1 Chapter One

Zack thrust his arm back, the blood-soaked knife in his hand clattering to the floor loudly, the shrieking sound of the Zodiac Terrorist slowly dying as he slumped onto the floor, his eyes wide and staring. "Did you get him?" asked Trae, coming up beside Zack with his own short sword in hand. "The sooner this is put an end to, the better," Zack whispered, turning away from the body and making his way through the empty corridor, his blue hair sticking to his head with sweat. Trae followed, his footsteps careful and quiet. "How many more could there be?" he asked.

Zack shrugged, and then three Terrorists were upon them. Zack leaned back and kicked one in the stomach, the other two retreating to gain ground. Trae and Zack raised their fists, and the Terrorist's charged. Zack grabbed an incoming fist, twisted and then kicked the Terrorist hard in the stomach. The Terrorist stumbled away as Trae kicked and punched at his own opponent, using his arms to parry the punches before finally knocking the Terrorist into the wall and sinking his knife into the Terrorist's chest. One of the Zodiac's crept up behind Trae, raising their fist to deliver a killing blow to Trae's temple.

The Zodiac stumbled aside, surprised, as Zack stood before Trae, protecting his friend. The Zodiac punched forward, yet Zack grabbed the arm, ran his fist into the Terrorist's gut, pushed him back and then landed a sweeping kick to the side of his face. The Zodiac flipped through the air and landed with a hard thud onto the stone ground, and Trae rose from where he had been crouching over the body of his opponent. "You saved my life yet again," he said, smiling, and Zack rolled his eyes, "Don't sweat it," he murmured to his friend.

Trae nodded, and then threw his knife past Zack's ear and into the stomach of a Zodiac who had been approaching from behind. "Now we're even," Zack said, and Trae chuckled, "I'd have to kill an entire army for us to be equal." Zack chuckled in return, and he and Trae continued their way through the corridor, careful to make their footsteps low and undetectable. "How many are here?" Trae whispered, worry laced into his voice, and Zack shrugged, not knowing the answer either. "I would estimate another thirty." Trae groaned at Zack's answer but did not say any more as they stepped through the darkness.

"Watch out!" Trae suddenly called out, and Zack ducked as a sword smashed into the concrete where his head had just been. He struck his fist forward, smashing it into the gut of the Zodiac, ripped the sword from the wall and the twirled it through the air. The Zodiac stared back with wide, surprised eyes, then he turned and sprinted away. Trae made a move forward, but Zack shook his head, taking careful aim before raising the sword and throwing it. It spun end-to-end through the air and impaled through the Zodiac's back. The Zodiac cried out in pain, and then crumpled.

"I had that," Trae said, and Zack shrugged, walking over to the body and removing the sword from the Zodiac's back. He looked up and stared in surprise. There were five figures standing at the other end of the corridor, four dressed in the standard gear of the Zodiacs whilst the one in the middle wore a deep black suit of armour, smiling wickedly. "It's been two years," Zack said, rising from his crouch, and the man laughed. "You stabbed me so many times, yet here I stand, as alive as the sun that warms out Earth. I am the Black Knight, unbeatable and unyielding!"

Zack sighed, and turned to look at Trae, who had the same look of surprise. 'Soldiers, the last of us, deal with the boy. The Spectre is mine!" The soldiers nodded and charged past Zack and towards Trae. Zack spun and slashed one in the gut, taking the sword from the Zodiac and tossing it to Trae, who caught the hilt and swung his blade at the three attackers. "Still playing the hero, then," the Black Knight said, unsheathing his black blade and pointing it at Zack, who raised his own blade. "Better than playing the villain," he replied, and the Black Knight snarled.

The Knight charged, swinging his blade mightily through the air as Zack dashed backward, slashing his own blade to meet the Knight's. The sound of metal crashing against metal ripped through the air like the sound of glass smashing onto tile. The two spun around one another, their swords flashing as they parried and blocked, dancing back and forth across the stone, their brows already drenched with sweat. Nearby, Trae ducked a slash and inverted his sword, blocking a strike to his knees as he moved back. The three Zodiac Terrorists attacked at once, and Trae ducked, the swords whistling over his back.

He stabbed his blade to the left and pulled it away, the top half covered in blood as one of the Zodiacs dropped. He spun away, sword flashing, and then another fell, a slash across his throat, and the final advanced. Trae raised his sword over his head and blocked a hard strike, quickly pushing his opponent back, spinning and then impaling the sword through the gut of the Zodiac. Instantly, the Zodiac fell to his knees, gasping as blood pooled around him, and then he fell to the side, Trae's sword glistening in blood.

He looked up and watched as Zack and the Black Knight spun around one another, their swords still flashing as they jabbed and drove their blades. The Black Knight shoved Zack away, who stumbled and struggled to regain his balance as the Black Knight raised his sword high and chopped down. Zack moved aside, ending up behind the Black Knight who swung back and slashed again. This time the blade hit. It tore across Zack's cheek as he ducked, and Zack cried out in pain, his cheek crying tears of red.

"You are weak!" The Black Knight hissed, charging again and driving his blade towards Zack's chest, but Zack moved away and slashed his blade diagonally. The Black Knight dropped his weapon and fell to his knees, Zack's blade having ripped his back to shreds. Zack slowly walked in front of the Black Knight, his eyes blazing with a fury as cold as his hair. "Have mercy," mumbled the Black Knight, staring up at Zack with a deep fear in his eyes. "Mercy does not exist for men like you," Zack replied, and before Trae could do anything, he plunged the blade into the Black Knight's chest.

The Black Knight gasped and shook, blood pouring out the wound as he keeled forward, and lay face-first on the floor, his breath leaving his body. Zack raising his blade again and stabbed it down into the Knight's back, feeling the sword lodge into the stones before looking up at Trae. "He has survived too much. If he gets out of this, he is a God." Trae wanted to say something but couldn't find the words as Zack turned away from him, "The mission is done. The Zodiac Terrorists are wiped out. We have officially won."