B1 — 19. Beckoning Disaster
Rachel’s ears twitched as she heard the helicopters and string of information passing to Saint Barbara on their descent to the hospital’s ground level.
She’d rerouted their transport by coordinating with SOUTHCOM and NAVAIR from the nearby city of Doral. Satellite information and on-site personnel from the Miami Beach coast guard base were flooding in as they got on the same page.
Military hardware, soldiers, and Naval assets were being pulled in from nearby reserves to offer medical and backup support to clean up after the special forces units cleared areas. Astra was even supplying them with private user data he’d hacked into to identify key threats.
Terrell’s cartel branch had poked the drowsy giant and drew its eye. By murdering a large department of local police, stealing their armaments, and taking hundreds hostage, the might of the US military was closing around his neck.
Although, after everything Relica hinted at, Rachel assumed this was all a part of something bigger that the Scarlet Hand had anticipated. What they hadn’t counted on was her involvement and pulling Scarlet back from becoming a murder hobo. Now, everything was falling apart.
Three Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters were just touching down in the parking lot to pick them up, loaded with equipment for the green berets and items to restock the SEALs they’d be coordinating with during the operation.
Tingles ran down her arms as she heard a few civilians watching the military transport vehicles touching down. They excitedly talked about the three MH-60L Direct Action Penetrator variant Black Hawks escorting them.
The attack helicopters were fully equipped with M230 Chain Gun 30 mm automatic cannons, 19-shot Hydra 70 rocket pods, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missiles, GAU-19 gun pods, and M134 minigun pods for door guns.
It was apparent that after the Seattle Vampire tragedy and over a hundred people already confirmed murdered by the coalition of gangs in Miami Beach, hundreds more held as hostages, the US government wasn’t going to play around.
Rachel had to wonder how the local gangs thought they were going to come out on top. Maria’s gang certainly didn’t want any part in what was going on, and a few other neighboring city gangs were all on the low to not get pulled in.
Then again, they did have unusual ability users on their side, and Conner seemed to be invincible, according to the reports. Still, something about the escalation didn’t sit right with Rachel as they exited the elevator on ground level.
Scarlet gave her a nervous smile as all of the soldiers with them jogged toward their transport, the people in the hallway flattening against the wall at the sudden surge of swift-moving military men.
Rachel posted up by the staircase in wait for Selvaria, observing the next group that lapped the poor, exhausted leviathan; she really didn’t appear built for land-based activities. Barbara had a plan in motion for the girl, though, and was organizing things with command.
“Are you okay, Rachel?” Scarlet asked, forcing a laugh while plucking at her skirt. “I guess it doesn’t really matter what I wear, but it makes me think I’m in an anime.”
Knowing she was nervous beyond words, Rachel nudged her with her elbow. “If being some protagonist helps you, then I’m all for it. I’ll be listening, Scarlet, okay? You’re not alone.”
“Thanks…” She puffed out her pent-up air, chuckling a little and shivering. “I used to think what it would be like to be in some combat anime with special powers, but…”
“Hehe. A lot different in real life?” Rachel mused, nudging her head to the side as the last string of green berets exited the emergency staircase before Selvaria made it out, even if she was the first one in.
Scarlet’s chest shook with silent laughter. “Yeah. Poor Selv. Do you think that unicorn gangster is okay? Why did they take her?”
Rachel shrugged. “No clue right now, but the reason doesn’t concern me that much. I just feel like she’s critical for us to go against Relica.”
“No pressure. Geez.”
Giving her an encouraging smile and hearing the dying leviathan finally reach ground level, dragging her tail toward the door, Rachel opened it to clear her way.
“No need to overthink it. Maria can probably help you work through any trouble that pops up; she’s an assertive woman.”
“W-Water…” Selvaria gagged. Rachel lifted an eyebrow as she opened the door to give her a clear path forward. Steam was rising off the girl’s flushed skin, eyes spinning.
“Selv?!”
“Over here,” Rachel said, guiding her to a nearby fountain.
Scarlet followed close beside them. “What’s wrong?”
Selvaria only shook her head, unable to speak. The crowds of people in the hallway watched with uncertainty as she chugged down the liquid for a good two minutes.
She’d shrunk in size and age again, now a young teenager. Her spike-punctured shirt was baggy, her shorts long lost and showing her black-plated scale garments.
“Agh! Haa-haa-haa. I need—ocean… Too much—too much exercise…”
“Well, it’s a good thing they’re waiting on us,” Rachel chuckled, pulling her toward the nearest exit. “They’re going to drop you out of the helicopter on the way.”
Selvaria held up a thumb. “Nice…”
Scarlet gave her a look that asked if she was going to be okay, and Rachel returned it with a smile that said, probably.
Exiting into the night, Rachel breathed a sigh of relief with the moonlight that touched her skin. The phases were on the path to a full moon, which was good for her because a new moon would have been a disaster.
Rachel helped the dehydrated leviathan into the large transport helicopters with a few of the men. They used straps to anchor her down in preparation to shove her out whenever they passed over the ocean. Mateo handed her a waterproof backpack that had some power bars and an earpiece inside for her to use to receive directions and orders.
Scarlet was buckled onto the bench with Rachel as the helicopter took off, most of the soldiers not bothering with straps, clearly accustomed to the ride. All of the green berets were making signals to one another to communicate private jokes that made them laugh.
It was all rather quick, and she heard Astra complaining on their private feed about Barbara forcing him to stick with at least one avatar every 24 hours. He chose a rather scholarly-sounding Brit for the role and played into it as if born in the 1920s.
Rachel held her braid against her chest, feeling the cool metal of the captain’s shiny armor against her shoulder. She had positioned herself to be seated beside the saint because there was one thing she wanted to change in the woman’s plans.
Motioning for one of the men to toss her a headset, she spoke through it to Barbara, causing her to glance over at her and the chatter on the line to cut.
“Drop me off in the open, where Relica can see me coming. I’ll buy you time and keep her busy; as for a sniper taking her out, let me confirm some stuff. You have something to listen in on our conversation?”
Barbara gave Mateo a tight-lipped look, pondering the change of course as the helicopter tilted to the side. They’d planned on her going in from a far more covered position and taking her out with a Hellfire missile if needed since she claimed she was going to be in the open.
Still, it didn’t sit right with many of the officers in military command, along with Barbara and Mateo, that she’d leave herself so exposed. Mateo was the one to pose the question, Scarlet looking petrified again.
“It’s reckless to put yourself in that position, Rachel. Your parents are probably going to hear about what you’re planning to do from Astra since they’re listening to a lot of the feeds with the people Anthony’s guarding. Is this one of those misfortune gut feeling things?”
Rachel looked up at the fluttering American flag secured to the ceiling and all the veteran special forces men looking at her. There was a tightness in her gut that told her she was on the back foot.
Relica didn’t care about hostages, the cartel interests, or Terrell. Her entire visit was to provoke her into this very action, so it was entirely understandable why this seemed like a stupid idea. That being said, she couldn’t get the answers or shift things in a better way by skulking in the shadows. Playing the defensive wasn’t an option when it was the opponent’s strategy; she had to disrupt it.
Tongue sliding across her lips, Rachel grinned, ears leaning with the chopper as she addressed the officer.
“Relica is seventh on the FBI most wanted list. She’s not stupid. If she is in the open, then she has a guaranteed escape route. It could be Daran, but I doubt she would entrust her safety to anyone but herself.
“She’s dangerous, and she wants to test me. So, let me distract her and this invincible guy named Conner. I’m not suicidal. If I feel like I’m in danger, I’ll do a tactical retreat, and I highly doubt they have anyone that can match me in speed.”
Barbara reached into a nearby backpack and tossed her a walkie-talkie, leaning over to show her how to use it. “Keep it on this channel and always on. I’ll have Command record it, and if there’s anything wrong, I’ll have a Black Hawk and sniper detail stationed to you. In case you need to retreat, they’ll lay cover fire. We’ll be listening.”
It surprised Rachel a tad that the woman was taking a chance on her, but they were dealing with forces they didn’t understand, and Conner himself had proven to be more than just an annoyance after taking everything a SEAL team threw at him.
Then again, she reminded herself that she shouldn’t be surprised since Tom and Barbara definitely wanted to know the reason why the Scarlet Hand and Relica were so focused on her. Rachel wanted to know that answer herself. Sure, she had some odd senses that gave her quite a few advantages, but there had to be more to it than her simply being a disruptor.
Why had goddesses contacted her? Why did they want to meet her specifically in the giant tree in London? Why had she been so close to Scarlet when The Oscillation occurred? There were so many questions, and everyone wanted the answer, except for her parents, who just wanted her to be back home and safe.
Rachel’s shoulders sagged as her mother’s voice came from the earpiece Barbara had tinkered to attach to her ear; she was listening in on Astra’s network.
“Rachel… you promised me a shopping trip, right?”
“Trust me, Mom,” she said, accepting an earpiece from the Legend to speak to her. “Heh. Do you remember the third day you took me to the Muay Thai gym? You had the courage to let me be there by myself.”
“Eh-heh… I didn’t, though,” her mother mumbled. “I watched you from the window outside—I couldn’t let you be alone for months.”
“Oh… Huh.” Rachel forced a smile and scratched her left ear as a few of the listening soldiers chuckled. “Well, trust me now. You said you would. I’ll come back to you.”
“In one piece!”
“Hehe. Yes, in one piece, Mom. I love you, but you can’t be jumping in on military calls. If all of this works out. Yes.”
“Yes, what?” her mother pressed, sounding winded.
“Yes, you can have a part in whatever business comes from this—not field stuff—but something that will keep us close. I love you.”
“Thank you, Sung,” her mother cried in Korean. “I’ll pray for your safety.”
“May the gods be with me,” Rachel half-jokingly returned, knowing how serious her mother was about her shamanism practices. “See you in the morning.”
Handing it back to Barbara, she saw the back of the helicopter open, and the soldiers brace themselves. A few were already beside Selvaria.
Scarlet and the leviathan waved at each other as the young teenage girl gave a thumbs up and did a ridiculous back roll off the helicopter.
“Bye… Woops…”
Two of the green berets panicked a little, trying to grab her, yet in the blink of an eye, she was free-falling into the night. “Wait—it’s still a bit shallow there…”
“Aww, shit,” the girl mumbled in the air before likely body flopping into the ocean, causing quite the splash and noise to return to Rachel’s ears.
Scarlet locked up, crimson eyes replacing her blue as she searched for the falling girl. “Rachel! Will she be—oof! Wait… She’s rising to the surface, and… Thumbs up, but it looked a little painful.”
“Kill me…” Selvaria groaned, for some reason cursing her as the woman sank below the waves. “This is—blegh, seaweed—is on you, Puffy Tail! I’ve been cursed by your misfortune… Ugh. I’m going to throw up.”
A little entertained by her antics, Rachel breathed out a long stream of air and smiled at Scarlet. It seemed to help her, and it didn’t take too much longer for their swift ride to reach 5th Street; near the end of the road would be one of the hotel clubs that Terrell was using to stage his operation.
Figuring that the terrorist would be alerted to her presence, she had the helicopter touch down a few streets back to land on a rooftop near the 5th and Meridian Avenue intersection. The pilot didn’t even touch down on the roof, allowing them to hop out of the back.
The soldiers swiftly went to the roof access door, and Rachel informed them that there were only scared citizens, taking shelter inside the building. Gunshots could be heard across the zone from a few cowboy-like groups that were trying to enter the area to get their loved ones out.
Barbara gave her a grim smile as the helicopter took to the air again, rerouting to the Coast Guard ships east of Miami Beach. “Good luck, Rachel. I really hope we’re not overestimating your abilities.”
“Me too, Captain,” Rachel responded, holding the radio to her mouth before letting it fall.
The aircraft pulled away, their goal to drop Barbara off to identify the threat of the stealth submarine Astra picked up chatter about. If it hadn’t been discovered, then there was something magical about it from The Oscillation, and its cargo and weapons were the most significant risk.
Black Hawks now patrolled the city from the air, providing air support as most of the green berets took the stairs to ground level, preparing to break off into units to follow Mission Command’s orders to secure hostages.
Turning in a slow circle with Mateo, his communications man, and Scarlet by her side, Rachel closed her eyes and listened. She created a grid of the area in her mind, mapping the inflections in people’s voices, their cadence, and of those that spoke around them.
She quickly pointed out key areas that Scarlet quickly identified with her eyes to describe to Mateo’s communication expert. It didn’t take them more than a minute with her wide-ranged hearing pointing them in the right direction of hostels. However, it only took that long for their position to be compromised.
“Rachel, look!” Scarlet hissed, tugging on her tank top.
Eyes opening, she smirked as a hovering eye stared at them from overhead. The fact Scarlet could see it now showed that Veronica had put points into or obtained a Feat so she could see them. For the first time since she’d landed in this area, Relica’s voice spoke from the street, far to the east.
“Are you done playing, Rachel? Hurry up!” she sang. “I’ll get the tea ready and chocolate pastries ready. They’re a day or two old, but they should still be divine!”
Ignoring the terrorist for a moment, she held out her hand, still smiling at the disgusting organ overhead. “Mateo, can I have your gun for a minute? I want to test something out.”
“Do you know how to shoot it?”
“Not really, but how hard can it be? Point and shoot.”
He handed her a pistol, and she held it up, looking down through the iron sight. It was easier to spot the tiny point on the sight with her sharpened sight. Bracing herself for the recoil, as she’d seen on TV, Rachel pulled the trigger. She missed. Her ears shivered at the pop, making her wince.
Taking aim again, she launched a second round. The bullet ripped the bottom left half of the large eye apart, causing it to fall to the ground; their only advantage was stealth, which meant they could be brought down with any kind of damage.
“Nice!” Scarlet cheered, jogging to the edge to watch it hit the road below.
Rachel gave the gun back to Mateo and picked up her own radio off the roof. “If I hear anything important, I’ll let you know. I need to test boundaries anyway,” she grinned, leaving the green berets to go about their task of rescuing the scattered hostages.
“Godspeed.”
Scarlet hugged herself as Rachel approached. “So… do we need to sta—Rachel?!”
Hopping over the edge, Rachel dropped the four stories to the ground below, landing without much difficulty; it didn’t even hurt her legs that much, and her Lunar Pool was only seventy-eight percent.
The vespertine reaper appeared out of the shadows beside her as Rachel casually began her journey down 5th to meet up with Relica. Mateo’s men were exiting the back of the office space, breaking into teams after warning those inside to stay barricaded inside until the Coast Guard secured the area, building by building.
“Why are you always in such a rush?” the black-haired girl huffed, crossing her arms and walking beside her down the empty street.
Rachel hummed, holding her hands behind her back and taking a more casual stride. She slowly turned her left and right, ears high and alert as she heard the SEALs, green berets, and other military teams brought into the large-scale operation start outward in.
They used Astra’s intel, along with what Rachel’s ears were able to catch on their initial arrival in the area. Marking each terrorist cell and catching them by surprise, the teams were hitting them hard. Few would be taken alive due to the circumstances; there were too many lives on the line.
Those bunking down or taking shelter across the city due to the firefights and fear were beginning to grow bolder with the military’s presence. Several parties hiding in the buildings just down 5th were questioning if they should make a run for the bridge off of Miami Beach after hearing the helicopters.
“I’m just not all that scared,” she honestly replied, motioning for Scarlet to the cream building ahead of them. “We’ll be able to see Relica soon, so you should hide. Have faith in yourself, Scarlet. Be someone’s hero. Don’t forget, I’m here if you need me.”
Scarlet’s throat constricted as she slowed to a stop, rubbing her sides. Determination set on the girl’s face. “Just… be safe. I really need a friend, a-and I don’t know if I can…”
Rachel laughed and turned to give her the same thumbs up and smile the leviathan gave her. “I don’t think you’re the only one that wants friends, Scarlet. I’m sure Selvaria is worried about us, too. Let’s not make each other worry anymore and just win!”
“Pfft-hahaha!” Scarlet’s fear seemed to vanish, bloody tears coming to her eyes. “You really did channel your ‘inner Selv’ there… Thanks, Rachel. I won’t fail!”
Shadows carried her away, and Rachel let the cheer and hop in her step fade, cold anticipation crystalizing within her heart. Swapping her hand to her elbow behind her back, her illuminated celestial eyes fixated on the table and chairs that were placed in the middle of Ocean Drive and 5th, where Relica waited.
Gunfire, helicopters, and whispered prayers winded along the haunted wind that swept through the lifeless streets. An eerie vibe tickled her senses from one of the buildings to the south of Ocean Drive that foretold an ominous nexus point.
“How long did you intend to keep me waiting?” Relica asked. Her bright purple eyes shone with some kind of inner magic as she smoothly poured the contents of a steaming teapot into some cups. Setting it down, she pointed at the Black Hawks circling them. “I’m surprised by the show of military force, to be honest. Respectable.”
Rachel sat across from her, placing her active radio on the table to be easily seen. Folding her legs and placing her hands atop her lap, she shook her head. “I don’t believe this is the place you told me to meet you. Terrell’s little club is in that rather unnatural feeling building about fifty meters to my right. How can we build trust?”
“Forgive me,” Relica sighed, glancing at the cleared cross-section. “It is rather cramped with all the vehicle barricades they have over there, and this was such a lovely spot. Honestly, maybe we should go for a walk. What do you say?”
“I’m fine, either or.” The woman likely knew about the potential for snipers or had another plot in mind, but it didn’t matter to her. “I thought you wanted tea, though?”
Relica gave a short start. “Haha. I’m a tad nervous, which is so rare for me. You’re giving me butterflies! I have never seen Adele act like this about anyone. Hmm. Well, what do you think?”
Rachel grimaced at the tea, its earthy scent lifted on the breeze. “I don’t know if I should be offended or flattered by your effort… Carrot tea?”
“I know! I had to look up a recipe,” she giggled, sampling a bit. “It’s… terrible. Haha. But the pastries are good!”
“I’m sure… What did you do to Terrell’s building?” she asked, truly curious.
She ignored the refreshments to stare at the warped and twisted outer appearance. She was sure normal people would see nothing wrong with it, yet there was something haunting about it that her divine supernatural senses picked up. Scarlet was examining it from an alleyway, seemingly unsure if she should enter.
Relica gave a dismissive shrug, following her vision and taking another sip of the tea, despite her earlier comment. “Insurance. When is your fish friend going to show up? If she doesn’t come soon, I’m afraid we might have some trouble. Egor isn’t good at waiting.”
Rachel took the radio off the table, head tilting to her left as she spoke. “Soon… Team Gamma, five hostiles changed locations to the building across from you, the second floor, third building on your left. They discovered the mayor’s son and plan to use him as a bargaining chip.”
“Tch.” Relica’s souring expression drew her gaze; the woman’s light purple eyes practically leaked venom, but not for her. “That… wasn’t a part of the script. Pity.”
She lazily snapped her fingers; simultaneously, a loud pop erupted from the area, splattering the walls and ceiling. Lumps of what Rachel could only assume was flesh splattered onto counters and tables, dripping gore tapping against a sink.
Seconds later, panicked screams came from the mayor’s son. Through his partly unintelligible mumbles and pants, as he stumbled out of the room, Rachel confirmed what happened: the men had exploded in a geyser of blood, showering him and the room in their innards and bone.
“That was… something,” Rachel muttered. “Gamma Team, Relica took care of the situation. All hostiles are neutralized, the victim, likely traumatized with some minor injuries.”
An angelic smile was on the terrorist’s face. “You’re welcome! I don’t like it when people can’t follow simple instructions. I’m used to far more, hmm… aware subordinates.”
Ears twisting to the left, Rachel heard Scarlet hype herself up and teleport into the haunting building; all sound inside died. She didn’t like it, but her gut told her that she needed to get things moving with Relica.
The military’s advance was swift and methodical as they pushed in from all sides, killing the gangsters and sending the hostages to be debriefed and questioned by the Coast Guard. She had to expose the truth since the snipers were already getting in position and taking aim at Relica.
“Let’s cut to the chase.” Rachel’s smiling eyes fixated on Relica’s innocent gaze. “You’re out here in the open, free as can be, because you’re not afraid of me. Why’s that? If Scarlet’s mother, your boss, is terrified of me. Why aren’t you?”
Relica’s cheerful tone didn’t falter as she leaned against the side of her chair. “Why should I be scared? We’re having such a lovely conversation. Oh… are you starting to glow?”
[Lunar Coat - Advanced to E-tier]
[Lunar Pool - Advanced to D-tier]
[Lunar Cap - Advanced to D-tier]
[Bringer of Misfortune - Advanced to B-tier]
“Haha!” Flashbacks of her time under the Azure Moon brought a wicked twist to Rachel’s lips as she held up her brightening hand and flexed her fingers; her braided hair and figure were taking on the same twinkling sheen. “You chose this spot on purpose; the moon is shining right on top of us.”
Her eclipse-like ruby eyes drifted to the terrorist. “Why? We both know, at this point,” she held up her hand, glowing with bright white light under the bright half-full celestial sphere, “I could punch a hole in that chest of yours the size of a sunroof. Hmm-hm-hmm. I think I know the answer.”
“Oh… Tell me, why am I not afraid? Maybe I’m just that brave, hehe, or insane! Sometimes I feel a little of both, to be honest,” she cooed, rising to her feet with Rachel.
Curiosity was in the woman’s eyes instead of fear, prompting Rachel to hold her hands behind her back and begin circling the table. Relica moved the opposite way, the anticipation and razor’s edge of combat caressing Rachel’s lips, yet she knew that was just what her opponent wanted.
“Brave… Insane?” Rachel mocked, casually picking up the radio with one hand to hold the antenna against her chin. “Haha! How pretentious and pathetic. I actually expected a lot more from such a big-name terrorist.”
“Well, that’s rather rude. I’m being nice!” Relica huffed, a pout coming on as her arms crossed under her bust. “I thought I could be a bitch, but what’s with that smirk? Do you think you’ve figured me out after only two short exchanges?”
Striking at the woman’s pride was meaningless since she didn’t have any. Rachel had met all sorts of people on the street, in school, and in the ring when it came to fighting.
Her heart thumped with anticipation, hearing Selvaria exit the waters behind the hotel. The adrenaline made her tail go stiff and her ears twitch; her bestial senses were on high alert, telling her all she needed to know.
Rachel gave her an incredulous stare. “Heh. What do you mean? You thought you were something special? You’re not that deep, Babe. You’re the one that wanted to get in the cage with me, but you really didn’t want that. Isn’t that why you’re waiting for your knight to come save you?”
Relica clutched her stomach, figure shaking with laughter. “You think I’m scared of you? Try me. I’m right here!” she huffed, stopping to shove the table out of the way and shatter the china across the road. “I’m wanted across the globe.”
“And you’re afraid of little old me? I’d be flattered if that actually meant anything,” Rachel dryly returned. “Are you trying to impress me? It’s sad.”
“Eh-heh… Sad—me?” Relica’s mouth drew in, eyes practically daggers attempting to dig into her throat. “Do you have any idea the resources entire countries have put into seeking me out—for my talents or to see me dead? A single day in my five decades of accomplishments is worth more than your entire life!”
Rachel walked around the table, ignoring the cracking woman to bend down and pick up a piece of the broken porcelain pot. “You’re poppin’ off, huh?”
Slowly rising to her feet, Rachel twisted the sharp weapon around her fingers. Relica’s smug face returned, opening her arms to invite her to strike. Yet, Rachel only moved to circle the woman, porcelain in her left hand and radio in her right.
“You don’t care about any of the lives here. No one matters but what your obsessive, overdressed ass wants. And you wanted me. But not like this. You want to be in control.”
“Haha. I am in control, Sweetie,” Relica chuckled, crossing her arms and taking a casual posture as the lunar-charged shark circled her. “I wanted to see what Adele saw in you, but I am the one disappointed. I thought we could become friends.”
“Pfft!” Rachel leaned in to whisper at her back. “Your friendship is as worthless as your false bravado.”
Stepping away to glare at her, Relica hissed. “False bravado?! Who do you think you are? Some college hare kid that got lucky?”
“Am I lucky, or are you just unlucky to have met me?” Rachel teased, holding the sharp shard against her neck; each pulse of Relica’s pumping vein increased Rachel’s heartbeat. “Hah! But… you aren’t afraid of this…”
Rachel dropped the fragment to shatter at her feet, their twisted dance linking dozens of thoughts in her accelerated mind. Every twitch the woman made, the inflections in her voice, the emphasis on specific words, and the chemicals her body released painted a dazzling picture in her focused mind.
All of it was only the beginning of her craftwork, a hunger for more pushing Rachel forward as if locked in a sway of fate and destiny at play. The anticipation beating within her core unveiled more and more blood-quickening stimulation with every action.
Relica snorted. “You don’t have the balls!”
A sly tilt came to Rachel’s lips as her fingers deliberately, slowly, reached for the woman’s throat. Relica swallowed reflexively with her hand comfortably held against her windpipe. She wasn’t even sure what she was saying now; all she knew was the intoxicating hunger for equilibrium with the rush flooding through her breast.
[Bringer of Misfortune - Advanced to A-tier]
[Strategic Mind - Advanced to S-tier]
[Mental Acceleration - Advanced to S-tier]
[Level Up - Level 7]
[Skill Point Available]
[New Feat Selectable]
“Please, underestimate me,” Rachel whispered, keeping the woman’s illuminated purple eyes fixated on hers. “Test your fate against mine and see the altar of misfortune. You think you’re merciless? You’re pathetic. Always hiding behind the lives of others. Weak. Did you think I wouldn’t know why you would meet me like this after all the hints?”
Fingernails carefully sliding down her skin, the spell broke, and Rachel shoved her back, causing the woman to trip and fall to her butt. “I’m not in the business of killing the innocent.”
Bringing the radio to her mouth, Rachel leered down at the choking woman. Relica’s lungs were affected instead of her soul-linked victims since Rachel didn’t choke her; all it had taken was her fingers around the terrified woman’s throat to bypass the bond and bring back some intense, traumatic memory to do the work for her.
“Snipers, stand down. She’s tied her life to the hostages, possibly the children, and she’s too much of a coward not to have them on remote detonation if she’s captured.”
Rachel’s ears and gaze shifted to the front entrance of the club as it opened, revealing a tall, muscular, grinning man, almost completely naked except for the tight short-shorts he wore.
Relica forced a laugh, blinking her eyes and forcing herself up to try and regain some form of her shattered control. “Whatever… that was… Did you know what you were doing, I wonder? Are you a slave to misfortune, or its master? Fascinating.”
Rachel couldn’t help but laugh when the woman took a step back as her wide eyes met hers. “You think you’ve won by buying time? I told you, please, underestimate me. Make no mistake, Relica, the ‘fake’ are the first to perish at the stake. Despite all those lives guarding you… I can hear the fear in your voice and trembling muscles.”
“I’m really not afraid, but, heh, whatever you say, Dear,” Relica giggled, undertone giving her away as Rachel walked toward the man. “W-Where are you going?!”
Rachel’s grin gleamed in the street light. “There’s no other way. Victory always calls for sacrifice and blood. Something you know nothing of.”
Relica doubled over with cackling laughter before her confidence was back in place. “You want to test fate? Very well! I can’t believe you’d just walk right into it. Test Conner, the blessed immortal in a true stadium worthy of your terror, then! How unlucky are you?”
Conner came to a stop a few meters away, wearing a perfect smile that reflected his Adonis-like figure; power emanated from his body as he gave her a courteous bow.
“Rachel, was it?” She held her head high and returned his grin as he went on. “Might I offer this cordial invite to fight and perish at the hand of a god?”
“Hehe. There isn’t any other way,” she laughed as he smashed the back of his fist against space, cracking it to show a portal to an opulent, massive, open coliseum.
“Shall we?”
“If you believe I bring misfortune, I’ll show you what it really means to summon apocalyptic scenarios. You’re already under my heel.”
She looked to her right as an explosion of sound came from the back of a bank further up the road; Astra had guided Selvaria to her target. All that was left was for Scarlet to finish her mission.
Chaos erupted from Astra’s feed as Daran and some bomber ability user were spotted near the hospital. She wasn’t worried, though; victory was practically sealed in her heart.
Laughing, Rachel felt something feral rise up within her, similar to when she’d bathed in the light of the Azure Moon. And one devilish thought connected to Rachel’s mind, and she turned her smirk to the unnerved terrorist.
“Wouldn’t it be a shame if your life-linking magic was purified? You should run.”
She stepped through the gateway.
* * *
Fiona shivered within her little fake rock, peeking out at the bright, massive room beyond her glass prison. Giants moved beyond, their thunderous footsteps traveling through the wooden table and to the fish tank she was trapped in.
Every muscle in her body sent a dull burn to her brain, her stomach snarling at her; they only gave her a tiny amount of sugar to sustain her life until they needed her. She tried to swallow, yet the lump in her throat wouldn’t go away, nor the scratching behind her tongue.
How did it get like this? We only went out to get some doll clothes for me… Please, be okay, Erika.
Her silver eyes lifted to the warped corner of the tank as the door opened for a new giant to enter; well, they were giants to her since she was less than 10 cm tall as a Mythickin fairy. She’d been so caught up in her size that she hadn’t even been able to explore her abilities, and now she was just too weak. So far, her captors knew she could enchant people with elemental powers, and that was all they wanted her to do.
To Fiona’s surprise, most of the gangsters around the room left, and the pretty white-haired woman that had just entered moved to her cage.
“Aye, chica, you in there?”
Curling tighter into a ball for a moment, a tear came to Fiona’s eye as she remembered what would happen if she didn’t come out. She tried not to whimper from the sandpaper-induced raw wounds on her arms and back on her way out.
“W-What do you want from me now?” she cried. “I—ack… did everything you wanted me to—huh?”
“Aye!” The woman took one look at her and shouted at Ben, the only other guard left in the room.
Ben shifted his gun comfortably as he moved forward. “What, Maria? Look, I’m just doing—ugh!”
Fiona couldn’t believe her eyes as the woman promptly marched over and started to beat the living snot out of the guy; his machine gun was yanked off, yet she seemed to prefer her fists because soon her fists were splattered with crimson.
“S-Shit—stop, Maria, I… I didn’t do it…”
“The hell you think you did to that lil’ niña, huh? Bastard! Lyin’ ta me?” she growled, clearly having some enhanced strength as she kicked him two meters into the wall. “Hehehe. Ya feel powerful now, right?”
“P-Please…” he begged, nose broken, blood pooling down his front and face already begging to look more than a little ugly. “Orders…”
“¿Como dice?!” Maria huffed, picking the trembling man up by his shirt to throw him into a corner. “I don’t give a shit what some bitch told ya ta do! Get out of that corner, and I might just break every bone in your body, Ben. ¿Comprende? Don’t tempt me, follador de burros!”
“Got it…” he wept. “I got it…”
Tears filled Fiona’s eyes as the woman’s face softened and she moved closer. Compassion in her soft voice as a brilliant horn flared to life, all the pain washing away in a warm embrace.
“Aye, you okay, lil niña? Hey, let me get ya out of this. You’re with me now. ‘ight? I won’t let these bastards hurt you anymore.”
Fire shot up Fiona’s throat and nose, but this time, it wasn’t because of pain as she moved to collapse onto the angelic woman’s hand. “T-Thank you. I-I… My friend—I don’t know what to do…”
“Shhh. It’s okay. I got you. Shit, they’re coming back,” she hissed. “Here, stay in here, and don’t make any noise. Understand?”
Darkness took Fiona with a comforting warmth as the woman pulled up on her tank top and nestled her safely between her breasts. Her words vibrated Fiona’s body as she snarled at Ben.
“You breathe a word; you ain’t ever forgettin’ my fists! You know who I run with, puta.”
“I-I know! I won’t! I won’t!”
The door opened, and muffled words followed. “Hey, where did the fairy go?”
“S-She got away… I-I’m sorry!”
“The hell, Ben?! Hey, where’s that damn ghost when you need him? Agh! Terrell’s gonna have my balls. Search the room. Let’s go!”
Maria posted up by the wall beside Ben, probably to remind him of her presence, remaining silent as the men went crazy looking for her.
“Maria, you seen anything?”
Her hero just snorted, barely giving them a look.
“C’mon, don’t just ignore me! Ugh… Never mind. Hey, go get Luis! We’re all dead if we can’t find her. Look, we don’t want beef with Miguel or TNS. Maria, please, just don’t go anywhere.”
Fiona was speechless at how they were treating this woman. These guys were the cruelest people she’d ever met, but Maria made them quiver in their boots.
“Get the hell outta my face then. You seen what happen to Ben, huh?”
By the sounds of things, he held up his hands and backed away at the sight of the bloodied man, holding his ribs and unable to look at anyone.
“No one’s gonna touch ya, Queenie. I’ll, uh, get Eliza and Margaret to, eh, welcome you.”
Fiona shivered at the names of the elf and panther woman; these guys were afraid of her unicorn savior, but those two definitely wouldn’t be. They were running on borrowed time.
“Tch. Ah, no-no, Ben, ya ain’t goin’ anywhere,” she said with a vicious chuckle as the man tried to leave. “I ain’t done with you.”
He whimpered, but the other men didn’t seem to want any trouble from the angelic woman as they looked around the floor and sent people into the hallway.
“Dammit! Check the vents… Is that a crack in the back wall? Shit!”
Fiona wanted to cry but held it in; she had thought she would die here.
Thank you… But we need to find a way out of here before Margaret and Eliza show up.
B1 — 19. Beckoning Disaster
Rachel’s ears twitched as she heard the helicopters and string of information passing to Saint Barbara on their descent to the hospital’s ground level.
She’d rerouted their transport by coordinating with SOUTHCOM and NAVAIR from the nearby city of Doral. Satellite information and on-site personnel from the Miami Beach coast guard base were flooding in as they got on the same page.
Military hardware, soldiers, and Naval assets were being pulled in from nearby reserves to offer medical and backup support to clean up after the special forces units cleared areas. Astra was even supplying them with private user data he’d hacked into to identify key threats.
Terrell’s cartel branch had poked the drowsy giant and drew its eye. By murdering a large department of local police, stealing their armaments, and taking hundreds hostage, the might of the US military was closing around his neck.
Although, after everything Relica hinted at, Rachel assumed this was all a part of something bigger that the Scarlet Hand had anticipated. What they hadn’t counted on was her involvement and pulling Scarlet back from becoming a murder hobo. Now, everything was falling apart.
Three Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopters were just touching down in the parking lot to pick them up, loaded with equipment for the green berets and items to restock the SEALs they’d be coordinating with during the operation.
Tingles ran down her arms as she heard a few civilians watching the military transport vehicles touching down. They excitedly talked about the three MH-60L Direct Action Penetrator variant Black Hawks escorting them.
The attack helicopters were fully equipped with M230 Chain Gun 30 mm automatic cannons, 19-shot Hydra 70 rocket pods, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, AIM-92 Stinger air-to-air missiles, GAU-19 gun pods, and M134 minigun pods for door guns.
It was apparent that after the Seattle Vampire tragedy and over a hundred people already confirmed murdered by the coalition of gangs in Miami Beach, hundreds more held as hostages, the US government wasn’t going to play around.
Rachel had to wonder how the local gangs thought they were going to come out on top. Maria’s gang certainly didn’t want any part in what was going on, and a few other neighboring city gangs were all on the low to not get pulled in.
Then again, they did have unusual ability users on their side, and Conner seemed to be invincible, according to the reports. Still, something about the escalation didn’t sit right with Rachel as they exited the elevator on ground level.
Scarlet gave her a nervous smile as all of the soldiers with them jogged toward their transport, the people in the hallway flattening against the wall at the sudden surge of swift-moving military men.
Rachel posted up by the staircase in wait for Selvaria, observing the next group that lapped the poor, exhausted leviathan; she really didn’t appear built for land-based activities. Barbara had a plan in motion for the girl, though, and was organizing things with command.
“Are you okay, Rachel?” Scarlet asked, forcing a laugh while plucking at her skirt. “I guess it doesn’t really matter what I wear, but it makes me think I’m in an anime.”
Knowing she was nervous beyond words, Rachel nudged her with her elbow. “If being some protagonist helps you, then I’m all for it. I’ll be listening, Scarlet, okay? You’re not alone.”
“Thanks…” She puffed out her pent-up air, chuckling a little and shivering. “I used to think what it would be like to be in some combat anime with special powers, but…”
“Hehe. A lot different in real life?” Rachel mused, nudging her head to the side as the last string of green berets exited the emergency staircase before Selvaria made it out, even if she was the first one in.
Scarlet’s chest shook with silent laughter. “Yeah. Poor Selv. Do you think that unicorn gangster is okay? Why did they take her?”
Rachel shrugged. “No clue right now, but the reason doesn’t concern me that much. I just feel like she’s critical for us to go against Relica.”
“No pressure. Geez.”
Giving her an encouraging smile and hearing the dying leviathan finally reach ground level, dragging her tail toward the door, Rachel opened it to clear her way.
“No need to overthink it. Maria can probably help you work through any trouble that pops up; she’s an assertive woman.”
“W-Water…” Selvaria gagged. Rachel lifted an eyebrow as she opened the door to give her a clear path forward. Steam was rising off the girl’s flushed skin, eyes spinning.
“Selv?!”
“Over here,” Rachel said, guiding her to a nearby fountain.
Scarlet followed close beside them. “What’s wrong?”
Selvaria only shook her head, unable to speak. The crowds of people in the hallway watched with uncertainty as she chugged down the liquid for a good two minutes.
She’d shrunk in size and age again, now a young teenager. Her spike-punctured shirt was baggy, her shorts long lost and showing her black-plated scale garments.
“Agh! Haa-haa-haa. I need—ocean… Too much—too much exercise…”
“Well, it’s a good thing they’re waiting on us,” Rachel chuckled, pulling her toward the nearest exit. “They’re going to drop you out of the helicopter on the way.”
Selvaria held up a thumb. “Nice…”
Scarlet gave her a look that asked if she was going to be okay, and Rachel returned it with a smile that said, probably.
Exiting into the night, Rachel breathed a sigh of relief with the moonlight that touched her skin. The phases were on the path to a full moon, which was good for her because a new moon would have been a disaster.
Rachel helped the dehydrated leviathan into the large transport helicopters with a few of the men. They used straps to anchor her down in preparation to shove her out whenever they passed over the ocean. Mateo handed her a waterproof backpack that had some power bars and an earpiece inside for her to use to receive directions and orders.
Scarlet was buckled onto the bench with Rachel as the helicopter took off, most of the soldiers not bothering with straps, clearly accustomed to the ride. All of the green berets were making signals to one another to communicate private jokes that made them laugh.
It was all rather quick, and she heard Astra complaining on their private feed about Barbara forcing him to stick with at least one avatar every 24 hours. He chose a rather scholarly-sounding Brit for the role and played into it as if born in the 1920s.
Rachel held her braid against her chest, feeling the cool metal of the captain’s shiny armor against her shoulder. She had positioned herself to be seated beside the saint because there was one thing she wanted to change in the woman’s plans.
Motioning for one of the men to toss her a headset, she spoke through it to Barbara, causing her to glance over at her and the chatter on the line to cut.
“Drop me off in the open, where Relica can see me coming. I’ll buy you time and keep her busy; as for a sniper taking her out, let me confirm some stuff. You have something to listen in on our conversation?”
Barbara gave Mateo a tight-lipped look, pondering the change of course as the helicopter tilted to the side. They’d planned on her going in from a far more covered position and taking her out with a Hellfire missile if needed since she claimed she was going to be in the open.
Still, it didn’t sit right with many of the officers in military command, along with Barbara and Mateo, that she’d leave herself so exposed. Mateo was the one to pose the question, Scarlet looking petrified again.
“It’s reckless to put yourself in that position, Rachel. Your parents are probably going to hear about what you’re planning to do from Astra since they’re listening to a lot of the feeds with the people Anthony’s guarding. Is this one of those misfortune gut feeling things?”
Rachel looked up at the fluttering American flag secured to the ceiling and all the veteran special forces men looking at her. There was a tightness in her gut that told her she was on the back foot.
Relica didn’t care about hostages, the cartel interests, or Terrell. Her entire visit was to provoke her into this very action, so it was entirely understandable why this seemed like a stupid idea. That being said, she couldn’t get the answers or shift things in a better way by skulking in the shadows. Playing the defensive wasn’t an option when it was the opponent’s strategy; she had to disrupt it.
Tongue sliding across her lips, Rachel grinned, ears leaning with the chopper as she addressed the officer.
“Relica is seventh on the FBI most wanted list. She’s not stupid. If she is in the open, then she has a guaranteed escape route. It could be Daran, but I doubt she would entrust her safety to anyone but herself.
“She’s dangerous, and she wants to test me. So, let me distract her and this invincible guy named Conner. I’m not suicidal. If I feel like I’m in danger, I’ll do a tactical retreat, and I highly doubt they have anyone that can match me in speed.”
Barbara reached into a nearby backpack and tossed her a walkie-talkie, leaning over to show her how to use it. “Keep it on this channel and always on. I’ll have Command record it, and if there’s anything wrong, I’ll have a Black Hawk and sniper detail stationed to you. In case you need to retreat, they’ll lay cover fire. We’ll be listening.”
It surprised Rachel a tad that the woman was taking a chance on her, but they were dealing with forces they didn’t understand, and Conner himself had proven to be more than just an annoyance after taking everything a SEAL team threw at him.
Then again, she reminded herself that she shouldn’t be surprised since Tom and Barbara definitely wanted to know the reason why the Scarlet Hand and Relica were so focused on her. Rachel wanted to know that answer herself. Sure, she had some odd senses that gave her quite a few advantages, but there had to be more to it than her simply being a disruptor.
Why had goddesses contacted her? Why did they want to meet her specifically in the giant tree in London? Why had she been so close to Scarlet when The Oscillation occurred? There were so many questions, and everyone wanted the answer, except for her parents, who just wanted her to be back home and safe.
Rachel’s shoulders sagged as her mother’s voice came from the earpiece Barbara had tinkered to attach to her ear; she was listening in on Astra’s network.
“Rachel… you promised me a shopping trip, right?”
“Trust me, Mom,” she said, accepting an earpiece from the Legend to speak to her. “Heh. Do you remember the third day you took me to the Muay Thai gym? You had the courage to let me be there by myself.”
“Eh-heh… I didn’t, though,” her mother mumbled. “I watched you from the window outside—I couldn’t let you be alone for months.”
“Oh… Huh.” Rachel forced a smile and scratched her left ear as a few of the listening soldiers chuckled. “Well, trust me now. You said you would. I’ll come back to you.”
“In one piece!”
“Hehe. Yes, in one piece, Mom. I love you, but you can’t be jumping in on military calls. If all of this works out. Yes.”
“Yes, what?” her mother pressed, sounding winded.
“Yes, you can have a part in whatever business comes from this—not field stuff—but something that will keep us close. I love you.”
“Thank you, Sung,” her mother cried in Korean. “I’ll pray for your safety.”
“May the gods be with me,” Rachel half-jokingly returned, knowing how serious her mother was about her shamanism practices. “See you in the morning.”
Handing it back to Barbara, she saw the back of the helicopter open, and the soldiers brace themselves. A few were already beside Selvaria.
Scarlet and the leviathan waved at each other as the young teenage girl gave a thumbs up and did a ridiculous back roll off the helicopter.
“Bye… Woops…”
Two of the green berets panicked a little, trying to grab her, yet in the blink of an eye, she was free-falling into the night. “Wait—it’s still a bit shallow there…”
“Aww, shit,” the girl mumbled in the air before likely body flopping into the ocean, causing quite the splash and noise to return to Rachel’s ears.
Scarlet locked up, crimson eyes replacing her blue as she searched for the falling girl. “Rachel! Will she be—oof! Wait… She’s rising to the surface, and… Thumbs up, but it looked a little painful.”
“Kill me…” Selvaria groaned, for some reason cursing her as the woman sank below the waves. “This is—blegh, seaweed—is on you, Puffy Tail! I’ve been cursed by your misfortune… Ugh. I’m going to throw up.”
A little entertained by her antics, Rachel breathed out a long stream of air and smiled at Scarlet. It seemed to help her, and it didn’t take too much longer for their swift ride to reach 5th Street; near the end of the road would be one of the hotel clubs that Terrell was using to stage his operation.
Figuring that the terrorist would be alerted to her presence, she had the helicopter touch down a few streets back to land on a rooftop near the 5th and Meridian Avenue intersection. The pilot didn’t even touch down on the roof, allowing them to hop out of the back.
The soldiers swiftly went to the roof access door, and Rachel informed them that there were only scared citizens, taking shelter inside the building. Gunshots could be heard across the zone from a few cowboy-like groups that were trying to enter the area to get their loved ones out.
Barbara gave her a grim smile as the helicopter took to the air again, rerouting to the Coast Guard ships east of Miami Beach. “Good luck, Rachel. I really hope we’re not overestimating your abilities.”
“Me too, Captain,” Rachel responded, holding the radio to her mouth before letting it fall.
The aircraft pulled away, their goal to drop Barbara off to identify the threat of the stealth submarine Astra picked up chatter about. If it hadn’t been discovered, then there was something magical about it from The Oscillation, and its cargo and weapons were the most significant risk.
Black Hawks now patrolled the city from the air, providing air support as most of the green berets took the stairs to ground level, preparing to break off into units to follow Mission Command’s orders to secure hostages.
Turning in a slow circle with Mateo, his communications man, and Scarlet by her side, Rachel closed her eyes and listened. She created a grid of the area in her mind, mapping the inflections in people’s voices, their cadence, and of those that spoke around them.
She quickly pointed out key areas that Scarlet quickly identified with her eyes to describe to Mateo’s communication expert. It didn’t take them more than a minute with her wide-ranged hearing pointing them in the right direction of hostels. However, it only took that long for their position to be compromised.
“Rachel, look!” Scarlet hissed, tugging on her tank top.
Eyes opening, she smirked as a hovering eye stared at them from overhead. The fact Scarlet could see it now showed that Veronica had put points into or obtained a Feat so she could see them. For the first time since she’d landed in this area, Relica’s voice spoke from the street, far to the east.
“Are you done playing, Rachel? Hurry up!” she sang. “I’ll get the tea ready and chocolate pastries ready. They’re a day or two old, but they should still be divine!”
Ignoring the terrorist for a moment, she held out her hand, still smiling at the disgusting organ overhead. “Mateo, can I have your gun for a minute? I want to test something out.”
“Do you know how to shoot it?”
“Not really, but how hard can it be? Point and shoot.”
He handed her a pistol, and she held it up, looking down through the iron sight. It was easier to spot the tiny point on the sight with her sharpened sight. Bracing herself for the recoil, as she’d seen on TV, Rachel pulled the trigger. She missed. Her ears shivered at the pop, making her wince.
Taking aim again, she launched a second round. The bullet ripped the bottom left half of the large eye apart, causing it to fall to the ground; their only advantage was stealth, which meant they could be brought down with any kind of damage.
“Nice!” Scarlet cheered, jogging to the edge to watch it hit the road below.
Rachel gave the gun back to Mateo and picked up her own radio off the roof. “If I hear anything important, I’ll let you know. I need to test boundaries anyway,” she grinned, leaving the green berets to go about their task of rescuing the scattered hostages.
“Godspeed.”
Scarlet hugged herself as Rachel approached. “So… do we need to sta—Rachel?!”
Hopping over the edge, Rachel dropped the four stories to the ground below, landing without much difficulty; it didn’t even hurt her legs that much, and her Lunar Pool was only seventy-eight percent.
The vespertine reaper appeared out of the shadows beside her as Rachel casually began her journey down 5th to meet up with Relica. Mateo’s men were exiting the back of the office space, breaking into teams after warning those inside to stay barricaded inside until the Coast Guard secured the area, building by building.
“Why are you always in such a rush?” the black-haired girl huffed, crossing her arms and walking beside her down the empty street.
Rachel hummed, holding her hands behind her back and taking a more casual stride. She slowly turned her left and right, ears high and alert as she heard the SEALs, green berets, and other military teams brought into the large-scale operation start outward in.
They used Astra’s intel, along with what Rachel’s ears were able to catch on their initial arrival in the area. Marking each terrorist cell and catching them by surprise, the teams were hitting them hard. Few would be taken alive due to the circumstances; there were too many lives on the line.
Those bunking down or taking shelter across the city due to the firefights and fear were beginning to grow bolder with the military’s presence. Several parties hiding in the buildings just down 5th were questioning if they should make a run for the bridge off of Miami Beach after hearing the helicopters.
“I’m just not all that scared,” she honestly replied, motioning for Scarlet to the cream building ahead of them. “We’ll be able to see Relica soon, so you should hide. Have faith in yourself, Scarlet. Be someone’s hero. Don’t forget, I’m here if you need me.”
Scarlet’s throat constricted as she slowed to a stop, rubbing her sides. Determination set on the girl’s face. “Just… be safe. I really need a friend, a-and I don’t know if I can…”
Rachel laughed and turned to give her the same thumbs up and smile the leviathan gave her. “I don’t think you’re the only one that wants friends, Scarlet. I’m sure Selvaria is worried about us, too. Let’s not make each other worry anymore and just win!”
“Pfft-hahaha!” Scarlet’s fear seemed to vanish, bloody tears coming to her eyes. “You really did channel your ‘inner Selv’ there… Thanks, Rachel. I won’t fail!”
Shadows carried her away, and Rachel let the cheer and hop in her step fade, cold anticipation crystalizing within her heart. Swapping her hand to her elbow behind her back, her illuminated celestial eyes fixated on the table and chairs that were placed in the middle of Ocean Drive and 5th, where Relica waited.
Gunfire, helicopters, and whispered prayers winded along the haunted wind that swept through the lifeless streets. An eerie vibe tickled her senses from one of the buildings to the south of Ocean Drive that foretold an ominous nexus point.
“How long did you intend to keep me waiting?” Relica asked. Her bright purple eyes shone with some kind of inner magic as she smoothly poured the contents of a steaming teapot into some cups. Setting it down, she pointed at the Black Hawks circling them. “I’m surprised by the show of military force, to be honest. Respectable.”
Rachel sat across from her, placing her active radio on the table to be easily seen. Folding her legs and placing her hands atop her lap, she shook her head. “I don’t believe this is the place you told me to meet you. Terrell’s little club is in that rather unnatural feeling building about fifty meters to my right. How can we build trust?”
“Forgive me,” Relica sighed, glancing at the cleared cross-section. “It is rather cramped with all the vehicle barricades they have over there, and this was such a lovely spot. Honestly, maybe we should go for a walk. What do you say?”
“I’m fine, either or.” The woman likely knew about the potential for snipers or had another plot in mind, but it didn’t matter to her. “I thought you wanted tea, though?”
Relica gave a short start. “Haha. I’m a tad nervous, which is so rare for me. You’re giving me butterflies! I have never seen Adele act like this about anyone. Hmm. Well, what do you think?”
Rachel grimaced at the tea, its earthy scent lifted on the breeze. “I don’t know if I should be offended or flattered by your effort… Carrot tea?”
“I know! I had to look up a recipe,” she giggled, sampling a bit. “It’s… terrible. Haha. But the pastries are good!”
“I’m sure… What did you do to Terrell’s building?” she asked, truly curious.
She ignored the refreshments to stare at the warped and twisted outer appearance. She was sure normal people would see nothing wrong with it, yet there was something haunting about it that her divine supernatural senses picked up. Scarlet was examining it from an alleyway, seemingly unsure if she should enter.
Relica gave a dismissive shrug, following her vision and taking another sip of the tea, despite her earlier comment. “Insurance. When is your fish friend going to show up? If she doesn’t come soon, I’m afraid we might have some trouble. Egor isn’t good at waiting.”
Rachel took the radio off the table, head tilting to her left as she spoke. “Soon… Team Gamma, five hostiles changed locations to the building across from you, the second floor, third building on your left. They discovered the mayor’s son and plan to use him as a bargaining chip.”
“Tch.” Relica’s souring expression drew her gaze; the woman’s light purple eyes practically leaked venom, but not for her. “That… wasn’t a part of the script. Pity.”
She lazily snapped her fingers; simultaneously, a loud pop erupted from the area, splattering the walls and ceiling. Lumps of what Rachel could only assume was flesh splattered onto counters and tables, dripping gore tapping against a sink.
Seconds later, panicked screams came from the mayor’s son. Through his partly unintelligible mumbles and pants, as he stumbled out of the room, Rachel confirmed what happened: the men had exploded in a geyser of blood, showering him and the room in their innards and bone.
“That was… something,” Rachel muttered. “Gamma Team, Relica took care of the situation. All hostiles are neutralized, the victim, likely traumatized with some minor injuries.”
An angelic smile was on the terrorist’s face. “You’re welcome! I don’t like it when people can’t follow simple instructions. I’m used to far more, hmm… aware subordinates.”
Ears twisting to the left, Rachel heard Scarlet hype herself up and teleport into the haunting building; all sound inside died. She didn’t like it, but her gut told her that she needed to get things moving with Relica.
The military’s advance was swift and methodical as they pushed in from all sides, killing the gangsters and sending the hostages to be debriefed and questioned by the Coast Guard. She had to expose the truth since the snipers were already getting in position and taking aim at Relica.
“Let’s cut to the chase.” Rachel’s smiling eyes fixated on Relica’s innocent gaze. “You’re out here in the open, free as can be, because you’re not afraid of me. Why’s that? If Scarlet’s mother, your boss, is terrified of me. Why aren’t you?”
Relica’s cheerful tone didn’t falter as she leaned against the side of her chair. “Why should I be scared? We’re having such a lovely conversation. Oh… are you starting to glow?”
[Lunar Coat - Advanced to E-tier]
[Lunar Pool - Advanced to D-tier]
[Lunar Cap - Advanced to D-tier]
[Bringer of Misfortune - Advanced to B-tier]
“Haha!” Flashbacks of her time under the Azure Moon brought a wicked twist to Rachel’s lips as she held up her brightening hand and flexed her fingers; her braided hair and figure were taking on the same twinkling sheen. “You chose this spot on purpose; the moon is shining right on top of us.”
Her eclipse-like ruby eyes drifted to the terrorist. “Why? We both know, at this point,” she held up her hand, glowing with bright white light under the bright half-full celestial sphere, “I could punch a hole in that chest of yours the size of a sunroof. Hmm-hm-hmm. I think I know the answer.”
“Oh… Tell me, why am I not afraid? Maybe I’m just that brave, hehe, or insane! Sometimes I feel a little of both, to be honest,” she cooed, rising to her feet with Rachel.
Curiosity was in the woman’s eyes instead of fear, prompting Rachel to hold her hands behind her back and begin circling the table. Relica moved the opposite way, the anticipation and razor’s edge of combat caressing Rachel’s lips, yet she knew that was just what her opponent wanted.
“Brave… Insane?” Rachel mocked, casually picking up the radio with one hand to hold the antenna against her chin. “Haha! How pretentious and pathetic. I actually expected a lot more from such a big-name terrorist.”
“Well, that’s rather rude. I’m being nice!” Relica huffed, a pout coming on as her arms crossed under her bust. “I thought I could be a bitch, but what’s with that smirk? Do you think you’ve figured me out after only two short exchanges?”
Striking at the woman’s pride was meaningless since she didn’t have any. Rachel had met all sorts of people on the street, in school, and in the ring when it came to fighting.
Her heart thumped with anticipation, hearing Selvaria exit the waters behind the hotel. The adrenaline made her tail go stiff and her ears twitch; her bestial senses were on high alert, telling her all she needed to know.
Rachel gave her an incredulous stare. “Heh. What do you mean? You thought you were something special? You’re not that deep, Babe. You’re the one that wanted to get in the cage with me, but you really didn’t want that. Isn’t that why you’re waiting for your knight to come save you?”
Relica clutched her stomach, figure shaking with laughter. “You think I’m scared of you? Try me. I’m right here!” she huffed, stopping to shove the table out of the way and shatter the china across the road. “I’m wanted across the globe.”
“And you’re afraid of little old me? I’d be flattered if that actually meant anything,” Rachel dryly returned. “Are you trying to impress me? It’s sad.”
“Eh-heh… Sad—me?” Relica’s mouth drew in, eyes practically daggers attempting to dig into her throat. “Do you have any idea the resources entire countries have put into seeking me out—for my talents or to see me dead? A single day in my five decades of accomplishments is worth more than your entire life!”
Rachel walked around the table, ignoring the cracking woman to bend down and pick up a piece of the broken porcelain pot. “You’re poppin’ off, huh?”
Slowly rising to her feet, Rachel twisted the sharp weapon around her fingers. Relica’s smug face returned, opening her arms to invite her to strike. Yet, Rachel only moved to circle the woman, porcelain in her left hand and radio in her right.
“You don’t care about any of the lives here. No one matters but what your obsessive, overdressed ass wants. And you wanted me. But not like this. You want to be in control.”
“Haha. I am in control, Sweetie,” Relica chuckled, crossing her arms and taking a casual posture as the lunar-charged shark circled her. “I wanted to see what Adele saw in you, but I am the one disappointed. I thought we could become friends.”
“Pfft!” Rachel leaned in to whisper at her back. “Your friendship is as worthless as your false bravado.”
Stepping away to glare at her, Relica hissed. “False bravado?! Who do you think you are? Some college hare kid that got lucky?”
“Am I lucky, or are you just unlucky to have met me?” Rachel teased, holding the sharp shard against her neck; each pulse of Relica’s pumping vein increased Rachel’s heartbeat. “Hah! But… you aren’t afraid of this…”
Rachel dropped the fragment to shatter at her feet, their twisted dance linking dozens of thoughts in her accelerated mind. Every twitch the woman made, the inflections in her voice, the emphasis on specific words, and the chemicals her body released painted a dazzling picture in her focused mind.
All of it was only the beginning of her craftwork, a hunger for more pushing Rachel forward as if locked in a sway of fate and destiny at play. The anticipation beating within her core unveiled more and more blood-quickening stimulation with every action.
Relica snorted. “You don’t have the balls!”
A sly tilt came to Rachel’s lips as her fingers deliberately, slowly, reached for the woman’s throat. Relica swallowed reflexively with her hand comfortably held against her windpipe. She wasn’t even sure what she was saying now; all she knew was the intoxicating hunger for equilibrium with the rush flooding through her breast.
[Bringer of Misfortune - Advanced to A-tier]
[Strategic Mind - Advanced to S-tier]
[Mental Acceleration - Advanced to S-tier]
[Level Up - Level 7]
[Skill Point Available]
[New Feat Selectable]
“Please, underestimate me,” Rachel whispered, keeping the woman’s illuminated purple eyes fixated on hers. “Test your fate against mine and see the altar of misfortune. You think you’re merciless? You’re pathetic. Always hiding behind the lives of others. Weak. Did you think I wouldn’t know why you would meet me like this after all the hints?”
Fingernails carefully sliding down her skin, the spell broke, and Rachel shoved her back, causing the woman to trip and fall to her butt. “I’m not in the business of killing the innocent.”
Bringing the radio to her mouth, Rachel leered down at the choking woman. Relica’s lungs were affected instead of her soul-linked victims since Rachel didn’t choke her; all it had taken was her fingers around the terrified woman’s throat to bypass the bond and bring back some intense, traumatic memory to do the work for her.
“Snipers, stand down. She’s tied her life to the hostages, possibly the children, and she’s too much of a coward not to have them on remote detonation if she’s captured.”
Rachel’s ears and gaze shifted to the front entrance of the club as it opened, revealing a tall, muscular, grinning man, almost completely naked except for the tight short-shorts he wore.
Relica forced a laugh, blinking her eyes and forcing herself up to try and regain some form of her shattered control. “Whatever… that was… Did you know what you were doing, I wonder? Are you a slave to misfortune, or its master? Fascinating.”
Rachel couldn’t help but laugh when the woman took a step back as her wide eyes met hers. “You think you’ve won by buying time? I told you, please, underestimate me. Make no mistake, Relica, the ‘fake’ are the first to perish at the stake. Despite all those lives guarding you… I can hear the fear in your voice and trembling muscles.”
“I’m really not afraid, but, heh, whatever you say, Dear,” Relica giggled, undertone giving her away as Rachel walked toward the man. “W-Where are you going?!”
Rachel’s grin gleamed in the street light. “There’s no other way. Victory always calls for sacrifice and blood. Something you know nothing of.”
Relica doubled over with cackling laughter before her confidence was back in place. “You want to test fate? Very well! I can’t believe you’d just walk right into it. Test Conner, the blessed immortal in a true stadium worthy of your terror, then! How unlucky are you?”
Conner came to a stop a few meters away, wearing a perfect smile that reflected his Adonis-like figure; power emanated from his body as he gave her a courteous bow.
“Rachel, was it?” She held her head high and returned his grin as he went on. “Might I offer this cordial invite to fight and perish at the hand of a god?”
“Hehe. There isn’t any other way,” she laughed as he smashed the back of his fist against space, cracking it to show a portal to an opulent, massive, open coliseum.
“Shall we?”
“If you believe I bring misfortune, I’ll show you what it really means to summon apocalyptic scenarios. You’re already under my heel.”
She looked to her right as an explosion of sound came from the back of a bank further up the road; Astra had guided Selvaria to her target. All that was left was for Scarlet to finish her mission.
Chaos erupted from Astra’s feed as Daran and some bomber ability user were spotted near the hospital. She wasn’t worried, though; victory was practically sealed in her heart.
Laughing, Rachel felt something feral rise up within her, similar to when she’d bathed in the light of the Azure Moon. And one devilish thought connected to Rachel’s mind, and she turned her smirk to the unnerved terrorist.
“Wouldn’t it be a shame if your life-linking magic was purified? You should run.”
She stepped through the gateway.
* * *
Fiona shivered within her little fake rock, peeking out at the bright, massive room beyond her glass prison. Giants moved beyond, their thunderous footsteps traveling through the wooden table and to the fish tank she was trapped in.
Every muscle in her body sent a dull burn to her brain, her stomach snarling at her; they only gave her a tiny amount of sugar to sustain her life until they needed her. She tried to swallow, yet the lump in her throat wouldn’t go away, nor the scratching behind her tongue.
How did it get like this? We only went out to get some doll clothes for me… Please, be okay, Erika.
Her silver eyes lifted to the warped corner of the tank as the door opened for a new giant to enter; well, they were giants to her since she was less than 10 cm tall as a Mythickin fairy. She’d been so caught up in her size that she hadn’t even been able to explore her abilities, and now she was just too weak. So far, her captors knew she could enchant people with elemental powers, and that was all they wanted her to do.
To Fiona’s surprise, most of the gangsters around the room left, and the pretty white-haired woman that had just entered moved to her cage.
“Aye, chica, you in there?”
Curling tighter into a ball for a moment, a tear came to Fiona’s eye as she remembered what would happen if she didn’t come out. She tried not to whimper from the sandpaper-induced raw wounds on her arms and back on her way out.
“W-What do you want from me now?” she cried. “I—ack… did everything you wanted me to—huh?”
“Aye!” The woman took one look at her and shouted at Ben, the only other guard left in the room.
Ben shifted his gun comfortably as he moved forward. “What, Maria? Look, I’m just doing—ugh!”
Fiona couldn’t believe her eyes as the woman promptly marched over and started to beat the living snot out of the guy; his machine gun was yanked off, yet she seemed to prefer her fists because soon her fists were splattered with crimson.
“S-Shit—stop, Maria, I… I didn’t do it…”
“The hell you think you did to that lil’ niña, huh? Bastard! Lyin’ ta me?” she growled, clearly having some enhanced strength as she kicked him two meters into the wall. “Hehehe. Ya feel powerful now, right?”
“P-Please…” he begged, nose broken, blood pooling down his front and face already begging to look more than a little ugly. “Orders…”
“¿Como dice?!” Maria huffed, picking the trembling man up by his shirt to throw him into a corner. “I don’t give a shit what some bitch told ya ta do! Get out of that corner, and I might just break every bone in your body, Ben. ¿Comprende? Don’t tempt me, follador de burros!”
“Got it…” he wept. “I got it…”
Tears filled Fiona’s eyes as the woman’s face softened and she moved closer. Compassion in her soft voice as a brilliant horn flared to life, all the pain washing away in a warm embrace.
“Aye, you okay, lil niña? Hey, let me get ya out of this. You’re with me now. ‘ight? I won’t let these bastards hurt you anymore.”
Fire shot up Fiona’s throat and nose, but this time, it wasn’t because of pain as she moved to collapse onto the angelic woman’s hand. “T-Thank you. I-I… My friend—I don’t know what to do…”
“Shhh. It’s okay. I got you. Shit, they’re coming back,” she hissed. “Here, stay in here, and don’t make any noise. Understand?”
Darkness took Fiona with a comforting warmth as the woman pulled up on her tank top and nestled her safely between her breasts. Her words vibrated Fiona’s body as she snarled at Ben.
“You breathe a word; you ain’t ever forgettin’ my fists! You know who I run with, puta.”
“I-I know! I won’t! I won’t!”
The door opened, and muffled words followed. “Hey, where did the fairy go?”
“S-She got away… I-I’m sorry!”
“The hell, Ben?! Hey, where’s that damn ghost when you need him? Agh! Terrell’s gonna have my balls. Search the room. Let’s go!”
Maria posted up by the wall beside Ben, probably to remind him of her presence, remaining silent as the men went crazy looking for her.
“Maria, you seen anything?”
Her hero just snorted, barely giving them a look.
“C’mon, don’t just ignore me! Ugh… Never mind. Hey, go get Luis! We’re all dead if we can’t find her. Look, we don’t want beef with Miguel or TNS. Maria, please, just don’t go anywhere.”
Fiona was speechless at how they were treating this woman. These guys were the cruelest people she’d ever met, but Maria made them quiver in their boots.
“Get the hell outta my face then. You seen what happen to Ben, huh?”
By the sounds of things, he held up his hands and backed away at the sight of the bloodied man, holding his ribs and unable to look at anyone.
“No one’s gonna touch ya, Queenie. I’ll, uh, get Eliza and Margaret to, eh, welcome you.”
Fiona shivered at the names of the elf and panther woman; these guys were afraid of her unicorn savior, but those two definitely wouldn’t be. They were running on borrowed time.
“Tch. Ah, no-no, Ben, ya ain’t goin’ anywhere,” she said with a vicious chuckle as the man tried to leave. “I ain’t done with you.”
He whimpered, but the other men didn’t seem to want any trouble from the angelic woman as they looked around the floor and sent people into the hallway.
“Dammit! Check the vents… Is that a crack in the back wall? Shit!”
Fiona wanted to cry but held it in; she had thought she would die here.
Thank you… But we need to find a way out of here before Margaret and Eliza show up.
