Speed of Time

There are very few names that one would dread to hear among the defects of New Olympos. As Strider knelt on the ground, his leg still oozing blood, his eyes widened as fear began to overtake him.

Standing before them was the woman responsible for the death of innumerable lives. She's known for torturing defects in the most painful way. With a cybernetic flintlock pistol in hand, she executes criminals and defects alike without a second thought. To her, taking lives is a form of entertainment.

Defects all across New Olympos fear her name and the scent of death that follows her path. Keira "Sigastiris" Van Lachlein, the second general of the Queen's Guards.

"So you still make it a habit of disregarding my authority over you," Keira chuckled. "It's 'General' Van Lachlein, darling. Be sure to get it right the next time. Although, I don't think there will be a next time."

"I wouldn't be so sure... General," Zephyr muttered harshly as she lifted her blade.

"Heh, now that's more like it."

With Zephyr's scowl and Keira's cocky grin, they stood face to face. All was quiet except for the faint howls of the wind and the clamors of distant traffic. Their weapons were drawn and ready to clash, yet they made not the slightest movement.

Finally breaking the stalemate, Keira lifted her flintlock and fired. Zephyr jerked her head to the left, perfectly dodging the bullet as it flew past her head.

In an instant, Zephyr bolted forward and slashed to which Keira bent her entire body back, allowing the blade to whisk past her. She quickly recovered and raised her sword for a vertical cut. However, Keira threw a leg to smack Zephyr's arm away before twirling around and taking aim once more.

With that same smile on her face, she sent a bullet flying out. Zephyr pushed herself away but was surprised to find another one racing at her. She narrowly swung her head back, yet more bullets came.

Every time Keira pulled the trigger, she immediately reloaded. Although the fire rate was fast for a single-shot gun, it was still slow enough for Zephyr to evade them flawlessly. That, however, did not take away from the accelerated speed at which the bullets traversed, a clear testament to the power of such an old-fashioned choice in weaponry.

Upon the final shot, Keira abruptly stopped, giving Zephyr the opportunity to heavily close the gap between them.

Suddenly, a smirk appeared on Keira's face. Her swift motion to dodge Zephyr's strike gave her just enough time for her next move. She lifted her flintlock and, with her other hand, pulled out a strange bullet, one that seemed more like a battery than anything else.

She loaded the cell, aimed the gun, pulled back the hammer, and looped her finger around the trigger. The barrel began glowing a faint tint of blue, which caught Zephyr completely off guard.

After a brief click, a spiraling beam of plasma flung out. With the most precision a human is capable of, Zephyr angled her blade perfectly to deflect it.

She dropped her arm at the feeling of pain that suddenly plagued it. Just the pressure of having to block a shot like that was agonizing on its own. A burst of weaponized plasma from a powerful gun like that is sure to rip an entire limb off, and that's if it doesn't instantly kill her.

Zephyr brushed the pain aside and lifted herself from the ground. Confident as she was, she remained cautious. She knew she was facing a general of the Queen's Guards. Victory was uncertain, but she would ensure that her opponent would never be able to wield a weapon again.

With newfound resolve, she dashed forward while Keira simply laughed at the sight of her struggle. She lunged, but Keira jumped back. Closing the gap and doing it again would only prompt the same result.

"You can use your speed all you want, darling," Keira grinned. "I can match you."

Zephyr knew she was right. At least, to some degree. This isn't just another augmented human. She needed a plan, and she knew something that might just work.

With every slash that Zephyr sent, Keira dodged with ease. She pulled herself back to avoid a horizontal slash and sidestepped to evade the vertical slashes. Even a diagonal slash was easily eluded by a simple jerk in the opposite direction.

At the sight of a thin, silver line, Zephyr immediately ramped up her speed. Like the blue of the reflection upon disturbed waters, she disappeared and reappeared so quickly that it seemed like she was coming from every direction.

Multiple afterimages of Zephyr were converging on Keira. She flung her eyes left and right to discern their pattern. Only one of them deviated, and it was the one coming from behind her.

Keira swung the butt of her flintlock right at Zephyr's head, but what she thought was the real one faded away like a cloud of smoke. She immediately turned back around with her arm raised, narrowly bumping Zephyr's elbow as she plummeted her blade.

That impromptu decision saved her life, as the plasma edge only grazed her right shoulder. She jumped away and stared at Zephyr, who held her stance with a menacing scowl.

Keira winced subtly, but other than that, her reaction to the deep wound was nothing short of apathy. She brushed a finger around the cut, lacing it with blood.

The smile on her face grew into a massive grin. She lifted her head, revealing a dangerous glare that filled Zephyr with anxiety.

"Oh, dear... Now you've made me angry," Keira muttered. "Why'd you have to go and do that?"

She reached into a small bag that hung from her waist and rapidly hurled a large number of spherical objects. It only took Zephyr a couple of seconds to deduce that they were flame bolt grenades.

Unable to react in time, she did the only thing she could do at that moment.

"Code: Temporal Acceleration!" she cried.

A clasp of thunder shook the ground. Distorted time waves began cracking the sky open as strands of lightning arced the surrounding area.

The diamond within Zephyr's eyes glowed brightly, a direct response to the activation of her code. She quickly dashed away from the cluster of flame bolt grenades right as they exploded.

Within the faded timestream, she whisked past the blaze, bending her body with grace and precision. Upon the final hurdle, she lunged at Keira.

Just looking at that smile on her face angered Zephyr to no end, and she readied her blade for a strike. With a powerful step, she swung.

Even when time moved so fast for her, the clock seemed to be ticking so slowly. The blade inched closer and closer until the plasma-tipped edge was but a hair away.

Suddenly, Keira's eyes shook, and immediately after, the star in her pupils flashed a bright hue of red. Her eyes rapidly snapped onto Zephyr, who began feeling a strange sensation: one she had not felt in many years.

Keira's lips twitched, and her brows raised. Her eyes widened as the crooked smile on her face grew wider.

"Code... Overclock," she whispered.

She lifted her flintlock pistol faster than even Zephyr could see. With the barrel aimed right at her head, she pulled the trigger, and a powerful burst of plasma exploded. Zephyr managed to pull herself away at the last second. However, her shoulder was struck instead.

Just like that, the distorted timestream cracked, and everything was normal once again. Strider could not fathom what he had just seen. In his eyes, he only knew that the grenades exploded with Zephyr right in the middle of them, but it felt like so much more had happened.

Zephyr was now holding her ground in front of him, her shoulder visibly bleeding. All the while, Keira was standing in the exact same spot. The only difference was the devilish glow of her star-shaped pupils, as well as the smoke trailing out from the barrel of her pistol.

Keira giggled wickedly before it turned into a full-blown laugh.

"You should see the look on your face," she said while sliding a finger beneath her eyes.

"What... did you do...?" Zephyr growled.

"Surprised? I would be, too. This is the code granted to me by the Queen herself. Your little... 'time powers'... won't have an effect on me, darling."

Strider kept his ground and stared. What he had seen, he could only describe as a fight between two gods. He thought he was capable. He thought he could stand alongside a legendary defect like Zephyr of Calypso. Now, he kept his gaze fixed on her as he realized how wrong he was.

Keira pressed down on the slider of her flintlock, ejecting an empty shell from the tail end. She slowly took out another energy cell and softly blew on it before loading it.

The situation had shifted. Keira is nothing like the soldier that Zephyr knew eleven years ago. She has gained a new 'code,' a new power, one that could match her own.

She had all the confidence in the world when it came to her speed, so escaping wouldn't be an issue. However, there was a variable this time.

Her head tilted back at the injured Strider. His leg was still bleeding. Even if he could run, he wouldn't make it far.

"Just go," Strider said.

"What?" Zephyr mumbled. "And leave you in her hands? Once she reaches you, you're dead."

"Look at my leg. You think I'm getting out of this?"

Zephyr could say nothing. Almost every part of her body is augmented, so she couldn't relate. She doesn't even remember the last time she felt pain as a normal human being.

"Leave me," Strider said again, but his voice was faltering. "I may be a defect, but you're an even better one. I'm sure our bounty says it all. I'm not worth as much as you are."

She pondered for a moment, but, ultimately, she lifted her blade and held it in a defensive stance. Escaping on her own was no longer an option, not while Strider was here. Of course, she could always abandon him. After all, he is nothing but an average defect.

But she couldn't. Not this time. That kid sitting behind her is the youngest brother of her former captain whom she respected more than anybody.

"Strider. Listen to me for a sec," Zephyr said. "What I'm about to do will leave me greatly injured. Worst case scenario, it'll kill me."

"What...?" Strider gasped.

"Maybe it'll kill Keira as well. Maybe it won't, but it'll guarantee you an opening to run. When you see it, you take it."

"What are you talking about? There's no need for that. Just go."

"I don't take orders from you."

Strider couldn't help but feel guilty. It was his decision to come here. He was overconfident, and he paid the price for it. However, Zephyr is now trying to defend him. If she stays, then she'll die with him. He could only question her intentions.

"But... why...?" he muttered. "Why are you so ready to give your life for me? I'm not one of you..."

"... Because... I can't bring myself to fail her twice."

A wave of the most precious memories of the old Calypso squad began replaying themselves in her head. Nemesis guided the Calypsos and taught them how to live the way they wanted. She was the only one who gave them a chance. Allowing her beloved brother to die would be no less than leaving Nemesis to die.

"Just so you know, kid, had you been anyone else, I would've left your ass ages ago," she said.

She will not make the same mistake twice. And so, she resolved to protect him, even if she must die.

"Code: Temporal Acceleration," Zephyr mumbled. "... Over... dr-...!"

A cylindrical object tapped the ground in front of her, and before she could react, it exploded in a sharp burst of light.

Everyone's ears began ringing. While Strider's vision was relatively fine after a few seconds, the two women weren't so fortunate. Their vision flickered and formed statics. Such are the repercussions of having augmented eyes.

Suddenly, Strider was grabbed from behind and lifted onto a shoulder. He squirmed around until he recognized the person who was holding him.

"Holiday...?" he muttered.

"Stay still," she demanded calmly.

"But... Zephyr."

"She's fine. Just keep quiet."

He tilted his head up to see Minerva carrying Zephyr on her back. Together, they fled into a series of abandoned buildings.