Disclaimer: All characters, except the unnamed ones and Devilbat Ignis, belong to CAPCOM. I do not claim them, I am merely using them for non-profitable entertainment purposes.
The residential district was burning.
Screams from the fearful and dying ripped through the air. Flames writhed and crackled, claiming many lives and structures as their ownas they gleefully ended years of work and memories in an instant. The collapse of the buildings was audible. Above the roar of flames, the high-pitched cackling of a demented soul rang through the ears of all present.
"Burn, burn, burn! Kyeeheeheehee!"
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Omega awoke with a start. Something was wrong.
He glanced around his pitch-black hangar suspiciously. Slowly he made his way to a window, lightly grabbing the curtain. Nothing was moving in the hangar but him. With a flick of his wrist, he opened the curtain and let light blast into his home. Nothing.
Omega gave the hangar a final scan before looking out the window. From what he could see, hunters were scrambling left and right. Some of them looked panicked, others haunted, and the rest determined. The sun had yet to rise. This angered the Red Demon. What the heck were they doing this earlyin the morning? They'd woken him up!
He grumpily closed the curtain again, heading for the door. He slammed it open, yelling, "Okay, what the hell is going on out here!"
Only a few of the hunters even bothered to look at him. One of them broke away from the group while the rest returned to their previous actions. "The residential district in area C-9 is under attack! C'mon, help us get ready! We've gotta go rescue them! It's one of the most concentrated groups of people outside of Legion!"
He rushed off, helping another hunter with a large package of some sort. Omega gave the assembly a disdainful look. Why should he help? As if he cared!
He turned to go back into his hangar, but was roughly grabbed from behind.
"Hey buddy, they need someone to take this to the firefighting crews! Hop to it!"
Before he could protest, Omega was handed a large bucket filled with medical supplies. He was shoved towards a quickly moving column of people. The God of Destruction was forced along with them, trying to figure out what the heck was going on. He wanted to escape this mess, but if he didn't look busy someone was sure to round him up again. His quick wake-up call didn't help matters. The red demon was still groggy and unprepared to deal with what was going on. By the time he'd finally snapped out of his stupor, he was already on a mass-transporter pad with a dozen or so others.
"What-?"
"Okay everyone, in three... two... one...!"
"Wait!"
They didn't.
The next thing the group knew, they were in the thick of the fight. Everyone was shoved off the transporter to make room for the next lot coming through. Omega was pointed and pushed in the direction of the firefighting crew that needed the supplies. Deciding that he really had no other choice at this point, Omega went along with it. He subconsciously tried to avoid spilling the contents on his way there.
Thick smoke billowed across the night sky, glowing red from the embers that floated in the air. Ash clouded his vision slightly, collecting on his face and tongue as he tried to breathe. He could smell the burning flesh and buildings as he dropped the bucket next to a panicked-looking medic, who was treating someone with severe burns.
"Thanks!" she piped up absent-mindedly.
Omega didn't bother to respond. Instead, he darted through the crowds, trying to look like he had somewhere to go. It stopped people from calling him over, which was a major relief as he looked for a way to escape. He didn't pay attention to the burning scenery or the screaming victims. What he was looking for was a way to get away from the crowd. Unfortunately, someone else had designs for him.
"Hey, look who it is! Get over here!"
He felt a rough, powerful grip tighten on his arm. A brown-haired girl had grabbed him, dragging him towards a small clearing. Her strange, star-shaped red bangs bounced as they went. In his rush to get away from people, he'd neglected to notice someone headed straight for him!
"I heard about you from Ashe and the others. C'mon, you'll be useful, this way!"
Within a few seconds, they were at a clearing. Omega stood, staring rather dumbly as the girl went and stood beside someone who looked surprisingly like Harpuia. She muttered something into his ear.
Omega stuttered, "E-excuse me? Useful...?"
The girl turned, giving him a scathing look, "Yeah, idiot! Can't you see what's going on here?"
Omega frowned, "I only woke up five minutes ago, and now I'm somewhere that looks like it got hit bya missile. Mind telling me who you are, first?"
She growled, "Oh, I see. Pretty brainless, aren't you? My name's Atlas. You know, the Model F Mega Man? This here's Aeolus, the Model H Mega Man. Lemme guess, you have no idea what's going on or why this area is burning like this, hey?"
Omega nodded. He knew she'd just insulted him, but he couldn't be bothered to reply at this point. His knowledge was pretty minimal at this point as well, so it might be best to gather information off of her.
"Well, I'll leave that to Aeolus to explain. I've gotta go guard the reactor." With that, she was off and running, Megamerging as she went.
"Reactor?" Omega asked. Aeolus sighed irritably, shaking his head.
"Idiot, It's not like I haven't enough to do around here without explaining things to some rookie fool..." He gazed disdainfully at Omega, but explained the situation precisely, "Hmph, nothing for it now it seems. This area, as you've probably heard, is under attack. We're not sure why, but we think it has something to do with an experimental reactor that was moved to this area recently. It was going to be shown in a conference, but it seems that someone with ill intentions got wind of it. They've burned the area down, and we believe that a pseudoroid may be the cause. Atlas has gone to protect the reactor while I'm here organizing the firefighting and rescue efforts for those caught in the blaze."
Omega yawned, stretching his arms, "Why go to all the trouble for one stupid little reactor?"
Aeolus frowned, "It's not just any reactor! It is a condensed, high-output reactor! It was designed for emergency backup generators in office and residential areas, but it's small enough to be put into a large-sized pseudoroid! If we're not careful and let the reactor be taken, who knows what kind of problems we could have! Raiders would come at us with mobile power plants or high-powered cannons! Blasted Raiders! No doubt that's who organized this attack!"
Omega realized what Aeolus was saying. If they let this technology get into the wrong hands, powerful weapons could be created. Something possibly along the lines of him, although it'd probably be a lot bigger and clunkier. Oh, what was he thinking? Even if someone created a large pseudoroid capable of something like that, he was pretty sure the weapons technology would take a long while to catch up to his calibre. But it still wasn't a pretty thought. As much as he hated to admit it, he'd have to help out; preferably by destroying the pseudoroid behind the attack.
And maybe the generator in the process.
"What can I do? I could go and try to flush out the pseudoroid-"
"You? Hah! This is a Mega Man's job! A pseudoroid capable of this is way beyond your talent!" scoffed Aeolus. Omega felt his cheeks flush in anger, but the Wind Mega Man ignored it, "I've heard that you're stronger than usual, though. Tell you what, if you're really that eager for action, you can go rescue people from buildings. We have a lot of crews doing that already, but I'm sure another person couldn't hurt."
Aeolus turned his back to Omega, dismissing him. Omega was furious. Rescue!? That sort of menial chore was beneath him! And besides, who ever heard of the God of Destruction going around rescuing people? He wouldn't have that!
Omega stomped off, determined to do as he pleased and nothing more. He ran past a crew coming in, a crying child clutched in one of their arms.
"Mamma! Mamma!"
Omega ignored it, dashing far beyond the sights of the firefighters. He disappeared beyond those holding firehoses, running past the charred corpses of those who hadn't gotten out in time. Finally alone, he glared at the sky, wondering where he should start his search. He trotted past a building that would collapse any second. He heard a scream coming from under a pile of rubble nearby.
"Help me! Help me! Oh God my leg! Where's my baby? Help!"
Omega looked over. A tear-stained face stared back at him, one hand clawing desperately towards him. Omega gave her one careless glance and looked away. The woman screamed at him further. Omega was about to keep going when he heard another set of footprints. He turned, just in time, to see another rescuer dash to the woman, trying to get her out.
"Over here, you ass! Help me get her out!" He yelled.
Omega sighed, "The building right there is going to collapse any second. She's a lost cause. Go help someone else."
The man stopped his work, aghast, "What? How can you say that! You don't know what you're talking about! Come here and help!"
Omega was pretty pissed at this point. Of course he knew what he was talking about! He'd caused a dilemma like this more than his fair share of times. And he knew from personal experience how close the building was to collapse. But, of course, he couldn't tell the idiot that. And, when he thought about it, if that idiot somehow survived getting a bunch of flaming rubble land on him, he'd probably tell someone about the guy who'd refused to help save a woman. He was unndoubtably under enough suspicion already. After all, hadn't Aeolus said something about knowing that he was stronger than usual?
With no other action left to take, he rolled his eyes and went to work. He and the other man each grabbed a corner of the chunk of concrete, trying to lift it. A small beam landed next to Omega's foot. He looked up, just as the building crumbled.
Crap! He thought. Without another thought, he threw the concrete slab into the air, intercepting another flaming chunk as he grabbed the two people beside him and jumped out from under the falling building. Without a second to spare. The pieces crashed into the ground, breaking apart into flaming shrapnel. One piece hit him in the shoulder, another smashed into the woman's temple, knocking her unconscious and causing a slit to open,pouring blood.
"I told you it'd collapse, didn't I?" Omega snapped at the stunned hunter. He grabbed the woman, thanking Omega for saving his life as he ran with her to the medical crews.
Omega huffed angrily. Great. He'd just thrown a chunk of concrete twice his size into the air in front of, not one, but two witnesses. Just great. And they were already gone, so he couldn't get rid of them. He shrugged helplessly, hoping they'd attribute the incident to an adrenaline rush. He felt pain. This made Omega look at the shrapnel in his shoulder, somewhat surprised when he noticed that it had gone straight would be where the pain came from. He grabbed it, pulling it out. It'd heal, but until then he was stuck running around with a hole in his shoulder. Perfect. Just. Freaking. Perfect.
Omega looked up at another flaming building beside him. It wasn't anywhere near collapsing, so he decided to climb on top of it. With any luck, he could scope out the area without running into any more survivors.
At the top of the building, he looked around. Flames and smoke obstructed his view in most areas, completely engulfing the tops of other structures. Another one to his right, however, looked like it was relatively safe. He jumped to it, looked around again, and jumped to another. This pattern continued for a good few minutes. Nothing seemed to be turning up, not the pseudoroid, not the reactor. He was getting frustrated to no end. Someone was going to pay for the injury in his shoulder! Even if it had healed up already, he was still pissed. The sooner he could crush something, the better.
He stopped and took a rest on the next building he landed on. It was in much better condition than the others around it. Most of it was concrete and metal, so very little of it was burning. He had a clear view horizontally, but nothing seemed to be there. He looked down at the streets, spotting something in the distance. It was pretty far way, so he had to strain to see it. The thick drifts of ash and ember did not help him either. It looked like it was glowing slightly. Was it some kind of container?
Flames crackled, drowning out all sound. From a distance, Omega could almost see some people stationed around the object. Was it the generator? He leaned forward, straining his senses. Except for the flames, all he could hear was an ominous silence.
There was no warning when the claws raked his back.
Omega gasped in surprise, falling forward. He grabbed the edge of the roof as he began to fall, scrambling up just in time to see a shape disappear into the mass of smoke above his head.
"Show yourself, coward!" he roared, "come out and fight!"
As he yelled, he put a hand on his back to assess the damages. He winced when he felt his own vertebrae through one of the cuts, his back slick with blood. Well, there was another shirt ruined, not to mention his back was now a weak point. Fortunately, none of the other cuts went much deeper than a centimetre or two. As long as he kept the enemy off his back for a few minutes, he'd be fine.
"Kyeeheehee! Bleed, bleed, like the little insect you are! Kyeeheehee!"
Omega grimaced. Well, by the sounds of it, he'd found the pseudoroid. Or, rather, the psuedoroid had found him.
A movement caught the corner of his eye. He dived out of the way, just in time. Bat-like wings clipped the side of his head, burning him as he rolled. Omega got up just in time to see the pseudoroid's long, skeletal tail disappear into the smog again. He frowned, realizing his disadvantage at the tops of the buildings. Here, the thing could dive-bomb him at its leisure, and he'd have one hell of a time dodging it, much less countering it. Omega dashed across the rooftop, not even caring about the integrity of the buildings he landed on any more. He ran, looking for a more suitable spot to fight the madly laughing psuedoroid chasing him.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Atlas tapped her foot impatiently, glancing around the opaque smoke blocking her view. "Any news of the pseudoroid?" she asked a lone legion soldier to her side.
"No, unfortunately."
"Humph!" Atlas grouched, folding her arms, "you'd think that the stupid thing had forgotten why it was here! If this thing's what it's really after, anyways," she said, patting the container behind her. "Seriously, this is starting to get boring. I wonder if it's even gonna show up?"
"Well, it makes our job easier if it doesn't, right?" the soldier smiled. Atlas scowled at him, showing that she would rather it did, even if just to bring her mind some ease. The soldier shut up, glancing around the surroundings to avoid her glare. He perked up suddenly, staring at the top of a building.
"Oi, what's that?"
Atlas was alert instantly. She ran beside the soldier, and he pointed to the area of interest. Flashed of fire were coming from the sky, raining down on an unfortunate figure below. The figure was dodging quite well, however, and was rapidly jumping across the gaps between buildings. A few times a great, flaming bat seemed to appear out of the smoke, trying to catch the fleeing figure in its claws. It would disappear as soon as it had appeared, like a demon from hell.
"That's our pseudoroid, probably," Atlas noted.
"I wonder who it's attacking? They're pretty fast, if you ask me."
"Probably Aeolus. No one else I know moves that fast," Atlas answered.
The soldier frowned, "Wasn't he organizing the rescue efforts?"
"That's what I thought, too. Maybe it attacked him?"
They continued to watch as the mysterious silhouette avoided the fiery bat's attacks, wondering just who it was that was in such peril.
"Well, there's not much we can do unless they come this way," Atlas stated, relaxing against the container to view the show.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Another jet of flame scorched the roof near Omega. He leapt to the side, aiming a charged shot into the clouds from where the fire originated. His only reward was a malicious giggle.
"Kyeeheeheehee! Not bad for a little insect! Now be a good little bug and shrivel up and die! Burn burn burn burn! Kyeeheehee!"
Omega was forced to dodge again as a shower of fire came down upon him. He aimed a shot just ahead of where the attack had come from, this time with more success than the last.
"Kah!"
The burning bat finally came out of the clouds, rage glowing from her eyes and a scorch mark on her thigh from where his shot had hit.
"You little wretch! Why aren't my flames turning you to ash? You should be charcoal by now! Kyeeheehee!"
Omega got his first good look at the pseudoroid. It had long ears that were perked at him, with a tail to match. The skeletal features of its body complemented the bare-bones wings, which radiated with flames. The tip of the tail also had fire on it, which highlighted the large, sinister claws covered in his dried blood. Red and gray colours covered its plated armour body.
Its throat expanded. Omega rolled right as it spat out a jet of flame at him.
"Kyeeheehee! This little insect is trying ever-so-desperately to stay alive! Very well! I, Devilbat Ignis, am delighted to quash your efforts! Bathe in my flames!"
She flapped her wings, gaining altitude, then dived at Omega. He tried to avoid the attack, only to end up with her tail encircling his neck. One of her claws grabbed his head, the other pinned his arms to the side.
"Kyeeheehee! Come here and meet your demise!"
She launched herself off the roof, using Omega as a spring. The Red Demon struggled with all his might to get free. Her claws dug into his arms, drawing blood. The grip on his head tightened.
"Stop struggling, insect!" hissed Ignis. She flapped as hard as she could, making her way over to a collapsed apartment complex. Broken beams jutted out from the flaming wreckage, mounds of shattered concrete rearing up like miniature mountains. Omega finally freed an arm, reaching up to grab the pseudoroid's skinny ankles.
"Oh no you don't, little insect! Die!" she dropped him. He flailed in the air, falling towards the dangerous pile below him.
"Kyeeheeheehee!"
Had he been any ordinary person, Omega would have surely died. He was heading straight for a snapped beam, no doubt to be impaled upon it. He briefly wondered whether or not some of the Mega Men would have died, too.
However, he was in no way ordinary. As soon as he recovered from being thrown, he double-jumped to safety.
Ignis was clearly shocked. Her shock turned to rage, "Kyaaaaaaa! Cheater! Die already you little worm! Just die!"
Omega had no intention to comply with her demands. He took off at a sprint, nearly outrunning the bat as she struggled to follow. Devilbat Ignis spat more flame at him, flapping her wings furiously to keep up. Omega finally had the upper hand, since she could no longer try and grab him. He jumped, turning in a 360 and shot at her. She dodged. He kept doing this sporadically, keeping her from catching up but notsacrificing any ground himself.
Unfortunately, as Omega turned a corner, he found that he'd suddenly ran out of room to run. He skidded to a halt to avoid running into the flaming mess. Ignis took advantage of this, grabbing his shoulders and one of his arms in the process. She continued to fly, unaware of her destination, raining down punishment on him with her free claw.
Omega, his gun in his free hand, tried to aim it at Ignis. She spotted this.
Since her claw was occupied tearing at Omega's torso, she bit down on his arm as cruelly as she could.
"Graaagh!" He yowled, doing his best not to lose his only weapon. He tried to kick at her, but as soon as he hit her she grabbed his foot, rendering the other one useless as well because of the odd angle it stuck out at. They stayed like this for a minute.
Ignis suddenly wrenched her head to the side, nearly snapping Omega's arm in the process. He screamed out in pain and anger as the weapon dropped.
Oh, she wanted to bite him, did she? Well, two could play at that game!
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Atlas jumped as something clattered down beside her. She pointed her knuckle buster at it until she realized that it was harmless. The soldier had done the same, but was now lowering his weapon while looking fruitlesslyat the sky, still obscured by smoke.
"What is it?" Atlas asked.
The soldier tentatively went forward, picking up the object, "...It looks like a gun of some sort?"
Atlas raised her eyebrow, returning the confused look the soldier was giving her. Then they both heard a painful screech from above, their gazes instantly snapping to the source.
Some sort of flaming bundle was headed straight for the reactor!
They dove out of the way just in time, the reactor and the container it was in exploding from the impact. The explosion was fairly controlled, however, and as soon as the spots had disappeared from their visions, they looked at the aftermath.
It turned out that they projectile headed towards the reactor was two combatants, locked together in a death struggle. Limbs and wings flailed in energetic attempts to rend their target asunder. It was the bat-like pseudoroid, who, in a strange role-reversal, had a humanoid figure biting its neck viciously. Fortunately its armour plating prevented this from being fatal. However, the pseudoroid was unable to shake its attacker, so it instead resorted to trying to rip it apart. They couldn't tell any more after that, since the pair had started rolling across the ground, flames following them wherever they went.
Atlas and the soldier stared at each other.
"What... the... hell."
Suddenly the familiar (was that the loser from earlier?) humanoid was thrown across their vision, slamming into the reactor's burning remains. Before they could rush to his rescue, Omega leaped out of the inferno, snarling at the pseudoroid before running down another side street. The pseudoroid followed close behind, launching itself into the air.
Atlas watched them leave, then stared dully at the remnants of the prototype reactor. The soldier glanced up at her, his voice optimistic.
"Well, at least the raiders can't get it now."
She smacked him over the head in response.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Omega ran just ahead of Devilbat Ignis, barely out of reach of her claws as he dodged her jets of fire.
Well, he thought, this is a rather fine mess I've gotten myself into, isn't it?
As experienced as he was with taking out pseudoroids, he'd never done it without some sort of weapon in hand. Sure, he could do it. More than once he'd wrestled with one of Weil's lackeys to train, usually beating his opponent. But killing them without a weapon was another matter. After all, they had pretty tough hides and armour like crazy. Sure, he had that too, usually. Unfortunately, after having the Ouroboros land on him, armour was in short supply. Add to that the fact that he was currently without a weapon, and it was easy to see that things would get a lot more difficult.
"Get back here you slippery bastard!" Ignis screeched.
Hey, at least she's my size, Omega thought again. He'd have no idea how to deal with this situation if he was fighting something as big as Tretista Kelverian. The thought sent a shiver down his spine. No, if he'd had to face that three-headed monstrosity with no weapons or armour, he'd have straight out fled. At least, his present self would have. His past self might have fought just for the hell of it.
And probably gotten squished, too, he concluded as he dodged yet more flame.
He hated to admit it, but there were some situations even the God of Destruction was vulnerable to. Sure, he might have won such a fight, but not without plenty of injuries. As it was he was already scorched and bruised, bleeding from multiple gashes and bite marks. He spat out some blood, whose it was was beyond him.
Omega made a sudden turn, running at full speed towards a wall. He kept going, jumping just in time to avoid crashing into the wall, instead running up it. Ignis was taken by surprise, having to flap hard in order to catch up to his maneuver. Omega grabbed a flag pole jutting out from the building, suppressing a grunt of pain as the hot metal burned into his palm. He charged up his Heat Launch EX skill as Ignis flapped his way. The moment he was ready to jump, he snapped the pole, brandishing it as a primitive club.
"My turn, bat!" he yelled. He jumped at her, grabbing her neck. His sudden burst of speed from the EX skill swung him around to her back. She struggled against the extreme momentum; Omega began to lose his gripas the pair wheeled around in the sky
He cursed inwardly. Rather than lose his grip, he activated Static, hoping with all his might that it would work.
It worked far better than he'd anticipated.
Ignis screeched, electric currents running through her body. She stopped flapping, her body rigid with pain from the shock of Static. Omega grinned at his good luck, then stabbed the pole through her shoulder.
She screamed, jolting to the side. Omega finally lost his grip when a wing smacked him across the front, the devil reploid falling to the ground. He landed harshly in a pile of burning wreckage.
Ignis hit the ground hard, her damaged wing taking the full impact and snapping as it hit. She screamed in pain and rage as she rose, glaring at the burning pile with hatred.
"You! YOU! You had better be dead, because I'm going to kill you! I'm going to rip you limb from limb and burn you alive! Damn you insect!"
She cursed horribly, staggering over to the pile. She stopped when there was no response. She waited. Nothing.
She waited longer, her ears perked for a tell-tale rustling, crunch, anything. Still nothing.
She began to giggle, louder and louder when the realization hit her.
"Kyeeheehee... Kyeeheeheeheehee! You are dead! Dead! You hear me! I won! I beat you, you little insect! Your corpse burns in my flames, your ashes drift in my inferno! You hear me? I won! I won! Kyeeeheeheeheeheeheehee!"
She laughed, her crazed voice filling the area with dread.
A single hand closed around her neck. She looked down at it, then to the eyes that glowed hotter than the fire around them. A single, blue triangle on Omega's forehead glowed just as brightly, flickering alongside the flames.
Ignis whimpered pitifully, "Mercy...!"
There was none.
x-x-x-x-x
A medic looked up from her latest patient, the woman's wounds sealed. She was clutching a small child, her body wracked with trauma and relief.
"My baby! Thank God, my baby!"
The child was too worn out, only able to manage a small sob every now and then. The medic smiled, looking around for another patient to attend to. The fires were mostly gone now, the burnt out skeletons of the buildings black and crumbling. Ash still fell like snow among the ruins, giving the scene an eerie serenity. As she watched, a limping figure appeared from behind a charred wall, dragging a limp civilian alongside it.
"Hey, this one needs help over here!" The medic yelled, running to the two.
The one who was holding the unconscious man had long white hair, greyed considerably by the ash that stuck to it. He looked haggard and worn, and was covered with cuts and blood. His clothes were non-existent; all he wore was a piece of off-white armour that looked to the medic like underwear toher untrained eye. She made no comment on it, instead grabbing a nearby blanket and handing it to the man as another helper took the civilian away to safety.
"Are you alright, sir? You've sustained great injuries!"
"I'm fine, really. A building fell on me when I was trying to get that man out," Omega lied.
What really happened was that the man had come out of a burning building screaming when Omega was heading back to the crews. Omega had promptly knocked the man unconscious, glad of an excuse for why he looked the way he did.
"You need medical attention-!"
"No, no, I'm fine, save it for the people who need it," Omega waved her away, "I just need to rest."
He walked away, towards the transporter. With the blanket draped around his shoulders, everyone thought he was another victim and let him pass. He reached the teleporters without any trouble, noticing the Model F Mega Man getting a verbal beating not far away.
"You bungling fool! How could you let the generator be destroyed! It wasn't enough for you that the creator died in the fire, you had to let the generator burn too?"
"I told you, I don't know how the hell it happened, one minute it was fine, the next something hit it from above!"
"Enough of your excuses you stupid-!" Aeolus shrieked
Omega smiled discreetly. Well, that was good. Now he wouldn't have to worry about any overly-powerful foes anytime soon. He noticed his gun, unguarded, not far from where the Mega Men stood. He stole over to it and took it. He returned to his previous course, his actions unnoticed by everyone in the crowds. Not like he needed the gun for his new EX skill, but he'd rather have it all the same.
Flamethrower. Just like Ignis, he could now spit out a flamethrower at anyone stupid enough to get close. He was rather happy with himself, actually.
As he stepped onto the mass-transporter with a crowd of strangers, people mistook the smile on his face for an act of peaceful relief.
It was anything but.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"You'd better go find the pseudoroid responsible for this and bring their cold, dead body back here, do you understand!"
That was the last thing Aeolus said before he'd chased Atlas out of the camp of firefighters and medical crews, waving his sword. It was starting to crackle with electricity, so Atlas had gotten the hint rather quickly and scooted. She was now involved in stalking through the ruins of the residential district, grumbling about her situation to herself. Suddenly she stopped, staring at the wall beside her. It was covered in something that was somewhat burnt, blackened, but undeniably blood. She looked across at the wall on the other side of the narrow street. It, too, was covered.
A sickening feeling came over her. Whatever had caused this, it wasn't the fire.
She rounded the corner, filled with dread. Some instinct told her that whatever was around there, it wasn't good.
If she hadn't been a war hardened soldier, she might have thrown up on the spot.
It was the pseudoroid, all right. The wings were unmistakable. They, however, were the only recognizable piece left of the dead bat. The rest was mutilated beyond recognition, charred by some sort of flamethrower-like weapon. The inner workings were scattered around the ground like a disembowled creature, dried blood spattered everywhere.
The eyes stared out into space, terror forever imprisoned in their lifeless gaze.