by WOTNOPOLIS 22
Shugo had watched the scene unfold for an hour or so now. He wiped his sleeve against the window of the shop as warm air fogged it up. Even though an hour or two ago the street hadn’t had a cloud in the sky it was now a torrent of heavy rain.
“This is really strange,” he said to himself. He hadn’t been in the city for more than a few weeks but he already felt accustomed to the rhythms of WOTNOPOLIS. He was already blending in with the daily crime and the constant noise. Unlike his quiet hometown WOTNOPOLIS never sat still. He liked that about it.
But even he knew that an entire block falling into violence wasn’t normal. People who had been walking side by side as friends had gone at each other’s throats. Bodies littered the blood soaked street. Originally it had been a frightening display of barbarism. Panic had overtaken the city street and people who had been peacefully shopping inside or sleeping at home found themselves overtaken by it. Now only a few bodies continued to struggle against each other.
Shugo had watched it all at a shop window while sipping coffee. His ability to manipulate what people could see kept him invisible from the spectacle. What surprised Shugo most was the longevity of the chaos. It hadn’t been a brief few minutes of panic or violence but a long consuming hour of time spent with nothing but destruction. People who would normally never stand in a fight were working with unprecedented strength. Children and women who had never fought a day in their life were frightening animals.
Shugo walked outside and knew he had no need to worry about getting wet. He had power over water molecules and he had long decided he didn’t like the rain. It was dreary. One man had stood at the center of all this chaos. A man that had Shugo had locked eyes with many times over the past hour though this man was unaware of it.
“I can sense you, you know,” the man said. “I don’t know how you’re doing it, but you’re avoiding the rain.”
This man had caught Shugo’s eye because he was the only one who had remained calm. He had remained completely unharmed. Just quietly standing in the middle of the street watching it all unfold.
He dropped the water manipulation and allowed the man to see Shugo. “I suppose hiding won’t do me any good then,” Shugo said. “Quite a rainy day, isn’t it?”
“Tch,” the man answered. “You watched all this occur and you want to talk about the weather?”
Shugo pushed his glasses up and smiled. “You’re really blunt,” Shugo laughed. “I know guys like you. They’re usually pretty tough.”
“You think so?” the man asked.
“So what are you doing out here? Did you cause this?” Shugo ignored his question.
“I’m Blackrain. I’m just unleashing my rage,” Blackrain answered. “I’m really ticked off right now. My sister. She completely rejected me. I just want to destroy. Destroy it all.”
Shugo’s smile grew wider. “You’re incredibly talented,” Shugo complimented. “And I understand your sentiment. Humans are such trash, no?”
Blackrain shrugged. “I just hate existence. I love ending existences. People’s lives. I can control them. But the greatest control over existence is ending it for someone else.”
Shugo glanced at the man. “Is this the extent of your power? Complete destruction?”
“No,” Blackrain said. “I can make people do whatever I want. I just wanted them to destroy right now.”
“Team up with me,” Shugo said and extended a hand towards the man. “Me and you. Your power is clearly unbelievable. Together you and I will wipe this city away.”
Blackrain glanced at Shugo uneasily. He held his hand back. “Come on. We’ll be equal partners. We’ll develop a web across the city. Surely alone even you know the futility of trying to stop this entire city. There’s too many people here. Too many threats. But together? You and I! It’s fate we met this day. I’m Shugo. The next god of this world. And you’ll be the one who helps me usher in the new age.”
“Fine,” Blackrain said and shook his hand. “But we wait for my sister to get here before we do anything. I know if she’s given enough time she’ll join me. She’s really powerful. You’d see her as an asset. Trust me.”
“That’s fine! There’s some people I’m waiting for, too. I want to start the new age by crushing them into dust,” Shugo commanded. “This encounter wasn’t chance, Blackrain. This city gave us a gift by having us meet this day. It wants us to end this age, too.”
****
“What’s wrong, Sound man?” Seshimazi asked as Q dodged another one of his fireballs. “You’re not nearly as spunky as when you threw me off my motorcycle the other day.”
Q did his best to focus on Seshimazi’s attacks. His side was in agony but he knew if he didn’t focus he’d be roasted. “Shut up,” Q said. “And don’t call me Sound man. That’s a stupid nickname made by that muscle head, Destinykil.”
“Haha,” Seshimazi laughed as he formed another fireball. “Why my bosses added him to the team is beyond me.”
“Have you ever fought him?” Q asked. “He’s insanely powerful.”
“Perhaps,” Seshimazi said as he bounced towards Q. He felt his jaw crack as Seshimazi’s foot plowed into it. “Or maybe you’re just getting weak, Q?”
Q grunted and stumbled back. His head was spinning from the injury. “What I don’t get, though,” Seshimazi continued. “Is why you think you can defeat Shugo and Blackrain if you can’t even get past me. Those guys are pretty scary, hm?”
Q spat blood and Seshimazi laughed. “We have a plan. Besides, what makes you think I can’t get past you?”
Seshimazi pointed at Q. “Well, for starters, you haven’t.”
“Shut up,” Q answered.
“Whatever,” Seshimazi said as he prepared another fireball.
The sound of sirens called from the distance. “Shoot,” Q whispered. “The last thing I needed.”
“Ah, seems they’re finally here,” Seshimazi laughed. “Well, it’s been real. But I wanted to kill you before they got here.”
Seshimazi created a fireball in both hands and reached back. Seshimazi felt his body freezing as he saw Q in front of him. His body went limp as he felt something crushing his chest. “Sorry,” Q said. “I really was hoping you’d give it up. But I can’t fool around with you.”
Q pulled his fist back. Seshimazi dropped to the ground headfirst. “I think I am getting the hang of it,” Q said. That was the first time he’d ever mentally controlled the feeling of not being able to hear. He still wasn’t sure of what it was.
An annoying siren wailed behind him. Lights flashed on the buildings around him and a bullhorn was yelling at him from behind. “Great, it’s you,” Q thought as he turned around.
****
Yoyo panted as she stared at Destinykil. “Nothing’s working,” she said. “What the heck?”
Destinykil swung his sword needlessly into the ground. “That’s right! You can’t lay a hand on me.”
Yoyo tried to concentrate. It was true. All her attacks had glanced off him. Not only that, but whenever she had gotten close that stupid black mist had enveloped her. It was powerful. She didn’t understand this guy at all.
“You’re doing well, girl,” Destinykil said as he whipped his sword back. “But the sun’s gone down. Play time is over. If I want a shot at the Sound man I’ve got to get to it quick.”
Yoyo jumped into the air. She moved past his sword and the smoke and slammed her knee into his chest. The pain was excruciating but she could tell by the look on his face that she’d done some damage.
She landed on the ground and immediately regretted that attack. “Aw, cheese,” she gasped as she felt her leg give out. “Well, I guess I won’t be putting any pressure there.”
Destinykil took a step back and grunted. Every breath he took was highlighted by a bite of pain in his side. “Well done,” Destinykil coughed. “I think you managed to break one of my ribs.”
Yoyo threw her hands in the air. “Heck yes! In your face you invincible pain in the butt.”
Destinykil shook his head and glared at Yoyo. “You know that really ticks me off!”
“Well it ticks me off that you’re made of metal!” Yoyo shouted back. Yoyo kept an eye on his sword. The black smoke had become thicker and was encircling Destinykil’s body. It had begun to circle out away from his body in strands.
Yoyo felt a burn against her weak leg and a smack followed. “What the freedom?” she said as she picked herself up from the ground. One strand of the smoke had wrapped itself around her leg. She sliced her swords through it and broke the chain.
“What are you?” Yoyo asked as she looked up at Destinykil.
Strands of black smoke flickered in every direction off Destinykil’s body. His giant sword gleamed against the streetlights. His eyes had become solid black masses. Yoyo stared at the giant man before her. Destinykil turned his head towards Yoyo and smiled. “I’m a demon.”
****
“Mikel!” Crispi said as she ran up to the man. He had been sleeping in a hammock and was annoyed by the sudden intrusion.
“Hm?” Mikel asked.
“It’s the fourth Mafia. They went on a rampage last night and attacked the city. They put the blame on the Eagle gang but it’s definitely them,” Crispi explained.
“Hm?” Mikel asked again.
“Yeah, there is one group that can ‘deal with it,’” Crispi put in air quotes. “The Eagle gang is currently locked in fight with the fourth Mafia, although the police are totally out to get them it seems.”
“Hm,” Mikel shrugged and laid his head back down.
“That’s mean, Mikel! Forcing them to fight because you’re too lazy,” Crispi shook her head.
“Mhm,” Mikel said. “Hm?”
“Yeah, I’ll let you know if anything changes,” Crispi said. “By the way, the first Mafia is still moving Cargo into the Tower, but it doesn’t seem like much has changed. The second Mafia’s apparently been spotted throughout WOTNOPOLIS lately, but it doesn’t appear that they are doing much. Venomu just kind of comes and goes as he pleases.”
Mikel sat up immediately and shook his head, “Hm.”
“Just because he’s moving around the city like the snake he is doesn’t mean he’s doing anything. You got to learn to chill, Mikel,” Crispi smiled. “Anyway, that’s the latest news.”
Mikel laid his head back down and shut his eyes. He picked up his hand and flicked it. “Alright, I’ll come wake you if there is anything new to report or if the Eagle gang loses.”
“That guy is so bossy,” Crispi complained as she walked away.
****
“Another desk,” Bano sighed as he felt the wood splinter from the kama’s attack. “So you’ve disguised yourself as another desk. Impressive.”
“Well maybe!” Shugo yelled. He stopped himself and cleared his throat. “Whatever. If an ant like you can’t see through such a simple illusion it’s not my fault, Bano.”
Bano’s kama sliced through the mirage and wood exploded. “Perhaps,” Bano said. “But I can crush everything in this room, if you’d like?”
Bano sliced through the air behind him as he felt a tap on his shoulder. His kama ripped through Shugo. “Nice try,” Shugo whispered in his ear as a globe of the Earth exploded.
The wall cracked as his body hit it. Several Shugo’s formed around Bano and he watched as each of them pushed their glasses up. “Sorry, too slow,” Shugo’s laughter ricocheted across the room. “I guess you could crush everything in this room, but can you do it before I kill you?”
Bano’s kama cut through each of the Shugo’s in front of him. All disappeared. “Yes, I can,” Bano said.
Bano watched as two Shugo’s formed next to him. The first one threw a punch that Bano dodged and sliced through. The second one kicked at Bano and he caught it. A foot smashed into Bano’s side and he grimaced. “Nice,” Bano said as he sliced through the illusion and grabbed the foot in his side. “You used the illusion to throw my guard down. But sorry. Too slow.”
Shugo struggled to pull his foot back. Bano couldn’t see Shugo but he knew he had a grip on him and he wasn’t about to let go. He jabbed his kama into Shugo’s leg and sliced upward. Shugo shrieked in pain and a fist to Bano’s face made him let go.
“Frick,” Bano coughed as he stepped back. “It’s really freaking hard to fight when you’re opponent’s freaking invisible.”
Bano smiled all the same. He had landed a good attack on Shugo and he knew it by how quiet Shugo had gotten. “What’s a matter?” Bano asked. “You seem a little less spunky than before.”
“Whatever, ant,” Shugo whispered. “Even ant bites hurt. Poison in their jaws can affect something as big as a human. You’re just an ant that got a lucky bite in. But I’ll squish you here and now! How would you like to fight your ant buddies, huh?”
“Shut up!” Bano said as he slashed through the air around him. “You said ant way too many times there.”
Bano jumped back when he saw Q in front of him. “Oh, wow, when’d you get here?”
“Just a second ago,” Q smiled. “Sorry I’m late. Where’s Shugo?”
“He’s hiding. Use your sound abilities to detect him,” Bano said. Q closed his eyes and concentrated. “Over there!”
Bano pounced on the spot Q had pointed to. His kama ripped through a desk. “Q, something’s off,” Bano said.
His eyes widened as he felt something cutting open his chest. “What the?” Bano asked as he felt the blade cutting through his body. But when he looked down he saw a flower. “What’s going on?”
He turned his head and saw Q smiling at him. “Q?” Bano asked as he stepped away from him. The blade still in his chest. “Why’d you? What?”
Q punched Bano and laughed as he fell to the ground. “What’s a matter, partner?” Q asked.
Bano shook his head. “I get it. You’re not Q. Just one of Shugo’s stupid illusions.”
Q’s face changed to Shugo’s and he pushed his glasses up. “You caught on fast, but it looks like your time is nearly up. It was fun catching up with you, Bano.”
Bano gripped onto Shugo’s leg. “Nice try, but I’ve got no issue with fighting Q,” Bano smiled. He stabbed his kama into Q’s chest and watched as wood fell away.
“But what about me?” Temari asked. “Please, Bano. No more fighting.”
“Or me?” Bano spun around and saw Clair. “You believed in me when everyone else thought I’d given up on the gang.”
“Come on, Bano, be less of a pig-head,” Yoyo said as she walked up to Bano. “You know we’re the real deal.”
Bano sliced his kama through the air. “Go away!” he yelled. “Your illusions won’t work on me, Shugo!”
“Bano, I don’t like it when you get this way,” Bano turned around and closed his eyes at who he saw. Jake was smiling at him. “Bano, we’re all friends in the gang, right?”
****
“You can’t stop me, little sister,” Blackrain said as he neared the end of the hallway they had been running down. “I’m unstoppable. And together with Shugo we’re an invincible team. Your friends won’t defeat him. But if you side with me now I bet I can convince him to forgive you as a favor to me.”
Blackrain jumped out of the way as a blue shard of ice flew past him. “Have it your way then, sister,” Blackrain said as he kicked the door open and walked out into the courtyard. “Bring it on. You know I can’t be stopped in the rain.”
Clair stared at the courtyard. Rain was pouring down outside. “Since you can’t fight me you might-”
A blur moved past Blackrain and he jumped. “You can’t move faster than the rain,” Blackrain laughed.
Blackrain still couldn’t see where she had gotten. A bow pressed into his back and he stood still. “Well, valiant effort. But stop trying to fight me.”
Blackrain knew that once his rain had touched someone they couldn’t resist his power. An arrow split his stomach open and he fell to his knees in pain. “What?” he yelled as he turned around.
Clair smiled down at him. “Yeah, your powers can control anyone they touch. But they have to touch me,” she smiled. “I recently developed a new power.”
She punched Blackrain across the face and sent him sprawling across the schoolyard. “If it weren’t raining you could see it better. But I’ve covered my body in a light weight but powerful armor of ice. Not only will it protect me against attacks, but it also seems that it protects me against the rain, too.”
Blackrain glared at her. “That’s right, brother. You won’t be controlling me or forcing me to become one of your little minions like you’d probably planned. Too bad.”
Clair heard cheers from all around her and jumped back. The courtyard was filling with kids who were cheering for her. “Well done,” Blackrain said as he stood up. “You’re smart, little sister. I guess you got me there.”
Blackrain smirked as the kids filled into the courtyard. “But as you may know I’m not really much of a fighter. Instead, why don’t I see how you do against these innocent kids?”
Clair dodged as several bodies charged after her. “Too fast,” Clair said as several other kids leapt after her.
“Oh and do remember, little sister,” Blackrain said. “That my ability allows me to release the natural inhibitors of the brain. These kids are unbelievably powerful. Yet if you hurt them you’ll just be hurting poor twisted souls. They remind me of you in that way, huh? Being controlled by me. Trapped by my power with no real strength of their own. Sad state, they’re in.”
Clair evaded the mob of kids but felt pain in her right leg. Blood spilled out of her leg as the kid sunk his teeth into her. She kicked her foot out and shot an arrow into the kid’s side. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as the kid fell back in pain.
“So cruel! He was only eight years old,” Blackrain hissed. “Wow, little sister. By the way, each person you hurt I’m unleashing from my command. I want you to hear the pain you’re dealing. It’s probably kinder just to kill them.”
“Shut up!” Clair screamed as she unleashed a volley of arrows at Blackrain. “Just go away!”
“No!” Clair yelled as she watched several kids leap up and take the damage from the attack. Their screams filled the air as they fell to the ground in pain.
“Um, no,” Blackrain shook his head. “I don’t think I’ll be letting you attack me so easily.”
****
“Yo,” JJDomer waved to Q. “Is that any way to treat an old friend?”
Q ignored him and surveyed the scene. Cop cars had surrounded the area and Q could see a few Decimators lining up with their guns. The usual call to surrender was made by bullhorns.
“You guys get out of my way,” Q said as he picked up Seshimazi. “Geez, I can’t leave even an idiot like you behind, can I?”
Q dodged several wind blasts and jumped over the nearest cop car. The sounds of gunfire and sirens irritated Q as he raced past the blockade. “It’s so loud,” Q groaned. His head was pounding and his side still ached from where Seshimazi had attacked him.
“Why am I helping this idiot again?” Q wondered. A figure flashed in front of him and Q saw JJDomer reappear.
“No way, Soundy. I’m not letting you and Flamey get away,” JJDomer smiled. “You guys have already made quite the mess of WOTNOPOLIS. It’s about time we put you away, Q.”
Q dodged JJDomer’s attacks. The cops had backed off so they wouldn’t shoot JJDomer but still held a persistent line behind Q. An explosion to Q’s right made him spin around. Azarni Rin held her gun out and waved over to Q. “I missed,” she said slowly.
“I don’t have time for this!” Q yelled as he threw a kick at JJDomer. He glided past it and laughed.
“Soundy, not even close. Why don’t you give up that guy then we can fight for real?” JJDomer asked.
Q slammed his fist into the ground and the line of cops behind him exploded from the vibrations. Q glared at JJDomer. “Get out of my freaking way. My gang is in a fight with the fourth Mafia and I need to back them up. I need to take out Shugo. And if you stand in my way any longer I’m going to kill you.”
JJDomer shrugged. “You’re no fun today, Soundy. But you’re not getting past here.”
A hammer slammed in front of Q. “That’s right! You’re mine!” Little Shiro yelled. He slammed his hammer into the ground and Q jumped back. The ground erupted from the impact it made. Little Shiro chased Q as he raced away from the scene.
“Don’t think you’re getting away!” Little Shiro cried out.
“Hey back off!” JJDomer snapped as he chased after Q. The power of Little Shiro’s hammer smashing into the ground knocked him over and Little Shiro tripped over him. “You idiot, you’re letting him get away!”
“Ah, I’m so sorry!” Little Shiro apologized. “Oh, my knee! It hurts. I need an ambulance.”
“Shut up, hammer head!” JJDomer said as he watched Q disappear around a corner. “Darnit, you let him get away!”
“I’m so sorry. We’ll get our chance another day, though!” Little Shiro smiled. “Alright Q, here’s your chance. If what you’re saying is true, show us,” he thought to himself.
****
Yoyo had done nothing but move for the last five minutes of her fight. Anytime she had stayed in one spot for an instant the smoke moving off Destinykil would reach out towards her. She had learned from her earlier experience that it was not good to let it touch her.
And if the smoke wasn’t threatening enough Destinykil certainly was. His attacks had become truly devastating and she knew it would only take one blow for it to be lights out. “You’re doing good, miss,” Destinykil bellowed. “But you can’t run forever.”
She dodged another attack of smoke and front flipped over him. She hated to admit it but he was telling the truth. She was fast, sure, but she couldn’t keep that up forever.
“Well, here goes nothing,” Yoyo said as she dashed straight for Destinykil. His sword came down in front of her and she moved in close to avoid the attack. A burning tug at her arm and she felt the smokey wires wrapping around one of her arms. She used her blade to slice through it and pressed forward.
Yoyo stabbed her swords into Destinykil’s legs. “Hmph, like that’ll do anything,” Destinykil said as the swords barely entered. “I’ll admit it did hurt a little.”
Yoyo ignored Destinykil and pulled her palms back. The black smoke twisted around her arms and held them back behind her. “Not a good move girly,” Destinykil laughed. “You’re not gonna be doing much now.”
Yoyo struggled to get free of Destinykil’s grip around her arms. She had the swords barely in place on Destinykil’s legs. “Come on,” she whispered as she pushed against the smoke ropes. She could feel it digging into her skin.
“Go!” Yoyo screamed as she slammed her palms into the swords sticking out of Destinykil’s legs. Destinykil yelled in pain and fell backward as the swords slid through his legs. Yoyo grabbed her arms and breathed out a sigh of relief. Blood dripped down her arms from where the smoke had rubbed off her skin.
After a moment she slowly walked over to Destinykil and pulled her swords out of him. He was still breathing and clearly still conscious but he hadn’t said a word. Yoyo did her best to hold onto the swords but the pain was making it hard to do so. The pain in her arms from where the smoke had dug in was excruciating.
“So, we done here?” Yoyo looked around hurriedly. She just wanted to go back to the bar and dip her arms into a bucket of ice.
“Don’t talk,” Destinykil said. “Don’t freaking talk! Don’t want to hear you say another word! Ever! Don’t! Talk!”
Destinykil leaped off the ground. Yoyo could tell by the look on his face and the way he landed that it had hurt to do so. “I’m! Going! To! Murder! You!”
Yoyo jumped back but Destinykil’s hand had wrapped around her throat to quickly. She swung her swords but the smoke snapped around her arms before she could do so. “I’m Destinykil, the Demon of WOTNOPOLIS,” Destinykil roared.
****
Bano closed his eyes and swung his Kama. He could feel blocks of wood falling as he smashed through desks. “Stop it,” Bano whispered. “Stop it!”
Bano coughed as a punch landed square in his stomach. He opened his eyes to see Jake smiling at him. “What’s wrong, Bano?”
He sliced his kamas through Jake. Jake’s face changed as he fell to the floor. A moment later he got back up again and shook his head. “You know that face I keep making is the same face I made just before I died.”
“Stop!” Bano screamed as he punched Jake away. “Leave me alone!”
Jake’s body flew across the room. Clair slapped Bano across the face. “How could you do that to one of our own members?”
“You’re a monster!” Jake said.
“Why are you hurting us?” Temari whispered.
Bano sliced his kama through them. “I know this isn’t real,” he said. “Stop trying to screw with me!”
He watched as each person fell to the ground. The expressions on their faces horrified him. Then each person stood back up again around him. “You know, it’s partially an illusion,” Bano heard Shugo say. “But not completely. This is what they would look like if they died. That is what Jake looked like when he died. Alone. Where was his gang when he needed them most?”
“Where were you?” Jake asked. Each of the gang members transformed into images of Jake. “I needed you.”
Bano swung his kama again. “Please,” Bano pleaded. “Stop.”
A foot slammed into Bano’s gut. He fell over and didn’t move. “Bano, make up for what you did to me.”
Bano stumbled to get back up but a foot slammed into his face and knocked him back into the ground. “You’re the one who did this to me,” Jake whispered. “Pay up.”
Bano shook his head. A foot crushed his hand into the floor and he looked up and saw Jake staring down at him. “You can‘t refuse this.”
****
Knssquad ducked as Amaterasu’s grenades exploded around her. When the dust settled she peered carefully out from her hiding spot in the parking lot. Amaterasu was nowhere in sight.
She carefully controlled the Muffin man attached to her fingers by strings and had him dash around cars looking for him. A moment later Amaterasu leapt out of his hiding spot with the Muffin man wrapped around him. “Got him!” Knssquad cheered.
She pulled out her ice cream scooper and unleashed an attack of acidic ice cream on the former cop struggling in the middle of the parking lot. Amaterasu dived away from the attacks. A flame thrower came out and burned Muffin Man to a crisp. “Nice try, terrorist,” Amaterasu said.
Knssquad watched the Muffin Man drop off Amaterasu’s back and scowled. “Dang it,” she whispered from her hiding spot. She pulled out two apple grenades and tossed them in Amaterasu’s direction. Amaterasu backed away from them and retreated back into the parking lot.
Knssquad dashed between the cars in the direction of where she last saw Amaterasu. The two of them had been playing their extreme version of hide and go seek for a while. Knssquad darted in and out between the rows of cars as she searched for Amaterasu. She moved silently and swiftly until she spotted him next to a van and smiled. “Got you,” she thought.
She silently pulled out her bladed doughnuts. If she wasn’t careful she’d give away her position, but if she processed the attack right she’d be able to finish it here. Knssquad hated to admit it but in terms of weapons mastery Amaterasu had a slight edge over her with his guns. It takes a lot less effort to aim and fire a gun than to throw a bladed doughnuts. And Amaterasu was highly skilled with his variety of weapons.
Knssquad lined up her attack and smiled. But where Amaterasu had the advantage in weapons Knssquad had a total advantage in secret attacks. With a flick of her wrists the blades were sent flying towards their target.
Amaterasu’s eye barely caught the movement of the blades and he jumped straight up. His pistol fired and he was able to knock two out of the air. As he landed he felt an ache of pain. One of the blades had managed to strike him in his left leg. He ignored it and focused on his target. His eyes quickly caught sight of Knssquad dashing away and he fired off his weapon in her direction.
Knssquad dived behind a school bus as the sound of bullets clipping the ground fell behind her. She took a deep breath and sighed. “Wow, that was too close,” she thought. “But I got him injured.”
Knssquad screamed as the bus behind her lifted into the air. The sound of the explosion rattled in her ears and she raced away from the scene as fast as she could. She turned around and forced herself to breathe. The bus had tipped over from the bazooka blast that had hit it.
She quickly scanned the parking lot but didn’t see any sign of Amaterasu. She readied her Banana bat and took a few paces backward. “Had he not seen me?” she wondered. “No, that doesn’t make any sense.”
She decided to hide behind a car so as not to chance it. She knew she couldn’t stay there very long as he’d certainly move in on her in a second. Her eyes scanned the dark parking lot again for any sign of Amaterasu. He had completely disappeared from view. “Frick,” Knssquad said. “I don’t like this.”
Knssquad’s eyes widened as she saw the rocket headed for her position. In an instant she realized that Amaterasu had been hiding underneath a car but it didn’t do her any good. She tried to will herself to move away from the car but she knew there was no chance of avoiding that attack.
A second later she didn’t notice the sound of the explosion. Instead she was mesmerized by the way the car she had been hiding behind was flipping into the air over her head. Before Knssquad could react she felt herself flat on the ground. Something heavy had smashed into her. Her arms ached as she threw it off herself. “Ah,” Knssquad said. “The car door.”
She stood up slowly and looked around. She heard the sound of a gun behind her and felt all hope draining away. “You lose, terrorist,” Amaterasu said slowly.
Knssquad raised her hands above her head slowly. “I surrender. I know when I’ve been beat,” Knssquad said. She turned her head slowly behind her and stared at the man aiming the gun at her.
“They said you were one of the weapons masters of WOTNOPOLIS, hm? You’re good, but I expected more from you. You’ve mastered weapons, but really all you are is a master of weird,” Amaterasu said as he kept the gun leveled at her.
Knssquad had put her hands as far above her head as she could. Her fingers shook as she held them there. “Well, I guess that just makes you the best in WOTNOPOLIS,” Knssquad slowly clapped her hands together. “Cheers for you.”
Amaterasu ignored her childishness and sighed. “You know I would finish you off with a bullet here, but I really don’t have a grudge against you. It’s Q, Bano, and Yoyo that I want to kill.”
“Why?” Knssquad said as she continued clapping. “What did they do to you?”
“How about making me look like a fool in front of all of WOTNOPOLIS?” Amaterasu asked. “I truly believed you guys had tried to stand down TFK. I was beginning to believe that some gangs could do good. And look where it got me. I’ve lost everything.”
Knssquad shook her head. “Are you an idiot? We barely got out of that stupid tower alive. We did challenge TFK. Q and Bano had tried to take him down but Punkfilter stopped them midway.”
“Lies!” Amaterasu shouted. “I don’t believe a word of it.”
Knssquad smiled. “Whatever,” she said. She charged towards Amaterasu with her banana bat ready.
Amaterasu fired off a round from his gun. A body swooped between Knssquad and Amaterasu and blocked the bullet from reaching her. “Nice going, Muffin Man!” Knssquad smiled as she dashed past his fallen body and swiped her bat towards Amaterasu.
“Nice trick,” Amaterasu said as he blocked her attack with his flame thrower. “You were just stalling so you could give that charred doll another chance.”
“And you fell for it nicely because you like to ramble,” Knssquad said as she kicked him in the gut. He fell to his knees. Amaterasu swung his flame thrower and pulled the trigger. Knssquad stayed just out of the range of the attack and threw two doughnut blades.
Amaterasu grunted as the blades pierced his back. He stood to his feet and aimed the flamethrower in Knssquad’s direction. He fell back to the ground as Knssquad thwacked him with her banana bat and shook her head. “Geez, you’re stupid,” Knssquad said. “This is over. You lose. And since you didn’t listen to me before, we didn’t lie to you. Jerk.”
Knssquad walked away and smiled. Despite the pain of having a car door smash her into the ground she felt good about her victory over Amaterasu. And it was in that moment Knssquad fell to the dirt.
“Freaking pain,” Knssquad whispered as she felt the pain of the bullet in her leg. The gunfire still echoed across the parking lot. Her eyes closed and she felt herself drifting out of the battle.
Amaterasu laid his head back down. He couldn’t stand from the blood loss he’d taken in his leg. Only one thing on his mind. “I could of finished her with that shot. Why didn’t I?”
****
Clair continued to dodge between the bodies coming after her. She had originally attempted not to hurt them but at this point she was doing everything she could to keep them from ripping her to pieces. The screams of the kids falling to the ground with arrows inside of them horrified her every time.
She wasn’t sure how many she had fought anymore. She only knew that it seemed like their numbers never stopped. A fist slammed into her side and she shot the kid responsible away. Another body had latched onto her back and she stabbed it with an arrow before launching that arrow at a kid leaping towards her.
Their agonizing screams were agonizing to hear but she did her best to tune it out. All the while Blackrain watched her battle smugly. Clair couldn’t even control how much she hated him at that moment. She just knew that as soon as she found an opening she was going to blow his head off with an arrow. She dodged another set of attacking children and blasted arrows into their backs.
“You’re cruel, little sister,” Blackrain said. “You’re not holding back against these poor little kids a bit.”
Clair spun around and released a volley of arrows at Blackrain. One after another she launched them from her bow as she walked towards him. One after another the kids leapt in the way of the arrows and took the hits for him. Two kids tackled her legs and she dropped to the ground.
“Don’t lose your focus, little sister,” Blackrain cooed. Clair created two arrows and stabbed the kids with them. She quickly launched both arrows toward Blackrain. Immediately the attacks were taken by two kids.
“It’s hopeless,” Blackrain said. “But you know, I won anyway. I made a killer out of you one way or another.”
Clair focused on him and continued moving across the parking lot toward him. Kids charged toward her and she picked them off as they came. She had nearly reached him when five kids surrounded her and leapt into the air. “One,” Clair said as she blasted the first one. “Two.”
She created an arrow and threw it at the third. The fourth she stabbed as he reached her and the fifth slammed into her chest. Clair fell backward but kicked the little girl away. “Five.”
Clair launched an arrow at Blackrain mere feet away. A kid leapt off the ground and took the arrow. Blackrain stepped back as he watched Clair move closer. Blackrain turned to run away but an arrow slashed through his foot. Blackrain fell and yelled as Clair moved in on him.
Clair felt a kid latch onto her back as she leaned over Blackrain. Another one tackled into her side. Clair ignored them as she put her hands on both sides of Blackrain. A thin layer of ice formed over him as she pulled her arms over his legs. A fist to her face made her lose her grip on her powers as she looked over at Blackrain. He punched her again.
Clair continued to create ice as she moved it up his torso. Another punch followed by another kid tackling into her. She pulled the ice up over his chest and around his arms. Finally she pulled the ice over his face.
“Ice Armor,” she whispered. “Sealing style.”
Clair hadn’t done a great job so he could still move slightly. She watched as his eyes widened and he panicked for air. Above the screams of the children Clair noticed something. Quiet. She looked up and saw the clouds starting to break. The rain had stopped. “Mhm,” Clair said as she looked down at Blackrain struggling against the Ice Armor around him. “Once I separated you from the outside world your power over the rain stopped.”
Clair watched as her brother’s panicked face slowly dulled. “Even though I hate you I didn’t really want to kill you. But knowing this stops your power means I can never let you out of there. It’s easier this way, brother. Goodbye.”
Clair turned away from Blackrain. Nearly every kid in the parking lot needed her help straight away. She ran to the nearest kid and started to heal him. “Please let me save them all,” she whispered.
****
Yoyo held onto her sword with all she had. The smoke had been trying to get her to drop it like she had accidentally done with the other. She couldn’t let go. Her strength was fading fast as Destinykil held her over his head. His grip around her neck was quickly choking the life out of her.
“Goodbye, girl!” Destinykil screamed.
Yoyo closed her eyes for a moment. “I’m sorry, Q. I guess I‘ll be breaking that promise,” she whispered. She reopened them and smiled at Destinykil.
She whipped her arm forward against the smoke and laughed as it burned. Destinykil’s expression changed as she stabbed her sword into his chest. He let go of her and Yoyo put her face in his. “WOTNOPOLIS is going to be covered with your blood when I’m done with you,” she hissed.
She back-flipped away from him and picked up her sword. Destinykil blinked and realized Yoyo was behind him. He blocked her attack with his sword and threw a powerful attack at her. Yoyo evaded it and dashed forward into Destinykil’s face. Her sword landed another slice into his chest. Waves of smoke surrounded her but she sliced through them without any trouble.
Destinykil swung his heavy sword at Yoyo but she flipped over it and landed on it. She lunged forward and smashed the handle of her sword into his face. She stabbed her other sword into his chest and ripped it out. A snapping sound was heard.
“You!” Yoyo glared at Destinykil. “You broke my sword!”
She waved the handle of the sword that had broken off in his chest. “You’re stupid iron body did this!”
“Get off my sword!” Destinykil screamed as he swung his sword. Yoyo threw the handle of her sword away and grabbed the good one with both hands.
Destinykil yelled as he punched Yoyo across the face. Yoyo fell back off his sword and stumbled. Her arms were yanked backward by the smoke and Yoyo could feel the smoke severing her arms again. Yoyo looked at her arms. Where blood should have been dripping down the rubbed off arms instead the smoke was drinking the blood. She didn’t understand it. She looked back at Destinykil and slowly blinked.
Destinykil shoved his sword deep into Yoyo’s stomach. The blade had cut through her entire body and was coming out of her back. Inside Yoyo could feel the smoke stabbing her. Blood spilled out of her mouth. Her eyes became heavy.
“You were a demon, I’ll give you that,” Destinykil said. “In fact, you were a great foe, woman. But I am Destinykil. And it was your destiny to die.”
It took all of Yoyo‘s mental strength to block out the pain. The power unleashed by the demon had waned and all she could feel across her body was pain. She slowly reached up and pulled the blade that had broken in his chest out. She could feel it cutting into her hands but she didn’t care. She looked up at Destinykil and shook her head.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “I can‘t lose here.”
She took the blade end of her sword and stabbed it through Destinykil’s neck. Destinykil fell backward and grabbed at the blade. He yelled as the blade sliced into his hands and fell backward. Yoyo stumbled toward the body and pulled the blade out of his neck. “In case you live,” Yoyo said. “Give up on Q. Quit bugging us.”
Yoyo stumbled forward a few steps before collapsing into the ground. She stared at her hand for a moment before realizing that part of her middle finger on her left hand was gone. “Just great,” she thought as her eyes closed. “If I survive this that’ll be fun to explain to people. I was fighting this giant, smokey, robot, samurai and it fell off sometime during the battle…”
KarateKeyaQ walked across the parking lot. Destinykil’s body lay twitching on the ground. She could see Yoyo still moving. KKQ smiled in relief. “Little Shiro, we made it in time, call an ambulance,” she said into her radio. “It looks like the Eagle gang is fighting someone, at least. Maybe they really will take out the fourth Mafia.”
****
Bano wasn’t sure when but at some point during the beating he had stood back up. He had been kicked over and over but now he was standing up. He was having a hard time understanding what was going on. His head was pounding. “Jake?” Bano said as he stared at the illusions around him and shook his head.
“Sorry,” Bano said as he slashed his kama through the figures standing around him. “I’m sorry, Jake.”
Bano slashed through the illusions as they appeared and shook his head. “But Jake. You’re not real. This isn’t real.”
Bano sliced through each figure with his kama and smiled. “It’s not real, Shugo. I’m not falling for it. It’s not real.”
Shugo stepped forward from the air and patted Bano on the back. “Perhaps not,” Shugo said. “But you’re done.”
Shugo could feel a slight ringing in his ear. He ignored it as he took out a knife and stabbed it through Bano. “Hm?” Shugo said as he felt nothing there. He looked closely and realized Bano had moved a few feet over.
“You’re still resisting, hm?” Shugo laughed as he brought his knife down. “That’s the Bano for you.”
The knife should of reached Bano but Shugo couldn’t feel him. Shugo closed his eyes and focused. When he reopened them he was staring at two Banos. To make matters worse the buzz in his ears was driving him crazy. “What?” Shugo asked.
Both Banos looked at Shugo and smiled. A second later Shugo felt a fist in his face. “Talk about late,” Bano said as Q walked across the classroom.
“Sorry,” Q said. “I got caught up by JJDomer.”
“Whatever,” Bano said. “You don’t look too good.”
“Neither do you,” Q answered as he looked at the beaten up guy.
“What’s going on?” Shugo yelled. “Q? What did you do!”
Q pointed to a small whistle in his hands. “We made this forever ago. You know that the sense of sound connects to your brain, right? So with it I can make illusions, well, not exactly. They’re not your illusions. But it can mess with your sense of balance and your ability to see us. It’s weird how the brain does spatial organization. Anyway, I’m not really sure what the science is behind it. It‘s similar to that trick I had when we played games as kids. But much more powerful.”
Q walked over to Shugo and smiled. “I promised only to use it on an illusion making scumbag like you. You deserved to know how it felt.”
Shugo disappeared into the air again. “Maybe, Q, but you can’t beat a master illusionist.”
Q blew on the whistle and Bano waited. A moment went by before they both heard a crashing sound and watched as Shugo appeared stumbling over a desk. “Mhm,” Q said. “Give it up.”
Shugo jumped to his feet and put his hands over his ears. “It won’t work if I do this,” Shugo said.
Q walked over to Shugo. “Yeah, I actually thought of that.”
Q grabbed Shugo’s arm and snapped it. Shugo cried out in pain and Q nodded. “Yep, that’s what I figured I’d do.”
Q lifted his foot up and kicked it into Shugo’s face. “It’s not the most flashy way to beat you, I’ll admit. But it gets the job done.”
Shugo squirmed against the ground and Q stomped on his back. “How does it feel to be powerless and attacked, hm?” Q asked.
He spat on him and walked over to Bano. “I’m done with this guy.”
Tears ran down Shugo’s face as he yelled. “You going to kill him?” Q asked Bano. He shrugged in response.
“I’m the god of this world! This is my world! This is my age! You’re all ants! Ants!” Shugo screamed as he rolled on the floor.
“I wanted to, but look at him,” Bano motioned at the thrashing man. “He’s lost it.”
“Mhm,” Q said. “Let’s go get our people and get out of here. I’ll go get Knssquad and you get Clair.”
“What about Yoyo?” Bano asked as he headed out the door.
“We’ll drop off Knssquad and Clair at the bar. If Yoyo’s not there I’ll go get her. By the way, we should also have the cops come and pick this guy up,” Q said as he pointed at Shugo.
“I’ll take care of it,” Bano nodded.
****
Clair’s body was nearly lifeless when Bano found her. Her arm moving back and forth over a child’s injury. Her eyes were glazed over. Bano picked her up and frowned. “Come on, Clair. Stay with us. We need you,” he said as he looked at the scene. Bano could clearly see that several children were dead, while others writhed in pain.
“Not yet,” Clair whispered to Bano. “Not yet. I need to fix them. Fix them all.”
Bano carried Clair away and shushed her. “No,” Bano said. “You’ve done enough. Doctors will be here soon. They’ll fix this.”
Bano sighed as he walked past Blackrain‘s body. The ice had melted leaving a puddle on top of him. “Some people in this city are truly unforgivable. It’s a good thing you killed him.”
****
Q carried Knssquad inside the bar and was immediately relieved to see Yoyo laying out on a table. A cop stood over her and frowned when she saw him. “Wow, those look bad,” she said as she pointed to Q’s injuries.
“Eh,” Q said as he set Knssquad down carefully. “Who are you?”
“I’m Karatekeyaq,” she said. “I found her out in the parking lot. It looks like she had beaten Destinykil. Pretty impressive.”
Q smiled. “I knew she would.”
Q waved to Temari who nodded solemnly at him and went into the back of the bar. He looked back at Knssquad and put his hands to his head. “Freaking Amaterasu got her.”
KKQ jumped. “You know about Amaterasu?”
Q nodded. “He lost his mind. Shugo saved him and added him to his Mafia. He wanted to kill us so bad he lost everything else to him. I don’t know anymore. I know she had fought him. He seemed like he was getting over his issue, too.”
“Did she win?” KKQ asked.
“She’s still alive, so yeah,” Q said. “Um, so the fourth mafia, are they being taken to jail?”
“Mhm,” KKQ smiled. “We have cops all over the scene. Blackrain was found dead, but Shugo’s in custody now. Amp sealing handcuffs will keep him from ever hurting anyone again. Destinykil is in the hospital right now and it’s uncertain whether he’ll make it. Seshimazi wasn’t found. I’ll have them look for Amaterasu, too. Several lower members of the Fourth Mafia are being picked up, as well.”
Q was relieved as he thought of those men in jail. He laughed a little as he remembered he‘d dropped Seshimazi off in a dumpster. “Serves them right.”
KKQ nodded. “You guys did amazing. No one’s ever stood up to the Mafia like that and taken one down. Really. Good work.”
KKQ turned toward the door and stopped. “I don’t know if this is true or not, but I’ve heard rumors that people all over the city in the last hour are claiming they’ve had their memories or something altered. We have no idea what’s going on, but if Blackrain is dead then it could be possible the people he was controlling are free now. If that’s the case then you guys may be forgotten about or something.”
“Cool,” Q said as he waved to KKQ heading out the door. “Bye.”
“Thank you so much!” Temari yelled from the back as she got out bandages and handed Q a cherry coke. She hugged him and smiled. “You guys did it.”
****
The seven of them stood together in the grassy field. Moonlightnight’s wiped the tears off her face with a tissue and smiled at them warmly. “I can’t believe you guys made it, really. I didn’t think you were going to.”
“I promised you we would,” Q said.
Moonlightnight’s shook her head. “But you guys got in that big fight an-”
“There’s no way we would of let the Mafia stand in the way of Jake’s funeral, Miss Moon,” Bano interrupted.
“The hard part was finding nice clothes, really,” Q laughed awkwardly. “We ended up stealing our suits, Bano and I. We’ll give them back later. Or not. I kind of like mine.”
Yoyo elbowed Q and he shook his head. “Um, sorry, anyway. It’s not much, but we can promise you that the guys who did this will never hurt anyone ever again. We personally saw to that. It doesn’t bring him back, but we hope it helps.”
Moonlightnights nodded and whispered a thank you. Temari, Clair, Knssquad, Yoyo, Bano, Q, and Moonlightnights stood at Jake’s grave for a long time.
Shugo had watched the scene unfold for an hour or so now. He wiped his sleeve against the window of the shop as warm air fogged it up. Even though an hour or two ago the street hadn’t had a cloud in the sky it was now a torrent of heavy rain.
“This is really strange,” he said to himself. He hadn’t been in the city for more than a few weeks but he already felt accustomed to the rhythms of WOTNOPOLIS. He was already blending in with the daily crime and the constant noise. Unlike his quiet hometown WOTNOPOLIS never sat still. He liked that about it.
But even he knew that an entire block falling into violence wasn’t normal. People who had been walking side by side as friends had gone at each other’s throats. Bodies littered the blood soaked street. Originally it had been a frightening display of barbarism. Panic had overtaken the city street and people who had been peacefully shopping inside or sleeping at home found themselves overtaken by it. Now only a few bodies continued to struggle against each other.
Shugo had watched it all at a shop window while sipping coffee. His ability to manipulate what people could see kept him invisible from the spectacle. What surprised Shugo most was the longevity of the chaos. It hadn’t been a brief few minutes of panic or violence but a long consuming hour of time spent with nothing but destruction. People who would normally never stand in a fight were working with unprecedented strength. Children and women who had never fought a day in their life were frightening animals.
Shugo walked outside and knew he had no need to worry about getting wet. He had power over water molecules and he had long decided he didn’t like the rain. It was dreary. One man had stood at the center of all this chaos. A man that had Shugo had locked eyes with many times over the past hour though this man was unaware of it.
“I can sense you, you know,” the man said. “I don’t know how you’re doing it, but you’re avoiding the rain.”
This man had caught Shugo’s eye because he was the only one who had remained calm. He had remained completely unharmed. Just quietly standing in the middle of the street watching it all unfold.
He dropped the water manipulation and allowed the man to see Shugo. “I suppose hiding won’t do me any good then,” Shugo said. “Quite a rainy day, isn’t it?”
“Tch,” the man answered. “You watched all this occur and you want to talk about the weather?”
Shugo pushed his glasses up and smiled. “You’re really blunt,” Shugo laughed. “I know guys like you. They’re usually pretty tough.”
“You think so?” the man asked.
“So what are you doing out here? Did you cause this?” Shugo ignored his question.
“I’m Blackrain. I’m just unleashing my rage,” Blackrain answered. “I’m really ticked off right now. My sister. She completely rejected me. I just want to destroy. Destroy it all.”
Shugo’s smile grew wider. “You’re incredibly talented,” Shugo complimented. “And I understand your sentiment. Humans are such trash, no?”
Blackrain shrugged. “I just hate existence. I love ending existences. People’s lives. I can control them. But the greatest control over existence is ending it for someone else.”
Shugo glanced at the man. “Is this the extent of your power? Complete destruction?”
“No,” Blackrain said. “I can make people do whatever I want. I just wanted them to destroy right now.”
“Team up with me,” Shugo said and extended a hand towards the man. “Me and you. Your power is clearly unbelievable. Together you and I will wipe this city away.”
Blackrain glanced at Shugo uneasily. He held his hand back. “Come on. We’ll be equal partners. We’ll develop a web across the city. Surely alone even you know the futility of trying to stop this entire city. There’s too many people here. Too many threats. But together? You and I! It’s fate we met this day. I’m Shugo. The next god of this world. And you’ll be the one who helps me usher in the new age.”
“Fine,” Blackrain said and shook his hand. “But we wait for my sister to get here before we do anything. I know if she’s given enough time she’ll join me. She’s really powerful. You’d see her as an asset. Trust me.”
“That’s fine! There’s some people I’m waiting for, too. I want to start the new age by crushing them into dust,” Shugo commanded. “This encounter wasn’t chance, Blackrain. This city gave us a gift by having us meet this day. It wants us to end this age, too.”
****
“What’s wrong, Sound man?” Seshimazi asked as Q dodged another one of his fireballs. “You’re not nearly as spunky as when you threw me off my motorcycle the other day.”
Q did his best to focus on Seshimazi’s attacks. His side was in agony but he knew if he didn’t focus he’d be roasted. “Shut up,” Q said. “And don’t call me Sound man. That’s a stupid nickname made by that muscle head, Destinykil.”
“Haha,” Seshimazi laughed as he formed another fireball. “Why my bosses added him to the team is beyond me.”
“Have you ever fought him?” Q asked. “He’s insanely powerful.”
“Perhaps,” Seshimazi said as he bounced towards Q. He felt his jaw crack as Seshimazi’s foot plowed into it. “Or maybe you’re just getting weak, Q?”
Q grunted and stumbled back. His head was spinning from the injury. “What I don’t get, though,” Seshimazi continued. “Is why you think you can defeat Shugo and Blackrain if you can’t even get past me. Those guys are pretty scary, hm?”
Q spat blood and Seshimazi laughed. “We have a plan. Besides, what makes you think I can’t get past you?”
Seshimazi pointed at Q. “Well, for starters, you haven’t.”
“Shut up,” Q answered.
“Whatever,” Seshimazi said as he prepared another fireball.
The sound of sirens called from the distance. “Shoot,” Q whispered. “The last thing I needed.”
“Ah, seems they’re finally here,” Seshimazi laughed. “Well, it’s been real. But I wanted to kill you before they got here.”
Seshimazi created a fireball in both hands and reached back. Seshimazi felt his body freezing as he saw Q in front of him. His body went limp as he felt something crushing his chest. “Sorry,” Q said. “I really was hoping you’d give it up. But I can’t fool around with you.”
Q pulled his fist back. Seshimazi dropped to the ground headfirst. “I think I am getting the hang of it,” Q said. That was the first time he’d ever mentally controlled the feeling of not being able to hear. He still wasn’t sure of what it was.
An annoying siren wailed behind him. Lights flashed on the buildings around him and a bullhorn was yelling at him from behind. “Great, it’s you,” Q thought as he turned around.
****
Yoyo panted as she stared at Destinykil. “Nothing’s working,” she said. “What the heck?”
Destinykil swung his sword needlessly into the ground. “That’s right! You can’t lay a hand on me.”
Yoyo tried to concentrate. It was true. All her attacks had glanced off him. Not only that, but whenever she had gotten close that stupid black mist had enveloped her. It was powerful. She didn’t understand this guy at all.
“You’re doing well, girl,” Destinykil said as he whipped his sword back. “But the sun’s gone down. Play time is over. If I want a shot at the Sound man I’ve got to get to it quick.”
Yoyo jumped into the air. She moved past his sword and the smoke and slammed her knee into his chest. The pain was excruciating but she could tell by the look on his face that she’d done some damage.
She landed on the ground and immediately regretted that attack. “Aw, cheese,” she gasped as she felt her leg give out. “Well, I guess I won’t be putting any pressure there.”
Destinykil took a step back and grunted. Every breath he took was highlighted by a bite of pain in his side. “Well done,” Destinykil coughed. “I think you managed to break one of my ribs.”
Yoyo threw her hands in the air. “Heck yes! In your face you invincible pain in the butt.”
Destinykil shook his head and glared at Yoyo. “You know that really ticks me off!”
“Well it ticks me off that you’re made of metal!” Yoyo shouted back. Yoyo kept an eye on his sword. The black smoke had become thicker and was encircling Destinykil’s body. It had begun to circle out away from his body in strands.
Yoyo felt a burn against her weak leg and a smack followed. “What the freedom?” she said as she picked herself up from the ground. One strand of the smoke had wrapped itself around her leg. She sliced her swords through it and broke the chain.
“What are you?” Yoyo asked as she looked up at Destinykil.
Strands of black smoke flickered in every direction off Destinykil’s body. His giant sword gleamed against the streetlights. His eyes had become solid black masses. Yoyo stared at the giant man before her. Destinykil turned his head towards Yoyo and smiled. “I’m a demon.”
****
“Mikel!” Crispi said as she ran up to the man. He had been sleeping in a hammock and was annoyed by the sudden intrusion.
“Hm?” Mikel asked.
“It’s the fourth Mafia. They went on a rampage last night and attacked the city. They put the blame on the Eagle gang but it’s definitely them,” Crispi explained.
“Hm?” Mikel asked again.
“Yeah, there is one group that can ‘deal with it,’” Crispi put in air quotes. “The Eagle gang is currently locked in fight with the fourth Mafia, although the police are totally out to get them it seems.”
“Hm,” Mikel shrugged and laid his head back down.
“That’s mean, Mikel! Forcing them to fight because you’re too lazy,” Crispi shook her head.
“Mhm,” Mikel said. “Hm?”
“Yeah, I’ll let you know if anything changes,” Crispi said. “By the way, the first Mafia is still moving Cargo into the Tower, but it doesn’t seem like much has changed. The second Mafia’s apparently been spotted throughout WOTNOPOLIS lately, but it doesn’t appear that they are doing much. Venomu just kind of comes and goes as he pleases.”
Mikel sat up immediately and shook his head, “Hm.”
“Just because he’s moving around the city like the snake he is doesn’t mean he’s doing anything. You got to learn to chill, Mikel,” Crispi smiled. “Anyway, that’s the latest news.”
Mikel laid his head back down and shut his eyes. He picked up his hand and flicked it. “Alright, I’ll come wake you if there is anything new to report or if the Eagle gang loses.”
“That guy is so bossy,” Crispi complained as she walked away.
****
“Another desk,” Bano sighed as he felt the wood splinter from the kama’s attack. “So you’ve disguised yourself as another desk. Impressive.”
“Well maybe!” Shugo yelled. He stopped himself and cleared his throat. “Whatever. If an ant like you can’t see through such a simple illusion it’s not my fault, Bano.”
Bano’s kama sliced through the mirage and wood exploded. “Perhaps,” Bano said. “But I can crush everything in this room, if you’d like?”
Bano sliced through the air behind him as he felt a tap on his shoulder. His kama ripped through Shugo. “Nice try,” Shugo whispered in his ear as a globe of the Earth exploded.
The wall cracked as his body hit it. Several Shugo’s formed around Bano and he watched as each of them pushed their glasses up. “Sorry, too slow,” Shugo’s laughter ricocheted across the room. “I guess you could crush everything in this room, but can you do it before I kill you?”
Bano’s kama cut through each of the Shugo’s in front of him. All disappeared. “Yes, I can,” Bano said.
Bano watched as two Shugo’s formed next to him. The first one threw a punch that Bano dodged and sliced through. The second one kicked at Bano and he caught it. A foot smashed into Bano’s side and he grimaced. “Nice,” Bano said as he sliced through the illusion and grabbed the foot in his side. “You used the illusion to throw my guard down. But sorry. Too slow.”
Shugo struggled to pull his foot back. Bano couldn’t see Shugo but he knew he had a grip on him and he wasn’t about to let go. He jabbed his kama into Shugo’s leg and sliced upward. Shugo shrieked in pain and a fist to Bano’s face made him let go.
“Frick,” Bano coughed as he stepped back. “It’s really freaking hard to fight when you’re opponent’s freaking invisible.”
Bano smiled all the same. He had landed a good attack on Shugo and he knew it by how quiet Shugo had gotten. “What’s a matter?” Bano asked. “You seem a little less spunky than before.”
“Whatever, ant,” Shugo whispered. “Even ant bites hurt. Poison in their jaws can affect something as big as a human. You’re just an ant that got a lucky bite in. But I’ll squish you here and now! How would you like to fight your ant buddies, huh?”
“Shut up!” Bano said as he slashed through the air around him. “You said ant way too many times there.”
Bano jumped back when he saw Q in front of him. “Oh, wow, when’d you get here?”
“Just a second ago,” Q smiled. “Sorry I’m late. Where’s Shugo?”
“He’s hiding. Use your sound abilities to detect him,” Bano said. Q closed his eyes and concentrated. “Over there!”
Bano pounced on the spot Q had pointed to. His kama ripped through a desk. “Q, something’s off,” Bano said.
His eyes widened as he felt something cutting open his chest. “What the?” Bano asked as he felt the blade cutting through his body. But when he looked down he saw a flower. “What’s going on?”
He turned his head and saw Q smiling at him. “Q?” Bano asked as he stepped away from him. The blade still in his chest. “Why’d you? What?”
Q punched Bano and laughed as he fell to the ground. “What’s a matter, partner?” Q asked.
Bano shook his head. “I get it. You’re not Q. Just one of Shugo’s stupid illusions.”
Q’s face changed to Shugo’s and he pushed his glasses up. “You caught on fast, but it looks like your time is nearly up. It was fun catching up with you, Bano.”
Bano gripped onto Shugo’s leg. “Nice try, but I’ve got no issue with fighting Q,” Bano smiled. He stabbed his kama into Q’s chest and watched as wood fell away.
“But what about me?” Temari asked. “Please, Bano. No more fighting.”
“Or me?” Bano spun around and saw Clair. “You believed in me when everyone else thought I’d given up on the gang.”
“Come on, Bano, be less of a pig-head,” Yoyo said as she walked up to Bano. “You know we’re the real deal.”
Bano sliced his kama through the air. “Go away!” he yelled. “Your illusions won’t work on me, Shugo!”
“Bano, I don’t like it when you get this way,” Bano turned around and closed his eyes at who he saw. Jake was smiling at him. “Bano, we’re all friends in the gang, right?”
****
“You can’t stop me, little sister,” Blackrain said as he neared the end of the hallway they had been running down. “I’m unstoppable. And together with Shugo we’re an invincible team. Your friends won’t defeat him. But if you side with me now I bet I can convince him to forgive you as a favor to me.”
Blackrain jumped out of the way as a blue shard of ice flew past him. “Have it your way then, sister,” Blackrain said as he kicked the door open and walked out into the courtyard. “Bring it on. You know I can’t be stopped in the rain.”
Clair stared at the courtyard. Rain was pouring down outside. “Since you can’t fight me you might-”
A blur moved past Blackrain and he jumped. “You can’t move faster than the rain,” Blackrain laughed.
Blackrain still couldn’t see where she had gotten. A bow pressed into his back and he stood still. “Well, valiant effort. But stop trying to fight me.”
Blackrain knew that once his rain had touched someone they couldn’t resist his power. An arrow split his stomach open and he fell to his knees in pain. “What?” he yelled as he turned around.
Clair smiled down at him. “Yeah, your powers can control anyone they touch. But they have to touch me,” she smiled. “I recently developed a new power.”
She punched Blackrain across the face and sent him sprawling across the schoolyard. “If it weren’t raining you could see it better. But I’ve covered my body in a light weight but powerful armor of ice. Not only will it protect me against attacks, but it also seems that it protects me against the rain, too.”
Blackrain glared at her. “That’s right, brother. You won’t be controlling me or forcing me to become one of your little minions like you’d probably planned. Too bad.”
Clair heard cheers from all around her and jumped back. The courtyard was filling with kids who were cheering for her. “Well done,” Blackrain said as he stood up. “You’re smart, little sister. I guess you got me there.”
Blackrain smirked as the kids filled into the courtyard. “But as you may know I’m not really much of a fighter. Instead, why don’t I see how you do against these innocent kids?”
Clair dodged as several bodies charged after her. “Too fast,” Clair said as several other kids leapt after her.
“Oh and do remember, little sister,” Blackrain said. “That my ability allows me to release the natural inhibitors of the brain. These kids are unbelievably powerful. Yet if you hurt them you’ll just be hurting poor twisted souls. They remind me of you in that way, huh? Being controlled by me. Trapped by my power with no real strength of their own. Sad state, they’re in.”
Clair evaded the mob of kids but felt pain in her right leg. Blood spilled out of her leg as the kid sunk his teeth into her. She kicked her foot out and shot an arrow into the kid’s side. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as the kid fell back in pain.
“So cruel! He was only eight years old,” Blackrain hissed. “Wow, little sister. By the way, each person you hurt I’m unleashing from my command. I want you to hear the pain you’re dealing. It’s probably kinder just to kill them.”
“Shut up!” Clair screamed as she unleashed a volley of arrows at Blackrain. “Just go away!”
“No!” Clair yelled as she watched several kids leap up and take the damage from the attack. Their screams filled the air as they fell to the ground in pain.
“Um, no,” Blackrain shook his head. “I don’t think I’ll be letting you attack me so easily.”
****
“Yo,” JJDomer waved to Q. “Is that any way to treat an old friend?”
Q ignored him and surveyed the scene. Cop cars had surrounded the area and Q could see a few Decimators lining up with their guns. The usual call to surrender was made by bullhorns.
“You guys get out of my way,” Q said as he picked up Seshimazi. “Geez, I can’t leave even an idiot like you behind, can I?”
Q dodged several wind blasts and jumped over the nearest cop car. The sounds of gunfire and sirens irritated Q as he raced past the blockade. “It’s so loud,” Q groaned. His head was pounding and his side still ached from where Seshimazi had attacked him.
“Why am I helping this idiot again?” Q wondered. A figure flashed in front of him and Q saw JJDomer reappear.
“No way, Soundy. I’m not letting you and Flamey get away,” JJDomer smiled. “You guys have already made quite the mess of WOTNOPOLIS. It’s about time we put you away, Q.”
Q dodged JJDomer’s attacks. The cops had backed off so they wouldn’t shoot JJDomer but still held a persistent line behind Q. An explosion to Q’s right made him spin around. Azarni Rin held her gun out and waved over to Q. “I missed,” she said slowly.
“I don’t have time for this!” Q yelled as he threw a kick at JJDomer. He glided past it and laughed.
“Soundy, not even close. Why don’t you give up that guy then we can fight for real?” JJDomer asked.
Q slammed his fist into the ground and the line of cops behind him exploded from the vibrations. Q glared at JJDomer. “Get out of my freaking way. My gang is in a fight with the fourth Mafia and I need to back them up. I need to take out Shugo. And if you stand in my way any longer I’m going to kill you.”
JJDomer shrugged. “You’re no fun today, Soundy. But you’re not getting past here.”
A hammer slammed in front of Q. “That’s right! You’re mine!” Little Shiro yelled. He slammed his hammer into the ground and Q jumped back. The ground erupted from the impact it made. Little Shiro chased Q as he raced away from the scene.
“Don’t think you’re getting away!” Little Shiro cried out.
“Hey back off!” JJDomer snapped as he chased after Q. The power of Little Shiro’s hammer smashing into the ground knocked him over and Little Shiro tripped over him. “You idiot, you’re letting him get away!”
“Ah, I’m so sorry!” Little Shiro apologized. “Oh, my knee! It hurts. I need an ambulance.”
“Shut up, hammer head!” JJDomer said as he watched Q disappear around a corner. “Darnit, you let him get away!”
“I’m so sorry. We’ll get our chance another day, though!” Little Shiro smiled. “Alright Q, here’s your chance. If what you’re saying is true, show us,” he thought to himself.
****
Yoyo had done nothing but move for the last five minutes of her fight. Anytime she had stayed in one spot for an instant the smoke moving off Destinykil would reach out towards her. She had learned from her earlier experience that it was not good to let it touch her.
And if the smoke wasn’t threatening enough Destinykil certainly was. His attacks had become truly devastating and she knew it would only take one blow for it to be lights out. “You’re doing good, miss,” Destinykil bellowed. “But you can’t run forever.”
She dodged another attack of smoke and front flipped over him. She hated to admit it but he was telling the truth. She was fast, sure, but she couldn’t keep that up forever.
“Well, here goes nothing,” Yoyo said as she dashed straight for Destinykil. His sword came down in front of her and she moved in close to avoid the attack. A burning tug at her arm and she felt the smokey wires wrapping around one of her arms. She used her blade to slice through it and pressed forward.
Yoyo stabbed her swords into Destinykil’s legs. “Hmph, like that’ll do anything,” Destinykil said as the swords barely entered. “I’ll admit it did hurt a little.”
Yoyo ignored Destinykil and pulled her palms back. The black smoke twisted around her arms and held them back behind her. “Not a good move girly,” Destinykil laughed. “You’re not gonna be doing much now.”
Yoyo struggled to get free of Destinykil’s grip around her arms. She had the swords barely in place on Destinykil’s legs. “Come on,” she whispered as she pushed against the smoke ropes. She could feel it digging into her skin.
“Go!” Yoyo screamed as she slammed her palms into the swords sticking out of Destinykil’s legs. Destinykil yelled in pain and fell backward as the swords slid through his legs. Yoyo grabbed her arms and breathed out a sigh of relief. Blood dripped down her arms from where the smoke had rubbed off her skin.
After a moment she slowly walked over to Destinykil and pulled her swords out of him. He was still breathing and clearly still conscious but he hadn’t said a word. Yoyo did her best to hold onto the swords but the pain was making it hard to do so. The pain in her arms from where the smoke had dug in was excruciating.
“So, we done here?” Yoyo looked around hurriedly. She just wanted to go back to the bar and dip her arms into a bucket of ice.
“Don’t talk,” Destinykil said. “Don’t freaking talk! Don’t want to hear you say another word! Ever! Don’t! Talk!”
Destinykil leaped off the ground. Yoyo could tell by the look on his face and the way he landed that it had hurt to do so. “I’m! Going! To! Murder! You!”
Yoyo jumped back but Destinykil’s hand had wrapped around her throat to quickly. She swung her swords but the smoke snapped around her arms before she could do so. “I’m Destinykil, the Demon of WOTNOPOLIS,” Destinykil roared.
****
Bano closed his eyes and swung his Kama. He could feel blocks of wood falling as he smashed through desks. “Stop it,” Bano whispered. “Stop it!”
Bano coughed as a punch landed square in his stomach. He opened his eyes to see Jake smiling at him. “What’s wrong, Bano?”
He sliced his kamas through Jake. Jake’s face changed as he fell to the floor. A moment later he got back up again and shook his head. “You know that face I keep making is the same face I made just before I died.”
“Stop!” Bano screamed as he punched Jake away. “Leave me alone!”
Jake’s body flew across the room. Clair slapped Bano across the face. “How could you do that to one of our own members?”
“You’re a monster!” Jake said.
“Why are you hurting us?” Temari whispered.
Bano sliced his kama through them. “I know this isn’t real,” he said. “Stop trying to screw with me!”
He watched as each person fell to the ground. The expressions on their faces horrified him. Then each person stood back up again around him. “You know, it’s partially an illusion,” Bano heard Shugo say. “But not completely. This is what they would look like if they died. That is what Jake looked like when he died. Alone. Where was his gang when he needed them most?”
“Where were you?” Jake asked. Each of the gang members transformed into images of Jake. “I needed you.”
Bano swung his kama again. “Please,” Bano pleaded. “Stop.”
A foot slammed into Bano’s gut. He fell over and didn’t move. “Bano, make up for what you did to me.”
Bano stumbled to get back up but a foot slammed into his face and knocked him back into the ground. “You’re the one who did this to me,” Jake whispered. “Pay up.”
Bano shook his head. A foot crushed his hand into the floor and he looked up and saw Jake staring down at him. “You can‘t refuse this.”
****
Knssquad ducked as Amaterasu’s grenades exploded around her. When the dust settled she peered carefully out from her hiding spot in the parking lot. Amaterasu was nowhere in sight.
She carefully controlled the Muffin man attached to her fingers by strings and had him dash around cars looking for him. A moment later Amaterasu leapt out of his hiding spot with the Muffin man wrapped around him. “Got him!” Knssquad cheered.
She pulled out her ice cream scooper and unleashed an attack of acidic ice cream on the former cop struggling in the middle of the parking lot. Amaterasu dived away from the attacks. A flame thrower came out and burned Muffin Man to a crisp. “Nice try, terrorist,” Amaterasu said.
Knssquad watched the Muffin Man drop off Amaterasu’s back and scowled. “Dang it,” she whispered from her hiding spot. She pulled out two apple grenades and tossed them in Amaterasu’s direction. Amaterasu backed away from them and retreated back into the parking lot.
Knssquad dashed between the cars in the direction of where she last saw Amaterasu. The two of them had been playing their extreme version of hide and go seek for a while. Knssquad darted in and out between the rows of cars as she searched for Amaterasu. She moved silently and swiftly until she spotted him next to a van and smiled. “Got you,” she thought.
She silently pulled out her bladed doughnuts. If she wasn’t careful she’d give away her position, but if she processed the attack right she’d be able to finish it here. Knssquad hated to admit it but in terms of weapons mastery Amaterasu had a slight edge over her with his guns. It takes a lot less effort to aim and fire a gun than to throw a bladed doughnuts. And Amaterasu was highly skilled with his variety of weapons.
Knssquad lined up her attack and smiled. But where Amaterasu had the advantage in weapons Knssquad had a total advantage in secret attacks. With a flick of her wrists the blades were sent flying towards their target.
Amaterasu’s eye barely caught the movement of the blades and he jumped straight up. His pistol fired and he was able to knock two out of the air. As he landed he felt an ache of pain. One of the blades had managed to strike him in his left leg. He ignored it and focused on his target. His eyes quickly caught sight of Knssquad dashing away and he fired off his weapon in her direction.
Knssquad dived behind a school bus as the sound of bullets clipping the ground fell behind her. She took a deep breath and sighed. “Wow, that was too close,” she thought. “But I got him injured.”
Knssquad screamed as the bus behind her lifted into the air. The sound of the explosion rattled in her ears and she raced away from the scene as fast as she could. She turned around and forced herself to breathe. The bus had tipped over from the bazooka blast that had hit it.
She quickly scanned the parking lot but didn’t see any sign of Amaterasu. She readied her Banana bat and took a few paces backward. “Had he not seen me?” she wondered. “No, that doesn’t make any sense.”
She decided to hide behind a car so as not to chance it. She knew she couldn’t stay there very long as he’d certainly move in on her in a second. Her eyes scanned the dark parking lot again for any sign of Amaterasu. He had completely disappeared from view. “Frick,” Knssquad said. “I don’t like this.”
Knssquad’s eyes widened as she saw the rocket headed for her position. In an instant she realized that Amaterasu had been hiding underneath a car but it didn’t do her any good. She tried to will herself to move away from the car but she knew there was no chance of avoiding that attack.
A second later she didn’t notice the sound of the explosion. Instead she was mesmerized by the way the car she had been hiding behind was flipping into the air over her head. Before Knssquad could react she felt herself flat on the ground. Something heavy had smashed into her. Her arms ached as she threw it off herself. “Ah,” Knssquad said. “The car door.”
She stood up slowly and looked around. She heard the sound of a gun behind her and felt all hope draining away. “You lose, terrorist,” Amaterasu said slowly.
Knssquad raised her hands above her head slowly. “I surrender. I know when I’ve been beat,” Knssquad said. She turned her head slowly behind her and stared at the man aiming the gun at her.
“They said you were one of the weapons masters of WOTNOPOLIS, hm? You’re good, but I expected more from you. You’ve mastered weapons, but really all you are is a master of weird,” Amaterasu said as he kept the gun leveled at her.
Knssquad had put her hands as far above her head as she could. Her fingers shook as she held them there. “Well, I guess that just makes you the best in WOTNOPOLIS,” Knssquad slowly clapped her hands together. “Cheers for you.”
Amaterasu ignored her childishness and sighed. “You know I would finish you off with a bullet here, but I really don’t have a grudge against you. It’s Q, Bano, and Yoyo that I want to kill.”
“Why?” Knssquad said as she continued clapping. “What did they do to you?”
“How about making me look like a fool in front of all of WOTNOPOLIS?” Amaterasu asked. “I truly believed you guys had tried to stand down TFK. I was beginning to believe that some gangs could do good. And look where it got me. I’ve lost everything.”
Knssquad shook her head. “Are you an idiot? We barely got out of that stupid tower alive. We did challenge TFK. Q and Bano had tried to take him down but Punkfilter stopped them midway.”
“Lies!” Amaterasu shouted. “I don’t believe a word of it.”
Knssquad smiled. “Whatever,” she said. She charged towards Amaterasu with her banana bat ready.
Amaterasu fired off a round from his gun. A body swooped between Knssquad and Amaterasu and blocked the bullet from reaching her. “Nice going, Muffin Man!” Knssquad smiled as she dashed past his fallen body and swiped her bat towards Amaterasu.
“Nice trick,” Amaterasu said as he blocked her attack with his flame thrower. “You were just stalling so you could give that charred doll another chance.”
“And you fell for it nicely because you like to ramble,” Knssquad said as she kicked him in the gut. He fell to his knees. Amaterasu swung his flame thrower and pulled the trigger. Knssquad stayed just out of the range of the attack and threw two doughnut blades.
Amaterasu grunted as the blades pierced his back. He stood to his feet and aimed the flamethrower in Knssquad’s direction. He fell back to the ground as Knssquad thwacked him with her banana bat and shook her head. “Geez, you’re stupid,” Knssquad said. “This is over. You lose. And since you didn’t listen to me before, we didn’t lie to you. Jerk.”
Knssquad walked away and smiled. Despite the pain of having a car door smash her into the ground she felt good about her victory over Amaterasu. And it was in that moment Knssquad fell to the dirt.
“Freaking pain,” Knssquad whispered as she felt the pain of the bullet in her leg. The gunfire still echoed across the parking lot. Her eyes closed and she felt herself drifting out of the battle.
Amaterasu laid his head back down. He couldn’t stand from the blood loss he’d taken in his leg. Only one thing on his mind. “I could of finished her with that shot. Why didn’t I?”
****
Clair continued to dodge between the bodies coming after her. She had originally attempted not to hurt them but at this point she was doing everything she could to keep them from ripping her to pieces. The screams of the kids falling to the ground with arrows inside of them horrified her every time.
She wasn’t sure how many she had fought anymore. She only knew that it seemed like their numbers never stopped. A fist slammed into her side and she shot the kid responsible away. Another body had latched onto her back and she stabbed it with an arrow before launching that arrow at a kid leaping towards her.
Their agonizing screams were agonizing to hear but she did her best to tune it out. All the while Blackrain watched her battle smugly. Clair couldn’t even control how much she hated him at that moment. She just knew that as soon as she found an opening she was going to blow his head off with an arrow. She dodged another set of attacking children and blasted arrows into their backs.
“You’re cruel, little sister,” Blackrain said. “You’re not holding back against these poor little kids a bit.”
Clair spun around and released a volley of arrows at Blackrain. One after another she launched them from her bow as she walked towards him. One after another the kids leapt in the way of the arrows and took the hits for him. Two kids tackled her legs and she dropped to the ground.
“Don’t lose your focus, little sister,” Blackrain cooed. Clair created two arrows and stabbed the kids with them. She quickly launched both arrows toward Blackrain. Immediately the attacks were taken by two kids.
“It’s hopeless,” Blackrain said. “But you know, I won anyway. I made a killer out of you one way or another.”
Clair focused on him and continued moving across the parking lot toward him. Kids charged toward her and she picked them off as they came. She had nearly reached him when five kids surrounded her and leapt into the air. “One,” Clair said as she blasted the first one. “Two.”
She created an arrow and threw it at the third. The fourth she stabbed as he reached her and the fifth slammed into her chest. Clair fell backward but kicked the little girl away. “Five.”
Clair launched an arrow at Blackrain mere feet away. A kid leapt off the ground and took the arrow. Blackrain stepped back as he watched Clair move closer. Blackrain turned to run away but an arrow slashed through his foot. Blackrain fell and yelled as Clair moved in on him.
Clair felt a kid latch onto her back as she leaned over Blackrain. Another one tackled into her side. Clair ignored them as she put her hands on both sides of Blackrain. A thin layer of ice formed over him as she pulled her arms over his legs. A fist to her face made her lose her grip on her powers as she looked over at Blackrain. He punched her again.
Clair continued to create ice as she moved it up his torso. Another punch followed by another kid tackling into her. She pulled the ice up over his chest and around his arms. Finally she pulled the ice over his face.
“Ice Armor,” she whispered. “Sealing style.”
Clair hadn’t done a great job so he could still move slightly. She watched as his eyes widened and he panicked for air. Above the screams of the children Clair noticed something. Quiet. She looked up and saw the clouds starting to break. The rain had stopped. “Mhm,” Clair said as she looked down at Blackrain struggling against the Ice Armor around him. “Once I separated you from the outside world your power over the rain stopped.”
Clair watched as her brother’s panicked face slowly dulled. “Even though I hate you I didn’t really want to kill you. But knowing this stops your power means I can never let you out of there. It’s easier this way, brother. Goodbye.”
Clair turned away from Blackrain. Nearly every kid in the parking lot needed her help straight away. She ran to the nearest kid and started to heal him. “Please let me save them all,” she whispered.
****
Yoyo held onto her sword with all she had. The smoke had been trying to get her to drop it like she had accidentally done with the other. She couldn’t let go. Her strength was fading fast as Destinykil held her over his head. His grip around her neck was quickly choking the life out of her.
“Goodbye, girl!” Destinykil screamed.
Yoyo closed her eyes for a moment. “I’m sorry, Q. I guess I‘ll be breaking that promise,” she whispered. She reopened them and smiled at Destinykil.
She whipped her arm forward against the smoke and laughed as it burned. Destinykil’s expression changed as she stabbed her sword into his chest. He let go of her and Yoyo put her face in his. “WOTNOPOLIS is going to be covered with your blood when I’m done with you,” she hissed.
She back-flipped away from him and picked up her sword. Destinykil blinked and realized Yoyo was behind him. He blocked her attack with his sword and threw a powerful attack at her. Yoyo evaded it and dashed forward into Destinykil’s face. Her sword landed another slice into his chest. Waves of smoke surrounded her but she sliced through them without any trouble.
Destinykil swung his heavy sword at Yoyo but she flipped over it and landed on it. She lunged forward and smashed the handle of her sword into his face. She stabbed her other sword into his chest and ripped it out. A snapping sound was heard.
“You!” Yoyo glared at Destinykil. “You broke my sword!”
She waved the handle of the sword that had broken off in his chest. “You’re stupid iron body did this!”
“Get off my sword!” Destinykil screamed as he swung his sword. Yoyo threw the handle of her sword away and grabbed the good one with both hands.
Destinykil yelled as he punched Yoyo across the face. Yoyo fell back off his sword and stumbled. Her arms were yanked backward by the smoke and Yoyo could feel the smoke severing her arms again. Yoyo looked at her arms. Where blood should have been dripping down the rubbed off arms instead the smoke was drinking the blood. She didn’t understand it. She looked back at Destinykil and slowly blinked.
Destinykil shoved his sword deep into Yoyo’s stomach. The blade had cut through her entire body and was coming out of her back. Inside Yoyo could feel the smoke stabbing her. Blood spilled out of her mouth. Her eyes became heavy.
“You were a demon, I’ll give you that,” Destinykil said. “In fact, you were a great foe, woman. But I am Destinykil. And it was your destiny to die.”
It took all of Yoyo‘s mental strength to block out the pain. The power unleashed by the demon had waned and all she could feel across her body was pain. She slowly reached up and pulled the blade that had broken in his chest out. She could feel it cutting into her hands but she didn’t care. She looked up at Destinykil and shook her head.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “I can‘t lose here.”
She took the blade end of her sword and stabbed it through Destinykil’s neck. Destinykil fell backward and grabbed at the blade. He yelled as the blade sliced into his hands and fell backward. Yoyo stumbled toward the body and pulled the blade out of his neck. “In case you live,” Yoyo said. “Give up on Q. Quit bugging us.”
Yoyo stumbled forward a few steps before collapsing into the ground. She stared at her hand for a moment before realizing that part of her middle finger on her left hand was gone. “Just great,” she thought as her eyes closed. “If I survive this that’ll be fun to explain to people. I was fighting this giant, smokey, robot, samurai and it fell off sometime during the battle…”
KarateKeyaQ walked across the parking lot. Destinykil’s body lay twitching on the ground. She could see Yoyo still moving. KKQ smiled in relief. “Little Shiro, we made it in time, call an ambulance,” she said into her radio. “It looks like the Eagle gang is fighting someone, at least. Maybe they really will take out the fourth Mafia.”
****
Bano wasn’t sure when but at some point during the beating he had stood back up. He had been kicked over and over but now he was standing up. He was having a hard time understanding what was going on. His head was pounding. “Jake?” Bano said as he stared at the illusions around him and shook his head.
“Sorry,” Bano said as he slashed his kama through the figures standing around him. “I’m sorry, Jake.”
Bano slashed through the illusions as they appeared and shook his head. “But Jake. You’re not real. This isn’t real.”
Bano sliced through each figure with his kama and smiled. “It’s not real, Shugo. I’m not falling for it. It’s not real.”
Shugo stepped forward from the air and patted Bano on the back. “Perhaps not,” Shugo said. “But you’re done.”
Shugo could feel a slight ringing in his ear. He ignored it as he took out a knife and stabbed it through Bano. “Hm?” Shugo said as he felt nothing there. He looked closely and realized Bano had moved a few feet over.
“You’re still resisting, hm?” Shugo laughed as he brought his knife down. “That’s the Bano for you.”
The knife should of reached Bano but Shugo couldn’t feel him. Shugo closed his eyes and focused. When he reopened them he was staring at two Banos. To make matters worse the buzz in his ears was driving him crazy. “What?” Shugo asked.
Both Banos looked at Shugo and smiled. A second later Shugo felt a fist in his face. “Talk about late,” Bano said as Q walked across the classroom.
“Sorry,” Q said. “I got caught up by JJDomer.”
“Whatever,” Bano said. “You don’t look too good.”
“Neither do you,” Q answered as he looked at the beaten up guy.
“What’s going on?” Shugo yelled. “Q? What did you do!”
Q pointed to a small whistle in his hands. “We made this forever ago. You know that the sense of sound connects to your brain, right? So with it I can make illusions, well, not exactly. They’re not your illusions. But it can mess with your sense of balance and your ability to see us. It’s weird how the brain does spatial organization. Anyway, I’m not really sure what the science is behind it. It‘s similar to that trick I had when we played games as kids. But much more powerful.”
Q walked over to Shugo and smiled. “I promised only to use it on an illusion making scumbag like you. You deserved to know how it felt.”
Shugo disappeared into the air again. “Maybe, Q, but you can’t beat a master illusionist.”
Q blew on the whistle and Bano waited. A moment went by before they both heard a crashing sound and watched as Shugo appeared stumbling over a desk. “Mhm,” Q said. “Give it up.”
Shugo jumped to his feet and put his hands over his ears. “It won’t work if I do this,” Shugo said.
Q walked over to Shugo. “Yeah, I actually thought of that.”
Q grabbed Shugo’s arm and snapped it. Shugo cried out in pain and Q nodded. “Yep, that’s what I figured I’d do.”
Q lifted his foot up and kicked it into Shugo’s face. “It’s not the most flashy way to beat you, I’ll admit. But it gets the job done.”
Shugo squirmed against the ground and Q stomped on his back. “How does it feel to be powerless and attacked, hm?” Q asked.
He spat on him and walked over to Bano. “I’m done with this guy.”
Tears ran down Shugo’s face as he yelled. “You going to kill him?” Q asked Bano. He shrugged in response.
“I’m the god of this world! This is my world! This is my age! You’re all ants! Ants!” Shugo screamed as he rolled on the floor.
“I wanted to, but look at him,” Bano motioned at the thrashing man. “He’s lost it.”
“Mhm,” Q said. “Let’s go get our people and get out of here. I’ll go get Knssquad and you get Clair.”
“What about Yoyo?” Bano asked as he headed out the door.
“We’ll drop off Knssquad and Clair at the bar. If Yoyo’s not there I’ll go get her. By the way, we should also have the cops come and pick this guy up,” Q said as he pointed at Shugo.
“I’ll take care of it,” Bano nodded.
****
Clair’s body was nearly lifeless when Bano found her. Her arm moving back and forth over a child’s injury. Her eyes were glazed over. Bano picked her up and frowned. “Come on, Clair. Stay with us. We need you,” he said as he looked at the scene. Bano could clearly see that several children were dead, while others writhed in pain.
“Not yet,” Clair whispered to Bano. “Not yet. I need to fix them. Fix them all.”
Bano carried Clair away and shushed her. “No,” Bano said. “You’ve done enough. Doctors will be here soon. They’ll fix this.”
Bano sighed as he walked past Blackrain‘s body. The ice had melted leaving a puddle on top of him. “Some people in this city are truly unforgivable. It’s a good thing you killed him.”
****
Q carried Knssquad inside the bar and was immediately relieved to see Yoyo laying out on a table. A cop stood over her and frowned when she saw him. “Wow, those look bad,” she said as she pointed to Q’s injuries.
“Eh,” Q said as he set Knssquad down carefully. “Who are you?”
“I’m Karatekeyaq,” she said. “I found her out in the parking lot. It looks like she had beaten Destinykil. Pretty impressive.”
Q smiled. “I knew she would.”
Q waved to Temari who nodded solemnly at him and went into the back of the bar. He looked back at Knssquad and put his hands to his head. “Freaking Amaterasu got her.”
KKQ jumped. “You know about Amaterasu?”
Q nodded. “He lost his mind. Shugo saved him and added him to his Mafia. He wanted to kill us so bad he lost everything else to him. I don’t know anymore. I know she had fought him. He seemed like he was getting over his issue, too.”
“Did she win?” KKQ asked.
“She’s still alive, so yeah,” Q said. “Um, so the fourth mafia, are they being taken to jail?”
“Mhm,” KKQ smiled. “We have cops all over the scene. Blackrain was found dead, but Shugo’s in custody now. Amp sealing handcuffs will keep him from ever hurting anyone again. Destinykil is in the hospital right now and it’s uncertain whether he’ll make it. Seshimazi wasn’t found. I’ll have them look for Amaterasu, too. Several lower members of the Fourth Mafia are being picked up, as well.”
Q was relieved as he thought of those men in jail. He laughed a little as he remembered he‘d dropped Seshimazi off in a dumpster. “Serves them right.”
KKQ nodded. “You guys did amazing. No one’s ever stood up to the Mafia like that and taken one down. Really. Good work.”
KKQ turned toward the door and stopped. “I don’t know if this is true or not, but I’ve heard rumors that people all over the city in the last hour are claiming they’ve had their memories or something altered. We have no idea what’s going on, but if Blackrain is dead then it could be possible the people he was controlling are free now. If that’s the case then you guys may be forgotten about or something.”
“Cool,” Q said as he waved to KKQ heading out the door. “Bye.”
“Thank you so much!” Temari yelled from the back as she got out bandages and handed Q a cherry coke. She hugged him and smiled. “You guys did it.”
****
The seven of them stood together in the grassy field. Moonlightnight’s wiped the tears off her face with a tissue and smiled at them warmly. “I can’t believe you guys made it, really. I didn’t think you were going to.”
“I promised you we would,” Q said.
Moonlightnight’s shook her head. “But you guys got in that big fight an-”
“There’s no way we would of let the Mafia stand in the way of Jake’s funeral, Miss Moon,” Bano interrupted.
“The hard part was finding nice clothes, really,” Q laughed awkwardly. “We ended up stealing our suits, Bano and I. We’ll give them back later. Or not. I kind of like mine.”
Yoyo elbowed Q and he shook his head. “Um, sorry, anyway. It’s not much, but we can promise you that the guys who did this will never hurt anyone ever again. We personally saw to that. It doesn’t bring him back, but we hope it helps.”
Moonlightnights nodded and whispered a thank you. Temari, Clair, Knssquad, Yoyo, Bano, Q, and Moonlightnights stood at Jake’s grave for a long time.
Last edited by quater on Sun May 15, 2011 1:41 am; edited 1 time in total
