Chapter 27:

Chapter 27

Hanabi of the Steel Curtain


 Vera leaned against the window, from where she and her crew were taking refuge, she could see the battle unfolding. It was definitely unexpected, but it was a welcome distraction. Given what she and her crew were about to do, a weaker Apex would definitely be better for them.

“Is it done?”

Dawn pulled the goggles above her head, and her hair-clip projected a thumbs-up image in response. She showed the special rounds she’d just built, placed the clip in the magazine, and loaded that magazine into the rifle. She inaudibly sighed, a series of dots formed above her head. She was hesitating.

Vera walked over and placed a hand on her head. She was never really good with words, so she just settled on a gesture, hoping that Dawn would get the message.

Small bright spots appeared above her head, so she must’ve understood the gesture.

“Hey, don’t I get words of encouragement or something?” Evan sat with Overwatch, going over the battle plan. Though he came off as an asshole, Evan was clearly nervous. She could tell because she could see the outline of his sister’s visage standing behind him.

Evan and his sister shared an existence, they weren’t really using the same body but rather… only one of them could occupy reality at any given time. The other stayed in a type of pocket dimension, acting as a ghost, nearly imperceptible. Evelynne was her name. Much like her brother, she was also an asshole. She shrugged, though no one reacted.

Overwatch kept talking to himself, going over every inch of the plan, doing final checks on the equipment, the Forge-Gear, and especially… the most important piece of the plan. He was quite the neurotic one; though, given the circumstances of what they’ll do… she couldn’t blame him. She couldn’t quite feel the same due to her status as an ex-Gatekeeper, but she knew how unlikely they were to pull it off. And if they failed, they were all likely going to die horribly. After all, they would be pissing off a god.

And as for Ghost, he was staring at the battle. At a glance, it looked like he was doing his usual detached persona. However, she could see his fists clenching on the windowsill as he stared intently at the battle.

She placed a hand on his shoulder.

He regarded her curiously.

“Soon.” That was all she said, there was nothing more to say. Soon was a perfect descriptor for what was coming. Soon they’d put their plan in motion, soon they’d make a gamble against a god in human flesh, soon they’d either have won or been horribly killed. No one would ever come this close again, and likely never would.

She sighed. They had just one chance. And she hoped, for once in her life, that things went as planned.