Heed boots rested on the desks' surface, covering the light from the lampstand to their side.
The chair creaked, leaning back a little further as a file folder was opened.
Selena lowered her feet to the ground, sliding herself towards the lone desk.
Her tongue—
Glided.
Across her lips.
She began—
Removing.
Placing stapled documents on the clean metal surface.
This one has reached its completion.
She lifted the first set of documents, as she moved the stem of the lamp over them, shining its fluorescent light on their surfaces.
Selena's fingers held the top corner.
A number—
Covered.
Barley peeking above her thumb.
She placed it back into the empty black and gold folder, glancing at the red stamp across the top.
03—Culminated.
A faint—
Tick.
Echoed from her pocket.
The stopwatch—
Paused.
For a brief second.
Selena removed the watch from her pocket listening to the ticking noise before placing it back in her lab coat.
A faint—
Smile.
Rested on her lips.
She moved her gaze towards the second set of documents, placing them on top of the ones in the folder.
The light—
Warped.
Moving past the words on the top.
Selena's veins—
Surged.
Glowing with a black hue.
A strand formed from the cobweb in her palm, stretching down towards the resting paper.
Dew formed along the string, being deleted before it could return to her fingers.
This experiment…
The dew—
Returned.
Flowing onto her palm.
…was finished in that desolate place.
Selena's glow stayed persistent, as she looked towards the fourth set of documents.
A large stamp was removed from the drawer underneath the desk's surface.
Her hand—
Slammed.
Stamping the top of the page.
I'll go ahead and stamp this…since his integration has already begun.
She slid the document underneath the first two before reaching towards a small metal cabinet on the wall before her.
Selena reached into the cubby, removing a blank sheet of paper.
Her webs—
Grew.
Blotting ink onto the page.
She held her left hand open, letting the webs place the information on the page as she raised her heels to the desks surface.
They clicked on the metal surface before she crossed one over the other, resting them next to the final stack of documents.
The pages—
Shifted.
Detaching themselves from the air around them.
Her writing—
Stuttered.
As if it couldn't continue.
She reached into her pocket, removing the silver locket
Her thumb pressed a small tab, unhooking the back panel of the clock.
The gears—
Churned.
Turning the small hands of time.
Her posture—
Relaxed.
As she leaned back.
Selena's gaze turned towards the ceiling above having her smile widen slightly.
The last experiment…
A tick—
Persisted.
Clicking in the silent room.
…is already in motion.
…
The silver light of the moon shone through the glass roof of the courtyard, illuminating the quiet area.
Leather shoes tapped on the smooth limestone floor, filling the air with rhythmic sounds.
A gear—
Clicked.
Once.
Arthur's left hand rested on the deep black hilt as he stepped through the courtyard.
The fountain's water flowed steadily, spouting water from the rusted pipes.
He had—
Paused.
Looking down towards his reflection.
A ripple—
Formed.
Warping the figure.
Arthur exhaled from his nostrils before taking a look around the area.
Memories of warmth invaded his distant mind.
The first—
His gaze settled on the kitchen area.
A steaming pot sat atop the metal counter, wafting the air with fresh cooked vegetables and meat.
Art was seated on the far left, looking towards Jean and Joe.
A relaxed—
Smile.
Rested on her face.
Jean's mouth was moving as she glanced between the two, motioning with her hands as she continued.
Joe's shoulders twitched slightly from a subtle amusement before he turned to them.
Arthur had—
Blinked.
The warmth—
Gone.
It was—
Cold.
Quiet.
His gaze shifted towards the empty dinner table, sitting before the lone fountain.
A second flash—
Worn, yellow cards were spread across the table's surface.
Yvette sat facing the end, resting her chin in her hand.
A faint—
Smirk.
Rested on her lips.
Elaina was—
Moving.
Leaning across the table.
Her finger was pressed into Grimm's nose as her mouth moved rapidly.
Grimm swatted her finger, leaning over the table with the same motion.
His finger—
Pressed.
Onto her forehead.
Arthur hummed with quiet amusement before he blinked, returning his view to normal.
The table—
Empty.
Dark.
His view shifted a final time, looking towards the window on the far side of the courtyard.
The quarry machines were in full view, sitting stationary underneath the night sky.
A final—
Memory.
The sunlight peered through the glass above, warming the limestone beneath it.
A person sat—
Alone.
Gazing out the open window.
Their figure—
Warped.
Shaking the static surrounding them.
Kane was—
There.
Looking out the window.
He sat on the window seal bending his left leg as his right foot touched the courtyard floor.
His eyes kept moving around the view, looking out towards the mine.
Chains were ingrained into his face barely moving as his head turned back and forth.
The memory—
Shifted.
Another—
Change.
Formed next to Kane.
A slender—
Woman.
Sat mirroring him.
Her right foot touched the courtyard ground as he left bent, sitting on the window seal.
A radiant—
Glow.
Surrounded her.
Arthur's eyes—
Widened.
The memory—
Slit.
Removing what could have been.
It had—
Ended.
Returning to the desolate area.
He steadied his breathing inhaling through his nose.
It's time…
His stride began, heading towards the hallway leading to the garage.
Arthur's face—
Tightened.
A mechanical humming vibrated through the metal vents above, stretching across the long hallway.
Flickering lights provided dim light, reflecting off the polished limestone floor.
…to repay my own debt.
His foot crossed the threshold, stepping out onto the metal rafters.
Propellers whooshed in the open garage, testing their rotations as Arthur continued descending the steps.
The hangar door remained open, having the trolleys of canisters fastened in the center of the bay.
Arthur had—
Entered.
Walking up the hangar door.
He continued past the cargo, walking towards the personnel transport seats.
Grimm was—
Buckled.
Adorned in his deep shadow suit.
Arthur fixed the scarlet tie around his neck, glancing down at the top of his head.
"Are you ready?"
Grimm leaned forward, clasping his hands as he focused on the metal ground.
"Of course, sir."
His eyes—
Focused.
As his face tightened.
Arthur returned his attention towards the cockpit door, gripping the hilt of his blade.
He shifted the metal curtain, entering the front of the plane.
Dean was seated in the right seat, checking the dials on the dash before him as he turned a few nobs.
Arthur took his seat, tapping the armrest on his right.
"Are we good for takeoff?"
Dean fixed his earpiece pointing towards the buckle around his torso.
"As soon as you buckled in."
Arthur nodded, clicking the latch on the circular buckle.
"Let's go."
Dean reached for the steering handles before him, flicking a few switches above him.
The hangar door creaked open, revealing the clear night sky above as the place ascended towards the stars.
Dean pressed the handles forward.
The plane—
Accelerated.
Hovering through the guise of night.
Clouds drifted in the cool night breeze passing over the stealth craft.
Grimm sat—
Silent.
As his piercings swayed with the rocking of the cargo bay.
His eyes—
Narrowed.
As an orange hue slowly crept through his veins.
This time…I won't fail.
…
A persistent ticking clicked in the city below, moving in sync with the grand clock tower.
Moonlight shone through the window, resting on the empty office chair.
Marco had—
Paused.
Glancing back over his shoulder.
His hand—
Pressed.
Opening the door before him.
A symmetrical hallway was before him, having the same fluorescent lights and motion clocks on both of the walls.
Golden streams of metal ran between them, stopping at the carpeted floor.
His leather shoes glided across the soft carpet as he made his way towards the elevator at the end.
Marco's violet sash swayed with each step, slightly loosening the hook on the right side.
His hand—
Reached.
Aligning it with the other golden ones.
A memory—
Surfaced.
Briefly pausing his hand.
Marco had stood before the same desk in his office.
It was quiet as an empty chair was before him.
The sash sat—
Alone.
On the clean desk surface.
His hand—
Reached.
Taking hold of the purple rope.
Marco's view returned to the ticking hallway as he finished fixing the sash.
He gripped the hilt of his sword with his right hand.
Each fluorescent light before him clicked on, turning off a few ones behind him in the process.
His stride—
Paused.
Before the elevator door.
Marco's body—
Shifted.
Moving to the glass door next to it.
He reached for the handle, wrapping his fingers around the cold, white metal.
The door—
Opened.
A second—
Memory.
Flashed across his mind.
It was dark as the sky was covered with the smog from the central city.
A single light—
Guided.
Flickering from the metal railing.
It was—
Scarlet.
A breeze flowed through, picking up the remnants of the scarlet hue drifting it far away.
Marco's vision returned to the rhythmic city as he walked towards the railing.
His left hands rested on the metal as he looked towards the covered night sky.
The moon;s sliver light was dampened behind the black clouds rising from the pipes spread across the city.
Marco's grip—
Tightened.
Around his sword hilt.
His veins—
Surged.
Glowing with a violet light.
A mantle manifested, adorning his shoulders with a long holo-cape.
It flowed down the left side, fully extending past his waist as it stopped above his knee.
His eyes—
Narrowed.
Towards the sky above.
The mantle—
Drifted.
As if it began resonating with another.
The city below began to halt, churning its gears out of sync.
Soldiers and mechanical figures of the fourth level began collapsing, falling directly to the ground where they stood.
They remained unharmed as if they had been put into a deep slumber.
A night breeze wafted the clouds from the sky, revealing the half crescent moon above.
Propellers rotated high above the central city district, hovering it overhead the central clock tower.
The cargo bay doors compressed, humming as both sides opened.
Grim stood centered between the trolleys of canisters, tapping his earpiece.
"Is this where you wanted me?"
Arthur unbuckled his belt, standing to his feet as he rested his finger on his earpiece.
"Yes, wait for my signal."
Static scratched through the earpiece as he reached for the metal curtain.
His voice transmitted through a moment later.
"Activate the suppressors, Jean."
Jean stood atop the tall tower, leaning on the rail as she faced the central clock.
Her finger rested on the earpiece, listening to the static before Arthur's order.
She removed a small metal switch from her pocket.
"Roger."
The switch—
Flicked.
Rapidly spinning the antennas on the top.
A dome—
Recreated.
Interlocking different hexagon shapes across the central district.
The city began pausing, stopping the mechanics that all ran in proper order.
Clocks—
Halted.
As if time had stood still.
The citizens moving about the sides of the winding streets all halted as if they were machines being shut off.
Their bodies—
Collapsed.
Falling to the ground before them.
The central fountains spread across the second and third sections of the city ended their flow of water.
Jean's veins surged with a yellow light as she walked off the balcony of the building, stepping across the thin walls beneath her.
She kept moving through the air, tapping her ear piece.
"It's done…I'm heading to the central tower now."
Arthur's hand shifted the curtain to the side.
"Good work…Grimm it's your turn."
His hand lowered to his side, resting on the hilt of his sword.
Arthur's veins—
Surged.
With a scarlet light.
A mantle manifested, adorning his shoulders with a long holo-cape.
It flowed down the right side, fully extending past his waist as it stopped above his knee.
Grimm faintly smirked as his veins flew with an orange light.
His hand—
Extended.
Pausing before the holes on the backs of the canisters.
Nuclei—
Formed.
Their shells circled one another in different directions.
Grim tensed his hands closed, snapping the strands attached to them.
The nuclei burst, sending the trollies and barrels down towards the city below.
Their compressed energy—
Surged.
Throughout the device.
The mechanical tubes filled with the orange light, compressing the many pumps surrounding the fluid in the center.
A large—
Click.
Sounded through the sky.
The barrels—
Erupted.
Spreading a dark mist though the air.
Particles drafted across the city, landing on everything in sight.
The central tower—
Ticked.
Out of rhythm with the city.
Gears—
Churned.
On their own intervals.
The soldiers and citizens below continued to lay dormant as mist softly pressed on their skin.
Their being—
Shook.
As if something was deleted from them.
They remained—
Still.
Arthur moved through the short hallway, walking towards the center cargo bay.
Grimm stood at the edge of one of the open doors, resting his hand on the frame above him.
"Did it work?"
Arthur's movement—
Halted.
"Of course."
Grimm looked towards the central tower below, forming a nucleus in his free hand.
"Is the operation beginning?"
Arthur turned toward him.
His grip—
Tightened.
Around his sword hilt.
Arthur's lips parted as his veins continued to glow with a scarlet light.
An order—
Sounded.
Heavy.
Carrying itself through the air.
"Advance."
It entered Grimm's ears.
His body felt lighter, as if he had just returned from a full recovery.
The nucleus was—
Denser.
Swirling with more shells than before.
A wide smile rested along his lips as he leapt out of the plane.
It's different from last time…
The nucleus grew to a larger size.
…I feel like I could evaporate this entire city.
His fingers—
Curled.
Splitting the dense nuclei.
A rain of orange energy bursted towards the city below like small suns falling to the ground.
The flapping of wings sounded as he looked down the tip of his spear, blurring the sight of the falling nuclei.
Malachi was—
Hovering.
Above the central tower.
A golden-yellow—
Light.
Surged through his veins.
His wings stretched out, pointing their eyes towards the raining light.
Their eyelids—
Blinked.
The nuclei—
Vanished.
Returning to the dark night sky.
Grimm's eyebrow furrowed, looking at the bright light darting towards him.
Is that…the one from the prison?
Strands of orange flowed from his fingertips, forming a regular nucleus.
His fingers tightened, splitting the strands of light to burst their energy towards the approaching enemy.
The ground came close to him as he fell from the cloud of black and orange smog.
A nuclei split from beneath his feet, softening his landing.
The same light—
Descended.
Touching the ground beneath it.
It was—
Persistent.
Unharmed.
Malachi stood on the cracked limestone, glancing towards the diagonal cut next to him.
Will she return?
Grimm snapped his finger, pointing at Malachi.
"What number are you bird-man?"
Malachi turned his gaze towards Grimm, looking at the rows of bolts in his head.
"A servant of God does not answer broken filth."
Grimm sighed, shrugging his shoulders.
"So I assume you're number six then?"
Malachi gripped the holo-spear in his left hand.
"Nonsense."
Grimm rested his finger on his chin.
"I just asked to see if you were lower than that other watchman."
Malachi's jaw—
Tightened.
"What was their number?"
Grimm's eyebrows slightly raised.
"I think…"
He held his palm towards him.
"...five."
Malachi's eyes narrowed as he pointed the spear tip towards him.
"Enough."
Grimm curled his fingers as if he was testing their tension.
"Let me guess…you're number four?"
Malachi's wings—
Spread.
Slowly lifting him off the ground.
"That woman…"
His gaze—
Lowered.
Looking down towards Grimm.
"...is not worthy to be close to God."
Grimm's veins—
Persisted.
With the orange hue.
His hands—
Tensed.
As strands formed towards the center of his palms.
"Perfect."
Grimm's fingers twitched, raising the nuclei up with the strands.
A smile—
Formed.
As the strands split.
…
A cold night breeze flowed across the silent wasteland lifting small pebbles in its direction.
Tires skirted across the dirt, stopping at the edge of the collapsed wall.
The central city was far in the distance as Art reached for the dune buggy keys.
It's engine—
Stuttered.
For a brief second.
The wheels—
Turned.
As if it was still moving.
Art'[s ears twitched as she checked the rear view mirror.
The reflection—
Warped.
Refracting the wasteland behind her.
She glanced to the passenger seat, quietly inhaling through her nose.
Kane was—
Gone.
The air—
Returned.
Art fluttered her eyelids looking to the passenger seat.
He's gone?
She reached for the empty seat, placing her hand on the leather cover.
Moonlight rested upon the back of her hand.
Her eyes—
Narrowed.
Where did Kane go?
Art shook her head, exhaling to steady herself as she turned towards the western district.
For now…
Her fingers turned the keys towards her, silencing the humming engine.
The buggy lights clicked off as she opened the driver's side door, heading towards the car's trunk.
Art lifted the trunk, pulling out her folded railgun before fastening it to her back.
…I need to focus on the mission.
She closed the trunk as she walked towards the broken wall.
Her veins—
Surged.
With a white light.
Art began moving quickly like a hunting wolf as she made her way into the destroyed district.
She climbed the tall rubble, looking out towards the stretch of collapsed buildings.
I'm looking for a watchman…
Her hunt—
Began.
As she moved in the direction of the central district.
…so let's get close to the city.
Her footsteps made no noise as she darted through the silent district, moving in between the broken buildings and piled rubble.
A street sign creaked in the passing wind as she pressed against a large broken casino sign.
Art had—
Knelt.
Placing her hand on the ground.
The surroundings—
Pulsed.
Outlining themselves in black and white.
She closed her eyes, taking in the layout of the area around her.
Two figures—
Moved.
In her direction.
Their footsteps—
Matched.
Art sighed quickly standing to her feet as she unholstered one pistol from her side.
She reached into the pouch at her waist, screwing on a metal suppressor.
Her grip—
Tightened.
As she shifted out from cover.
Two shots—
Rang.
Sending the bullets through the thick fog.
The lights—
Fell.
Pooling around their heads.
Art steadied her breathing as she flicked the chamber out reloading the two bullets she had released.
Those were soldiers…that must mean the base is close by.
She turned her head towards a tall standing building, looking at the cracks running along the side.
I can get a good view from up there.
Art continued towards the building, climbing through the rubble as she entered the base floor.
She moved through the different levels, climbing past broken stairs to reach the outside roof.
The wasteland stretched behind her as the central city wall circled the horizon before her.
Art rested her hands above her eyebrows, enhancing the glow of the veins around her eyes.
Her vision—
Enhanced.
As it zoomed towards the central wall.
There's a base.
Mechanical figures stepped in rhythm with their turning gears, carrying boxes of scraps and broken stones.
Soldiers stood watch at the front gates, moving around the spotlights atop the short walls.
A proper building sat at the back having an outline of black and gold accents.
Art unfolded her white railgun, pressing a small button close to the barrel.
A tripod extended from beneath the gun as she laid down on her stomach.
Now then.
She looked down the scope, keeping the same glow around her eyes.
The view shifted around the base, looking at the figures and soldiers moving around.
Her sight—
Stopped.
At the far building.
The door—
Opened.