Holy FFFFFFF... This one took a ludicrous amount of time. Not just to write, but to edit and patch up. Well, it's done now, so enjoy the 6k+ special of BWI! Sadly, we couldn't find a sufficient song from any other sources, so we quietly stole an actual 2hu's remixed theme. Regrettably, the 2hu we stole from doesn't show up this chapter. Sorry to disappoint, Sakuya fans...

NHK: Well, there's always the line between pointless gratuitous combat and plot-advancing combat. Hopefully, we've done well enough to keep the latter in effect and minimize the presence of the former! Yuuka's fight isn't in this chapter, sorry... but it'll probably show up next chapter, so look forward to that!

Ziden: Well, that's definitely an interesting theory! How'd you come up with it? No, really, I'm interested in knowing. Think about it; Eiki Shiki and Goukei are not on friendly terms, he's probably still a little frosty with Death, and just what do you think his life was like before becoming a shinigami? But to actually answer it... no. PM for details if you're interested?

AllHearsMe: You, uh, might not be as interested in BWI, then. BWD was the more humorous, spur-of-the-moment of the two. Assuming we ever actually wrap up this series, the third (if it ever exists) will probably be the most lighthearted. BWI, though, is grimdark all day, every day. Mostly. Kinda. Well, even if slapstick is a no-go with Muse at the wheel, we'll definitely let everyone have a couple chapters off once this gauntlet is over! And yes, do send me a PM. We'll explain more about him then...

Bokusu: I CANNOT EXPLAIN QUANTUM PHYSICS IN AN AUTHOR'S NOTE. SEND ME A PM IF YOU'RE REALLY THAT INTERESTED IN HAVING YOUR BRAIN MELT. And yeah, I'm thinking of letting all the OCs and their closest companions hang out off the set for a little bit while we get the actual 2hus back in the spotlight.

Wow, I was really thinking no one would catch that. Yes, Darius is a sort of "blank slate" even pre-Wildcard in that he partially... simulates(?) the personality of the person he's speaking to. For everyone else, check back if you really want to and you might see it. Before you ask, no, Damion isn't affected by this. Now think of how they're always in such close proximity and ask yourself why Darius seemed to be slowly going mad as BWD dragged on.

... Yeah.

Also, Bokusu... YES. Yes, Goukei would very much lie. A normal oni would probably never lie and hate anyone who does lie, but then again, Goukei's not exactly normal...

Alright, author's note almost over. Just a heads-up for everyone diving into this chapter; Lazarus is one hell of a gore-magnet. If you were grossed out by what happened to Karin late-BWD, you might want to back away from this chapter. This goes double for you guys with vivid imagination. Be careful.

Now, let's enjoy ourselves some "Snake Eater", from Metal Gear Solid 3. Hell yes!

– TOUHOU –

Clarence turned to his temporary companion. "This is the place, right?"

Reid nodded. His longcoat was far worse for wear, having been torn apart by something. In public, he'd been forced to don a pair of wraparound shades – empty sockets tended to attract a bit too much attention. "I arranged for your transportation."

The werewolf gave an appreciative whistle as he ran a hand along the motorcycle's side. "Damn. Thanks!"

"Don't total this one," rumbled the general. "… Or get arrested again, for that matter. Once you have the Hunters, contact me and leave Gensokyo immediately." As one, they turned to the outskirts of the city. Barely visible, the air shimmered. Under any other circumstance, it would have looked to merely be the shimmer of hot air, but it was far too large for any heat source to do so. "You'll have to find the Hakurei shrine and enter from there. With the barrier fixed, we can't slip in as easily as before."

"Gotcha." Revving the engine, Clare shot one last look back. "By the way, how's the Necropolis going?"

"Terrible. The Wildcard still has us locked out."

He shrugged. "Yeah, that makes sense."

"Furthermore…" Reid cast a furtive look around. "I've been receiving the Loyhrs family's reports."

"And?"

"We've confirmed that two of the Harbingers are in Gensokyo."

Clare blanched. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"I don't joke," the general reminded him. "I'm not sure why, but they're converging on the Youkai Mountain. If you go there, you might find what you need – assuming you don't die."

"Wow, thanks for the support…" Clare grumbled under his breath. "Well, good luck back in Scotland, General."

He nodded. "Godspeed."

– TOUHOU –

BOOM!

Julian staggered. "What the hell was that?"

They were still inside their temporary living space when a violent explosion had suddenly started, ripping through the ground towards them. Even as he said it, another series of smaller but faster thuds began. With every ringing thump in the distance, it seemed to be getting closer.

Yumemi pulled him back onto his feet. "I don't know, but I don't like it. We have to get outside – fast."

They stepped outside – and instantly reeled as a burst of wind struck them like a physical blow. Above them, the sun had been concealed, hidden from view by storm clouds as something on the edge of the youkai settlement approached. Julian had to smack himself a couple times to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. "Is that… is that a tornado!?"

The professor gulped. "I think it is."

With a burst of wind, Aya skidded to a halt next to them, jabbering away something Julian couldn't understand. Yumemi nodded and responded with something in the positive, leading to the crow tengu's brief smile and exit, tearing through the air towards the towering funnel of destruction that was rapidly closing in on them.

"What was that?" Julian had to ask as Yumemi pulled him along up the mountain.

"Aya says there's an intruder on the mountain," said Yumemi in a rush. "We have to get to higher ground and look for shelter before the tornado hits."

"Um, hello? Slightly crippled from skydiving sans parachute!"

"Oh, you're fine," snapped Yumemi. Giving him a quick shove in the small of his back, she watched as he instinctively threw his hands out to arrest his fall. "See? You can climb and catch yourself, so keep moving!"

"Dammit all," he muttered under his breath. But she did have a point; he was feeling surprisingly limber for someone who should've been bedridden. The scar on his back was aching again. Something didn't match up here…

Well, he could figure it out later when his life wasn't in mortal danger. "Hey, Yumemi, wait up!"

"It's just over there." Yumemi pointed to something a little further up the mountain. Embedded into a sheer cliff face was some sort of steel hatch. In front of it was something that looked to be a waterfall that trickled down the mountainside. Catching the confused look on his face, she added, "It's one of the kappa labs on the mountain."

"Kappa?"

"The mechanics of Youkai Mountain," Yumemi summed up. "I'm told they're skittish, but hopefully they won't mind us intruding on their space for now."

"There's a goddamn tornado down there!" Julian waved at the vortex in question before doubling back, eyes wide in complete shock. "Holy hell. Is it – is it climbing the mountain?"

"Yeah. Tornadoes tend to do that."

"How the f–?"

"Agent… Julian… MELISS!"

The tornado warped, bending as something in its core shifted – and collapsed, the cloud funnel breaking away, a single condensed bolt of energy shot from its core.

Yumemi's eyes widened. "Julian, move it!" Shoving him out of the way, the professor held up her hand, a blazing cross springing to life in her palm. The energy lance slammed against it, both attacks instantly cancelled out by the other's strength.

Julian pushed himself upright as Yumemi fell to the ground heavily. "Yumemi? Are you alright?"

She didn't respond, but someone else did. "I gotta say, that's pretty impressive."

The agent's head snapped up to see Lewis, the soldier touching down softly on the ground. "Lewis!"

"That's right," he growled. "You got away last time, but you're not getting another chance."

"Wait a second…" Julian backed up as Lewis advanced. "Why are you even hounding us like this anyways? How come we're you're enemies!?"

Lewis ignored him, continuing to advance. "If you're not with me, Julian, you're against me."

"Oh, hell…" Julian muttered quietly. He might actually have to fight again, and so quickly…!

The soldier's hand snapped up, a knife in hand, ready to strike down Julian, only for another hand to reach up and arrest it. "Oi!"

Lewis turned, frustration evident in his face. "What – get off me, Goukei!"

"'Fraid not." Despite the soldier's tugging, Goukei barely seemed to display any effort in restraining him. "You got a bigger mission to handle right now, pal. Go handle your personal vendetta later, preferably not in the middle of your fucking mission!"

"It'd barely take me a second! Let me at him, or I swear to God, I'll–"

WHAM!

Goukei brushed off his hand as Lewis cursed, his voice muffled by the dirt. "Trust me, Lewis, that'd be a bad idea. We're here to get rid of Lazarus and leave. That's it."

The soldier said nothing, pounding a fist against the ground in frustration. Getting back up, Lewis shot one last venomous look at Julian before leaping away to continue his trek up the mountain.

Julian blinked, his brain finally catching up with what just happened. "Who are…?"

The ex-shinigami turned, an unreadable expression on his face. "That's not important. But what is important is that you haul ass outta here, and fast." He jerked his head up the mountain towards where Lewis had disappeared to. "Follow us if you really want to, but you might not stay the paradox if you do."

"Hold on, what are you talking about? 'Paradox'?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… You're a man living on borrowed time, Julian." Goukei jumped into the air, digging his hands into the cliff face. "You'd best do what you have to before they ask for that time back."

"What?"

Too late – he was gone.

Some short distance away, Yumemi was leaning against a tree. Having watched the strange conversation, she said nothing regardless, instead conversing with the crow tengu at her side. "He went there," she said in Japanese as she pointed to the kappa lab.

"Thanks." Aya spread her wings, ready to take to the sky once more.

She extended her hand before the tengu zipped away. "Hold on!"

"Yeah?"

"You and Lewis… what's going on?"

Aya sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Lewis-me… I taught him to use his powers. Wind and air pressure were close enough for me to show him the basics of our magic."

"And now he's out for blood…" Yumemi muttered.

"At the time, I didn't realize what he had in mind," confirmed Aya. "We only learned what he really had in mind when we saw Rumia-san."

"What happened to her?"

"I don't know… I don't know. All I could get were secondhand reports – they say Rumia-san was scarred beyond all hope of recovery by something horrible he did to her. So wretched the Hakurei miko of the time sealed her memories out of pity for the girl."

"When was this?"

"1944."

Yumemi put a hand to her mouth. "So Lewis-san is…?"

Aya shook her head and shrugged. "No idea. He's a youkai closest to us tengu – if you ask me, though, I don't think he took it well." With a quick flap of her wings, she took to the air. "Ayayayaya. Even if their bodies are intact, their minds are so much more fragile…"

– TOUHOU –

"Rekindle, flames of my vengeance, and lay waste to the world! Mad Bomber – Shattered Sky!"

With a thundering roar, the steel doors were instantly torn apart by a barrage of explosive danmaku. Torn free of their hinges, even the reinforced metal had no chance as Lewis' replicated "bombs" fired again and again, smoke rapidly billowing through the area. Pulling his scarf over his mouth, the soldier snapped on his aviator's goggles and crept into the dust cloud.

He could hear the wailing of sirens – he was going to have company, and soon. Over the blaring alarms, he shouted, "Goukei!"

"Right behind ya!" Unstrapping his scythe, the ex-shinigami tore into the lab. One blade manifesting, Goukei cut into a kappa that attempted to intercept him, slamming the butt of the scythe across the youkai's temple. As they staggered, he drew back with the scythe and slammed it into the ground, leaping into the air and swinging his leg into them at incredible speed.

Landing back on the ground, the oni laughed and spun the weapon, a second blade erupting from the end as the black blades burst into flaring crimson hellfire, every swing of the deadly weapon scattering that same fire across the room. As his hellfire splashed to the ground like water, it seemed to take on a life of its own, actively crawling across the floor and wrapping around anything even remotely of value before burning it to ashes. "Three cheers for vandalism, motherfucker!"

A sudden crackling sound made him turn. Another kappa was there, hidden behind her cloaking tech as she levelled some sort of gun in his face–

BANG!

"Heads up." Goukei winked at the dazed kappa before tightening his eyepatch, the Eye of Medusa deactivating once more. "I got things covered here, Lewis. You go on ahead!"

"Well, where the hell is it!?" Sliding across the floor, Lewis came up by one of the turrets scattered throughout the kappa lab, slamming his palm against it. A whoosh of displaced air, followed by a sudden thump as a vacuum rapidly formed inside it, the difference in air pressure instantly causing the machine to crumple like tin foil. "This isn't Lazarus' lab; this is just another youkai workshop!"

"Ah, calm down!" Clenching his fist, the ex-shinigami turned and flung a fireball to the ground. As it impacted, the condensed hellfire rapidly expanded to either side, a solid wall of heat locking them in. "The gate's further in, a'ight? Jo has some seriously weird tastes in gateway placement!"

Lewis was about to bark something back, but something else caught his eye. A sudden shimmer of steel, just on the edge of his sight. Rapidly coming to a halt, he thumped his foot against the ground, a burst of wind pushing him away as a barrage rained down on his previous position. A second glance confirmed that they were… an impromptu collection of sharp objects, ranging from knives to scalpels to syringes to… a machete?

"Lewis T. Dawson," recited a carefree voice as its owner stepped into the light. She had extremely light blue hair, almost white, but there was some sort of marking across it in a darker shade of blue. A light lab coat, an extra syringe in her hand, and a deranged glint in her eye – it was Josef Lazarus. "How long has it been?"

"Lazarus…!" Not even wasting time, Lewis swiped upwards with his hand, a wave of danmaku following his movement.

The doctor only shook her head. Raising her own hand, she swiped it sideways. One quick burst of light – and his danmaku was gone, wiped from existence. "Hmph. You should know better than to try that against me." She watched as Lewis slowly continued fuming. "What's the matter? Still sore about your squad from seventy years past?" Her eyes sharpened beneath the rim of her hat. Lazarus flicked her hand, the needle glinting in the light. "Would you like to meet them again?"

"LAZARUS!"

Whump.

Lazarus cackled as she effortlessly held Lewis in place. His fist had been arrested barely a foot from her face, the distance between them travelled in an instant by the soldier. Her fingers clenched tighter around his fist, bones cracking under the pressure. "Please tell me you did not just try that."

Her other hand swung around, the syringe's tip aimed at his neck–

Lewis twisted, dropping to the ground and flipping Lazarus over his back. She recovered quickly, regarding the splashed contents of the syringe on her hand in mild surprise. "So your skills still haven't degraded…" she muttered. "Good to know!"

Reaching into her pocket, she flung something into the air. The grenade began hissing, twin jets of thick yellow gas erupting from either end. Kicking away the soldier, Lazarus rolled onto her feet. "Come and get me, Lewis!"

He cursed under his breath as he extended a hand, trying to blast away the gas with a pressure bomb. No effect. "Enhanced mustard gas…! Goukei, lend a hand!" A pause. "… Goukei?"

Gone.

"Fuck!"

When the gas cleared away on its own, Lewis finally had his chance. During the carnage, it seemed the kappa had evacuated the lab, giving him a clear path that really was not all that hard to find, considering it was walled on either side by hellfire. Sprinting down the metal halls, he finally found another door, this one seemingly torn apart by someone's bare hands, sliced to pieces with some sort of bladed weapon, and then set on fire for no apparent reason. No doubt that oni's work.

Lewis rolled his eyes as he slowed to a power walk. This door seemed different from the others. Rather than simply a lack of illumination inside, it was like there was something holding back the light in the door frame. Yeah, this was definitely the door to Lazarus' lab.

"Alright, you lunatic doctor…" Unwrapping his scarf and throwing it to the side, Lewis drew his knife and entered the darkness. "Ready or not, here I come."

– TOUHOU –

Julian had no words. All he could do was stare at the carnage of the kappa lab.

"… I know." Yumemi gave him another small prod. "But we have to get moving."

"But why?"

Judging from the look she just gave him, she probably thought he'd gone crazy. "What are you talking about? Lewis is a madman, a psychopath! We have to–"

"I can barely fight. Remember?" Julian gestured to his chest, a clear reminder of his recent operations. "Besides, I don't even have any magic, either."

"You might not think so, but you have something going for you," insisted Yumemi. "That fall would have killed any normal human, and you recovered from it when any human who did survive it would have been in a coma at best – maybe even a vegetable! But you're up and moving!"

"I'm not interested in dying, alright?"

Yumemi whipped around, a hardened look in her eyes. "And I won't let you."

A long, drawn-out silence. Eventually, Yumemi turned back and kept walking. "We have to get moving. I have a good feeling about this."

"I thought you were a scientist – a more grounded person…"

"I am, yes," she admitted. "But I've learned to follow my gut over my findings. Magic, biotech, dimension hopping… I would never have done those things if I stuck to the code. Sometimes, we have to strike out, Julian. I… What are you looking at?"

The agent wasn't even paying attention. Instead, he'd noticed something odd – a tiny red dot, barely visible as it flitted back and forth across the wall. As he watched, it passed a smoke cloud, revealing the dot was actually a nearly invisible beam of some sort. Then, it shifted, jumping from the wall – directly onto Yumemi's forehead.

Finally realizing what he was looking at, Julian pushed her out of the way. "DUCK!"

Boom!

They collapsed to the ground, a shower of wall plating torn out of the wall, followed almost immediately by the gunshot, the sniper's bullet having gone supersonic.

Julian pulled himself upright slowly, heart pouding. "Yumemi, are you alright?"

She got up, dusting off the front of her dress. "Dusty, but I'm fine. Thank you, Julian."

"Don't mention it," he said. A second look around showed him that they were currently behind a significantly larger piece of rubble. So that's why the mystery sniper hadn't taken another shot. "I never thought sniper training would be something I'd have to use…"

"You did training on this?"

"Mandatory for my job," he explained.

"And you don't know anything about close combat because…?"

"Because normally we don't have people trying to strangle us to death! I'm an agent, not a bodyguard!"

"That reminds me, who are you an agent for?"

"Not important," huffed Julian.

Crack!

BANG!

He flinched as the sniper took another potshot at them. "Geez, this is gonna be tough…! Yumemi, got a gun I can borrow?" She pushed some strange handgun into his arms. "Um, how do I use this?"

"… It should be intuitive."

Julian regarded the strange pistol. Slightly lighter than he expected, he couldn't eject the magazine, but the safety was on, and the trigger and hammer were still there. He flicked the safety off. "Well, I guess it'd work. Range?"

"No idea."

"Crap…"

Crack!

BANG!

Julian watched as Yumemi rolled something onto the ground – a tiny, dark metal ball. It blipped twice – and exploded, a single snipe blowing it to pieces. The professor winced at the destruction of her device.

"What was that for?" Julian had to ask as Yumemi pulled out a small smart phone-like tool.

The professor pointed to the other side of the rubble. "Sniper's over there, a couple hundred meters down. Whoever it is, they're on the move, I think. Trying to get a better vantage? Here, take a look…"

The single picture taken was blurry, a glint of the rifle's scope dominating the image. However, that dark red suit and pitch-black wavy knife were unmistakable…

"Oh, shit."

A sudden patter of feet, the sound of shifting cloth, and a dark red blur shot over them, skidding to a halt just behind them. Ehud got up, knife and a handgun in hand.

"Oh, SHIT!" On pure instinct, Julian levelled the pistol and fired just as Ehud leapt forward.

Bang!

Julian watched as an extremely thin red beam formed at the end of the barrel and fired. For one brief instant, he could see the laser piercing clean through Ehud's chest, and – before flowing blood covered it – a dull, metallic sheen.

Ehud stopped in his tracks, almost quizzically poking at his own chest. "You… How…?"

Julian didn't know, and didn't care. With a yell of fury, he cut loose, firing time and again with the handgun. With every strike, Ehud began to shuffle backwards involuntarily, another hole riddling his bloodied chest. The agent continued pulling the trigger, watching as the scarlet barrier crackling around him fractured and shattered with each blow. The assassin crashed to one knee, breathing heavily.

Click. Click. Click.

The muzzle steamed as Julian finally relented. Turning over the gun, he saw an odd meter of sorts on the underside of the barrel, ranging from green near the trigger to red near the muzzle.

"Heat…?"

"Of a variant," muttered Yumemi. "More importantly, what was that? That man should have…"

A low, dark laughter started. They both fell silent, turning back to Ehud. The assassin raised his head, a sadistic glee in his eyes. "Well done, Harbinger…" Slowly, he rose to his feet shakily. "I made a foolish mistake. It's clear that the Master favours you."

Julian raised an eyebrow. "The Master?"

The Blood Lightning steadied himself. "You won't become what you will become, agent. I'm afraid I can't let you…"

"What are you talking about?"

"Make no mistake… I'll kill you." Ehud clasped a hand to his chest with a soft grunt. "But I have more important… matters to deal with…"

The agent realized too late that Ehud had been steadily backing away, now breaking into a run deeper into the lab. "Hold it!" In desperation, he tried firing off one last round, embedding itself in his shoulder. The assassin flinched as it hit home, but otherwise gave no response.

He steadied his breathing, lowering the handgun and flicking the safety again. "… Yumemi?"

"I have no idea," she murmured.

"I'm not asking what happened. But when I… shot him… didn't you see it?"

"See… what are you talking about?"

Julian turned to her, a grim look on his face. "He had it as well. A mechanical heart."

The professor gave no response, instead gazing further into the laboratory. "So he…"

He nodded slowly. "I think so. Whoever he is… he has biotech, too."

– TOUHOU –

[Welcome to the Eternal Engine! Ezel-Ash – Lunar Clock ~ Luna Dial]

Lewis leaned over the steel railings, looking at the colossal factory below. "How the hell did she manage to hide this in a mountain!?"

He was on only one platform in a series of dozens, all interlinked with ladders and stairs in a frantic dance high above the true spectacle below. Scattered throughout the factory, most embedded into the walls hundreds of feet apart from each other, but many built into other machinery, were boilers, an ominous orange light providing the main illumination of the factory. Several self-contained conveyor belts churned, powered by gears larger than should have probably been physically possible. A glance up told Lewis that this wasn't the only layer – and considering that he still couldn't see how far down this thing went, there were only two ways this could have been constructed inside a mountain that couldn't have possibly contained it; either Lazarus was a wizard, or… yeah, she's probably a wizard.

"For that matter, why did no one find out about this before?"

Lewis jumped back as another steaming cauldron passed by the railings, searing hot air blasting him in the face as it was carried downwards by some sort of escalator – scaled up a couple hundred times, of course. Several hundred pipes were built into the walls, each one with some sort of fluid in them. In fact… some of them were glowing. And under all the banging of pistons, the thumping of machines and the roar of fire, was an ever-present humming, a deep, almost humanlike groan as the factory continued its mission. What was it? He had no idea.

But he did know that whatever it was, he wasn't going to let it keep running.

Lewis leapt over the railing, the winds springing to life and slowing his fall to a halt just as he touched the ground. Beside him was a towering series of lead pipes, an unknown fluid dripping from the vat above him they led to. "Well, this seems as good a place to start as any," he said to himself with a shrug. The soldier reared back, ready to unleash another pressure bomb and tear this factory to hell.

Whoosh…

WHAM!

He gave a start, leaping away as a white-clad figure jumped down from above him. "Lazarus!"

"Welcome to the Gears of Genesis," Lazarus snickered. Reaching into her coat, the doctor pulled out another syringe. Lewis tensed, ready for anything she threw at him – only for her to stab said needle into her own neck.

He lowered his hands slightly in surprise. "… Wha?"

Lazarus hissed in pain as she emptied the contents of the needle into herself. Tossing away the now-empty syringe, she spun her arms a few times before stretching her legs. "Much better. Now, let's really do this."

Lewis prepared himself – but not fast enough. Before his arms were even in position, Lazarus had struck, a single bone-cracking punch instantly sending him sprawling across the floor. "What the f – Lazarus, what have you done!?"

The doctor giggled as she raised one arm, ripping off the sleeve. Underneath, Lewis could see exactly what just let her punch him that hard.

"Bi-o-tech~!"

In place of each of her veins, there wasn't the blue and red of blood, but rather an unnatural electric blue, almost black. Lazarus cracked her knuckles and laughed aloud. "Come on, Lewis! Don't tell me you're afraid of a girl!"

The soldier didn't respond, instead looking for some sort of way through her defense. Magic was a no-go, hand-to-hand was probably suicide…

His eyes fell on the bubbling vats of lava.

"Keep your eyes… on the prize!"

Shit! He'd been distracted by his own thoughts… Lewis slid a foot across the floor, barely avoiding Lazarus' second punch as she barrelled past him. As the doctor passed him by, Lewis grabbed her by the lab coat – and was promptly tugged to the ground. She was strong! Now on the cold metal ground once more, Lewis rolled to the side as her fist slammed against the ground hard enough to dent the steel.

He had to get to those cauldrons…!

Of course!

The soldier stepped forward as Lewis tried again, taking a second hit in the process. Gritting his teeth in pain as he felt his ribs fracture, Lewis still managed to grab Lazarus by the shoulders as she made for her third attack. "See, this is the problem with you mad scientist types. You're all great with tech and what-have-you, but when you actually fight…"

With a huge effort, Lewis turned her momentum against her, slamming Lazarus against the metallic pipes. "You don't know jack shit!"

They burst, the doctor screaming in equal parts fury and pain as it splashed over her. The soldier hopped back as the high-pressure fluid landed at his feet – and burnt a hole into the steel. Whoa. He was not expecting it to work that well.

But at least it worked to his advantage. Now, Lewis could look for a way up – and back to the lava vats. Running down the balcony, he jumped from it to a nearby crusher, the colossal piston rising as it prepared to plunge. Jumping off of the piston at its apex, he turned back to Lazarus with an easy grin on his face – one that instantly turned to one of absolute disgust at what was transpiring.

Lazarus had literally melted.

Or at least, most of her had. Skin had sloughed off her body like wet paper as she stood. Where joints should have been, mechanical gears clicked and churned in their place. In some places, muscles had either been completely melted away or replaced with flexible synthetic sinews. She flexed her fingers, almost all of which had melted to the bone – or rather, the dark metal that stood in for her bones. The stomach, liver, lungs – almost all of her major organs had been removed and replaced, partially concealed by muscle, synthetic or otherwise.

She raised her head, exposing a sight that made even Lewis gag for a moment. One half of her face was simply gone, ivory white bone and black wiring exposed beneath the muscle. Her eye twitched wildly in its socket as she focused her vision on him. The only part of her body not completely uphauled was the muscle and skin surrounding the lightning bolt scar on her back, now clearly visible due to most of her hair having fallen away from the shoulder down.

"Hehehe… surprised?" Lazarus' voice had also changed, from a breathy, soft-spoken voice to one that was harsher, deeper, more grating. "Biological technology, Lewis… I'm not a man or a machine."

Striding down the balcony, her eyes never left his. Multicoloured lines overlapped what little remained of her veins, shimmering with every pulse of her heart – her mechanical heart. Unlike Ehud and Julian, Lazarus' almost resembled a tiny engine rather than a heart.

"It doesn't matter what you throw at me…" Lazarus walked down the railing until it ended abruptly at a boiler – and kept walking, straight up the side of the boiler like gravity had decided to take the day off. "Nothing can kill me."

"In that case, I won't bother," Lewis shouted back. "You can take an acid spill, but can you take this!? Dawson Arcanum – Thousand-Blade Storm of the Temperate Paradise!"

As soon as the words left his lips, the darkened factory erupted into complete chaos as a wind manifested around him – a wind that quickly expanded into a full-blown tornado. The wind's whisper turned to a screeching roar as Lewis narrowed his eyes, hands outsretched as he forced it to grow stronger and stronger.

With an earsplitting groan, machinery tore free of its supports and joined the vortex. Pipes and the likes were dashed to pieces against one another to form a whirlwind of lethal shrapnel. Sparking machinery met compressed gas, bursting into flame and igniting the vortex. The same burst acid pipes that had revealed Lazarus' identity were part of the fun as well – vibrant green fluid devouring anything and everything that it landed on.

"Urrraaaah!" With one last sweeping gesture, Lewis dispelled the tornado, the winds rapidly dying down to nothing. For a moment, everything hung in place. Every machine whipped into the air, every drop of lava and avid, every sparking wire, they all hung in the air for that one infinitesimally small stretch of time.

Then, they began to fall.

Lewis lowered his arms, panting at the effort he'd exterted to use his Arcanum. But that didn't matter, because that enhanced tornado could tear apart almost anything that got sucked in, and whatever didn't instantly get shredded would've been smashed to dust by everything else in there. Judging from the rubble around him and how large they were before, he probably had reason to be proud of that spell. Even if it did cost him that much energy to cast.

"I guess… that about covers it…" The soldier glanced into the darkness. Whatever this machine was, it was still operating – not even he could destroy something this colossal in one go – but it probably wasn't going to get anything done. Just about everything within over a hundred feet of him had been utterly decimated, and he knew for a fact that Lazarus was in that blast radius.

"Mission complete," he muttered to himself. Then, giving one last half-hearted middle finger to the factory, he turned and left.

Or at least, he would have, if not for something he heard at the door. Something else was moving, and it wasn't him. Something human – he could tell from the slow, languishing shuffling of feet and faint, laboured breathing – but also something mechanical. Something like…!

Lewis whipped around, a pressure bomb at the ready as he backed away towards the door. His eyes darted back and forth as the sounds grew louder and louder – she was closing in on him, but dammit all, where was she!?

Too late, he felt himself backing up – right into something, soft pressing against his back in some places, but with jagged edges stabbing at him in others.

Lazarus unhinged her jaw, a raspy breath sending ice-cold chills down his spine as another noise began – a slow, steady grinding scrape of metal against metal.

"Looking for someone?"

His world spun as he was whipped around and came to an abrupt halt as Lazarus closed her hand around his neck, effortlessly lifting him into the air. "This is a strength transcending morality and ideology, Lewis!" With a single swipe of her arm, she flung him down the length of the balcony, Lewis only coming to a halt when he smashed into the railing at the end of it – mostly. With so much momentum, he was still flipped right over the edge, forced to grab onto the steel rails and pull himself up.

As he did, Lazarus continued slowly marching towards him. "Morals, ethics, indecision, pity and compassion and every other emotion, it's all just an endless barrage of barriers!" Suddenly breaking into a dash, Lazarus instantly closed the distance and swung her foot. A colossal crash of splintering metal and the balcony broke beneath them, Lewis falling away with Lazarus following his trail rapidly.

"Barriers once put in place to keep humanity in harmony with nature!" Grabbing him in mid-air, the enhanced doctor spun, turning his momentum from vertical to horizontal and tossing him into the side of a still-functioning boiler with enough force to dent it under his weight. "But when has humanity ever cared about that? We destroy the Earth Mother, ruin her visage, and massacre her children to fill our stomachs, reach into her seemingly infinite wells of wealth and power and siphon them dry!"

Lewis cracked open one eye. There was a sharp pain in his forehead and something warm was running down his face. He could see her moving closer with each step, her mangled figure limping closer and closer. "And as our civilization advances, the time will inevitably come to throw away the defective bodies bestowed to us by nature!"

Reaching to the floor, she tore a chunk of metal free and crushed it in her hand before throwing the broken sharp-edged fragments like a shotgun spray. "Yet our morals restrain us at that point!?"

He growled under his breath, extending his hand and chanelling the winds once more. In his grip, a pressure bomb formed as Lewis sprinted forward, slamming it across Lazarus' face with enough force to stagger her. "Shut your fucking mouth!"

Her feet scraped at the ground, metal grinding against metal as she skidded to a halt. What was left of her face twisted in anger – only for another blow to send her spinning once again. "Morals are useless? Ethics are pointless!? Emotions are disposable!? Don't bullshit me!"

Lazarus leapt back up, her own fist meeting his. With a horrible mulching crack, his bones shattered, but he powered through it, instead swinging around his other arm. As she stumbled, he staged an offensive, a quick roundhouse to the side pushing her further down the balcony. "You call this transcendence!?" he shouted, gesturing at her brutalized body. "You're just another stupid doctor who thinks she's found the answer to everything! Well, I've got news for you; you haven't! All you've done is turn yourself into a living breathing war crime! You're no walking revolution…!"

Folding the enhanced doctor double over his knee, Lewis grimaced as he slammed his elbow down on top of her spine before pushing her away. Grabbing a heavy steel column from the ground and kicking it into the air with a low-power pressure bomb, he leapt after it as he prepared one last pressure bomb, this one even stronger than any other he'd used before.

"You're DISGUSTING!"

BOOM!

Lewis fell to one knee, holding his broken arm with his other hand. "And in layman's terms? Eat shit and die."

Lazarus only gaped silently, eyes wide in shock as she slowly, shakily pressed a hand to her chest – or rather, the steel pillar that had been shot clean through it. Wires sparked as she tried to move. Ever so slowly, with the horrible grinding of metal scraping and sparking against metal, Lazarus dragged herself down the pillar towards him, still impaled on the steel spike.

She extended one bloodied, shaking hand, trying to reach him for one last attack… and went limp, collapsing to the side. A pool of thick, viscous blood began to form beneath her.

The soldier exhaled a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. He limped over to Lazarus' corpse, bright white spots dancing in his vision as he fell to his knees beside it and began searching. He found it – a small syringe, miraculously unharmed throughout their skirmish, the same translucent serum the doctor had used on herself just before their fight.

Lewis coughed, instinctively bringing his sleeve to his mouth. When he brought it away, he could see the flecks of dark red on it. It was either this mystery serum or guaranteed death.

It was an easy decision.