Collision (part 2)

"Sir, the entire sector has been neutralized." said a soldier in the assault team through a communicator.

"Proceed with the mission," replied the Sheriff. "And any sign of protest must be reported and eliminated."

"Copy that, sir!"

The assault team against the Southside has already began its mission. Since early morning, the troops have infiltrated most of the landmarks in the area, and they've arrested most of the residents. Any sort of opposition was deemed antagonizing and suspicious; so the police had to restrain them for further investigation. Despair reeked amongst the civilians of the Southside as police force dashed and barged in on most of the houses, and private properties.

The Sheriff was supervising the mission, and making sure nothing goes astray. His feet stood firmly on a hill at the farthest point of the area, watching his troops through binoculars.

"Sheriff. Scott, sir!" one officer called. "You have an urgent call."

"Who is it?" he asked half-heartedly.

"It's from the Mayor's office, sir." the officer held the phone.

The Sheriff took it, and said in the most indifferent tone, "This is Sheriff. Scott. We're in the middle of the operation right now" 

The person speaking on the other side had said something the Sheriff was not at all expecting.

"They did WHAT?!" he exclaimed.

~Ding-dong!

At that same time, the Parks front doorbell rang. Peter Park went ahead to get it. He sure wasn't expecting any visitors at such an early time of the day; so he was a bit nervous. Once he opened the door, he saw two young guys standing in front of him.

"Oh, it's you two.." he muttered.

"Good morning, Mr. Park!" said Eugene. "We came by to check on Julia. Is she up?" 

"She's in her room, but I'm not sure if she's awake. This cold weather makes people glued to their pillows more often than not." Mr. Park invited them inside as he was scratching his right shoulder with his left hand subconsciously.

Eugene and Jaden walked steadily as they looked around the Park's residence. It wasn't anything different from an American Midwestern style abode. Jaden noticed the ridiculous number of photos hung on the wall by the stairs.

Julia must had countless adventures, and spent a lot of time with her family!, he thought while gazing at them.

Then, he felt Eugene poking him from behind.

"Hey, isn't that Julia on the couch?" he asked.

The moment he laid eyes on her, Jaden witnessed a catatonic underweight middle aged blonde woman laying on the couch. Her eyes were both dead and open as if they were pleading for help.

"No that's probably her mom.." Jaden pulled Eugene back and both of them climbed the stairs.

Julia heard her door being knocked before permitting the two boys to enter.

"We brought Soda!" Jaden gestured.

"I don't think they usually bring Soda when visiting an injured friend!" Julia teased him.

"I told you!" Eugene frowned at Jaden.

"C'mon! She's not injured anymore!" Jaden replied playfully.

When they came in, Julia was curled in her bed. The two boys were looking around Julia's room that wasn't surprisingly very pink and girly. It was a square shaped room with a small square bed, a disk with bunch of lights hanging on it, a tidy mirror and makeup corner, and wall full of hung framed photos.

That's a lot of good photos way too good, apparently!, Eugene thought. Maybe that camera wasn't just for school newspaper. I could get few pointers from her for sure...

Eugene gazed back at the ginger haired girl nervously standing in front of him. Since encountering Death Gun in the Hospital's bathroom, there hadn't been any contact between them. But that alone, only made Julia even more anxious.

"How are you doing?" Eugene asked her.

Julia exhaled slowly before answering, "I don't know.. I'm not sure myself.."

"That freak didn't reach ya afterwards, right?" Jaden asked as he was discovering the room.

"Huh?! No he didn't!" Julia hesitated.

"You don't have to be afraid." Jaden answered as he opened one of the drawers and picked something he shouldn't. "We will catch him eventually.."

"Eh, what's the problem with you?!" Eugene's face turned absolute red. "WHY ARE YOU HOLDING THAT?!!" 

Julia couldn't believe what was happening. Her entire body froze out of embarrassment. She wanted to shout at him for messing with her privacy, but couldn't muster the courage to say anything.

"This is your swimsuit, right?" Jaden went on and examined it. "It looks big though especially from the ches"

"Eh eiiiip!" Julia snapped out of that shock-like state, as she abruptly wrapped her arms around her chest when Jaden turned to look towards it.

"JADEN!!" Eugene punched him in the face. "KNOCK THIS OFF YOU MORON!!"

~Whack!

"Ouch...!" he cried.

When his head was on the ground, Jaden noticed few boxes near the edge of the bed.

Huh?!

"Sorry for that attitude." Eugene explained himself. "But he could be careless sometimes.."

"It's alright.. I think, maybe I gained some weight this few months, so.." Julia tried to avoid eye contact, and kept look downwards.

"That's a lot of pictures!" Eugene pointed.

"They're my dad's. He's the one who took them.." she replied quietly.

Did I just say something I shouldn't?, Eugene thought to himself.

"So, you still receive gifts till now, huh?!" Jaden held couple of gifts in his hands.

"Uh, yeah! I even got some I have no idea who sent 'em!" Julia was relieved for this change in topic.

"Hmmmm.." Jaden kept staring at a single small box while dropping the others.

Eugene was impressed, "No wonder every girl wants to be a queen!"

"Yeah! Even Cristina said the same thing!" Julia giggled.

"This is amazing!" Eugene replied happily.

"Yeah, it is!" she smiled back.

"Can I keep this one?" Jaden interjected.

Julia looked at Jaden as he held one of her unopened gifts. "Well sure, I wouldn't mind..." Julia stuttered in embarrassment.

"J A D E N..." Eugene was about to burst in anger.

"Awesome!" Jaden ignored him, and slid the box into his pocket.

After few minutes of chatting about the dance and how things went, Jaden and Eugene excused themselves, and got up to leave.

"Okay, it's time for us to go." Jaden said.

"Yeah," Eugene got up. "That was really fun hanging here with you!"

"That's true! You guys made me feel like everything is fine and normal again! Thanks.." Julia smiled at both boys.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure things get back to how they used to be." Eugene said.

"I see that you two are leaving!" Mr. Park came by the door once Jaden opened it.

Was he eavesdropping on us for all this time?!, Jaden wondered.

"Daddy!" Julia was annoyed. "Don't say stuff like that!" 

"Well, my only daughter is behind closed doors with two boys!" he said playfully.

"C'mon Julls, your dad's just being protective.." Jaden said. "Let's hop, Eugene! We've got things to do.."

As Julia got up to take a warm bath, the two boys were led to the door by Mr. Park.

"Alright boys, here's the thing." he said while opening the front door for them. "I do appreciate that you're such caring friends, but I'm expecting this to be the last time you come here.."

"Eh Alright.." Eugene accepted.

"We understand, sir.." Jaden said.

"Thank you." he replied.

Both Jaden and Eugene walked out. But when Jaden passed next to Mr. Park, their shoulders touched.

"Oww...!" Mr. Park pulled his right shoulder away in discomfort.

Was that a reflex?, Jaden thought. Our shoulders barely came in contact! That sensitivity comes mostly from

Wait a sec! That masked guy,from yesterday!

Jaden recalled the masked attacker. How did he attacked both him and Doulchry, how he blew up Mr. Spensen's house and basically killed the poor guy, but most importantly; how Jaden had ended up injuring him on the shoulder!

Jaden involuntarily turned towards him with a shocked looked.

Mr. Park was a prominent figure in every moment of everything that has been going on from the start, he thought. He was so close to the police and the Sheriff. He was the one that preached the idea of forming the Red Circle. He was the one who was always hovering against the Southside by using Chico as a catalyst for his opposition. And he after reaching a dead end because of the Mail-Man...

 It all makes sense, now...It was him all along..

As his eyes settled and locked on Mr. Park, Jaden pinched his friend who was walking out in front of him. In that moment of revelation, Peter Park realized that he had been exposed.

"Have a good day, Mr. Park.." Jaden uttered, and grabbed Eugene's hand as they began to run.

"Oh!?" Eugene had no clue about this sudden change of pace. "What's gotten into you?! Why are we?" 

Mr. Park reached a hidden gun on his back, and shot at them.

~Bang!

The two boys immediately ducked, and hid behind the nearest bush. After losing them, Mr. Park started to look around in distress. 

Jaden took the opportunity and threw a small brick he found on the ground to the opposite direction. The brick's sound made Mr. Park turn towards it, and he ran in that direction.

"MaMado, What's happening?! I don't get anything anymore!" Eugene tensely covered his face.

"I'll tell you all about it once we get to the ship first." Jaden got up and started running with Eugene. "This is getting exciting.."

Near the town's main street, a group of soldiers were raising their weapons against a number of armed leathered people from the Southside.

"Lower those guns and surrender!" one solider yelled.

"We got you surrounded!" another solider uttered.

As the police force circled on them, the Southern protested, and the tension between both side had reached an unstoppable range.

At that climactic moment, small knives of light hovered out of thin air. And in a fraction of a second, the knives dashed down and stabbed most of the soldiers.

~Fiiin!

"Ughh!" the soldiers stepped back.

The leathered Southerns moved forward, making way for Petra who had been leading them from the start.

"Listen to me you evil Northerns!" she yelled. "We've endured enough! No more sweet-talking you to let us live in peace!" 

"Look at that little bug!" one solider pointed at her in disgust. "She thinks she could stand a chance against your superiors?!"

"Yeah! If we thought about taking you garbage seriously, it won't be a war it'd be total annihilation!"

Petra smirked viciously as Rick brought what it appeared to be a hostage.

"WAIT! THEY GOT THE MAYOR!" the solider yelled in fear.

"If it's a war you want..." Petra pointed her light-knife against the mayor neck. "Then, it's a war you shall get!" 

Aksel smirked as he raised his metal bat in the air. 

"CHARGE!!" he gestured to the rest, and the two sides collided.

The angry Southerns attacked with any sort of weapon each one had as the Northern used firepower cautiously. 

"GET 'EM!!" one Southern yelled.

"Yeah!" Rick was fighting ferociously striking down anybody getting in his way. "Kill those motherfuckers!!" 

"GOOOOOOOOO!!" different people were shouting from the top of their lungs.

The clash was tensed and chaotic. The protesters of the Southside were dashing in full force on the police. Petra's new found powers dragged the fight to almost a one sided assault. Her tremendous bright-light knives that appeared out of nowhere, were piercing, stabbing, or slashing in every direction. She didn't even need to move a finger. All the light-knives were hovering and soaring in mid-air as they flew and hit their targets.

During that time, Kym, Blake, and the rest of the Red Circle arrived at the battleground. They were being watched up on one of the roof by skull-masked black-cloaked Death Gun. 

"Hehehe!" he laughed out loud. "It feels good when your birthday cake arrives early, but"

"WELCOME JADEN! SYSTEM ACTIVATED! ENGINE NOT YET RESPONDING!"

"You turned the ship computer on?!" Eugene asked as both him and Jaden got inside the ship.

"Yep, it's time to put the last piece of this puzzle in place!" Jaden smiled hopefully.

"So, you figured it out?!" Eugene asked in frustration.

Jaden put out the gift box he took from Julia earlier.

"What are you?" Eugene witnessed his friend unwrapping the present in confusion.

"Oooh, a vase!" Jaden grabbed it and then dropped it on the floor.

~Break!

The vase's broken pieces shattered on the ground, and Eugene watched Jaden bending downwards and grabbing one little thing that was apparently inside it.

"Is that a flash-drive?!" Eugene asked in confusion. "How did you know it was in there?"

"'Cause I told him to put it there." Jaden examined the flash-drive thoroughly.

"Told who?" 

"Mr. Spensen.." Jaden plugged the drive in the computer.

"But I thought he was dead!" Eugene raised his voice. "Mado, what's going on?!" 

Jaden exhaled before saying "When I first called Mr. Spensen, I asked him to record everything he knew in advance and put it on a flash-disk. It was just a hunch at that point, but something about Julia's father smelled fishy.."

"Do you think he is...?" Eugene stuttered.

"No not like that! Well, I think.." Jaden muttered, and continued to browse the files. "There has to be a video file here somewhere.."

"All of those are photos!" Eugene muttered, but Jaden didn't respond to him.

He actually seems tensed, Eugene thought. Mado has always been such the absentminded not saying all that's on his mind...

"Mado," he grabbed Jaden wrist. "Are you hiding something from me?" 

Jaden silently rotated his head towards Eugene.

"When we first got here, you had no intentions of helping anyone. You said we're powerless without Mana that we wouldn't have any chance against Death Gun.."

"Rules can be bent, Majd.." Jaden replied. "With planning a proper tactic, we can defeat him for sure"

"Then why?!" Eugene cried. "Why you chose to chase after it now?!" 

"Because we gotta save Julia!" Jaden yelled.

After his voice deminished, Jaden's heterochromic eyes met Eugene's. "When Chico went crazy during the homecoming dance, my [Oracle Scan] skill worked again.." Jaden said. "When I scanned everyone in the room, I knew who Julia really is."

So his powers were back at that same moment as well!, Eugene thought. So that wasn't a coincidence!

"Mado..." he mumbled.

"Julia is Safi..." Jaden uttered.

Eugene's eyes widened, "WHAT?! No way!"

"That's the truth.." replied Jaden as he found the video Mr. Spensen had recorded.

~Click! ~Play!

"This is the Mail-Man! If you're seeing this, then I'm... well dead.." Mr. Spensen said in the video. "I was told to record all that I know since I was warned that I could be chased after any minute now. So let's start from the beginning..."

~Phone Ringtone!

"Hello..!" Julia answered hesitantly.

"Rejoice, Julia" Death Gun said.

"No, I can't anymore!" she raised his voice, and cried.

"...Don't be like that! We did it..." he replied enthusiastically. "... We found the artifact!..." 

"Huh?! What does that mean?..." she asked.

"That you only need to come to the Main Street, and see me take off for good!" Death Gun teased her. "Don't you wanna make sure I go away forever, or maybe Kym Je-Yong will only watch me alone, hehehehe..." 

Death Gun hung up, leaving fidgeting Julia in fear to even think things through. Couple of seconds later, Julia got herself up, and headed straight to the Main Street.

In the meantime, the battle on the Main Street was turning tides for the Northside. With the aid of the Red Circle, the Southerns faced difficulty trying to press onward. 

"How do ya like THAT?!" Blake yelled as he knocked some of them down.

The fight was still in it's peak, and most of the armed soldiers were entirely ripped of all their firepower by the protesters.

"Blake, we retrieved some of the police's guns that they stole!" one of the Red Circle members hollered. 

"Let's use 'em against those filth-stinkers!" another one suggested.

"GET 'EM!!" 

"GIAAAAAAAHHH!!" 

"PULL YOURSELVES TOGETHER!" Aksel shouted. "THERE'S NO TURNING BACK!" 

Hearing his earnest roar, the leather wearing Southerns pushed forward and defended their stands.

At the heat of that moment, Sheriff. Scott arrived at the scene with armed backup, witnessing the unbelievable fighting square.

"Disperse them, NOW!" he jumped off the car, and dashed towards the core of the conflict. There, Kym and Rick were exchanging blows.

Kym had only his shocker stick in his grip, while Rick was swinging a chainsaw.

"You're never getting away with this!" Kym uttered. "You've hurt enough people!" 

"Haha, 'don't know whatcha talking about But if there's gonna be somebody I'd hurt, then I'm glad it's a Northern bitch!" Rick's weapon collided with Kym's shocker.

"Because of you..." Kym glared at Rick's eyes. "Because of you, my father got killed.. you people created that masked monster!"

"The only monster here is the likes of you!" Rick pushed harder, taking the upper hand.

~Clash!

Being overpowered by Rick, Kym fell to the ground. He rose his head to only see Rick ready to deliver a finishing blow.

"Ugh" he grind his teeth.

~Bang! ~Bang! 

~Pling!

When Kym looked behind, he saw more troops dashing through the battleground. In just few seconds, the Southerns were tremendously over powered.

"Can you stand, kiddo?" Sheriff. Scott helped Kym stand up.

"Yes, sir!" Kym's face brightened, and his expressions became confident.

"Groups A and C, surround them while groups B and D neutralizes the center." Sheriff. Scott gave out the orders.

The new troops were equiped with even better gear than those before them. With some of them even holding automated rifles. They were capable of diminishing most of the rebellious Southerns force.

Fuck this shitty luck, Aksel punched the ground as he was completely surrounded.

"GET UP, AKSEL!" Petra yelled from the rear. "We can still win!" 

"How can you say stuff like that when?!" Aksel noticed something near the corner of his eye. "Huh, what the?!" 

It was as if a shadow dashed through air, and in a fraction of a second, some soldiers were dropped dead.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!" some of the soldiers who were struggling against him yelled.

"SHOOT HIM!" 

"OPEN FIRE!"

~TRRRRRR!

~BANG! ~BANG!

None of their shots was effective enough to even leave a scratch. The new mysterious target was dashing and disappearing in a bizzar speed.

"What's that?!" Sheriff. Scott muttered in confusion.

When Kym was able to stole a glimpse at him, he immediately recognized him. 

"It's him.." he muttered. "DEATH GUN!!" 

Kym charged towards with fire burning in his heart. He no longer could think straight or look around first. His hand tighten the grip on his shocker as he dashed forward in rage. It was already too late for the Sheriff to try and stop him.

"Hahhhaaaaaaaa!" Kym swung his shocker stick the fastest he could, but Death Gun was able to dodge it.

"Watch where you land that hand of yours.." he said calmly.

Death Gun then reappeared behind Kym. "Tell me, please.." he whispered to him.

That was fast!, Kym thought, and re-adjusted his position to face him.

Death Gun leaned forward, "Do you hate me?.." 

Kym pressed the shocker hard on Death Gun's body that it was propelled few steps backwards, still standing firmly.

"You killed my father.. the only family I had... I hate you!" Kym said outrageously. "I HATE YOU SO MUCH!"

"Hehehehehehe!" Death Gun laughed out loud. "Loss, despair, rage.. This IS MY ATTONEMENT!" 

He then spread his arm open as a portal engulfed him from behind. Death Gun opened small portals where he was able to shoot most of the soldiers down.

~Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

"It's over you masked butcher.." Sheriff. Scott found a blind spot, and successfully pointed his gun at Death Gun's head from behind.

But to his surprise, Death was already pointing a gun at his head at the same time through yet another portal.

"Now, isn't this interesting!" Death Gun uttered sarcastically. "What's it gonna be, Sheriff? Your moral code, or your selfish desire to live?" 

Sheriff. Scott remained stiff and motionless for some time, before he slowly lowered his gun down. And in response, the portal behind him was being reduced.

At that instant, the Sheriff pulled a quick move, and turned to shoot the hand in the closing portal. But it withdrew faster, and in the same time, another portal opened below it.

~Bang! ~Woahm!

"Ugh!" Sheriff. Scott received a shot in his left leg and lost his balance.

"Humph.." Death Gun kicked the Sheriff to the ground. "In the end, you're all the same.."

Her steps were fast paced, and her breathing was rapid. Julia was running the fastest her body could muster. She wasn't sure what she would find once she get there. But no matter what it held, it was her responsibility to see it through until the very end.

While she hurried towards the Main Street, Julia ran into Cristina and Toby as they were walking almost fast paced, but in the opposite direction.

"Uhh!" she stuttered.

"Uh Julls!" Toby's eyes widened.

"You're okay!" Cristina hugged her immediately.

"You guys..!" Julia was still in daze.

"Why were you..?" Cristina stuttered. "Were you running?!" 

"Where you think you're going, girl?!" Toby asked.

"Heh, heh.. Main Street.." she panted.

"WHAT?!" they both exclaimed.

"But that place is going through hell now!" Cristina cried. "We gotta get you home!"

"NO!" Julia shouted. "I need to go!" 

"Julia.." Toby uttered. "You were going to that fight, weren't you?" 

The ginger haired girl lowered her gaze and said nothing. Cristina grabbed her arm. "We actually realized it.." she said. "That you were involved in something something dangerous.."

"..You guys you should be home.." Julia tried to flee, but was stopped by Toby.

"Nope, no more running from us anymore!" 

"This isn't nice, Toby. I need to go!" Julia said angrily.

"This isn't fair, Julls! We're worried about you!" Cristina shouted.

Julia forcefully closed her eyes, "KYM IS IN DANGER! LET ME GO!" 

Julia's voice echoed throughout the neighborhood. "I'm the only one who can save him.. So, pleaselet me go.." 

" 'Guess I was right.." Cristina said.

"So, you were involved in all of this mess after all.." Toby sighed. "In that case, we're coming with you."

"But...?" Julia's eyes widened.

"We can't let you save the day on your own!" Cristina smiled. "We were just hoping that you'd be honest with us."

"You guys.." Julia hugged them both. "Thank you and I'm really sorry.. I wanted to tell you everything, but"

"We will always be by your side!" Toby winked.

Cristina held Julia's hand tight, "Come on, Julls. Let's save Kym and everyone else together!" 

"Yeah.." Julia smiled and the three of them ran towards the Main Street.

After taking an unexpected turn, the battle of on Main Street was fully centered around the police force and Death Gun. The masked criminal was still having the upper hand as he injured the Sheriff.

"Gihaaaaa!" Kym tried swinging his shocker at him, but Death Gun blocked it with merely his forearm.

"You won't get away with this, you filthy Southside dirt!" Kym said.

"Hehehe, don't be this naive.." Death Gun twisted his torso, and delivered a kick to Kym's face.

~Whack!

"KYM!" Blake charged out of no where, and hit Death Gun hard with the back of a rifle.

The impact was able to throw Death Gun to the ground at last. The following moment, the now armed Red Circle members, charged against the opposing side. Their attacks were swifty and direct, causing severe damages on the leather wearing Southerns. 

"Don't give up just yet!" Aksel shouted.

At that point, the Southerns had endured a excruciated amount of damage that they couldn't hold on any longer. 

Kym got up, and tried to pursue Petra that was still holding the mayor as hostage.

"You..!" Petra glared.

"Let Mayor. Jaros go, you coward!" Kym yelled.

"You're the last person to talk about courage!" Petra replied with no expression. 

"Hey, listen if you let go of me right now, I'll promise that I will grant" Mayor. Jaros tried to utter, but Petra pointed a light-knife right to her throat.

"What? Our freedom? You won't be tricking us today!" she said angrily.

"Mayor. Jaros is not a bad person. Puting her life in danger won't accomplish anything.. Death Gun killed all those people and he still did nothing for you!" Kym was trying to get closer. 

"STAY AWAY!" Petra yelled at him.

"You, too you're not a bad person. I've seen you stood against Chico! You know that's not the right way to get justice!" Kym tired to persuade her.

Petra cracked a slight sinister smile, "All this sweet talk is nothing new.."

You all tend to use it when you're out of options, she thought to herself.

"Then do it! Stab her with that blade!" Kym replied as he got closer.

"Don't dare telling me what to do!" she retreated few centimeters while tightening her grip.

Kym activated his shocker stick as he was walking steadily towards her. "No need for that anyway. I'll end this here.." he said.

"WAIT! KYM!" a female voiced echoed from behind.

"Huh?!" Kym turned towards it. "Julia..!" 

"We shouldn't fight among each other!" Cristina cried.

"We gotta band together to overcome our differences!" Toby added.

"Kym," Julia said. "Death Gun is the real enemy here, not Petra.."

"Look around you! Don't you see who started this?" Blake tried to say.

"I see people who are hurt!" Julia said. "We've hurt these people, and kept ruining their lives long enough.. We have to accept it, and try to reason with them instead of fighting."

"What in the hell this girl is saying?!" few people in background were yelling, but Julia ignored them. "Don't let that fool you! Keep it up!" 

"You see?!" Blake pointed at people around them. "You're wrong, Park.."

"No, and the fact that things escalated to this level is enough to prove my point.." Julia replied. "We were all thinking in a wrong way, and now, we're facing the consequences!" 

Julia then tried to step forward towards Petra. "You too, Petra.. I'm sure you know that violence will yield nothing! Non of what Chico have done made anything better.."

~Thwip!

"Stay out of it!" Petra threw her knife near Julia's feat. "Nobody get the right to say that they're feeling our pain! We don't need your sympathy!" 

"YEAH! WE WANT JUSTICE!" some of the nearby Southerns yelled in unison. "We want justice!" 

"I'm sick of this!" Kym turned his back on Julia, and walked towards Petra with his shocker turned on.

Petra materialized a new light-knife, and pressed it hard on the Mayor's neck. "I'm serious this time, JE-YONG!" she shouted.

As he was charging, the determined Kym stopped halfway when he saw him.

"Well, of course she is, heheheh!" Death Gun appeared all of the sudden behind Petra, pressing his gun on her head.

"The hell?!..." she straddled in panic.

"Well, hi there, Julia!" Death Gun said, waving playfully.

"Eh.." Julia stepped back.

"What?!" Kym was shocked that Death Gun was waving to his girlfriend. "How did he?" 

"JULIA!" someone's voice raised as he was approaching. 

Once she immediately turned towards the sound of the anxious voice, Julia froze. 

"Daddy..?" she mumbled.

"Mr. Park, it's way too dangerous for you to be here!" Kym said.

"I.. called him.." the injured Sheriff barely said.

"Julia, get back here!" Mr. Park voice went loud and dry. "It's about time you let go of this nonsense!" 

"Dad..?!" Julia's heart broke as she saw her father throw her dream on the ground with such statement.

His words were as sharp as the knife that was slowly piercing through Julia chest. She wanted to cry and scream at that moment. She felt betrayed and defeated, and left out on her own.

In that devastating moment, and in a quick blurry move, Death Gun took a opportunity and grabbed the artifact from within Petra's grip. "...I think I'll take this from now on..." he whispered, and jumped farther from her.

"WAIT, THAT'S MY ARTIFACT!" Petra shouted.

Julia turned to face Petra in confusion, "..Artifact..?!" 

"Hehehehe, yes at last! Congratulation to both of us, Julia!" Death Gun said.

"She has nothing to do with you, creep!" Kym replied angrily, preparing to attack. "It's time to end this. BLAKE!"

"Roger!" Blake turned to signal to the rest of the Red Circle' members. "Everybody pull yourselves up, this is it!"

"YEAH, FINALLY!" one member said.

"LET'S FINISH HIM!!" a bunch of them charged at Death Gun simultaneously.

"ALL TROOPS," Sheriff. Scott hollered. "SHOOT THE BLACK MASKED TEERRORIST!"

All the soldiers ran around and got Death Gun fully surrounded.

"SHOOT HIM!!" they yelled.

"Hehehehe!" Death Gun's yellow eyes glowed even brighter as he open a small portal above his head. "People of Maplewood!"

Once he stuck his hand in that single portal, the artifact he was holding with his other hand glowed and vibrated. The moment the soldiers were about to clash with him, they noticed multiple portals floating all around them. Each portal had Death Gun's arm coming out of it with a gun. 

"Hehehe! It's SHOW TIME!" he screamed viciously.

~TATATTATATA! ~BANG! 

~BANG ~BANG ~TATATATTATTA

The following moment, a storm of bullets stroke down, and most of the attackers were either on the ground or screeching out of pain.

"WHAA??!" 

"MY EYE!!" 

"OH MY GOD! THEY'RE DEAD! THEY'RE ALL DEAD!" one soldier dropped his weapon and fled.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Death Gun laughed out loud hysterically. 

"You MONSTER!!" Kym and Blake charged towards him. But some of the floating portal shot them both consequently as they got closer until they couldn't stand any longer, and were forced to drop down to the ground.

"KYM!!" Julia screamed in fear, and ran to him.

"No, JULIA! GET BACK HERE!!" Mr. Park yelled in fear as well, and tried to catch up to his daughter.

"Ugh..." Kym mumbled. "I can't move my legs..."

"Son of a bit" Blake lost consciousness.

Julia kneeled down to check on injured Kym. "Kym Kym, stay with me, okay?" she trembled.

Death Gun then disappeared in an oval large portal, and reappeared near Julia and Kym. 

"Hi..!" he uttered.

"Huh?!" Julia gasped in terror.

"Oh, no you won't!" Toby jumped on Death Gun from behind, trying to hinder him. "I won't let you hurt my friends, you masked freak!" Toby struggled to take hold of him, but Death Gun twisted his torso, and caught Toby.

He then dragged him up, and kicked him hard in his stomach before tossing him farther.

"GEHA!" Toby fell to the ground in agony before turning unconscious.

"TOBY!" Cristina screamed.

After that, Death Gun approached Julia, and immediately grabbed her by the neck, and hung her with his arm.

"Hehahah!" he laughed. "That's how to save the best for last! Isn't that right, Julia?" 

"You... said..you'll leave....when.. you...find" the chocked Julia tried to speak.

"LET GO OF HER!" Mr. Park dashed to save his daughter. But the remaining floating portals shot him multiple times in his legs.

"Dehh, Ugh!" Mr. Park fell to the ground in agony, few meters from Death Gun.

"Oh!" Death Gun said. "Didn't see you there, Mr. Park! I'm glad that you're enjoying the show so far.."

Mr. Park tried to pull himself up despite the pain. "Let... my daughter... go..!" he managed to say.

"Uh-uh, you shoudn't talk during the show!" Death Gun playfully replied as a number of shooting portal aimed at Mr. Park, about to start fire. But at that exact moment, Sheriff. Scott shot Death Gun in the face.

~Bang! ~crack!

The bullet couldn't cause any damage aside from slightly cracking Death Gun's mask near his chin area. Without even performing a slight reaction, the masked criminal directed the portals that were around Mr. Park to open fire on the Sheriff.

~Petatatatatatat! 

"Ahhhhh!" Sheriff. Scott fell severely injured on the ground.

"What is this do you know how bad it is to interrupt?" Death Gun sighed. "You too, stay put." 

One last shot of Death Gun's portal hit Mr. Park in arm, and he became immobile as his chin had hit the ground.

"Don't...!" Chocked Julia uttered. "Please, don't hurt my dad.. It was me who you wanted to hurt, right?" 

"Julia... shut up! Don't say anything!" Mr. Park said.

"It was my fault, daddy..." Julia's tears were flowing down on Death Gun's grip. "I always wanted to see the day that all of Maplewood's people be happy. No more... South or North sides.... just one side.... so mom could..." 

Petra listened to what Julia had just said. She wanted to cry as well. All of what that ginger haired girl were saying, is what all Southerns had been longing for. Petra then stood up in spite of her injuries.

All of that pain that enslaved us, she thought. The circle of pain that was forced on us by this universe that made Chico hurt everyone, and Carmen use everyone, and made me and Doulchry avoid everyone. That circle

 Maybe this girl is weak and shallow, but she was thinking about our pain!

"LET MY DAUGHTER GO! YOU MONSTER!!" Mr. Park shouted helplessly at Death Gun who had tightened his grip on Julia's neck.

"Well, you can't say I didn't tell you!" Death Gun told Julia. "My WAY wins!" 

Death Gun raised his free hand out of the portal and pressed the gun on her head.

"No! Please! Don't hurt her!" Mr. Park cried in panic.

"O'hoo!" Death Gun's eyes widened. Seeing Mr. Park like that triggered a distant memory resided deep down within his heart.

.

.

.

"Please... Don't drop him! He's your son..."

.

.

.

"Sit tight, Mr. Park! This show is reaching it's end!" Death Gun was about to pull the trigger.

"JULIA!!" Mr. Park screamed.

~Thwipp! 

A light-kife dashed through mid-air and pierced in Death Gun shoulder before vanishing. Death Gun glared towards Petra.

"You're takin' him on your own?!" Aksel stood by her side.

"What, you're fighting too?" Petra replied.

"I got a score to settle with that son of the bitch.." Aksel readied his metallic baseball bat.

Death Gun on the other hand, quickly plunged the arm that was aiming the gun at Julia, in a new small portal he opened. And a group of small portals with guns sticking out of them scattered around Petra and Aksel, and the rest of Southerns who remained standing. 

"GOOOOO!" the Southerns charged.

~Taahtatta! ~Bang! ~Bang!

The Southerns struggled to reach Death Gun who didn't move a single muscle as the multiple portals opened fire on them. Petra was jumping from one side to the other, avoiding getting hit while trying to get closer to Julia and Death Gun. She kept on dodging until she found an opening.

That's my chance!, she thought as she leaped towards them.

"Haaaaaah!" she raised her hand to strike him.

~Pew!

"Ugh!" Petra sensed her leg began burning.

She then was dropped down on the floor couple of inches away from Death Gun's feet.

Shit, my leg!, she agonized.

.... Battle Mode Activated....

A little farther away from the devastating battlefield, Jaden and Eugene were able to get a glimpse of the situation.

 It's good to be back..

"You feel it, right?" Jaden said.

"Yes, my body is full of Mana again." Eugene replied.

"Looks like that glitch is down there for real.." 

"And injured people, too.." Eugene muttered.

"In that case.." Jaden stretched both of his arms to the front. He used the [weapon summoning] skill, and called forth both his Engineblade and Eugene's Blue Rose Sword. A stream of neon glowing clusters span around Jaden's body, and in few moments, both swords flashed into his hands.

~SHIIN!

"Let's go save everyone!" Jaden handed the Blue Rose to Eugene.

"Yeah, let's go!" he smiled with confident eyes.