Chapter 28 - Closing Act, Part 3
Outside of the mine, Percy peered out from the darkness of a narrow alley. His black garb helped him blend in with the shadows as he looked over at a group of shock troopers. Petru stood surrounded by them, doing his best to convince them that he had no idea about Azel's plan. With a little practiced effort, Percy spied on the scene from multiple angles, seeing through the eyes of his duplicates scattered throughout the area.
Petru's role in the plan was to simply act as an innocent informant. Once the raid started going south, his innocence would naturally be brought into question, and he would end up getting interrogated. Percy's role from there would change depending on how well Petru was able to sell the lie.
If the shock troopers believed Petru, all would be well, and Percy could continue to spy on the base camp without incident. If they didn't, then Petru being attacked by silencers from Scinter's Mark, or in this case Percy's duplicates collectively playing the roles of those silencers, would hopefully remove any doubts of Petru's innocence.
All Percy had to do was wait for the slightest change in behavior between the troopers and Petru. If they started moving in to restrain him…
Suddenly, Percy felt a surge of intense pain. Something was wrong. A number of his duplicates had been wiped out all at once. He was quick to notice that all of the missing duplicates had been in areas of the mine where they could oversee the show.
Percy frowned as he considered the implications. Returning some attention to his main body, he created another duplicate and sent it down a passage leading to the part of the mine that the show was taking part in.
To his immediate surprise as Percy approached the area, he saw the passage was completely normal. In that area, there should have been an illusory wall hiding the path to the rest of the mine. There wasn't even a trace of smoke along the floor either.
Tentatively, Percy reached out using his duplicate, then froze in shock. When his hand reached the place where the illusory wall should have been, it simply stopped existing. Wincing in pain, Percy pulled his arm back quickly and looked down at the bloody stump left by a force he couldn't even see. Pulling a bit of courage together, Percy had the duplicate rush forward, and felt the pain of its existence coming to an abrupt end.
With that experiment concluded, Percy's main body started gasping for breath before he turned his attention back to the task at hand. Thankfully, Petru still stood surrounded by the shock troopers, though they didn't seem to be relaxing around him.
Percy's brow furrowed. Still catching his breath, he broke the news to the other smugglers, then continued his vigil, staring at Petru and the troopers as his thoughts raced.
No illusions, no smoke, not even my duplicates… Spirits… just what is going on down there?
—
Niccolo stretched as he walked through a tunnel warped into existence by his power. It had been a long night of moving unconscious shock troopers through the mine, and he was eager to reconnect with his family. As the sheer rock of the cave walls melted out of his way, he was soon greeted by his family on the other side of the hole he created. A warm smile crossed his face, obscured by the veil covering it.
"Ah, Felicia, Nico. You two look well."
Felicia met him halfway as he approached and gave him a hug. "It's good to see you too, dear. I take it you had no trouble with the shock troopers?"
"None at all, Percy was quite helpful while I was moving them. And how about you? No problems on your end?"
Nico shook his head, which peeked out just over the smoke. "No problems at all, dad! It was kind of disappointing to be honest! I mean, aren't the CCA's troops supposed to be well trained to handle power users?"
"Well, dear, you have to remember that since powers are illegal for them too, they rarely have any practical experience. And certainly not against a time warping power like yours!"
"Heh, yeah, I guess you're right, mom!"
Niccolo laughed quietly. "Well, in any case, I suppose we should get going. With the sheer number of troopers we've disarmed, I think it's high time for the finale to…"
A shockwave shot out through the mine, passing through the Rossis and interrupting Niccolo as he spoke. In a short moment afterward, his halo faded away and the tunnel his power made returned to normal, as the smoke and illusions surrounding the family dissipated.
Felicia struggled to keep her balance, and nearly fell, only to be supported by Niccolo. Nico was quick to speak up.
"Mom, dad! Spirits, what was that?"
"I, I'm not sure, dear. But my power… I can't feel it anymore."
Nico paused for a moment, then frowned. "I'm trying to use mine too, but there's nothing! Did the CCA have some kind of trick to do this?"
"I don't think so, son. If I had to guess, it's another power shutting ours down. It's rare, but possible."
"Maybe one of the shock troopers still in the mine awakened, and this is their doing," Felicia guessed. "Niccolo, if this effect doesn't go away, what are we going to do about the finale?"
Niccolo was silent for a moment.
"I think," he said after gathering his thoughts, "first off, we should regroup in the central chamber. Azel and the others are likely dealing with the same effect."
"Right, and then when we're all together we can figure out how to…"
"Over here! I think I heard something!"
An unfamiliar voice called from further back in the tunnel, causing the Rossis to stop talking. Niccolo let Felicia out of his grasp and leaned down to grab his son, who immediately wrapped his arms around his shoulders.
Once Nico was secure on his back, Niccolo spoke to his wife in a whisper. "Felicia, can you walk? I'm sorry to have to ask, but…"
"It's fine, dear. It'll be much harder without my power, but I can manage."
Felicia pulled herself to her feet, cringing in pain as she rested her weight on her bad leg. A few weak steps followed by a firm nod gave Niccolo little confidence as his wife moved towards the other end of the tunnel.
"Niccolo, dear, even without powers, even with the shock troopers on our heels, the plan hasn't changed. We regroup with Azel and the others, and we figure this out together."
"R-right, no use worrying about it then," Niccolo said, quickly catching up with Felicia.
"But what about everyone else though?" Nico asked. "Without their powers, can they even make it to the center chamber?"
"It shouldn't be too much trouble for them. Given the situation, Percy probably won't be there, but Azel, Lucia, and Mead already are. And I have faith in Nadine and Fen. Even without powers, they're more than capable of holding their own in a tough spot."
"Spirits, I hope so…"
"Don't worry, son. We've all been through close calls before, and we can make it through this one."
Niccolo could feel his son nodding in assent at the words he found it so hard to assure himself of. Nadine and Fen had skill, but against multiple shock troopers, they were still ordinary dreamkeepers at the end of the day.
And that's before even thinking about Azel and his friends… This is the first time they've been in a real raid, and without their powers…
With doubts plaguing his thoughts, Niccolo traveled through the mine with his family. Between making a slow trek to the central chamber and hiding from approaching shock troopers, he hoped beyond hope that he, his family, and everyone else would be alright.
—
Nadine stood staring at Detective Banks, still held aloft by her power. He'd spent most of the time glaring at her, but after a while he'd switched to trying to convince her to let him down.
"You know," he said, "this isn't going to end well for you. Those shock troopers you've been taking down? If they have even one redeeming quality, it's that they refuse to give up. They'll keep coming harder and faster, until you can't keep up."
Nadine was completely silent, as she had been the entire time.
"Better that you just give up now, I mean, exile isn't that bad if you really think about it!"
Do you even really believe that, Detective? Nadine thought, tilting her head to the side.
"And it's not like you'll be completely shut off from civilization either! Plenty of settlements founded by exiles out there! Power users like you would probably love living in one of those places!"
Nadine stared directly at Banks. As if you could even…
Before she was able to finish her thought, a shockwave passed through both her and Banks. Her halo, and by extension her ribbon, disappeared into nothingness. Banks, left with nothing to support him, fell to the ground. To his credit, he managed to land on his feet, shuddering slightly from the shock of the landing.
Nadine was quick to process what happened, and turned to make a break for the central chamber. A gunshot to her left stopped her, and she turned to see Banks staring her down, his SSP clutched in both hands.
"Now you wait just a damn minute, lady," he growled. "I know what you're thinking, Atrox and those other power users are in a bit of trouble now. But you're forgetting that Jay's that way too, and I'll be damned if I let another power user get to him before I do!
With little warning, Banks fired the SSP's second shot, aiming for Nadine's leg. With only a moment to spare, she managed to dodge, and broke into a sprint towards Banks before he had a chance to reload.
Ramming into him with her shoulder, Nadine forced Banks to drop the SSP and stagger backward. She quickly kicked the spent springer further down the tunnel before being struck in the face by her opponent. She quickly made sure her mask was still attached before giving Banks a stare.
"Only one of us is going down that tunnel, and it sure as hell isn't going to be you," Banks said, raising his fists for another strike.
Nadine sighed in frustration, and assumed a fighting stance. As she started trading blows with the police detective, she frowned as the implications of the shockwave really started to occur to her.
Everyone else is probably dealing with the same thing right now, and if I don't end this quickly, I might have to deal with shock troopers without my power as well…
Spirits, everyone, I can only hope you're handling yourselves all right…
—
Further into the mine, Fen had been talking at length with the police officer Barlow came in with. To his surprise, she had a bit more in common with him than he expected.
"No shit! Ya meditate when yer shootin'?"
"Yeah, it really helps calm my nerves. But all these weapons, and even your power, they're really all things you use for meditation?"
"Hell yeah! Well I mean, I do use 'em fer fightin' an' all, but aside a this whole thing, I only really fight people that want ta fight! It's mostly somethin' my mentor taught me ta help center myself!"
"That was the same mentor that got exiled, right?"
Fen nodded slowly. "I still miss him, ya know? Guy was one a tha nicest people I knew, but tha CCA didn't even…"
A shockwave passed through the tunnel, clearing the smoke around them and causing Fen's power to cancel out. The panels clattering to the ground drew his attention, and he quickly grabbed one of them and ducked behind it.
"So," Fen said after a moment, "I guess that's it fer our little talk, huh?"
From behind the panel, he peeked out to see the officer holding her springer at the ready. To his surprise, she still hadn't fired a single shot.
"I… I don't know. I mean, I know power users ruined the Lieutenant's life, but…"
The officer took a breath before continuing.
"Every power user I've met during all of this has been so… normal! Atrox, Luxmyn, even you! You're… you're really not trying to hurt anyone, are you?"
"A course fuckin' not! We're all just tryin' ta use our powers in peace!"
"That, that's exactly what I thought about Atrox…"
Fen nodded. "Yeah, Azel's not tha kinda freak that'd pull somethin' like tha Stadium Massacre! If ya ask me, he's probably tryin' ta have a nice chill talk with Barlow right now, even without his power ta back him up!"
"You're sure? There's no traps or anything?"
"Hey, police girl, give Azel some credit! This whole thing's about how powers aren't just fer killin'! What would he have ta gain from doin' somethin' like that?"
"Well, when you put it that way…"
The officer started lowering her weapon as she spoke, prompting Fen to lower the panel. As the two of them let the moment linger, a voice echoed from the end of the tunnel.
"Hey, I think I heard something over here!"
Fen paled. "Ah, shit, forgot tha shock troopers were still down here!"
The officer paused, then holstered her pistol and gave Fen a serious look. "I'll see if I can distract them. You go ahead, go help your friends."
"I, wait, yer serious? Yer gonna try an' stall tha troopers fer me? I thought ya were on tha same side!"
"Eh, I never really cared for the shock troopers, you know. I mean, does anyone really like them?"
"Heh, ya got a point there, but if they catch ya helpin' us…"
"They're getting closer, you know. Do you really want me to change my mind right now?"
"Ah, I got ya! Thanks, then, police girl!"
"Call me Ciella," she said with a smile and a firm nod. "And if you get the chance, I think you should check on the Lieutenant and Atrox. Even if you're right about him, the Lieutenant's dead set on catching power users. He probably won't be willing to listen to Atrox at all."
Fen nodded before turning to leave. "Right, I'll keep that in mind. An'… thanks, Ciella. Fer listenin, stickin' yer neck out fer us, everythin', really."
With another nod from Ciella, Fen turned and headed down the tunnel to the central chamber. As he picked up the pace, his mind turned to thinking about the whole situation.
Ciella, huh? Tha talk was good, but it woulda been nice ta have a proper fight with her… Still, she was way better at listenin' than I expected from an officer…
Tha shock troopers on tha other hand… Without our powers, they'll just see us all as easy targets… Hope Ciella can manage ta keep some a 'em offa us fer a bit…
An' as fer Azel… I only hope he's handlin' Barlow well…
—
In the central chamber, Azel, Mead and Lucia reeled from the intensity of the shockwave. As they gathered their senses, Azel noticed something was off immediately.
"I… I can't use my power…"
"Wha- me neither! Not even a bit of smoke!"
"It's Barlow's attunement power," Lucia said in a low voice. "He can attune himself to other powers and tune them up or drown them out…"
"So… That's what it was… All this time…"
The three power users turned back to look at Barlow, who had been recovering from his power surging. Over his head, a black halo glowed intensely, paradoxically giving off light while seeming to draw it in at the same time.
"All these years, my own damn power really was tormenting me… Well, now that it's out for real, at least you don't have anything to stop me…"
"Uh, h-hold on, we can still talk about this…" Azel stammered, his tail rattling behind him.
"What's there to talk about, Atrox!? The way my power has been ruining my life for the past twenty years!? The way you've been hiding behind yours!? And don't think I haven't noticed what you've been hiding in this very room!"
Barlow gestured behind the group, causing them to look behind themselves. With the smoke cleared out, a massive pile of springer rifles at the far end of the chamber could be seen plainly.
"Ah, th-those were for the show's finale," Mead said weakly.
"Finale!?" Barlow roared. "I guess powers weren't enough for you, so you had to arm yourselves with stolen springers for spirits know what!"
"No, you see, it's…"
"Save your breath, Santoro! I can't trust anything the three of you have to say! Using powers, stealing guns from the CCA… It'll be a good day for Anduruna when you finally get what's coming to you!"
"Th-this isn't what I… I just wanted to…" Azel muttered.
"To show me what powers are really for? I've seen it, Atrox. I'm not the only one who suffered in the Stadium Massacre, you know. Too many innocent dreamkeepers have lost their lives to powers already. Never again. Powers can't be trusted for anything other than violence. In fact, the only good thing about mine is that it'll give me the chance to bring you all to justice before the CCA exiles me too! And you know what? If it means ridding Anduruna of filth like you, I'll be happy to suffer that punishment!"
Azel was still for a moment. As he heard Barlow's speech, his tail's rattling slowed to the point that it provided only a dull white noise. Finally, as the rattling came to a halt, he spoke up.
"So, that's how it's going to be, Barlow? I really hoped you would be willing to listen to reason. But if you're going to be like this, then I guess we have no choice."
With a quick movement, he pulled the robe he was wearing off, revealing the new costume Nadine made for him. The outfit was dark colored, sleek and form-fitting with light armor plating woven in, and it covered Azel's body from his neck to his knees. A number of pouches lined the arms and thighs of the outfit. At his waist, the wooden sword Fen gave him was sheathed in a simple loop of leather, and he wore a couple of belts with throwing knives tucked into sheathes of their own.
Azel quickly undid one of the knife belts and tossed it to Mead before pulling the sword out and holding it in a defensive stance. Lucia spread her wings and assumed a fighting stance, while Mead took a moment to grab some knives from the belt, holding them carefully in her four hands.
"I didn't want to have to do this, but we'll have to knock you out. Mead, Lucia, are you with me?"
"I, I'm not really a fighter, but if he won't back down, then I'll try my best, Azel!"
"I'm with you, Azel. And you're wrong, by the way, Barlow. Powers aren't just for violence, and we're going to show you we don't need them to take you on!"
Barlow frowned, glaring at each of the power users in turn. "All ready to fight even without powers, huh? Well, don't think it'll be easy! I didn't make it to Lieutenant by being easy for thugs like you to handle!"
With little more to say, Barlow charged at the three power users. As the fight began, Azel's tail started involuntarily shuddering as he, Mead, and Lucia met their opponent.
—
The Rossis continued to weave their way through the mine, making their approach to the central chamber. The occasional sound of approaching shock troopers would force them to take detours through darker and more dangerous passages to avoid them, with only the hopes that the troopers wouldn't expect anyone to try their luck with those passages. Along the way, Niccolo and Felicia would attempt to use their powers, only to experience the haunting absence of any effect.
The pace was slow and laborious, requiring a few breaks for them to rest, but the three of them continued on despite the situation. In time, fatigue wore on them, and they were forced to take another rest in one of the off tunnels. Niccolo let Nico off of his back and caught his breath while Felicia sat down to massage her aching leg.
"Okay, we've made it this far," Niccolo said in between breaths. "Hopefully, this will be the last time we have to rest before getting to the central chamber."
"Spirits, I hope you're right, dear. I don't think I've had to move around without my power to help for, well it must be years, now."
Nico looked at his parents, then stared down at the stumps where his thighs ended. "I'm sorry, mom, dad. You have to go through all of this because of me… If I had my legs, I could have at least helped mom…"
Felicia moved over and gave Nico a quick hug. "Nico, dear, don't start thinking like that. I got this injury saving you back then, and I've never regretted it in the slightest."
"I, I know, but I just feel like a burden right now… Literally for dad…"
"It's all right, Nico. I don't think you're a burden to me. Your mother and I love you. No matter what."
Niccolo bent down and gave Nico and Felicia a hug.
"We can get through this. There's no need to… Wait. I hear something."
The three of them went completely silent. The sound of quick footfalls could be heard from the end of the tunnel they had been headed towards. Sparing little time as the sound got louder, Nico climbed back onto Niccolo's back as Felicia made her way back onto her feet. As the source of the noise got closer, the family was prepared to move as quickly as possible to get away.
"Oh, thank tha fuckin' spirits, yer alright!"
The tension in the air lifted as the Rossis saw Fen staring at them. He quickly closed the gap between them, his posture relaxing as he did.
"Fen! Spirits, it's good to see you!" Nico said.
"It's good indeed," Felicia said, "but how did you manage to find us?"
"Took a bit a lookin', but I kept an ear out an' ended up hearin' ya! Helps that tha only person on tha side a tha law I had ta deal with actually had a bit a sense in her head!"
"You were able to talk one of the troopers down?"
"Nah, it was this police girl, Ciella! She came down here with Barlow, an' I had a little talk with her while he went ta see Azel! Turns out, we had a lot more in common than I coulda known!"
Niccolo paused. "Barlow? Ah, right. Azel wanted to convince him to ease up on power users…"
"Yeah, thing is, Ciella's not too sure Barlow's willin' ta listen… An' with this whole power cancelin' thing goin' on, I'm worried he might take tha chance ta take Azel an' tha others down!"
"Well, all the more reason to get to the central chamber then. No time to waste."
"Right!" Fen said with a nod. "But spirits, tha two a ya look dead on yer feet! Tell ya what, I'll carry Nico, an' ya can support each other! An' if any shock troopers get too close, they'll get tha business end a my kanabo!"
Fen waved the kanabo effortlessly in one hand as if to make a point.
"Well, that all sounds good, but what about Nadine?" Nico asked.
"Shit, 'Dine… Can't believe I forgot about her…"
"Nadine is capable of handling herself," Felicia said calmly. "Between her natural skills and training, she'll be fine, I'm certain of it."
"I hope you're right, dear," Niccolo said, allowing Nico to move over to Fen's back. "But I also hope she was as lucky as Fen finding someone willing to listen to reason…"
—
Nadine dodged blows from Detective Banks with a bit of effort as she looked for a break in his barrage of attacks to get away. All the while, he was venting his frustrations at her between attacks.
"Jay's been haunted by spirits damned power users like you…"
Banks swung wide for Nadine's face, causing her to duck.
"And you got the CCA and their damn shock troopers down here…"
He followed up with a kick, forcing her to quickly jump back.
"Bunch of bastards on all damn sides…"
She made a quick jab aiming for his chest, which he dodged and responded to with a strike to her back.
"Does what happened in the Stadium Massacre mean nothing to you assholes!?"
Nadine pulled herself off of the ground before Banks was able to lay into her with another punch.
"Well? Say something, damn it!"
Spirits, does he really expect me to talk now?
Nadine took a quick look back, and turned to rush for the end of the tunnel. Banks wasted no time catching up to her and prepared to strike yet again.
I hate to admit it, but he's got me beat… He's a better fighter, and for all I'd like it to, my acrobatic training doesn't really equate to that…
On top of that, he's got a fire burning in him… This whole thing has him sure that power users are nothing but bad news, and unless can convince him otherwise…
Spirits… It really has to be that way, doesn't it?
Nadine sighed, then stood completely still, allowing Banks to strike her to the ground with a punch to her face. As she lay there, he slowly advanced, his fists raised for another strike.
"Detective Banks," she said, slowly pulling herself to her feet. "You may not believe it, but we are not heartless monsters! Every power user keeps the Stadium Massacre somewhere in their minds; we could never simply ignore that sort of thing! But unlike you, we believe we can move past it!"
Banks paused, lowering his fist. "Y-your voice… It can't be…"
Nadine continued speaking as Banks connected the dots in his mind. "I will be completely honest with you, Detective. I have killed using my power."
"I… you killed someone? You don't seem like the type…"
"It happened several years ago, when my power first awakened. It was completely out of my control. I had no way to know it would happen, and no way to know how to manage it! All because the law forbade powers from being awakened in safe environments!"
"That… I mean I know the CCA doesn't really allow for that…"
"All because of a poorly thought out ban. And because of that ban, I might have become one of those killer power users you are so sure that we all are. But I learned control! Another power user defied that idiotic law, and taught me how to control my power so that I would never hurt anyone with it again!"
Banks was completely silent as Nadine kept speaking.
"Cases like mine are exactly why Azel is performing! To give dreamkeepers access to safe ways to use their powers! To keep accidents like that from happening! You may claim to want to keep the peace by banning powers, but it's thoughtless laws like that that only serve to make a bad situation worse!"
"I… but… Jay…"
"Your dedication to your friend is admirable, but just think, Detective. How many cases of accidental power awakenings have the two of you had to respond to? How many more people have had to suffer like James Barlow did, all because it's illegal to even awaken powers safely? How many sleepless nights has Barlow had, all because he couldn't put the past behind him?"
Banks stood completely still. Nadine turned to the end of the tunnel.
"Try and stop me if you still feel you have to, but I believe strongly in what Azel Atrox stands for. I'm going to go help him."
Nadine started making her way to the end of the tunnel. Looking over her shoulder, she could see Banks had slumped to the ground. Just before she left the tunnel, she could hear him mutter to himself."
"Mercier… You really think Jay should…"
—
Back in the central chamber, Azel, Mead, and Lucia were finding great difficulty taking Barlow on, even with the advantage of numbers. He was much more physically imposing than any of them, and shrugged off Azel's sword strikes and Lucia's punches and kicks with little exhaustion to show for their efforts. On the other hand, Barlow's size meant that his own strikes would cause them a lot more damage, and a lot of the fight was spent with the trio dodging him.
On occasion, Mead would close in and slash at Barlow with her knives, but he was careful enough around her to ensure any cuts she left on him were minimally damaging, cutting more into his uniform or his thick fur than into flesh. In return, he would answer her attempted cuts with powerful swings of his limbs, which forced her to scramble backward to avoid damage.
As the fight drew on, the three power users became more and more exhausted as their efforts bore little fruit.
"Is that all you've got? I expected more from a bunch of criminals! Didn't you have friends in Scinter's Mark who could arm you better?"
"The Marks are staying out of this," Azel gasped out as Barlow parried his sword with his arm. "If they got involved in the show, it would ruin the whole message!"
"Atrox, you deluded little man," Barlow said, weaving to dodge a kick from Lucia while also making Mead's knives cut harmlessly through his uniform. "You still think this is a show? No, this is a matter of crime and punishment! You're an illegal power user, plain and simple. And these girls you've corrupted into helping you…"
"Corrupted!?" Mead said, stepping back to avoid a hit. "That's bullshit! Azel and I love each other! He didn't 'corrupt' anything!"
Lucia moved behind Barlow and grabbed his tail. "Mead's right, we didn't get corrupted at all! Azel just showed us that there's more to powers than what the CCA wants us to think!"
Barlow lurched back slightly as Lucia pulled him by the tail. Azel took the opportunity to strike him directly in the chest with his sword.
"Ugh! Well, whatever you say, it's clear you're more willing to side with a criminal than do the right thing!"
"Seriously? Your 'right thing' is totally wrong! You're acting as if power users are all just out to destroy Anduruna!"
Mead closed in near Lucia, and slashed at Barlow's back. A smile crossed her face as thin outlines of blood began to form on the back of his shirt.
"Gah! Well, what was that just then? You claim to be nonviolent, but then you pull something like that!?"
Mead glared at him. "It's not like you gave us a choice, Barlow! All Azel wanted to do was talk, but you didn't even try to lis-"
Barlow turned sharply, throwing Lucia off balance and swinging his arm right into Mead's head. In one simple movement, both girls fell to the ground, with Mead looking much worse for wear.
"Mead!" Azel cried. His tail started rattling more intensely.
"Is th-that how you win all your arguments?" Mead coughed out. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised…"
Barlow gave Mead a quick kick to her stomach, taking all the wind out of her. Azel and Lucia gasped as she doubled over in pain, panting for breath.
"Damn it, Barlow! You're going too far! Mead didn't deserve to…"
"Save your breath, Atrox! It's not like I'm going to…"
Azel struck Barlow in the back right where Mead had cut him.
"G-gah! You little bastard! I'm not going to hurt her any more! But you…"
Barlow turned to face Azel with a look of pure rage on his face.
"You turned these girls against the law, and for that, I'm not about to give you the same mercy!"
He pulled an arm back to strike, only to lurch back as Lucia grabbed him by the tail once again.
"I already told you," she said, "Azel. Didn't. Corrupt. Us!"
Lucia pulled harder on Barlow's tail, before clawing at the wounds on his back. He roared in pain and turned to face her. His blood dripped from the talons on her right hand as she stared him down.
"Azel and Mead are two of the best people I've ever met! If you're going to suggest that either of them are-"
A quick barrage of punches from Barlow knocked Lucia out cold.
"Lucia!"
The rattling of Azel's tail drowned out his thoughts as Barlow slowly turned to face him.
"I'm… I'm sorry I had to do that. But now you've got nothing, and no one to hide behind. Azel Atrox, if you just agree to come quietly, I can ensure that those two will have their wounds tended to before we all get taken on a one way groundcar trip out of Anduruna. You'll be able to…"
"Barlow?" Azel spoke up, nearly inaudible over the sound of his tail rattling. "Could you shut the fuck up!? Mead… Lucia… You just knocked out two people that are more important to me than my own life! Do you really think I'm going to listen to any offer you give me!? Even if you promised to walk away and leave us alone, do you really think I could forgive you after that!?"
Barlow sighed. "I understand. Maybe I went too far. When I came in here, you wanted to talk, but I think we're beyond the point of reason now…"
"You think!? How much older are you than me, anyway? You've acted like a damn child the entire time you've been here! I at least thought you'd be willing to-"
A quick punch from Barlow knocked Azel to the ground. With the wind knocked out of him by the hit, he could barely move. The only part of him that continued to move was his tail, rattling louder than ever.
"Really, Atrox? You break laws that have been in place almost your whole life just because you think they're somehow 'wrong,' and you're calling me childish? You're so pathetic, I can barely stand to look at you."
"Barlow…"
Barlow turned his head away from Azel. "Don't think you can convince me of anything, Atrox. I already told you that I'd never see things your way. Powers might have never cost you anything, but the Stadium Massacre cost me my parents, and my own power has been a source of torment for longer than I even knew about it! There's nothing in this world that you could say to change that!"
Azel's response came out in labored breaths. "I… I'm sorry, I thought I could… Forget it. C-could I just say one last thing though, b-before you take us in?"
"What could you even say that would change anything between us, Atrox?"
Azel wheezed before responding. Finding just enough energy to move his arm, he pointed toward the pile of springers.
"T-the finale. It's not what you think it is."
Barlow took a brief look at Azel, then turned to look at the pile. "What are you getting at, Atrox? It's a pile of stolen guns. If that's not exactly what I think it is…"
"Y-you don't trust me, I get it. S-see for yourself. Grab any one of those springers, try to fire it."
"Well, I suppose if I'm going to listen to one thing you said tonight… Fine. I'll humor you, Atrox."
Barlow trudged over to the pile of confiscated guns, and picked one of them up. Still reeling from the blow to his chest, Azel reached out weakly, grabbed one of the ropes bolted to the ground, and used it to pull himself in the same direction. Barlow, oblivious to Azel's movement, aimed the springer at the wall and pulled the trigger.
A dull clicking sound was the only thing that came from the gun.
Barlow stared straight ahead. "What the…"
"T-try another."
Frowning, Barlow discarded the empty springer and pulled another out of the pile. He pulled the trigger, getting the same result as before.
"Empty? What the hell is this, Atrox?"
"Another, try a-another."
With only the sound of Azel's constant urging along with his tail rattling up a storm, Barlow grabbed rifle after rifle, aiming, pulling the trigger, and getting nothing. With each blank fired, Azel slowly pulled himself closer to Barlow.
"Is this some kind of trick, Atrox!? What do you have to gain from having a bunch of empty-"
Barlow stopped in the middle of his sentence, and looked down slowly. Lying on the ground next to him, Azel had sunk his fangs into his leg. Before Barlow could even react, Azel bit down harder, injecting him with venom.