Chapter 29: Fractures
Glass erupted from every window of the abandoned school, rattling the earth. From the alleyway, Deimos scrambled back onto his feet.
"The hell was that?!"
Sanford lowered his arm from his face. "An explosion."
"No shit!" Deimos said. "Any other brilliant revelations our resident demolitionist has to offer?"
"The hostages…"
"That's another good one!" Deimos's expression shifted from incredulity to anger. "We should've been in there! If we were, then-!"
"Then what, Deimos?" Sanford turned to him. "We get shredded by shrapnel? We get our limbs blown off? I have some grenades you can sit on if you wanna give that a try."
"Maybe we could've found and disarmed the explosives if we weren't sitting here with our thumbs up our asses!" Deimos raised his arms and let them fall again. "Y'know, there's a point where being careful is the stupid thing to do!"
Sanford sighed. "That's the shit that gets us killed. We're in the dark here. We don't know how many are in there, and we don't know who set off that explosion—or what that explosion even was, for that matter. And what about those unknowns we spotted earlier? Are they hostile? Potentially friendly? All we know is that there aren't any Antithesis currently operating in this area, and that the AAHW would have gained nothing from blowing up their-"
Deimos raised a hand. "Shh!"
"Oh, so now you're just gonna hush me when-!"
Sanford cut his own sentence off at the sight of the grinding sewer grate. Both of them drew and aimed their weapons at the manhole.
"Jebus, that's heavy- WHOA!" As Adriel peeked his head out, he saw the muzzles of two weapons, silhouetted by the men that held them. He raised both his hands. "Don't shoot!"
"They don't look like AAHW," Deimos muttered. "Ain't their MO to crawl around in sewage."
Sanford didn't budge. "Identify yourselves."
Adriel yelped as he bobbed upwards. He clambered out the manhole.
"Really, Aidan!" Adriel grasped at his rear as he rolled to the side. "You couldn't wait three seconds before sticking your head up my ass?!"
"You think I enjoyed that?!" Aidan's upper body popped out next. "How about you climb faster next time!"
"How about you go first!" Adriel retorted.
"How about you don't lose at rock-paper-scissors, then!"
"Can you please move so I can get out of this sewer?" Mary's voice echoed from under them.
As Aidan complied, Mary crawled her way out. Sanford and Deimos lowered their weapons.
"Honestly." She stood up, brushing aside one of the bangs in front of her forehead. "If mercenary work doesn't cut it, you two should consider slapstick comedy."
"You're all Operatives?" Sanford asked, uncertain.
"Nah." Aidan confirmed his suspicions by jerking a thumb at Mary. "This one's a Fed."
Mary glared at him. Adriel groaned.
Aidan rolled his eyes. "Oh, what now?"
"Don't blow my cover."
Mary pulled out her badge and showed it to Sanford and Deimos. With her other hand, she used her phone as a makeshift flashlight. Both men read her credentials, their features illuminated.
"Hang on." Adriel's head perked up. "You're Sanford and Deimos!"
Sanford nodded. "That would be us, yes."
"In the glorious flesh, baby!" Deimos puffed out his chest. "Autographs, free of charge!"
"Been one hell of a while, hasn't it?" Adriel turned to Deimos, reassured by the techie's beaming reaction. He pointed at himself. "Remember us?"
"Oh! Uhh… obviously!" Deimos tried shrinking back into the darkness as he scratched his head. "You're..."
Adriel's face dropped.
"... Striking me as a Larry?" Deimos sheepishly grinned.
"Adriel."
"Adriel! Of course, how could I ever forget ya, Adriel!" Deimos let out a hearty laugh. "Good to see ya again, Adriel! Just testin' ya was all."
"That… I would know my own name?"
Deimos grimaced. "...Yes."
"Can't blame you guys for forgetting. It's been three years and, well, you three were on a lot more wanted posters than we were. Speaking of," Aidan looked over the duo's shoulders. "Where's the man of the hour?"
"He's on his own mission right now," Sanford said.
"Guess he hasn't changed much." Aidan scanned their surroundings with his underbarrel's flashlight. "So, what've you two been standing around this gutter for? If you're after the hostages, they're right across the street."
"Yeah, Sanford." Deimos cocked his head towards his partner. "Why is it that we're standing around in this gutter?"
Sanford sighed. "Some guys dropped onto the roof of that building. They didn't seem Anti."
"And… you decided to wait?" Adriel asked.
"It was a prudent decision." Mary stepped forward. "The people you saw earlier were part of the ops team I requested from MOB Mojave. They would've likely shot you on sight."
Sanford turned to Deimos, smirking triumphantly.
"Don't you get it, San?" Deimos clasped a hand on his comrade's shoulder. "I was telling you this whole time, we shoulda waited out here instead of running recklessly into that building. There's no way we coulda known if those guys were friendly or not!"
Sanford crossed his arms. "Yeah? Because I was almost convinced that you were-"
"Your explosive personality probably knocked loose your capability to process the situation rationally, but rest assured!" Deimos tapped at the temple of his head. "My tactical brilliance was able to ass-kertain the solution!"
Sanford showed his appreciation for Deimos by slugging him in the shoulder.
"Ow!"
Sanford looked atMary. "An explosion came from the inside of the building a couple of minutes ago. No gunshots since then."
"Has anyone exited the building?" Mary asked.
"No."
"Then either the hostages are secure, or the strike team's been killed," Mary checked her phone's screen briefly. "The terrorists are still jamming our comms frequency, so there's no way I can confirm one or the other. But, judging how things have been so far, it'd be best to assume the latter."
"First the station and now this." Aidan rubbed the back of his neck. "Things just keep getting shittier and shittier, don't they?"
"Wait." Sanford's voice regained some urgency. "You mean the police station?"
"Yeah." Adriel averted his gaze. "It was a bloodbath, but we managed to get the civvies out. The rest of Python team are escorting them out of the danger zone."
"And the officers?" Sanford's eyes darted between the three newcomers. "Did you rendezvous with Police Chief Harley?"
Deimos raised his head. Aidan handed Sanford a small, folded square. Sanford unfurled it. Out of the two figures in the photo, he recognized Melissa's smiling face immediately. Harley's took him a little longer—a bloody fingerprint smudged the Chief's figure.
"I think he wanted me to give this to the girl in the photo," Aidan said. "I didn't really know him all that well to do that. But I'm guessing you do?"
"His daughter." Deimos looked at Sanford, unable to make out his partner's expression. "God, Sanford. What're we gonna tell Melissa?"
Sanford's eyes remained glued on the photograph.
"He fought like a stubborn motherfucker," Aidan added. "As hard as some of the roughest guys I fought with."
"That's the kind of guy he was, after all." Sanford carefully folded the photo again before pocketing it. "Don't worry. I'll pass this along."
Mary's voice was suddenly urgent. "Lay low!"
They pulled back into the dark, switching off every source of light. Hi-beams grew brighter in the distance, illuminating the road in front of the school. Three armored vans trundled across the street, their undersides dimly lit by each other's headlights as they veered into the school parking lot.
Deimos peered through the scope of his rifle as the vehicles slowed to a halt. He moved his crosshairs between them, his finger off the trigger.
"Well? Whaddya see?" Adriel asked.
"Maybe two dozen bad guys." Deimos kept his eye through the scope. "They're all just standing around the trucks, like they're waiting for something."
"Piece of cake." Aidan checked his weapon's chamber. "There's five of us. Okay, four if you only count the Antithesis-trained. Divide twenty-four bodies by four badasses, and we get six kills each! Basic math."
"No," Mary said.
"Okay, look. I only didn't count you because I'm pretty sure we wrote the chapter on clearing out AAHW bases in your FBI training manual-"
"As asinine as your plan is, I know you four could probably pull it off. But we don't know who they're transporting. If we openly engage, we could be putting innocents in the crossfire."
"So…" Adriel's eyes narrowed. "You want us to wait some more?"
"Quite the opposite. We need pinpoint precision, but our sight lines from this position are poor, and we won't be able to wipe them out in one go if they take cover behind the building or their vans. We also can't let them get back into their trucks and escape." Mary pointed to the alleyway across from theirs. "We should scale that alleyway's fire escape and find a way to the vans from above."
"Again. There's five of us," Aidan said. "You think they're not gonna notice a team of Power Rangers running right across from them?"
"That's because we're all not going to. Three of us will go up while two of us will hold here and call it when it's safe to cross. Once the fire escape team gives the signal, we'll pincer them." Mary pulled something from her waist. "Then, the fire escape team will exfiltrate using this."
As Deimos wrapped his hand around the object, three barbs sprang from its surface, locking into place.
"A grappling hook?" Sanford asked.
Deimos whistled. "Not just any ol' grappling hook! A NexTech grappling hook! I thought they stopped producing that stuff the moment the War broke out. How'd you get this?"
"You know your stuff. When the War was hot, the AAHW liked to pass us their hand-me-downs to clear out their warehouses." Mary shrugged. "Their loss."
"And you just carry that shit around everywhere you go?" Aidan asked.
"Standard issue. It comes with our training manual."
Aidan huffed. Adriel unclipped a carabiner from his belt, producing his own grappling hook.
"Still have mine." Adriel grinned. "But we can use yours if it makes you feel any better."
"First it's Twenty Questions and now it's a measuring contest…" Aidan snatched the hook from Deimos, who pouted. "We've wasted enough time already! I'm going in there!"
Sanford turned to Adriel. "Can either of you spare a nade? I'll trade you some cord."
"Uh, sure?" Adriel passed him a grenade from his side. "What for?"
Sanford tossed it up and down with practiced ease. "We'll give those chuckleheads something loud to worry about."
He unfastened the wire connected to his meathook, cutting a length of cord and passing it to Adriel.
"Explosive personality," Deimos whispered to Mary.
"You three go." Mary said, completely ignoring Deimos. "Me and… Deimos here will hold this position. The grenade will be our signal to fire."
"How good of a shot are you?" Aidan asked.
Mary crossed her arms. "I'd need a gun, if I were to show off."
"Oh." Aidan looked at Deimos. "I'll be counting on you."
Deimos flashed Aidan a thumbs up, nodded to Sanford, and watched them move to the ladder. He felt Mary's glare transfer over to him.
"Uh… what's up?"
"I need a gun," she repeated meaningfully.
"Oh! Uh… right!" Deimos took his sidearm and the mags for it off his belt. He passed them along. "Here."
The confusion on his face softened her expression. She sighed.
Deimos shrugged to himself. He peered back through his scope, his crosshairs on the head of an Engineer as he scrutinized the enemy's position.
"Looks like we overestimated how perceptive they are. Their patrols cleanly miss this part of the street. Go ahead and signal them, I'll keep an eye out."
With a curt nod, Mary looked down the street, towards Aidan, and cocked her hand towards the school.
"Get the prisoner out!" A distant voice barked.
Movement from the guards standing by the rearmost armored vehicle grabbed Deimos's attention. A figure stepped out from the back, shoved forward by an Agent. Even in the dark, Deimos immediately recognized the silhouette.
"Oh, fuck." His face paled. "Oh, shit."
"What? What is it?" Mary asked.
He lowered his gun. "They've got Cathy."
"Who?"
"She's…" Deimos shook his head. "Look, we can't throw that nade! It's too much of a risk!"
"But how are we going to communicate that now? They've already crossed the street."
He frantically scanned his surroundings for any possible answer. Deimos winced.
"In a way that'll probably get San bitching at me for the rest of the week."
It was too dark inside the van for Cathy to see anything more than a collection of neon blue glasses and visors. She could feel their judgemental stares pressing against her—a smoldering animosity that she could tell wasn't directed at her. No, she reminded them of someone, or something, they detested.
"You," one of the Agents said.
Cathy faced him with the enthusiasm of a dying cat.
"Your brother," the Agent seemingly corrected. "Did he have his screws loose when he was a kid too, or what?"
Her eyes sank. Another Agent bumped the first Agent with his elbow.
"Knock it off," the second Agent said. "You plannin' on getting your tongue ripped out?"
"What? Aren't you curious, at all?" The first Agent glared back at her. "What kind of idiot turns themselves in?"
Before the other Agent could reply, the backdoors of the van flung open. Two more pairs of glowing blue glasses greeted them in the darkness outside.
"Get the prisoner out!"
One of them snatched her zip-tied hands. She didn't put up much of a fight.
Cathy hunched over in the cold. She kept her eyes fixed on the ground as she was shoved forward. Smoke billowed from inside the building they stopped in front of. Debris and large shards of glass were scattered across the pavement.
She was shoved from behind again.
"Go."
Cathy remained silent as they continued their march. She could hear the voices of her guards, grumbling about things like "securing the perimeter" or "casualties."
All of it was distant, white noise against the thought running through her head.
"So, how long have you known each other?" Sanford asked Aidan.
The two hid behind a dumpster in the alleyway across Deimos and Mary. Aidan frantically gestured at Adriel, who was still halfway down the road.
"Me and Adriel? We were both part of the Black Snakes, back at Anti-"
"I'm talking about the lady."
"Oh." Aidan's expression fell as flat as his tone. "About two hours. Two hours too long."
Adriel reached them. "You know, I can only go so fast if I'm busy covering your asses."
"Should've done it faster. Like your climbing." Aidan looked back at Sanford, leaving Adriel with a confused expression. "What's got you interested in the chick?"
"You chuckleheads seemed pretty chummy."
"Hah! The Fed could go die in a hole for all I cared, if we didn't have the same objectives in mind. You know those Government types. Making our jobs hell and not giving a fuck if we end up there."
Aidan puffed up his chest and glared across the street. Awkward silence filled the air behind him.
"When an unstoppable douche meets an immovable bitch..." Adriel whispered.
"No more distractions." Aidan pointed at Sanford. "You didn't drop that grenade on your way across, did you?"
Sanford tossed the grenade into the air and back into his palm like a baseball. "I'm a demolitionist. I specialize in not doing that."
"Perfect. Time for some payback."
Sanford nodded. He peeked around the corner, gauging the distance between them and the headlights of the armored vans. 50 meters. He could make that—he'd thrown heavier things further in worse circumstances.
Sanford pulled the pin.
"DON'T THROW IT, SAN!"
The grenade had already left Sanford's fingertips, arcing towards his intended target. A single shot rang out from the distance. The grenade burst midair, achieving nothing other than giving away their position.
Aidan flared his teeth. "THAT MOTHERFUCKER DID NOT JUST DO THAT!"
Adriel opened fire onto the enemy squad with his rifle, shredding two unsuspecting Agents with controlled bursts. An Engineer fired back at the muzzle flashes. Where most of the bullets splintered off the side of the alleyway, one rogue round found its way into Adriel's right shoulder.
"Unf!" Adriel fell.
"Adriel!" Aidan pulled him back, just in time to avoid the next volley. "Why'd you peek them, you jackass?!"
Sanford was forced back into cover. "We gotta reposition. Climb that fire escape!"
"My partner's bleeding out because of yours!" Aidan hoisted Adriel over his shoulder as he ran past Sanford. "He should be taking care of this!"
Mary watched in horror as Deimos's trigger detonated the air across the street. He lowered his barrel, leaving a dozen questions running through Mary's head.
"What…" She picked one. "What did you shoot at?"
"The grenade."
"The grenade." Mary's jaw sagged. "From that far?"
"San threw it!" Deimos hissed. "Had to do something!"
Gunfire sparked between the alleyway and the armored convoy. Mary aimed down the sights of the pistol Deimos had given her, trying in vain to find a clear target among the shifting shadows. Deimos's rifle barked, felling a trio of enemies advancing toward their teammates' position.
"Why aren't you shooting? Is the gun jammed? Did I forget to reload it?" Deimos yelled the questions over his shoulder at a speed comparable to his shooting.
"I don't have a clear angle, or the range, with this thing!"
"Um, okay? Let's trade! Quick!"
He held his hand out, and she gave him his handgun back as he passed her his rifle.. Deimos sent the contents of his mag downrange, felling an Engineer through his yellow visor with his last bullet. He turned to Mary as he ducked back into cover to reload, plucking one of his mags from Mary's pocket where she had put them.
"Lots of dudes out there to shoot, huh! They're all standing nice and still too. Too easy!"
She turned away, subconsciously hiding her flushed reaction. "I'm moving up."
Mary grabbed a spare mag off of Deimos' belt and pressed forward before he could reply.
"DON'T THROW IT, SAN!"
The Agents and Engineers all flinched from the ensuing gunshot and explosion. Cathy fell atop one of the large piles of glass. Two of the fazed Agents at the front were sprayed down, their gore coating the front of a van.
"12 o'clock!" One Engineer aimed at the muzzle flashes.
He fired a volley, illuminating the road in front of them. One of the targets dropped to the ground.
"The alleyway!" The Engineer yelled. "Contact's injured!"
The rest of the group opened fire, obliterating the concrete corner in seconds. While some of them pushed forward, an Agent grabbed Cathy up by the back of her shirt. Before the advancing units reached the alleyway, they fell against the building beside them as more bullets ripped them from the side.
"9 o' clock!" An Engineer cried with audible panic. "There's another squad!"
"Fall back into the Tent!" An Agent yelled.
"No! We can't allow them to breach it!"
His order fell on deaf ears, as most of the Agents retreated into the school. Cathy was dragged along with them—all that remained of the vanguard were a handful of Engineers.
"Dissenters!"
The Engineer's cursing was met from above with bullets from the rooftop. Just as the remaining Engineers looked up, Sanford leapt out of the alleyway firing. Aidan and him made short work of anyone left outside, dropping one after the other from two fronts.
Aidan turned to Adriel. "You okay?"
Adriel's expression was pained, but he lifted his secondary with his good arm in response.
"Good," Aidan said. "Because we need to get in there right now."
"No, we should regroup." Sanford finished climbing up the fire escape. "With just the two and a half of us rushing in there, it'd be suicide."
"Our jig is up!" Aidan pointed towards the road. "If they make a break for it, those hostages are long gone! And if they're not gonna pay for the bullet in my partner's shoulder, I'll make sure your buddy will."
Sanford cocked his head, his eyes narrowed. "That a fact?"
"Did you hit your head on a rock and forget who blew our cover in the last five minutes?"
"He has a reason." Sanford's expression didn't waver. "I trust him."
"You motherfucker." Aidan clenched his hands. "First you wanna lecture me about suicidal ideas and now you want me to just forget about that stunt-"
"Aidan, I'm fine. We can still fight." Adriel grunted back to his feet. "Preferably together. Besides, we're running out of time, right?"
Aidan leered at Adriel's wound. The blood had already dried up and crusted against the bullethole in his shirt.
"Fire the hook," Aidan ordered.
Adriel obliged. The line's steel gleamed across the air, until it went taut after bracing itself against the school's rooftop. Aidan climbed his way across, one hand after the other.
Adriel smirked. "You shouldn't underestimate yourself, because I'm sure that 'half' wasn't referring to Aidan or me. You of all people should know an arm doesn't weigh an Operative down. Might be a bit hard to cross here, though."
"Sorry. I didn't mean-"
"It's fine. To be honest, I'm pretty grateful you didn't lose your cool. That usually doesn't happen when he makes new friends." Adriel faced where Aidan was heading. "I know this sounds rich, but trust me when I say he really does care. He just has a rough way of showing it."
"I can tell." Sanford murmured. "Sounds like a certain someone I know."
"My point is, you said you trusted Deimos, right? Well I trust Aidan just as much, so…" Adriel put on an awkward smile. "Can we call it even?"
"Fair. I'll lift you up with my hook after I cross." Sanford followed Aidan's path. "Let's make sure your buddy's compassion doesn't get him killed."
"Debris cleared, sir," an Engineer said.
Ash still lingered over the remaining soldiers and hostages. Agents and Engineers had left their defensive perimeter around the auditorium and were now dispersed around the ruins.
Daniel glanced up. "It seems the fighting outside has cleared up as well."
The Engineer lowered his voice. "Sir, if I might ask, do you know who attacked us?"
"Definitely not from the government. Our commander in chief would prefer to keep this situation discreet." Daniel said. "The attackers were loud and careless. Whoever's outside reeks of Antithesis. They never stick to their plans, and that makes them an actual threat."
"Your orders?"
"Monsters!" An elderly voice from the group of sitting hostages yelled over them. "If I were half the man I was, I'd kill you all myself, you bastards!"
A younger woman grabbed at one of his arms, urgently whispering into his ear. Her face flushed as soon as she saw their captor pacing towards them. Daniel stopped once he closed the distance, giving himself a few seconds to relish the silence. As he leered them down, he noticed the wound on the arm the woman wasn't holding onto.
"I'm sorry," the woman spoke, trying to interject. "My father doesn't-"
"You crushed my son, you piece of shit." The father snapped, glaring at the weapon. "You think you scare me?"
The ruined doors leading into the auditorium nearly flung from their hinges.
"Sir…" one of the Agents from outside ran up to Daniel, heaving. "We have… a situation."
"Yes, I heard." Daniel drew his sidearm and pressed the muzzle against the man's chin, eliciting a gasp from the daughter. "I want a status report on the station siege. I haven't heard a word from them since I sent reinforcements."
The Agent held his breath. "Uh, right. Of course, sir. About that-"
"Danny?"
The Agent gladly stepped aside for Cathy, who stood in stunned silence at the sight in front of her.
"We captured her before the station was razed down, sir!" The Agent tried to overlap the fear in his tone with pride. "She practically turned herself in!"
"Untie her. She won't be hurting anybody. Did you perchance find any of the hostages I ordered you to find?"
"Well, sir, we took heavy losses while securing the station, but the noncombatants had all disappeared, so we thought that-"
"Thought what? That..." Daniel waved his gun in the air as his expression scrunched up. "That this was what I requested? What part of this prisoner screams 'useful' to you?"
The Agent grimaced. "... Familial bonds?"
"Idiot. I need bargaining chips. Intelligence. Maybe some rich businessman's kid. Instead, you bring me a liability."
"What are you doing?" Cathy asked, her voice steady.
"And she speaks. As much as I'd love to catch up, sister dearest, my subordinates have forced me to accelerate my timeline. If it's my gratitude you're here for, you have it." Daniel turned his back to her, taking a headcount of his men. "You've done well. Maybe even a little too well, in fact-"
"DANIEL!"
The old, struggling walls shuddered at her scream.
"What is all this?! Who are these people?!"
"You know, 'Danny' was already pushing it. But now?" He turned back around, moving towards her in strides. "Now, you have my attention."
She stared up at him, her eyes wide. "Listen to me-"
"If you listened to me, you could probably guess what's going on." Daniel made a grand gesture towards the despondent crowd and its stern handlers. "It's pretty obvious, really."
Cathy's lower jaw quivered. She shut her mouth, her eyes squinting back tears.
"Why are you doing this?" she whispered.
"Are you really asking me that?"
"If this is about Dad-"
He smirked. "It's not. You think I'm doing this to avenge that piece of shit? He can rot in hell."
"But… that's what you told me! That's what you said-!"
"Because you would be able to swallow it." Daniel glowered. "And I'm sure it'd work great in the Gazette. Yet another sensational headline. Another dramatic assumption. Truth is, he was an abusive psychopath. And our mother was his damaged goods. You never truly knew, because you were born after his grand 'reformation'. After me."
"Don't say that about them. That's not true."
"Jebus Christ, you really are just like him!" He ran a hand through his hair. "It's no wonder you two fell for each other. Two of a gullible kind!"
"What do you-?"
"Now who's the one who isn't listening?" Daniel mirthlessly laughed. "Hank! Or whatever pet names you've given him. Wimbles, was it? You two rounded those bases in record time. You got him in your bed within a few weeks, and now I can see why. Oh, what's with that look, did you really think I wouldn't have someone monitoring you?"
Shivers crawled up Cathy's spine.
"Where'd all that self-righteous talk about mommy and daddy go? Or are you still failing to recognize your own hypocrisy?" Daniel walked up to her, cocking his head as he spoke into her ear. "No, no, you couldn't be that dull. You found your way here, after all, just to come face to face with your tormentor. Though I wonder, for what purpose?"
Her blank stare was stuck to the ground. "To stop you…"
"How?!" His yell rang through Cathy's ears, jolting her backwards. "By whispering sweet nothings into my ear? Did you come here just to mock me?"
"I came because I believed in you!" She forced herself to look at him. "That you'd know how obviously wrong this... your..."
"And now that I've quashed that belief, you're here to stop me?" He stared her down, separating the distance between their foreheads to centimeters. "You understand what that means, right? Because our ideals are so diametrically opposed, to stop me you'd have to kill me. Could you do that?"
Cathy held her breath; her thrumming heart was ready to explode. Her hands shifted into one of her pockets, but all she could do was freeze and shudder against her brother's eyes like a deer against headlights.
She fell to her knees.
"Figures." Daniel's expression laxed into an unimpressed one. "Enjoy your new company while you can, Catherine. Engineers! Line up half the prisoners and follow me."
"W-wait, sir!" The Agent from earlier hurried towards Daniel. "What about your Agents? What are our orders?"
"Of course. Thank you for the reminder." He smiled. "The rest of you will be holding this position until we return."
Color started to leave the Agent's face. "That's…"
"I found your tactical retreat from the front of the school ingenious. You used the others to buy enough time to reach the fallback position. You lived to fight another day, and today is that day." Daniel glowered at him. "Unless, my assessment is incorrect because you've had ulterior motives?"
"... No sir."
"Excellent." Daniel slapped his hand onto the Agent's shoulder, looking past him. "And, before I forget. Take the old man's daughter."
It wasn't until two Engineers grabbed each of the daughter's arms that she finally broke out of her stunned trance. She screamed and kicked as she was dragged away.
"No!" The old man grabbed at one of the Engineer's legs. "I'm sorry! I was the one who spoke out of line! Take me instead!"
The Engineer kicked him aside with his steel-toed boot, sending him sprawling on the concrete. As the woman's yelling grew quiet, comprehending silence took its place. Daniel stared at the old man's figure, nodding to himself before following the convoy of prisoners marching past the stage.
Cathy's eyes didn't have the strength to move off the floor. A single word stumbled out of her dry throat in a whisper:
"Why?"
Her brother continued to walk away. Neither his figure nor response were weighed down by any hint of shame she had in her voice.
"Because it makes me whole."
Agent 00201-Theta felt blindly for a handhold. He shook his head, hoping it would clear his ringing ears.
He blinked again. Still blurry. His glasses must be foggy. He considered removing them for a brief moment, just to wipe them on the hem of his suit.
He rubbed at the lenses with his sleeves. Still blurry.
He struggled to get to his feet, the aftershocks of his concussion sending tremors through his legs.
"203, you there?" 00201 groaned. "The fuck just happened?"
00201-Theta saw a blurred shape reach for a table. It pushed itself upright with a grunt of exertion.
"Shit," 00203-Theta groaned. "Was... was that an earthquake or something?"
00201 leaned on a wall, feeling the gash across his forehead with a trembling hand. The pain sliced through the haze that clouded his thoughts.
"Whatever that was, it knocked out the power," 00201 mused. "The night vision on my glasses just activated."
They both heard the front door raise open. A black blur rushed past them, its crimson eyes leaving trails in the dark as it hurtled over the table and towards the staircase behind them.
00201 turned to his partner. "I'm... pretty sure that was Hank J. Wimbleton."
"Bullshit." 00203 coughed weakly as he tried to steady himself. "If it was, we'd already be dead."
Gentle fizzling made 00201 look down.
"You seeing this?"
"What now? Didja find Sanford and Deimos too?"
"I'm serious. Look down. Are those…" He squinted, hoping that it would somehow sharpen his glasses' grainy night-vision feed. "Train tracks?"
The stream of red sparks continued all the way to the opposite end of the wall, extending the railway appearing out of nowhere, leading to nowhere. Past the front door, the shriek of an air whistle quickly grew louder and louder.
It was the last thing 00201 heard before the locomotive crashed through the doorway, dashing his remains across the wall.
Hank felt the gust of wind from the train brush against his back just as he reached the staircase. Panicked yells came from the flights above as glowing glasses and visors rushed down to what remained of the first floor. A sudden shift made him stumble against the steps; the apartment was tilting.
Hank leapt onto the handrails. He pushed off against them, bounding from one handrail to the next. Once the Agents and Engineers reached his stairwell, Hank flung himself back onto the steps, meeting them halfway. The lead Agent hesitated for a half second, more than enough time for Hank to punch him twice in the face. In one clean motion, he unsheathed the Agent's knife, slit his throat, and slung the blade into the head of the Engineer flanking the Agent.
The two bodies tumbled backwards, stopping the remaining duo of Engineers from properly drawing their weapons. Hank climbed over the Agent's corpse, using its shoulders to jump toward the next flight's guardrail. The rest of the squad opened fire; their haphazard shots did nothing to interrupt the singular thought running through his head:
Climb!
But the staircase could only last him for so long; soon enough, there was nothing left to climb. Beneath him, three powerful blows smashed the door off its frame, sending it careening off the handrail. Bright light flooded the stairwell from the bottom, growing fiercer by the second. He dashed through the doorway leading into the top floor, confused yells and gunfire ringing in his ears.
Two rows of identical doorways stretched out into more blackness. Hank lost his footing as more pained rumbling came from the structure. More tilting—the floor and ceiling were a few degrees away from switching places.
He clambered up what used to be the floor, pulling himself up against the doorway. After crawling through the frame, Hank landed on what used to be the room's left wall. All the contents of the smashed supply crates were spilling towards the building's new center of gravity. Of them, Hank grabbed a pump-action shotgun and a box of shells as they fell past him. He grabbed a handful of shells before the box tipped through the door, sending the remaining ammunition rolling down the tilted walls and into the undistinguishable dark.
The stairwell went dead silent. Hank flipped the shotgun over, blindly feeling for its chamber. His fingers shook as he struggled to insert the first slug. The shell's small, affirmative click granted him a brief sense of security.
One shell.
An unearthly light streamed underneath his room's door. Another click.
Two.
The door burst open. Click.
Three.
Hank pumped the action and aimed. Tricky's monstrous head emerged, vomiting fire as soon as it saw him. Hank fired, but was forced to duck behind cover before the flames could burn him to a crisp.
Three.
Tricky flinched. Its claws gouged the ground as the demon clambered its way towards Hank. He tried inching his way back against the sloped wall. He fired again.
Two.
The second shot delayed the inevitable for a few seconds. Tricky roared, reaching a grotesque hand for Hank. Right before him, in that moment of absolute despair, was a shred of clarity that came from the behemoth's illuminating form:
Gas canisters by the door.
Hank aimed past Tricky, screaming at the top of his lungs.
One.
Glass erupted from the top floor window as the building completely toppled over. Layers of concrete collapsed atop each other against the apartment's own weight. Another massive plume of sand rose into the sky, barely visible under the pale moonlight.
(Original) A/N: Okay. 29. Done. It's around 2,950 words, so it definitely is long enough to be considered in my 2000-3000 word chapters. I'm sorry this felt short though: I will update by Sunday so you guys get more for less!
Reviewer's Credit:
Nikolai247: Thanks for your review! I'm glad you still enjoy this story, even during its climax, and yes, this is getting intense. In a sense, no, this isn't Tricky v2.0, but more of a degraded version because I don't want to shift too much focus off of Dan (since he is the main antagonist). That doesn't mean this will lose its epic-ness. In fact, it is just beginning. Don't worry though: the next chapter will focus more on Tricky and Hank's fight since I sorta missed that in this chapter only because the setting just wasn't right. Epic fights happen usually outside, so I needed this part to move the background outdoors.
P.S. I like what you did with your profile. It makes your page look more interesting with a Bio. And also, if you do make stories, make sure to share it with all of us!
Sackrum: LOL. Oh fuck yes it did. SHIT JUST GOT PERSONAL.
By the way, nice job on the stories! Really love how you're doin' so far, so keep up the awesome work!
Credits over. Again, thank you all for reading this story! I am doing my best making this epic, and I hope you guys feel like I accomplished it! Keep showing your support, and review if you have anything to say!
By the way, Krinkels just uploaded a pic of Madness Combat 11 on his Newgrounds page. It might not look like much, but you could notice there is an OBSV agent in the background getting pwned. (DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN!).
I will update A.S.A.P., so please keep your eyes open. Also, I am making another fanfic with OC's (Original Characters) from fans! If you wanna submit your OC to the first ever Madness Combat fanfic with OC's from real people in it, then go ahead! I need at least 8 people for this, so I suggest highly that you PM me about your own ideas! Nikolai did submit his own OC, so if you guys wanna try-out, you all have that free choice as well! Hurry, because if I get overflown with people's OC's, then there may be no spot for your Character too! All you have to do is describe your character's personality, physical traits, clothes, flaws (yes those too, I don't want fucking Gods in my story), and favorite weapons as well as least favorites.
Other than that, not much to say, but thank you! All of you are an awesome crowd, so I wanna give a shout-out to you readers out there! You guys inspire me to write, so keep it up! I will be working on Chapter 30 tomorrow, and with this, I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Final Salvation!
~Spirit9871
(New) A/N: It's been one hell of a while, huh? Practically a year at this point; a lot of you have been asking whether or not I've died and I'm really flattered that you all cared so much. I'll mention it again—rest assured, if anything happens to me, you'll hear it from either Sacrom or Alias. I don't intend on leaving anyone in the dark, despite how things have been the past year.
If it wasn't obvious before, it's been getting increasingly challenging writing in general. There are so many days when I stare at a half-completed page, barely able to add two more lines to them, that reading some of these older Author's Notes feels surreal. Sure, with a higher standard of quality now and a team, it's not as simple as vomiting a chapter every few days, but seven months is just shameful. I know I've said this before, but I really am sorry for how slow things have been. No, I don't think this is normal and I do honestly think of each of you who still care enough to stick around.
I've got quite a bit of real life stuff to share, but I'll save it for after the Changelog. That way, it'll only be there for those of you who are actually curious lol
Changelog:
1 - Chapter title changed from: "Deimos's Opportunity" to "Fractures". These old chapter titles really encapsulate why I'm so deadset on getting this damn rewrite done.
2 - More on Cathy. She actually exists now, instead of poofing into thin air from the original.
3 - On that note, an actual conversation between Cathy and Dan. I'm gonna be honest, had I not added a scene like this, I'd feel like the Rewrite would be pointless. Also gave an opportunity to disclose a little more something something on the Richards… not too much though. ;)
4 - An actual infiltration sequence for Sanford and Deimos, along with some new "friends"! I actually wrote it out this time; crazy, right?!
5 - More from Tricky and Hank. More (pretty obvious) references from the canon animations.
6 - Spelling and grammatical errors removed.
7 - Narration and dialogue improved.
8 - Diction enhanced.
9 - The universe is a better place.
Changelog over. Now for some serious news:
I've actually qualified for a work abroad program in Japan, where I'll be teaching English to Japanese students until July! My flight is on September 11th and I'll be returning home sometime in August of next year. Just in time to start grad school.
I'm really happy to take the opportunity to do this, since quarantine put a massive wrench in my plans. I think that this is really the only point in my life where I can freely devote some time (and gain some independence) living in Japan for a year. Yeah, I'm pretty nervous, but this is a big step that I want to take professionally and personally. It's also because of that, that I've been reconnecting with old friends before I go abroad. Even managed to pick up some new hobbies too thanks to that, main one being indoor rock-climbing (which I heard is pretty trendy in Japan).
And for those of you who are concerned, don't worry This isn't going to change anything related to the updating rate… albeit that sounds more like a joke than anything right now. Of course, if anything I'm more concerned about speeding things up, but the main point is, this isn't going to impede on the production process. I'm hoping the change of scenery will help get the creative juices actually flowing. For now, I at least hope to get another chapter out before my flight. Maybe stick to my promises about putting stuff out more frequently for once.
That's about it for the most part. All the kind words each and every single one of you have shared in your reviews on all my stories, as well as the questions I get on CuriousCat—I'm constantly watching and taking it all in. It's truly an honor to be able to entertain so many of you guys who've stuck through thick and thin over the course of literal years. Thank you for continuing to give me that opportunity.
And thank you, for reading Chapter 29! It is currently August 20th, 2021. We hope you enjoyed this rewritten chapter of Final Salvation!
~Spirit