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The bullet train slashed through the station at a blistering pace, the reinforced nose cone cutting through Grid like a hot knife through butter, electrical discharge scattering across the station and keeping the train moving despite the drained overhead lines. Seconds later it was gone, the biting, blistering ash cloud left in its wake swirling in the air causing the remaining villains on the station to cough.
“Grid, did anyone see what happened to him?” ShOT asked as he desperately rubbed ash out of his eyes.
“He…he died.” Ovu Mobani gasped as she collapsed down onto her knees. “The train hit him and he…he was gone.”
“My god.” Gallowglass replied silently before crossing himself. “Listen, we can’t stay here, we have to keep moving.”
“But he died.” Mobani repeated.
“Leave the child here.” Caracara stated as he leapt to the other platform. “Her charlatan tricks are not required anymore. As you stated oaf, we can’t stay here, not least due to the ill magic seeping into this place.”
“What did you call me?” Gallowglass asked quietly. “We are not leaving her here.” He added in a quiet voice.
“Look the guys got a point.” ShOT stated as Chemical Ali bent down to where Mobani was kneeling and went to put a hand on her shoulder. “Not about the whole oaf thing, that was rude, especially coming from a man who wears a bird skull over his face, but no offence to her or anyone else, but if she slows us done and we get vaporized then who knows what happens to this world we live or lived in.”
“Never pegged you for caring about the world.” Gallowglass said as he took a step forward. “Him neither.” He added as he pointed his axe towards Caracara. “I’ll carry her if I have to, and of course if the lass allows me to.”
“We still have to get across to the other side of the station.” Chemical Aly whispered, as she walked to the edge of the tracks and sprayed a thick concrete bridge from her wrist sprayers across the track. “Not to mention deal with whatever those are.” She added, as a half circle of blue flame sprung up on the opposite platform, two dozen shapes shambling out of the blaze. Bending down to offer Mobani a hand, Gallowglass hoisted her onto her feet and crossed the bridge without hesitation, the other two following them across.
“Anyone have any idea what those are?” ShOT asked, as he un-holstered a pistol and his score counter, the dials rolled back to 000.
“Well Foxfire was a member of the Yakuza’s Paranormal Guard, it’s possible that she infected some of her associates or something like that.” Gallowglass answered as the figures emerged from the flames, each holding a katana or a pistol, flames running up there suits to form masks of flame across their faces. With a single guttural suit, the burning hitmen charged, shots ringing out as the two sides clashed both at range and in close combat. With a bellow Gallowglass swung his axe, the blade slashing through one burning Yakuza thug, before turning on another, a molten strike biting through his arm doing nothing to stop him picking the man up by his neck and throwing him onto the train tracks. Spinning round to tackle a third he saw Caracara slice the heads off two men in under a second, flame engulfing their remains.
“Glass, duck!!” Aly called as burning man leapt at him. Doing so he felt something cold bite at his back for a few seconds, before looking up and seeing the body of the man flash-frozen mid leap.
“Thanks.” He grunted, as shots rang out followed by a few clicks as more Yakuza bodies fell to the floor.
“Behind you!” ShOT yelled, as he shot the Yakuza thug Gallowglass had dropped onto the tracks before clicking his counter. Spinning round Gallowglass saw Caracara holding a knife against Ovu Mobani’s neck, blood dripping down his blade.
“You scavenging sack of scum!!” Gallowglass yelled as he charged Caracara, the shamanistic killer holding Mobani’s body in between him and his attacker, his eyes darting from Chemical Ali and ShOT, the pair of them looking at him with murderous eyes. “What were you hoping that these guys would cover up you murdering her!?” He asked as he kicked one of the bodies with his foot.
“I am merely helping us survive, dead weight like her will only hinder us.” Caracara purred, as he dropped Ovu Mobani onto the floor, and drew his knife into a defensive position. “You may be some great fighter in the bars and brothels of Europe, but like all Europeans you are fat and lazy compared to masters of combat like me.”
“Now come on, drop the casual racism mate.” ShOT stated as Caracara darted forward just as Gallowglass swiped at him, the agile killer ducking under the larger man’s swipe and stabbing the knife along the underside of his target’s left hand. With a roar of anger, Gallowglass made a grab for him, only for his blow to phase through his opponent’s body, almost as if he was passing his hand through a cold moorland mist.
“I will not endanger my survival in any way.” Caracara hissed, as he held his blade against Gallowglass’s chest.
“Seems like you are right now!!” Gallowglass stated as he slammed his head down onto the man’s skull helmet, the blow cracking the skeletal remains and staggering the smaller man. Pushing him away, Gallowglass raised his axe above his head, before bringing it down onto Caracara’s right knee joint. “After my bout with Gunship, they inserted metal plates into me since most of my bones were fractured. Jaw, skull, only thing that didn't break was my shins. And then the big man came and brought me flowers, even took time to check up on me every week until I was discharged, and I tried to kill the metal bastard! He could have let me rot but he didn’t, that’s why Mobani or anyone else who falters on this mission is coming with us, despite the fact that they might slow us down!”
“Yeah and we’ll all hold hands and sing cumbya too.” ShOT muttered, as Chemical Ali walked over to Mobani and sprayed something onto her throat wound.
“You may want some of this too.” She told Gallowglass. “It’s an Anti-Coagulant, it will stop the bleeding for a bit.”
“Thanks Aly.” Gallowglass mumbled as he positioned his axe over his shoulder as his teammate closed the wound for him. Bending down, he offered a hand to Caracara, only for the smaller man to stab his knife through his palm, the blood coming to the surface and setting into a series of ancient symbols.
“You are marked.” Caracara hissed as his body exploded into a thick black mist that dissipated across the station. “When the time comes, I will hunt you down and add your battle bond to my totem.” He added as the mist vanished.
“So to sum it up we lost our shaman bloke and our energy manipulator. We’re doing great already!” ShOT sneered sarcastically, as the four remaining villains headed to the other side of the station. “And we’re not even at the stinking university.” He added, as Chemical Ali melted a hole in the fence on the other side.
“And things became a lot harder.” Ovu Mobani whispered as the four of them looked down into the sinkhole caused by the earthquakes. “This is all my fault.”
“No it’s not.” Chemical Aly replied. “I’m not seismologist but I’m certain that this happened a while ago, maybe even before we got here. Still the gradient seems fair enough, we can’t walk down, not without being injured, but we may be able to abseil once we get to where that flyover is.” She added, as she tiptoed over to the road and slowly started heading down towards the partially collapsed bridge. “Start coming down when I reach the bridge, come slowly and one at a time.” She ordered.
“I can go last if you want.” ShOT offered. “Be your overwatch just in case we get more burning ninjas attack us.”
“Yeah that should help, I’ll go next and help Aly look for something to help us in the next section.” Gallowglass replied absently as he looked at the mark on his hand. Shaking his head, he looked down to see Ali waving for him to come down, and started the descent into the sinkhole. Once he’d moved out of earshot, ShOT put his rifle down on the ground and sat down next to Mobani.
“We’re all killers, except for you.” He stated calmly. “I don’t know if that’s what Caracara meant about you being a charlatan, but you’ve never killed anyone, maybe not even seen someone die in a violent way.”
“I…I’m a con artist not a killer, I use hypnosis and subtle mind control to make people do what I want but I’ve never killed anyone.” Mobani admitted. “I’m sorry, I know I should be like the rest of you but I can’t do that.”
“Don’t be like that, don’t know if you’ve realised but we ain’t exactly the archetypal guys and girls.” ShOT told her as he watched Gallowglass stumble on the hill a bit. “Can’t speak for old Glassy or the walking chemical weapons lab, but I know I have a compulsion. You see this,” He stated as he pulled out the score counter, the dials set to 007, “I count every life I take per job, always trying to get that fabled roll-over. I do that because just maybe, when it goes past the nines back to zero, then maybe I’ll be a regular bloke and be the man I should be not what I am now.”
“I don’t understand.” Mobani replied quietly.
“Ah I don’t know, guess I’m saying is you’ve got something the rest of us lost so don’t lose it now.” ShOT told her as he saw Gallowglass wave. “Looks like it’s your turn to…” He stopped as Mobani kissed him on the lips, her hands pressed against his forehead. “What the…”
“Silence peon!!” Mobani spat, her words cutting off ShOT’s words. “If I ask you to kill for me, to rid me of the noise, will you do it?”
“Yes Madame.” ShOT droned.
“If I ask you to end your own life would you do it?”
“Yes Madame.” ShOT answered in the same voice.
“Then remain close and ready to respond to my commands.” Mobani ordered, as she strokes ShOT’s forehead, an eye like scar forming under his mask. “For now be yourself.” She added, as ShOT blinked slightly before raising his hand. “Sorry you had ash on the lenses.” Mobani replied, in the innocent voice she had used before.
“Uh thanks, shouldn’t we be heading out?” ShOT asked.
“Yeah thanks for the talk.” Mobani replied as she headed for the road down into the sinkhole. “It meant a lot.” She added, as she descended towards the others. “It showed me a lot about myself...” She stated as she dropped out of earshot, “…and about you and how I can control you.”
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