Ambush (Part Two)

The words had barely left Neon's lips before the wall behind them detonated in a violent storm of debris and searing neon sparks. The force of the blast sent a shockwave through the room, rattling the floor beneath their feet.

Aria didn't have time to think—just act. She threw herself sideways, yanking Neon with her. Their invisible tether snapped taut between them, the unnatural bond jerking her off balance as another deafening burst of gunfire shredded through the air where they'd stood mere moments before.

The world became a whirlwind of chaos. Smoke coiled in thick tendrils from the gaping wound in the wall, catching the electric glow of the sprawling city beyond. Flickering neon signs outside cast erratic colors through the dusty space, painting everything in jagged streaks of crimson, cobalt, and sickly green. 

The roar of heavy boots pounding against metal floors filled the air, relentless and rhythmic. Just like Militian war drums heralding the inevitable carnage to come.

Neon recovered first. 

He twisted, using the tension of their tether to pull Aria sharply back into motion. There was no room for hesitation, no time to second-guess. When she faltered, he compensated. When she overcorrected, he redirected the motion into a brutal strike that sent the closest soldier reeling. Their bodies moved in tandem, a rhythm born of necessity rather than grace.

A soldier surged toward them, hands aglow with cold, mechanical efficiency. Aria barely had a heartbeat to react before the enemy was upon her, a wickedly curved blade flashing through the neon haze. She ducked, feeling the whisper of steel carving through the air just inches above her head. 

Her pulse roared in her ears as she twisted, using the pull of their tether as leverage, launching herself into a counterattack. The weapon in her grip was unfamiliar—too heavy, too sluggish—but she squeezed the trigger anyway. The shot struck true, a burst of kinetic force slamming into the soldier’s chest, but instead of crumpling, he staggered only slightly, recovering too fast.

“They have some sort of protection!” she shouted, backpedaling as the soldier advanced with unnerving speed.

Neon didn’t waste breath on a reply. He was already moving. He slipped under another wild swing, sidestepped a second attacker, and drove his blade low, slicing into the weak points between armored plates. The hiss of searing metal barely registered over the sounds of combat. A strangled grunt escaped the soldier as he collapsed, but there was no time to revel in small victories. Another enemy was already lunging.

Fighting like this was like battling a storm. Unpredictable, violent, impossible to control. Every action had to account for the unseen force tethering them together. A mistimed dodge sent them crashing into one another; a miscalculated strike risked tangling them in their own limbs. 

Aria felt like she was drowning, her breath coming in ragged, shallow gulps.

Then the grenade hit the floor.

It rolled to a stop between them, a sleek black sphere pulsing with a slow, ominous red glow.

No time.

Neon’s eyes locked onto hers, a silent understanding flashing between them in that single frozen instant. Before Aria could move, before she could even think, he yanked her forward with brutal force. The momentum sent them both flying just as the explosion erupted behind them. The blast tore through the room, swallowing everything in a blinding inferno of fire, shrapnel, and concussive force.

Pain lanced through Aria’s side as they hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the breath from her lungs. The world blurred, colors bleeding together in a disorienting haze of neon and shadow. For a moment, all she could hear was the ringing in her skull, drowning out the distant echoes of gunfire and shouted orders.

Then, movement.

Neon barely had time to roll onto his knees before the next wave of soldiers stormed through the ruined doorway, cloaks gleaming.

They couldn’t win this fight.

Neon’s gaze flickered to the exit at the end of the dimly lit corridor. Then to Aria. Then back to the soldiers advancing like an unstoppable tide.

His grip tightened around her wrist.

“Run.”

She didn’t hesitate.

They tore down the corridor, the air thick with the scent of scorched metal. Distant alarms wailed, their cries bouncing off the towering walls, swallowed by the neon haze of the city beyond.

Aria’s breath hitched as she stumbled, the tether between them yanking her forward. Neon didn’t slow. He caught her mid-stride, fingers tightening like iron bands, pulling her back into motion. 

"Thanks. And don´t you dare knock me out this time."

Behind them, the soldiers pursued. Their movements were fluid yet unnatural, their black-clad forms weaving through the wreckage without breaking stride. They were faster. Stronger. Unrelenting.

Neon’s grip tightened. He veered left, dragging her toward the edge of the platform. The cityscape sprawled ahead—a labyrinth of pulsing signs and tangled wires, of smog-choked streets and crumbling steel bridges. Below, the world was a mess of rusted alleys and flickering neon veins.

They didn’t have a choice.

Neon vaulted over the railing, yanking Aria with him. The drop wasn’t far, but it was enough to send a jarring shock through her bones as they hit the lower level. Pain lanced up her legs, but she forced it down. 

They had to keep moving.

A sharp burst of gunfire erupted behind them, ricocheting off the metal grates. Aria swallowed a cry as they sprinted into the maze of back alleys, weaving through the tangled mess of rusted pipes, hanging cables, and neon-lit shadows.

Neon jerked her toward a narrow gap between two buildings. “There—” he gasped. “Through there!”

Aria didn’t argue. She turned sideways, sucking in a sharp breath as she squeezed through the narrow passage, the rough metal walls scraping against her arms. Neon shoved in behind her. The moment they emerged on the other side, he spun, his muscles flexing as he dragged a heavy crate into place. It screeched against the floor, blocking the passage. But only for now.

It wouldn’t hold them for long.

They ran.

The city blurred around them. Every turn bled into the next, every street a twisting, suffocating maze. The world narrowed to the burning in their lungs and the pounding of their hearts.

Then—

A door. A battered, rust-flecked slab of metal tucked into a dark alcove. A safehouse.

Neon practically kicked it in, shoving Aria through before slamming it shut behind them. The lock engaged with a sharp hiss of hydraulics. For now, they were safe.

Aria stumbled against the nearest wall, chest heaving. Her entire body trembled, fingers still clenched around the weapon Neon had thrust into her hands before the chase began. The adrenaline was fading, leaving behind exhaustion, pain—and something colder. 

Fear.

Neon paced, his breath ragged, rubbing a hand over his face. Sweat clung to his skin, catching in the flickering glow of the screens that lined the room—old monitors, their static-laced images casting eerie shadows over the cluttered mess of discarded tech.

“They attacked out of nowhere.” His voice was low, each word edged with fury. “They knew exactly where we were.”

Aria forced herself to swallow, her throat dry and raw. “How?”

Silence stretched between them. Thick. Heavy. Suffocating.

A sound. Slow. Measured. The unmistakable rhythm of footsteps against metal.

Aria froze. Neon went rigid.

A voice followed, smooth and amused, curling through the air like smoke.

“I told them they wouldn’t last long.”

The blood drained from Aria’s face.

Neon turned first, his body snapping into a defensive stance. Aria followed, her pulse hammering against her ribs as her eyes locked onto the shadowed doorway.

Vey.

He stepped into the dim light, his silhouette sharp against the flickering screens. A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, his eyes gleaming with something cold, something knowing. He moved with the slow, deliberate confidence of a predator that had already won.

“Well.” He tilted his head, studying them like insects waiting to be trampled upon.

“That was fun to watch.”