[Normal P.O.V]
"This... is not my style."
Hayden curled up his lips in discomfort, watching Nadia continue jumping around and creating hand gestures with her hands while blasting some pretty loud, hip-hop music through the speakers. Her hair bounced along her shoulders as she jammed her entire soul out to the booming bass and the unearthly screams from the song. He couldn't understand what the singer or... rapper, in this case, was saying. He could only squint his eyes to increase his focus, like that would be any help. Their neighbors, plus the staff, are probably sick of the loud noises they were making. Some of the residents of the motel had already complained about the moaning and yelling, which they completely misunderstood but at the same time, they didn't want to explain what they're really doing. So, Nadia decided to pay the staff to leave them alone.
"What even is this?" Hayden sighed exasperatedly.
Nadia stopped jumping for a while, her hair sticking out everywhere as she faced the auburn with a wide, gleeful smile and a pair of red eyes that's swirling with bliss. "It's Black Metal Terrorist! Come on! You have to know this! Denzel Curry?" She replied for a short second before hopping around like a bunny once again. She had ditched the jacked long before she started the song. It was going to get hot and she doesn't want her sweat to stain her new jacket. Her tank top though is easier to clean.
"Uh, lost my memories. Remember?" The Demon Killer reminded the blonde, who looked like she barely registered any of his words. She simply responded with a slightly unnoticeable nod and continued to mumble the lyrics of the song under her breath.
"Don't you want to bump to this?! " Nadia laughed hysterically, as another bass drop shook the ground.
"Uh, not really. Can you even understand what he's saying?"
With a cheeky grin, Nadia took a breath and suddenly emitted an ear-crushing roar, "I BE THE BLACK METAL TERRORIST!" If Hayden was uninterested in the song, her dancing, or the beat, then he certainly was interested now. Maybe more shocked, perplexed, in disbelief; but he still was giving her his full attention nonetheless. The phrase 'what the fuck' was the perfect term to describe his expression as Nadia screamed the same lyrics once again in a low alto.
After the song faded away in a static, Nadia landed on her feet, her face burning red and her chest rising up and down. A huge smile remained on her face despite the fast, heavy breaths she was taking, and the sweat gleaming off of her skin. Hayden has to give credit to her stamina and endurance. She's been blasting the entire TA13OO album in just one sitting and in each song, she's been singing the lyrics by heart, hyping the singer up even though he wasn't there, and jumping up and down as if she was in a real concert. It impressed the demon vigilante that someone like Nadia, who supposedly has a minor mental disorder that affects her emotions, can passionately spill out multiple emotions like a dam. But she did tell him that it was a minor issue and that it affects only a few important emotions so Hayden isn't really doubting her story.
The blonde released a chuckled out of exhilaration, "So, if you didn't like that, what do you like?" She asked.
Hayden shrugged in response, "I don't know. I never really listened to any music other than the ones that I randomly heard."
"What?!" Nadia exclaimed. She couldn't believe that in three years that he's been active, he's never tried to listen to music before—though she was more upset that he hasn't listened to hip-hop, she'll keep that low for a while. "Oh, Nah. You haven't heard of MF Doom?" Hayden shook his head, "Kendrick Lamar?" another shake, "Eazy-E? Royce da 5'9? Travis Scott? Eminem?"
"What part of 'I never really listened to music', did you not understand?" The auburn snapped.
She placed her thumb and index finger under her chin, "Hm, you really are uncultured." She muttered to herself while pursing her lips.
"I'm starting to think this culture road is a bunch of bullshit." Hayden deadpanned. "First, you taught me how to make a spaghetti salad, which was a bit disgusting by the way. Who would put eels in a salad or a bowl of spaghetti?"
"'Don't underestimate the eel. If you bite into the head, you'll taste a lot of flavors."
Ignoring her comment, he continued, "Second, you made me watch the Bad Boys Trilogy and the Terminator series, but you stopped me from watching the third and the rest!"
"The third sucks and the rest sucks even more."
"You made me watch porn."
"You were interested in it. Don't worry, a lot of people are. Why do you think there are thousands, possibly millions of those videos on the internet?" Nadia shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
Hayden ground his teeth, the irritation slowly getting to him. "You made me argue with another person on the internet."
"Hey, you won, didn't you?"
He threw his arms up in the air, giving up and leaning onto his seat with a defeated look, while Nadia grinned victoriously. For once, she beat him in a battle of wits. Not that it's a world-breaking accomplishment; just a personal one. But it's a win nonetheless.
Her smile faded when she saw the state of her hair through the mirror placed right behind her. It looked like she stuck her head out the window of a moving car. Nadia isn't one to gush about her physical appearance, but this goes way beyond anyone's limits. She ran her fingers through her messy hair and then wandered her eyes across the room, searching for a replacement for a scrunchie. She spots a rubber band wrapped around a pencil that's laying on a work desk and pulled it out. Raising her arms up to reach the base of her hair, she held the rubber band in her lips while her hands were busy gathering the strands of platinum locks. During all this, Hayden sat on a sofa chair across the living room.
At first, he wasn't bothered by anytime other than the fact that he just got outwitted by Nadia. But when he turned his head around to look at the blonde, he froze. His eyes trembled a little as he stared at the woman's clothed back. Hayden knows what color her hair was. But somehow, a vibrant ray of colors began swirling around his vision. The platinum shade of her locks began growing brighter and more animated. Soon, it resembled the shade of the sun and the hue of gold.
A shiver ran up his spine, triggering every neuron and receptor. It was like a world-wide EMP just imploded throughout his entire body. The hair on his skin stood on its edge and his fingers began quivering unexpectedly. Hayden didn't know what was happening. It was like he just took a drug and every cell in his body turned hypersensitive. At first, he thought it was a side-effect of Nadia's screaming music taste.
But everything came to a stop when the blonde turned around. Instead of the usual amused, blood-red eyes, a pair of blue orbs that resembled a sapphire stared right back at him. His breath hitched. His body felt like it shut down. At that moment, he felt time stop and the world stop moving. He couldn't hear what anyone was saying or feel the cotton of the sofa chair he was sitting on. He could only focus on her eyes that looked like it doesn't even belong to her. Her eyes were fire in water if you can imagine such a thing. They were so much passion in that ice, like an infinite hue of raging new-born lights.
Hayden couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. It was like looking at a completely different person. The way her hair flowed up like a golden wave of dust fading into the air really encapsulated her charm. The fierce licks of flame dancing across the vast ocean in her eyes sparkled with courage, kindness, and other more emotions that were foreign to him. He had never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life that it scared him. But everything happened so quickly. In a space of five seconds, he remained in this illusion that somebody else was standing in Nadia's place. Until a voice snapped him out of it;
"Hey! The hell you looking at?" The blonde, with her hair tied up into a ponytail but a few strands sticking out and falling to the sides, snapped her fingers in front of Hayden's intoxicated expression. At first, she thought he was lusting over her body. But she immediately dismissed that thought because she knows for a fact that Hayden isn't that kind of person. Nadia knows that both of them are objectively attractive on their own selves. She's not scared to admit that she took some glances at his body from time to time and she had already caught him staring at her ass. But at the same time, that's where it stops. There was no lust mixed in it or any romantic attraction. It was just simply a normal human reaction to an attractive person. However, that still doesn't explain the lovestruck look on his face.
Once the auburn blinked out of his hallucination, the image that formed in his head immediately vanished and faded away from his memories as if it just came to visit him. He stared dumbly at Nadia, who was frowning at his current state. "What's with you?" She repeated. Only this time, she was worried.
Hayden let out a shaky breath, one that resonated down to his chest. All these emotions rising in his heart and jumping around across his body was giving him the shivers. He was not one to shy away from fear but in this case, he doesn't even know why or what he's scared of—and that terrified the shit out of him.
"I— uh, I'm alright. I guess I'm just out of it..." He stuttered. Hayden cursed himself inwardly. Not even he would believe such a useless and horrible lie. Nadia arched an eyebrow at the obvious bullshit he was spouting, but she decided to leave it alone for now. So, she sent him a narrowed glare before nodding at him, subtly telling him that this conversation isn't over.
"If you say so." She shrugged, before hopping off the floor and landing on the couch with a loud thud. She heaved a sigh of contentment, grabbing a pillow and then wrapping her arms around it. "So, when are we going to Camorra?" She asked, quickly changing the subject and the mood to make Hayden a bit more comfortable since he looked like he was having an existential crisis right on his chair. His eyes were wide with distress and he just keeps staring down at the ground like he was expecting a weasel to just pop out of the carpet.
Hayden blinked and shifted his gaze towards Nadia, "Huh?" He said, completely oblivious to his own shock and the blonde's presence.
"I said, when are we going to Camorra?" She repeated. That one sentence seemed to have shaken his current state out of his body. The lost look in his soon regained its color. His facial expression hardened, his lips pressing into a thin line. It was like the reminder of their original mission flipped a switch in his brain and turned on the Demon Killer's side. Nadia knew from the three days she spent time with Hayden in the motel that his carefree mood and sarcasm is his normal self. Whenever they discuss something serious, it was like his dark and murderous persona would tap in and envelop Hayden's personality—although he still retained his sarcasm despite the change.
She isn't necessarily complaining about it. When the time comes, she needs those skills and that apathetic personality. There's a reason why she sometimes praises her mental disorder because it immediately takes away any future hesitation that might happen and it can clear her mind off of distractions in the field. But at the same time, she liked the carefree version of Hayden because he was so much fun to tease and accompany. Nadia can't help but like both personalities since both have their benefits.
"Don't worry about it. I already have a plan in motion." Hayden replied, still a bit wildered from the recent occurrence.
She frowned, "Well, I never heard about it. Why are you just telling me that now?"
"Well..." He rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish smile. Nadia's spidey senses started tingling, noticing the uncomfortable behavior of Hayden. "... I didn't want you to freak out."
Of course, that only confirmed the blonde's suspicions. The fact that he didn't tell her because he knows she would freak out is really raising some red flags in Nadia's head. But at the same time, she couldn't blame him. His plans may be risky and always threatens a heart attack, but they work—although most of the time it diverts away from its original path but would eventually lead to the same goal. If she heard this plan, she would probably argue with him for a good ten minutes before reluctantly agreeing. She would've wasted 600 precious seconds struggling in a pointless battle. It's barely been a week since they've been strangely friends and she could almost predict his future actions. And it seems it goes the same way for him. So, she's somehow glad that he didn't tell her. But that doesn't erase the fact that he kept her in the shadows when they're supposed to be working together.
"What's this plan about, dickhead?" Her response was calm and collected, just like she purposely made it to be, but she made sure to be passive-aggressive about it.
He cringed at her insult, but he couldn't really blame her. He did leave her in the dark about his stupidly genius of a plan. Nevertheless, this is time to redeem himself. Although, he's not sure Nadia would hop on his plan rather quickly since it's technically about to happen any time. "Remember when we visited that Camorra information base?" He mentioned. When Nadia nodded in response, he continued, "Well, there's another reason why I decided to mess with it."
The blonde mercenary could already sense something bad about the way Hayden is leading this conversation to. "What does that mean?" She asked, in a warning tone that made sure he would directly answer her.
"Well, all we need to do to know what or where our next goal is through a person from the higher-ups. To get that, we need to find him, which is difficult because, throughout my entire three-year life, I've never entered or found an actual Camorra base." Hayden explained. "So, I decided the smartest thing to do is instead of us trying to find them, we should let them find us. They have better access across the entire European continent. Thank you for teaching me about geography by the way."
"No problem."
"They probably won't know that I'm the... Demon Killer," He reluctantly said the name. "...so they'll send their most mediocre men to capture or probably kill me. All we have to do is take them on, convince one of them to lead us to their base where..."
"The higher-ups are..." Nadia finished, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration and understanding. For the first time, she commends Hayden for having an actual realistic and strategic plan that she feels like she could hop into. The way he pieced all this information together reminded her of a military general, which might be his real identity in his forgotten past. However, something was bothering her.
"Why did you say that I might freak out about this plan? This is perfect!" She exclaimed.
Hayden gave her an arched eyebrow. "Well, I thought it was a bit risky but I guess it isn't. Huh, this might be the first plan I ever made that's not out of the blue. I guess this might work..."
Everything fell silent. The air around the room seemed to have stopped and left through the window. Gravity felt heavier than usual. Two seconds... these two seconds seemed to last forever. Everything is moving in slow motion and feels almost like a dream or watching a movie from a screen instead of being right in the middle of it.
The first second passed and the blonde mercenary's brain was in shambles... or she thought it was. Nadia just noticed through the windows that it was awfully sunny when it was supposed to be a little bit cloud today, but everything was the wrong color and the sky's form looked wrong. She debated whether to mention it to Hayden, who was in mid-conversation but when I turned to look at him; he, too, was staring out the window.
The next second passed and everything crumbled. The walls, the windows, the roof, even the ground. The magnitude of the force tore through the bricks and steel like paper. Fire enraged across the air, eating up the air and the ground. Nadia hit her head so hard that she didn't even notice that she was lying across the hallway, right in front of the main door. Her eyes were focusing on so many different things that it became too blurry and disoriented for her to see. A sharp, ringing noise pierced her ears, similar to what a dog whistle would do to dogs. Her chest felt tight as if someone punched her right at her sternum. Trembling, she propped her arms against the floor to lift herself up.
But as her vision cleared, all she could see was a grey cloud of smoke enveloping the area. The sharp sound resonating in her ear slowly faded away, but she could only hear faint screams, wood burning, and walls breaking down. She placed her hand on her mouth and nose, trying to stop herself from inhaling the smoke, while her other hand struggled to push her body up on the ground. Her legs wavered, causing her weakened body to sway around. But she forced herself to plant her feet against the ground, with her hand holding on the wall.
It seemed that standing up cleared her mind and reverted it back to its original state. But once it clicked, the first thing she remembered was Hayden. She searched across the wasted area, but there was no sign of him. The explosion seared the air and ground in a way that left devoid of life down to the microbe in a five-foot radius. As the smoke fades away, she noticed the large hole left on the wall across the room. It was so big, that it ripped the floor below as well and practically shattered every glass on the building. The smoke tunneled out of the hole, creating a column of grey fumes outside.
Rubble, broken shards of glass, wood splinters, and fiery remains laid scattered across what's left of their room. Nadia stepped over the debris, trying to navigate across the floor when all of a sudden, she heard a continuous sharp, windy sound coming from outside, specifically the hole. At first, it was faint. Like it too far to directly see where it is coming from but close enough to be heard. But it gradually grew louder and louder until she recognized them to be the deafening drill of a helicopter's rotors. She began to hear the engine's pistons rapidly shuffling inside the machine.
It didn't take long for her to see the hull of the vehicle and its landing gear moving down her view. The metal bird swooped down next to their room's level, blowing away the smoke from the area. The dust and tiny rubble began to pick up from the ground, including some of the fiery remains. Nadia raised her arm to shield herself from them, only opening her eyes to peek at the helicopter. The rotor blades sliced through the air at an unimaginable speed. She couldn't see who was in the pilot's seat due to the tinted windows but what she does know that they weren't friendly. She did recognize what type of helicopter it was. It was an Apache, one that is commonly used in the military.
'Why would the military blowing motels up and sending choppers?' Nadia exclaimed in her head.
It didn't make any sense. The one they were luring was Camorra, an underground criminal organization. If this was indeed their doing, then why would they attract as much attention possible? A supposed dead mafia shouldn't reveal themselves just because of two people. But if this is the military, then that doesn't make anything more understandable. For all she knows, the military could be working for the mafia...
At that moment, everything clicked. Everything connected like pieces in a puzzle. The guard letting them into the mall, despite their appearance. Everyone else who never bat an eye at them. They practically stood out like a rose in a field of weeds. The lack of tourists in one of the most famous countries in the world—one would think that there would be a lot of foreigners in a place like this. The information bases hidden around the city with random people's profiles in their system. What if Camorra isn't as underground as they thought? What if they were hidden in plain sight? What if they secretly controlled the city—maybe even the entire country without anyone noticing.
Before another thought could enter Nadia's head, someone's hand suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the incoming projectile's way. She landed against the ground as the spot she was just standing on erupted into smoke, flames, and wood splinters. The explosion reflected against her blood-red eyes, billowing across her way. Nadia sat on her ass, frozen stiff as the fiery clouds nearly licked her face. But just before it burned her skin into a crisp, something flat fell from above and blocked it.
A head of auburn hair slipped in her view as his glowing emerald-eyes looked at her with worry. Hayden's face was smudged with dirt and ashes, but the concern was evident. When Nadia gave him a strained nod, he breathed out a sigh of relief. He's glad that he saved her just in time. The force of the first explosion blew him into the bathroom, right after crashing against the door and hitting his back on the toilet. It took him a couple of minutes to recover and once he emerged from the destruction, he noticed a helicopter hovering through the large hole. The scene hadn't registered to him just yet but when he saw the barrel sticking out of the chopper's window, he followed its aim and his eyes landed on Nadia's form, who was just standing there and staring at the helicopter as it prepared to shoot, possibly an explosive at her.
Hayden's instincts immediately took over and he practically leapt across the room just to grab the blonde's hand and pull her out of the way. But the explosive used wasn't any type of explosive. It was similar to Nadia's Fireworms, where it would produce a series of flames and smoke even after the initial target was hit. He searched around him, looking for anything to block the flames. He then spotted a wooden dinner table, which was flipped over due to the first hit. But as the adrenaline surged through his muscles, he got to his feet and carried the 250-pound table towards Nadia's frozen form, sticking it right in front of her before the clouds overtook her.
Back to the present, the auburn wiped the sweat off of his forehead. His new attire was ruined once again. The scarf around his neck was badly burned, leaving its ends black and charred. His duffel coat was a bit singed, but it was covered with ashes all over it. Hayden had already prepared his bulletproof vest under his coat, but there were a couple of wood splinters and glass shards sticking out of it. His prosthetic groaned as he forced himself upward. Fortunately, they were out of the helicopter's view so they're free to get away without being caught. He then shifted his eyes back at Nadia, who was clutching her bleeding arm. It seems that one of the debris that flew across the room caused a laceration across her forearm. Now, blood was spilling over her fingers and dripping down on the ground.
"Hey, you alright?" Hayden asked the blonde.
Nadia cursed under her breath, "Yeah, I can move." She replied though they both know that it's not true. Hayden himself had the wind knocked out of him and he could still feel the pain aching in his muscles.
"What the hell is this?" Hayden muttered under his breath in disbelief. "This isn't supposed to happen."
"No shit." The blonde scoffed. She winced when she accidentally moved her hand away from her bleeding arm. Hayden noticed this and his eyes softened a bit. He eyed the scarf around his neck, before crouching down to her level and then slipping it off, taking her by surprise when he took her arm into his hands. He pressed his hand against the wound, earning him a pained moan from the mercenary. He muttered an apology and began wrapping his scarf around her arm, making sure to keep the singed ends away so it won't infect the wound. Nadia kept quiet as he finished tying it up.
She mumbled a small thanks and proceeded to flex her forearm. "What's the plan, now?" She asked, still staring at her wrapped arm.
Hayden pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't know, Nadia. This isn't even supposed to happen. Camorra is not the type to cause such..."
"I had a feeling that's the case." Nadia cut him off, leaning against the table behind her. "I don't think this is about Camorra anymore."
"What do you mean?"
She points her finger out to the helicopter hovering outside. The sounds of its rotor blades still swinging across the air are still audible. "That's a military-grade helicopter. Unless Camorra made or stole those, I have a feeling that the military is behind this."
Scrunching up his nose in confusion, he gazed out to towards the chopper outside and then back at Nadia. "What has the government have to do with this?"
"I believe that Camorra is controlling both the government and the military." She nearly laughed at Hayden's bewildered expression if it weren't for the fact that they might be barraged with bombs again. "Those fighter jets that were sent to kill us. Not only are they from Sleipnir, but they were also sent by the Italian government. Now, why would the Italian government send two military fighter jets just to get rid of a simple run-down plane with absolutely no real threat to their country? Unless..."
"Camorra has already overtaken the Italian government." Hayden finished, his voice barely a whisper, almost in disbelief and silent anger. He then focused his hardened gaze at Nadia. "You're going to have to tell me about this Sleipnir, Nadia."
"Later. For now, we need to come up with a plan to escape this country. I don't think we're safe here anymore." She replied.
Hayden's eyes wandered across the room, searching for a way out. There's no way they could just leave the room and hotel through the doors. If Camorra found them, then it's already obvious that they should know their faces. Walking out the door is practically like revealing themselves to the entire mafia. But that's when his eyes landed on the helicopter hovering outside. Another crazy and reckless idea entered Hayden's mind, causing a small grin to curve up his lips.
"Hey, Nadia. Get our gear. I think I've got a plan."
[Aizen's P.O.V]
I take a glance out my window, where smoke trailed out of the hole that I made. It's been fifteen minutes since we last sent a shell and no activity has been found in the room. My teammate, Vera, manned the grenade launcher from the interior chamber. He hasn't reported anything from the scope. I wish we could just leave right after our job was done but we received specific orders to monitor any signs of movement until reinforcements came up. So far, we spotted one of our targets in plain view but I don't think Lester got them.
I turn to my co-pilot, Angelo, who was just as bored as I am. He had his arm propped up with his chin sitting on his hand, while his finger tapped the side of his flight helmet.
"How long have we been gone?" I ask him. He dully lifted his head off of his hand and arched an eyebrow. I let out a sigh. He probably wasn't even paying attention to anything around him. If a sudden attack would occur, he'll be the first one to die. I repeat my question to my ignorant co-pilot and he then put up one finger; an hour.
A groan escaped my lips. I can't believe General Colombo sent us on another mission right before our main one. We were supposed to go to a secret location and escort a VIP to another place, but all of a sudden, we were asked to gear up, three hours before our mission. Now, we're supposed to eliminate a duo of dangerous assassins. Why would they send us?
"Hey, any recent movements or activity?" I ask Vera, who gave me a shake of his head.
"No responses or any heat signature." He replied. I slam my head against the seat with a sigh. Can't we just call it a day and ditch this sad and boring mission? I don't have the patience to get through this. If only those assassins in the motel room were stupidly brave enough to attack us. I'd definitely give them a proper burial if they sacrifice their lives just for our satisfaction. I could feel my eyelids growing heavier, threatening to close down. I sneak a peek at the control panel to check if the automatic hover was on and just as I expected, it was. I was about to nod off when all of a sudden, Vera alerted me.
"Aizen, I got movement!" He exclaimed, his hands immediately grasp the trigger and began aiming across the motel. My eyes snapped wide open and they immediately focused to the side.
Just as Vera said, I spotted someone moving along through the smoke and dust. It was almost as clear as day. Their silhouette could be seen running across the room at a surprisingly fast speed. But it doesn't matter. One shot from our grenade launcher would wipe out the entire motel room. With this, we can finally head on our way towards our real mission.
"Vera, fire now!" I ordered.
But before he could press the trigger, his head suddenly flew back with so much force. A knife suddenly appeared on the front of his head, the blade digging deep inside his cranium. His body proceeded to lean backward and drop down to the floor, blood spilling under his head and his lifeless eyes still snapped open in shock. Time slowed down as I watch the scene repeat again and again in my head. Somehow, I saw it happen. Vera had his eyes on the scope while the grenade launcher had its barrel out through a small doorway. Right at the front of the scope is an opening just big enough for anyone's to peek through. My mind wasn't fast enough to register the knife emerging from the smoke and then slipping through the opening, striking Vera deep inside his head.
"Vera!"
Angelo was the first one to break out of his shock. He immediately got out of his seat and rushed to Vera's side. But I know that it's too late. There's no way he could've survived that. Nonetheless, Angelo checked his vitals, and just like I expected, he was gone. I was so focused on his death that I almost forgot the reason he died. When I shifted my gaze out the window, I saw someone standing at the edge of the room, staring at us with a cold, hard glare.
It was a woman. But I don't think she was a normal resident in the motel. Streaks of silver and ice flowed along in her tied-up hair. A circle of blood swirled on her eyes. Her jacket, dirtied with dirt and concrete dust, flapped against the wind. A leather-wrapped handle stuck out from her back, with her fingers wrapped around it. She just stood there; on the cracked surface of the room and smoke gushing out of the hole. She seemed so harmless compared to the weapons we bare but why do I have a feeling that if I leave her alive for too long, something's about to happen. No matter what she is, I know for a fact that she's the enemy.
"Angelo! Get on the grenade launcher. The target has shown up!" I cry out to my co-pilot, who perked his head up in response. He took a peek at the narrow opening for the scope and his eyes widened. His hands flew to the sticks of the grenade launcher, thumbs hovering over the trigger.
My eyes stayed on the woman, daring her to make a move. Even if she did, it would be too late for her to retaliate or avoid the incoming bomb. We already won at this point. Once we eliminate her, all we have to do is find the second target.
Tap... Tap... Tap...
The world either has something against me or wanted to help because as soon as I turned to the source of the sound, a man had his hands on the chopper's central windshield entered my view. This man was tall and possibly muscular through his thick choice of clothes. His pale-green eyes flashed brighter through his auburn bangs for a second before he raised his fist up in the air and brought it down on the windshield. My brain was too late to react. The force of his strike nearly cracked the impact-resistant glass but it certainly caught both Angelo's and my attention. I don't know what his objective is but there's no way he can smash through the windshield with his bare hands.
I spoke too soon. It all happened in the flash. One second, Angelo had his hands on the grenade launcher and his eyes on our female target. The next second, an elongated rope of blades had pierced through the metal exterior of the helicopter and had penetrated my co-pilot's chest. Despair fell on my face and horror filled my heart. I watch as Angelo tremblingly turned his head towards me, blood trickling down his lip but that was the least of his problems. A beat passed and then all of a sudden, his body was suddenly pulled out of the helicopter by the rope like a ragdoll, dragging the grenade launcher and the doors with it and creating a sizeable hole on the hull.
I began to feel panic setting in as if there a cluster of spark plugs in my abdomen as wind began to burst in from the opening. Tension grew in my face and limbs, my mind replaying the last attack. My breathing became more rapid, more shallow. How did everything go wrong in just a couple of minutes?
Another glass-shattering strike suddenly brought my attention back to the man on the windshield. Believe it or not, a crack has appeared on the glass—though his hand was bruised badly. But it seemed that I haven't learned my lesson. The man wasn't the actual threat. He was simply a distraction. The incident with Angelo taught me that. This guy was a diversion for the woman to make a move when our attention has been redirected. Just like what's happening right now. But my mind was too slow to process the fast-paced scenes occurring around him. So when I craned my neck to the side and saw the blonde woman standing right inside the helicopter, I wasn't even that surprised anymore. I just remained in my seat and allowed the woman to position the tip of her blade in between my eyes.
"Don't move, bitch." The woman spoke in English, threatening to stab my eyes out with her blade.
I raised my hands up in surrender since that's the extent of my capabilities right now. I'd rather not speak because I don't think I can speak in fluent English and I fear that she might respond differently. I've seen Pulp Fiction. Speaking in another language can sometimes get you shot and I'm not risking that.
She held that position for quite a while until her companion, the man on the windshield a while ago that I now notice to be gone, emerged from the same hole the woman created. His tousled auburn hair dancing along with the wind like a bunch of tube men. I would've laughed at his appearance if it weren't for the display of his strength earlier and his cold, hard gaze, similar to the woman's glare. If I was any smarter, I would've thought that these two were siblings. But so many details about them contradict each other so much that it's highly unlikely that they're related.
"What's the status?" The man asked, probably towards his companion.
The woman hummed, "Obedient and oddly quiet. He probably doesn't know who we are. " She replied in a matter-of-fact tone, slipping her blade back to its scabbard strapped onto her back.
My outward appearance may paint a picture that I'm calm and collected but in reality, I'm freaking out. I might as well scream bloody-murder right there, but my pride and instincts held me down. I don't understand anything that they're about. All I'm trying to do is survive this. I don't care about my missions anymore. If they politely asked me to jump off the helicopter, then I'll do it just to preserve my life.
'Sciopero Team, what's the status of your mission? Over.'
I spot the radio through my peripheral vision, sitting on the control panel. My body froze in shock at the general's bad timing. Hands forming into a fist, I clench my teeth to get ready for it. Just as I expected, her hand flew to my collar and pulled me to her face. My eyes locked with her vampirical orbs, hypnotizing me into a forced illusion. It was like staring into a void, except everything around me was covered in blood. The red liquid began pooling under my feet and rising, slowly eating me up until it totally consumed me.
"What did he say?" She growled menacingly.
Now, I was split into two decisions. Whether I spill everything and raise the chances of my survival or lie and risk getting killed. If I pick the first one, I'll probably be kicked out of the military and forced to work on a minimum wage job—that is if I survive. If I pick the second one, I might pull it off and accomplish my mission. But that would only happen if I am able to lie skillfully and believably. I doubt I can do that while speaking in another language such as English, one that I have almost no experience with other than watching American movies. It took me five seconds to come up with an answer and I didn't regret it.
"Uh, I... am put here to kill you," I replied, which was probably not the best way to phrase that, judging from how her gaze turned even stonier. "I am on a mission. My... boss is asking if I'm done. "
The woman shot the auburn man a glance, who nodded at her. She then proceeded to let go of my collar and push me back to my seat. "Tell him you finished your mission or else I let you join your friend down there." She gestured out of the helicopter.
I gulped. Now, I'm faced with another decision; do I lie to my superior so that I can live as a disgraceful soldier in my own country or I do the right thing and sacrifice myself for the sake of eliminating the threat. Unfortunately for the general, I already made up my mind before this decision ever came up—and that is to survive.
I didn't waste a single second. I grabbed the radio out of the control panel and immediately reported to my superior, "General Colombo, targets have been eliminated. Request to finish for the day? Over."
'Request denied. Head for your next mission. The others are already there. You have two hours. Over and out.'
"Porcaputrana!" I cursed out loud. I can't believe my luck! This to be a joke.
"What did he say?"
I lift my head, where my two targets stared at me with an arched eyebrow. Their gaze made me want to crawl up into a ball and just roll myself out o this chopper. Especially, the auburn man's. I never thought that someone with such beautiful green eyes could strike so much fear into someone. "You have another mission, don't you?" He suddenly asked, catching me off guard.
His companion redirected her confused gaze at him, "You understand Italian?" She questioned, the man shrugging in response.
"A bit. 'prossimamissione'. It means 'next mission' I believe." He replied, then shifted his hard gaze back at me. "So, what all this about another mission?"
"I—uh, there is another mission." I can't keep my composure if they keep on glaring at me like that.
"We know that, dickhead. What is it about?" The blonde snapped, threatening to unsheathe her blade once again.
"We... uhh, need to go to a secret place. For a meeting?" I finished. Luckily, I got through with speaking English but I don't know if they understood me. I'm pretty sure I messed up in the grammar somewhere.
The auburn man narrowed his gaze at me, making me only more uncomfortable than before. "Where is it?"
"Uh, Islanda—Iceland"
Initially, I thought the man was going to have some sort of reaction but he remained unfazed. The blonde, however, nearly had her eyes popping out of her sockets with how much she had her eyelids snapped open. If I'm looking correctly, I could almost see it as fear pooling under her threatening, red eyes. It was a sight to behold. But I kept my mouth shut. The auburn took note of this and furrowed his eyebrows.
"Then I know where we're headed next." He commented randomly, probably aiming it at the woman. "What do we do with this guy?"
The blonde's eyes gazed down at me. "Get rid of him." She replied nonchalantly before walking away.
What?
The man gave her a firm nod before pulling out a gleaming sword from his coat. My eyes widened at the sharp blade. It looked like it could slice through metal like butter, let alone flesh. I remained frozen in my seat, unable to do anything. His presence alone hung like a threatening hail-cloud over the sprouting harvest of my peace of mind. The fear restrained my muscles from moving and even speaking. When he started walking towards me, I couldn't take it anymore and I forced my mouth to open and produce words.
"Attende prego!" I raised my hands out to stop him, hoping that he could understand me. I closed my eyes, just in case he ignores my pleas and continues his walk towards me to turn me into sliced ham. But when I waited for a couple of seconds, it never came. I peek through my eyelids, and I saw the auburn standing there with his arms crossed and his sword nowhere to be seen. His gaze was still as cold as ever but it seemed that he was forcing himself to soften it a little.
"I'm waiting..." He impatiently tapped his index finger on his bicep.
I never thought that it would work or that I'll get this far so when the moment of opportunity came up, I was speechless. My mouth opened and closed like a fish, but unlike the fish, it would probably provide some useful information right about now. Five seconds have passed and my brain still won't function.
The auburn clicked his tongue "Okay, I'm killing you!" He was about to pull his sword out again but I immediately raised my hands once again to stop him.
"Wait!" He stopped. "I can fly the helicopter!"
The man rolled his eyes. "Well, no shit. You're a pilot."
"No, I mean... I can fly you to Islanda."
He paused for a moment, turning his head to lock eyes with the woman leaning against the wall. I couldn't see the man's face but judging by how the blonde was just shrugging and making confused expressions, he either is considering my suggestion or trying to make a really bad joke. I really doubt it's the latter. When he turned his gaze back at me, it was a bit softer than his usual expression but it still made me uncomfortable. It's like he's staring straight into my soul, judging my morals, personality, and heart all at the same time. After what almost felt like an entire lifetime, he hid his sword back in his coat and released a reluctant sigh.
"Sure, go for it."
[Normal P.O.V]
The Apache peacefully flew over the blue waters as the sun slowly sank over the horizon, the roaring waves and the drilling rotors sounding across everyone's ears, especially with a large hole on the helicopter's hull, credits to Nadia. Other than that, it was quiet. Hayden sat dangerously right next to the open hole, sharpening his blade with a broken piece of metal he found in the chopper, while Nadia leaned against the hull with her hands shoved in her pocket and staring at the window behind her. The pilot noticed the chilling air but decided not to say anything because in the first place, he's technically a hostage and he has no right to talk to the ones keeping him alive. Although he was surprised how quiet the trip was for two hours without either of them talking.
Neither of them actually had any problems with each other. They were just so tired of all the bullshit they've been through that sometimes, silence is the only way to cope with it. But even if Hayden feels that way, an itching thought has been bothering him for the entire journey. Nadia had mentioned the name 'Sleipnir' multiple times for the past weeks yet somehow, he still hasn't gotten an explanation. Granted, there may be some instances where they had no time to talk about it or that they were spending their time resting and not mentioning anything related to the real world.
But there comes to a point where some things need to be said and this is one of these moments. Hayden placed the metal shard at the very root of the blade and proceeded to drag it along the metal's sharp edge with so much force, the piece flew off of his hand and fell in the waters below right after it reached the tip. "I'm going to address the elephant in the room, Nadia." Hayden abruptly announced, grabbing said person's attention almost immediately. "Sleipnir. I need an explanation on who I'm exactly against. It feels like you're avoiding the subject."
A dead and blank look remained on Nadia's face whilst he spoke. When he finished, she could only sigh in response. She certainly isn't trying to dismiss the subject because she knows she'll have to discuss it eventually. But there is a part of her that is subtly trying to avoid it since it's a bit controversial topic when she's the one telling the story. But like always, her EDD would save the day and destroy every ounce of emotion she had tied with her past, giving her the opportunity to blatantly tell the story with no regret and hesitation. She's done it before but somehow, those emotions would always come back to haunt her, and every once in a while, her disorders would be her knight in shining armor; the cycle would continue for about the rest of her life. Just like what's happening right now.
"I'm not avoiding the subject. You just didn't ask me again." She replied in an old Nadia-fashioned, which Hayden immediately took a disliking to. "Well, I guess this is the perfect time for a story."
"I'm waiting..." The auburn set his sword against the hull and gestured for her to continue.
She pursed her lips as she began to explain, "Sleipnir is essentially the most dangerous cult in both modern and ancient history. Named after Odin's eight-legged horse, this cult was led by a single family line that firmly believes in peace and tranquility. They would always have eight powerhouses across the entire world that would help them gain access to whatever they need. I suppose that's a good thing but over the years, their descendants decided on other ways to achieve peace."
Hayden listened intently at her story, his complete attention directed at her. Even the pilot, who had his eyes facing the front the entire time, perked his ears up to listen to her interesting story.
"They live by the sentiment that to create peace, there must be chaos..." Nadia continued. "Well, they might've gone overboard. I'm not going into details but the reasons why World Wars happen are partially their fault. They also created these weird meta-humans that fly around and destroy shit. Took us about fifteen years to recover from that."
The auburn arched an eyebrow at that while the pilot remained silent but nodded his head in agreement. "So, these Yakuza and Camorra and Triads are under their thumb?" He inquired, to which she responded with a frown.
"Not exactly. Followers of the cult would infiltrate these organizations and would climb up the ranks just so they can control them from the inside. But even if they didn't, some of their goals are similar to each other so I don't think it would take much to convince them to their side."
Hayden nodded in understanding. But then a frown formed on his face when he realized something. "But... why were you so shocked about their existence back on our trip to Milan?"
"I've had the pleasure of killing their leader... or at least I thought I did. It seems that she's alive and well." Her eyes drifted off to the sea outside, the sun completely disappearing under the waters as the night sky and the full moon took over.
"If they are as dangerous as you say they are, then how were you able to get a chance to even attempt to kill their leader?" Hayden questioned.
A rueful and wistful smile curved up her lips, "Because at some point in my life, I was one of—"
"Incoming!"
But when she was about to turn her head to inspect what the pilot was talking about, it was already far too late. The entire helicopter shook out of the sky, nearly plummeting Hayden down to the sea. Luckily, he was able to hold onto the bar and save both his sword and himself from becoming shark meat. Nadia wasn't as lucky as the force of the charge pushed her to the other side of the helicopter and caused her head to hit the metal hull, knocking her out of consciousness.
Alarms blared across the chamber as the chopper began spinning out of control. In addition to himself, Hayden had to wrap his arm around the blonde's waist in order to stop her from being sucked out of the hole. The pilot tried to gain back the controls but to no avail. It seemed that whatever hit them damaged their turbine and motors. The tail rotor began to heat up, causing it to catch on fire. Its rotor blades sped and sliced across the air as much as possible but the weight of the helicopter was too much. Whether they like it or not, they're going to crash into the sea.
There are many worst-case scenarios that can happen, like the helicopter exploding once it slams against the waters and possibly drowning after being trapped in. There is less than a ten percent chance of them surviving. They can't just jump out of the helicopter either since they're spinning across the air like a giant Beyblade. Hitting the waters from 15,000 feet is the least of their worries. Before they could even touch the sea, they would've been torn apart by the rotor blades. So in conclusion, the possibility of death is literally everywhere.
As they grew closer to the sea, Hayden shut his eyes close, anticipating the crash at any moment. But it never came. In fact, it almost felt like they're slowing down to the point where the helicopter eventually stopped spinning and plummeting down towards the waters. It wasn't a forceful halt that would've caused everyone in the chopper to bounce along the hulls like ragdolls. It was a slow but effective descent that led to the helicopter gently landing on the sea. Hayden wasn't this confused ever in his entire life—maybe the time he woke up in the middle of a snow desert is worse but he'll keep that aside for the meantime.
He was about to question his existence at that point when something else made him question life itself. If he told his past self that he would soon meet a guy with electricity bursting through his skin like tendrils and a pair of glowing blue orbs for eyes, he would've called his future self crazy. But the man emerging out of the water and stepping onto the helicopter says otherwise. The electric coils that kept on flashing across his body resembled a plasma globe, except none of it was contained. Water caused his loose shirt to latch onto his skin, emphasizing his surprisingly thin frame. His hair was like charred noodles with a bit of seaweed, falling down his face and nearly covering his eyes. Hayden almost thought that he was blinded by the electricity in his eyes until those same pair shifted towards his form. He was not one to feel creeped out if someone stares at him but just something about the freaky guy in front of him gave him the shivers.
Hayden thought nothing could beat this experience until the gods responded with, 'aight, bet'.
Two more of these strange beings decided to pay them a visit. The first one came through the other side of the helicopter by ripping through the hull with his bare hands. He was a hulking monster that would actually be the perfect person to cast as Bruce Banner—Hayden found a new love for comics during his free time. Though his size and frame resemble the Hulk, his skin complexion reminds Hayden of a new superhero called the Thing. The man was horribly tanned as if to match the desert sands. His hands were as big as an entire electric fan and would easily crush one. When he stepped onto the plane, Hayden was scared that the entire helicopter would sink. The man's face wasn't any prettier. The auburn wished he had a picture of a Moai Statue to perfectly encapsulate his image.
The second one was probably the strangest of them all. It was a woman this time. But it didn't make her any less terrifying. She came in through the cockpit, probably after breaking through the impact-resistant glass... and Hayden knew how. She wasn't shy to show the abnormalities protruding out of her body or in this case, the foot-long yellow spikes poking through her skin. He has never seen anything so weird-looking in his entire life. The woman's hair was unbelievably jagged and barbed, he would've mistaken her for a porcupine. On top of that, the numerous spikes along her body. Some were on her arms and legs, others were protruding out of her chest and back, two are shaped like horns on her forehead.
As she walked, Hayden noticed that her arm was hanging back, as if she was dragging something. Soon, his eyes widened when he realized that it was the dead body of his pilot, with multiple yellow spikes pierced through his chest and one life-ending shot in the head. The woman dragged him by the hair and proceeded to throw his body across the floor. Hayden locked eyes with the lifeless eyes of the pilot before looking back up at the spiked woman with a blank expression
"Jokes on you, I barely know the guy." He quipped snarkily.
The three beings simply stared right back at him, ignoring his remark. Hayden glanced down at the unconscious form of Nadia in his arms. She's lucky that she wasn't able to experience the rollercoaster of a ride he had. But he couldn't wait for her to see this bit of the story. When he shifted his gaze back at the freaks, they were still staring at him without even blinking an eye. Hayden has long figured out that these three were the cause of their crash. So, if they saved them, it means that they wanted them alive.
"Hayden Haddock; former agent of Drakos, otherwise known as Night Fury and currently known as the Demon Killer." The woman spoke, or in this case, squawked. Her voice sounded throaty and raspy as if someone made her swallow an entire pinecone. But that's not what Hayden is focused on. He has no idea what she's talking about but hearing his name alone is enough to grab his attention. She said a lot more things about him that he himself doesn't know. Is this connected to his past? Will he be able to find his memories again through them? Either way, it looks like he's at their mercy. But he's not just going to sit down and let them take him or Nadia.
"What do you want?" He asked lowly, using the threatening tone that he would use for criminals and other baddies.
But instead of being intimidated, a smile broke out on her face, one that showed all of her serrated canines. "Sleipnir's been expecting you."