Volume Nine - Changes

## Chapter 97 - A New Enemy

Planes landed and took off, as expected, this was an airport. These planes doubled as passenger and cargo flights, and were good for getting around in after all measures, including special pressure devices to mitigate pain, and cameras to scan for threats. The airport held the latter too of course, and also had a gift shop and playground. People didn't tend to go here to travel given the rise in comparativeness in other options, but it felt the coolest, after all, it was like flying in an alien ship with how they were designed!

A man wearing only black clothing, which were a tight dress shirt and pants, along with somewhat pointy shoes, and a long, black trenchcoat which had a tall collar, and silver buttons adorning the coat and shirt beneath, walked towards the airport with his hands in his pockets. People gave him odd glances, and some ran away, but no one talked. The man's soulless red eyes looked up at the scanner, as the doors opened and he walked in. He continued to walk around, as people continued to glance at him in fear. He had dark tan skin, which also looked a bit dry and deprived of saturation, and very dark brown hair, which was shaggy and spiky, and a bit long, yet fit in his massive collar. His facial hair was a well-trimmed moustache and beard, joined together, and small.

He walks towards a Socqreath woman with green hair, who seemed to be a flight attendant, as she looked shocked to see him. "Who are you?" She asks. "Should a flight attendant really be asking that?" The man asks back, as the flight attendant mildly blushes. "Stop that, I'm not looking for love. And your outfit is ridiculous." The man then continues, as he gives her his flight ticket, which identified him as 'Karim Kouri'. The flight attendant, trembling looks at Karim. "Are you gonna' let me on or not?" He demands. "We just need to...scan your briefcase first." The flight attendant replies, as Karim places a black briefcase on the conveyor belt, and it is scanned.

There is nothing inside.

"What...?" The flight attendant breathes. "I'm planning on bringing back souvenirs." Karim answers, as he picks up the briefcase and walks forwards. "Allow me to show you to your seat." The flight attendant says while keeping as much composure as possible, and helping Karim find his seat. "We'll...bring you something to drink."

Karim takes out what looks like a vial filled with a clear liquid and plays with it for a little while, thinking about what he would do after this. The flight attendant returns, and sets down a crystal glass. "First Class? I'm not even close to there." Karim says. "I wanted to...give you a better treatment due to..." The flight attendant trails off. "You love and fear me...why choose me? Because I'm biologically the most attractive person you've met?" Karim asks. "Then again, your species is addicted to sex... I'll let you know where that addiction will get you."

He pours the liquid into the wine that was in the crystal cup, as the flight attendant sits down and places her own cup down. "Not doing your job?" Karim asks. "I'll stay for one drink." She replies, as Karim smirks and pours the other half of the liquid that was in the vial into her cup, and they toast before drinking. "Are you sure we couldn't...find somewhere better?" The flight attendant asks. "I am, because this is the best you get." Karim then places his crystal cup into his trenchcoat, along with the vial. "Thanks for the gift."

The flight attendant then begins to feel dizzy, as she holds her head in pain and stands up, before collapsing to her knees and coughing uncontrollably, until she coughs blood, which evaporates, leaving a cloud filled with the poison in the air as it infects everyone else, yet Karim seems unaffected. The plane then begins to shake uncontrollably, as Karim throws his briefcase aside and takes out a detonator, before pressing the button on it. The briefcase explodes, revealing that it itself was the bomb, as the virus leaks out of the hole in the plane. "I'd ask you fly into the water, but that probably won't happen." He says.

"K-Karim...why...?" The flight attendant asks. "I'm Karim Kouri." He answers. "This is how I get my kick."

The plane then crashes, and explodes, shaking the island it had crashed on. Karim walks past the flight attendant's dead body, picking up her name card and pocketing it, as he walks out of the burning wreckage of the plane, the flames making him look like a silhouette as he knew the smoke was also filled with the virus. Karim then walks over to a small motorboat, puts a few fuel tanks in it, and gets in, as he uses it to leave the scene of the crime, and leave the island in ruins.

## Chapter 98 - Resting

Jack woke up, and found himself in Andromeda's arms. He smiled, briefly, before remembering his nightmare, that Darkstar had called someone to 'avenge' them. He pushed that thought out of his head. It wasn't possible, all of Darkstar had been taken care of, none of them should still be alive...so why did he feel uneasy? He would get up, but he didn't want to wake Andromeda. She was at her most peaceful asleep. Jack then noticed, she was smiling. And that was earned, they had finally defeated the very people who brought ruin to Weepmire, so long ago.

Andromeda's eyes began to open, as she smiled at him. Her eyes lit up like only one other time he could remember...when they first met. Andromeda then placed her head against Jack's and softly rubbed his cheek with her own. Jack blushed and hugged Andromeda, as he smiled. This was what they should have had, what Darkstar took from them, what they took back.

Peace.

Kasper typed down on many keyboards, as he looked up at the screens, at the code. Now that Darkstar was gone, he was more focused than ever on making his video game. "Kasper!" Candice shouts affectionately, as she bursts through the door and wraps her arms around Kasper, hugging him and giggling. "Hi, Candice." Kasper replies, laughing a bit too, at long last. Without Darkstar, he thought maybe, he could finally be happy. "What've you added to your game?" She asks, as she stops hugging Kasper but gets a chair to sit down next to him.

"I added fighting mechanics." He answers, as he turns on the latest version of the game, showing basic stick animations with weapons. Candice immediately looks for a controller. "I'm afraid I haven't gotten that far yet." Kasper says. "Awww. I really wanna play your game." Candice groans, as she then place's her hand on Kasper's. "And I wanna help you make it." "Well, I can teach you coding?" Kasper says, as Candice laughs and kisses him. "Yeah, I'd like that!" She replies with a big smile on her face.

Suddenly, the alarm goes off. "Huh? We have an alarm?" Candice asks. "I installed one in case there was an emergency." Kasper replies, as he presses a button and sees Rosenstock's face on screen. "Where are Jack and Andromeda?" Rosenstock demands. "We're here." Jack says from across the room. He and Andromeda had seemingly entered only a few moments ago. Jack had a black shirt beneath a white and red jacket on, and beige dress pants with black shoes on. Andromeda wore a sleeveless, form-fitting tank top, and form-fitting jeans which seemed to have slots on them for holding weapons, and she was putting on a black jacket with a collar.

"What's going on?" Andromeda asks. "There was a terrorist attack in the Walled Isle." Rosenstock answers. "A plane crashed, exploding, and releasing a virus that killed all the inhabitants." "Darkstar can't be back." Shunsuke remarks. "They lost their forces and their leaders." "This wasn't Darkstar." Rosenstock replies, as he shows the image of the culprit, Shunsuke exclaiming in fright when he sees it. "That's...that's The Black Death." He breathes. "What? Wh-who?" Jack asks, worried. "His real name is Karim Kouri, but he took up the name 'Black Death'. He's the most wanted criminal in the galaxy." Shunsuke answers.

"Th-tha-that's hyperbole, r-right?" Jack asks. "No. He's more dangerous than any other criminal, even aliens." Rosenstock says. "Even Socqreath. We thought he perished when his craft crashed into a Netraxian Warship, but that was foolish of us to think. The public has not been informed of this, because we do not need a mass panic." "Where is this...'Karim'?" Andromeda demands. "We don't know." Rosenstock replies. "We told you of this because we needed to be on high alert. We'll tell you if and when we find anything." He then ends the transmission.

"Well...that was jarring." Jack remarks.

## Chapter 99 - New Crime in Town

"So, this is the place?" A voice demands, as multiple motorcycles fly through the air, swerving around buildings and vehicles alike, as the largest person on the motorcycle turns around and fires at the police car following them with his laser pistol. It looked like a black metal revolver, but it functioned very differently. The laser melted through the glass and took out the driver's eye, as the police car crashes into a building. "Ha! He won't be up next morning." One of the bikers shouts in a female voice, she was rather curvy, and appeared to be the second tallest, barely shorter than the leader. They continued until they reached a stop.

They get out of their bikes and take their helmets off. The female had red hair and eyes, and looked towards the leader, a tall, dark-skinned man who seemed to be wearing curved sunglasses and had a metal piece in his ear. "Seems awfully quiet for a bustling city." The man says. "Sigma, watch for any more cops. Theia, with me. We're looting this ghost town." "If it is a ghost town. Python, do you think that..." Theia trails off. "If it was him, he left us a dozen malls to shop in." Python, the leader, replies.

As they walk through the city, they see that there were bodies everywhere. No visible damage seemed to be present, but the bodies were in pools of their own blood, and looked to have been in extreme agony when dying. "This isn't looking promising..." Python remarks, as they walk into a shopping mall. More dead civilians, and some dead guards. The cashier was holding something, as Python takes it out of his hand and eyes it. "Looks like the water supply here was contaminated." He says. "They probably cut it off, and that's why we're still kickin'." "Contaminated by what?" Theia asks. "I don't know, we'll check it out later." Python answers.

He pockets the cup, as they walk through the mall. There was no music playing, no machines whirring, no people talking. It was completely silent apart from their own footsteps, as they kept seeing more bodies, all in puddles of blood. "This place gives me the creeps." Theia mutters. "Do you think whoever did this is still here?" "If it's who I think it is, he'll have moved onto another city by now." Python answers. "And you're right, Theia. This place is eerie. They probably cut the power off so that their reservoir couldn't be reactivated."

They continue to walk through the mall, looking around. They then saw a door. "That'll probably lead to the security room..." Python remarks, as he and Theia walk to the door. Python kicks it down, ignoring the sound of the metal tearing, and he and Theia walk into what was indeed the security room. Python and Theia walk to the screens and watch, as Python rewinds it until he sees someone walking through the mall. The black trenchcoat, shaggy, spiky black hair, the red eyes. "It was him...Karim was here." Python says. "We better inform the others." "If Karim's here, we probably shouldn't be." Theia replies. "Yup." Python replies to her.

Sigma, who was still wearing his motorcycle helmet, which had a visor that somewhat resembled and astronaut helmet's, walks back to his position as the other bikers surround him. He then sees Python and Theia walking back. "Karim was here, he's the reason this place is a ghost town." Python says. "We need to get out of here, in case he comes back, or never left in the first place." "Karim...Karim Kouri...?" One of the bikers asks nervously. "Do you know any other Karims, much less any other Karims that could and would do this?" Python retorts. "Let's move!" They then get on the bikes, and fly out of the dead city.

## Chapter 100 - Visiting Prison

Andromeda walked through the door, seeing the many, many guards and the weapons they wielded. "What...are those?" She asks. "They destroy projectiles with lasers." The guard escorting her replies. "They're experimental." Andromeda and the guard walk through the prison hallways. The floor, the walls, the ceiling, all of it was somewhat shiny black metal, and looked like it was styled like tiles. The white lights were bright, but didn't illuminate much. The guard then brings Andromeda over to stand in front of a door. "Inside this solitary confinement chamber...is him." The guard says. Andromeda nods, as the door is opened.

It was Kazuyuki that was sitting there, his hands and feet chained to the wall. He was breathing raspily, and shaking. "67890, someone is here to speak to you." The guard says, as Kazuyuki looks up, hair covering one eye, as he sees Andromeda with his other eye, and smiles. "Hello...Andromeda. It's been a while since I've seen you." He says. "It serves you right to be like this." Andromeda retorts, as Kazuyuki only smiled wider. "You would say that, considering how much you hate humans." Kazuyuki replies with a chuckle.

"...I...I think there are worse..." Andromeda trails off, as Kazuyuki raises his eyebrow, smiling wider. "Oh...no...it's not about the look...or the action...it's the potential." Kazuyuki retorts. "The Shazarak are demons, but...at the end of the day they're just wild animals. I'm not." "You are evil. I always had a bad feeling about you." Andromeda growls. "That feeling was correct, and thank you." Kazuyuki replies. "I love that...compliment." "Why are you evil?" Andromeda demands. "Because I am. I'm a psychopath." Kazuyuki replies coldly, yet still with that creepy smile. That haunting gaze.

"Why are you so lenient with us humans?" Kazuyuki sneers, still smiling. "Isn't Jack the only one you care about? If he died, wouldn't you lose your anchor, and descend into pure darkness?" "You will go to Hell." Andromeda growls. "We're already in Hell, right here. And I want to make it look the part." Kazuyuki replies, as he gives Andromeda a crazed look. "You are a Socqreath. It's kill or be killed. Rape or be raped." "I will--" "Kill anyone who tries the latter on you?" Kazuyuki asks, cutting Andromeda off, as she doesn't respond. "Don't tell me you're...refraining from killing. That's your best quality."

Andromeda growls, bowing her head down, before she tries to rush at Kazuyuki, but is held back by the guard. "YOU ARE GOING TO DIE! YOU WILL DIE!" She screams. "Then try to kill me." Kazuyuki replies, his expression one of pure insanity. "But first, you may need to kill that guard!" "DIE! DIE IN HERE, ALONE AND POWERLESS!" Andromeda roars, as the guard pulls her away and closes the door, as Kazuyuki's haunting laughter echoed across the corridors. The guard throws Andromeda out and slams the door. "If you try that again, you'll be in here." Another one of the guards says.

## Chapter 101 - Tracking

Multiple bikes zoomed across the highway, weaving around cars and trucks. "Are they undercover?" Python asks Sigma, who scans the vehicles, and shakes his head. "Of course not..." Python remarks, as they continue to move. "But it's best to stay on guard." They then see an actual police blockade far in front of them, as the officers shoot at them. What appear to be bolts of lightning seem to emanate from a sword on Sigma's back and block the lasers as the bikers weave around to not be shot.

"Everyone, prepare for the Maneuver!" Python shouts, as he, Theia and Sigma ride their bikes towards the blockade, before tilting their bikes up, as they use a piece of wood as a ramp to fly over the police cars, as the other bikers drive around the blockade. One of the officers gets onto his own bike and rides after them. Python sees him with mirrors in his glasses, and on the bike, as he pulls what looked like an MGL grenade out of one of the pouches on his suit and throws it at the officer, who quickly weaves around it and keeps driving, as the grenade explodes.

The police officer moves faster to drive beside Python. "You are under arrest for--" "Heard it all before!" Python shouts, cutting the officer off as he then whacks him in the face with his arm, sending the officer reeling as his motorcycle stops and the bikers ride away. "Shit." The officer growls, before taking out what looked like a rocket and igniting it, as it flies towards them. Python notices and growls. "Sigma, now!" Python roars, as Sigma draws his sword and swings it, the lightning blasting the missile away as it explodes, and the bikers ride out of view.

Jack, Andromeda and Shunsuke looked around the city, trying to find the people that had been described by civilians and caught on cameras. A biker gang, with three major members, a family of criminals, they said. The city didn't look raided, in fact, it looked better than it had in a long time. "You think they're in a stealth mission?" Jack asks. "It's possible they're not here." Shunsuke replies. "With what happens in this town, it would make sense." "Yeah, well they came from a city that was apparently poisoned to death. Maybe they had something to do with it?" Jack replies. "It could be, and it could also be..."

"I hear something." Andromeda says, as she walks to a metal door and looks at it. Upon further inspection, it seemed to have a dent in it, and the hinges looked loose, as if the door was placed back on them. "Someone was here." Andromeda remarks. She cuts down the door, and walks inside, as Jack and Shunsuke follow her. There were three corridors. "Let's...uh...not split up." Jack says, as Andromeda walks forwards. The lights flickered, and they saw someone standing in the shadows, wearing a cloak.

"Who's...that?" Jack asks. "...I don't know." Shunsuke answers truthfully. "What do you mean you don't know?" Jack then asks. "I don't know everyone, especially not that guy." Shunsuke replies. "But...he's probably part of the 'family'." The figure then draws what looked like a regular katana. "Is that a sword?" Jack asks. "Looks like it." Andromeda answers, as she steps forwards. "He's bringing a sword to a gunfight." Jack remarks, as he takes out his gun and fires. Then, they see a bolt of lightning fly from the sword to the bullet, destroying it before it can hit the figure.

"What...what was...?" Jack trails off, as the figure rushes forwards and swings at them. Andromeda tries to block with a Psychic Weapon but found she couldn't manifest it! "What?!" Andromeda growls, as the sound drones on. The figure's sword cuts her across the abdomen, as he leaps over and slashes at Shunsuke, who blocks with his arm, which is cut. "Gh..." Shunsuke grunts, as Jack tries to kick the figure, who swings his sword at Jack's leg. Jack pulls his leg back before kicking the side of the blade to kick it away without being cut, but the figure turns the blade and cuts into Jack's foot, as he yells in pain and falls down.

Shunsuke throws a punch at the figure, who sidesteps and turns to the side to dodge the punch as he then slashes Shunsuke across the chest, Shunsuke grunting again as the figure slides back away from him and slashes his knee, causing him to fall to the ground like the other two. "Sigma, that's enough." A voice says, as they see the other two members of the 'family' walk towards them. Python and Theia. Sigma nods and sheathes his sword, as he walks to be beside them. Jack glares up at Python, who looks down with an unknowable expression.

"Bring them with us." He says.

## Chapter 102 - The Proposition

The door opens, and they are brought inside a vault. Jack looks around and sees that there was no money left anywhere, except in bags. "You think you'll get away with this?" Jack demands. "We've gotten away with it thus far." Python replies. "But enough about us. You're the kid who kicks it old-school with his gun, right?" Jack doesn't respond for a moment, as Python takes Jack's gun out of its holster and examines it, before firing it at the wall. "Definitely a bullet gun." Python remarks, as he throws the gun back to Jack, as it lands directly in front of him.

"You know, there was a time when not everyone could dodge bullets." Python says. "In fact, no one could. In that era, we weren't descended from those who were genetically modified to be able to dodge bullets. Now, lasers are the big deal, because it's damn near impossible to dodge those. Bullets are effortless. And even if I am hit, I've got a Kevlar vest on, and pretty tough skin." "It's my gun, and I'm using it." Jack retorts, as Python puts a black revolver at his feet. "Don't be fooled by the looks, that's a laser pistol." Python says. "It's for when you decide to accept my challenge. A duel."

"A...duel?" Jack asks. "Yeah. Like the myth of 'High Noon'. I made it real. And this far have won every challenge. I even have the scars to prove it, but only one is visible on my face." He lowers his sunglasses, showing that he had robotic glowing red eyes, and a burn mark on his nose. "The other guys are dead." "...I don't know whether to accept, but...I think our wounds have healed." Jack replies. "Either your bluffing, or Sigma needs to start using two hands because that is how you wield a katana." Sigma doesn't look at them, as Theia looks towards Jack. "And why do you say that?" She asks.

Shunsuke suddenly throws the bikers holding his arms off of him, as he rushes towards Python and punches him, Python blocking with his arm as Sigma draws his blade. "I thought this was just negotiations." Python remarks, as he tilts his head to dodge Shunsuke's other punch and catches the next one. He then punches Shunsuke in the face twice as he swings his arms back to avoid them being grabbed, kicking Shunsuke in the stomach before grabbing him by the neck and throwing him into the wall. Shunsuke palms the wall to catch himself and kicks Python, who sidesteps it before catching Shunsuke's leg with his arm.

"At least this is a good...ugh...workout." Python groans, as he kicks Shunsuke in the chest and face to knock him down, also kicking his hand to avoid his leg being grabbed. Shunsuke punches Python in the chest, making him stumble back, before swinging another kick at him. Python then takes out a knife and throws it into Shunsuke's knee, as he ducks under the kick. Shunsuke falls on his knees with a grunt of pain as Python uses a taser to knock him out. "Anyone else?" He demands, as Andromeda softly growls.

"In that case, we'll be leaving." Python finishes, holding his chest in some pain, as the bikers pick up the bags and walk out, as do Python, Theia and Sigma, before Python turns his head back to them. "Keep the gun, and consider my challenge." He says, as he walks away.

## Chapter 103 - Scene of the Crime

It had been a day. Python, Theia, Sigma and their biker gang rode to and through the next city, as they reached the bank. "What's the security?" Python asks, as Sigma scans the building, and the word 'low' appears on his visor. "Good." Python replies, as he walks forwards to the guards. "Hey, what are you--" The guard is cut off, as Python slashes his throat precise enough to not cause any bleeding, yet still kill him, as he stabs the other guard in the throat before pulling the knife out effortlessly, once again not causing any bleeding. They walk past the dead guards and into the bank, as Python holds up his gun and fires at the ceiling.

"Down on the ground, now!" Python shouts, as everyone in the bank gets on the ground and instinctively drop their devices. "Let's empty the vault." Python says, as Theia walks into the vault room. She throws two devices at the security cameras before they spot her, as they shut down. She then puts another device on the vault control panel, shorting it out and opening the door. "I'm in." She says, as she and a few of the bikers go inside the vault, and begin to fill their bags with the money. The other bikers are holding their guns to the civilians' heads, as Sigma and Python wait. Then, they hear voices outside.

"Drop your weapons and put your hands up!" A voice shouts on a megaphone. "We have you surrounded!" "Shit!" Python growls. "Everyone, get behind something!" They all get behind whatever they can, Python and Sigma getting behind the doorframe that led to the vault room. "What's your sword's percentage?" Python demands, as the word 0% appears on Sigma's visor. "Of course." Python groans, as what looked like a platoon of military officers burst through the door. "Everyone evacuate! We can handle this!" One of the soldiers shouts, as the civilians run out of the bank. The moment the last one left, the soldiers began to open fire.

Python fires back at them when he can, but they were wearing something that reflected the lasers away. "I didn't want to use this, but..." Python trails off, as he takes out an MGL grenade, and throws it at the gathering. It explodes, killing the officers, and also setting the bank on fire! The bikers are led down the stairs by Python and Sigma, as they get to where Theia and the other bikers were. "Did you get them?" Theia asks. "Yeah, and now this whole damn building's coming down! We need to get out of here!" Python shouts, as they run.

Debris is falling around them, as they keep running, trying to avoid it all. The fire spread before their eyes, as they saw the emergency exit. "We need to get through there!" Python shouts, as they run towards it. Then, another piece of debris fall, and they leap back. The debris had fallen directly in front of the exit, and was blocking it! Python growls, as Sigma runs towards the debris and puts both hands on his sword, before slashing the debris to get it out of the way. It was taking a while, and there was more shaking, the building coming down further. Python pushes Sigma out of the way and kicks the door. As it, thankfully, opens.

But with the result of his foot now burning. "Ugh!" Python growls in pain, as they leap over the debris and out of the bank. They managed to get out just in time, as the bank collapsed, and they saw fire trucks coming. They got onto their bikes and rode away into the night, having been unable to collect anything from the now destroyed bank. "We got lucky that time..." Python remarks, as they continue to ride their motorcycles away. They reach the exit of the city, and leave. As the entire rest of the forces were trying to evacuate said city.

## Chapter 104 - Considering

Jack eyed the revolver closely, and examined it. It was like an actual six-shooter, but one that fired lasers instead of bullets. Jack thinks about the challenge, as he sees Andromeda training with a sword. It looked easy enough for her to use it, but she was struggling with swinging it in the right direction, and at one point it got stuck in the ground. "Gh..." Andromeda grunts, as she tries to pull the sword out of the ground. She eventually manages to do it, Jack thinking she used her Psychic Weapons to do so, as she then slashes the dummy angrily, cutting its head off.

"Andromeda? Are you okay?" Jack asks, as Andromeda sighs. "I rely too much on my powers." She replies. "I should have been training like our teachers wanted." "Well, you've been doing pretty good with the sword anyways." Jack says. "Just, don't swing it at the ground maybe?" "Thanks..." Andromeda replies, as she sheathes the sword and hugs Jack, who hugs back. When they stop, Andromeda looks at the laser revolver in Jack's hand. "What are you going to do about the offer?" She asks. "I think...I'm going to accept it." Jack answers. "But I'm not sure I can win against that guy."

"Maybe if you tricked him?" Candice asks, as she, Shunsuke and Kasper came into the room. "Huh. Could that work? If he wasn't prepared to dodge a laser...and thought it was a bullet..." Jack trails off. "And you can wear reflective material, too." Kasper replies, as he creates Jack's vest, but shiny. "It's made of the material the military uses." "Super-Chrome, right?" Jack asks. "It can reflect lasers." "That means anything other than a headshot should be survivable." Shunsuke replies, as Jack looks down at the gun. "So then...time to get started on reworking this thing." He remarks.

## Chapter 105 - Only Two Allowed

Jack, Andromeda and Shunsuke had been given a Craft by Rosenstock, which flew them to what looked like an old desert town, incredibly old. The buildings looked like they were made from wood, or metal that at this point looked like it. Everything that was metal was rusty, and it didn't seem to be inhabited, except by the biker gang that was stationed there. They fly down and land directly in front of what looked like guards, as Python himself walked forwards to look at them, as they exited the Craft.

"So you accepted my challenge? Good. I hear you're good with a gun, Jack." Python says, as Jack nods a bit and walks forwards, Python's guards keeping Andromeda and Shunsuke at bay. "Only you and me." "...What is this place?" Jack asks. "It's the first colony to be on this planet." Python answers. "We took refuge here escaping from our home city. Racist, sexist, classist, corrupt. You name it. The city doesn't exist anymore, but its memory does. We're just trying to survive, and use the money to fix this place up."

As Jack and Python walked away, Andromeda and Shunsuke looked around at the guarding bikers. They then look at each other and nod, as they begin attacking. The bikers took out knifes and guns, but Andromeda and Shunsuke dodged or caught the bullets, and grabbed the knife hands to avoid being stabbed. They managed to take out the guarding bikers, with scratches and bullet wounds in various places. Although Andromeda slowly but noticeably healed, Shunsuke didn't. They then try to go after Jack and Python, but Theia and Sigma walk to be in front of them. "If you want to get to Python, you'll have to go through us." Theia says.

Sigma rushes at Andromeda, who leaps back to dodge the slash, as Theia takes out her black and gold pistol and begins firing. Shunsuke dodges the bullets and grabs Theia's pistol before crushing it. "I thought you guys weren't big on bullets?" He says. "Yeah, well we don't have the money to spend on better firearms." Theia replies, as she kicks Shunsuke's leg to make him fall before kicking him in the face to knock him on the back while he is still in the air. Shunsuke begins to get up, but Theia throws one of her devices at him. The device looked like a mini-UFO, and when it hit Shunsuke's arm, it felt like an extremely powerful taser!

"Ugh! The Hell?" Shunsuke growls, as Theia kicks him upwards and punches him in the face. "I do a bit of inventing in my passtime." Theia replies, as she throws another disc at Shunsuke, who dodges it as he lunges forwards and punches her in the face, sending Theia flying back as she crashes into a metal pillar, bending it. "Gah..." Theia grunts, as she holds her bleeding face and glares at Shunsuke, before regaining her composure and shakily standing up. "Well, then..." She trails off, as she takes out a throwing knife and throws it at Shunsuke, who catches it. "That won't work a second time!" He shouts. "You sure?" Theia asks as a reply.

The knife then beeps, as it explodes in Shunsuke's hand, leaving searing burns on it. "Ugh!" Shunsuke grunts, as he sees Theia flipping through the air as she helicopter kicks him in the face, making him feel like there was a crack in his skull. Shunsuke stumbles back and manages to catch Theia's next kick, as he spins around and throws her through a metal wall with some difficulty in the spin, grunting from the pain he was in. He walks towards the building, holding his paralyzed arm in pain with his burned arm. Theia appeared to be unconscious, and had activated another bomb! "Gh..." Shunsuke groans, as he picks up the bomb and holds it tightly in his hand, ready to throw it away.

## Chapter 106 - The Art of Swordfight

Andromeda had continued to dodge most of Sigma's strikes, except for one that cut across her arm, which was still bleeding. Andromeda glares at whatever face was behind that uncaring, blank visor. She swings her sword at Sigma, who blocks with his own. Andromeda tries to move her sword forwards, as Sigma ducks, swinging his sword away, and slashing Andromeda in the leg. "Gah!" She roars, as she kicks at Sigma, who leaps back and twirls to right himself, before blocking her next strike while holding his sword with one hand. The way his wrist bent from this looked painful, but he didn't make a sound. He just swung his sword down.

Andromeda blocks again, and leaps back as she jabs her sword at Sigma, who tilts his head to dodge before immediately pushing her sword away with his hand and slashing at her neck. Andromeda barely blocks with her hilt, gritting her teeth in pain when the sword cuts her fingers. She then swings a punch at Sigma, who swings his sword at her hand to make her pull her fist back, which let him grab her arm with his own and flip her over him and onto the ground. He then jabs his sword towards Andromeda, who rolls out of the way to dodge, or would if his feet didn't block this. She is stabbed in the shoulder and growls in pain as she slashes him again.

Sigma tilts back to not be cut, and then leaps backwards. Andromeda gets up and slashes again, as Sigma once again blocks, using both hands this time. Andromeda found it much more difficult to fight when he used both hands, as he swung his sword sideways and she had to tilt her wrist in an awkward direction to block the strike with her sword. She tries to grab Sigma's neck during this, but he notices and moves his sword away, pulling back as he slashes her wrist, leaving a large cut in it that spurts blood. "Gh!" Andromeda grunts, as Sigma slashes her sword arm to make her drop her sword, which finally manages to cut into his foot.

Although Sigma's foot fountained blood, he didn't seem to much mind, as he slashes at Andromeda again, Andromeda leaping back as she picks up a rock and throws it at Sigma, his sword erupting lightning as it evaporates the rock. Andromeda doesn't stop and picks up a larger rock with both hands, before throwing it at Sigma as she grunts. The sword blasts it away, as a chunk of the rock manages to hit and crack his visor. Andromeda uses this distraction to grab at his sword and pull at it. Sigma notices and kicks Andromeda with his non-cut foot, Andromeda grunting but holding on as she then tilts the sword sideways to make Sigma cut himself!

Sigma finally drops the sword, as he immediately karate chops Andromeda, who feels herself tearing up from the pain in her neck from the chop as she then picks up Sigma's sword and swings it at its owner. Sigma dodges and kicks Andromeda's arms down to make the sword get stuck in the ground. "No!" Andromeda growls, as she kicks behind her, Sigma catching the kick as he pulls her towards him and punches her in the back, knocking her down. Andromeda turns around and groans in pain as Sigma grabs his sword and tries to pick it up, but couldn't! He tries both hands, but still could not! Andromeda then decides to just kick the sword.

The force of her kick managed to break in half, as Sigma finally makes a sound, a gasp. Andromeda takes advantage of Sigma's confusion to punch him in the face, shattering the visor and revealing that Sigma had a very odd face. The nose was normal, but the eyes were robotic, and the mouth was a speaker. Andromeda the notices a bandage on Sigma's neck. "An IV...?" Andromeda wonders in her mind, as she grabs the speaker and tears it out of Sigma's mouth. Sigma shrieks in agony as she does this, and before he can do anything else, she whacks him with a Psychic Weapon, knocking him out. "So this was it..." Andromeda remarks, as she hears an explosion.

## Chapter 107 - Showdown!

Jack and Python walked to what looked like the remains of a colony ship, as the sun was going down. "Wasn't exactly High Noon, but...you don't always get what you want, I suppose. And this should be good enough." Python remarks. "...Huh. We never told you our names did we?" "You said you're...Python, Theia and Sigma?" Jack replies. "I meant our real names. You probably don't care, though." Python clarifies. "Actually, I would like to know your names." Jack says. Python smiles. "Hakim Harper's mine." He says. "Theia? Agathe Antonoti was her birthname. Sigma was once named...Billy."

Hakim holds his revolver up towards Jack. "A family of criminals, we're called. The way we were treated, some may see us as heroes. I just see us as survivors." He says. Jack then took out what looked like his modified Glock and held it up towards Hakim. It was not worth trying to tell, when the setting sun made both of them appear as silhouettes. They both stared into each other's faces for a while, as they could see what was illuminated and what wasn't. The sun was blinding one of both of their eyes, so they closed the eyes that faced the sun. They then pulled the triggers.

Hakim fell to the ground, as the laser had hit him square in the chest. He looked shocked, as if genuinely expected a bullet. And there was a second wound too, in his knee, the laser reflected from Jack's jacket. Jack walks over to Hakim, who had let go of his revolver, and looked up at the boy who defeated him. "Well, I'll be damned...a bullet finally made a difference in this world." Hakim mutters. "Smart boy, you are, to trick me like that." "It wasn't my idea." Jack replies. "Then...credit to whoever had it. But...be warned...there's someone else here." Hakim replies. "...I know." Jack then says, as he walks away, transmitting the info to Rosenstock.

Hakim lied there for a long time, looking at the night sky. A few snakes and scorpions went past and over him, as he didn't dare move, or even try. How beautiful the night sky looked. The moon shone brightly, and the stars shone as well. The sky was cloudless, giving him a full view of the moon and stars, and the air was now cool, soothing on his previously baking skin. Hakim felt that the pain of the laser wounds was beginning to vanish, but he wasn't going to try and move on a melted kneecap. He decides to simply close his eyes, and let himself drift off to sleep.

BANG! BANG!

Hakim immediately opens his eyes from shock, but couldn't tell what had happened, the next time he blinked, he saw a figure standing over him, illuminated in some parts and made a silhouette in others by the moonlight. Hakim's eyes widen in fear, as he feels his breathing become more heavy, which was straining considering the laser wound, but he couldn't help it! Karim stares down at him with an indifferent expression, his eyes almost seeming to glow red. "Hello, Hakim." Karim says, as Hakim tries to look indifferent, but knew his fear was showing, as he sweated despite there being now heat, and shivered despite it being not very cold.

"Can you tell me who it was that managed to defeat you?" Karim asks. "Wh-what did you do to--" "I killed them." Karim answers, cutting Hakim off. "Now, answer my question." He says this as he grabs Hakim by the neck and lifts him up over him with one hand, placing what looked like an M1911 to his head. "I-it was...Jackson...Holland..." Hakim groans, choking and wheezing. Karim then shoots Hakim in the head, and drops him on the ground, as he walks away from the place where he had killed the biker gang.

## Chapter 108 - Running

Jack walked through the old town, where he had first 'fought' the Wicked Prodigy. It looked more busy than normal, perhaps the Prodigy had stopped attacking? That was what Jack thought anyway, as he saw people interacting, unlike before, and everything felt less creepy and unsettling. He looked around the town, knowing that they were after the supposed only surviving member of Python--Hakim's gang. A man named Kostin Yefim Fyodorovich. He was described as having bright blonde shaggy hair, almost pure white skin and pinkish eyes, wearing an old suit and holding a briefcase. Jack then saw someone fitting that description walking away.

Jack follows Kostin as he continues walking away, seeming to walk faster as if he knew he was being followed. They continued to go into what looked like a similar dark alley to the one Jack met the Prodigy in. When they got to a door, Kostin takes out a gun and whirls around, aiming it at where Jack was, but Jack appeared to not be there. Kostin groans and opens the door before walking in, Jack sneaking out from behind the garbage bin he had hid behind as he sneaks into where Kostin went before the door could close.

When Jack went inside, he quickly pulled up the hood on his jacket and sat at a table that no one else was at to hopefully blend in. Kostin sits down with two men wearing black fedoras and trenchcoats. "You hear about the chaos that's happening on the other side of the world?" One of the men asks. "Yes, and I hate it." Kostin retorts. "Part of that chaos is why the gang I was in was murdered. I just fucking ran for my life when those teenagers started attacking." "You were beaten by teenagers?" The other man asks. "These teenagers are the same ones who got rid of this town's Prodigy problem." Kostin replies angrily. "But yes."

Jack listens intently, trying not to look suspicious, as he remembers Andromeda and Shunsuke mentioning that they had taken out the gang. But they didn't kill them...so who did? The door opens as another man in a trenchcoat, who had shaggy, spiky hair from the look of it, walked in and through to the main bar table. "The usual." He requests, as a few people tensed up, including the bartender that he asked. She shakily nods and walks away, as rattling is heard from the room she went into. "You know, I think it's time we just gave up." The first man in the fedora says. "In this age, aliens are scarier and more successful than we'll ever be."

"I refuse to accept that!" Kostin roars. "Look how well we did! For so long! We even got a whole town workin' again from our wealth!" As Kostin vents, the bartender returns, handing what looked like a cup of rattlesnake poison to the man with the spiky hair. Jack tenses up when he sees this. "Is that...?" Jack whispers, as he covers his mouth and looks around. Luckily, no one heard him. Then, the other man in the fedora talks. "Kostin...we're only human. The Socqreath, they're like gods to us. I think it's time human criminals just threw in the towel--GUH!"

The man falls off his chair right as the gunshot was heard, as the other man is quickly shot. It was the man with the spiky hair who had shot them. "So...you said that humans should step off the stage?" The man asks, as he then aims at Kostin, who ducks under the table as multiple criminals gang up on the man, who shoots them dead before they can react. More criminals, tougher looking ones, try to slam a table into the man, who wraps his arm around one leg, snaps it off the table, and stabs it through all the criminals holding the table at once, as he then shoots the bullet from Kostin's gun out of the air, also shooting Kostin's gun out of his hand.

"Let me make this clear." The man who's eyes were red says. "I am not backing down just because aliens joined the picture." Another gunshot, as Kostin drops dead. Jack quickly hides under the table, as he hears the man sip the venom. There was no doubt, this had to be Karim! Jack takes out his gun and loads it, which Karim hears, as Jack hears bullets hit the table he is hiding under, and rises up from it to shoot Karim, who, despite the bullets piercing him, seems to completely ignore them, as he kept shooting. Jack does his best to dodge the bullets, as he then just runs into the hallway, Karim placing a dollar on the bartable.

Jack continues to run through the corridors, as he pants from exhaustion. "This can't be happening!" He shouts, as he takes out the laser gun and turns around to fire it, Karim once again ignoring it as he fires the gun out of Jack's hand. "Gah!" Jack shouts, as he fires at Karim with his original gun, dodging the bullets as much as he could as he turned to go to another corridor, but it was a locked door! "So, you'd run away from action?" Karim asks. "Are you Jackson Holland?" Jack shakily turns around, before aiming at Karim's face. "...I...I am." He replies, as he fires at Karim again, the bullet almost hitting him in the head, until he *caught it!*

"What?!" Jack yelps, as Karim throws the bullet behind him and looks at his somewhat bleeding fingers. He then aims at Jack again, who darts behind a corner and notices another hallway. As he quickly runs through it, trying to find an escape. He hears gunshots behind him as he weaves around, hearing the footsteps between the gunshots that were not his own. "I thought you were the one who beat Allen, and the Prodigy, and Hakim." Karim says behind Jack. "You're honestly disappointing."

Jack continued to run as he fired back, feeling the gun be fired out of his hand five bullets later as he catches it with his other hand and keeps firing. Nothing he did seemed to even faze Karim, who just kept walking normally no matter how many times he was shot! Jack was looking back when he felt himself slam into a wall. "Gah!" Jack shouts, as he tries to fire at Karim, who fires Jack's gun out of his hand, before shooting his knee. "This is depressing." Karim says, as he aims his gun at Jack's head. "I very much wanted a fellow human to put up a good fight." He then prepares to pull the trigger, but can't seem to move his finger. "Hmm?" He wonders.

Andromeda walked out of the Shadows, which Karim saw, as he moved his other arm forward and seemed to make grabbing motions randomly. As his hand started bleeding, and he flipped Andromeda over him without touching her. He must have grabbed her Psychic Weapon! She slams into the wall with a grunt of pain, as Karim turns to shoot again, but Jack had already stumbled out the door. He then feels movement and looks down. Andromeda had run away as well. He shoots into the distance, seeing her holding her back in pain as she walks through and closes a different door. "Heh..." Karim remarks, as he puts his gun away and walks back.