OOC: Specific sequence of events that happened between Bulbs' post and this:
- Natalie tells Sly that something is weir
- Catch shoots Nat's cell phone
- The group sees psionic lightning over the buildings and head to a fountain square
- Harmony and Sandstorm and a bunch of Gen 5s greet/fight them
"Alright, Shapeshift, I guess I'll be teaching you how to handle a pistol today."
Shapeshift, age 11 or so, makes no response to the same aged boy with unkempt brown hair. He's wearing sunglasses despite the fact that they are in an indoor range. She's itching to shoot him, though, and see his blood spill all over the concrete--
"Hey now, rude."
"What?"
"Alright! Got a word out of you. Don't shoot me. That's way rude."
"Did you... did you read my mind?"
"Yeah, I did. Sorry, it happens. I go by Ender, but my real name's Andrew. I think I like Ender more, though. Should I call you something other than Shapeshift?"
"Don't you know my real name, mind reader?"
"Yeah, but it's only polite to ask."
"Rie."
"Cool. Rie. So I guess you've already done basic stances and stuff--"
Rie can feel a slight tingling in the back of her mind. "Stop reading my mind."
Ender blushes. "Er, sorry. But yeah, you've already done the boring stuff, so let's do something fun with those killer instincts you got. Let's practice a quick draw."
With that, Ender pulls a revolver from the holster at his side, cocks the hammer back, and pulls the trigger in one smooth motion. Rie looks down range and sees a bullet hole cut dead center on the target.
Rie raises an eyebrow. "Cool."
Dark clouds began to materialize out of the previously clear sunset sky. Flashes of lightning arced through the roiling shapes, but save for Harmony's constant song, the world stayed silent.
Harmony looked up as a drop of water landed on her shaved head. She smiled then looked directly at Rie.
<See you again soon, Sister.>Rie raised her still smoking rifle but before she could pull the trigger, Harmony disappeared in a flash of blue psionic light. Her meandering hum continued to float through everyone's head.
Rie popped the magazine out of her rifle and pulled a handful of rounds from her belt. She scanned the mechanically corrupted bodies laying about the square and the pile of dust that used to be Sandstorm at her feet. This was getting messier and messier. Ender, Harmony, Sandstorm, Gen 5s... The girl broke from her reverie as sunlight burst through the clouds about half a kilometer out. The clouds were clearly circling that point. What the hell was going on here?
Rie pushed the last 5.56mm round into the magazine then slammed the unit back into her rifle. In one quick motion she flicked both the bolt lock and safety off, her weapon's bolt loudly declaring that it was ready. "Let's go."
Rain was coming down heavily under the mute skies. The clouds were swirling violently and soundless lightning arced every few seconds, but the wind had not picked up. Rie might have shivered if she wasn't exclusively focused on jogging and watching for movement.
The side street the group was running down opened up to a wide boulevard several meters ahead, and Rie came to a full stop before entering the intersection. The girl pressed herself against the corner of a nearby apartment building. The girl pulled up her mental map: the boulevard ran north-south, so as long as they hugged the western side, they could advance without Catch getting a clear shot.
Rie held her rifle up to her shoulder then quickly stepped out into the boulevard, scanning for targets. A moment later, she stopped scanning and stared. The boulevard ended at a park located directly beneath the eye of the storm. Pure sunlight illuminated a gigantic apple tree and a large crowd of shuffling individuals. The tree's branches seemed to actively grow upward and outward.
A figure in white stood on a thick branch several dozen meters above the ground. Even with her enhanced vision, Rie could only make out a flowing white gown, upright posture, and golden hair, but even with such vague details, something seemed familiar. Rie raised her rifle to look through its scope and zoomed in on the person.
Shapeshift, age 13, lay on a cold metal table, fighting the spreading numbness and encroaching darkness from the cocktail of drugs being pumped into her arm via IV. She's naked, and paralyzed, and shivering, and crying, but at least she isn't sobbing. Her only other defiance is willing her eyelids open as long as possible while someone brusquely runs a buzzing razor over her scalp again. A woman with golden blond hair--no, her hair is actually gold--walks up beside Shapeshift. Her cherry lips move, and it takes Shapeshift a while to comprehend, "Don't worry, little one, you won't feel anything soon," before finally drifting drifting into black anesthetic sleep.Rie took her eye from the scope, blinked some of the rain from her eyes and looked again. The woman in her scope had the same golden hair and bright red lips but looked no older than 18. The operation to install the phasing implant happened more than nine years ago. This should be impossible. For a moment, the assassin's desire for answers almost stopped her from killing the scientist right then and there. Then the moment passed, and Rie pulled the trigger.
Click.
Rie almost pulled her head back in surprise but kept calm, pulled the charging handle back to expel the dud, took aim once more, and pulled the trigger.
Click.
Through her scope, Rie saw the woman smile sweetly then look directly down the boulevard at the assassin. Rie pulled the charging handle back and tried to fire again and got the same lack of reaction from her gun. The woman raised a hand toward Rie and gestured for her to come closer, then made a sweeping motion toward the gathered crowd. Suddenly, Harmony's melodic, meandering hum changed to a sharp, staccato whistle. The milling crowds momentarily stood still, then all as one began running toward the tree and attempting to clamber up like swarming insects. Though none actively fought any other, the chaos caused many to lose grip and fall.
<Come on over, Sister. I promise we only want to talk with you, not kill you.> It was Harmony again with her sing song voice projected directly into Rie's mind.
Rie lowered the rifle. Rie focused her thoughts, knowing Harmony would be reading them.
Then what are you doing with all those civilians?<We are just giving them greater purpose. Don't concern yourself with them. Like I said, we only want to talk.>
We're talking right now.
<No, you're thinking loudly, and I'm manipulating your surface thoughts. Honestly, this is all very awkward for me, and I can tell you hate it. Well, you hate me, but you also hate what I’m doing to your mind, and, oh--. Sorry, I don't mean to pry. But come on. You’ll be safe. You know I've never lied to you, and you know out of all the other kids, I was the least untrustworthy. Well, not counting Diamante, but he was dumb as a brick, not honest.>
Ender thought you were fine, not me. Rie squeezed the grip of her rifle.
I just wanted to kill all of you, if I'm remembering right.
<Close enough, no?>
Fine. Rie eyed the people behind her.
And my companions?
<Ha! You almost thought 'friends.'>
Shut up and answer the question.
<I can't speak for Ysane or any of the others, but I promise I won't be actively hurt them.>
Good enough. "Alright everyone, let's get to that tree and get some answers. Harmony pretty much said that a bunch of other people are gonna try to kill you all so keep your guard up, I guess."
Rie led the way down the boulevard. She didn't bother raising her rifle to her shoulder again. None of the other Experiments, to her knowledge, could cause her gun to fail three times in a row. Ender could've, but Harmony didn't have that kind of precision skill, and Rie knew for a fact that those were the only two psionics alive when she ran away. Either Ender was fucking with her--not a crazy thought if he was really on their side like Sandstorm said--or it was that golden haired woman. The one Harmony called "Ysane." Rie didn't like either option.
As the group got closer to the park, the branch on which the woman stood stretched further out then snaked its way down to the ground. The woman in white gracefully stepped off and strode toward Rie, arms spread as if to greet her. Rie's fears were confirmed as the woman pulled the girl into an embrace, and even more alarmingly, when Rie's body became translucent, she still could not escape. A dove perched on the tree watched intently as the woman placed a kiss on both of Rie's cheeks.
"My little Shapeshift. How long it's been... and you've grown so much since we last saw one another!"
"Who are you and what do you want from me?" Rie asked.
The woman took a step back with a hand over her chest, her face a mixture of disbelief and offense. "Shapeshift! You don't remember your dear old Ysane?"
"I don't remember, and my name is Rie. The rest of the kids might have forgotten their names, but I still remember mine. The important things."
Ysane broke into laughter at that. "Such a joker as always. Even after we put that in you." Ysane tapped her index finger on Rie's forehead.
Rie immediately swatted away Ysane's hand. "So it really was you at the operating table." Her eyes narrowed. "I'm being serious. Who are you and what do you want?"
Ysane pouted. The pout turned into a frown, then a sigh, then a shake of the head. "Hmm... How unfortunate. Very well. If you truly don't remember, I am Ysane Tranquility, daughter of Eris, she of most beautiful chaos, discord, and strife. Indeed I was with you and all your brothers and sisters as I gave Genlab its inspiration and guidance. The researchers called me director, but to you and your siblings, I always felt like more of a mother."
Ysane smiled. Regardless of intention, Rie took the expression as mockery. She felt her jaw tighten. "Then you're the reason I'm like this. Why we're all like this."
"Yes! And the way you all turned out; it's wonderful, isn't it?"
"Fuck you." With that, Rie bumrushed the goddess. Ysane's eyes widened in surprise, but before Rie could actually make contact, she found herself exhaling sharply and falling backward as something sprang from the ground and drove into her diaphragm. What little air remained in Rie's lungs was expelled as the girl landed flat on her back despite instinctively phasing. Someone was anchoring her to the physical plane.
"Hello, Shapeshift," came an easy male voice from on top of Rie. When the double shock of being taken down wore off, Rie's vision came back into focus to find a lanky guy about her age with a black buzz cut pinning her down.
"Amorph," Rie said. She immediately headbutted him in the mouth. The attack barely made contact, but was enough to make Amorph phase, and Rie did as well to fall through the ground. A few seconds later, she rose back up several feet back.
"Oh, good one,
friend," Amorph laughed as he stood up. He spat a bit of red and wiped his split lip with a sleeve. For a moment, the sleeve turned translucent and the blood fell from the fabric as if they had always been droplets in the air. Amorph grinned, his lip visibly knitting itself up to stop the bleeding. "Y'know, I really
missed our little sparring sessions. So glad to have you
back."
"Back? I'm not back for shit. This is a hunt, not a reunion," Rie said. She wiped a wet strand of hair from her face.
"Isn't it, though?" A new voice. Rie snapped her head in the voice's direction to see a man with combed back, bright red hair nonchalantly walking toward the group. His forearms would have been bare if not for the lengths of chain wrapped around each. "The prodigal sons have returned, and the missing daughter happens to also show up. That sounds like a reunion to me."
A wealth of memories flitted through Rie's mind at the sight of Cobra. Ender's old rival, all the moments of bad blood between them, and by proxy, with her. Those memories all stood second to one word that he had said. "Prodigal... sons?"
Cobra snorted. "Yeah, 'sons.' There's me--"
"--And there's me." Another new voice, but one Rie knew like the back of her hand.
Rie turned to face him. "Ender..."
The psionic adjusted his shades and flashed his yearbook smile. The smile shattered for a moment as it erupted into crackles of psionic energy. Not a second later did the blue lightning coalesce back into Ender's grin. "Yep, that's me. Hey for the second time today."
"Hey--" Rie shook her head. "What the hell is all this?"
"Heh, yeah. Apparently this whole thing," Ender raised his hand and suddenly caught a ball of blue energy then touched it to his forehead, absorbing it, "was to get the gang back together.
Rie furrowed her brow and looked to where the ball of presumably psionic energy came from. Behind Ender and near a man who had fallen from the tree was Harmony with a bored look on her face. The man at her feet was gasping for breath and his legs didn't move. Harmony laid a single index finger on his forehead. Blue light oozed from the man's head and dripped up Harmony's finger, then the man became still. The singer formed the energy into a ball and threw it at Ender who again caught it and absorbed it.
Rie stormed up to Ender and shoved him the chest. Psionic energy exploded outward, singeing Rie's hand and sending her stumbling back. The girl managed to stay on her feet as Ender's trenchcoat flickered back into shape. "What the FUCK, Ender?!?"
"Sorry, didn't mean to blast you like that."
"I don't give a shit about that. I mean you're supposed to be dead. I was at your fucking funeral. I actually cried and everything."
"Heh, I would've paid to--"
"Fuck you. I tried to kill myself. Then two years later, I find you hanging out with these bastards harvesting civilians for fucking what?"
"Shapeshift," Ysane said. Rie snapped a glare in her direction and opened her mouth, but Ysane cut her off. "Rie. We're here to bring Ender back. The cost to bring back life is high, but family? That's easily worth the price."
"Family? The hell are you going on about now?"
"Yes, family. This is why I guided you and Cobra here. This is why I brought Ender back, and why we're using those unworthy of the Tree to put him back together. Family." Ysane smiled. She took a few steps toward the tree as its branches continued to grow overhead. Ysane swirled a finger and a bright red apple fell from the branch and landed neatly in the goddess' hand. She took a bite. "The past two years have been lonely, have they not? Farther back than just two years, yes? After you ran away and found Ender, something was still missing within you. Am I wrong?"
"I..." Rie stared at Ysane. Something felt wrong... but the goddess' words were right. Despite running away from Genlab, Rie still acted like one of them. A weapon, sold to the highest bidder. She had told herself it was to pay the rent, to buy more guns, to pass the time. Something she could do on her own, not something she
had to do. Her head was starting to swim. As if there was something crawling behind the front of her skull.
Rie recognized that feeling. She shot a look at Harmony.
<I'm not the one working your head right now, Sister.>What? Harmony still had the bored look on her face, but she was sitting on a park bench now instead of looking for another life. That was definitely her melodic voice. Was this some kind of trick?
Rie looked at Ender. It couldn't be him, could it?
Ender, is that you? The psionic had no reaction to the focused thought. Either he was in her head and being an asshole, or it was someone else. Even still, the Ender that Rie knew would have at least sent her a message. Maybe send some images to help explain what was going on, or at least give a mental pat on the back, or anything. Rie was far from a raging inferno, but as an empath, her friend would know that even the slightest uptick in emotions stuck out like a sore thumb.
<I know you hate me for sticking with Genlab, but whatever you may think, I do care about all my siblings. I was thinking "what's a little manipulation between friends?" but this is hurting you much more than I thought it would.> Harmony said.
Harmony...
<I'm also not the one telling you this. I'm still with Ysane. I believe in her vision for a peaceful, yet progressive world, built for the best and the brightest. Paradise for us Powers, especially. We are better than the people struggling in this town, and the same is true around the world. I know you believe in your strength, and I think deep down you believe in our goal, but you've been hurt enough today, so I'm going to flat out tell you: Ender's still dead.>
Harmony, I will cut out your vocal chords and stab you in the auditory cortex if you're trying to mess with me more than you all already have. Rie shifted her eyes back toward Ender.
Ender, I'm going to put a fucking bullet in your mouth if you don't talk to me right now. I know you heard Harms.No answer. Harmony's mental whistle and the pressure in the back of Rie's mind continued. The girl tried to ignore that tingling, and focused on an image of her raising her pistol and shooting Ender. Still no reaction from her "friend." So she went through with the action.
In one smooth motion, Rie pulled a pistol from the holster at her side, cocked the hammer back, and pulled the trigger. Ender's head snapped back and exploded in crackles of white lightning and red flames. The boy took a step back but remained on his feet. After a moment, he straightened his posture, but his head was still a ring of fire.
"Shapeshift!" Ysane said. "I can't believe you did that!"
"That's not really him, is it."
Ysane pressed her lips together. "No, it's not. To me, Insanity."
Suddenly, what Rie thought was Ender erupted into flames. A white dove flew from the pyre and landed on Ysane's shoulder. When the smoke cleared moments later, nothing was left standing.
"Stop. Fucking. With. My. Life." Rie pointed her pistol at the goddess, even though she knew it would probably fire duds again. At least it felt good.
"I'm not 'fucking with' anything, Shapeshift," Ysane said. "I'm just trying to show you the way back home."
"I don't want to go 'home.' At least, not the place all you bastards call home."
"Is that how you talk to your family?"
"You're not my fucking family!" Rie snarled.
"Shapeshift--"
"And that's still not my name."
Ysane sighed and rolled her eyes. "Okay, Rie. I'll call you that for now, even if it doesn't fit you, just like the life you're trying to live right now. You're a hand trying to call a pocket a glove. What a waste of potential! You should see the way you're moving right now, the way your eyes flare like falling stars. These few hours we've had together has felt better and has been more interesting than your past few years, have they not? Yes, this Ender was not fully with us, but the doors of death are not so hard to open for a goddess. We didn't get him today, but we can in the future."
Rie shook her head. She had a point. Being a gun for hire really wasn't the best use of her time. And to have Ender back... Rie felt that fuzz of confusion in the back of her head again.
<She's lying...> Harmony sang.
Rie snapped back to attention and shoved the fog out of her head. "I don't believe you. I don't believe any of you. I don't want any of you, and I think I'd be best off with all of you dead." Rie straightened her pistol's aim and pulled the trigger. Click. Another dud.
"Tsk tsk," Ysane said. "I tried doing this the best way for you, but it looks like you'll need some time."
"I don't want 'some time.' I want you all gone forever."
"Oh, don't misunderstand me. I didn't mean time away from us, I meant time with us. Amorph, Cobra, Insanity, take Rie. Kill her friends." Ysane turned to the apple tree. "All of you who are ready, kill them, too."
One of the first civilians had reached a glowing portal near the top of the tree. She stepped through. There was a blood curdling scream that pierced the silent air, then ten heartbeats later, the portal evaporated into mist, leaving behind a biomechanical monstrosity. The newly created gen 5 best leapt from the canopy and landed heavily on pavement. More flashes of light and more screams followed, then dozens more came soaring down.
Rie holstered her pistol and pulled out her rifle. She expelled the last dud, flicked it into burst fire mode, and immediately put three bullets in the first beast's chest followed by three more in the head, dropping it. So the duds only happened for Ysane. She turned toward another beast and tapped it three times in the chest. She shifted her aim toward its head but before she could pull the trigger, something moved at the edge of her vision. The girl shifted her weight just as a shortsword thrust through the space where her kidney had just been. Amorph held the sword with an arm that seemed to stretch like rubber. Rie aimed her rifle, ducked under Amorph's backswing, and pulled the trigger. The three bullets passed through Amorphs translucent chest as if he were not there.
"C'mon, Shapeshift. You know the rules of this match." Amorph laughed as his arm retracted to normal length. He pulled another sword from his belt with his other hand and flourished the blades. Runes glowed down their lengths.
Rie groaned, then unslung her rifle and dropped it. The assassin pulled a combat knife from the small of her back. It did not glow in any way.
Amorph laughed again, then moved to an offensive stance. His body was translucent, while Rie didn't bother. Rain continued to drench the two as they stood in their own silence.
Amorph's leading hand twitched slightly then lashed out like a snake again. Rie sidestepped, the sword arm whipping by her shoulder. Amorph overshot, and the girl waved her off hand through her opponent's translucent arm. She phased for a millisecond, feeling her hand tingle as it interacted with Amorph, then shifted her whole body to match his plane and stabbed him on the inside of his elbow. She concentrated on the embedded knife, using the point of contact to keep Amorph from phasing out. The girl then dragged the knife up, carving a bloody gash through her opponent's tendons and veins, then released the anchor and phased once more to let the ghostly outpouring of blood pass through her.
Rie's head was tingling, but not at a psychic's touch. Her phasing implant had gone into overdrive to interfere with Amorph's more advanced implant. While the devices were based on the same technology, Rie's had been the first successful prototype. She shuffled a few steps back to make some space while her implant cooled off. At least she had managed to disarm Amorph with that attack. He was still grinning despite his empty hand and open veins. "You know it's been years since I've bled like this? Years!"
"I forgot how annoying you were. On purpose," Rie said.
Amorph just shrugged. His arm had regenerated already. He gave his hand a shake then pulled another runed sword from his back. Amorph closed his eyes and grunted. Both his arms made sloppy breaking sounds as they cleanly split in half. Blood didn't spill, and each half quickly healed into a total of four whole arms. One pulled the remaining sword from Amorph's belt. The other stretched out toward the previously dropped sword.
Rie quickly drew a pistol to shoot the fallen sword away, but then Amorph charged. Rie muttered a curse then raised her knife and pistol and shifted her weight into a wide, defensive stance.
Amorph slashed high and low with both his right arms as his elongated left arm snatched up his last sword. Rie stepped into the attack and toward her opponent's outside shoulder. She ducked the high attack and caught the low attack with her knife's guard, guiding it into the ground. The girl shifted her weight again and dropped a shoulder, barreling through the translucent man. Once she was clear, she phased to match and shot Amorph in the back three times. The fourth passed through him without leaving a bloody hole.
Rie stepped back as Amorph drove one of his blades backward. She ducked the next two high slashes that Amorph performed as he whipped around to face Rie again. He made a fourth cut low. Rie picked up her leg to dodge. She then swept her foot through Amorph's attacking forearm to get another feel, set her feet, then sprang into the air to dodge the backswing.
Rie lashed out with her knife hand using the same trick Amorph had done several times before, her arm lengthening so that she could stab him behind the collarbone. She used the knife as an anchor and pivoted midair to pull herself onto Amorph's shoulders, locking his chin behind her calves. If memory served, his implant would be behind a runed metal plate right... here. Rie pressed her pistol to her bucking ride and managed to get two shots off. She would have fired a third time if something hadn't grabbed her hair from behind and ripped her from her perch. She couldn't phase and got slammed down head first into the mud. The pressure released so Rie picked a side and rolled. She heard Amorph land heavily around where her spine had just been.
Rie maneuvered her legs so that her sideways roll ended with her in a three point stance. Amorph had one knee deep in the ground a few steps away, and Rie's knife still stuck out from his shoulder. His right foot was transforming from a hand back to a foot. He turned to her, still grinning. "I missed having an opponent this slippery."
"I don't."
"Yeah, well look how rusty you've gotten," Amorph laughed. "Bet your implant is warm as fuck right now."
Rie just glared. He was right about one thing; she was pushing her implant hard. Amorph's tech must have gotten an upgrade as it took more effort to keep him anchored than Rie remembered. Or maybe he was right about being rusty... Rie mentally shook her head. No, definitely not.
Rie holstered her pistol and pulled another combat knife from her boot before standing up. The rain was causing some mud from the girl's brow to leak into her eye, but she didn't dare take her eyes off her opponent to wipe it off. More specifically, she eyed each of Amorph's runed swords. If she could grab one of those, she'd at least have a weapon that could hit him without having to constantly match his phases.
Amorph shifted his bare feet to a wider stance then lashed out at Rie with all four arms simultaneously. Rie dodged and slipped her way around the first round of attacks, trying her best to keep all blades in her vision. She vaulted over a second attack, ducked a third, and used her knife to push away a fourth. Amorph's unrelenting attacks kept coming, and Rie continued to dance through them, waiting for her opening.
There. Amorph thrust one his swords at Rie. The girl took a calculated step to the side to dodge then used her off hand to grab the sword's blade. She felt the metal biting into her fingers just as she felt Amorph's current phasing frequency. The girl phased to match and jammed her knife into the inside of Amorph's forearm, let go of the knife, then gave a hard slap to her opponent's wrist. With temporarily severed tendons and nerves, Amorph's hand slackened enough for Rie to wrench the sword out. Once she had it, she quickly backpedaled to put some space between her and her opponent.
Rie took the sword in her good hand and worked the fingers of her off hand. The cut wasn't deep, but the wound certainly wouldn't help. On top of the wound, the sword was lighter and shorter than the one she kept at home--the one she'd trained with. Oh well. She would have to make do.
"Ha, ok, that was pretty good," Amorph said. He retracted his arms and took a look at the knife embedded in his wrist. He passed one of his swords to that hand then used the newly freed hand to arm to rip the knife out and throw it away. He winked. "Well I guess now that you've gotten one of my bad boys, it's time to get serious with this fight."
Amorph rushed forward and came in with an overhead cut. Rie slapped it away with her new sword and dodged the next slash. The girl stepped forward holding her sword high and point forward, intercepting another attack. She let the force of the blow flow into her wrist and pulled the momentum to swing the sword in an overhead circle toward Amorph's exposed neck.
Then he flashed vantablack and the sword passed through without taking his head off.
"F--" Rie was interrupted by a pommel slamming into her chin and another into her gut. The girl stumbled back and barely managed to get her blade up to stop the flat of Amorph's third sword from hitting her in the head.
"You like the new upgrade, Shapeshift?" Amorph asked. His words oozed mockery.
"Meh," Rie grunted through clenched teeth.
"Oh poor baby." Amorph sheathed one of his swords so he could use a fist to mock crying. He puffed his lower lip dramatically. "C'mon, Shapeshift, don't give up on me now. I'm only starting to really have fun."
Rie just held her sword between herself and her opponent. She needed to end this sooner rather than later. She stole a glance at her companions. Prime, Yoshimitsu, and Sly were busy dealing with more and more Gen 5s. Insanity had transformed into a two story tall hellhound and was in an even tussle with Valon. Natalie was practically frothing at the mouth as she dealt with Cobra, though in her rage it looked like she had the upper hand.
Rie snapped back to Amorph as the man came charging in once more. She quickly pulled a knife from her other boot and held it up as a guard. The two became a storming clash of metal once more. The blocks and parries were easier with only three points of attack to watch out for, but Rie was still on the defensive. Despite being down a sword, Amorph was presenting fewer openings after his attacks. Was he just playing with her earlier? Rie gritted her teeth at the thought as she dodged another series of attacks. Bastard.
Rie parried a low slash and spun her sword into a quick riposte, but Amorph easily slapped away the counter. "That's really the best you can do?"
"Shut up." Rie sidestepped a high thrust.
"Poor little rusty Shapeshift." Amorph flickered black as Rie's blade passed through his chest. "Ysane's right about all that wasted potential."
"Shut up."
"Or what?" Amorph caught Rie's next attack and flashed black, phasing the sword's together. He became physical again and spun his sword, ripping Rie's weapon out of her hands. Amorph's follow up came like lightning, thrusting another sword into Rie's gut, plunging the blade down to the guard. She would have gasped if not for the searing pain.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Amorph let go of the sword and pushed Rie away from him. She stumbled back but managed to keep her footing. "After all these years, I can put you down just like that. But of course I didn't, because I'm a gentleman."
Rie focused as best she could to do an internal assessment. Amorph was still playing with her. Darkness crept at the edges of the girl's vision, but she wasn't going into shock. That was good. Somewhat. She was getting lightheaded, but she still standing, so probably no major arteries hit. Internal bleeding, though, maybe ten minutes of consciousness left. Bastard. Rie suddenly noticed that her blood soaked hands were shaking as they clutched the sword hilt. She made an attempt to pull the sword out and ended up yelling in pain and coughing up more blood. The taste of iron felt like an oil slick on her tongue.
Amorph laughed. "Yeah keep trying, bud. Cut your intestines to ribbons. Doesn't matter. We can patch that up when we get home,
friend. Just like old times."
Rie gripped the sword and started pulling again, screaming. She stopped to catch her breath when she heard another yell. Her glare at Amorph shifted to the fight between Natalie and Cobra several dozen meters away. Nat, bruised and bloody, had her whip-like sword curled around Cobra's neck. The green haired woman vaulted over the red haired man and flipped, causing the coil to tighten. Blood came in drops then spurts then geysers as Cobra's head came off. Nat spat on the body and kicked the head at a circling Gen 5.
"Well, that sucks," Amorph said. His smile had momentarily disappeared as he also watched the end of the fight.
Rie felt a surge within herself. The fuckers here weren't immortal. They were the same kids she had the misfortune of growing up with. She yelled again and ripped the sword from her gut, then charged before Amorph could fully turn his attention back. He made a quick, reactionary slash at the girl's torso, but Rie ducked it and dropped low, sweeping her foot forward. She passed through Amorph's left calf unimpeded, phased to match, then gave the inside of Amorph's right ankle a bone breaking hit. As Amorph fell backward, Rie leapt forward and drove her sword through Amorph's stomach, riding him to the ground. The sword stabbed into the ground on impact, pinning the man for the moment.
"Oh, matching stomach wounds. How cute." Amorph's grin was back.
"I told you to shut up."
Rie straddled Amorph's chest, ripped her old knife from his shoulder and shoved it into the base of his chin, throwing his head back and pressing it to the mud. She unholstered a pistol and pressed it against his temple and emptied the entire magazine. "I'm not missing this time."
<Sorry, Sister, neither is Catch.>Rie's eyes went wide as she noticed two things: something was itching at the back of her mind again, and her fight with Amorph had brought her to a place with no tall buildings to the west. She would have noticed that Harmony had started singing a requiem if not for the cloud of pink mist exploding from two newly made holes in her head.