Author's Note:
The Climax is brewing, with a battle unlike anything I've written before. Anyone else found out who these three characters are? Well, let's just say they will have a huge impact on the state of things in the future, and so, naturally, they're hella strong! Let's see how the Zanna Famiglia handles them, shall we?
Chapter 60: Friend.
Within a slight second, everyone burst off into action, with my eyes barely able to follow what was happening around me. All I knew was to keep up with my feet and not get hit. Sweat started forming by the bullets, with the air inside the dimly lit building slowly but surely heating up. Keeping sights, Kiera jumped right in after the man who introduced himself as Innocenti finished his words, lunging forward in a furious leap, way, way faster than before. As I reached for my Legacy Arm, the green-haired Arcobaleno, Verde, in his suit or mech or whatever, just appeared before her, thrusting the twin piston arms forward.
"Crank!" The loud clash of metal and sparks lit up the room in a second, an exchange of strength and pure power. Sergio and Johann themselves wasted no time, arming themselves with chains and a katana respectively. As their eyes followed the biggest threat in the room, the unbelievable machine, Innocenti pounced closing in on the two of them and swinging his hands around in wide arcs. In the distance, I watched as Sergio and Johann's clothes tore and skin ripped.
"Bang! Thunk!"
Then, Kiera, locked with Verde's machine, forced themselves into my view, their struggle breaking even the ground around them. The concrete by their feet blew themselves, cracks spreading out with each stomp, push and kick. Losing no speed despite such strength, Verde began pounding down on Kiera, who had her shield up and, unbelievably, was driven into a defensive position.
Before my eyes, Kiera strained in pain, gritting down on her teeth. It was difficult to watch, and I felt my body moving, getting into action way quicker than my thoughts. Free hand scratching on the dust-filled ground just to push myself forward, my hand coming to my face showed the jagged edges of Fenris, already in hand. Kicking the ground, Kiera finally got shoved back by the force as I moved, horror gripped me as the shield was lowered as the crushing hammers came down on her.
"Crack!"
My vision blurred for a second, and before it returned, a sharp, shattering pain hit me like a truck. I felt as though I would fly off of my feet, that my body would find itself crashing against the walls. Aching pain, as if ten daggers were being plunged into my flesh, digging into my bones in a wild clash of hot and cold, spread. My touch was shivering, shaking violently as I tried to hold on to whatever was pushing against the palm of my hands. When sight returned, my hands were holding on against the machine, the force of the pound already fracturing the bones from my fingers down to my shoulders. Gritting down on my teeth did nothing to curb the pain.
I wanted to shut my eyes, to block out the pain, but I knew once that happens, my life would end right there.
"Amato!" Kiera's voice came out spilling worry and shock, the strong tone to her voice dying down to a near whisper behind me. The sound of her voice was all I needed to snap back to the reality of the situation.
"Hrg!" The first thing I did, was scream, to get my mind off the pain, to keep my body from falling to pain. It felt as if the power, the strength I was wishing for in my mind became reality, enough for me to move the machine. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but I cared little at that point.
"Fenris!"
I yelled out the very word with as much strength as I could, filling it to the brim with hope. The strands of hair coming into my eyes were blown away by the sudden wave of force, a glaring white light beaming out from the Tear of the Fang for a split second. Senses sharpened, my mind was clear again. The noise of stress was downed out. Though it would've been nice if Verde and his machine was pushed away by the mere force of my Awakening, it didn't happen. Instead, I felt my bones harden, cracks coming together despite the damage that occurred just seconds ago.
"Hhhrrraaaggghhh!" Losing myself to my more feral side to draw strength, adrenaline encouraged me, pushed me forward, as I tossed down on Verde like a wrestler. Putting in as much power as I could from the burst, I pushed with all my might, the whole mech becoming as light as paper for a split second as I did.
"Whoa!" Verde's high-pitched voice screamed out not in panic, but with the tone of disbelief, as he flew a few feet and crashed, dust and debris exploding forth. Sergio, Johann and even the enemy, Innocenti, watched me with eyes of awe, shock and disbelief. Then, Innocenti lunges towards me with a flood of murderous intent and insane speed, as if he had become the devil itself. His hands, his fists reached out for me, and that was when I saw what made those cuts on Sergio and Johann before. Small metal instruments, they looked like picks and chisels, those used by sculptors, stained with dried, crimson blood.
"Amato! He's aiming for'im!" Aria yelled out her warning from the back. In order to protect her, we had her shifted a few feet away, a safe zone, so to say.
"Krik! Crack!"
Multiple voices rang across the battlefield that was withing the lobby of the torn building. I could hear Johann and Sergio's gasps, but otherwise, no audible words. I bet everyone is just too focused on the fight to actually speak anything. As Innocenti got close, Kiera's steps broke the ground before me, as she lunged forward to intercept his assault, dragging her ornate shield at her side. Right in front of me, the two of them burst into an explosion of attacks, defense and counters.
"Clank! Crack! Thunk!"
Kiera threw her shield in a left hook, like a boxer throwing his punch, only to have it blocked by a single pick from Innocenti's left hand. With a single push from his right hand, Innocenti had the giant weapon forced back in a second, before swinging his hips and retaliating with roundhouse kick. Bending her knees, Kiera ducked down, avoiding the attack completely before using the momentum of her shield being thrown back to force her shield down in an overhead arc with insane speed.
Throb.
"Hah... Hah.. Ha.."
It was so frantic, blows exchanged at a speed outmatching anything I've seen before. I had never seen Kiera moved so lightning quick before, and the fact that she could keep up kept my awe raised. Standing there panting because of the pain throbbing from my arms, my eyes quickly flew all around me, searching for where Verde and his mech disappeared to. The surface of my skin looked untouched, but the muscles felt as though they were pierced and stabbed by a dozen needles. Were they my bones? Bits and pieces broken and pushed out of place? Amidst all that was happening, I had little time to fear.
Suddenly, Verde appeared out of nowhere again, going after Kiera as she had her attention on Innocenti, a sort of pincer attack. Striking us down as we're focused on only one of them. Wasting no time, my feet kicked the ground and I charged at him screaming despite the pain in my arms.
"Yyyeeeaaarrrggghhh!"
"Thunk!"
A harsh slam to my back, when senses returned, I realized I had tackled Verde and his machine, using nothing but the weight of my body, the strength of my awakening. It worked out better than I planned, as his mech was thrown back a few feet, sparks flying as metal grind against the floor of the wrecked lobby. That was when I saw it, the clash between Kiera and Innocenti only growing more intense. Kiera fashioned her shield, throwing it against Innocenti at accelerating speed with monstrous swings, wide arcs with each strike akin to a wrecking ball.
However, the eccentric man only shot back with precise strikes of his own, holding before him his picks to stop Kiera's attacks completely. It had been more than a dozen times Kiera's attempts to strike Innocenti down ended in naught, but Kiera only got faster, stronger. Eyes focused, it would seem if Innocenti slipped up for even second, he and every bone of his body would get smashed down to the concrete floor.
"Crack!"
That was when I heard the sound rang through the air, unlike what I've heard before. It sounded enclosed, as if I was the only one who heard it. Narrowing my thoughts down, I realized it might have been my enhanced hearing which caught such a delicate reverb of the sound. It sounded like metal shattering, edges breaking off as the cracks spread. Just what made that sound? Where did it come from? Curious as I was, I found my eyes instinctively fell onto Kiera's shield.
"You're really making my weapon look bad, kid!" The same high-pitched voice, straining with a hint of annoyance. That brought my attention back to Verde just as he raised the piston-powered arms of his machine, ready to strike me down. My distraction proved costly, I got too close to the enemy, and now there's a good chance I won't be able to dodge what's coming!
"Swoosh! Ka-shink! Krink!" My eyes stared at those anvils that was to fall on me, and the chains snapped themselves right around them, whipping out of the air and wrapping and restraining the mech like snakes constricting their prey. In the back, Sergio came into view, eyes sharpened, focused as he had his arms putting all their strength in holding back the attack.
"Ugh... hah.. Don't count me out yet! Amato!" Sergio yelled at me with a strain to his tone of voice, sweating bullets as he had Verde held back while I scrambled up to my feet while nodding to my best friend in reply. He might have just saved my life. In the distance, I saw the smile on Johann's face disappear, as he gives Kiera support, vanishing and reappearing as he slices his way at Innocenti. Though he managed to tear through some parts of his shirt, the man seemed to have been able to dodge his sword as well, though he's been forced into a more defensive stance because of the speed.
"Did you really think a mere human chains can restrain the Armada: Reconnaissance Substitute? ARS, the product of my brilliant mind, holds within its piston arms the strength of a hundred men!" Verde sank into slight insanity at the tone of his voice, at the call of his words. Perhaps he was just annoyed, or maybe he didn't expect such resistance. With a push of a button, the arms came crashing down, smashing and laying waste to the already broken floors. Reflex and instinct helped me jump out of the way just a split second before the hammer came down on where I stood before.
"Yagh! Whoa!" Hands still holding on, Sergio was dragged off the ground by the sheer outburst of strength, flying as the chains cut through the air. Stress was chewing on the back of my mind. I think my head couldn't quite comprehend or process everything happening before my eyes, and my senses went just overloaded.
A flash of green hair in the dim moonlight was all I saw before Sergio came crashing down meters away. There was no voice, no cry of pain. And that made me all the more worried.
"Gah!" All of a sudden, Johann's scream blew into my ears accompanying the horror I saw. Eyes focused, it took but a second for Innocenti to hone in on Johann despite his speed. With the same or even greater speed than before, Innocenti's hand shot out, crushing into Johann's face and pulling him off his feet. His presence had changed. He spilled out the feel of a demon, inhumane and chilling the air completely. I watched as my friend struggled to break free from his grasp.
"Johann!" My scream came just as the thought popped into my mind. It was maddening. I wanted to help. Fury begged me to dig my broken fist into that maniac of an artist's face, but my mind held me back. I still had Verde to take care of, and I don't even know if I can do that. Not to mention, Sergio needed help as well, and with Vito not with us right now, it became that much more desperate.
"Crank! Crack! Crash!"
Oh no. The sound of metal crashing, the anvil coming down, caught everyone's attention, distracting even Innocenti for a split second. Yet, for me, it did way more. It tugged on my heart, as if the sound had its grip tightening around it before disappearing. I'd recognized that sound anywhere, the very same bells, the very same tones ringing. It could only mean one thing. A sharp glance to the side showed Kiera's shield tossed to the side, and everyone's eyes turned to Kiera, even the Arcobaleno inside the machine before me.
Kiera, with her pink shirt fluttering and blond hair flying, burst before Innocenti, her speed no longer hindered by the weight of her shield. Lightning quick, it felt as though the space around her distorted. Her steps left ruins as the floor cracked. In seconds, she was right in front of Innocenti, much to the artist's surprise.
I hadn't seen Kiera fight without her shield for a long time now, I still remember the first time she did it, when I requested it in training.
"Come on, Kiera, you can't expect me to spar with you seriously when I have to see you drag that huge hunk of metal around all the time!" Back then, I would occasionally throw out these comments while training. The fact that I couldn't actually land a hit on Kiera meant that I probably said it to comfort myself, rather than actually putting meaning into the words. Back then, Kiera was still deadly serious, all the time. Without a word or even a response, she lifted her shield with just her left hand, as if it weighed nothing, raising it to her shoulder level.
I wondered what she was gonna do, and that was when she released her grip on her weapon.
"Crank! Crash!" Just a drop from barely a meter of height was enough to send explosions of dust and sand blowing up all around us, as the piece of metal dug into the soil and earth. That sight alone made me think, not to mention, it freaked me out the first time I saw it.
"Just how heavy is that thing?" Jumping back a few steps, I found my arms instinctively moved to block my front as the shield fell, and even after it laid on the ground motionless, it felt uneasy to put my arms down.
"Know this, my Lord. My shield might have been the limiter holding me back..." Rubbing on her wrists as she checked her joints, she gave out those words with a cold and heartless tone, her eyes falling on the weapon she had equipped minutes ago.
"Huh?" Instantly, I felt a tinge of regret to my words from before. I should've just kept my mouth shut.
"Come." My mentor and friend declared as she took a stance unlike anything I've ever seen, arms stretching out to different sides with her fingers closed but not fully forming into fists. The stance spilled out intent the very second I laid eyes on it, though not exactly murderous, just overwhelming. A second later, Kiera was already in front of me, her face just inches away from mine. Her sharp eyes showed me her steel focus.
That was when my heart knew I lost.
Kiera wiped the floor with me. Unorthodox techniques, the fluent flow of her strikes, the unbelievable speed, she struck me down to the ground every instance I tried to stand. While she was a powerhouse with her shield in hand, she traded her intense strength for speed as soon as the weight left her body. Though her strikes were weaker, her speed became untraceable, the stance and techniques transformed her body into a weapon itself, and more than made up for the trade.
Every time I hear the sound, I would get reminded of the pain I felt that day. I guess it had become some sort of a mental image engraved to the back of my mind, hidden behind my memories. I feel a shiver down my spine every time.
Snapping back, the first thing I saw was a flurry of attacks being carried out. Kiera grabbed down on Innocenti's wrist, the one that had Johann held, and did three sharp jabs with her right fist, aiming at the area right below his palm, the middle of his elbow and the main joint that held his hand together. No sound, it was too fast for that. Johann was released, but before dropping down to the floor, Kiera pushed him away, sending him reeling a few meters away.
There was only silence from Kiera, as she threw both hands in front of her, her snaking fists coming together on Innocenti's neck and splitting apart before he could even react to her assault. But, he had skills, he was no amateur. Confusion spilled onto his face, but even then his body moved to dodge and counter. I watched, stunned by the sheer impossibility of the sight, as Innocenti dodged what would've broken his neck. The next strike only came with greater speed, a flurry of explosive strength as Kiera's left elbow flew towards Innocenti's face.
"Crack!"
"Ugh!" Hearing him cry out in pain, even if it was brief, brought me both relief and concern. It felt ugly taking joy in the pain of my enemies. But the attack did not end there, her right fist primed, Kiera shot it like a spear and impaled into Innocenti's chest, right where the heart should be.
"Gragh!"
I saw his body lifted off the ground in a slight jump from the force of the strike, we all did. The blow must have broke some of the bones of his body, that much I knew. But just when I thought it was over, Innocenti hit back without flinching for half a second. His hands, still holding on to Kiera, pulled her down as he countered with a knee through her stomach.
"Ugh." Kiera's cry shook the whole of my body, as she did her best to stay focused and ignore the pain. My hands trembled as strength pushed through my arms, feeling returned to what I thought was broken. Anger bubbled up instantly as I saw Innocenti threw her to the sides.
"Eyes up here!" As I scrambled to see how Kiera was, a blunt force struck my stomach, like a sledgehammer twenty times the usual size ramming against my bones. Verde threw his machine against me in the few seconds I was distracted. The next thing I knew, wind blew against me as I was sent flying through the air. In the distance, I saw the sadness of Aria's eyes, as she was forced to observe in silence. It was if she already expected this.
"Crash!"
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
The sound of my heartbeat. It rang through my head throughout the fight, but right now, it's the only thing I hear. Darkness all around me, what happened? A sharp but gigantic force crushed against my back, I must have hit the wall, crashed against it. My arms hurt, the stinging and throbbing came back. My whole body feels wet, and I can't tell if I'm covered by sweat or blood. I only knew it hurt a lot. I must have had my eyes closed. Words slowly became audible again.
"... Ugh, cough, cough!" Strained voice, the tone with a hint of disbelief. "What was that? Acupuncture? Martial Arts?" Slowly, I recognized that annoying tone. Innocenti sounded more curious than wary. It felt completely out of place. No conflict, no attacks, the sound of fighting was strangely absent. "I see... Fists of the Eight Extremes, huh?" Unbelievable, he figured out Kiera's fighting style just like that?
Then, a rumble shook the whole building, shaking me awake. It felt like a mini-earthquake, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that it was happening at the top floors of this building, and that the friend we call Hinata had something to do with it. My vision returned, and from the blurry sight the first thing I saw was Kiera and Sergio, back to back with each other, each of them wrecked with dirt and grime, their bodies covered with cuts and wounds. The lobby was filled with craters, most of what survived the fire before had been wrecked, utterly destroyed. In the distance, Sergio and Kiera whispered something to each other, before their focus returned with a nod, and they started moving again.
"Energy readings are off the charts! This puts all theories before out the bag! But something's happening, we need to retrieve that item immediately!" Verde's clinical words were ones of surprise, excitement and joy. The distraction was timely, and even with no real plan in my mind, I got up to my two feet, clutching down on my left elbow.
"Hah.. hah.. hah... hah.." Heavy breathing, my panting breaths kept pumping out as I pushed the shock away from my body, and tried to assess the situation. With the returning feelings, pain came by the waves, so I had to calm my body enough for me to keep fighting. Despair was slowly encroaching in my mind. These guys seemed insane, impossible to win against, even with my friends here with me, with my Famiglia. Each time I pushed those poisonous thoughts away, they only came back more stronger than before.
"What about the girl?" In the corner, Verde and Innocenti seemed to have gone into a discussion, with Innocenti asking the question with what sounded like genuine concern, and a seriousness unlike before. We must have looked so pathetic they thought we were dead.
"get rid of her." Verde replied, as if those words were spoken on a whim.
"Hah.. hah.. No!" In between hustled breaths, I made it sure to yell. In the distance, my eyes saw the two turned towards me, their slight disbelief quickly replaced with a dangerous look in their eyes. "Hah... hah.. Don't touch her! Hah... I.. won't... let you!" My own action surprised even myself. I knew there was no point in saying it out, these guys kill with no hesitation at all. But my body needed to hear it, my mind needed my voice to affirm my thoughts, among the many others surging in a chaotic current. I must look really pathetic.
Suddenly, every part of my body screamed for me to move, and a burst of adrenaline forced my body to jump. That was when Verde and his ARS came into view before me, smashing down on the floor just inches away from my feet. The attack cracked the concrete, and I couldn't dodge the force of impact completely. By dumb luck, I managed to land on my feet, though the act brought me down to one knee. From the crater, cracks started snaking out, spreading at an hastening speed.
"Hah.. Why are you doing this?" Stability came back, much to my surprise, my body was recovering quicker than I imagined. With that question, I found my fingers tightening around Fenris once more, the dim light from the Tear hanging around my neck growing stronger. The questions I just kept asking, I needed them to clear my doubts, to strengthen my resolve. "That item's my Famiglia's Legacy! Hinata's my friend! Why are you guys killing for it?"
This time, I saw it all too clearly, bending my knees before leaping back. On top of me, Verde and his machine fell like a comet, both arms primed to crush my skull. I could even hear the slight nuances of the machinery contracting and expanding as he got close.
"Crash!"
"Fool, every age has it's own driving force responsible for progress. In this time, it's us! Our experiment will change the world!" As he continued wrecking the place, dust blowing up into the air, cracks spreading out more and more, the Arcobaleno spoke with only confidence and pride in his work. The thought of a person like him hurting my friends, hurting Hinata, sent my mind spiraling in anger. It became difficult to hold back my feral side, I was already growling.
My words did nothing to slow Verde's efforts. His desire to kill, the sharp mentality he has, was impressive, for a scientist. Within a second, his Ars came charging towards me again.
"Amato! Get behind me!" The familiar shield reappeared before me, Kiera calling out to me, jumping in front of me with her shield ready to defend. I assumed Sergio and Johann must be back on their feet as well, already back in the fight with Innocenti. My hand reached out for her shoulder, and with serious eyes, I shook my head and pulled her behind me, deeming her action unnecessary. Though I saw her disagree with her eyes, she complied nonetheless, albeit reluctantly.
I didn't want to see her hurt. As Verde stopped right in front of me, arms raised to crush me down into earth again, I gave him my question with piercing gaze.
"What are you going to do with my friend, Arcobaleno?" Spewing out the words, I stripped them of respect. I didn't even want to call Verde by his name anymore. Now, I just needed to hear the right words. He said to get rid of her, but what exactly did he mean? I needed to hear it from his mouth alone.
"We're going to kill her. Leave no evidence behind!" Overtaken by some maniacal sense of justification, Verde slammed down the arms as he gave the words with a smirk.
"Crack!"
The loudest crack ever came ringing through the lobby, followed by pain gouging through the muscles from my shoulders down to my spine. I impressed myself by still standing after the strike, the arms now blocked by my shoulders, with my arms raised in a cross above me.
"...Wrong answer." With a growl to my words, my shoulders let go of the arms, pain striking and piercing through my body. The huge metallic appendages fell to the ground, breaking and crashing through more of the concrete floor. My shirt ripped almost immediately following the drop of the machine, the blue sleeves completely torn off of my sides. Fire burned all over my body, pain spiking forth, the throbbing getting worse. Despite all that, I had my arms firmly gripped on the metal, finger clamping down on the cold metal parts.
"Uuurrraaaggghhh!" Verde's words rang through my mind as I gathered my strength, forcing it on the metal appendages before Verde could even give a reaction. Hinata's face flashed across my mind, her smile as well as her tears. The memories re-surfaced, dodging and darting from one key point to another like a broken video player, almost driving me mad. And that only made the boiling peak of my anger ever so larger. Light exploded from the Tear hanging around my neck, the words flickering as if it couldn't handle the connection, the amount of power I wanted to draw from Fenris.
As Kiera jumped back, the machine held by my hands finally budged. Power surging, the pain from my body, my arms, were ignored, disappearing as I tore that piece of contraption of the ground. Verde tried his best to regain control, but with each pull of a lever, each press of a button, each flick of a switch, only sparks exploded from his beloved machine. Pulling every ounce of strength from my muscles, I tossed the mech to the sides, sending it crashing to a wall.
That, however, had unforeseen consequences. The concrete from the wall was chipped away, debris fell from the cracks that spread as Verde and his machine smashed into the wall. Metal hidden behind the concrete was crushed, and the small tremor shot out from the floor, breaking the craters even further. The whole place started shaking, rumble seemed to echo from every part of the building. To tell the truth, it really didn't look that stable before, and our showdown had only made it worse.
"Screech!"
That was when half the lobby gave way, collapsing as metal and stone grind against each other. Frantic, my eyes caught sight of Sergio and Johann clashing with Innocenti before they realized what was happening. Stone and concrete sprouted from the floor, breaking at the sides before sinking down. Pipes were bent out of place, the cry of metal scraping against metal hurting through my enhanced hearing. Obscene amount of smoke blew into the air at every corner, shrouding my vision of what was happening.
I took my steps forward, hoping to catch sight of Sergio and Johann, but a small hand from behind me held me back, the warm touch stung on my flesh but calmed me down. That was when the whole thing stopped. Slowly, the smoke cleared to show us that the floor had given way into the basements of the of the company building, two floors down. The hand pulled me back, and Kiera's worried face came into sight. One more step and I would have fell down into the massive crater before me.
"No... Sergio... Johann... Gah, No!" Still stunned with shock, my body had to calm itself down as I stared into the depths, though that seemed to make it worse. Confused, every attempt at coming up with what to do next produced a blank slate in my mind. Convulsions sunk its way into my body, and I started to feel extremely sick. The floor just gave way and took my friends with it. Thoughts quickly exploded with a million answers to the questions in my mind.
Kiera took steps towards the huge hole with her shield now back in her hands and just stood there, staring down the crater longer than I did, in silence. Her face was one of passiveness, frozen in slight confusion and disbelief.
In the end, my eyes just looked to Kiera for answers, as she turned back to me with her shield in hand. That was when I felt the slight change in the wind, and my body urged itself to scatter, causing Kiera and I to jump to the sides.
"Smash!"
From the smoke, Verde and his creation appeared, never making a sound until he launched his attack. Adrenaline filled my veins again, and my body felt lighter, everything felt easier. Again, memories and information filled my mind, prompting me to ready my Legacy Arm, despite my hands still shaking slightly. At my side, Kiera raised her shield and took her stance. Even without saying anything, we both agreed with just a glance and a nod.
If I was feeling anger, Verde would be the one to pay. If it was fear, I needed a distraction. Whatever the case, we needed to take Verde out. He's too big a threat to ignore!
Man that took forever to write. I really hope it's an interesting read! As the fight continues, the Zanna Famiglia found themselves split up once again! Did Sergio and Johann survive after what happened? And what of Vito and Dante? All these questions pressed down on Amato as the fight continues! Just how will it all end? Give me your thoughts about this chapter in your reviews, and I promise to update the next chapter as soon as I can!