and rooms alike. Entire towers of the HA headquarters started to fall apart, crumbling into ruins under the explosive forces unleashed upon them.

"That will bring his attention," grumbled the Commandant. "And no casualties. An empty section indeed…"

Someone entered the room the Commandant was in, a man with striking yellow hair and a lightning bolt on his face.

"If you are here to try and stop me like the others," said the Commandant. He rose from his seat, and along with him a tide of fire swept through the wall behind him. The former officer was illuminated by the flickering flames which replaced the holographic map at his backside. "Then you should think twice."

Lightning Max gulped, but took a step forward anyways.

"Guys, he's in here!" he yelled. "Careful, he's got fire powers or some-"

The hero's voice was cut short as the Commandant suddenly appeared in front of him. The Commandant proceeded to smash the side of Max's head with the end of his shotgun. Max gasped as the side of his skull caved in, and he fell to the floor. He twitched as blood poured from his mouth.

"That will give you time to think about things," said the Commandant. "Now where is that coward? He should be here by now."

The Commandant sighed, before vanishing from the meeting room and reappearing in the devastated remains of the western side of the HA headquarters. Dark, twisted spires burned all around him, while crumbling waffle-pattern walls with broken windows threatened to collapse at any moment. A light rain began to fall all around the Commandant, and he gazed to the sky, letting the tiny drops pitter-patter all over his mask. Thunder sounded off in the distance.

"I will wait for you…" said the Commandant. "The end is nigh, for the both of us."

. . .

Outside the Hero Association building stood Tatsumaki and Secter, both of their chests hurting from the sprint over to the place as well as from their previous wounds. Up ahead lie a place in chaos, almost half of the building crumbling to ruin by now. Most of the few people who were in the building at the time had shuffled outside, surrounded by a couple of the early news agencies who had showed up at the scene. No one seemed to know what was going on, but a couple of people mentioned something about a creature in an overcoat stalking the halls.

"He's in there, isn't he?" asked Secter to Tatsumaki.

Tatsumaki had no answer, instead only staring at the inferno threatening to engulf the entire building. The rain was doing its best to quench the flames, but the fire roared in resistance. Hair becoming slick from the falling water, Tatsumaki began to walk forward, ignoring the shouting onlookers and reporters who noticed her presence. Secter matched her speed, giving her a worried look as the two of them neared the entrance to the building. As Tatsumaki witnessed the crowd closing in around them, she turned around, her glare signifying to everyone around her to back off.

"Everyone, listen to me!" shouted Tatsumaki. "We're going in there to take care of this. Do not send anyone into the building, try to get as far away as you can!"

Many in the crowd nodded in agreement, while others gave strange looks at Secter.

"Who's that?" whispered some onlookers. "What's he doing here?"

"Everyone, you need to move!" yelled Tatsumaki. "This is a potential God-level threat we're dealing with here!"

Panic began to set in. Darting eyes and looks of incredulity. No one could believe their ears, yet people began to move. The crowd shuffled and stumbled away, reporters reluctantly packing up their microphones to move to someplace safer. Crossing her arms, Tatsumaki watched the fleeing crowd before looking back at Secter. His expression was almost unreadable, serious yet afraid at the same time.

"You ready?" asked Tatsumaki.

"You're going with them," said Secter. He pointed to the moving crowd. "Get away from this place."

"No," said Tatsumaki. "And there's nothing you can do to make me."

"Why do you have to do this," said Secter.

"Because I'm not losing you," said Tatsumaki. "I love you."

Secter sighed, a wave of exhaustion passing over him.

"I love you too," he said. "Which is why you shouldn't be here."

"At least let me follow you to where he is," said Tatsumaki. "Then I'll find someplace safer."

"That's fucking stupid."

"Well I'm not leaving!"

There would be no convincing her otherwise. Secter walked into the building, all too aware of Tatsumaki floating by his side. Rain flickered across the roof above, sometimes finding its way down onto Secter's head as he passed several gaping holes in the ceiling. Dim, grey light shone through the collapsing hallways as the two moved on, and Secter winced at the thunder in the distance. As they drew further into the building, Secter found himself having to clamber over piles of rubble while Tatsumaki flew over most of the wreckage.

"He could be anywhere in here," said Secter. "But…he's not nullifying you."

"Where the hell is he?" asked Tatsumaki.

"I don't know," said Secter. "He-"

A great flash went off in his brain, as if someone had lit a sparkler within it but snuffed it out with a shadowy hand. The Commandant was using a power.

"Nullified him," said Secter. "Most of it. He knows we're here now."

"You nullified him?" asked Tatsumaki. "You know where he is?"

"Up," said Secter. "Somewhere up high."

Thus began the climb over ruined staircases, slick with the rain that found its way into the damaged building, and the ascent over broken railings and layers of shattered glass.

Secter's eyes narrowed as he reached the top of a pile of rubble. The Commandant was close now, the man who was trying to ruin everything. Who had already tried to ruin him once. Who was making a difficult world even more tough than before. The man up ahead could be the end of the road for Secter.

Would it be so bad? This planet turned out to have gone much better than Secter expected, although it was not without its hardships. Next to him was the woman he loved, somewhere far away were his friends. They would be safe, and Tatsumaki could get away. In the end, that was all that mattered. For them to be away from the world where Secter came from.

The Commandant was threatening this with his very existence. Secter knew how things would have to go.

Secter pulled himself over a collapsed stairway, taking Tatsumaki's hand as she helped him up. His chest stung from the strain, but he did his best to ignore it. As he landed on the wet floor, he looked ahead, and saw a set of twin doors, each one untouched by the fires which raged overhead.

"It's getting warmer in here," said Tatsumaki. "Hope the rain puts out all the damn fire."

"Ahead," said Secter. "I think he's ahead."

"Past the doors?" asked Tatsumaki. "How do you know?"

"I…don't," said Secter. "Not for certain. But I just have a bad feeling."

He crept forward and placed a hand on the door. It was cool to the touch, slickened by the rain that was misting all along Secter's back. Inching the door open, Secter withdrew his pistol from inside his coat and held it at the ready. Tatsumaki flew right behind him, her side glued to his back.

The door was fully open now, leading to a room with no ceiling and the tops of the walls engulfed with flame. The floor was coated in bits of rubble and a heavy layer of dust, and at the end of the room, on top of a pile of rocks and twisted metal, sat a being in an overcoat. It stood still as Secter and Tatsumaki entered.

"Ah," said the No-Faced Commandant. "There you are."

"That voice," said Secter to Tatsumaki. "I know that voice."

"Who is it?" asked Tatsumaki, although she had already guessed the answer.

"He was the one," muttered Secter. "Who had my family executed. He wore that same damn coat and hat too, except not as beaten up."

"I see you brought a friend," said the Commandant. "I assume she told you about our encounter."

Secter drew closer, still at least thirty feet away from the Commandant. Tatsumaki floated at his side.

"I could've killed her real easy," said the Commandant. "And for a bit, I wanted to. But it reminded me a little too much of old times, uncomfortably so."

"Why are you here," said Secter. His voice was heavy with a hatred deeper than Tatsumaki had ever heard before.

"To die," said the Commandant. "And of course, to make sure you do the same. I thought you would've realized what you needed to have done by now, but perhaps not. Instead…"

The Commandant leapt down from his throne of rock, crashing to the floor below and sending dust flying up in a murky cloud around his legs.

"Instead I find you with friends and even a close one," said the Commandant. "And they called you hero? What kind of a nightmare is this?"

"I picked myself back up," said Secter.

"No, no, you don't get to do that," said the Commandant. "You know what you did. You know that you need to die. Do you – esper! Do you know what he did?"

The Commandant laughed, a vile cackle forcing its way through the cracks in his mask.

"Do you know?" asked the Commandant. "I'll bet you don-"

"If you mean about the hospital, then yes," said Tatsumaki. "I know."

"And…you still went with him?" asked the Commandant. "You don't agree with me that he should die?"

"No," said Tatsumaki. "Secter is a good person. I want him to be happy." She clenched her fists and shot a glare so intense that it could've been categorized as a weapon straight at the Commandant. "And you're ruining everything."

The Commandant took his hat off, flipping it down by his waist while he scratched the top of his shadowy head. Returning the cap to its original spot, he strode closer to the duo. Secter lifted his pistol in response.

"I don't understand," said the Commandant. "That man is a failure, a depraved, monumental failure! And I…I did something I shouldn't have done."

"Explain," said Secter. He kept his gun trained at the Commandant's chest.

"I had your parents and siblings killed, of course," said the Commandant. "In the end, they were dear citizens, people I was supposed to serve. Even if they were human. I should've killed you on that day, and left them alone."

"You shouldn't have been hunting people down at all," said Secter. "And yet here you are."

"I can only redeem myself by fixing my mistake," said the Commandant. "Killing you, and then myself. Redemption awaits."

"Mistake?" asked Secter. "Oh, you've made more than one, you fucking degenerate."

"I did?" asked the Commandant. "Well, we all make mistakes. But since I got here, I don't recall any…"

"What about Ori, and all the rest of the heroes you attacked?" asked Secter. "Huh? What about them? Some of them are scarred for life because of you!"

"Either they got in the way, or aligned themselves with you," said the Commandant. "A fatal, and unthinkable mistake. Actually, if it weren't for the fact that I so long for death, I would go out and kill all those who dare to think you as a hero." The last word was laced with disgust.

"I'm not perfect, no one is saying that," said Secter. "But unlike you, I picked myself up after my mistakes. You fell down."

The Commandant's hands flexed open and shut, fingers curling into fists before opening back up into claws.

"You're the failure here," said Secter. "You're the miserable bastard who couldn't bear to see someone like you actually get better and prosper."

"You're not like him," said Tatsumaki, looking over at Secter. "What he did, he did on his own. You had orders, you were under fire, you didn't have a choice."

"You don't get to make that judgement!" yelled the Commandant. "Innocents died on both accounts, and now the toll must be paid!"

"She's right," said Secter. "Maybe you think that we should share the same fate because you think I'm like you, but Tatsu's absolutely right. You didn't have to come after my family, no one was pushing you to do it. Your life definitely wasn't on the line."

The Commandant snarled at Secter, his back arching over as he threatened to consume himself with rage.

"You are not like me," said the Commandant. "You are deluded. I know I made a mistake, but you seem to think that yours doesn't warrant your death. I don't know why this is. Do you think your life was worth the hundreds you took?"

Tatsumaki froze in place. A chill crept up her spine.

Hundreds? she thought. That place really was terrible…

"I don't know how many it was," said Secter. "And no, I don't. But I don't think that I should be made out to die for following an order under fire. Trust me, I've suffered every day for what I've done."

"It was a hospital, Secter," said the Commandant.

"It was filled to the brim with soldiers, I thought it had been turned into a barracks!" said Secter. "Most of those I found in there were people who were trying to kill us!"

"Use whatever excuse you desire," said the Commandant. "But the fact of the matter is, there are many who have made mistakes like you who are still up there, who remained up there even as you fled, who are still suffering or have died for their mistakes."

"I did suffer," said Secter.

"Guilt is not enough," said the Commandant.

"No, there was…a creature," said Secter.

"A creature?" said the Commandant. He perked up from his earlier hunkered over position.

"Yeah…" said Secter. "Attacked me often."

"Ah!" said the Commandant. "Good! I had one too, although the drugs helped make it go away from time to time…ah I knew I never should've gotten involved with those…"

Secter frowned as images of black bile flooded his brain.

"Well…I'm not dying," said Secter.

"Tell that to your loved one," said the Commandant. "She looks like she's seen a ghost."

Secter's face fell. He looked over at Tatsumaki. She was pale, but never stopped glaring at the Commandant.

"Tatsu?" asked Secter.

"It's nothing, I'm fine," said Tatsumaki.

"Don't listen to what he says, he doesn't know about what happened," said Secter.

"I know enough," said the Commandant. "I know that you bombed a hospital. Enemy fire or no enemy fire, yelling officer or not, you deserve to die for that."

"Everyone was dying around me," snarled Secter. "I panicked. I felt I had no other choice."

"You had one choice," said the Commandant. "The choice that's facing you right now."

"That's not how war works and you know it," said Secter. "You would've done the same thing in my situation."

"Don't put your mistakes on me, degenerate!" yelled the Commandant. "You could've easily let yourself die, or even surrendered."

"They were firing at us and we had already fired back," said Secter. "There was no surrendering."

"There is today," said the Commandant. "Truth be told, I would find it much better if you finished yourself off. Much more fitting, especially since you should've done it a while ago."

"No," said Tatsumaki.

"No?" asked the former officer.

"Secter should live," said Tatsumaki. "He feels bad for what he did. He suffered for his mistake. He had to choose between life or death, unlike what you did. And he's working to make himself better, and the lives of those around him. Unlike you, who has only killed and maimed, and aims to hurt more people even now."

Secter glanced over at Tatsumaki, secretely thanking her for her words. Turning back to the Commandant, he felt a new wave of confidence brimming in his chest.

"You're just a miserable bastard looking to take down whoever you can with you," said Secter. "You can't possibly redeem yourself, because you're irredeemable."

"Secter deserves happiness," said Tatsumaki. "But you, Commandant? You can burn in hell."

"You're both idiots," said the Commandant. "Because now, I'm going to kill you both. Fuck it, I don't even care anymore. I'll go back to that shitty little hospital and murder your sister too, just for the fun of it! And every hero who dares to see Secter as an ally. I'll make them all pay, all for just how wrong they were."

"You won't be leaving this building," said Secter. "Today's your last."

"I know," said the Commandant. "But I won't be giving you the satisfaction."

Secter fired at the Commandant, who tore the shotgun off his back as he tried to dodge the incoming yellow bolt of energy. The elimination round clipped him in the shoulder, and the Commandant swore under his breath as he dove behind a pile of rubble.

"Tatsu, you need to leave," said Secter. "Now."

Tatsumaki took a step back, unsure of where to go. As her hand touched the doorway behind her, the Commandant slid out from his hiding spot, took aim, and fired.

. . .

Secter dove in front of Tatsumaki, a searing pain tearing through his ribs as the elimination burst found his way along his side. Secter cried out, stumbling forward into Tatsumaki and pushing her into the previous room.

"Go Tatsu…" he sputtered.

Tatsumaki was frozen in shock. Everything felt like a dream, moving too slow yet too quick at the same time.

"Go…" said Secter. He turned back around and began firing his pistol at the Commandant's hiding place. Running back into the crumbling room, he slammed the door behind him, leaving Tatsumaki alone.

For once, Tatsumaki didn't know what to do. She started to fly towards the ceiling, rain showering down onto her face as she neared the top. Much of the fire had gone out by now, yet tiny embers still burned amongst the smoldering ruins. Tatsumaki landed on the remnants of what used to be an upper floor, now little more than a wrecked platform suspended in the air by a burnt-out wall. From below her, Tatsumaki heard a massive rumbling sound as the floor in the previous room gave way. Peeking out from her perch, she saw nothing but a dark hole that was once the room where the shootout had begun.

Fuck this, thought Tatsumaki. I'm going in-

A hand grasped the edge of the platform Tatsumaki was on, and up came the Commandant, cackling as he pulled himself up.

"There you are," said the Commandant. "I've been meaning to talk to you."

Tatsumaki took a step back, inching further and further away as the Commandant marched closer. Eventually she bumped into a wall, terror flickering across her face as the Commandant trapped her with his presence.

"You say you like Secter," said the Commandant. "You say he deserves happiness. But I saw how you reacted to what I said earlier, I think you agree with me. Deep down, a part of you agrees."

"No," said Tatsumaki. "I don't."

"You know his attack killed doctors and injured too, right?" asked the Commandant. "I believe in your sorts of world, that isn't allowed. I do not allow it either."

"It was mostly enemy soldiers," said Tatsumaki. "It made sense for him to believe it was turned into a barracks or fort if they were all coming out and shooting at him."

The Commandant shook his head.

"I believe those are called mitigating circumstances," said the Commandant. "At the end of the day, he still needs to be punished for what he has done."

"Trust me, he's suffered for it," said Tatsumaki. "I've seen it. And you've caused it too."

"You've seen it?" asked the Commandant.

"I saw the creature, I've seen the aftermath of its attacks, I know…" Tatsumaki swallowed. "I know what he had considered doing to himself."

"Ah, so he did consider it," said the Commandant. "I wonder why he changed his mind…" The Commandant's head tilted forward, directly at Tatsumaki. "I'll bet it was you."

Tatsumaki flattened herself against the wall, glaring at her soon-to-be attacker.

Laughing, the Commandant raised a hand to his mask, and with a slow grasp around its sides, lifted it away from his face. Tatsumaki grimaced at his look.

The upper part of the Commandant's face around his forehead and glowing eyes was intact, but everything beneath that, especially his jaw, was stretched down farther than it ever should have gone. Long, cracked black fangs filled a glowing yellow mouth, and scars adorned his shadowy, elongated cheeks. The mask fell to the ground, clattering in the rain.

"I too have made myself suffer," said the Commandant. He reached forward, grasping a terrified Tatsumaki by the shoulders. "Yet it was not enough, Tatsumaki! It was not enough!"

"You…" said Tatsumaki. "You keep hurting people, even though you know what you did was wrong. Why?"

"Because you people are idiots," said the Commandant. "Because I had to stay up there while Secter fled, and have seen suffering on a daily basis. None of you deserve this cushy life, not even the citizens. So for me to come down here, and hear that some of you actually like that degenerate…"

The Commandant laughed, his jaw unhooking to give him an ungodly appearance.

"It enrages me," said the Commandant. "Confuses me. I will make you pay for this sort of thinking."

"Those people were innocent," said Tatsumaki. "And couldn't even fight back. And you knew that."

The Commandant snarled at her, his jaw retracting back up to form a giant gate of gnarled teeth.

"Fuck them," he said. "They can all die for all I care. They're different than Secter's family, I didn't even know those poor bastards. But these ones? They align themselves with him."

"You're a monster," said Tatsumaki. "Not Secter. You."

"And you are an idiot," said the Commandant. "You've doomed your sister and everyone else on this godforsaken hellhole by pissing me off. Fuck it, all those people who like him can burn! Then I will too!"

Tatsumaki tried to rip herself away from the Commandant's grasp, but he slammed the butt of his shotgun into her chest. Coughing up a stream of blood, Tatsumaki fell to the ground, her mind scattering.

"Oh you'll feel that one," said the Commandant. "But Secter will feel it even more."

"Fuck…you," sputtered Tatsumaki. "Leave…them…alone."

"Oh, they will not go without punishment, I can assure you that," said the Commandant. "Once I'm-"

A yellow bolt of energy came flying out from somewhere beneath the Commandant and blasted straight through his shoulder. Yellow liquid spewed forth from the hole it left behind, and the Commandant gasped and clasped a hand to his new wound.

"Mother fucker!" shouted the Commandant. "I'm going to rip you apart, Secter!"

The grotesque gunman turned away from Tatsumaki, who spat at his back as he walked away.

"You're the only one who deserves to die!" shouted Tatsumaki. "For all the people you hurt, of your own volition! There was no war here, there was no war with Secter's family, you're just full of hatred and spread it to everyone else like the miserable bastard you are!"

Tatsumaki felt a pang of regret when the Commandant flipped back around. He leveled his gun forward and fired at her. Sliding down onto the floor, Tatsumaki felt her right shoulder burst apart as the elimination round passed through it and into the wall behind her. Tatsumaki gasped as she looked over at her wound, skin and black fabric hanging off the bloody mess that was once her shoulder. Glancing back over at the Commandant, she watched as he approached with his gun drawn. Then the Commandant turned around, just in time to be punched in the face by Secter. Stumbling back, the Commandant snarled at Secter as the two of them wrestled over his shotgun.

Tatsumaki caught a glimpse of Secter's face as they struggled. His eyes had become two fireballs of hatred and fury, more anger in him than Tatsumaki had ever seen in her entire life. The two combatants swung the shotgun back and forth, Secter gasping every time the barrel drew near his waist. The Commandant managed to rip himself away from Secter, but Secter kneeled down and bowled into the Commandant, sending the both of them flying off the platform next to the massive hole below.

Tatsumaki crawled to the edge of her platform, just in time to see Secter jump down into the abyss to avoid a blast from the Commandant's shotgun.

"You can't get away!" yelled the Commandant. He disappeared as he jumped down after his prey.

Alone again, Tatsumaki leaned back against the wall, her heavy breathing doing little to make the pain in her chest to go away. Face contorting in agony as she clambered back up, Tatsumaki shuffled over to the edge of the platform and floated down to the side of the hole. She peered in, but there was no sign of either of the fighters down below.

. . .

"You can not hide," said the Commandant as he wandered through the darkened remnants of the lower floor. Smoldering chunks of wood and upturned chairs were kicked aside as he crept along through the ruins, his eyes peeled for any sign of his target. He kept his shotgun level, the lights along its side glowing in the dark.

Across from the Commandant, huddled behind a pillar was Secter, one hand clenching his ruptured side as he twisted his face in pain. The Commandant had shot him right where the old cut wound was, and it refused to stop bleeding. Secter kept his pistol held high, knowing that the Commandant must be close.

"Let's face it," said the Commandant. "We know what you truly are."

The Commandant grabbed a nearby chair with one hand and tore it across the room, watching as it exploded into pieces against a blackened wall.

"A monster," said the Commandant. He caught a glimpse of the side of Secter's coat against a nearby pillar and started to slink in that direction. "A failure. And a dead man."

Secter darted out from his cover, blasting away at the Commandant with his pistol. The Commandant ducked and returned fire from his shotgun, hitting Secter across the other side of his chest. Secter yelled in pain as a section of his ribcage was torn apart, and he dived to the other side of another pillar, his entire body shaking.

Did I get him? thought Secter.

He peered around the pillar, just in time to see the Commandant flip over a broken table and hide behind it.

Fuck, thought Secter. He's got the advantage in here with that gun.

"You'll bleed out soon enough," said the Commandant. "Might as well make it easy on yourself and give up."

"Fuck off," said Secter.

"You know, I can see why you like that esper," said the Commandant. "A feisty one, she is. Knows she's doomed, yet she still fights. I would say like you, but you're more deserving to die than she is."

"You won't touch her," said Secter. "Not while I'm still alive."

"That won't be for long," said the Commandant. He rose from his spot, shotgun levelled at the pillar where Secter hid behind. Firing away, the pillar exploded into chunks all around Secter, the man's vision going white as powdered granite clouded near his head.

Secter pulled himself up and hunkered over the remains of the pillar, firing back at the Commandant. His bolts went right through the table, blasting through the Commandant's midsection.

Howling in pain, the Commandant ran from the table, firing all the way. Blast after blast rained down on Secter's position, with Secter crouching down and clasping his hands over his ears as yellow bursts of energy passed overhead. Then, the firing stopped.

Secter peeked out from his cover, but there was no sign of the Commandant. The table was obliterated, the elimination rounds from his gun having disintegrated the center of the once majestic marble platform. A trail of yellow blood led its way past the table and a row of potted plants to a staircase, grey light shining from above the top of the steps and rain shimmering through onto the tiled floor below. Secter crawled away from his pillar and followed the blood, his eyes narrowing as it led up to the stairs and dissipated under the falling rain. Thunder clapped overhead, making him jump.

Shaking his head, Secter stumbled to his feet and kept his pistol level as he crept up the staircase. He dared not use a power for fear of the Commandant realizing where he was and jumping out at him from nowhere, shotgun drawn. As he reached the top of the steps he came to the room right below the roof, a typical meeting room complete with a minibar and a water cooler towards the back. Wilted plants were far too late to receive the water from the rain pouring from the various gaps in the ceiling, and Secter kept his eyes trained on the counter over by the minibar, certain that the Commandant must be hiding there. He passed another table, elongated and wooden, and his hands shook as he drew his pistol to shoulder height. His head was swimming, the pain melting away to adrenaline and fear. Secter felt something warm soaking both of his sides, and he shuddered as it dripped down his legs and onto the tops of his socks.

The minibar was close now, but Secter didn't see any sign of a cowering grey overcoat on the other side. He turned his attention to a door with a small exit sign above it in glowing red letters. As he approached, the door burst open, and the Commandant stepped through to fire at Secter.

"Surprise!" yelled the Commandant. He fired again and again, snarling as he just missed Secter with the first round and missing again as Secter jumped over a counter into the minibar. The Commandant fired at the collection of glasses above Secter, showering him with glass.

Secter aimed his gun without looking, blasting blindly at his attacker. He lost count of how many times he pulled the trigger, but it was enough to obliterate the windows ahead of him and the walls around them. Secter stopped for a moment, and began to peek over the counter but was treated to another burst from the Commandant. It collided into Secter's gun, and Secter swore under his breath as he withdrew his pistol from the top of the counter. Upon inspection, the gun's barrel was completely melted, and the cylinder which contained the energy for the elimination bolts was no more. It was useless.

Secter's eyes widened in horror.

"Fuck," he whispered. Unless the Commandant had been mortally injured by his blind fire, he would be facing an armed opponent without a gun now. Rising from his position, he didn't see the Commandant anywhere, but the door was still wide open. Secter took a deep breath and ran through the door, hoping to be able to catch the Commandant before he could turn around. Instead, he found a small staircase. At the end of the stairs was the roof, still smoking after the torrential downpour. More thunder sounded off, closer and louder than ever before.

Secter swallowed. He climbed the steps, reaching the top just as lightning struck somewhere overhead. Across from him was the Commandant, who was struggling with a burnt strap around his neck.

"Fucking thing," snarled the Commandant. He hurled the torn strap to the ground and with it, the bag that had been slung across his side. The bag splashed onto the rooftop and popped open, allowing a grey ovular object to roll out a few inches from its opening.

Secter spotted the object, only about ten feet away. Grenade.

Unfortunately, the Commandant spotted him as well. He turned, bringing his shotgun to waist level.

Secter didn't know what the best choice was, but he decided anyways. He charged.

The Commandant fired at the incoming attacker, watching in confusion as Secter scooped up the grenade even as a yellow burst of deadly energy passed through his stomach and out through the other side.

Secter let out a wet gasp as the burst tore right through him, but he kept going. His mind had gone grey, everything in the world fading aside from the lumbering monster in front of him. Secter made it to the shocked Commandant in seconds, and with a raise of his arm, he punched the grenade through the Commandant's gnarled teeth and forced it down the gunman's throat. The Commandant's shotgun was knocked aside as he stumbled backward from the attack, his glowing eyes wide.

Secter thumbed a button atop the grenade as he forced it down, before trying to pull his arm back out from the Commandant's slimy gullet. The Commandant's eyes turned furious, and he clamped his shattered teeth together as Secter tried to pull himself away. Skin and blood filled the Commandant's mouth as he scraped Secter's arm apart, gashes being ripped into Secter's forearm and hand as they moved. Secter stumbled back as he finally tore himself free, and he fell backwards onto the rooftop. As his spine collided with the wet ground, the Commandant exploded, engulfing them both in a brilliant flash of yellow. Secter had enough time to bring his arms up in defense, but like the world around him, they too melted away.

. . .

From above her, Tatsumaki could hear the sound of an explosion as she did her best to staunch the blood flowing from her shoulder. She had been following a trail of yellow blood that had led to a staircase, but from there the trail had gone cold. However, the sound from the rooftop, along with a ruined minibar, pointed her in the right direction. She headed up a series of steps to the roof and was greeted with an old familiar stench.

Wrinkling her nose, Tatsumaki crept forward, and spotted a small lake of blood right next to the tattered remnants of the Commandant. His corpse lay sprawled across the rooftop, arms stretched wide as if he were about to embrace the air, and his head completely missing. Yellow liquid spilled forth from the ruptured stump of a neck, and Tatsumaki eyed the body warily as she moved.

I think…I think he's dead, thought Tatsumaki. She peered closer at the body of the Commandant, his clothes ripped to shreds by some unknown force.

Yep, definitely dead.

Although the sight of the Commandant's corpse gave her relief, she felt a sense of panic rise from within her as she spotted a trail of red blood lead from the pool she had seen earlier, stretching all the way to the other side of the rooftop and disappearing behind a tiny brick hut which encased a stairway back down to the lower levels. Tatsumaki's heart froze in her chest, all time seeming to slow as she followed the scarlet river over to its final destination. She couldn't dare to look away, but was terrified by what awaited her. Her hands trembled, and her stomach had turned into a ticking time bomb, ready to explode forth its contents at any moment. Tatsumaki turned around the corner of the hut and saw where the trail ended.

Secter sat upright against the side of the brick wall, his eyes gone yellow and his arms sagged to his sides. His chest was a dark hole of blood with tiny pieces of white jutting out from the gory abyss. Secter's breathing had turned to a gurgling sound, more similar to sucking the last remnants of a smoothie out of a straw than anything resembling normal respiration. Blackened skin crumbled off of the back of Secter's arms, and red spots adorned his twitching legs. He turned his head towards Tatsumaki as she drew close, wincing at the pain from the giant dripping gash that adorned the right side of his face.

"Secter," said Tatsumaki. Looking at him made her want to die. There was no way to take away his pain, he could only sit in agony until help arrived. Tatsumaki felt helpless, useless, hopeless.

The bandages! she thought. We should've brought the fucking bandages!

Secter tried to say something, which only brought a fit of coughing as he choked on the blood rushing up through his throat.

Tatsumaki rushed over to him, laying her hands down on his shoulders and staring at him square in the eye. She could feel her eyes watering, not from the smell in the air, but from fear.

"We're going to get you out of here, ok?" said Tatsumaki. "Everything's going to be ok…"

"Grrgh," said Secter.

"Don't try to talk, save your strength," said Tatsumaki. "You can make it through this, you've been through worse before, remember?"

Secter leaned forward, letting Tatsumaki see how the abyss in his chest extended all the way to his back. Whatever had made the wound in the front, had passed entirely through his body. Tatsumaki gasped, but would not let go of him.

"That's…that's nothing, you'll be fine," said Tatsumaki. "It's going to be ok, I promise. It's going to be ok. It's going to be ok…" She began to sob, burying her head into Secter's collarbone.

"Tat…su," said Secter, doing his best to push down the rocketing wave of bile that rose from his stomach.

"I'll get the bandages, and we'll get you to the hospital, it'll all be alright," said Tatsumaki. "Then, things can go back to normal, just you and me, and Fubuki and everyone else…"

"Tatsu," said Secter, gaining more control over his speech now.

"Just hold on," said Tatsumaki. "I'm going to get you out of this. Hold still…"

"Goodbye, Tatsu," said Secter.

Tatsumaki's breath caught in her throat, choking her as she sobbed.

"No," she said. "No, no, no, no."

Secter's head slid back against the wall, away from the weeping esper. As he did so, Tatsumaki gripped him by the shoulders, shaking him while she spoke.

"You listen to me, Secter!" yelled Tatsumaki. "You are not going to die! You can't die!" She sobbed, tears streaming in neverending rivers from her eyes. "You…you can't just leave me here…"

Nothing was coming together for Tatsumaki. Her heart had sunken somewhere so low, she was struggling to find it anymore. Scrambled thoughts ran through her brain, memories of times not so long ago where Secter and her were happy. She prayed for those memories to replace today, to somehow erase this nightmare and create a different reality where the two of them could spend all the time in the world together. But in the end, she had to face what was in front of her.

I have to move, thought Tatsumaki. I can't just sit here crying, I have to fucking move, now!

Tatsumaki lifted Secter with psychic energy, and draped him over her quivering back as she flew into the air. She sped to the hospital faster than she had ever moved in her life, the buildings around her fading from existence as her target location drew near. Busting through the front doors, she glanced around the room in panic, until a couple of startled doctors caught her eye. Handing over Secter in a flood of tears, the doctors rushed him to the emergency room, while Tatsumaki flew straight back to Secter's home. The place was dark and empty, and Tatsumaki shuddered with queasiness as she made her way through the place and found the needles and bandages under Secter's sink.

Fuck! she thought as she witnessed the tiny stack of bandages remaining. There's only three left!

But it was all she had, and Tatsumaki collected all the items and rushed back to the hospital, pushing her way past nurses as she found the doctors set to operate on Secter and hurriedly explaining the objects she brought as best she could. Tatsumaki handed over the healing items over to the doctors, who exchanged worried looks.

"If you don't use these, Secter will die," said Tatsumaki. "And if he dies, I will never forgive you. I would never forgive…myself."

The doctors nodded, although they still seemed shocked. Nonetheless, they brought the items into the operating room, and Tatsumaki was no longer permitted to enter. In truth, although she wanted to stay by Secter's side, to be with him if he made it back into the light or was plunged forever in darkness, she knew there was little she could do now. Her being in there would only distract the medics, and Tatsumaki knew they needed to concentrate as hard as they could right now.

She sat down on a metal chair outside the operating room, her eyes and expression blank but her soul burning in despair. Tatsumaki wanted to keep crying, but for some reason found herself unable to. Everything went by in a white fog, obscuring all things from sight, whether they were people or objects. The esper didn't move, watching the obscure shapes go by in a slumped over position while her shoulder bled. Hours passed, and Tatsumaki found herself falling into a deep and troubled sleep.