Punishment

I've never felt so nervous in my life. Why are they looking at me like that? I came down here, risking my life to save some defects, and this is what I get?

Figures. They did tell me to quit messing around in the undercity, but I didn't. Why should I? I don't need their permission to do as I please.

"Answer her, Strider," Holiday said as calmly as she could, but her anger was leaking through.

"What do you want me to say?" I gulped.

"What else except for a reason?"

"Do I need a reason? I'm a defect. This is what I do."

"Calling yourself a defect doesn't excuse your blatant disobedience. I distinctly remember telling you to drop all of this and stay at home."

I felt a hint of rage building up inside of me. What did I even do? Precisely what I've been doing for the past two years. I fight because I can no longer ignore all the shit that goes down here, just like her. Why is it suddenly a problem when it comes to me?

I pushed myself off the ground and stepped up to her. Where does my confidence come from? I ask myself that all the time, and now, I think I know the answer.

"Tell me, Holiday," I said bitterly. "What right do you have to give me orders?"

"... What...?" she greatly emphasized that one word.

"There are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of defects across the city, doing exactly what I'm doing. I sure as hell saw a lot of them back at the memorial, and you probably don't talk to them like this. Oh, right. You know what it is? I'm Nemesis's fucking brother, huh? A good-for-nothing little shit who can't pull his own weight. Is that right?"

She said nothing. Of course she didn't. After all, she knows I'm right.

"You're not her. You'll never be her. If you care that much about my safety, then do yourself a favor. Forget about me, because the next time you find me out there doing god knows what, it's gonna spiral back into this... this..."

I couldn't even find the right word, so I simply stopped there.

"Then give a reason why I shouldn't cripple you right here and now," Holiday muttered. "You're a human. No augmentations or anything special that can help you in the field. All you've got is your sister's keepsake. You really think that's enough to keep you safe?"

"I've never once thought that, nor have I entertained myself with the idea of strength through augmentations."

"Why? And don't bother spewing the same bullshit about rebelling against the High Order. I won't buy it."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I've no obligation to tell you anything."

She may have been Nelia's comrade once, but she has no relations to me. In my eyes, she's just another defect. I have no reason to answer her, but it seems my stubbornness has caused me trouble once again.

"I'm going to say it one last time, Strider," Holiday said. "Go home and stay there."

"Really, is this what you do with every defect you come across?" I scoffed. "You tell them to leave and go home because they're weak? Because they're not as capable as you? Calypso or whatever, I don't give a shit."

"You sure you wanna do this, sweetie?" Loki chuckled. "We ain't asking for much."

"Besides, Nemesis wouldn't want you in harm's way," Zephyr said.

"Nemesis is also not here," I growled. "She left. She abandoned me... us. To make it worse, she went off on her own and died, leaving our mother to suffer. Do you really think I care about what she would want?!"

Even as I said it, my mind was swaying. I know they mean well. Truly, I do, but this whole situation is messing with my head.

I miss Nelia so much. I know what she wants for me, and I know that she would never approve of me doing these kinds of things. However, I can't stop. I'm too far down this path.

"Do you stand by those words?" Holiday asked with a deadly tone.

Her eyes shifted, forming into that of a deranged warmonger who had lost all reason. It terrified me, so much so that I began to shake, but I couldn't bring myself to back down. Not anymore.

"And? What if I do?" I mocked.

Suddenly, from the opened garage, tens of soldiers stormed into the depot. More came in from the second level, overtaking the catwalk. Hundreds of clicks echoed in the vicinity as the same amount of guns were pointed in our direction.

A succession of slow claps faded in, along with the footsteps of the one who was making that sound. A soldier walked through the crowd. His armor was more complex and daunting than the others. Looping around his shoulder was a red satchel, a symbol of those in positions of leadership within the army.

Despite their arrival, Calypso did not turn away. That was especially so for Holiday, her expression having remained unchanged.

"You've got some balls, Calypso," the leader chuckled mockingly. "Showing up here when you knew the army was close by. You had it easy with the coatsmen, but trust me. They ain't nothing like us; the army."

Again, she didn't turn away. All she did was keep those still eyes upon me, calm yet murderous as if to try and hide her killing intent.

"Yo, Holiday, you ignoring me or something?" the leader spoke again, though it was much more abrasive. "Take a good, hard look around you. You're completely surrounded, and even if you somehow get away from this, we've got a lot more outside just waiting to take that bounty on your head."

Minerva was the first to break the stalemate, as she twisted her head to glare at him with eyes glowing.

"Code: Trojan Horse," she snapped.

Seemingly nothing happened, but that was proven to be wrong when the first trigger was pulled. Nothing came out. It was then followed by a second click of a trigger. Yet again, nothing. Everyone in the room fired their weapons, and still, nothing came out.

This time, the commander had nothing to say. He merely stared at Holiday, who, to this moment, hadn't acknowledged his presence once.

She drew her weapon, a symmetrical blade that seemed to resemble a gun as well, and shoved it into the ground. The hollowed diamond in her eyes radiated, sending forth a petrifying glow, one blue, and one yellow.

Her mouth opened slightly. Even with so many soldiers surrounding us, she didn't flinch. No movement at all—not even a tremble.

After a faint exhale, she indignantly uttered the words, "Code... Atlas's Burden."

At first, nothing happened, but, although it was slight, the entire area had shifted. What started as subtle heaviness soon turned into a devastating pressure that forced everyone to their knees.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't lift myself back up.

"Holi...day," I groaned, but she didn't stop.

Instead, the pressure only escalated. What was left of the vehicle depot began to crumble. Cracks formed in the walls as large chunks of the ceiling fell to the ground, crushing those who were unfortunate enough to stand in their paths.

This intensity... As bad as it was for the soldiers, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was the primary target. I felt the vibrations in the ground dispersing away from me in the manner that a droplet of water would create ripples.

My shoulders gave in, and I fell flat on the ground. However, she refused to allow me to yield. As painful as it was, I could do nothing.

Eventually, my body couldn't take it anymore, and I succumbed to the pain.