How long

Zhao Wei was good at a lot of things, things that could be considered especially useful in a world such as this one. But maybe he wasn't as good with directions.

Thinking back he had spent his time only circling the area of his home back when he and Panda were living up on that hill. And after that his direction had only always been a straight line.

Panda wasn't any better, she said she knew the general direction they were going but they somehow reached a place that looked like it was going through a war compared to the cheerful facade of the place they'd been to before.

"How long was I gone for...?"

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"Ok pretty lady." Their leader said as he raised his gun, "Games over, you've put up a good fight, but it's over."

At those words the two other men began to advance towards her. Grendolyns eyes shifted around wildly, trying to figure out what she could do in such a situation, did she really need to release her limits?

This of course did not escape the eyes off the gunners who were already pretty on edge considering that most of their friends had died at the hands of these two women. Their fingers were tight on the trigger ready to pull at the slightest sign of danger.

"You don't know when to give up do ya?" The leader said, "I guess we gotta do this another way then." Stepping towards Tess who was still on the ground, he raised his leg and stomped on her body right where she was shot, eliciting a scream that reverberated through the bones of all those that heard.

The slightest thought of retaliating when he was off-guard instantly disappeared from Tess's mind, replaced by the stabbing pain that engulfed her whole being. She stopped herself in the middle of her scream, her teeth clenched, eyes shut. While she was trying to preserve her tough facade, the short bursts of breath and cold sweats that ran down her back betrayed the level of pain she was feeling.

Similarly for Grendolyn, this act of brutality stopped her mind right in it's tracks. It was questionable if she could figure out what to do next, even if she was given another few seconds, but like this, right now, her hands were completely tied.

"Even this one is still thinking of killing me! maybe it's better if I kill one of you first, you know, just to make sure." He said with a smirk.

Raising his arm, he pointed his gun directly at Tess's face.

His eyes gleamed with delight.

His fingers twitching with anticipation as his pointer gently began to squeeze on the trigger.

But it stopped midway.

Not because he suddenly had a change of heart or decided on a different course of action.

But as one who'd spent a huge chunk of his life in war, he felt a chill on his nape. His previously cheerful demeanor turned sour as his eyes gradually shifted to see the source of this pressure.

It was the same girl they'd been fighting, nothing about her had changed in these few seconds. But in his eyes she had transformed an enormous existence which he couldn't even fathom.

"Kill her, it'll make this so much easier for me..." Her eyes gleamed dangerously, 'With how high up we are those guys down there would probably be affected, but I doubt they'd die. Worst comes to worst I'll live as a monk up here until I can seal it up again... What am I going to do about food though?' She thought, silently regretting the choice before she had even attempted it.

Despite his usual brushes with life and death he was suddenly unable to make a call on his next move, and he would never get to.

"I... ki... Urgh!" his next words were drowned in his throat as blood began to gush down his lips, looking down, his head couldn't figure out what it was looking at. When did his Kevlar come with a blade's edge pointing out from the middle?

"Sorry my friend, but I'm going to have to stop you here." A voice whispered from behind him.

"Jeff! thank God!" Grendolyn shouted, stopping her powers before they broke the limiters.

"Who the hell's Jeff?" A young voice sounded out instead of the old man's raspy happy go lucky one.

"Harris!" This time it was Tess's turn to be surprised.

"Hey Tess."

"Wha...?" Grendolyn confusedly looked at the face of a young man peek from behind the head of the dead commander as he tried to extract his weapon.

"I'm over here!" Another voice shouted out from the direction of the other two men.

Both the girls became tense as they had forgotten the other two attackers in their surprise. But their effort at caution was in vain as both men were now on the ground, their limbs were coiled by a truck thick snake's tail which was connected to the torso of a wrinkled old man, sitting comfortably on the heap almost as if he was drinking tea.

The flexible appendage slithered around, tightening it's coils around the men, suffocating ever so slowly while the slight sounds of creaking seemed to be coming from their bodies.

"Sorry I'm late!" Jeff hollered, followed a toothy grin.

"Hah!" Suddenly Grendolyn roared out, the sound echoing all the way down to the city.

It wasn't at anything in particular, just to let out the pressure she'd built up in her body. Immediately as the strength in that voice began to dwindle, her knees buckled as she laid down in a sweaty heap on the ground.

"Never again." She said through deep exhausted breaths.

"I wouldn't say that too soon." Jeff said pointing downwards.

Tilting her head, she became quiet.

All that was reflected in those large beautiful eyes was a layer of smoke and crimson.