Chapter 53: Unwelcome Guests

  Jack was unreachable, something was clearly wrong. Slava thought back to what had just happened. At the time, he was sure Sasha could feel his stare because she slowly let go of Mag's much more relaxed body.

  "Are you better now?" To her words, Mag slightly nodded. "Can you stand?" She continued. Mag's suit retreated from her face as she tried to stand up. Meanwhile, Slava asked Zach a question.

  "Did you guys have an emergency plan, a gathering point, anything?" His gaze was still locked on the fuming buildings in the distance. They couldn't let them be. There had to be someplace they could leave them. "In case of danger, we were told to congregate at the Basilica. That's where we sent the remaining students and professors." He rose back to his feet.

  Slava was perplexed. The key's connection had been severed. He didn't understand the implications behind it, but he knew they had to leave now. He looked at Sasha, and she looked back at him before turning back toward Mag. "Can you follow?" She'd asked.

  Now they were here, rushing in the Basilica's direction. The closer they got, the stranger their surroundings became. From desolate chaotic streets to bustling crowds, the situation changed almost instantly. The stairs which led to the Basilica's entrance were overrun with people trying their best to get in, fear-stricken expressions on their faces. Slightly further away, another group was pushing them back, clearly not affiliated with Henosis. They were numerous, captive civilians standing among them.

  Something felt off. Where were the enemies Jack talked about? This couldn't be them, could it? As they got closer, he started to feel the presence of a thick brown domain around the building. From this feeling, the image of a man sprung up in his mind. Vincent… Was he suppressing the surrounding domains? What was going on inside? A handful of voices distracted him from his thoughts. One overpowering them all.

  "Surrender peacefully and we will guarantee your safety. If you're not guilty, you have nothing to fear." The man's voice was amplified, its source unidentifiable. Different units could be identified in the formation. N series menacingly standing in the front forming an arrow. R series behind them and the B series at the back taking standing next to the citizens. Some seemed to be bound, while others stood willingly.

  "Audrey, what are you doing? Come back!" A woman shouted through the crowd. "Let go! Let me go! I need to see my child!" People around her were restraining her, keeping her from exiting the suppression zone. In between the two groups stood a young teen, shaking as she faced the menacing soldiers. She had teary blue eyes that shone like crystals and dark blue hair that slowly turned white as it ran down her back. Her clothes were torn and through them, a dark sigil could be seen. Hearing the voice of the woman, she turned around to face her with tears running down her cheeks.

  "I'm sorry mom, even though I've finally awakened, I couldn't protect Jamie." Though she was facing her, she couldn't look her mother in the eyes. "What are you saying? Don't be stupid! Come back here!" The woman was on her knees, showing a look of desperation and unease.

  "Don't do anything stupid, kid, just surrender," a familiar voice said. It was an old man. The same one who'd led the humans on the outskirts. He spoke through the soldiers as they slightly moved, letting them see each other. "The Prophet has abandoned Henosis, her promises were all lies." His expression was ugly, but she didn't flinch. Instead, her eyes and back began to glow. "I've lost my brother. I won't lose my mother too. Who cares that the Prophet abandoned us." She clenched her fists. "I'm sick of hiding," the surrounding ground shook while the air crystallized around her, "of relying on others, of waiting for someone else to come and save me." She was about to turn around when crackling was heard coming from behind her.

  "Well said, you've grown since I last saw you," she turned her head toward the person whose hand was now on her shoulder. "Teacher?" She asked, incredulously staring at a roughed-up Mag. "But sometimes, it's fine to ask for help." She smiled, looking back at the scene behind them.

  The soldiers were falling one by one not because they were weak, but because of Sasha. She was puppeteering them, almost making them fight among themselves. The ones she couldn't reach were chained by Slava. They fell one by one under the bewildered looks of the civilians.

  "We meet again, old man." With bodies falling around him, Slava's gaze finally landed on the old man kneeling among the carnage. "You… you came back…" before he could finish his words, his head fell, rolling to Slava's feet. At the same time, his chains moved, piercing the unbound targets and freeing the bound ones. Not saying a single word, he crossed eyes with Audrey. His cold eyes landed on her and she shivered. Seeing this, he sighed, averting his gaze. Something like this was bound to happen. He wasn't a good person, he'd have to get used to this gaze. He turned around as Sasha let go of the last dead soldier. To think he was used to such a deathly scene. Dead bodies, and people vomiting from shock and horror. In a couple of months, he had completely turned into a monster.

  "Excuse me!" His hands were stained with blood. Some had been guilty, others not, but regardless, he had no remorse. "Sir!" Seeing the now-freed captives stare behind him, he turned around, meeting the exhausted figure of a familiar woman standing between him and the frozen Audrey. When she met his gaze, she flinched, soon regaining her composure, cupping her hands together.

  "Thank you so much for saving my daughter! For saving us!" The people behind her suddenly fell to their knees. Murmurs of thanks grew with Slava's unease. Until Sasha materialized next to the woman, helping her up with a laugh. She'd always been good at this sort of thing.

  "There's no need to thank us, we were simply passing by." She looked past her towards Mag and Zach, standing at the girl's side. "Besides, we always cherish those we care for." It hadn't been long since they had met those kids but for some reason, Slava felt the desire to protect them. To make sure they could have what he didn't so that they didn't suffer as he did. He wanted to keep seeing their smiles and laughs…

  "Alexandra Expanse," a chilling voice called out from behind them, breaking his composure. He hadn't felt anything, but that voice… he turned around, following the chill running up his spine.

  "You!" Sasha exclaimed. The man in front of them looked incredibly familiar. Godspeed again! What was this? Before he could think further, Sasha materialized behind the man, swinging her scythe. However, before it could slice, the space shifted around her, and she crashed to the ground. "What a strange way of greeting you have, Uncle." Sasha was kneeling, her whole body shaking, glaring up at the dark purple and grey figure floating down before her. It was somehow different from what he remembered. Suddenly, Her suit moved to cover her face as she strengthened her grip on her scythe.

  "Slava, can you hear me?" Slava was slightly surprised by her voice, but he didn't let it show. Seeing her head slightly turned towards him, he nodded. "Prepare for my signal, you will need to be ready, I'll get you inside." His whole body stiffened up. "I know you can take care of these people. Lead them inside, find the others." He stood there in silence. She wanted him to abandon her here alone. His stare turned into a glare, slowly putting his guard up.

  "Don't look at me like that, this is my fight. Besides, I'm not alone." He could feel her smile in her voice. "Save these people for me, Slava." She stood up with difficulty.

  "Enough fooling around, I've come to bring you back." Sasha's scythe slightly moved. "Hahaha! Is that all you have to say to me? After all these years of lies…" her eyes flared up, and he thought to have seen a ghostly figure slightly flash behind her. With a shattering sound, her body fazed, and she threw her scythe.

  "Now!" At Sasha's signal, his vision began to change. For an instant, he felt an unbearable force crash into him. Maybe it was his imagination because it vanished as fast as it came. When he came back to his senses she was gone, in her place the people he was told to protect.

  "You… Who are you?" She'd just left him like that. Would she really be alright? "Look at him, he's obviously one of them, have you ever seen him before?" That version of Godspeed's suit had been modified. M series… the last time she'd encountered one…

  "Enough of this, just die, you monster!" As he turned around, he saw a young man charge towards him welding a spear-like object, the people around him powerless to stop him. At the same time, the previously frozen Audrey lunged forward, narrowly escaping from Mag's grasp.

  "No!" She screamed as the man threw his spear. He saw her back glow blue, the circular pattern on it shifting into one of a majestic crystalline structure. While it did, shining particles congregated in front of her, quickly materializing into an ice wall. The wall looked impenetrable. The girl, however, looked drained as she took a knee, unwilling to back down. She probably knew the threat that the spear posed because the wall didn't stop growing denser.

  But all of her efforts soon showed to be futile as the spear pierced through the wall, shattering it. Whether it was from fear, despair, or acceptance, she closed her eyes. She kept them closed for a while, but the death she probably expected didn't come. Instead, in front of her stood Slava, crackling spear in hand.

  "Interesting…" he began inspecting it, "was it made by Vincent or Jack…" Its tip was extremely sharp, and on its custom-made shaft were inscribed two letters. V & J. "Both? It must be why he could use his domain." He whispered to himself, scrutinizing the weapon under everyone's baffled gazes, before finally letting his eyes shift to the kneeling kid behind him. "You, however… to be able to complete your Awakening in such a state…" where she was being suppressed by another… his gaze traveled between her and the man who threw the spear, slowly walking forward, the people spreading out to let him pass, "but you let your emotions control your actions." He planted the spear at the feet of the golden-eyed man who threw it. "If you're not careful, it will one day lead to your death." He had experienced it firsthand with Kolya. Always think before you act.

  He walked past him, heading for the elevator. He glanced at the bustling crowds. They seemed to already have a certain hierarchy. Those with the combat insignia on their clothes stood in front of the ones with utility and recovery insignias, protecting those without them. They should be the ones they called grade 10s and 11s. He couldn't be sure, the network's connection was unstable.

  "I'll leave this place to you." As he stepped into the elevator, he turned around and his suit retreated, revealing his face, his grey almost white irises meeting Zach's and Mag's who bowed their heads in compliance. He had to figure out what happened to Jack, he was confident in the two of them handling the rest. The people here also seemed to trust them, so when the doors finally closed, he turned back around, pressing his palm against the control terminal.