Annika didn't ask Tommy how he knew, it was too obvious.
and Tommy was talking about their neighbor, a sure hunter, the kind that hunted down illegal bionic humans. although most of the grim reapers have legitimate bionic identities – such as alsard Tommyh. but this obviously does not include Annika, whose identity is a secret among bionic people, let alone tested and registered. except for him, naturally not all the identities of the god of death can see the light.
death's identity is a secret, and here's the trouble: a hunter steals all of death's identity, but this is not a hunter who is strictly loyal to the government, he does not turn in the information, but holds the classified file in his own hands.
that's their task, they have to destroy the data, before the hunters find out what's wrong, give up their chips and upload the data.
that's why he and Anna pretended to be lovers and moved into the building. living upstairs were the isidores. the surname is said to have something to do with a previous incident involving mercer. it doesn't matter. mr. isidore was the hunter who withheld the file, and they were not sure if mrs. isidore was aware of it.
they had walked to the center of the red carpet.
the process of the post-war wedding has changed a lot, but Annika can't say exactly where the change is, because he has never seen before the war. only from some surviving material and the interviewer's words can we understand the pompeii-like world that has been buried by dust.
humans are the remnants of pompeii, Annika thought, and their genes all carry the smell of volcanic ash. this is different from the bionic man, who grows from volcanic ash.
he glanced silently at his hands—under the white gloves were bones, flesh, skin, the thin cocoon left by years of gun holding, and many small scars. he didn't know what part of the scars belonged to, scratched, bled and then healed, or simulated. the latter sounds like a somewhat vicious cold joke.
he blinked, hoping to get rid of something that hung from his eyelashes. his breathing trembled a little, and assad, as if sensing something, tightened his arms around him.
the smoke and blood that had long swirled in his nasal passages, and the false floral fragrance that filled the entire auditorium, were scratched without warning. the bitter smell of a wisp of coffee pierced through the air and slammed into his brain.
Annika finally calmed down, and he stared at the guest seat with the afterglow. there didn't seem to be anything unusual at the moment, the isidores and the other neighbors who had little intersection were smiling kindly, but as to how much of it was true, he couldn't tell by the afterglow. at this point he only hoped that the other part of the mission would proceed smoothly. because—for mercer's sake—it was enough to marry alsard once.
"you're wandering again."
Tommyh's voice interrupted Annika's thinking, and Annika took his eyes off the window, and there was only endless smoke and red light scattered in the smoke. but he still habitually looked out the window as if he could see the sky. without looking back, he sensed Tommy's presence. he heard the small sound of Anna taking off his coat and hanging it on a hanger, which made him inexplicably feel a familiar sense of reassurance.
"this is alison," Annika said, "and it was sent back." "
his gaze fell on the box at hand, where there was a quiet gray magpie. she stood there, flapping a pair of wings, curiously surveying the world around her.
"or the eyes, i don't know the specific problem, maybe it should be overhauled-"
Annika's words came to an abrupt halt when his gaze collided with Tommy. in Tommy's hand was a dress, the kind whose buttons were all shining. he recognized the outfit that jarvic had shown him, but he had always thought it was in the drawing.
"try it on," Tommyh said, wrapping his arms around Annika's shoulders with great naturalness.
Annika almost had to shiver, and the wedding dress- great, has reached this point. as if unaware of his embarrassment, Anna picked up the guest list and read it.
alison cried out like a crow.
he looked at himself in the mirror, looked at the scars on his face, and thought soberly that if he hadn't died he wouldn't have even met Tommy—should he be grateful for death?
at this time, there was a knock at the door, Annika walked over and opened the door, and Tommyh stood outside the door, wearing a white dress—similar to the style and color opposite to the one on Annika's body. instead of a bow tie, he wore a wide tie and a belt around his waist. he looked mature and steady, obviously not in the same category as Annika at all.
"just put it on for you." Anna said, "and i remember you don't wear a bow tie." as he spoke, Tommy's gaze swept across his neck and landed on the black ribbon draped over his sides. then he reached out and expertly tied the bow tie. Annika felt the back of his hand and knuckles rubbing across the collar of his shirt, a little itchy. he held his breath and resisted the urge to take a step back.
finally, Tommy's hand left. he slightly distanced himself from Annika and once again looked at him from head to toe. Annika saw the smile on his face widen.
"is it appropriate?" jarvic asked, "is there anything to change?" "
"nothing." Annika replied, and after a while, he raised his head slightly and looked at Tommyh, "-how do you know the size of my dress?" "
Tommy coughed dryly, "in fact, there is another set," he diverged from the topic, "the traditional kind of red wedding dress, worn during the toast, do you want me to try it for you?" "
Annika shook his head, he felt that they could not hold out when it was time for the toast.
Tommy leaned over Annika's ear.
"you look so good."
they stood on the ceremonial stage, and mercer's spokesman stood beside them, replacing where the priest should have been before the war. and in front of them was an empathy box — people had long since stopped climbing. empathy is still there, but mercer has long since drifted like a shadow of the past.
without hesitation, alsard reached out and grasped the handle. his expression gave every reason to believe that he was sharing his joy with everyone present. Annika sighed in his heart and also followed suit to grasp the handle.
anger, doubt, nervous screams of pain and extinct grief.
Annika was about to let go of his hand, but he couldn't. ordinary humans don't receive so many emotions through empathy boxes. but Annika, who has received empathy training as mercer, is different—he is more human-like than humans, and therefore more miserable than humans.
his other hand was suddenly quietly grasped by alsard. only then did he realize that his palms were full of cold sweat, and he guessed that his face would not look much better, but alsard's movements gave him some support. he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let the emotions that belonged to others in the empathy box drown him.
the spokesperson began to read the oath.
"would you like to marry this man?"
questioning, some mournful screams of pain hovering in the air, each with non-existent blood and tears.
Annika tried to discern the source of these emotions, but he failed.
"love him and be loyal to him."
— anger, someone was roaring, it was an unstoppable explosion, and the afterglow rumbled.
Annika tried to shake off the influence of these emotions, but he failed again.
"whether he's poor, sick, or disabled."
none of these three points are likely to happen to al sad, Annika thought.
"until death."
Annika heard a chuckle, something flowed out of the empathy box, and he caught the wisp of warm and even a little burning emotion.
unlike other emotions, it came from another path, like a piece of data, along a wire into the part of his brain that had been patched up and grown again. the soft laughter was like the kind of light simulated in the auditorium, with heat and smells coming from outside the barrier, and he could feel bright and warm.
and he recognized the voice.
Annika opened his eyes and looked at al sad.
he was still smiling, looking decent and incomprehensible—he wouldn't know that Annika heard his laughter.
"would you like to?"
alsard raised his hand violently and pushed Annika behind the stage, and a laser hit a ridiculous pink balloon with a laser rubbing Annika's cheek, making a loud bang.
it's like a node, an order.
Annika squatted down, threw off his dress jacket that was inevitably a bit obstructive, pulled out the gun tied to his ankle, and aimed at isidore. he did not find out when alsad drew his gun, but at isidore's side, lady isidore, still holding the gun, had been shot down.
the falsely beautiful atmosphere was shattered, and the scene immediately became chaotic. the white-haired spokesperson mounted the muzzle on the back of the chair, the guests felt their weapons from the unbelievable place, the dangerous light splashed everywhere, the sound of balloons exploding one after another, and some even picked up the bench and attacked everyone in front of them indiscriminately—
aim, shoot, dodge. death's gun is not fatal, but unlike hunters, slaughtering bionic humans won't cause them any trouble. the smell of laser-charred objects or limbs filled the air, mixed with mournful cries and unmistakable commands.
kill mercer!
he heard someone shouting, and saw that the shouter quickly fell. his arm had been hit and his cheek was still bleeding, but soon there would be new cells to fill the wound. the wooden ceremonial platform was hit by a part of the bench, and the empathy box smashed at Annika's feet, cracking a vicious gap.
questioning, anger, screams of misery and roars of pain, destruction and explosions.
he grabbed alsad's arm and pulled him close to himself, pulling him to the ceremonial stage, his voice eager and sharp, nearly piercing his own throat.
"there are bombs!" he shouted, "they brought bombs!" "
alsard just nodded to Annika and shook his shoulder briefly and forcefully. that was to reassure him, although it was not common sense, but Annika was really relieved—just like the fragments of explosive shrapnel and blood that remained in his memory suddenly lost their edges and corners, and no longer sharply poked at his nerves.
there was movement in the headphones, Annika held it down, and heard the voice of some strange grim reaper.
- the data was successfully destroyed and the battle was ended.
without warning from the other side that the battle was coming to an end, Annika looked around the field and wondered where the bomb that had been used to die would be hidden.
"mrs. isidore's handbag, alison." alshard said, "go quickly, i'll cover you." "
Annika jumped over the ceremonial platform and rushed to the battle, al sad's gun was aimed at his front, and the obstacles fell one after another in front of his eyes. Annika bent down to pick up mrs. isidore's handbag, and alison curled up inside, her feathers disheveled, trembling in a very realistic position.
he rushed to the stained window and smashed the stained glass with his elbow, and the brightness was broken, revealing the gray sky covered with radioactive dust and the tall buildings hidden in the dust. he let go of his hand, and alison spread his wings and sped into the sky. her wings were somewhat folded and she flew crookedly, but she was still going all the way up, firm and persistent, as if she were going to fly through the radioactive dust to the sun.
loud noise, explosion. Annika couldn't see her anymore, and even the flames had never penetrated the thick haze. the afterglow reverberated and rumbled through the colorful light boxes and tall buildings.
Annika turned his head, and al sadd did not know when he was standing by his side. the battle was over, and the hunters fell at their feet like a corpse still breathing. death sat back in the guest seat as if nothing had ever happened.
the spokesperson holds the empathy box in his hand and stands by their side.
Annika saw himself in alsad's eyes, wearing a crooked bow tie, his hair full of glass shards, and the scars on his cheeks were only crusted. and alsard's tie had been cut in half, and his hair had been scattered during the battle, disheveled over his shoulders—almost the worst state in the world he could have imagined.
"will you?"
the spokesperson asked.
alsard's hand rested on the back of Annika's head, taking him into his arms. Annika raised his head and touched alsard's lips, their lips and teeth full of blood and the smell of sun burning.
- yes, i do.
END