AN: Here it is, the finale of the second battle of the Placidium. That was supposed to be the actual title of these last few chapters, but FF dot net has a character limit on chapter titles when posting.
Anyways, I should warn you all now that there MIGHT be a few more mistakes in here then usual. As you may recall, last week I complained about having strained some muscles in my lower back. Well, the pain migrated to my hip and became ten times worse... leaving me limping and unable to perform normal tasks. I had to see a doctor and got some medication for it. Only issue is that said medication leaves me constantly drowsy and loopy, so performing a lengthy task that requires concentration (like writing and editing) was a bit difficult.
Because of that, I won't be updating next week, since I'll probably still be on said medication. So you'll have to have this chapter to tie you all over until the end of November.
Sadly there were no reviews since the last chapter posting, so no review response this week.
Enjoy!
Ascension COM LINK Log: Operation Attila: Log 007: Meta-Human Squad Osiris
Cole: "This is Admiral Cole to all forces. We've got what we needed, all forces begin retreat."
Flam: "Understo- Hey! Watch out behind you! Damn ninjas."
Vind: "This damn monk and his pet gargoyle won't stop chasing me! Where the fuck is everyone!?"
Star: "I'm a little BUSY here!"
Mania: "What's your problem? I've got a dragon and… uh… never mind."
Siren: "We're losing ground outside the city. Enemy reinforcements have arrived."
Valk: "I'm heading outside to buy more time for the retreat."
Flam: "Don't get yourself killed out there. Starscream, where the hell are you?"
Star: "Let go of my arm you craz-AHHHHHH! AHHH!"
Flam: "… Looks like someone is putting emphasis on the scream part of his name…"
Star: "My arm… he got my fucking arm!"
Cole: "Do not waste any more resources. All forces pull out!"
The Placidium, Ionia
"Behind us!" An Ascension soldier shouted his last as a pair Lhotlan rammed into him, sending him to the ground. Before he could scream again the two animal-human hybrids brought their talons down into the man's visor, smashing it and plunging deep into his skull.
The tides that were once in the Ascension's favor, had now turned completely against them. Where there had once been one army to deal with, the Ascension forces found themselves caught in a pincer attack as the Lhotlan army ripped into the Ascension army from the rear, catching them completely off guard.
Several Ascension soldiers tried to make a break for it, breaking out of the melee and running towards the forest, tying to lose their attackers. However, as soon as they got close to the tree line, another warning came out over the COM.
"More movement! They're coming from the-AHHHHH!"
The fleeing soldiers stopped dead in their tracks, watching the treeline carefully. They soon saw lots of figures coming into view, and opened fired into the trees, trying to hit something, anything.
"IONIA" Came a massive shout from the trees, and out with it came a forth army. Hundreds of mounted soldiers carrying the banner of the Zhyun province emerged from the forest, charging at the Ascension army from its unprotected flank.
The soldiers that had tried to run to the forest did a complete one-eighty and fled back towards the melee, only to be cut down by the vengeful charging Ionians.
Ascension shock troopers and aircraft descended onto the battlefield, trying to by time for the soldiers in the melee to break off and get to one of the many dropships hovering over the battle, trying to pick up as many survivors as possible.
And in the center of the chaos, stood a teenage girl from Japan…
How did I get here?!
Hitomi's mind asked herself the question in a moment of clarity, before her mind became occupied by the thoughts of battle once again.
Hitomi gripped Yasuo's copied sword in her hand and parried a swing from an Ascension shock trooper's bayonet. She slashed at the soldier's neck, but the shock trooper ducked down and dodged it, before trying to stab at her with his bayonet again. Hitomi leaned to the side to dodge, and punched the shock trooper in the head with all the strength she could muster.
The shock trooper stumbled to the side from the stunning blow, giving Hitomi a clear view of the weak point at the soldier's neck. With a war cry of her own, Hitomi took her sword in two hands and stabbed the soldier through the neck. The shock trooper's body tensed up at having the steel weapon impaling his neck, and as soon as Hitomi pulled the blade out, the soldier slumped over onto the blood-soaked grass.
That's… five! Hitomi thought. Where she had felt guilt before at killing those ninja's two weeks ago, now she felt none.
Die you Ascension temee!
"Forwards! Forwards!" Someone behind Hitomi shouted, and in response the many bodies that surrounded her ran forwards, pushing harder into the Ascension soldiers and driving them back. Hitomi ran with them, partly to avoid being trampled by her own side, partly because she had finally been given her chance at revenge.
Hitomi screamed out as she leapt at another Ascension soldier, who had his back turned and was trying to flee from the onslaught of the Lhotlan. Hitomi's katana pierced the back of the soldier's armor, causing the soldier to scream and fall face first onto the ground.
Hitomi jumped on the fallen soldier's back and stabbed him in the back again, and again.
"Die! Die! Die!" She screamed, and made ready to stab him a fourth time when she felt the chill go down her spine, breaking her from her rage.
Kuso!
Hitomi threw a look over shoulder and, just in time to see the bloody body of a Lhotlan slam into her, sending her off her feet. Hitomi cursed in her native tongue as she felt her back hit someone else, causing the two of them to fall in a heap.
Hitomi threw the dead Lhotlan off her and rolled off the other person she had fallen into, another Lhotlan who threw her a nasty look before his eyes went wide.
"Look out!" The freedom-fighter pointed behind her as the two of them got to their feet.
On que, Hitomi felt another chill go down her spine. She took one quick look at the Lhotlan's short sword and focused her power in her right hand, summoning up a cloned weapon. She twisted her body to the side, bringing the cloned weapon around with her just in time to parry off an attack from another shock trooper.
"Die TRANS-Ops dog!" The shock trooper screamed at her as he kicked Hitomi in the stomach, causing her to cuss in pain and stumble back into the Lhotlan who warned her.
Bad! Bad! Hitomi thought as she tried to bring the cloned weapon back up to parry whatever blow would come next. But before the shock trooper could follow up on the opening, two Lhotlan soldiers tackled him, with two more jumping on top. The four of them pinned the soldier to the ground and started stabbing him repeatedly, causing the shock trooper to scream in terror as blood sprayed out in all directions from his body.
Hitomi watched the violence wide-eyed, the rage she felt earlier leaving her. Her world started to spin as she looked around, stumbling as she tried to stay on her feet. She nearly tripped over the dead body of the Lhotlan soldier who had been thrown into her moments ago. Hitomi looked down at him, seeing how half of the dead hybrid's face had been blown off by… something.
Hitomi looked away, trying to keep the bile building in her stomach down. She saw the Lhotlan named Xayah leap into the air, throwing several of her feathers at something Hitomi couldn't see, then bring one of her taloned feet down into the visor of an Ascension soldier. Rakan appeared next to his lover and waved his hands around, forming a transparent barrier around the two as four shock troopers passed overhead, firing at them.
A tornado appeared in midair out of nowhere, catching the four shock troopers in it's grasp. Someone who looked like Yasuo blinked in and out of sight within the tornado, followed by splatters of blood from the shock trooper's bodies.
After the tornado disappeared as it came, she saw Wukong and Riven leap into the air, with the latter's formerly broken sword now appearing whole. The monkey-human hybrid used his massive staff as a baseball bat, batting a passing airborne shock trooper and sending him or her off course and out of Hitomi's sight. Riven on the other hand let out a battle cry and with a single swing, sent out a massive green wave that ripped through one of the wings of a dropship over head. The dropship lost control and started free-falling, crashing out of sight but nonetheless Hitomi felt the ground shake.
Hitomi's gaze went down to her hands. Where the armor had once been black, now colored red. Red with blood, although Hitomi had no idea if the blood had belonged to friend or foe.
The world shifted around her… no longer did she stand amid a battlefield on a fantasy world. Instead, she was back home, in Tokyo. The skyscrapers around her burned, giving off the illusion that the sky itself was on fire, with Ascension aircraft that swarmed the sky like demonic angels raining fire down on the city's inhabitants.
She was no longer clad in armor, instead, she was wearing her school uniform, a uniform drenched in blood. People around her of all ages screamed as they ran from the onslaught of Ascension soldiers who slaughtered all in their path. She saw a handful of police officers try to hold an intersection, only for a pair of banshees to descend upon them, butchering them all.
She felt another chill go down her spine, and she looked to her side, where an Ascension soldier stood over the corpse of young boy, taking aim at her with his assault rifle.
… -ove! Move! Hitomi's mind screamed at her, but she found herself unable to. Hitomi felt like she was in a trance… with the chaos all around her being the hypnotist.
A yellow blur entered her sight, launching itself at the Ascension soldier in question. In what felt like slow motion, Hitomi saw Master Yi's sword flash into existence, slashing the enemy soldier's arms off. Blood splattered everywhere, but before the Ascension soldier could scream, Yi's blade flashed again, and a second later the soldier's head was rolling on the ground.
Hitomi slowly blinked at the sight. This… this… is this… what I…
Her mind barely registered Yi grabbing hold of her arm. It wasn't until he started shaking her that her world started to make sense again.
"Do not lose yourself child!" Yi shouted at her, although his voice sounded sincere. "Keep yourself together!"
"Child… I once lost myself to revenge. You gain nothing from it but self loathing and arrested development…"
Hitomi heard Yi's words in her head again, from the time they had first met.
"Child!" She heard Yi shout at her as he shook her again. "Focus!"
..cus… ocus…. Focus…
FOCUS!
Hitomi closed her eyes and shook her head, the light-headedness that had plagued her before leaving her. She opened them up again, and the cityscape of her home vanished. She wasn't in Japan. The Ascension War was over.
She was in a land called Ionia! In the middle of another battle, only this time she wasn't some helpless high-schooler.
"I'm… ok! I'm ok!" Hitomi nodded twice, before shaking her head again and looking around, for real this time.
She wasn't at the front lines anymore… as both Lhotlan and soldiers wearing what looked like samurai armor raced past her and Yi. The only enemies around them were the shock troopers that made bombing runs over them. One of the samurai armored soldiers next to her took a bullet in the head, splattering blood across Hitomi's visor.
Kuso! Focus! Focus! Hitomi thought as she wiped the blood from her visor. With her sight resorted, she saw Jackhammer walking past her at a leisurely pace, a sharp contrast to the soldiers who ran past him.
"Ohhhhh baby!" Jackhammer hollered as he opened fired on a Revenant gunship in the distance. "NOW THIS! Is what I live for!"
The normal rounds in his looted assault rifle were empowered by his meta-human ability, and instead of bouncing off the armor of the targeted gunship, the rounds exploded, forcing the gunship away from the fight.
Hitomi's attention was brought back down to Yi as he gave her another shake.
"Are you with us child?" He asked, letting Hitomi go and grasping his own sword once again.
She looked down at the ground and picked up the dead soldier's katana, focusing her power in her other hand to summon up a second sword.
Hitomi gave Yi a nod and the master swordsman rushed back into battle, with Hitomi on his heels.
"Hey Archi!" Jinx let go of her minigun to give him a friendly wave, before her usual smile turned into a more sinister grin as she hefted her minigun up to aim at him. "Been awhile, hasn't it?"
Isaac stared at her. His mind trying to process what he was currently witnessing. He recalled the conversation with Ahri and Irelia back in the Ionian prison.
"There was someone with these shock troopers when they went to make that exchange with Zed… someone we know."
"Don't leave us waiting in suspense Ahri. Who was it?"
"Jinx."
Behind him, Shyvana let out a snort, causing plums of smoke to come out of her snout. "Jinx? What is the meaning of this?"
Jinx tilted her head to the side. "Huh? Whadda mean what is the meaning of this. It should be obvious, DUR!"
"You…" Shyvana growled, her voice becoming dangerously low. "You would join the Ascension…? You would betray us all!?"
Jinx responded by laughing hysterically for several seconds. "B-b-betray? Ha!" She managed to say between gasps for breath. "We were never on the same side!"
"But… why!?"
"Ha! Who needs reasons?"
Shyvana snarled in response. She seemed just as taken aback by Jinx's sudden switch in allegiances as Isaac.
Isaac looked from Jinx back down to Mania, who was holding a hand up at her ear and speaking quietly.
Shit. She might be calling for backup!
Isaac turned to Shyvana, keeping the maelstrom of emotions in his head at the sight of Jinx in Ascension armor down. "Can you take Mania?"
"Yes." Shyvana replied, although she didn't take her glaring eyes off Jinx.
"Alright you two, I see you guys planning, plotting, scheming, whatever." Jinx shrugged. While she talked Isaac glanced about the place.
She's on the second floor of that building. He thought. Those buildings look easy to climb… I could easily parkour my way up there.
The issue however, was Jinx. Isaac doubted that she would simply let him climb up there.
I do have other options…
Isaac's free hand slowly made its way down to the Glock strapped to his leg. Mania still had an energy shield, so he wouldn't be able to shoot her in the time it took for the red-haired copy of Jinx to close the gap between them, and the moment he opened fired on anyone Jinx would light him up.
Jinx on the other hand… she might have an energy shield…
His thought process was interrupted when he noticed Jinx's mini-gun spinning up.
"Hey Archi!" Jinx giggled. "PANIC!"
On that note…
Slow…
Isaac felt the world around him slow down, just as Jinx's mini-gun started to fire. Isaac kicked off the ground and somersaulted to the side, dodging the slow, but still fast-moving projectiles. He pulled out his Glock and came up from his tumble in a crouching position. He raised his pistol and put Jinx's unprotected head in his sights.
One way to find out if she's got an energy shield… if not, this will handle her.
...
"You see Archi, its like this…"
"…I've got a hunch that tagging along with you won't be so boring…"
"… It's really hard to read you with your face hidden behind that helmet all the time..."
Isaac grimaced, and he felt a bead of sweat drip down the side of his head. His other hand gripped his longsword tight in frustration. Jinx was right in his sights… all it took was one bullet and that would be down one more Ascension lackey.
Yet… his hands were shaking. Just slightly… but shaking nonetheless.
He started feeling the effects of his Time-Slow started to weigh down on him.
… I'm out of time…
Isaac released his powers and the world around him resumed its pace.
Jinx opened fired, bullets raking over where Isaac had been moments before. She paused for a moment with a confused expression before spotting Isaac again and grinning.
"Stay still! I'm trying to shoot you!" She said as she shifted her mini-gun towards Isaac, never letting go of the trigger.
Shyvana let out a loud roar and launched a massive fireball at Mania, who rolled out of the way. After missing, the dragon charged at the hostile meta-human, who's laughter echoed over the fight.
"Come on! Roooooound three right here!" Mania laughed as her arms shifted back into blades.
Isaac however, couldn't see what happened next, since he had to scramble for cover. Bullets rained down around him as he dove behind a house, taking cover.
"Mute?" Isaac asked. "Any ideas?"
"Yeah, but almost none of them are going to work if you hesitate to pull the trigger!"
Isaac bit his lower lip. He had no response to that one.
Fuck! I had her right in my sights! Why couldn't…
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Jinx shouting out.
"Ohhh Archi! Slaying dragons is not in my job description." Jinx taunted him. "But if you don't come out and play, I'll make an exception!"
Shit! Shyvana's out there!
Isaac peered out of cover and saw Shyvana fighting with Mania. She seemed so focused on the red-haired lunatic that it looked like she had forgotten about the blue-haired lunatic.
Shit!
Isaac looked around the town square. He spotted another piece of debris a bit out in the open. It looked just big enough for Isaac to take cover behind, and it was only a small sprint away.
Here goes nothing…
"Mute! Harden!" Isaac ordered as he put his longsword back in its sheath. His vision flashed yellow in response a split second later.
Isaac dashed out of cover, taking his Glock in one hand and firing blindly at Jinx's position as he ran. His little pee-shooter was met with the sound of a minigun on fully auto.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Isaac could hear Jinx laughing manically over the sound of her minigun.
The sprint lasted only five seconds, but to Isaac it felt five times longer then that. He felt some of Jinx's rounds hit him in the side of his ribs and his hip, but none of them managed to penetrate his hardened suit.
Still, Isaac grunted in pain from the sheer kinetic force that hammered into his side. He tumbled the last few feet and rolled up behind cover, pressing his back to it and checking how many shots left he had with his side-arm.
Still got seven shots. Fuck! My ribs! Isaac grimaced and turned around, so that he was facing the cover, and Jinx. Those are going to leave bruises!
But bruises were better then being full of holes. He had already experienced that once today, he sure as hell didn't want to experience it again! Ever!
Isaac peaked out of cover and took aim at Jinx again, but as soon as he put her head in his sights again he found that his trigger finger refused to move.
"Soooo… you're SURE I can't kill them?"
"So let's just blow them all up and move on!"
"Did you SERIOUSLY just use that line?!"
…
Lead from Jinx's minigun rained down on his position, forcing Isaac back into cover.
God damn it!
"Isaac…" Mute sighed. "Look, if you can't bring yourself to do it, then you need to find a way up there."
"I know that!" Isaac spat back. "It's just a matter of how I'm going to get up there!"
He heard Shyvana let out a massive roar, followed by more laughter from Mania.
"Can't hit what you can't catch Sheeeeeee-Hulk!" Isaac heard Mania taunting Shyvana.
The longer I wait, the harder this is going to be.
Aside from the sounds of Shyvana and Mania's fight, the area seemed to go quiet for a moment. Isaac frowned.
Jinx isn't shooting at me? Why…
…
Wait… doesn't Jinx have more then one gun?
Oh shit.
Isaac's head bolted upright to look at Jinx. Sure enough, instead of her minigun, she had her rocket launcher shouldered and aimed at Isaac.
"Hey Archi!" Jinx flashed him a dangerous smile. "GET JINXED!"
… Oh, son of a bitch…
Isaac pushed himself away from his cover and rolled backwards, just as Jinx fired her rocket launcher. The missile hit his cover and exploded, sending bits of stone everywhere.
Isaac included.
He cursed in his head over and over again as the force from the explosion sent him tumbling backwards farther then he intended. When he came to a stop on his stomach, his world was spinning from the unwanted movements his head had made.
Fuck… me…
Isaac groaned and got onto his hands and knees, feeling a sharp pain in his left hip. He looked down at the painful location and snarling when he saw a piece of shrapnel lodged in the right side of his hip, blood dripping out of the wound.
Damn it!
Isaac looked away from the injury and looked up at Jinx, who was in the middle of switching back to her minigun.
"Isaac! You need to move!" Mute shouted at him.
Isaac grunted as he pushed himself off the ground and managed to get to his feet, ignoring the pain. However, he only made it three steps before he stumbled and fell, cussing as his helmet hit the cobblestone road.
Jinx's taunting laughter only made him more frustrated.
"There he is!" He heard a familiar voice.
Ezreal…?
Isaac's head darted up, a movement he instantly regretted due to how dizzy he was. He spotted Ezreal, Sona, and eight Ionian soldiers running down a street towards him.
About time they got here!
Wait! No! If they run out from behind those buildings, Jinx will-
"Wait!" Isaac shouted, but the warning came too late. Ezreal and Sona ran out into the town square, along with three Ionian soldiers.
And right into Jinx's line of sight.
"Oh lookie lookie at what we have herie!" Jinx yelled, and Isaac saw one of the three Ionian soldiers running his way get immediately gunned down. The others all looked up at Jinx and froze in their tracks with shocked expressions on their faces.
Thankfully, Sona acted first, and strummed her instrument. A barrier appeared around the group, just in time to protect the next soldier Jinx had taken shots at.
"Jinx?!" Ezreal shouted in utter shock.
"MOVE!" Isaac bellowed at the group. The soldiers who hadn't rushed out with the others did so now, grabbing their comrades and yanking them back behind cover. Sona remained where she was, keeping her barrier up. Judging by the green dome that had appeared around himself, Isaac assumed he was now protected as well.
"Run! Run! Run! HAHAHAHA!" Jinx's screams could be heard as she continuously fired at the group. Isaac saw how Sona seemed to be getting frustrated, strumming harder and faster on her instrument. She clearly appeared to be struggling to keep the barrier up.
We've been fighting for hours… of course she's going to be getting tired.
Ezreal looked away from Jinx and at Isaac as he stumbled to get to his feet again. The young explorer made a motion with his gauntlet, and in a flash of light he vanished.
He immediately reappeared right next to Isaac.
"I got you." Ezreal said quietly, throwing one of Isaac's arms around his shoulders and helping him up.
Isaac grunted a thank you, and hobbled along with his comrade. Sona's barrier flashed brightly as Jinx returned her attention to him.
Jinx shouted another taunt at them, but Isaac didn't catch it. Ezreal half-dragged him back to the street he and the others had emerged from and set him down against a wall.
"Is that Jinx?!" Ezreal was clearly exasperated. "Why is she attacking us!?"
"She's with the enemy…" Isaac said quietly, as if he didn't believe the words he was saying.
Because I don't want to believe those words…
But this isn't a dream, this is reality. So I have no choice but to face it.
"W-why?!" Ezreal threw his arms in the air. "Why is sh-?"
"Do I LOOK LIKE I KNOW?!" Isaac shouted, irritated as all hell. He looked away from Ezreal and grabbed the shrapnel lodged in his hip. With a grunt, he yanked it out, cursing in pain.
"Sona…" Isaac growled as he bit back the pain, "Can you…"
He didn't need to say anything else, a transparent green cord appeared, connecting him to Sona as a pleasant and calming tune filled the air.
That was, until the sound was drowned out by Jinx's minigun fire and Shyvana roaring. Ezreal's head darted up at the noise, as did the other soldiers.
No! She's still out there fighting Mania!
And since he was out of sight now, Jinx was likely turning her attention on Shyvana instead.
Isaac's hand shot out and grabbed Ezreal's arm, getting his attention back on Isaac along with his frowning face. "Listen! I have a plan."
Ezreal raised an eyebrow, and Isaac took that as a hint to continue.
"You guys," Isaac pointed to Ezreal and the soldiers that were with them. "Need to help Shyvana, and keep Jinx where she is. I'm going to go around and get up to her." He turned his attention to Sona. "Can you just patch me up quickly?"
Sona nodded once… but Isaac could tell by the expression on her face she didn't agree with this at all.
One of the soldiers shook his head. "Why can't you just shoot her?"
Because I can't… and I know that weak excuse won't be taken seriously!
"Because…" Isaac paused for a moment before continuing, trying to pull a random excuse out of his ass. "Because we need to know why she's with the Ascension. That means we need to capture her. Alive."
He heard Mute sigh. "As much as I know you just pulled that out of your ass, that's actually a good idea."
I'm SO glad to have your approval Mute…
Ezreal exchanged glances with the other soldiers. He nodded at one of them, who returned the gesture, which caused a domino effect and soon all the soldiers were nodding.
Isaac looked down at his hip and saw that it had been healed… although the pain was still there. The dizziness had vanished too.
Ok… that's good enough. I can handle a bit of pain.
Isaac started to get to his feet, but he quickly received a helping hand from Ezreal and a soldier. He nodded to them both and holstered his sidearm.
"Alright." Isaac nodded. "Just buy me some time."
Isaac turned and ran back down the street, spotting an alleyway and darting down it.
"Mute, got a shortcut?"
"For the record… I don't approve of this one bit." Mute groaned as a nav point appeared in his HUD, directing him down another alleyway.
Yeah well… shit happens.
Ezreal and the Ionians watched Archangel take off, before they turned to look at each other.
"Ok." Ezreal nodded to them. "Keep Jinx busy, don't get careless. Sona, I know you're low on mana, but try to keep those shields up."
The Demacian noble nodded in response, fingers in position over her Etwahl.
"Ok. I'll help Shyvana." Ezreal continued and made to move, but found himself halted by one of the soldiers.
"What else do we do?" One asked.
Ezreal closed his eyes and rubbed them with his sole bare hand as he turned back to the town square where Shyvana was fighting someone he'd never seen before.
"I don't know…" Ezreal grumbled to himself. "I'm making this up as I go…"
Almost there…
Isaac thought as he climbed up the side of a two-story building. Likely a house or something.
I really hope the residents are hiding…
Isaac looked up and found the next foothold. He grabbed onto it and pulled himself up. He heard the loud report of Jinx's minigun nearby.
"You sure this is it Mute?"
"Are you doubting my skills?"
"I'm doubting your navigation because this place is a fucking maze."
Their impending argument was interrupted by Jinx's maniacal laughter. "You get a bullet! You get a bullet! Everyone gets a bullet! HAHAHA!"
Isaac grunted as he neared the rooftop of the building, ignoring Mute's chuckle.
"Does that answer your question?"
"Shut up Mute…"
Isaac grasped the roof and with a quiet heave, pulled himself up high enough to look over the edge. Sure enough, Jinx stood on said rooftop, with her back turned to him and firing away at the fight below.
"So… how are you going to do this?" Mute asked.
"I'm going to knock her out."
"Question still stands."
"I'll figure it out."
Their conversation stopped their as Isaac hoisted himself up onto the roof as quietly as he could. Thankfully, Jinx's minigun made so much noise that she couldn't possibly hear him as he carefully walked up behind her.
I've always been good at stealth takedowns… but that's when I'm killing someone.
Isaac got within arms reach of the unsuspecting lunatic and raised his fist behind Jinx's unprotected head.
A hard knock to the back of the head should do it. Just not too hard… last thing I want to do is crack her skull and kill her.
Sure, someone could heal her afterwards… but Isaac didn't want to take any risks.
He did risk a quick glance over Jinx's shoulder, looking down at the fight below. Shyvana, no longer in her dragon form, was still fighting with Mania, who was now sporting a few cuts. Ezreal was with her, trying to help. However, it looked like several Ascension regulars had shown up and were engaging the Ionian soldiers, who also had brought reinforcements.
He couldn't see Sona, but he did see her barriers all over the place. Just like he saw the bodies of both Ionian and Ascension soldiers.
I better help them as soon as I'm done here.
He thought, and was about to bring his fist down when Jinx suddenly stopped firing.
"Oh hai, Archi…" She giggled, back still turned to Isaac.
How?
Isaac brought his fist down, but Jinx dropped down, causing him to miss. She twisted around and kicked her leg out, sweeping Isaac's legs out from underneath him. He landed on his back, grunting and shutting his eyes when the back of his head hit the stone rooftop.
Shit!
He opened his eyes, and was met with the sight of Jinx's minigun in his face. Isaac's arm shot out with lightning speed and slapped the minigun to the side, just in time for several bullets to hit the roof next to his head.
He grabbed one of Jinx's arms holding onto the gun and pulled her forwards, planting both his feet against Jinx's stomach as he did so, flipping her over him.
Jinx let out a yelp as she landed on her back, and both combatants quickly rushed to their feet.
"I thought stealth takedowns were your thing!" Mute shouted.
Not now Mute!
Jinx let go of her minigun, causing it to shrink in size. Isaac didn't wait for Jinx to make the first move, he quickly undid the strap for his buckler and threw it at her like a frisbe. Jinx tried to block it, but it made it past her guard and hit her in the head, stunning her. Isaac sized the opportunity, leaping at her and tackling her to the ground. He landed on Jinx, causing her to grunt in pain as the back of her head hit the stone rooftop.
"Ouch!" She grunted, and Isaac made to pin her to the ground when she wrapped both her legs around his waist, restricting his movement. He placed one hand on her shoulder, pinning her and made to grab her head to headbutt her.
Jinx's free hand darted up to the side of his helmet… and pressed the button to unlock his visor. His visor slid up, exposing his face and his shocked expression.
What!? How did she?!
Jinx grinned at the sight and took advantage of Isaac's surprise. She wrapped her fingers around the back of his neck and pulled him in as she lifted her head up. To Isaac's further surprise, she locked lips with him, giving him a passionate kiss.
She continued the kiss for two whole seconds before pulling away…
And then rammed her forehead into Isaac's.
"Ah ha- OW!" Jinx grunted halfway through her taunt as both she and Isaac recoiled from the hit.
Jinx recovered faster, unlocking her legs and forcing Isaac off her. With a whoop, she jumped back to her feet as Isaac rolled away, grabbing his visor and slamming it back down into place.
"Wow, that was a clever move." Mute muttered quietly, before sighing. "… and I can't believe you fell for something that simple."
Shut up Mute.
Isaac could only growl, doing his best to ignore the lingering taste of the blue-haired psycho on his lips.
That… was dirty… and how the hell did she know how to unlock my helmet. He thought as he got back to his feet, dropping into a fighting stance.
Jinx snickered. "Aww, what's wrong Archi?" She taunted, "Are you remembering that night in Bligewater?"
Don't let her get to you… she's just like Mania.
Isaac's hand twitched and started to hover down to his sidearm… all it would take is a single bullet and Jinx would no longer pose a threat. Could see faint bloodstains on her armor, clear proof that she had killed today.
One bullet… it would be so easy…
"Why don't WE have some action tonight?"
"…in you bed…"
"Come on! Yes!" Jinx moaned loudly, breaking the kiss as her breathing went completely rugged. "Harder! Harder!"
Isaac shook his head slightly, trying to clear the thoughts out of his head. This was not the time! Damn his memories!
Jinx must have taken his head shaking as a response, causing her face to fall slightly. "Aww… don't be that way… I still fondly remember that night. From the bar fight to the REAL action we got up to later that night." She grinned as she finished.
…. Then why?
"Then why are you with the Ascension?" Isaac forced himself to ask, although a part of him was scared. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know why someone he had been close to calling a friend, someone he had slept with, all of what had been against his better judgement, had turned on them.
I'm afraid to know because if you can't be saved… then I have to kill you. I've done it before to better people… I know I can do it again!
Jinx suddenly struck a pose with her hand under her chin, tapping it and appearing deep in thought.
"Hmm… why indeed..." She muttered, before her pink eyes drifted down to Isaac with a dangerous gleam in them. "You'll have to FORCE it out of me!"
And on that note, Jinx tapped a spot behind her head, and suddenly a helmet materialized around her head, with an appearance similar to Isaac's helmet. However, it left Jinx's twin braids out in the open, and her visor was transparent, allowing Isaac to see her eyes.
He didn't like the way they shined.
"Ar-Archangel?" Jinx's voice was filled with surprise. "Wow, I thought you were hat-lady! Whew!"
"Aww… didn't like having the bad girl do all the work?"
"Come on! Mania really wants you captured, and I REALLY would prefer if you were on our side!" Jinx giggled as she took a step back, grabbing her rocket launcher and tossing it aside, raising both her fists up in front of her in a boxing stance.
"Hold still you big baby." Jinx said, "Unless you want to walk through the streets with a giant blue stain on your visor, you'll let me work here!"
"Come on! Harder! Come on Archi!"
Isaac could only close his eyes as he forced the emotions down. He needed to think of something, of ANYTHING to keep himself grounded… or he would be helpless in this fight!
Then… he recalled the speech CONTROL had given him and the other meta-humans the day they officially joined TRANS-Ops…
"… In this war you may find former friends, former rivals, all meta-humans like you and I, on the opposing side of the trenches. They will try to convince you to join their side, to abandon all traces of what remains of our humanity. You must not hesitate to fight them, to show them no mercy. For you shall receive none. For this, this is war."
… I know….
Isaac took a deep breath and opened his eyes, just in time for Jinx to charge at him.
Can I?
…
Only one way to find out!
Isaac caught Jinx's fought as she made a dive kick at him. He made to twist it, and Jinx rotated her body along with it, slamming her other foot into Isaac's chest and kicking off him. He stumbled back as Jinx flipped in mid air and landed on both feet.
When did she get THAT mobile?
She rushed at him again with a laugh, throwing a left hook at his head. He ducked and took a step back, dodging Jinx's follow up. She tried to punch him again, but this time Isaac caught her fist and twisted his body. He slammed his back into Jinx's chest and flipped her over his head. She landed in front of him on her back, causing her to grunt.
Isaac jumped onto her, keeping a grip on her hand as he planted his back over her stomach, pulling her upper body along with him as he rolled onto her. He took her limb in both hands and twisted her arm at an awkward angle, trying to break it. Jinx screamed in pain, a noise that not only hurt Isaac's ears, but somewhere deep inside his broken self cried out as well.
Jinx brought her free arm's elbow down onto his visor, causing it to crack and making Isaac's eyes go wide.
What the fuck? When did she get that strong!?
She screamed in pain and smashed her elbow into his visor again, cracking it further. Isaac scowled and released Jinx, rolling off her and up to his feet.
"Mute?" As soon as he asked, his partner's scanner appeared over Jinx as his former ally got to her feet.
The scan only took three seconds, but in that time Isaac had to dodge another kick from Jinx.
"Shit." Mute cussed. "That suit of hers' has got some kind of exoskeleton installed in it."
"In THAT skinny armor?!" Isaac couldn't contain his surprise and frustration. He grunted as Jinx jumped at him, tackling him and sending them both to the surface of the roof. They rolled twice before Jinx came up on top, but Isaac managed to get his legs out under her torso and kicked her off.
That armor isn't any bigger then mine! How'd they fit an exoskeleton in it?!
"Ascension technology has always been ahead of ours!" Mute pointed out. "TRANS-Ops was developing a new line for us but-"
"LATER!" Isaac barked as he got to his feet, ducking under a punch from Jinx and planting one of his own in her stomach, causing Jinx to grunt. Isaac jolted backwards, dodging a hasty swing made by his opponent and gave her a left hook to the side of her helmet. Jinx grunted again and stumbled away, giving Isaac an opening.
He jumped in the air and gave Jinx a spinning kick to the back, sending her off her feet and crashing down. She fell near the edge of the rooftop on her face, causing her to moan.
"Shit…" She cursed. Isaac made to jump on her back, but Jinx managed to roll away. Isaac saw her hand dart out to try and grab him, likely to throw him off the building since their fight had brought them to the edge.
He cursed and jumped back, cartwheeling away from her and coming to a stop near the center of the roof. Jinx rolled back to her feet and took up a boxing stance again, shaking her head.
"Grr, hold still will you?" She grumbled, her stance seemed slightly off from the hit to the head she took a moment ago. "I'm trying to BEAT YOU!"
She jumped at him, and Isaac took a step back to dodge, roundhouse kicking her in the stomach. Jinx caught his leg after taking the hit, and gave a "hiyah!" as she lashed out with one of her legs, sweeping Isaac's last leg off the ground.
Isaac fell on his back, but didn't wait for Jinx to take advantage of the situation. He launched his free leg up and kicked Jinx in the back of her legs, causing her to fall to her knees. Isaac wretched his leg free of Jinx's grip and rolled backwards away from her. He rolled back to his feet, just in time to take Jinx's fist to his visor.
The crack in his visor turned into a full-fledged web, distorting his vision as he tumbled backwards from the hit.
Shit! What the hell is this!?
Isaac dropped down to doge another swing from Jinx, before rolling backwards again. He shot one of his legs out and felt it connect with the under side of Jinx's helmet, causing her to stumble backwards.
"Mute? Speed up the repairs on my visor!" Isaac ordered as he rolled back to his feet. His visor looked like it would shatter just from someone flicking it!
"I can't!" Mute growled. "Remember?! Your suit-self repair unit is almost FUBAR at this point. You'll have to wait!"
… fuck me…
Isaac noticed Jinx taking her sweet time to recover from the hit he had just delivered to her. She stumbled dangerously close to the edge of the rooftop, holding her head in her hands.
"Oohhh…" Her voice sounded groggy as she groaned, likely dizzy.
Now's my chance! Isaac thought, and made to rush at Jinx.
When he felt a shiver go down his spine.
… Not again…
"Almost everyone is out!"
"We got two fireteams trapped in a building on the second level. Two-two-five-nine, go pick them up."
"All Stormhawks, return to the carrier."
Siren ignored the COM chatter as she piloted her aircraft over the battle. She pressed down on the trigger for her aircraft's machine guns as she strafed over the Lhotlan army. Some of them tried to fire arrows at her, and those that managed to hit bounced off.
"So primitive…" She mumbled to herself as one arrow managed to hit her cockpit and bounce off, leaving nothing but a scratch.
"Siren, we're pulling out." The voice of one of her fellow pilots came in over the COM. "We're low on ammo anyways."
Siren raised an eyebrow as she pulled her Stormhawk up into the air. "Are you ordering me?"
"N-no ma'am…"
"Good." Siren nodded as she leveled out and turned around, heading back towards the Placidium.
"No, but I am." Admiral Cole's voice came in this time. "Siren, return to the carrier."
Siren rolled her eyes. "Fine… but first I need to do something."
She piloted her jet towards the first level of the Placidium. A targeting reticle appeared over a TRANS-Ops signal. Her HUD zoomed in on the target, showing her target, Archangel, fighting with that whore they had picked up a few weeks back.
Her cockpit beeped to inform her that she had Archangel locked on.
"A necessary sacrifice…" She grinned as she pressed the button.
Isaac's head snapped to the side to look over his shoulder, trying to find the cause of his chill this time. He dreaded that it was another sniper, because this time he was no where near Soraka.
At the sight of the missile heading right for him… he wasn't sure if he should be relieved or even more worried.
"Isaac look out!" Mute shouted out a warning.
"I see it!" Isaac turned to leap off the building, to put it between him and the incoming missile. As he did just that, he remembered Jinx.
She was still getting her barings, and stood completely in the open. Exposed to the missile that screamed towards them.
Isaac acted on instinct. He charged at Jinx, who tried to get out of the way. Thankfully she didn't, and Isaac tackled her, wrapping his arms around her as he did, and sending them both over the edge.
"MUTE! NOW!" Isaac shouted, and his vision flashed yellow as his suit hardened.
Jinx let out a scream, or a holler, either way it didn't matter as the two of them entered a free-fall. Isaac shifted them around in midair so that he was on the bottom.
As soon as he did, he felt both the back of his head and his back slam into the ground. He gasped as all the air left his lungs and his vision became blurry from tears that spouted forth in his eyes.
Jinx grunted and pushed herself up on his stunned body and straddling him, unaware of the danger that they had just avoided.
"Hah! Now-" She began as she reared a fist back to deliver a finishing blow to Isaac's visor, when the roof that they had fought on moments ago exploded.
Jinx's head snapped back to look up as debris, fire, and smoke launched out in all directions. Several pieces of debris headed right for them.
"Well, if that's the case…" Isaac felt her hands go up and down his body. "Its still night, how about we have another round?"
Isaac narrowed his eyes, knowing what he had to do.
Time-Slow…
The debris that had been zooming towards him and Jinx slowed down to a crawl. Isaac summoned up as much strength as he could and grabbed Jinx's shoulders. With a gasp of air he didn't have, Isaac pushed Jinx off him, rolled on top of her, and pinned her shoulders to the ground. He took a split-second to make sure his upper body was covering her head.
Putting himself in the direct path of the debris.
He released his power and the world resumed its normal pace.
"Isaac!" Mute shouted, just as debris rained down on them. He felt several pieces of stone bounce off his head, earning a grunt of pain from each one.
A massive piece of debris slammed into the ground inches from them, making the ground quake. Another piece landed on the other side a few feet away. Jinx's head darted to the side to look at it, and Isaac could see her eyes go wide at the sight of how close they were to being crushed.
Dust and smoke filled his vision, accompanied by the sound of smaller pieces of debris raining down on them. After a few seconds, the dust cleared, leaving Jinx lying between two pieces of the rooftop twice her size with Isaac on top of her.
Neither of them moved for a few seconds, before Isaac let out a sigh of relief.
That… could've been a lot worse…
He leaned back, releasing Jinx's shoulders, but remained on top of her. He looked down at the crazy girl, noticing that she was looking back up at him.
... Whew… Looks like I caught her too.
Mission accomplished… just not in the way he thought it would.
He nonetheless flinched and made ready to fight when Jinx raised a hand and tapped something behind her head, causing her helmet to vanish.
How… does that work? I've never seen technology like that…
Maybe the Ascension developed better nano-tech? Like it's rebuilding and dismantling it at a far faster rate then mine?
He didn't bother asking, no one around him would know the answer.
He sighed, but felt himself go ridge and tense when Jinx's hand darted up to the side of his helmet, pressing the button to release his visor again.
"W-wai-" Isaac's words were cut off when Jinx grabbed the back of his head and pressed her lips to his. He froze for a moment at her action, but against his better judgement found himself returning the kiss. It continued for a few seconds that felt way longer then it did, before Jinx released him, a blush and a grin on her face.
"That's for saving me…" She giggled quietly, before her face turned into a frown. "… and my apology."
Isaac opened his mouth to ask when he felt something cold get pressed under his chin. He felt a chill go down his spine and he darted his eyes down to look.
Jinx had her zap pistol pressed to his exposed chin.
… Oh…
Great… I fell for the same trick twice…
Fuck me…
"ZAP!"
The pain was instantaneous, but faded just as fast. Along with Isaac's consciousness.
Archangel's body went limp, collapsing on her. Jinx rolled her eyes with a sigh. It was a dirty move, but hey, that was her whole playbook!
With a small grunt she pushed Archangel's body off her, or Isaac, or whatever his name really was.
Didn't matter to her. Archi was Archi.
Jinx slowly sat up, and then groaning in pain as she stood up. Her body ached… wow did it ache.
"Ugh…" She moaned as she got to her feet. "I'm sorer now then I was when we…"
She paused, chewing on the inside of her lip. She looked down at Isaac's unconscious body, face down in road.
"… Never mind." She sighed. She tightened her grip on her Zap pistol, and found herself shaking.
Finish him…
No…
Kill him…
But I don't want…
Jinx slowly bent over, taking Archangel's head in one hand and shifting it to the side so that she could see his scarred face.
Enemy of the Ascension…
No!
Kill…
She watched as her arm pushed her Zap pistol into his open mouth… her finger hovering over the trigger.
Do it...
Ugh!
Orders are orders…
Her hand shook, finger grazing the trigger…
You've killed before, why wait?
Mania would be upset…
For the Ascension!
I DON'T WANT TO KILL HIM!
PAIN!PAIN!PAIN!
Jinx screamed as she dropped to her knees, letting go of her Zap pistol in the process. Her palms slammed into her head, gripping it hard as she shrieked.
Ascension!
No!
Kill!
STOP! S-STOP!
For the glory of Earth!
Please! Stop! Stop!
She screamed again.
"Heyya Jinx I brought your gu-" She could barely make out Mania's voice. "W-what is it!?"
Mania rushed over to Jinx's shaking body. If the bluenette's screams bothered her she didn't show it.
"W-what? What is it!?" Mania shook her, dropping her beloved guns. "Jinx?"
Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!
AAAAGGGGHHHH!
"AAGGGHGHHH!" Jinx screamed at the top of her lungs, before blacking out.
Mania felt Jinx's body go limp in her robotic hands.
"Woah! Yikes!" She pulled Jinx close, stopping her from falling backwards and hitting her head.
The red-haired meta-human made a rare frown. She gave Jinx a quick look over, before looking down at Isaac's unconscious body, then back to Jinx.
She heard shouts coming from around the corner.
"She went this way!"
"Don't let her escape!" Came the cries.
"Shiiiiit!" Mania cursed. She looked from Jinx to Isaac and back again. She could only carry one of them!
"Damn! I suppose theirs always another chance…" She mumbled to herself, before strapping Jinx's guns around her body. She hoisted the unconscious woman in her arms and took one more longing look at Isaac's body.
She sighed again, before turning away and sprinting down the nearest alleyway as she keyed her COM.
"Thiiiiiis is Mania! Any dropships in the area?"
"This is one-three-five. We read you Mania. Get to these coordinates and be quick! We've lost control of the operational area. You're the only meta-human that hasn't left the area yet."
"Oh, offfffff course they left without me! I'm on my way!" She replied before turning her COM off. She looked at Jinx's unconscious face and sighed again. "Damn it… I was sooooo close to getting Isaac! You better thank me for this!"
Then, she'd figure out what the hell caused her newest friend's breakdown.
Goth's Meta-Human Lecture Number Four: Ascension Day
The day of May 16th, 2070 Common Era, is a day that forever lives in infamy.
It is better known as Ascension Day.
It started like most days mon amie… normal. People went to work, children went to school, all unaware that the world as humanity knew it would forever be changed.
You see, to date, no one knows how the Ascension pulled Ascension Day off… and I doubt we will ever know. How did they manage to get so many ships? Aircraft? The Ascension hadn't even existed for a decade! Yet somehow, they had come up with not only a technologically advanced military force, but one with the numbers capable of threating the entire world.
Ah… those questions still boggle the minds of military experts and professors everywhere.
Oh, sorry, where was I mon amie? Oh, right!
Fleets of submarines and stealth aircraft appeared off the shores of multiple nations, getting as close to their targets as they could without detection. Then, at a synchronized time, they launched their attacks.
Stealth bombers, dropships, UAVs, cruise-missiles, the works. All of it soared overhead of major population centers off the Atlantic, taking everyone completely off guard. Most didn't realize what was happening until the explosions started. Until gunfire erupted throughout the streets. Illegal weaponry was launched at office buildings, schools, busy streets, you name it. White phosphorus and mustard gas were among the deployed weapons. Heavier-yield missiles hit bridges and infrastructure. The first sightings of shock troopers occurred that day as well, with Ascension infantry dropping into cities and massacring hundreds in a short period of time.
Naturally, militaries around the world responded. Aircraft doted the skies, naval fleets were launched, soldiers stormed through the city streets... battles and skirmishes broke out everywhere. After meeting resistance, the Ascension forces withdrew, disappearing into the grand expanse that is the Atlantic Ocean.
At first, nations around the world pointed fingers at one another, blaming old rivals. That was, until word came out of the scale of the attack. Of the advanced technology the attacker's employed.
Of how a military force with no recognizable banner had hit over two dozen countries, killing hundreds of thousands across the globe. France, the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Russia, Brazil, Portugal, and Norway, to name a few.
Before the day was out, the Ascension sent out a message to the world, claiming ownership for the attacks. They called themselves humanity's children, coming back to take their rightful place as the inheritors of the world.
They also dropped a bombshell (in a metaphorical sense) that they were the results of the former Halcyon Corporation's experiments… and that the governments of the world had lied that they had perished in the Uprising.
Riots broke out, but they were quickly quelled when more terrorist attacks were carried out by the Ascension in the following days. The rioting stopped only because people became terrified to leave their homes.
While the world struggled to find an origin point for the Ascension, some countries and rogue armies started attacking each other seemingly at random. Spain invaded Portugal, Turkey invaded Greece, Israel was invaded by multiple neighbours, Qatar fell within a week of Ascension Day.
All of these confusing reports were accompanied by the fact that soldiers wearing armor similar to the ones that carried out Ascension Day were present in each and everyone of the aggressor's armies.
The United Nations called it a global state of emergency, and both old friends and enemies banned together to counter the threat that had taken the world off-guard. Nations around mobilized their armies that had laid dormant for years, rushing out to take the fight to the enemy.
The Ascension War had begun.
AN: Next update will be in two weeks, on the 28th of November. See everyone then!