by WOTNOPOLIS: 31
Titan’s van bounced down the giant highway of WOTNOPOLIS. The sky burned crimson red as parts of the setting sun broke through the smoke. TFK’s Tower and the dark clouds of smoke seemed distant from the group of five.
They stared out the windows as they drove down the road. It was unsettling to see the city in such abysmal shape. From the heights of the highway they could plainly see just how much the city had been destroyed.
“This is bad,” Shiro whispered. “Really bad.”
“I know,” Q said. “That’s why we have to put an end to it.”
Red streaks of light could be seen leaving the middle of the city. Bursts of orange would flash in the distance as a rocket hit its target somewhere far off. Occasionally a rocket would land nearby and cause the group to jump. Everyone was on edge as the weight of the situation they were in dawned on them.
The highway was littered with abandon cars, shells of metal where cars had been burnt to a crisp, and craters where a rocket had ripped through the concrete. Titan maneuvered around these blocks with amazing speed but it still felt like slow going to the group. Q smiled and patted Titan on the shoulder as she squeezed the van between two crashed busses. “We’re really lucky we ran into you, Titan. No one else could of driven us through this.”
“This is actually my first time on the highway. I usually prefer to keep to back alleys and surface streets,” Titan laughed.
“That sounds incredibly shady,” Shiro said.
“You have no idea,” Amaterasu shook his head.
“Oh well. It’s not like either of us are cops anymore,” Shiro said as he stared out the window.
Everyone in the van felt their body slam into something as a blur crashed into the side of the van. Titan gripped the wheel as she fought for control of the vehicle. The van skidded into a row of cars before it finally stopped. “What the heck was that?” Shiro asked.
“We were attacked,” Q said as he carefully scanned the area.
“By a rocket?” Shiro asked.
“Nope,” Amaterasu said as he pointed toward the windshield. After a moment everyone saw the shadow walking towards the car. “By him. He shoved a car into the van.”
“He hurt my van,” Titan growled as she picked up a grenade. “He must pay.”
“Sorry,” Q said to Titan. “We don’t have time. We were supposed to meet the others at TFK’s Tower a while ago.”
Dark Raptor kicked the doors to the back of the van open. “Dark, what are you doing? I just said we don‘t have time to mess around.”
Dark Raptor climbed out of the vehicle and smiled at everyone. “Seems I made a mess for you guys and now you‘re late. Leave this guy to me and go on ahead. It’s the least I can do.”
Q felt his arm wince from where Dark Raptor had stabbed it. “Fine,” Q said. “But don’t do something stupid like die. Meet us at TFK’s Tower and try not to be too late. You’ll miss out on all the good fighting.”
“What was the point of getting him if we’re going to leave him here?” Shiro asked.
“We just needed to pick up some fighters. We have Amaterasu and Titan. That’ll do,” Q smiled.
“Are you sure we can leave him alone?” Amaterasu asked as the van accelerated away.
JJDomer leapt through the air. “You’re not getting away!” he screamed as his foot smashed down.
Dark Raptor caught JJDomer’s foot and blocked it with his arms. The force from the attack nearly knocked him to the ground. He smiled to himself. “I have to stay standing if I’m going to look cool here,” he thought.
The van swerved around the two of them and sped off down the road. “Be sure and punish him good for hurting my van!” Titan yelled out behind her.
The group watched as Dark Raptor and JJDomer faded from their sight. “By the way, Amaterasu,” Q said as he reached back and punched the man across the face. “That was for shooting Knssquad and being a total pain.”
“Ow,” Amaterasu grumbled as he sat up. “You’re always punching me for stuff, Q.”
Titan laughed loudly. “Oh, Q. I hit him once a day for that.”
“Just be glad we ran into you,” Q said to him. “Instead of her. She will not be merciful.”
Shiro laughed as he watched Amaterasu slowly shake his head.
****
Draco stepped off the elevator and walked up to TFK. “Did you succeed?” TFK asked him.
Draco smiled as he rubbed the spot where Mikel had punched him. “More or less,” he answered. “Mikel should lose control from the attack I just pulled off.”
“Good,” TFK said as he watched the city burn from his desk. “With any luck he’ll cause a huge mess and then exhaust himself out of existence. Either way, he’ll become vulnerable to attack and should be a lot of fun in the meantime.”
Draco nodded. “About the group moving against us,” he asked. “Would you like me to go down and take care of them?”
TFK sighed. “Do I really need all three of you to deal with one small group?” he asked. “The whole point of gathering all those gangs up before was to force the stronger ones into our army and consolidate my power. And to eliminate any perceivable threats. Let my army deal with it. You stay here and make sure that the Tower stays secure.”
“I’m sorry, TFK,” Draco said as he bowed. “I didn’t mean to question your plans. I merely wanted to help end this as quickly as possible.”
“Yes,” TFK said. “But we already have Jose and Punkfilter and most of the army waiting for them. It seems pointless to send you. Especially when you’re the only one who can knock down an airplane, should that threat arise again.”
“Of course,” Draco agreed as he stepped onto the elevator and out of TFK’s presence.
****
Yoyo and KKQ stood at the front of the group as they walked through the tunnel. Unlike before they were sticking close together. Knssquad walked behind the two of them.
In the rear Bano and Clair were constantly glancing behind them. They had expected another attack by now, but none had been forthcoming. The group had been walking like this for over an hour. “It’s been ten minutes,” Zergio said loud enough for Bano to hear it. “1.”
“2,” Bano answered.
“3,” Clair continued.
Each person said a different number till it traveled up to Yoyo and KKQ at the front. “57,” Yoyo said.
“58,” KKQ yelled. “We haven’t lost anyone yet.”
“Good,” Yoyo said as they marched forward. “Now does anyone know how much longer this blasted tunnel is?”
“You guys sure are organized,” Jose hissed from behind them. Bano spun around and saw the man standing behind him with a grin plastered on his face. “You guys are really close to the Tower.”
Bano whipped his kama out and dashed forward. A fist smashed into his stomach and his eyes widened. “Too bad this is as far as you go,” Jose cackled.
Bano felt his body kicked upward. He spun his shoulders in hopes of catching his balance. As he did so another fist smashed into his chest and he felt something cracking behind him.
He closed his eyes as his world became blurry. He heard the sound of something erupting and lights were flashing all around him. He had no idea what was going on but above him he could detect the hovering sound of helicopters. Guns were firing around him as well.
He opened his eyes and found himself in a parking lot. The lot was spotted with burnt cars and the building it was connected to had completely crumbled. “What the heck?” Bano asked. He turned around and saw a large hole in the ground.
Jose leapt from the hole and his eyes quickly focused on Bano. Bano was focused on the blood dripping from both of Jose’s hands as the man raced towards him. “Who had he killed?” Bano questioned for a second before he leapt out of the way of Jose’s attack.
Jose licked the blood off his hands before laughing loudly. “Oh, this is a fun day!” he screamed. He charged towards Bano again but stopped midway. An arrow hit the ground directly in front of him.
Clair was wheezing as she pointed the bow at Jose. It was obvious she had rushed to catch up with him. “Oh good,” Clair smiled. “I got to you in time.”
Bano stared at the two of them completely unsure of what was going on. “What happened?”
“He,” Clair said as she pointed at Jose. “Caused a cave in and then sliced down at least four of our men barehanded. That was after he punched you through the roof. When I saw him race out of the tunnel I could tell he was going for you.”
“Is everyone okay?” Bano asked as he carefully stepped back from Jose. He seemed bewildered by the two of them talking as his eyes darted between Bano and Clair.
“We’re alright,” Jz said as he pulled a few people out of the hole. “We can’t go farther that way, though. We’re going to have to find another way into TFK’s Tower.”
“We got split up from Yoyo and a few others towards the front, though,” Zergio said.
“You also,” Jose smiled as he pointed his blood soaked hand into the sky. “Fell into my trap.”
Bright white lights hit the group from every direction. Sets of headlights from jeeps shone on them from the outskirts of the parking lot. From above spotlights were being pointed at them from multiple helicopters hovering in the sky.
“Shoot,” Bano said as he covered his eyes from the different lights. “How the heck are we supposed to fight all of this?”
“Bano,” Clair pointed. He turned around and saw TFK’s Tower just down the road.
“Frick,” Bano said. “We’re so close, too.”
****
Yoyo pulled her swords back. She had leapt out and stopped an attack that had launched from the wall the instant before the cave in. The shouting from behind her and tunnel coming down had caused her to lose her focus on whatever had attacked them, though.
She bent over and picked up the small fragment she had sliced. “Yep,” Yoyo said to herself. “A crystal.”
“What’s that?” KKQ asked Yoyo and she handed it to her without a word. “Oh? Is this what attacked us?”
“I think so,” Yoyo said as she placed her swords on her back. “Can you reach the others?”
“Nope,” Knssquad said as she jumped away from the spot where the tunnel had collapsed. “I tried but no one’s answering my yelling.”
“They’re probably okay,” Yoyo said. “It takes a lot to slow down those guys. We should press forward before something else happens.”
“Alright,” Knssquad shrugged as the group kept moving.
“Are you sure they’ll be alright?” Death and Dei asked Yoyo.
“Please,” Yoyo smiled. “Bano and Clair are pretty tough. And those guys back there didn’t seem all bad. We’re the ones in danger. This tunnel has already caved in once. We don’t want to be here when it falls the second time.”
“Besides,” Yoyo thought to herself. “I need to pay back whoever shot these crystals at us.”
****
“So,” Dark Raptor said as he stepped his foot back into a battle stance. “Why do you want to kill Q?”
JJDomer glared at him. “I don’t have time to deal with you, small fry. I have to kill Q.”
“I understand wanting to kill my brother,” Dark Raptor said as he shook his head. “If you’ll believe it.”
“If I don’t kill Q and the Eagle gang then TFK will kill me. He’s already trying to,” JJDomer said. “Step out of the way, kid. I don’t have time to mess around. My subordinate lost her life so I could have this chance. I won’t let you take it away.”
Dark Raptor dashed onto the top of a car and leapt forward. Dark Raptor’s blade smashed into the concrete as JJDomer flung himself into the air above him. He swiped his blade against the ground and hurtled chunks of concrete at the man floating high above him.
JJDomer sliced through the air with his hands and the chunks of concrete fell to the ground around him. He threw both of his hands up as his feet touched the crumbling bridge. Dark Raptor’s foot collided with his hands for a moment before he pulled it back.
“You’re better than I thought,” JJDomer grunted as he backed away from a blade swinging through the air.
“I’m the next king of this city. My brother may be good, but I’m going to be the strongest,” Dark Raptor declared.
JJDomer bounced backward as Dark Raptor’s blade jabbed through the air towards him. He could barely breathe as Dark Raptor closed in on him. “You don’t have anywhere to go,” Dark Raptor said as they neared a portion of the bridge that was missing. JJDomer’s feet reached the edge and the man laughed.
“Not quite,” JJDomer said as he hopped off the bridge. Dark Raptor watched as the man twisted through the air for a moment before flying back upward. A gust of wind blew across Dark Raptor’s face as JJDomer landed safely on the highway.
“My ability is to control air by adding pressure to it. I can’t make a tornado or anything as fancy as that,” he sighed. “But I can make pretty incredible blasts. And cause the pressure spots of air to become as sharp as blades. Let me show you.”
He put his hand out for a moment. Dark Raptor watched as a whirl of dust and ashes appeared in his hands. “The air is pretty dirty tonight,” he said. “Usually you wouldn’t be able to see it.”
He lobbed the ball at Dark Raptor who instinctively dodged it. Where it landed he watched as debris flew in every direction. Fragments of metal bit into his body from where the attack exploded.
“I’m sorry,” JJDomer said as he lobbed another attack at Dark Raptor from a closer range. “I wish I could have fun with you. But my friend gave her life to save mine. I can’t let that be wasted.”
Dark Raptor jumped out of the way of the attack and fell to the ground. He hopped back onto his feet and smiled. “You can talk big like that after you’ve beaten me.”
****
“Surrender now and we’ll let you live,” a man yelled from outside the circle of lights centered on the group. The group had climbed out of the tunnel but stood around uncertain of what to do. Only minutes ago they had been hopeful about charging into TFK’s Tower. Now they stood completely outnumbered and overwhelmed.
Jose spun around and growled. “We’ll let them live? No we won’t! But maybe I’ll kill some of you quicker. Yes! Surrender now and we’ll kill one third of you a little quicker.”
“Tch,” Bano said as smoke poured out of his Kama. “Sorry, but that’s not how this is going to work. We’ll surrender when TFK is dead.”
“Oh?” Jose grinned. “This one is something else.”
Jose charged towards Bano as the area was covered in smoke. “You’ll pay for those words!”
Jose leapt to the side as a volley of arrows hit the ground all around him. “You again?” he asked as Clair kept her bow targeted on Jose. “Do you really want to die first that badly?”
“Hey Bano,” Clair said. “Go on ahead to TFK’s Tower. We’ll hold this off.”
“What?” Bano turned his head to her. “Are you crazy? I can’t leave you to fight all these people off by yourself. You’ll-”
“Stopping TFK is the only way to end all this madness,” Clair cut him off. “You and Q are the only ones who can do that. If you get killed here or get badly injured you’ll be no help against TFK. Besides, we need to make sure Yoyo and them are okay. Go.”
Bano started to speak again but an arrow whizzed past his face. “Go!” Clair yelled. “I’m not discussing this. It’s already been decided. We‘re too close to our goal to get distracted now.”
“We can handle this,” Jz and Zergio said to Bano. “This Jose guy doesn’t even seem all that tough.”
“Yeah he does!” Bano yelled. “But fine. Forget it. You guys better not die.”
Bano raced out of the smoke and towards TFK’s Tower. As he reached the line of jeeps he pulled out his kama and pointed the blades at them. The sound of metal tearing was heard for an instant before he had moved past them. The two jeep exploded behind him and he had broken through the perimeter.
“I hope that helps,” Bano said as he raced towards TFK’s Tower. “You guys are going to need all the help you can get.”
Jose turned towards Clair and smiled. “Thank you,” he laughed for a moment. “It’s much more fun to hunt my prey and kill them when they have hope. I can show him your mangled corpses before I kill him! Oh! I’m getting all excited just thinking about it.”
Clair stared hard at Jose. “Sorry to disappoint you,” Clair said. “But none of us are dying here.”
Clair turned toward the group and yelled at them. “You guys do your best against TFK’s men! I’ll kill Jose and then join you guys in a second.”
Jose’s smile disappeared as he stared at her. “You’re really talking big. I really, really, really don’t like that!”
****
“So do you have a plan, Q?” Shiro asked them as they bounced down the road. The Tower loomed closer with every bump they hit in the road.
“I want to punch TFK in the face,” Q shrugged as he stared out the window. He hadn’t seen a single person since they had left the airport. He was starting to worry there wasn’t anything left of WOTNOPOLIS to save.
“Well that sounds reliable,” Shiro sighed. “Don’t you think now would be a good time to come up with a plan?”
“Hey Amaterasu, why do you want to take down TFK?” Q asked him.
“You’re changing the subject to avoid making a plan, Q,” Shiro grumbled.
“We already came up with the plan. Get people that are strong, invade tower, punch TFK in the face,” Q said. “It doesn’t really need much more thinking than that, does it?”
“You’re forgetting the part where they throw us a parade for saving the city!” Titan said as she swerved the van down the road.
“Okay, yeah, parade, too,” Q smiled. He turned back to Amaterasu. “So, why do you want to take down TFK? Last time I saw you was when you were working with Shugo and trying to kill us.”
Amaterasu smirked. “What TFK is doing to the city isn’t right. Those guys need to be stopped. I may have lost it back there but I want to change and do things for the better now. Plus I have to kill a guy.”
“When you say things like that it’s going to make getting your old job back even harder,” Shiro shook his head.
“In that case, welcome to the Q army!” Q smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
“Don’t get me wrong, Q,” Amaterasu looked him in the eyes. “If I had my way you’d be locked up in a cell, too. But I like TFK’s group a lot less than yours so for now we’ll put that stuff behind us.”
Q turned away from Amaterasu and laughed. “Try not to get killed and I guess I can forget about what you did to us before.”
“That’d sound a lot cooler if you hadn’t just accepted him into your army a second ago, Q,” Shiro said.
“What rank am I in this army, Q?” Titan smiled.
“Colonel Bus Driver!” Q cheered. Titan immediately glared at him.
“So I’m just a bus driver in this army, huh?”
“Oh, that was a bad move, Q,” Amaterasu warned.
****
The tunnel had widened as they headed farther into it. What had started out as a single file tunnel was now the size of a two lane road. The lighting had improved greatly as well and they could now see considerably far ahead of them.
“I see a door!” KKQ shouted as the group neared the end of the tunnel. The group came to a stop as they reached the door and looked at one another.
“Do you think it’s safe to open?” Knssquad asked as she put her ear to the door. “I hear something strange on the other side.”
The small group strained to listen to what was on the other side of the door but no one could quite figure it out. “We don’t have much choice,” Yoyo answered firmly as she gripped her lightning blade with one hand. She carefully grabbed the door knob and jiggled it. “Haha,” she laughed. “It’s locked. Guess we turn back here guys.”
Purple sparks flew off her blade as she brought her arm down in front of her. The sword cut through the door and the wall attached to it like paper. An explosion followed that left them unable to see ahead of them. As the rubble subsided they could hear a soft pattering noise all around them.
“A little overkill there, Yoyo,” Knssquad grunted as she squinted through the dust.
“My bad,” Yoyo said as she scratched the back of her head.
The soft pattering noise was growing louder as they stared at the blackened room ahead of them. “What the heck is that?” KKQ asked as she pulled out her gun.
“It sounds like,” Yoyo started as a figure ran into the room. “Footsteps. Bare footed ones.”
The look on his face made everyone in the group nervous. He looked between them before lunging himself at KKQ. She shot him through the chest and he fell to the ground. Several others had burst through the doorway with the same expression of terror and pain on their faces. They were dirty and looked as if they had been starved.
“What is going on?” Yoyo asked as she cut her sword through two of them.
“I’m not sure,” Death answered as her blade sliced across a woman’s throat.
“But these people are pretty powerful,” Dei answered as she kicked a screaming man into the ground. “Considering what shape they’re in.”
Yoyo looked at the doorway and her heart jumped. The doorway was packed with a mob of these people trying to get through to them. “This isn’t good.”
****
Dark Raptor jumped past each blast of air that JJDomer shot at him. Pieces of the bridge exploded as the blasts hit all around him. Dark Raptor barely managed to dodge them before the next blast was headed toward him.
The bridge’s unsteadiness and the occasional rocket smashing into the ground nearby didn’t help things, either. Dark Raptor leapt over a giant hole in the bridge and realized he was going to miss the other side. “Shoot,” Dark Raptor said as he threw a knife into the bridge.
He pulled himself out of the hole by the chain attached to the knife and looked around. There was no sign of JJDomer nearby. “Shoot again!” Dark Raptor hissed under his breath.
His eyes darted back and forth across the fiery bridge. It was hard enough figuring out was going on around him even when he knew where JJDomer was. The flames mixed with all the wreckage made it incredibly difficult for him to make out his surroundings and to adjust to them quickly.
His eyes widened and he leapt off the ground as JJDomer flew out of the hole that Dark Raptor had just fallen through. “Not fast enough,” JJDomer said as a blast of air shot from his arm.
Dark Raptor pounded into the road beneath him. He tried to stand back up but could feel something stuck in his leg. He look down and bit his lip. A piece of metal was sticking out of his leg.
“Well,” JJDomer said as he landed on the bridge not far from him. “It looks like our little game has reached its end. There was no doubt I was going to win but I must say you did a lot better than anyone would have expected.”
Dark Raptor forced himself onto his feet as JJDomer walked toward him. “I am impressed with your spirit to fight. But try to die while your dignity is in tact.”
Dark Raptor dropped to one knee in front of JJDomer and the man smiled. “There you go. Like that,” JJDomer grinned. “If it makes you feel better you-”
He screamed as he pulled the metal bar out of his thigh. He stood up on his injured leg and gripped the bloody bar in his hand. JJDomer stared at him in shock as Dark Raptor swung the bar into his face.
JJDomer fell backward from the blow but managed to stay on his feet. “You,” JJDomer searched for words as his body agonized in pain from the blow.
Dark Raptor brought his hand back and slammed the bar into JJDomer’s side. He fell to the ground and spat out blood. Dark Raptor felt the bar slip from his grasp. It rolled noisily along the road before dropping through the hole.
JJDomer crawled to his feet and glared at him. “This fight isn’t over,” Dark Raptor said as he pulled his knife out and pointed it at him.
****
Bullets were going off in every direction as Bano leapt through the lobby windows. He didn’t have time to waste as his Kama sliced through a nearby guard. Guns started firing in the lobby as he dashed across the room and slammed another guard with a kick into the ground.
He cried out in pain as a bullet clipped his shoulder. He turned toward the man who’d fired the gun and threw his Kama at him. The man sunk to the floor as the blade shattered his skull.
Bano pulled his Kama out of the man and darted toward a nearby stairwell. He ran inside and slammed the door behind him. He looked around and finally was able to breath. “Geez,” Bano panted as he grabbed his shoulder where the bullet had touched him. He pulled it back but smiled in relief as he realized it had only grazed him. “Way too close.”
Men yelling from the other side of the door told Bano he needed to get moving. “There’s too many people with guns here,” Bano said as he started heading up the stairs.
“Great,” Bano grumbled. “This stairway crap again. What a pain today is. And where the freedom is Q already?”
****
“We have to keep these people back!” Jz yelled as he lifted a jeep off the ground. He pushed it towards the sky and threw it into the blades of a helicopter. Both exploded and left bits of metal falling from the sky.
“Nice work!” Zergio said to his partner. Jz fell to his knees and nodded. It took a lot out of him to move things of that size. Zergio trained his guns on TFK’s men and fired a torrent of bullets on them. “We have to do our best to keep these guys off of Clair for now.”
“I know,” Jz said as he got back to his feet. He focused this time on a nearby Helicopter and managed to slow its rotation down so that it could no longer hover. It began to free fall and as it did he gave the power back to the blades.
He smiled with triumph as the Helicopter flew into a nearby building and exploded. “Careful,” Zergio said. “That’s where those two are fighting.”
“Right,” Jz said. He looked over at the collapsed building where Clair and Jose had started their battle. Several walls that had survived the impact of rockets blocked their vision of the battle. He deeply feared the moment where Jose might walk out from those walls.
“Have faith in Clair,” Zergio said to him. “She’s an Eagle and those guys don’t lose.”
****
Clair dodged Jose’s hand as it swung past her. She shot an arrow at him from behind but Jose caught the arrow with his teeth and smashed it in front of her. He leapt toward her and punched her into the ground.
She rolled off the ground and swung her foot back. It caught Jose in the chin and sent him flying backward. She landed on her feet and fired an arrow at Jose as he flew backward.
Jose caught the arrow with his hand and swung it back at her. She jumped away from the arrow and released another series of arrows at him. “Why do people always throw my arrows back at me?” she asked as she watched the figure dodge her volley.
Clair slipped behind a wall for a moment and caught her breath. She had been fighting endlessly with him for several moments now and only managed to get the one kick on him. She needed to formulate a plan of attack. Her thoughts raced as she tried to figure out what his weakness was. So far, she hadn’t seen any.
“Got you,” Jose said as his hand smashed through the wall. Clair felt it grip her shoulder and pulled her back into the wall she’d been hiding behind.
“No!” Clair screamed. She knew that his other hand was going to burst through her and kill her if she didn’t act in that second. She took the arrow in her hand and stabbed it into Jose’s hand gripping her against the wall.
She winced as the arrow went through her own shoulder in the process. She heard Jose scream from the other side of the wall and she knew she had gotten him. She pulled the arrow out of her shoulder with one hand and grabbed his hand with her other. She stepped away from the wall so that he couldn’t attack her and stabbed her arrow into his arm again for good measure.
Clair’s eyes widened as the brick wall exploded in every direction. A piece of the wall smashed across her cheek and she grabbed it in pain. Jose glared at her through the dark. She could feel his hatred burning into her as he looked at her.
He pulled his bloody hand up and stared at it for several seconds before turning back to her. “I guess I went too easy on you,” he seethed. “But let’s see if you get lucky like that again while I’m in my Amplified state.”
Titan’s van bounced down the giant highway of WOTNOPOLIS. The sky burned crimson red as parts of the setting sun broke through the smoke. TFK’s Tower and the dark clouds of smoke seemed distant from the group of five.
They stared out the windows as they drove down the road. It was unsettling to see the city in such abysmal shape. From the heights of the highway they could plainly see just how much the city had been destroyed.
“This is bad,” Shiro whispered. “Really bad.”
“I know,” Q said. “That’s why we have to put an end to it.”
Red streaks of light could be seen leaving the middle of the city. Bursts of orange would flash in the distance as a rocket hit its target somewhere far off. Occasionally a rocket would land nearby and cause the group to jump. Everyone was on edge as the weight of the situation they were in dawned on them.
The highway was littered with abandon cars, shells of metal where cars had been burnt to a crisp, and craters where a rocket had ripped through the concrete. Titan maneuvered around these blocks with amazing speed but it still felt like slow going to the group. Q smiled and patted Titan on the shoulder as she squeezed the van between two crashed busses. “We’re really lucky we ran into you, Titan. No one else could of driven us through this.”
“This is actually my first time on the highway. I usually prefer to keep to back alleys and surface streets,” Titan laughed.
“That sounds incredibly shady,” Shiro said.
“You have no idea,” Amaterasu shook his head.
“Oh well. It’s not like either of us are cops anymore,” Shiro said as he stared out the window.
Everyone in the van felt their body slam into something as a blur crashed into the side of the van. Titan gripped the wheel as she fought for control of the vehicle. The van skidded into a row of cars before it finally stopped. “What the heck was that?” Shiro asked.
“We were attacked,” Q said as he carefully scanned the area.
“By a rocket?” Shiro asked.
“Nope,” Amaterasu said as he pointed toward the windshield. After a moment everyone saw the shadow walking towards the car. “By him. He shoved a car into the van.”
“He hurt my van,” Titan growled as she picked up a grenade. “He must pay.”
“Sorry,” Q said to Titan. “We don’t have time. We were supposed to meet the others at TFK’s Tower a while ago.”
Dark Raptor kicked the doors to the back of the van open. “Dark, what are you doing? I just said we don‘t have time to mess around.”
Dark Raptor climbed out of the vehicle and smiled at everyone. “Seems I made a mess for you guys and now you‘re late. Leave this guy to me and go on ahead. It’s the least I can do.”
Q felt his arm wince from where Dark Raptor had stabbed it. “Fine,” Q said. “But don’t do something stupid like die. Meet us at TFK’s Tower and try not to be too late. You’ll miss out on all the good fighting.”
“What was the point of getting him if we’re going to leave him here?” Shiro asked.
“We just needed to pick up some fighters. We have Amaterasu and Titan. That’ll do,” Q smiled.
“Are you sure we can leave him alone?” Amaterasu asked as the van accelerated away.
JJDomer leapt through the air. “You’re not getting away!” he screamed as his foot smashed down.
Dark Raptor caught JJDomer’s foot and blocked it with his arms. The force from the attack nearly knocked him to the ground. He smiled to himself. “I have to stay standing if I’m going to look cool here,” he thought.
The van swerved around the two of them and sped off down the road. “Be sure and punish him good for hurting my van!” Titan yelled out behind her.
The group watched as Dark Raptor and JJDomer faded from their sight. “By the way, Amaterasu,” Q said as he reached back and punched the man across the face. “That was for shooting Knssquad and being a total pain.”
“Ow,” Amaterasu grumbled as he sat up. “You’re always punching me for stuff, Q.”
Titan laughed loudly. “Oh, Q. I hit him once a day for that.”
“Just be glad we ran into you,” Q said to him. “Instead of her. She will not be merciful.”
Shiro laughed as he watched Amaterasu slowly shake his head.
****
Draco stepped off the elevator and walked up to TFK. “Did you succeed?” TFK asked him.
Draco smiled as he rubbed the spot where Mikel had punched him. “More or less,” he answered. “Mikel should lose control from the attack I just pulled off.”
“Good,” TFK said as he watched the city burn from his desk. “With any luck he’ll cause a huge mess and then exhaust himself out of existence. Either way, he’ll become vulnerable to attack and should be a lot of fun in the meantime.”
Draco nodded. “About the group moving against us,” he asked. “Would you like me to go down and take care of them?”
TFK sighed. “Do I really need all three of you to deal with one small group?” he asked. “The whole point of gathering all those gangs up before was to force the stronger ones into our army and consolidate my power. And to eliminate any perceivable threats. Let my army deal with it. You stay here and make sure that the Tower stays secure.”
“I’m sorry, TFK,” Draco said as he bowed. “I didn’t mean to question your plans. I merely wanted to help end this as quickly as possible.”
“Yes,” TFK said. “But we already have Jose and Punkfilter and most of the army waiting for them. It seems pointless to send you. Especially when you’re the only one who can knock down an airplane, should that threat arise again.”
“Of course,” Draco agreed as he stepped onto the elevator and out of TFK’s presence.
****
Yoyo and KKQ stood at the front of the group as they walked through the tunnel. Unlike before they were sticking close together. Knssquad walked behind the two of them.
In the rear Bano and Clair were constantly glancing behind them. They had expected another attack by now, but none had been forthcoming. The group had been walking like this for over an hour. “It’s been ten minutes,” Zergio said loud enough for Bano to hear it. “1.”
“2,” Bano answered.
“3,” Clair continued.
Each person said a different number till it traveled up to Yoyo and KKQ at the front. “57,” Yoyo said.
“58,” KKQ yelled. “We haven’t lost anyone yet.”
“Good,” Yoyo said as they marched forward. “Now does anyone know how much longer this blasted tunnel is?”
“You guys sure are organized,” Jose hissed from behind them. Bano spun around and saw the man standing behind him with a grin plastered on his face. “You guys are really close to the Tower.”
Bano whipped his kama out and dashed forward. A fist smashed into his stomach and his eyes widened. “Too bad this is as far as you go,” Jose cackled.
Bano felt his body kicked upward. He spun his shoulders in hopes of catching his balance. As he did so another fist smashed into his chest and he felt something cracking behind him.
He closed his eyes as his world became blurry. He heard the sound of something erupting and lights were flashing all around him. He had no idea what was going on but above him he could detect the hovering sound of helicopters. Guns were firing around him as well.
He opened his eyes and found himself in a parking lot. The lot was spotted with burnt cars and the building it was connected to had completely crumbled. “What the heck?” Bano asked. He turned around and saw a large hole in the ground.
Jose leapt from the hole and his eyes quickly focused on Bano. Bano was focused on the blood dripping from both of Jose’s hands as the man raced towards him. “Who had he killed?” Bano questioned for a second before he leapt out of the way of Jose’s attack.
Jose licked the blood off his hands before laughing loudly. “Oh, this is a fun day!” he screamed. He charged towards Bano again but stopped midway. An arrow hit the ground directly in front of him.
Clair was wheezing as she pointed the bow at Jose. It was obvious she had rushed to catch up with him. “Oh good,” Clair smiled. “I got to you in time.”
Bano stared at the two of them completely unsure of what was going on. “What happened?”
“He,” Clair said as she pointed at Jose. “Caused a cave in and then sliced down at least four of our men barehanded. That was after he punched you through the roof. When I saw him race out of the tunnel I could tell he was going for you.”
“Is everyone okay?” Bano asked as he carefully stepped back from Jose. He seemed bewildered by the two of them talking as his eyes darted between Bano and Clair.
“We’re alright,” Jz said as he pulled a few people out of the hole. “We can’t go farther that way, though. We’re going to have to find another way into TFK’s Tower.”
“We got split up from Yoyo and a few others towards the front, though,” Zergio said.
“You also,” Jose smiled as he pointed his blood soaked hand into the sky. “Fell into my trap.”
Bright white lights hit the group from every direction. Sets of headlights from jeeps shone on them from the outskirts of the parking lot. From above spotlights were being pointed at them from multiple helicopters hovering in the sky.
“Shoot,” Bano said as he covered his eyes from the different lights. “How the heck are we supposed to fight all of this?”
“Bano,” Clair pointed. He turned around and saw TFK’s Tower just down the road.
“Frick,” Bano said. “We’re so close, too.”
****
Yoyo pulled her swords back. She had leapt out and stopped an attack that had launched from the wall the instant before the cave in. The shouting from behind her and tunnel coming down had caused her to lose her focus on whatever had attacked them, though.
She bent over and picked up the small fragment she had sliced. “Yep,” Yoyo said to herself. “A crystal.”
“What’s that?” KKQ asked Yoyo and she handed it to her without a word. “Oh? Is this what attacked us?”
“I think so,” Yoyo said as she placed her swords on her back. “Can you reach the others?”
“Nope,” Knssquad said as she jumped away from the spot where the tunnel had collapsed. “I tried but no one’s answering my yelling.”
“They’re probably okay,” Yoyo said. “It takes a lot to slow down those guys. We should press forward before something else happens.”
“Alright,” Knssquad shrugged as the group kept moving.
“Are you sure they’ll be alright?” Death and Dei asked Yoyo.
“Please,” Yoyo smiled. “Bano and Clair are pretty tough. And those guys back there didn’t seem all bad. We’re the ones in danger. This tunnel has already caved in once. We don’t want to be here when it falls the second time.”
“Besides,” Yoyo thought to herself. “I need to pay back whoever shot these crystals at us.”
****
“So,” Dark Raptor said as he stepped his foot back into a battle stance. “Why do you want to kill Q?”
JJDomer glared at him. “I don’t have time to deal with you, small fry. I have to kill Q.”
“I understand wanting to kill my brother,” Dark Raptor said as he shook his head. “If you’ll believe it.”
“If I don’t kill Q and the Eagle gang then TFK will kill me. He’s already trying to,” JJDomer said. “Step out of the way, kid. I don’t have time to mess around. My subordinate lost her life so I could have this chance. I won’t let you take it away.”
Dark Raptor dashed onto the top of a car and leapt forward. Dark Raptor’s blade smashed into the concrete as JJDomer flung himself into the air above him. He swiped his blade against the ground and hurtled chunks of concrete at the man floating high above him.
JJDomer sliced through the air with his hands and the chunks of concrete fell to the ground around him. He threw both of his hands up as his feet touched the crumbling bridge. Dark Raptor’s foot collided with his hands for a moment before he pulled it back.
“You’re better than I thought,” JJDomer grunted as he backed away from a blade swinging through the air.
“I’m the next king of this city. My brother may be good, but I’m going to be the strongest,” Dark Raptor declared.
JJDomer bounced backward as Dark Raptor’s blade jabbed through the air towards him. He could barely breathe as Dark Raptor closed in on him. “You don’t have anywhere to go,” Dark Raptor said as they neared a portion of the bridge that was missing. JJDomer’s feet reached the edge and the man laughed.
“Not quite,” JJDomer said as he hopped off the bridge. Dark Raptor watched as the man twisted through the air for a moment before flying back upward. A gust of wind blew across Dark Raptor’s face as JJDomer landed safely on the highway.
“My ability is to control air by adding pressure to it. I can’t make a tornado or anything as fancy as that,” he sighed. “But I can make pretty incredible blasts. And cause the pressure spots of air to become as sharp as blades. Let me show you.”
He put his hand out for a moment. Dark Raptor watched as a whirl of dust and ashes appeared in his hands. “The air is pretty dirty tonight,” he said. “Usually you wouldn’t be able to see it.”
He lobbed the ball at Dark Raptor who instinctively dodged it. Where it landed he watched as debris flew in every direction. Fragments of metal bit into his body from where the attack exploded.
“I’m sorry,” JJDomer said as he lobbed another attack at Dark Raptor from a closer range. “I wish I could have fun with you. But my friend gave her life to save mine. I can’t let that be wasted.”
Dark Raptor jumped out of the way of the attack and fell to the ground. He hopped back onto his feet and smiled. “You can talk big like that after you’ve beaten me.”
****
“Surrender now and we’ll let you live,” a man yelled from outside the circle of lights centered on the group. The group had climbed out of the tunnel but stood around uncertain of what to do. Only minutes ago they had been hopeful about charging into TFK’s Tower. Now they stood completely outnumbered and overwhelmed.
Jose spun around and growled. “We’ll let them live? No we won’t! But maybe I’ll kill some of you quicker. Yes! Surrender now and we’ll kill one third of you a little quicker.”
“Tch,” Bano said as smoke poured out of his Kama. “Sorry, but that’s not how this is going to work. We’ll surrender when TFK is dead.”
“Oh?” Jose grinned. “This one is something else.”
Jose charged towards Bano as the area was covered in smoke. “You’ll pay for those words!”
Jose leapt to the side as a volley of arrows hit the ground all around him. “You again?” he asked as Clair kept her bow targeted on Jose. “Do you really want to die first that badly?”
“Hey Bano,” Clair said. “Go on ahead to TFK’s Tower. We’ll hold this off.”
“What?” Bano turned his head to her. “Are you crazy? I can’t leave you to fight all these people off by yourself. You’ll-”
“Stopping TFK is the only way to end all this madness,” Clair cut him off. “You and Q are the only ones who can do that. If you get killed here or get badly injured you’ll be no help against TFK. Besides, we need to make sure Yoyo and them are okay. Go.”
Bano started to speak again but an arrow whizzed past his face. “Go!” Clair yelled. “I’m not discussing this. It’s already been decided. We‘re too close to our goal to get distracted now.”
“We can handle this,” Jz and Zergio said to Bano. “This Jose guy doesn’t even seem all that tough.”
“Yeah he does!” Bano yelled. “But fine. Forget it. You guys better not die.”
Bano raced out of the smoke and towards TFK’s Tower. As he reached the line of jeeps he pulled out his kama and pointed the blades at them. The sound of metal tearing was heard for an instant before he had moved past them. The two jeep exploded behind him and he had broken through the perimeter.
“I hope that helps,” Bano said as he raced towards TFK’s Tower. “You guys are going to need all the help you can get.”
Jose turned towards Clair and smiled. “Thank you,” he laughed for a moment. “It’s much more fun to hunt my prey and kill them when they have hope. I can show him your mangled corpses before I kill him! Oh! I’m getting all excited just thinking about it.”
Clair stared hard at Jose. “Sorry to disappoint you,” Clair said. “But none of us are dying here.”
Clair turned toward the group and yelled at them. “You guys do your best against TFK’s men! I’ll kill Jose and then join you guys in a second.”
Jose’s smile disappeared as he stared at her. “You’re really talking big. I really, really, really don’t like that!”
****
“So do you have a plan, Q?” Shiro asked them as they bounced down the road. The Tower loomed closer with every bump they hit in the road.
“I want to punch TFK in the face,” Q shrugged as he stared out the window. He hadn’t seen a single person since they had left the airport. He was starting to worry there wasn’t anything left of WOTNOPOLIS to save.
“Well that sounds reliable,” Shiro sighed. “Don’t you think now would be a good time to come up with a plan?”
“Hey Amaterasu, why do you want to take down TFK?” Q asked him.
“You’re changing the subject to avoid making a plan, Q,” Shiro grumbled.
“We already came up with the plan. Get people that are strong, invade tower, punch TFK in the face,” Q said. “It doesn’t really need much more thinking than that, does it?”
“You’re forgetting the part where they throw us a parade for saving the city!” Titan said as she swerved the van down the road.
“Okay, yeah, parade, too,” Q smiled. He turned back to Amaterasu. “So, why do you want to take down TFK? Last time I saw you was when you were working with Shugo and trying to kill us.”
Amaterasu smirked. “What TFK is doing to the city isn’t right. Those guys need to be stopped. I may have lost it back there but I want to change and do things for the better now. Plus I have to kill a guy.”
“When you say things like that it’s going to make getting your old job back even harder,” Shiro shook his head.
“In that case, welcome to the Q army!” Q smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
“Don’t get me wrong, Q,” Amaterasu looked him in the eyes. “If I had my way you’d be locked up in a cell, too. But I like TFK’s group a lot less than yours so for now we’ll put that stuff behind us.”
Q turned away from Amaterasu and laughed. “Try not to get killed and I guess I can forget about what you did to us before.”
“That’d sound a lot cooler if you hadn’t just accepted him into your army a second ago, Q,” Shiro said.
“What rank am I in this army, Q?” Titan smiled.
“Colonel Bus Driver!” Q cheered. Titan immediately glared at him.
“So I’m just a bus driver in this army, huh?”
“Oh, that was a bad move, Q,” Amaterasu warned.
****
The tunnel had widened as they headed farther into it. What had started out as a single file tunnel was now the size of a two lane road. The lighting had improved greatly as well and they could now see considerably far ahead of them.
“I see a door!” KKQ shouted as the group neared the end of the tunnel. The group came to a stop as they reached the door and looked at one another.
“Do you think it’s safe to open?” Knssquad asked as she put her ear to the door. “I hear something strange on the other side.”
The small group strained to listen to what was on the other side of the door but no one could quite figure it out. “We don’t have much choice,” Yoyo answered firmly as she gripped her lightning blade with one hand. She carefully grabbed the door knob and jiggled it. “Haha,” she laughed. “It’s locked. Guess we turn back here guys.”
Purple sparks flew off her blade as she brought her arm down in front of her. The sword cut through the door and the wall attached to it like paper. An explosion followed that left them unable to see ahead of them. As the rubble subsided they could hear a soft pattering noise all around them.
“A little overkill there, Yoyo,” Knssquad grunted as she squinted through the dust.
“My bad,” Yoyo said as she scratched the back of her head.
The soft pattering noise was growing louder as they stared at the blackened room ahead of them. “What the heck is that?” KKQ asked as she pulled out her gun.
“It sounds like,” Yoyo started as a figure ran into the room. “Footsteps. Bare footed ones.”
The look on his face made everyone in the group nervous. He looked between them before lunging himself at KKQ. She shot him through the chest and he fell to the ground. Several others had burst through the doorway with the same expression of terror and pain on their faces. They were dirty and looked as if they had been starved.
“What is going on?” Yoyo asked as she cut her sword through two of them.
“I’m not sure,” Death answered as her blade sliced across a woman’s throat.
“But these people are pretty powerful,” Dei answered as she kicked a screaming man into the ground. “Considering what shape they’re in.”
Yoyo looked at the doorway and her heart jumped. The doorway was packed with a mob of these people trying to get through to them. “This isn’t good.”
****
Dark Raptor jumped past each blast of air that JJDomer shot at him. Pieces of the bridge exploded as the blasts hit all around him. Dark Raptor barely managed to dodge them before the next blast was headed toward him.
The bridge’s unsteadiness and the occasional rocket smashing into the ground nearby didn’t help things, either. Dark Raptor leapt over a giant hole in the bridge and realized he was going to miss the other side. “Shoot,” Dark Raptor said as he threw a knife into the bridge.
He pulled himself out of the hole by the chain attached to the knife and looked around. There was no sign of JJDomer nearby. “Shoot again!” Dark Raptor hissed under his breath.
His eyes darted back and forth across the fiery bridge. It was hard enough figuring out was going on around him even when he knew where JJDomer was. The flames mixed with all the wreckage made it incredibly difficult for him to make out his surroundings and to adjust to them quickly.
His eyes widened and he leapt off the ground as JJDomer flew out of the hole that Dark Raptor had just fallen through. “Not fast enough,” JJDomer said as a blast of air shot from his arm.
Dark Raptor pounded into the road beneath him. He tried to stand back up but could feel something stuck in his leg. He look down and bit his lip. A piece of metal was sticking out of his leg.
“Well,” JJDomer said as he landed on the bridge not far from him. “It looks like our little game has reached its end. There was no doubt I was going to win but I must say you did a lot better than anyone would have expected.”
Dark Raptor forced himself onto his feet as JJDomer walked toward him. “I am impressed with your spirit to fight. But try to die while your dignity is in tact.”
Dark Raptor dropped to one knee in front of JJDomer and the man smiled. “There you go. Like that,” JJDomer grinned. “If it makes you feel better you-”
He screamed as he pulled the metal bar out of his thigh. He stood up on his injured leg and gripped the bloody bar in his hand. JJDomer stared at him in shock as Dark Raptor swung the bar into his face.
JJDomer fell backward from the blow but managed to stay on his feet. “You,” JJDomer searched for words as his body agonized in pain from the blow.
Dark Raptor brought his hand back and slammed the bar into JJDomer’s side. He fell to the ground and spat out blood. Dark Raptor felt the bar slip from his grasp. It rolled noisily along the road before dropping through the hole.
JJDomer crawled to his feet and glared at him. “This fight isn’t over,” Dark Raptor said as he pulled his knife out and pointed it at him.
****
Bullets were going off in every direction as Bano leapt through the lobby windows. He didn’t have time to waste as his Kama sliced through a nearby guard. Guns started firing in the lobby as he dashed across the room and slammed another guard with a kick into the ground.
He cried out in pain as a bullet clipped his shoulder. He turned toward the man who’d fired the gun and threw his Kama at him. The man sunk to the floor as the blade shattered his skull.
Bano pulled his Kama out of the man and darted toward a nearby stairwell. He ran inside and slammed the door behind him. He looked around and finally was able to breath. “Geez,” Bano panted as he grabbed his shoulder where the bullet had touched him. He pulled it back but smiled in relief as he realized it had only grazed him. “Way too close.”
Men yelling from the other side of the door told Bano he needed to get moving. “There’s too many people with guns here,” Bano said as he started heading up the stairs.
“Great,” Bano grumbled. “This stairway crap again. What a pain today is. And where the freedom is Q already?”
****
“We have to keep these people back!” Jz yelled as he lifted a jeep off the ground. He pushed it towards the sky and threw it into the blades of a helicopter. Both exploded and left bits of metal falling from the sky.
“Nice work!” Zergio said to his partner. Jz fell to his knees and nodded. It took a lot out of him to move things of that size. Zergio trained his guns on TFK’s men and fired a torrent of bullets on them. “We have to do our best to keep these guys off of Clair for now.”
“I know,” Jz said as he got back to his feet. He focused this time on a nearby Helicopter and managed to slow its rotation down so that it could no longer hover. It began to free fall and as it did he gave the power back to the blades.
He smiled with triumph as the Helicopter flew into a nearby building and exploded. “Careful,” Zergio said. “That’s where those two are fighting.”
“Right,” Jz said. He looked over at the collapsed building where Clair and Jose had started their battle. Several walls that had survived the impact of rockets blocked their vision of the battle. He deeply feared the moment where Jose might walk out from those walls.
“Have faith in Clair,” Zergio said to him. “She’s an Eagle and those guys don’t lose.”
****
Clair dodged Jose’s hand as it swung past her. She shot an arrow at him from behind but Jose caught the arrow with his teeth and smashed it in front of her. He leapt toward her and punched her into the ground.
She rolled off the ground and swung her foot back. It caught Jose in the chin and sent him flying backward. She landed on her feet and fired an arrow at Jose as he flew backward.
Jose caught the arrow with his hand and swung it back at her. She jumped away from the arrow and released another series of arrows at him. “Why do people always throw my arrows back at me?” she asked as she watched the figure dodge her volley.
Clair slipped behind a wall for a moment and caught her breath. She had been fighting endlessly with him for several moments now and only managed to get the one kick on him. She needed to formulate a plan of attack. Her thoughts raced as she tried to figure out what his weakness was. So far, she hadn’t seen any.
“Got you,” Jose said as his hand smashed through the wall. Clair felt it grip her shoulder and pulled her back into the wall she’d been hiding behind.
“No!” Clair screamed. She knew that his other hand was going to burst through her and kill her if she didn’t act in that second. She took the arrow in her hand and stabbed it into Jose’s hand gripping her against the wall.
She winced as the arrow went through her own shoulder in the process. She heard Jose scream from the other side of the wall and she knew she had gotten him. She pulled the arrow out of her shoulder with one hand and grabbed his hand with her other. She stepped away from the wall so that he couldn’t attack her and stabbed her arrow into his arm again for good measure.
Clair’s eyes widened as the brick wall exploded in every direction. A piece of the wall smashed across her cheek and she grabbed it in pain. Jose glared at her through the dark. She could feel his hatred burning into her as he looked at her.
He pulled his bloody hand up and stared at it for several seconds before turning back to her. “I guess I went too easy on you,” he seethed. “But let’s see if you get lucky like that again while I’m in my Amplified state.”
