Con took a step, and then stopped.
The street was unrecognizable.
Buildings lay split open like broken ribs. Alarms wailed in the distance, their echoes stretching thin through the smoke. Con coughed, dust burning his throat. Somewhere to his right, Dante groaned in pain, struggling but unable to rise.
For once, Con didn't look at him.
Winning didn't matter.
His gaze drifted through the chaos, and locked onto Isamu.
Con marched toward him, boots crunching over shattered stone."What are you doing?" he snapped.
Isamu looked around as if seeing it all for the first time. His mouth opened, then closed. No words came.
Con shoved him back. "There are innocent people here," he said, voice tight. "We came for the crown. The crown. Do you have any idea what you just did?"
Isamu blinked.
The fire in his eyes dulled, replaced by something small and frightened."I.... I'm sorry," he muttered. "I lost my cool."
Con turned away before he could respond.
People were running, limping, carrying one another. A child cried somewhere nearby, clinging to a parent who wasn't moving fast enough. More figures emerged from the smoke, forming a loose circle around them.
Around him.
They stared.
Fear etched into every face.
"Stop it…" Con whispered.
The looks... those looks... dragged memories up from somewhere deep and buried. Back when he was the one people crossed the street to avoid. Back when fear followed him like a shadow.
"Quit staring," he snapped, his voice rising despite himself. "Don't look at me like I'm some kind of villain!"
The crowd flinched.
And that was when it hit him.
Con stood there, frozen, the echo of his own words ringing louder than the alarms.
Elsewhere, Kaito's ears rang as the world slowly crept back into focus. His clothes were scorched, his body screaming, but the sight that greeted him was worse.
Renji had Yukki by the throat.
"The crown," Renji said coldly."Now."
Yukki struggles in his grasp. "NO," he shouts as Renji tightens his hold. "Don't do it!" Yukki gasps.
Renji looks at him, "are you willing to let him die, for a world that neglects you?" He asks Kaito.
Yukki's legs sprawl as he struggles to breath.
"Think clearly about this Kaito."
Yukki's eyes roll to the back of his head, as he slowly becomes limp.
"Alright stop!" Kaito throws the crown over to Renji.
He drops Yukki to the ground like he was nothing more than trash. Kaito quickly rushes over to him, as Yukki coughs air back into his lungs.
Renji laughs as he finally has it in his grasp. "Find somewhere nice to enjoy the show, for my plans are finally coming together."
Renji walks off. Slapping Isamu on the head as the rest follow him.
As the empire soldiers started to come in, Yukki grabbed Dante from the ground. "Come on, grab the others quick!" Yukki shouted.
The empire opened fire on them instantly.
They arrive in another building and Yukki drops Dante. "We're all out of time, come with me we gotta get to that teleporter."
Tips: All the main cities of the liberty region have teleporters. They lead from one imperial city to the next, though they go unused for a long time, because the jumps use a lot of power, causing blackouts within the city for days.
Toni coughs as he follows the group.
Yukki makes it in front of the main console as he then.... "Crap!"
Nanami walks next to him inspected the machine. "This is complex."
Yukki bows his head in front of it. "Can you figure it out?"
Nanami nods. "Of course I could, but not in the time frame we need it."
"Why am I not surprised?" A laugh rang from behind them. Kaelin came walking in, smiling bold."
Yukki looked shocked. "Kaelin? What the heck?"
She laughed as she pushed him. "I knew this one was an intruder, so I may have been watching everything, I'm a curious soul."
Kaito smiled. "Nice to meet you!" He said.
Kaelin laughed at him, "I'll get you all out of here, don't worry."
"You're helping?" Yukki didn't know what to say, he thought this was the end of the line.
Kaelin nodded. "Only because, I wanna help the brainiac," breaking into more laughter she admitted. "Also, do you think i'm letting you get all the credit for stopping this war?!" She shouts.
"But if they fail, we'll get expelled, and our families..." Yukki thinks. He then locks eyes with Kaito. "Kaito can I really trust you to beat Renji, to end this whole thing, because now it isn't just you and your friends future, it's mines too!"
Kaito met Yukki's eyes, steady and clear despite the chaos brewing outside. "You can trust me, I'll end this, Renji won't see me coming!"
Yukki studied him for a moment, before giving a small nod, then extending his hand. Kaito firmly gripped it. "Make it quick," Yukki said. "And be smart, Renji's not just strong, he's a monster."
Before anyone could say any more, the door upstairs exploded.
Kaelin shoved them all onto the teleport pad. "Alright enough with the macho talk, we've gotta hurry." As Kaelin frantically types, "Where am I sending them?!" She shouts.
"Just outside of Kuni, they need time to prepare!" Yukki shouts.
Kaelin sips a drink and she focuses up.
"Yukki Reitz, surrender the fugitives and you will be spared!" The soldiers called.
Kaelin finished typing. "Okay bye bye now!" She shouts.
Nanami quickly speaks up. "Thank yo-"
The kids vanish within a bright light. Kaelin smiles back at Yukki. "We are in so much trouble." She says as the empire soldiers run down and begin arresting them.
"Damn, where did they send them!"
The headmaster stepped in, looking around at all of the chaos. "You better have a good explanation for this, Yukki."
Kaito and his friends end up in a field next to a smaller town, conveniently right next to a map.
As Dante inspects it, Rika finally sits down on the ground. "Too much..." she mumbles.
"I hope Yukki will be alright." Rika mentions.
Kaito smiles. "He will be, now this place should be perfect to heal up!"
They needed their rest, as the sky above was starting to darken. War was coming, but they weren't running, with Kaito leading them, they were running straight into it. To Kuni, and their final confrontation with Renji.
Hours later, Yukki sits alone in an empty, damp cell, the empire made quick work arresting him.
The echo of footsteps hitting the stone walls. The heavy doors of his cell opened up and in stepped his older brother, Jack. His face a mix of frustration and disbelief.
"What the hell are you doing, Yukki?!" Jack demanded, his voice laced with anger. "Are you out of your mind, you're risking everything, for some guy you barely know?!"
Yukki looked up, calm, "I know how it sounds, but Kaito's not just some guy, i've seen enough to believe in him. And i trust him."
Jack paced around the small space. "You better be damn sure, because if he's playing us, even a little, this doesn't just fall on us."
"I trust him," Yukki said firmly. "More then i've trusted anyone in a long time. And i need you to trust me, you've got more pull within the empire, you know more then i do, Kaito can stop it, if we just give him a chance."
Jack stopped pacing, facing his brother. The fire in his eyes dimmed, replaced by understanding he let out a long, reluctant sigh.
"You're asking a lot," he said. "But.... i'll go, I'll stall the war, buy them some time." Jack says as he begins walking away. "Just know though Yukki, if this goes sideways, there's no coming back from it, we're both finished if your friend fails." Jack finishes as he walks away.
Yukki nodded silently, no comeback, or reassurance. Just the quiet weight of his choice settling in his chest.
As the door shut, Yukki rests his head on the wall. "Please don't be a mistake Kaito." Yukki hopes, that he didn't just doom them all with a single choice.
Over at the Sony guild hall.
Con cleans Nyla up. She struggles. "You're not gonna get away with this!" She yells at him. Con finishes tying the ropes. "I already have." He says as he stands up. Nyla grits her teeth. "I can't stand people like you!" Nyla yells at him. Con gets annoyed by this. "You don't know anything about me." He responds to her.
She smirks. "Oh yeah? Well I know enough. A guy who does crimes just for money, you're nothing but a lowly villain!" She yells at him. Con takes a deep breath. "Watch it!" He yells and Renji opens up the door. "Get outta here you did what you were told." Renji says and Con exits the room.
They stop down the hall. "Why are we doing this to her, we've got the crown, and their already marching." Con questions. Renji laughs. "Because I just got off call, got someone who's gonna pay a pretty penny for her."
A chill runs down Con's back. "So we're just giving her up to some perv? That's not right Renji." Con says to him and Renji slaps him in the face. "Quit tryna act like some damn hero and do your job!" Renji yells at him. Renji walks back in the direction of Nyla's room. Con sighs and walks away.
Renji comes into the room. Nyla looks up at him. "Another one of you?" She asks. "Little lady, you have no idea just how much your life's about to change soon." Renji says to her. Nyla struggles in her chair more. "Yeah and what would you know?!" She yells at him. Renji smiles as he approaches her. "You think they're just gonna kill you?"
She gets scared. "Why me?! I'm just a noble!" She yells. Renji shakes his hand. "That's true, your family has a lot of enemies though, even Kaito, guess what the empire's gonna do with him when they learn he's a Kaya." He says and Nyla looks shocked. "But none of that matters anymore, since you're gonna die anyways." He says as he grabs her hair and laughs. "And there's some sick people who would pay good money for someone like you." He says.
Renji let's her go and laughs crazily as he walks away. Nyla grits her teeth. "You won't get away with this and nothings gonna happen to me! Kaito is gonna kick your ass!" She yells but Renji just continues to laugh.