A word of warning to the readers,

This chapter is rated M for violence.

Chapter 25: Confrontation

"Big… sister?" Blake let out, more confused than shocked at the sudden appearance of the only other ShadowLabs experimental subject. The raven-haired woman reached into her jacket and gripped her holstered Beretta handgun. "What are you talking about, boy?" she demanded. She was being cautious, thinking that the younger man was tricking her.

The crimson-eyed and raven-haired man shook his head and let out a long sigh. "As I mentioned earlier, this is one of the things that you and I must talk about," Leon told the armed woman, lowering his twin katanas. The action was enough for Blake to let go of her gun and hear this young man out. "I never doubted that you were sensible, big sister," he said, approving of Blake's action.

Blake scowled and crossed her arms over her chest. "I have always been sensible," she replied, glaring coldly at her would-be enemy. "Although, I am rarely sensible when I'm handling anyone working for ShadowLabs," she added. "Quit with the big sister thing," she ordered in annoyance. "We're not that close for you to be calling me that."

"On the contrary," Leon interrupted. "I do have the right to call you that since we do share the same blood." He stood several feet away from the taller woman, eying her carefully and seriously.

A frown formed on Blake's face as her mind struggled to process what Leon had just proclaimed. "Did I hear you right?" she asked, containing her laughter. "Did I just hear you say that we share the same blood?" She let out a small chuckle. "You must be mistaken," she told the young man. "Or perhaps those bastard Redferns have played enough with you to boggle your mind." Her laughter died down and was replaced by an ominous look on her face. "Unfortunately Leon, I'm the only child of Alexander and Raine Skylar. The latter already clarified that she had birthed only one child."

Leon simply gave Blake a sad and knowing smile. "I do not reject the truth of your words, big sister," he began. "It is true that Alexander and Raine Skylar produced one child, who happened to be you." He reached up and slightly pulled the collar of his zipped up black jacket. "Even the most unexpected and righteous people have skeletons in their closets," he quoted. "In this case though, Alexander Skylar had no knowledge of the skeletons in his own closet."

Blake's jaw dropped as she goggled at the young man before her. "It can't be possible… how could father have…" The words were caught in her throat.

Leon shook his head and rested the palm of his hand against his forehead. "Many things are possible especially for the Redferns," he said quietly. "Your father had no knowledge of the other schemes being played by the Redferns. He never knew even upon his death that he had unknowingly sired another child."

The Lionheart organization's headquarters vastly resembled a circus now. There were people everywhere: civilians, agents, police and medical teams attending to the wounded. Destroyed cars, burning debris, charred roads and sidewalks and dead bodies littered the perimeter of the large building. Despite the disastrous look of things, the situation was steadily getting under control thanks to the combined efforts of the Lionheart Organization and the government.

Kairos sat patiently on the stairs in front of the entrance of the organization building as a member of the medical team attended to his wounded arm. "Patch it up as best as you can." He winced as the doctor extracted the bullet from within his arm. "I am needed back out on the field," he told the man as Jez looked down at him with a frown on her face.

"Just stay still and let the guy finish his work, Kairos!" Jez ordered her older brother, who grinned sheepishly at her. "A gunshot wound that isn't treated properly will just hinder you from doing your work properly," she lectured, waving at Shizuma who stood conversing with Miyuki and her group of friends from Astraea Hill. Kairos had ordered his agents assigned to the Blake's friends to collect their charges and bring them to the Lionheart organization for protection. "Besides, why rush going back out there? You just said that the situation is getting under control."

Kairos shook his head. "Yeah we're managing to contain the attacks of ShadowLabs, but I'm still needed to supervise searches and the eventual clean-up."

Jez was silent for a few seconds as she watched the doctor finish treating Kairos' wound and move on to his next patient. "I was always took it in half-heartedly whenever you'd remind me that Blake wasn't an ordinary person," she began, ignoring the raised eyebrows of her older brother. "Sometimes I even thought it was joke when you fully explained to me that Blake had been an experimental subject whose genetic code was tampered with." The fashion designer shook her head. "When Blake came down from the ceiling of the conference room and saved us, it was the only time I believed in your words." Her head tilted to the side as she stared down at her older brother who sat on the steps. "You really did train her, didn't you?"

The blonde-haired guardian sighed and nodded his head in confirmation. "I did train her, but I had help from other people. Blake is an exceptional being. Some would describe her as an efficient soldier," he explained to his sister. "There are some who go as far as to describe Blake as the ultimate weapon. It's true that she possesses several characteristics that entitle her to these nicknames, but Blake is still human despite of that. It took a few years to get her to act normally among other humans, but it all worked out." He glanced at the platinum-haired woman who was kneeling on the ground and conversing with a scared looking Ryu Fierro, who clung around his mother's leg. "Her transformation from an emotionless shell of a person to a living human being was really helped along when she studied on Astraea Hill for a year." He gently ran a hand on his bandaged arm. "I really owe a lot to that Shizuma for getting Blake to where she is now."

"Speaking of Blake," Jez interrupted. "Where is she now? It's been a while since we dropped her off and she should be reporting back here right about now." She looked around in an attempt to spot the raven-haired woman.

Kairos shrugged. "She's probably on her way back now. My agents just informed me that all the attacked areas are under control." He gingerly leaned back against the steps and stretched his legs out. "I'm exhausted," he let out tiredly. "I haven't handled a siege like this since I saved Blake from ShadowLabs ten years ago!"

"Sir!"

Kairos looked up and spotted one of his agents sprinting towards him. "What is it Brown?" he asked. "I'm sure that you and the others could handle it without me," he said wearily. "I've had enough of handling attacks for today."

"But sir!" The agent skid to halt in front of his superior. "We just got a report from one of our air-surveillance teams!" He panted, trying to catch his breath. "It's Saberhart!" he finally let out in a loud voice, which startled a certain platinum-haired woman into running to their group.

"What about Blake?!" Kairos demanded, pushing himself to his feet and grabbing hold of the collar of his agent's coat.

Shizuma stood there looking like she was about to faint. "What's wrong? Please tell me Blake is alright!" she said softly. Jez put an arm around the model's shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.

The agent brought out a portable viewing device and showed it to Kairos and the two women. "The surveillance team is currently monitoring Saberhart and they're sending us a live a feed," he pressed a button on the device and stepped back as the screen lit up. The airborne camera was zoomed out as it followed two figures moving quickly on the ground. "Saberhart looks to be in battle with someone," the agent observed. "It's been nearly ten minutes since it started."

Kairos, Shizuma and his sister all leaned forward to watch the ensuing scene before them. Just then, the two small figures on screen clashed together and the surveillance team's camera took the chance to zoom in to give them a better view of what was happening. Surely enough, two raven-haired persons, one with storm-gray eyes and one with crimson eyes heaved the blades of their swords against each other… fighting for dominance.

"Who the hell is Blake fighting with?" Kairos shouted, fearing for his charge's life.

Shizuma blinked several times, recognizing the opponent of her lover. "Kairos! That's the boy Blake was talking about! He's the other experimental subject of ShadowLabs!" she told Kairos in a panicked voice. "I don't know why they are fighting, but Leon was the reason why we were able to escape from the oil rig when Blake and I were imprisoned there."

"He's that boy?!" Kairos asked, shock registering on his face. "Damn it! It only means that Blake's life is in danger. Who knows what the Redferns have done to him!" Kairos grabbed his communications device and hurriedly barked an order. "Kahlil! As soon as you finish airlifting the civilians, I want you to head over to the area where we dropped Blake off on the Chinook helicopter!"

"Roger that, sir!"

Kairos hooked the walkie-talkie back on his belt and waved to two of his men. "Brown and the two of you," he pointed at the agent who had given his report on Blake and the two men who had just jogged towards him. "You come with me. We're taking the bulletproof cars to where Blake is at." He pointed at two black Lincoln cars in the parking lot.

"I'm coming too!" Shizuma exclaimed, stepping forward to follow Kairos and his three agents.

Kairos shook his head. "That isn't acceptable."

"I must go! I have to make sure Blake is alright!" Shizuma told the guardian. "Please allow me to come with you! I might be able to help both with Blake and Leon!" she pleaded.

The blonde-haired man opened his mouth to refuse, but let out a defeated sigh instead when he saw the look his younger sister threw at him. "Alright Shizuma," he told the younger woman. "You can come with us." He turned to look at two of his agents. "You two take the other car with Shizuma here and make sure you protect her. Brown," he called his remaining agent's name. "You're coming with me on the other car." Kairos turned to look at Jez. "Take care of things here while I'm out," he told his sister, stepping forward to hug her tightly.

"I'll do my best, brother," the fashion designer replied, stepping back and watching the group head to the parking lot.

"Father… sired another child?" Blake asked, her voice hoarse from disbelief. "How is it possible for him to sire another child when you yourself claim that he was unknowing of that fact?!" she demanded, her hands clenching into fists at her sides.

Leon chuckled in amusement. "You forget easily. Skylar worked in a scientific facility that specialized in genetic code manipulation. In order to specialize in such a task, they did not only need developed human specimens," he explained patiently. He returned the angry glare of the other woman with a subdued look. "They also needed the most basic forms of these human specimens."

"Reproductive cells…" Blake answered, things getting clearer in her head.

"Correct," Leon replied with a nod of his head. "You were an exception though. The Redferns had you stolen from the hospital nursery as an infant in order to manipulate Skylar. The other experimental subjects were produced artificially using donated reproductive cells from their staff and 

from outside centers. Most of the artificially created subjects only lived for as much as three years before they died."

"So how did you come about then?" Blake demanded, resting her shaking fingers on her forehead. "I do remember that there were other experimental subjects aside from me back when I was still in the facility, but you yourself mentioned that most of them died off due to unforeseen circumstances."

The raven-haired young man continued to regard Blake with his crimson eyes, loosening his grip on the two blades in his hands. "I didn't come along until eight years later from the time you were born. The Redferns had just recently killed Skylar for his insubordination and suddenly remembered that he had donated a sample of his semen for their so-called medical purpose," he continued his explanation. "It only came upon them that perhaps there was something in Skylar's DNA code that enabled you to withstand and survive ShadowLabs manipulation of your genetic code."

"They… used father's reproductive cells to produce… you?"

Leon nodded and gave Blake a grim smile. "It's strange that you used to claim that you were made through artificial means, but in fact it was the other way around." He took in a long breath. "The Redferns speculated right. There was indeed something extraordinary in Skylar's genetic code, which enabled their experimental subjects' genetic codes to be manipulated with ease. The end result was me, a specimen that was vastly similar to you."

Nothing would come out of Blake's parted lips as she traded stares with her brother. It made sense now… everything that he had just told her made sense. She knew that if she demanded for a blood test to check if they indeed shared the same blood, it would have come out positive. They looked alike except for certain features like eye-color and facial structure and physical build. Nevertheless, Leon was her brother… half brother to be more exact, but it did not matter because they shared the same father.

"Why are you fighting for them?" Blake asked in a soft voice. "They made your life miserable for you, right?" She looked up and gazed at her brother with certain ferocity in her eyes. "Why do you continue to fight for those bastards?! They killed our father and tortured the both of us!" she shouted at him, fists shaking violently in her anger.

Leon simply smiled at her in a sad way. "I had no choice, big sister," he replied, his shoulders drooping. "Just as you did not have a choice when you were still held prisoner in their facility. Even now, my life isn't mine to control." He pulled down the zipper of his jacket and bared his neck to his older sister. A thin metal device that blinked green was wrapped around the base of his neck. "They're controlling me through this device," he pointed at the metal collar. "Prior to this mission, Doctor Redfern had Hunter inject me with drugs that would induce pain through electrical shock. They could remotely trigger this collar to unleash an electrical surge through my body." He fixed his grip on his blades and twisted his wrists. "If I do not follow their orders…" he paused. "You know what will happen."

"Fight it then," Blake replied, her hand inching into her military jacket to grip her handgun. "I managed to survive that kind of torture years ago. If you are truly my brother, then you should be able to withstand it."

"It's not as simple as you think it is, big sister," Leon told the raven-haired woman. "We may share the same blood, but we are still different from each other." He let out a long breath. "You were the fortunate one," he began. "You had people who cared for you… who gave you hope and the strength to fight back and continue living." The look in his once somber crimson eyes turned dark. "Where as I was raised in absolute loneliness," he added. "You were given the chance to become human." He pointed the tip of his katana sword towards Blake. "I on the other hand, am just an empty shell used as a weapon." He took a step forward, his emotions devoid in his eyes. "It only seems fair that we settle things this way," Leon shared, giving Blake a meaningless smile.

"Idiot!" Blake spat out. Her hand was already around her gun, but she could not bring herself to draw it. "It doesn't need to be this way! I could help you! The Lionheart Organization, my family and my friends can help you!" Blake took a step back as her half brother continued to amble towards her. "There is no reason for us to fight!"

Leon shook his head. "That's where you're wrong, big sister." His footsteps seemed to be in beat with the constant flickering of his metal collar. "There are reasons for us to fight!" His crimson eyes blazed in anger. "I want vengeance," he said softly. "You were the reason I was created! I'm just a replacement and treated as such!" He bowed his head down, his hair concealing his eyes. "There could only be one…"

"One?" Blake asked, her knees instinctively bending in a ready stance.

The crimson-eyed 54,601 tilted his head back up slowly. "There could only be one ultimate weapon, big sister," he replied. "And I'm going to make sure that it will be me!" He pointed at Blake with one katana. "Discard your guns!" he shouted then threw one of his blades at Blake's feet, the katana burying itself a few inches into the ground. "I prefer to fight this way."

Blake stared at the sword for a few seconds before letting out a defeated sigh. "Both you and I don't have a choice then," she told her half brother. The raven-haired woman wrapped her hand around the hilt of the katana and jerked it out of the ground. She then reached into her jacket and began to place her two Beretta handguns, ammo clips and flash grenade onto the ground. She kept the combat knife in place, thinking of it as a precaution. Checking to see if everything was place, Blake then gripped the hilt of the loaned sword and held it in front of her chest.

They both stood still, each of them staring at the other in a calculating manner. A foul wind that brought about the scent of spilled blood and burning debris filled Blake's nose, almost making her cough in disgust. She remained focused though, her piercing gray eyes never leaving the being that stood before her. It happened in an instant. Suddenly, Blake stared face to face with the crimson-eyed man; his body a mere foot away from her. She raised the borrowed blade just in time to meet the ferocious slash from her brother, the impact so strong that she felt her head throb warningly. Blake felt her muscles scream as she shoved hard against their clashing blades, pushing her opponent away so that she had more space to launch an attack.

Instinctively, her right foot stepped to the right and her body shifted to follow. Blake watched carefully at her brother's eyes, hoping that he would take the bait. There! The raven-haired woman thought as she spotted those crimson orbs shift. Immediately, Blake pushed off on her right foot and propelled herself in the opposite direction then charged forward, thrusting her blade out with deadly speed. She cursed silently when the Japanese sword merely cut through air. Leon was indeed a formidable opponent and perhaps even stronger than Blake herself. What made it even more difficult for her was the fact that she was up against a left-handed opponent. She was sure that Leon had fallen for her feint, but he had easily read her attack and sidestepped the sword thrust easily. Her rambling thoughts made her lose precious seconds of focus. Before she could do anything, a hard kick connected to the side of her head, which instantly split open to form a profusely bleeding cut. Blake staggered back from the kick, keeping her grip around the sword firm and blocking another strike.

"It's hard to believe that you are a product of ShadowLabs," Leon stated darkly as he looked at his recent work on Blake. His knees bent slightly as he held his sword in a familiar offensive stance. With his left foot, he took a step back, pulled back his left hand and pointed the blade at Blake with his right hand guiding the tip of the sword. "With the way you're fighting me back, you won't be alive for more than a few minutes." He lunged forward and sliced at the taller and older woman.

Blake grit her teeth as she blocked the continuous onslaught of her brother. Blood was dripping into her eye, making it hard for her to see clearly. Her wound was becoming a liability and she regretted losing her focus prior to getting the cut. Now, she struggled to land an attack on the seemingly more agile Leon, but was unsuccessful. Wincing as one attack got through her defenses and cut through her side, Blake swung her leg out at Leon's calves, knocking him onto his back. Not wasting her chance, Blake ignored the searing pain in her side and lunged forward to drive her sword down into her brother's fallen body. Her sword only embedded itself in hard concrete instead of supple flesh as the crimson-eyed 54,601 rolled away and jumped back on his feet.

"That was a close one." Leon smiled knowingly at her. "If I were an ordinary human, I would not have had the reflexes to get out of that situation." He got back into an offensive stance. "Fortunately, ShadowLabs was around." The smile disappeared from his face. "Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury to play around any longer. It's time for the two of us to say our goodbyes." With unnatural speed, he charged forward again to deliver his final attack. Their blades met once more in a clash of screeching metal and sparks. "One more thing before you breathe your last," Leon let out in a rush of air as he struggled to pin down his older sister. "This whole cataclysm," he began, narrowing his eyes. "If you thought that it was the fault of the Redferns and the rest of ShadowLabs, then you're wrong."

"What… are you… talking about?!" Blake mustered out, her feet skidding back from the strength behind her opponent's blow. She was quickly losing energy and she knew that she would not be able to last any longer if she continued to defend herself from Leon's relentless attacks.

Leon let out a bark of laughter, still pushing against their crossed blades. "Did it ever occur to you that ShadowLabs had been around for years before you were born?" he asked, staring into Blake's confused face. "The organization that supposedly saved you isn't what you think it is. They told you that ShadowLabs was a threat to humanity, didn't they? The Lionheart organization and ShadowLabs had been around for over a decade before you came into this world." A maniacal grin appeared on his face. "If they had truly been a threat to society, why didn't your organization deal with ShadowLabs? They certainly had the manpower, weaponry and authority to bring them down."

"Did they have that kind of authority?" Blake asked, incredulous of the sudden information she was being given. "You're not making any sense!"

"You're quite dense," Leon pointed out. "The Lionheart Organization knew of the activities ShadowLabs was doing. The whole genetic code manipulation to make the perfect human weapon," he reiterated. "They hid a lot of things from you dear sister and I'm quite sure your supposed foster brother and guardian knew about this."

"Shut up!" Blake said shakily, not wanting to believe what was being said to her. It was finally starting to dawn upon her. "All of these… endangering innocent people… kidnappings… terrorist attacks," she enumerated. "It's… all because of..." She became very pale.

Leon's grin grew wider. "That's right," he replied. "The Lionheart Organization chose not to halt the activities of ShadowLabs because of the great opportunity that awaited them." The muscles in his arms bulged as he poured more power into immobilizing the raven-haired woman before him. "They waited for the perfect human weapon to be born… waited for her to grow up before they saved her or should I say stole her. They altered her way of thinking and made her think that they saved her from a tortuous life, but they had a hidden motive. Whoever had the so-called perfect weapon would be feared and be given absolute power." Leon let out a roar and kicked Blake away. "Do you understand now?" he asked, watching the raven-haired woman breathe heavily as her shoulders shook. "All of these things," he gestured at the destruction around them. "It's happening because of you… because of your existence."

Blake lifted her unused hand and held it against her face. "My… fault?" she whispered.

"We are merely pawns in this game the Lionheart Organization has played out for us. They simply saw that you were that particular pawn that would lead them to a utopia they strived for," Leon continued, twirling his sword around. "You were blinded by their pretty words of transforming society and preserving human life. Even the righteous can be evil." The crimson-eyed man spat on the ground. "But you know what? I am most sickened at the fact that you have become such an important icon, yet you reject it." The once angelic look on his face that Blake had come to know as her savior from the oil 

rig had become a deranged crimson-eyed demon. "Here I am, an almost complete copy of you, but I go unnoticed…" He shook his head and charged forward once more. "I willingly submitted to all the experiments to become as strong… No! To become stronger than you, but I am treated like a mere speck of dust. I will not live in your shadow any longer!"

"Stop this Leon!" Blake shouted, evading the frenzied attack.

"Damn it! I hated you!" Leon yelled as he chased after Blake. "You were the perfect one and you got all the attention from the scientists! Even though you openly defied the people of ShadowLabs, they continued to call you perfect one!" His attacks were starting to become less accurate and more careless. "I was just… an inadequate substitute despite my willingness to be experimented on!" He had Blake trapped against the wall of a nearby building. "No more!" He leaped forward and stabbed through the thick concrete, missing his sister by a few centimeters. "This time, I'll make sure that there aren't any more hindrances to my ascent!" He yanked his sword out of the building and turned around to regard Blake. "I'll start with you then I'll kill every single person who's important with you! Your pretty girl-toy will be the last and I'll be sure to make her suffer just as much as I did!"

"Shut up!" Blake roared, her hand snapping forward and throwing a sharp projectile at her brother. The combat knife that she had hidden in her jacket had proven itself to be useful since it embedded itself halfway into Leon's shoulder. Unknowingly, her eyes had begun to blaze an eerie silver color just like the time she had lost control of herself on the abandoned oil rig.

It could not be helped anymore. Leon had succeeded in triggering that monstrous state of hers. The situation had completely turned around now. The second son of Alex Skylar was now the one who struggled to defend himself from his livid older sister. His hands were starting to become numb as each blow he sloppily blocked jarred his whole body from the sheer power displayed by the gray-eyed woman. At one point of their battle, Leon found a split-second opening in his sister's defenses. He brought his sword up in the air and tried to slice downward only to feel a strong hand wrap around his wrist, hindering the movement of his blade. He kicked out quickly, thanking the gods that Blake had jumped away in evasion. Changing his grip on his blade one last time, Leon ran forward to deliver the fatal blow that would end his opponent's life. As he violently unleashed a downward slash through empty air, he had barely enough time to turn his head and see the silver-eyed Blake quickly step around his body and deliver an attack at his unguarded back.

Leon fell to his knees with a cry as metal bit into his flesh painfully and cut deeply from his shoulder to his hip. On the ground and losing blood quickly, he labored to drag his battered body away from his advancing sister. So it was finally his time to die, but he had never wished that it would be by his only sister's hands. He fell over onto his chest, exhausted from his efforts and weakened by the loss of blood. Leon rolled over to look up at the ominous-looking Blake, his blood pooling beneath him on the ground.

"Time for you to die, dear brother," Blake said with a maniacal grin on her face as she raised the borrowed sword up to deliver the finishing blow.

"NO BLAKE! DON'T DO IT!" A familiar man's voice cut through the air just as another explosion occurred several feet away and knocked Blake away.

An unseen scowl formed on the raven-haired woman's face as she regained her balance after the explosion. "Where are you brother?!" she shouted, as billowing winds from above dispersed the black smoke produced by the recent explosion. Something hit her foot as she tried to walk out of the smoke. Blake realized that it was her discarded Beretta guns, ammo clips and the flash grenade. As she bent down to collect them once more, she realized that the billowing winds above were coming from a familiar black Chinook helicopter and a fleeing smaller helicopter. Her eyes focused on the fleeing aircraft, seeing that there was a soldier holding another rocket launcher in his hands and that it was headed east towards the ocean. At that moment, she knew where she had to go next.

The smoke had finally cleared as the Chinook helicopter landed a few feet away from Blake's wounded form. Several yards away, a familiar blonde-haired man flanked by three suited men and a platinum-haired woman ran towards them. It was the blonde who spoke first despite still being several yards away. "Blake! Are you alright?!" he shouted, looking to his side at Shizuma who tried to keep up with his fast paced gait. "Come on! We have to get you treated before you lose anymore blood-" he yelped and grabbed onto Shizuma as bullets riddled the ground before him. "What the hell?! Blake?!" He stared at his charge who pointed one of her Beretta guns at them and the other at the pilot who had just jumped out of the Chinook.

"Don't come any closer," Blake said coldly, her eyes still gleaming silver. She looked at the pilot and motioned with the pointed muzzle of her gun for him to get back in the Chinook. "Get back in. I need to go somewhere," she told him, ignoring the gulp of the suited man. "And believe me, if you try to fly off without me," she warned. "I am skilled enough to shoot down that helicopter just with these guns." She stared hard at the suddenly sweating man. "Understand?" As the pilot scrambled back into the helicopter, Blake discharged a few more rounds at the ground before Kairos, Shizuma and his men. They had tried to come closer. "I said stay there!" Blake growled, still pointing the smoking muzzles of her guns at them.

Kairos tried to plead with his charge. "Blake! What has gotten into to you?" he demanded. "This isn't like you at all! Holster your guns and let's talk this over in a calm manner," he tried to reason with her as Shizuma gripped his forearm quite hard.

The raven-haired woman shook her head. "There is no use trying to talk this over in a calm manner," she replied, narrowing her eyes at her guardian. "My trust… my trust in the organization and in you…" she paused, looking up at the sky and began to laugh bitterly. "I have lost it," she let out. "I finally know the truth!"

"What?!" Kairos shouted.

"After all these years," Blake stated, taking a step back towards the helicopter. "You and that be-damned organization made me believe that I could still be an ordinary human!" She shook her head and continued to laugh bitterly. "How could I have been so naïve? A weapon could never become human. A weapon like me is only a means to destruction."

Shizuma stepped forward, pulling her arm out of reach from Kairos who tried to hold her back. "Blake please! Don't let it get to you!" She let out a cry of pain as small and sharp pieces of concrete were blasted out from the ground as more bullets were fired at them, gouging Shizuma's alabaster skin.

"Your selfish motives led to this," Blake told them, turning on her heel and facing the black Chinook. She walked forward and stepped inside the aircraft, which immediately began to rise up into the air.

"Where are you going Blake?!" Kairos shouted as he ran forward, knowing that he wouldn't make it to the helicopter in time. "Don't be foolish! It's true that I knew the organization had hidden motives when they rescued you from ShadowLabs, but you shouldn't think that you are the cause of all of this!" He continued to shout up at his charge as the Chinook hovered above them. "Don't do this alone!" He looked up pleadingly at his charge who looked down at them from the helicopter's open doors.

Blake was silent for a few moments as she stared down first at her long time guardian and friend and at the tearing face of her lover. Her heart wrenched painfully. "There… are things that I must settle… alone," she told them. She turned her back to them. "Don't interfere," she ordered before the helicopter rose into the skies and headed east.

"We have to follow her!" Shizuma cried out to Kairos when she finally reached him. "Call another helicopter! Anything as long as we can follow her! She'll die if she goes on her own!" She scrabbled at Kairos' sleeve. "Kairos please! You must listen to me! You must find out where she's planning to go!"

The blonde-haired man looked grim as he pried Shizuma's fingers off his arm. "If he's after Leon, then there's only one other place he could be going to and I'm sure the Redferns are there waiting."

"Where?"

"The abandoned oil rig where you and Blake were imprisoned at."

Meanwhile back at the Lionheart Organization headquarters…

"Is it confirmed?"

A man in full military gear nodded. "Our spies have confirmed that more experimental subjects are in development in that oil rig off the coast. Professor Redfern and his son also seem to be present."

"And the experimental subject called 54,601?"

"He was last seen battling with Blake Saberhart," came the curt reply.

"What are their current coordinates?"

"Our most recent reports state that the battle was ended care of a missile launched from a small aircraft. Witnesses say that a bleeding 54,601 boarded the aircraft and headed east possibly towards the oil rig."

"And Saberhart?" It was a woman's voice who queried the military man.

"Prior to boarding the stolen Chinook that had ambushed her at the Aurora Fields Horse Club, she seemed to have a confrontation of sorts with Blackthorn and the woman called Shizuma. Afterwards, she headed alone on the Chinook to chase after the aircraft 54,601 escaped in."

A rough sigh escaped the woman's lips. "It has to come to this then," she finally said. "Execute the Luminaire strategy then."

"Are you sure, ma'am?"

"Yes General."

"We will begin execution of the Luminaire strategy in exactly ten minutes… President McQueen."

Blake held the pilot at gunpoint as the helicopter sliced through the air. The smaller helicopter was a few kilometers ahead of them and Blake could already tell that its destination was the abandoned oil rig off the coast. They were already flying over the ocean and would arrive at the floating platform in two minutes given the speed they were travelling in. Blake chose to stare forward and ignore the pilot's frequent worried glances at her. He probably knew that it was a great risk for Blake to go solo to such a dangerous place. The still silver-eyed woman pointed at the elevated platform of the oil rig and motioned the pilot to bring the helicopter down. Blake could already see that the other helicopter had already landed and that her brother was limping across the wide and open expanse towards the large metal doors leading inside.

"Don't land. Just bring me close enough so that I could jump," Blake ordered and watched as the pilot did as she told him to. She walked to the door and looked outside, waiting for the chopper to get close enough to the platform. Once they were less than ten feet away, Blake jumped out and landed on the metal platform with her knees slightly bent. She looked up at the sky and shouted at the pilot, "Get going!" The chopper circled above a few times before finally flying back towards land.

Blake looked away from the skies and strode down the platform. Her younger brother was now desperately trying to reach the hold's doors as he dragged his fallen body across the floor, leaving a trail of blood behind him. She quickly brought out her gun and fired a few round at the ground before him, which effectively made him stop.

The wounded Leon rolled onto his back and pushed himself up using his arms. "So you followed after all, big sister," he said bitterly. "Are you that intent to kill me?" he asked, coughing out blood. "Perhaps you have seen the error of your ways and are planning to rejoin ShadowLabs and take revenge on the organization that used you." He stared up at Blake. "I could help you if you want. I would be glad to help you take revenge."

"Revenge?"

Leon nodded. "We could have everything that we want afterwards. ShadowLabs may be able to control me using this collar," he gingerly touched the metal collar around his neck. "But they won't be able to control you. With your power and mine, we could overtake leadership from the Redferns and do as we wish! Wouldn't that be great, big sister?" he asked.

Blake remained silent as the ocean breeze whipped through her hair and clothes. "May I ask you a few things, brother?"

"What is it?"

'Did you honestly believe that you lived in my shadow? The shadow of the supposed perfect human weapon developed by ShadowLabs?"

Leon thought about it for a while before nodding his head. "Only recently," he replied.

"And if I had died by your hand moments ago and if you had taken my place as the perfect human weapon, would you have been satisfied to have the Redferns run your life?" Blake asked.

Leon frowned. "With my power, I wouldn't be able to overthrow the Redferns. In that case, I wouldn't be satisfied," he admitted.

Blake stared down at her brother. "Then why offer me to rejoin ShadowLabs, overthrow the Redferns and live as wanted criminals?" she questioned her brother's thinking. "It could be the other way around, Leon." Her eyes slowly reverted to her normal storm gray orbs.

The young man blinked at the startling offer. "What do you mean?"

"I do not wish to take your life, Leon," Blake admitted. "With father dead, I only have you and my mother as my remaining family. Despite the fact that I barely know you, I have the inner instinct of protecting you. Why should we rejoin ShadowLabs when we could permanently put a stop to their criminal activities?" She smiled warmly at her brother. "You could become a part of our family afterwards. My biological mother would become your mother too and you'd have a foster brother and sister." She was referring to Kairos and Jez. "We could leave our pasts behind and start anew. You would never live in my shadow or in the shadow of any other person. You could live the way you want to, Leon," she told him. "And as your older sister, I'll make sure that such a future is made available for you." She held out her hand to him. "I'll take care of you this time, brother," she continued. "I'm sure that Shizuma will also be willing to help you too."

"You… and Shizuma?"

Blake nodded, taking a step forward and still holding out her hand to him. "Let me help you, brother. Forget everything that the Redferns have told you and let's start all over again."

"Blake…" Leon's hand inched upward as if to grab hold of Blake's hand. Suddenly his vision went black as indescribable pain coursed through his body. Leon writhed in immense pain on the ground, his body almost contorting as an electrical surge pulsed from the metal collar around his neck.

"Leon!" Blake shouted. As she made a move to go to her brother's side, she felt three bullets hit and sink hotly through her back. She doubled over from the searing pain then sluggishly straightened to see who had shot at her. "Hunter," she growled, blood seeping out of her mouth before she fell face first onto the brutally hard metal ground in an unconscious state.

Hunter Redfern walked forward with his favorite sniper rifle resting against his shoulder. He still wore a leather racing suit and a pair of dark shades, but it was easy to see that the apparatus wasn't enough to cover his scarred face and shattered cheek bone. He had gotten those injuries after making 

Blake lose control of herself on that same oil rig. Now he walked past Blake's motionless body and stood before Leon who was still experiencing various electrical pulses surge through his body.

"Did you really think I would allow you to join your sister?" Hunter laughed as he brought out a remote control and pressed a button. The metal collar around Leon's neck stopped functioning giving the young man some respite from pain. "Don't be foolish 54,601? You are easily swayed by your sister's words," he nudged Leon's face with his booted foot. "Even if everything she said did happen, you can't be sure that the Lionheart organization and even the government wouldn't meddle. No matter what, you and Saberhart are still weapons to reckon with. Get up!" he nudged more forcefully at Leon's face.

Leon did as he was told and rolled to his hand and knees, breathing hard as he did so. Gritting his teeth tightly, he slowly staggered back to his feet and faced the leering Hunter Redfern. "What is it that you wish me to do?" he asked, heaviness filling his heart as he stared at his sister's motionless body.

"If you do as I say, ShadowLabs will eventually gain power and you will be allowed do as you please," Hunter started, pushing his shades up the bridge of his shattered nose. "All you need to do for me," he pointed his rifle at Blake's fallen form. "Is to kill your sister," he continued.

"No," Leon refused. "I won't do it! She's defenseless now and you could kill her yourself! I refuse to do as you wish!" He turned away and began to shuffle across the floor.

Hunter let out a sigh. "Don't make things more difficult, 54,601," he said, bringing out the remote control and turning a knob. "I won't be denied especially by the likes of you."

"I don't care…" Leon grunted. He had no wish to partake in the murder of his sister. He knew that even if he tried, he wouldn't be able to save her… not with the metal collar still around his neck and with Hunter standing there with his sniper rifle that he could fire proficiently from both short and long range.

"Suit yourself. You'll change your mind…" Hunter replied with a grin, pushing the button on his remote control. "After you have go through some pain treatment." He laughed as Leon's body convulsed violently from the electrical shocks being transferred from the metal collar around the young man's throat. He kept it on for a good thirty seconds before turning it off. "Have you changed your mind?" he asked sweetly as Leon struggled to stay on his feet. "If you don't go over there now and kill your sister, I won't hesitate to let you experience the full range of this shock treatment," he threatened.

Once again, Leon was left with no choice. His whole body buzzed as he turned around and limped towards his sister's bleeding body. Was this how he was meant to live the rest of his life? A pawn used by the Redferns? He finally reached Blake's motionless body. Leon bent down and reached for the Beretta gun that had fallen to the ground after Hunter had shot at Blake. His hand shaking, he pointed the automatic gun at Blake's head and prepared to pull the trigger.

"That's it, 54,601," Hunter commented from his position. "I always knew that you'd be a good underling." He started to laugh loudly just as he felt his body jerk backwards. "What the… hell?!" he sputtered as he choked out blood. The younger Redfern looked down at his chest and realized that he had been shot at. "Why you little bastard!" he shouted, getting to his feet to try to get to Leon. Before he could get any closer, Leon shot more bullets into Hunter's body only stopping when the copper-haired man fell to the ground.

Leon slowly put down the Beretta gun to his side. "It's… over," he said softly, falling to his knees in front of his sister's body. He quickly checked and confirmed that Blake was alive before resting his head in his hands. He was absolutely exhausted and would have willingly allowed himself to die just to be rid of the pain, but he had get Blake out somehow. Billowing winds engulfed his body suddenly, making him look up at the skies. The black Chinook helicopter had come back, but this time its passengers were Kairos, his agents and Shizuma. They all stood by the doors trying to shout at them from above. "What?" He squinted up at them, trying to make out what they were saying then realized that they were pointing at something behind him.

Miraculously, Hunter wasn't dead. He had managed to get to the smaller helicopter Leon had used to escape in and was now holding the rocket launcher. A frenzied look was on his shades-less face as he aimed the rocket launcher at a supposedly unused oil tank. "If I die, I'm taking the both of you down with me!" he shouted then launched the rather large missile at the tank. Supposedly empty and unused after being abandoned, the large oil tank would have just splintered from the missile's impact, but they did not account the illegal activities of ShadowLabs that needed oil. Metal did splinter apart, but along with another explosion of flaming liquid. The abandoned oil rig was now billowing smoke stack in the ocean as flames encircled its elevated platform.

Leon hacked as smoke filled his lungs. He did not have the strength to stay up any longer so he allowed his body to drop to the ground just a few feet away from the unmoving form of Blake. He reached out towards her, hoping… and knowing that he'd still be together with his sister no matter what.

On the Chinook helicopter, Kairos and Shizuma held on tightly as the impact of the missile's shockwave rocked their aircraft and pushed them further away. "Shit!" Kairos cursed after pulling himself back to the open doors. "The whole platform is in flames, but it looks like we could manage to go in there and pull Blake and Leon out. Redfern looks dead," he informed everyone onboard. "Stay there," he ordered Shizuma before heading to the cockpit to let the pilot know his plan. "Kahlil," he started after entering the cockpit. He froze as he heard the familiar voice of the president of the Lionheart organization over the Chinook's radio system.

"You have your orders Kahlil," McQueen's voice sounded from the transmitter. "Take the Chinook out of that area immediately."

Kairos strode forward and grabbed the transmitter. "We'll do that as soon as we airlift Blake and Leon out of there." He turned to the pilot and motioned for him to fly over the flaming platform. "What the hell are you waiting for?" he demanded when the pilot stalled. "Hurry up or else they'll burn alive!" His eyes widened when he felt the chopper pull away from the burning oil rig. "What are you doing?!" He tried to grab the joystick of the chopper to lead them back, but couldn't when he heard the familiar click of guns being pointed at him. He turned around and saw his two of his agents pointing their guns at him while the other immobilized Shizuma.

"Kairos, what's happening?" The platinum-haired woman asked, worry and fear evident in her eyes. "Why are we moving away from the oil rig?" She was shaking now as the agent who stood over her gazed at her with remorse.

"This is for everyone's good… Blackthorn," McQueen's voice sounded again over the radio. "We may have seen Blake and her brother as weapons that would give us more authority and power, but with the power that they themselves had exuded…" There was a long pause. "I'm afraid just having one of them alive would be endangering society too much. Hence, the Luminaire strategy has been implemented. It'll be over in twenty seconds. Bring them home, Kahlil."

Kairos suddenly unleashed a punch at the pilot, which made the helicopter sway uncontrollably for a few seconds. "You bastards!" he cursed, his two agents coming on to him and pinning him down onto the floor of the helicopter. "McQueen!" he shouted. "Call it off now!"

"Kairos?!" Shizuma cried out. "What's going on? Please tell me Blake will be ok!" she huddled against the chopper's walls, unable to move due to the gun being pointed at her.

The blonde-haired guardian did not seem to hear the pleas of Shizuma as he continued to shout at the transmitter while being held down. "Why does it have to be this way?" he demanded, struggling against his agents. "Please McQueen!" He sounded desperate and it hurt his agents to see him in this state. They did not like the fact that they were being forced to disobey their leader.

"We have no choice, Blackthorn." The president cut off the line just as two audible blasts were heard from afar.

Shizuma was still close to the open door so she looked outside to see where those two blasts could have come from. Once she spotted the vague outline of two ballistic missiles speeding through the air, everything seemed to move in slow motion.

As the Chinook flew towards the land, the two missiles screamed through the air towards the already burning oil rig.

"Call off the attack!" Kairos shouted repeatedly, tears finally overflowing from his emerald green eyes. "Call the fucking attack off!"

And then… the horizon flashed a brilliant white before giving way to a deafening boom. The burning oil rig was now reduced to scraps of metal and other debris floating in the ocean while portions of oil on the surface of the water continued to burn.

"Damn you… I'll never… never forgive you!" Kairos blubbered, fists hitting the floor after his agents had let go of him. "Damn you!"

Shizuma stared wide-eyed at the wreckage before her. Black smoke billowed high in the sky as the flaming debris floated in the ocean below. She thought she heard screaming and realized it was her own voice that was producing the mournful sound. She felt the same way as the blonde-haired guardian who had already broken down. She would not be able to forgive the people who had ordered Blake and Leon's death sentence. Hot tears streamed down her face as she continued to scream out in pain and anger. The flames, smoke and floating debris would forever be a scene that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

At last! This chapter is done! To those who saw the note I posted earlier, I made my decision. It won't be the epilogue directly after this chapter. There'll be one more extra chapter then the epilogue. Don't jump to conclusions though. Just wait for the last chapter and the epilogue which I'll have up in two days.

Alaeri: Sorry about not writing to you in the last chapter. Hehe… I actually don't know why I didn't include you there. Now about Darkmoon and the other horses, I just forgot to say that they ran off after the explosion. If Blake was able to survive, then Darkmoon would of course survive. Hehe…

Vampknight364: thanks again for the compliment! :)

RavenTheBirdSpirit: Ahhh… now I get what you meant. Well, yeah. If my summary said Shizuma X Nagisa, I'd get more reviews. The bias is there of course so it's a bit unfortunate in that way. I don't really mind though. :)

NinjaM: Well, you'll just have to see how the ending will be. Give me a few more days to finish.

Next chapter: Moving on…