Partners in crime ( 1/2 )

    As he took his hand out of the wound, Woodle fell forward on the ground while the android approached the lassie. As his task was complete, he had nothing more to do with the corpse he left behind him. Horrified, Marnie was staring at the corpse of the leader.

    Sparkles of light began to spread upon his fist as the android came closer to her. When the latter at last focused on him, she took a step back and started to run away without any more glance back. Was she that panicked she forgot using her supernatural ability instead of running uselessly?

“Don’t let her escape!” Merlish ordered outstretching an arm towards Marnie.

“Naturally, mistress.”

    Blood already dropping from one of his previously silvered arms, he accelerated, propelling himself straight on the lassie. As she felt him in her back, Marnie scarcely managed to avoid him. Though it was enough. Ernst could touch her from the bottom of his fingers, releasing an energetic discharge as the sparkles reached her, amplifying in a silver ray. As a result, Marnie lost her balance and was sent rolling on the ground a few meters away. At a steady pace, the android now followed the dusty track she left behind.

    Meanwhile, Donna Merlish made a few steps so she could pick up her gunfire. At a peaceful pace, she approached Woodle and pointed her weapon on his agonizing silhouette.

“Fool. His human consciousness vanished long ago. Your end was so pathetic I feel ashamed I had you as an enemy.”

    A detonation echoed while a bullet filled the back of the leader’s head.

    Hardly opening her eyes, Marnie beheld a metallic fist whizzing through the air towards her face, all sparkling. Instantly widening her look she rolled to her left, long blond hair remaining floating behind at the moment the android hit her previous place, the blow arising dust and rubble. A crater remained as the android removed his fist, his gaze following the lassie crawling out of reach.

    In the middle of this chaos, nobody noticed the opened hatch on the stage. A few drops of blood laid next to it, freshly shed.

    A silhouette sneaked through the place, as silent as a shadow. It enclosed Kiseki’s body, leaning upon it.

“Are you gonna die peacefully while your daughter is struggling to stay alive, Idonosoko-kun?”

    A vague grunt answered the voice. The inspector was sure he recognized this unpleasing one as he put all his might opening his eyes one more time.

    Leaning forward, a young fellow with mid-long green hair and a patchwork scarf, coughing blood.

“Get lost… doomed phantom…”

    Though he was unsure of what happened, Kiseki was certain he heard Woodle being slaughtered. Would he have to bear him even after death?

“Well, not that pleasant being called a phantom. You’re closer becoming one than I am, my poor inspector.”

    There was not much time left to chatter, though. Therefore, Woodle Bomme drew a phial out of his pocket, extending it so that Kiseki could catch sight of it. The phial was identical to the previous one. That which Donna destroyed earlier.

“I would be glad to argue with you later, but now it is time for the question that may be the latest of your life.”

    Before continuing, Woodle sharpened his gaze, fixing Kiseki.

“Who is your enemy?”

    A silence followed. Kiseki gritted his teeth. He was so reluctant to answer one would think the inspector would eventually die with this irritated expression upon his face.

    However, his lips finally unsealed.

“May you repeat? I’m not sure if I understood.”

    And saying these words with a malicious grin, Woodle leant forward approaching his ear.

    Meters away, the mayor was observing her android chasing the lassie.

“This is way too easy…”

    Instinctively, she rotated to take a glance at Kiseki and froze. Merlish thought she saw a ghost, until glancing at what was supposed to be Woodle’s corpse, at her feet. Her breath taken away, she realised it was progressively evaporating. That scoundrel… He must have hidden his supernatural ability until the very last moment. That was the only logical explanation.

    In a hurry, Merlish hence shouted to her android.

“A271!!! Come back and kill Kiseki and Woodle! Now!!”

    The latter instantly turned his head to behold the scene, noticing the leader of the gang leaning over the inspector. Abandoning his current target, he stampeded towards them. Marnie winced. She should have been able to hold him up for a little longer…

    At the same instant, Woodle raised his head.

    In a blink of an eye, the android reached their position. He firmly grasped the leader’s neck and, rumbling on its way, crushed him against the stage.

“Ghh… You have quite a grip, I’ll give you that.”

    His both hands around Ernst’s arm, Woodle displayed a sly smile. He had regained composure in no time. And this was literally because of the fact he – or rather his clone – got killed earlier. The true Ernst would never do something putting him in danger.

“How did you do this? I am sure I inflicted a lethal injury on you.” the android asked, squinting his eyes.

“A magician doesn’t unveil all his tricks, you know.”

“…”

    Not answering, the android tightened his grip round his brother’s neck.

“Well,.. that aside, allow me to make you a promise. Whatever it implies, I will free your consciousness.”

    It may have seemed bold of him to utter such words in his position, nevertheless the following instant a powerful aerial kick bewildered Ernst. As his neck was driven onward due to the heavy burden growing in its back, the front of his body together with his head, momently backward, seemed to shape as a bow. Unbalanced and taken aback he fell forward, releasing his grip round Woodle’s neck.

    In the same breath, the assailant extended an arm and roughly caught the young fellow by his collar. Then, before the android touched the floor, he had used his neck as a support to rebound and cut through the air in a beating of wings. Fluttering, crimson feathers fell here and there to the ground around the android.

“You could be more gentle.”

    High above the stage, the inspector loosened his grip on Woodle, dropping him on the equilibrist’s deck.

“Putting a hand on you already disgusts me far enough. So now, how do we handle them?”

    Below them, Ernst didn’t lose time. Standing up again, he lifted up his head straight to his priority targets.

“We have to neutralize this android. Else he will protect Donna Merlish whatever we do. I can hack him, however I need you to spare me time. I already tried to do it remotely, but he possesses an autonomous system.”

“That means…”

“I have to alter its processor directly on his body.”

    Kiseki squinted his eyes to this statement. That would be an arduous task, however it was out of the question to let Donna any slightest opportunity to escape. As long as they occupy her android, she won’t have any possibility to quit the levitating circus and avoid the collision. All of that had lasted far too long. Time had come to end this masquerade.

***

Meanwhile, outside the circus, the citizens were staring at the floating structure. Terrified, they were all fussing like thousands of ants. The authorities tried their best to handle the situation, already vacating the places most likely to be attacked.

    The city hall could already be clearly beheld from the top of the circus.

“Descent can be initiated.”

“Roger that, Haru!”

    Focused on her task, Mekko typed the last instructions on the remote control system before standing up. At that time Koff took a step closer to halve it with a blow of his saber. The transmitter burst at once while the circus began losing altitude.

***

The platform suddenly quaking under their feet marked the end of Kiseki and Woodle’s discussion. But it wasn’t solely because of the movement of the circus, that was far more violent…

    Unbalanced, Woodle fell to his knees, staring below. Repetitive punches against the wooden pole at the top of which they were made it sway dangerously.

“He’s about to knock down our perch.”

    The android struck it with an unmatched strength, the pole shattering into sprinkles and splinters. The platform tipped over in a thunderous snap, Woodle and Kiseki falling into the void. His clothes’ flaps whipping in the air, the green-haired boy stared at his elder brother without blinking, a resolved expression upon his face.