Mike peeked around the corner of Hannah's shed. They were in luck, there wasn't many NPC's on the field, they must all be-
A cry of pain rang out. Mike turned around, and his blood ran cold. Lecher was leading a contingent of his minions down to the field-and held in the NPC's clutches was the survivors of the Battlefront, scarred and struggling. They were out of time!
"Go, NOW!" Hannah ordered. She flew past him, scarf ruffling as she sprinted. Before her enemies could register her presence, she had hefted the necks of two students in each hand, and flipped up into the air. As she flipped, her momentum sent the victims flying into two more of their comrades, who all went down in a heap. She landed, dodged beneath the rain of retaliating gunfire, and then kicked off again into the fray.
Mike ran forward recklessly, the cannon, he had to clear the way to the cannon! He rammed his shoulder into the back of one student who was facing Hannah's onslaught. Stumbling to remain on his feet, he glanced around. Hannah was surrounded by a mass of attackers, somehow managing to send each one sprawling. But she couldn't hurt normal students, and they kept on getting back up…
Suddenly, Mike noticed something. A single NPC, one he recognized, was wandering up behind Hannah with a zombie's agility. Mike started to run towards him, but it was too far, he couldn't make it. He could see, with one slow motion, Kyle lift up his arm, and take aim-
Luke collided into Kyle with a grunt, and the two of them tumbled onto the turf.
Hearing the sound, Hannah paused in her fight, and glanced behind her. She was just in time to see Kyle drag a pistol to Luke's head. While shaking with fright, Luke managed to give her one last smile, before the NPC ended him.
Hannah didn't cry out, didn't howl, didn't roar with rage. Her eyes just narrowed, and the tangle of NPC's around her exploded outward.
Mike ducked left, and right, trying frantically to avoid the scattered shots flying everywhere. Their initial advantage of surprise had quickly vanished, and their enemies were rallying around them. A pod of NPC's had broken off from the captives, and was on a course for interception.
He felt a presence behind him, and whirled around to find Angel at his shoulder, gazing ahead steadily. "You want the tower to be destroyed?" she confirmed, her voice barely heard in the roar of battle.
"Yes! Please, Miss Robinson, Hurry!" Mike winced as his luck ran out, and he felt a bullet burry itself in his shoulder. Gasping, he stumbled to his knees. When he looked up, Angel was gone.
He saw her sprinting ahead, running right through a group of NPC's without turning to look.
"Guardskill: Delay," and most of the bullets that whizzed to pursue her passed harmlessly through her echo.
Angel suddenly paused, and looked down. A flower of red was blossoming at her navel, someone had gotten lucky. From across the field, Mike gasped at her in horror.
Angel stood still for a moment, and then straightened. The bullet exited her chest quietly, plummeting to the ground. "That almost reached this heart," she said to herself. "I can't allow that. I cannot allow this heart to be damaged."
A group of NPC's had been planning on taking advantage of her gap in concentration, and had almost reached her. But as they aimed, they were suddenly sent skidding away, a blur displacing them. Hannah landed on her feet, and glared over at Angel. "Come on, we have to finish this."
But Angel only indicated the area in front of her, directly in front of the tower. It was covered in a throng of students, all heading towards them. 'I can't, she said simply. "I cannot progress without harming these students."
Hannah cursed bitterly. "Fine! Just be ready. "
Abruptly, Hannah was across the field, to the side of the tower. She paused, standing conspicuously and alluringly a few yards from the bulk of Lecher's army. Raising a hand, she waved at them.
As one mass, they began to trundle off, right to her.
A cry rang out from the far end of the field. "Enough! This ends now," came the pompous voice of the Student Body President. "I won't have any more of this resistance," he yelled at Hannah's distant form. "Desist this idiocy at once, or I shall take drastic measures!" As he spoke, the tower roared to life. Swiveling, the strange light flickered on at the back of the cannon's maw, as it turned to aim down, directly at Hannah.
"Hannah," Mike called frantically. "Don't let him do it! All of the normal students are in the blast radius!"
She narrowed her eyes, glancing around her. "I'm surrounded by bureaucrats… Arg, this is so stupid." She looked over. There was finally an opening to the tower, Angel was beginning to move. She glanced up. The tower, she had watched it during the earlier scrimmage and believed she knew how it worked. It locked onto a target, warmed up, and then fired. She was the target, and it looked pretty warm.
She looked around at the oncoming mass. Enemies, all of them. You couldn't afford to give ground, couldn't afford to be merciful… It would be the most strategic to dive into the middle of them, and take them out all at once. Squinting, she saw the sun glint off a female's student's earrings, twin yawing teddies. Adorable teddies.
Oh… gosh darn it.
As the cannon's barrel turned a golden orange, Hannah flitted to the side, just before the first of her attackers reached her. Covering ground faster than she could ever remember, she reached an empty corner of the field, and looked up just in time to see-
Mike tripped in shock as he saw Hannah smolder and come apart in a flash of white. Only a smoldering crater was left on the soccer field behind her.
Angel was flying. She traveled through the grass effortlessly, dodging past assailants, sometimes simply leaping over them.
The closer she got, the more deranged Lecher became. His perfectly coifed hair had gone rabid, and he spat as he watched his predecessor race towards his prize, eyes wild.
"Stop, Miss Robinson! I am the Student Body President, and I order you to stop!" he cried, kicking out. His foot caught Winnie's face, and she struggled, unable to break free from her captor's arms. "I am the law in this school! Stop!"
Mike continued towards his destination, enabled by the massive distraction posed by Angel. He ran from side to side, trying to take advantage of the NPC's terrible aim. However, as he neared Albert, another shot grazed his arm, sending a fiery burn to match the ache in his shoulder. "Doesn't listen to him!" he cried out, striding right for Albert. "You know what he's doing is wrong!"
As Angel entered the shadow of the weapon, she paused, glancing at Mike. She nodded. "Guardskill: Handsonic."
"No!" Albert howled. He started to back away as Mike drew steadily closer, the immediate NPC silently following their last order to constrain the Battlefront members. "You peasants! You aren't aware of the mistake you're making!"
Lecher's face darkened, as fury stared out through his ravaged face. "Punish him," he called out to his followers. "Shoot the captives. Now."
Gunshots broke the silence. Mike's friends went sent sputtering to the red-stained ground.
Angel cleared the last of the opposition, and with a single movement, leapt up into the air. She pushed herself off the cannon's frame, its barrel, a crack in its structure, until she had jumped up to its pinnacle. As she reached the top, the action slowed, as those still drawing breath turned to see what would occur next. Angel's blade plunged down.
It glanced off the shimmering blue-grey steel of the cannon with a screech. Angel was sent tumbling. She caught herself, and unleashed a flurry of strikes against the head of the machine, a storm of torturous cracks and scratches, sparks flying as she hammered.
But it was just as it had been with the door; the blade had no visible impact on the structure. The only sign of impact were ethereal polygons that appeared at the place of collision. Finally, Angel slowed and stopped. She stood silhouetted at the top of the weapon.
Albert straightened. His lack of stability had dissipated; a smirk of total confidence possessed him. "It's no use, Miss Robinson. It's been formed from the same material as your "weapons." Now, if you could simply-"
With one swift movement, Angel interrupted Albert. She raised her blade above her head, and held it in her hand. With steady eyes, she gazed down below her at the carnage, and tilted her head.
"Guardskill: Return". Silently, an ethereal glow spread from her hand and consumed the blade, enveloping it in light. When the light faded, the blade had disappeared, leaving only fading streams of 1's and 0's in its wake.
Albert frowned. "No…"
But as he spoke, the pinnacle of his cannon suddenly began to gleam with red-light, steam rippled through the air as the metal heated. The superheating spread throughout the structure, until it shimmered orange. The tower almost seemed to burn, patches of it peeling out and turning brown. Then, with a sigh and shuffle, the pillar of dirt collapsed onto the field, sending Angel sliding down among them.
Albert blinked. But then he caught his breath, and smiled back at Angel. "How did you break out of that cell, Miss Robinson? I spent months preparing it, just for you. "And there was a click. All across the field, his followers, no longer occupied, raised their weapons to aim directly at Angel, a hundred barrels threatening.
"I broke it down," Angel replied simply. "Albert. Where did you find that door? And this cannon? They were not made by your hands."
Albert's lipped curled. "You have no clue as to the extent of my abilities. But, yes. They were both a gift, tools to bring about a new order. To bring my kingdom. "
Mike heard a groan beside him, and with a gasp, he realized the figure next to him still breathed. He dashed to the body lying on the ground. "Harry!" he cried. "Harry, Harry, are you okay? I'm so sorry, I…"
"Hey… you ran right to me man… are you gay?"
Mike bowed his head, eyes going red. "It's… It's no time for jokes."
Albert chuckled. "Pathetic. Such a waste. Soon, all of this will be at an end."
Angel stepped toward, but Albert caught the movement. "Halt! Are you seriously planning on defying me, Miss Robinson? I am the Student Body President. And… I am God."
Angel blinked.
Mike's mouth dropped open. "What… are you insane?"
"I, am, God!" Albert lifted his head up to the sky, the light from the setting sun basking his face in a golden glow. He smiled. "Haven't you realized it by now? This world gives us the ability to be God. We can never die; we can create anything we know from dirt…
"To be God… is to have total power. I now have total power over this world. I have total control, to power to create, to change… and to destroy. That is all it means to be God is, power and control." Albert's eyes gleamed. "On eart, the Father had control over our lives. Now, the power is mine. And believe me, he isn't going rescue you. He's left you alone. Just as he did when we were alive."
"But do not worry. I am an efficient God. I did not waste my time here, such as you did. I learned hypnotism," he said, gesturing around to his unblinking followers. "A very useful skill, even if it took a while. My efforts were noticed, and I was granted power. I have finally achieved the power to constrain both Miss Robinson and your foolish Battlefront, the name of which never stays the same for more than a day. I am now God. And now, I will bring peace."