Arc 3 - Chapter 5: Escaping The Courthouse

(Octavian 28, 59 / 10:22AM)

Everyone felt the sudden blast with full surprise. From their faces, backs, shoulders, they all fell or crouched down behind their pews … or to the ground.

And in just half a second, Luke witnessed the smoke cloud that enveloped his body. Raising his right hand up to his mouth, he covered it, as his lungs crinkled from the putrid pollution. Having his knees pin the marble, he tried to get up, but his calves burdened in static.

—What’s going on?!

Slowly opening his eyes, bits of dust and smoke got into his lower eyelids. Stinging his scleras, he raised his right sleeve to cleave away chunks of grime.

—Can … wait …

He was then grabbed by something.

Feeling like he was tugged, dragged against, his leather collar lifted up as he was taken. But he wasn’t carried like baggage. No. It was like the thing had gifted him the ability to…

“Damn it move!”

Barely able to breathe, David allowed any sort of air to relieve his lungs.

Having Luke beside him, every atom of his eyes was molested by the barrage of smoke. As he ran, he took out a simple device from his pocket, one melded in metal. And with a push of a button…

Their eyes were granted freedom.

Ceasing their coughing, they opened their eyes without molestation. Giving them a window of escape, they all shook their heads and tucked tail and ran. But it wasn’t just them who could see with white eyes.

“Don’t let them escape!” Ordered Reed.

In no time, every agent who took cover behind the pews, suddenly pushed up from their seats. Seeing the Dark Angels make a run for it, every ounce of muscle and bone worked in motion.

“Shit we’re surrounded!” Yelled Jack.

“We’ll get out somehow! We always had!” Yelled Miles.

In formation, all of the agents who were nearest the front door began to block it. Along with the agents near the President closing in on the other end, they formed the greatest of circles.

Luna and Benn were the first in the group to reach the door, right before a group stood in their way. Tightening her fists, she slowed her run down to a crawl, as her eyes feasted upon two unique agents.

“You two, move.”

“You know we can’t do that.” Said Eren.

“After everything we went through … I thought you’d see good.” Said Benn.

The two of them were at a standstill, as their eyes squinted onto both Eren and Ada.

Luke and the others saw their standstill, leaving them to stand dozens of meters away from them. His eyes glancing all around him, he allowed them to settle onto where the President once sat. Seeing both senators and judges topple against each other, they all ran toward the fire exit without any remorse for each other.

Unbeknownst to Luke, one single politician turned his eyes on the group. Having light-brown hair, glasses, he was none other than the Vice President with eyebags.

‘Never thought fate would be unkind…’

Following the herd, he was swept within their ranks. Meanwhile, Luke turned his eyes onto David.

“David!? How do we get out of here!?”

“I’m more of a fighter than a planner. Hell, I should be asking you that.”

“But I don’t know how…”

Both Jack and Miles saw a woman walking toward them, a woman who was above average in height. Wearing sunglasses and a black tuxedo, and having her hands on her hips, she swayed them back and forth seductively.

Having a group of male agents in back of her, they all look young. Cocking her head to the right, she put on a lustful grin.

“You two ain’t going no where~”

“Uh … yeah we are.”

‘We got the shit end of the stick huh?’ thought Miles.

‘No kidding’ thought Jack.

Sweat caressed their temples down to their jaws. Pinning her eyes on mostly Miles, he took a defensive stance, and allowed a bluish light to wrap around his wrists. Forming two blue shields, the front of them had spikes and honed all of his abs to harden.

“Back me up.”

Stan and his group were surrounded by agents. Being the most outnumbered, all of them carried metal batons with black steel.

And yet, the four of them readied themselves with their own weapons. Pulling out their guns would lead the agents to pull out theirs, so melee gadgets were essential. With his right hand, he honed a simple metal baton, the same as theirs. But electricity sizzled from the tip.

“Fred, get your yo-yos ready.”

“But what about us?”

“You and Diego are going to cover our backs. You two can’t throw a punch to save your lives.”

David and Hope heard the softest of footsteps.

Having a pistol within his right hand, David kept the barrel down to the floor. Having a blonde mullet, but with the top of his head being bald, his hairstyle was … cruel and unusual. Having his eyes feast upon the blonde-haired woman, she shyly hid behind David, who glared.

“Golden…”

“David David David … since when did you become part of the wrong side of history?”

“I believe I changed, for the better. I see that you still haven't."

“No. I think I aged like fine wine. Can’t say the same for Gabriel and Kenichi.”

The pistol he wielded crackled. With his other hand gripping his jacket, he felt his eyes begin to darken, leaving his face to wrinkle. As if his whole body was trying to scrunch up, he barely kept his legs from bending down.

Like he was trying to control himself from exploding.

Meanwhile…

Luke led his eyes to trail a single agent, one that had blonde hair and gray eyes. His hands deep in his tuxedo, the tip of his fedora only hid his forehead.

“Why … Why did you betray us?”

“Betray you? I could say the same thing.”

Lifting his head up an inch, Briggs allowed his shadowed eyes to be seen. Some of his irises melded in red, it was like the windows to his souls were set ablaze in flames. Not by pride, or passion … but—

Anger.

“What I lost … what I once had … I could never get it back.”

________________________________________________________________________

(Octavian 28, 59 / 10:24AM)

Having both of her hands wielding her batons, she clicked the two buttons located on the center. Unsheaving two of her blades, she then thrusted her right sword, and pointed the tip straight at Eren.

In return, he brought out a small sniper rifle, with the trigger being automatic. Looking like a mixture between an assault rifle and a sniper, its long barrel aimed right at Luna.

“I’m giving you one chance to step down. Stand down.”

“Bite me.”

Several meters away from the two of them, Ada had already taken out two pieces of sharp metal. Pushing them into fingers, the sharpened spikes gleamed under her sparkling eyes, as her knuckles took on armor.

Glaring at the shark-human, she saw him ready his rifle, and even his boots.

“Oh I’m definitely taking my time with you.”

Benn didn’t muster a comeback, as he silently narrowed his small eyes on her.

Luna took the first lunge forward, with her right boot denting the floor. Pulling back both her arms, all of the air she brought was sliced through. As for Eren, he immediately pulled the trigger, without using any scope. Bullet after bullet, Luna closed her eyes before—

She vanished.

Leaving behind a puff of dust, Eren turned his head around to … blood smeared from his chest. Having his breath stall within his throat, it was like he lost the strength to carry.

Which allowed his rifle to drop to the floor.

“Lightwork.”

All of his hands and fingers grappled the marble, as his whole body paled in the blood he spilled. Unwilling to look back on her slash, Luna then turned her eyes onto Benn and Ada.

Benn dodged a couple of strikes from Ada, who honed her all glaring eyes on him. Her knuckle dusters scraping bits of skin from his cheeks, she bit down her tongue as she kept going. Jumping back completely, he couldn’t wield his machine gun…

‘You see this father?’

His hands tightened, all of his knuckles squeezed themselves down with strain. Blow after blow, he felt her punches try to stagger near his face. Ada soared her strength into her two hands. Not her shoulder, not her biceps, everything came out from her knuckles rather than her muscles.

‘I’ll make you proud.’

Every punch she threw made her see blurry. As if her vision was beginning to dim, beginning to cloud her peripherals, all of it swallowed around her irises.

As memories of a lean man came to play. A simple man who wore glasses, a black tuxedo, confidence even. Her eyes turned bloodshot…

‘Are you proud!?’

Blood spewed from his cheek.

‘Gah!’

Her knuckle chomping into him, Benn twirled his body while raising his left hand. But just as he did this, he felt another piercing jab plow his body. Because he tried to go into offense, it left Ada to fully envelop through the imaginary window.

Which pushed her to summon blows upon blows of punches.

“I’ll rearrange your face for you!”

Dropping his machine gun, Benn raised both of his hands to cover his face. Using his arms as shields, they were already pelted with spikes, spikes that held equal power to pistol rounds. Trying to strain his body to the floor, to the marble, blood lingered from the right corner of his lip.

But he failed.

Flopping out his arms, he felt like his bones were chipped away. Piece by piece, some of them pinched the insides of his arms, and even his skin. Too exhausted to stand, he arched his head back, as the pain soon flushed into his soul.

Causing him to collapse.

‘Ah…’

His breath drew slow, as if his own chest was pressed onto him. Gravity before him being his enemy, his eyes grew red as veins scattered around his irises. Unable to motion his hands or his fingers, all he did was rest … until Ada hovered over him.

“Time to eat boot.”

Raising her right foot like some guillotine, she glared at Benn like an insect. Ready to squash him, although his body was large, she wrinkled her chin up to her forehead the more she stared.

Unwilling to take in his wheezing breaths—

—She widened her eyes.—

Her back growing moist, she coughed once with dryness parching her throat. Placing her right knee onto the marble, her fingers were free, and laid them beside her thighs. Using just her left hand, she raised it up to her back, and scratched it with dull nails.

“Only I put my friends in their place.”

Her blade somewhat littered in red, she shook it once, before pinning her eyes on Benn. Clicking both buttons again, her twin blades returned into her batons, and settled them onto her holsters.

With ease, she bent down on one knee, and scooped up Benn. Placing him onto her back, he was light for her, considering he was the epitome of burly.

“Jack! Let’s go!”

“Does it look like I want to stay here!?”

Without using his sniper rifle, he knew what would happen if he shot it. Instead, the only thing he could do was stare at the spartan woman, analyzing her movements to the letter.

‘Just like that~’

‘She needs help.’

Jack stayed a few meters behind, while he saw Miles take on Alexandra. Moving effortlessly with ease, her shoes bent against her unrelenting strength.

Moving in a zigzag formation, Miles effortlessly dodged her every attack. Her right hand waved a hammer, it was melded in tungsten. Using her left foot, she pressured the ground and lunged forward, while Miles barely caught eye.

Because to him, she drew the line of real and fiction.

‘Shit!’

Using her right shoe, she shot out a simple kick from hell, one that targeted his stomach. In less than a second, a gust of wind blew into him, but he—blocked it.

With only instinct, he moved both of his shields in front of him, which deterred the impact. But even so, the strength she stored in her thighs pushed him to stumble backward. His breathing heavy, and his face trailing out chunks of sweat, he allowed his mouth to be parched with strain.

“Miles!”

“Come here boy~!”

Without committing to another attack, she wrapped around him like some sort of toy. Extending her left arm, she moved her body near his back, and pressed her chest close, close enough for her hammer to hover near his temple.

Having him hostage, he couldn’t move his arms or his hands, as they were locked on by her arm. Being her doll, he was left to stand with a hammer inches from his artery, despite being several inches taller than her.

“Don’t ya move.”

Alexandra pushed a seductive grin, while moving her chest slowly against his back. Pinning her eyes on Jack, the rest of her all-male harem stood right behind her, as their weapons ranged from batons to metal bats. Raising both his hands in the air, he widened his eyes and softly chuckled.

“Not moving, not moving. Just don’t kill him.”

“I won’t. I’ll leave him spotless, unless you surrender to me~”

“You mean the government right?”

Alexandra didn’t respond, as she kept her seductive grin even more threatening.

“Right?”

“Whatever works~”

Jack bit his lower lip, as a single droplet of sweat riveted from his nose. Having no melee equipment with him, the most he could do was stare with quivering eyes. Trailing his right hand down his back, he felt his fingers trickle his butt pocket, where he kept—

He had an epiphany.

Using his left hand, he thrusted it into his pocket, and had his knuckles nudge against many metal objects. Feeling a simple bag, one that rose both of his eyes, he soon smirked.

“Dont you dare pull out a gun.”

“You think I’m stupid? I know you all will shoot me if I do.”

Pulling out his left hand, he had the object inclosed in his palm. Extending it out, opening his palm, he allowed their eyes to feast upon the whitish substance.

“What is that?”

Alexandra scrunched up her face, and tilted her head to the right. Still having a tight grip upon his body, she narrowed her eyes fully on the simple white crystal within his palm. Her seductive grin gone, it was replaced with a harrowing frown.

Making a warm and sweaty grin, some of the white sprinkled upon his sweat. Seeing that she was visibly disgusted, it was clear to him that she wasn’t the biggest fan of…

“It’s not cocaine, that I could tell you.”

In rapid speed, he raised his palm up high, and arched his whole body up. Throwing the crystal right below her feet, all he could do was seal his lips with a hardened face.

‘And it’s not meth either.’

—He was sent flying.—

Soaring in the air, he flew backwards, as the sudden blast ached every muscle in his body. Feeling like he was crushed, he closed his eyes as he allowed whatever luck to take him home.

For just this once, his bad luck turned good.

Slamming his back against the marbled floor, it thundered whatever debris that littered the front gate. Coughing out bits of smoke, the front end of his body was garnished in black.

Sprawling out his arms and legs, he opened his eyes slowly.

“I made it…”