"Randel." The Boss watched in stunned horror as his undead compatriot dissolved into dust, vanishing in a sudden wind. While Johan felt guilty over committing such a dirty deed, it had been necessary. The thing wearing that face wasn't his late friend.
"This isn't over!" Before Laevateinn could act, Selim scurried away across a building's wall into a dark alley.
As usual, the Niflhel refused to fight Johan without the odds stacked in his favor. Unlike his ally, the Boss stood his ground. They entered an intense staring battle, daring their opponent to make the first move. Without any command or comment from him, Johan's floating sword orbited around him, ready for a fight.
"It doesn't matter if you have that fancy armor, Johan," the Boss said, his feline face twisting in a triumphant smile. "Deep down, you're a pathetic, frightened child, like always."
"Really?" Part of him wondered if that had always been the Jotnar leader's opinion of him. It was a painful question that had died with the real Boss.
Instead of responding, the cat monster switched targets. With liquid grace, he extended his claws toward a surprised Halvorsen. A hostage would be an excellent way to weaken Laevateinn's resolve. But Johan had a hunch he might attempt something like this, and his sword flashed in a blur.
Claws stretched to grasp the scientist's throat—only for the Boss to howl in fury as the thrown jet-black blade impaled his arm, pinning him to the street below.
"And you call Johan a weakling?" Halvorsen said, unperturbed by the sudden attempt on his life.
Cursing, the Boss raised his other claw to strike, but it only struck empty air, disturbing a few hairs. The cat monster howled as Halvorsen drove his fist into Johan's blade, impaling it deeper.
"No!" Hatred filled the Boss's eyes as he ripped Johan's blade free with a shaky hand. Flecks of dust fluttered to the street as his arm began falling to pieces, dropping to his side, useless. Pure rage drove Johan's former leader past even death, swinging his stolen blade toward the exposed Halvorsen. Steel clashed as a gauntleted fist blocked it.
"Pathetic, am I?" Johan said, watching as his opponent struggled to push past his arm, like a toddler fighting against a full-grown adult. It felt cathartic to avenge himself after all those taunts and insults.
"You will…" But the Boss never finished his final insult.
With a dramatic flourish, Johan ripped his blade free and both blades tore through his opponent's chest like cutting through paper. The cat monster was already dust, scattering as each weapon departed him.
"Sorry, Boss," Johan said, bowing his head to the pile of ashy dust that'd once been the Jotnar's leader. "Here's hoping you find some peace."
"Excellent work. Project Brokkr has been an unequivocal success," Halvorsen said, unperturbed as usual. He'd had supreme confidence his creation would succeed. "Neither even scratched you."
"Never mind that! Anderson needs a hospital. And how's ID-01?" Johan said, undoing his transformation.
"Fine. The detective is already being taken care of." Johan's head jerked, finding the robot doppelgänger already standing. While banged up, she seemed otherwise alright. ID-01 pointed toward a familiar face who was attending to the injured Anderson.
"Don't worry, nothing vital got hit," Pihu said, rising from where she'd been kneeling to examine her patient's wounds.
"Remain still, okay? We're getting you to a hospital. With everything going on, ambulances are hard-pressed to help everyone." Reaching inside a van Johan hadn't noticed before, Abbey retrieved a stretcher.
"Thanks. Damn, I'm too old for this nonsense." Anderson's pale features gave a weak smile. He had lost a lot of blood.
After a quick countdown, the Valkyries lifted the detective in unison onto the stretcher. Pihu fumbled with some medical supplies, pressing a bandage against Anderson's wounds before they arrived at the hospital. From the driver's seat, Abbey gave her leader a quick wave and a nod of acknowledgment.
"Nice work, as usual, Johan," Abbey said. "You okay, Ilma—err, ID-01? You look beaten up."
"I'll survive," ID-01 replied. "The damage was only superficial. It won't impede my function."
"Excellent work, doctor," Pihu said. "Your newest combat belt was a complete success. No side effects are noticeable so far."
"My theory about the Uhyre nanobots within his system has proven correct. They've allowed him to assimilate with Project Brokkr without issue," Halvorsen replied.
While disliking the sound of mini-robots in his bloodstream, Johan had to admit he felt fit—better than ever. "Lucky it worked out, I suppose."
"I'm surprised you didn't go with Mjölnir. Didn't Thor fight bad guys during Ragnarök? It seems a more fitting name," Abbey said, perplexed.
"While a great hero, why name my creation after someone who died during the Final Battle? It would just invite bad luck," Halvorsen said. "Instead, I named it after Freyr's sword, Laevateinn. Legends say it had the power to defeat the great fire giant Surtur. If only he had still possessed it during the battle. He'd given it away as a wedding gift when he married the giant, Gerðr."
"Fascinating," Johan said with barely controlled sarcasm. "But that brief fight drained almost a quarter of my energy! Without that missing piece from Rebecca, I'm uncertain I can even face Surtur."
"I'll check if she's ready." After a few taps on his phone, Halvorsen provided his answer. "Over an hour. With the disaster, traffic is impenetrable at her end. She's coming by foot."
"Wonderful," Johan said, grimacing.
"Once we get the detective to a hospital, we'll figure something out," Abbey said, leaping into the open van. "We'll get you that part."
"It's the best we can hope for." Halvorsen watched as the van zoomed away. It rattled after struggling over some rubble, but was otherwise unimpeded.
"I'll do my best to assist Ilma." While reckless, there wasn't much choice. After a nod of acknowledgment from Halvorsen, Johan hurried toward where he had heard fighting. Much to his surprise, ID-01 kept pace with him.
"Are you sure? With your armor almost completely broken?"
"It doesn't matter. Fenrir needs my assistance. Besides, the Valkyrie system will have restored five percent of its functionality by the time we arrive."
While not hopeful news, Johan nodded. With luck, Yareli and Dino would have weakened Surtur enough that their system problems wouldn't matter. While a foolish hope, a guy could dream. He just hoped Yareli could hold out until he arrived.
///
"Go, we have him!" Dino rushed at their opponent's left flank. Yareli took the opposite end, flanking their mutual enemy.
Surtur, however, seemed less than impressed with their tactics, keeping maddeningly still. Reine stood on the sidelines, propping herself up on a broken wall. She left the robot doppelgänger alone to fight them.
With ease, Surtur deflected Yareli's weapon with his sword, then grabbed Gungnir's spear with his fist. Dino howled in pain as the blunt end of his weapon slammed hard into his chest, the impact of the blow knocking the wind from him.
Yareli took advantage of her opponent's distraction with a sudden kick to the chest, but a knee rose to block it. Dino retreated a step, gaining some distance to increase his spear's effectiveness. Fenrir pressed her advance harder, but her attacks were either blocked or deflected—predicted before she even raised her arms. A grunt escaped her as an unexpected kick slammed her into Gungnir.
"You're outclassed, Fenrir," Surtur said, not as opinion but as fact. "You're only impeding your ally."
"Damn you." With a twist, she switched her weapon to gun mode and blasted Surtur point-blank, but her shots pinged harmlessly off his massive sword.
Her back spasmed as bolts of energy stabbed from behind, causing Yareli to stumble into Surtur. Reine smirked, pleased she had taken advantage of her partner's distraction. A slam to the face drove Fenrir into a nearby brick wall, hard enough to almost disrupt her transformation.
Dust crumbled from the half-broken wall as she struggled to stand, panic filling her as Reine appeared before her, the barrel of her weapon aimed at Fenrir's faceplate. Dino rushed to his ally's aid, but Surtur imposed himself to block any assistance.
"I'm finally ending this. Then I'll bring your corpse back to life and kill that old man you stay with!" Reine said, voice triumphant behind her helmet.
Rage filled Yareli's vision as she charged toward her hated foe. But her claws weren't quick enough—energy bolts blasting into her helmet point-blank. A kick drove Yareli to the ground. Reine continued her assault, blasting at Fenrir's exposed head. But the fire ignited inside only blazed hotter; Hel roared in pain as Yareli's claws left deep furrows in her chestplate.
"No!" Reine backed away, terrified, shooting into Fenrir as she retreated. The stinging bites only stoked Yareli's fury further. Some remaining zombies tried rushing to their mistress's aid but exploded into dust as Yareli batted them aside. Nothing would keep her from her target.
"That's it! Keep pushing her!" Dino said, keeping Surtur distracted with spear thrusts. "Slash her to pieces!"
Surtur stiffened, throwing his ally a furtive glance as he fought off Gungnir's attacks. Much to her astonishment, the giant misstepped. Sparks flew from an impact point in his chest as Dino punished him for his error.
Hel retreated further, but her foot struck an unseen piece of rubble, causing her to stumble. Yareli took full advantage, kicking Reine's left knee with her full strength. Despite her armor's protection, metal squealed as the blow struck, bending it at an odd angle. Agony filled Reine's whimpering voice as she tried stumbling away, her twisted leg unable to support any weight. Her breath quickened in terror, choking as Fenrir's clawed hand gripped her throat.
"You're finished," Yareli growled, sick of this monster wearing a pretty, innocent face, hurting people without care. Her claws rose to stab into Hel's chest.
"No, Reine!" Had Yareli detected fear in Surtur's voice? How was that even possible?
A sudden kick to the knee drove Dino down, and Surtur forgot about Gungnir completely, rushing to Hel's aid. His sword slashed toward Yareli's back, too quick to dodge. But that had been a grievous error on Surtur's part—Dino hurled his never-missing spear toward his departing opponent. It struck Surtur full in the spine, embedding itself deep. Sparks flashed where the spear point poked out from his chest.
"No." Surtur's body jerked, his steps unsteady. Dino's blow had likely damaged something important. But the robot doppelgänger barely noticed, instead stretching out a hand to rescue his ally.
He cares about her that much? Was this Surtur's greatest weakness? But with her gone, how would he react? Would it cause such emotional distress that all logic would fly out the window—or would it only drive him into a worse, destructive rampage? Trapped, Reine whimpered in terror. Heedless of the consequences, Fenrir delivered the killing blow. Enough was enough.
Before it connected, however, a sudden weakness overtook her. "Not now!"
Blackness crept into her vision as her Uhyre key began failing again. Her stab only caused Hel a pained grunt, but otherwise didn't pierce her armor. With her grip weakened, Reine slapped her aside and freed herself.
"No!" Yareli reached out to stop her from retreating. But her arms seized up, making her efforts clumsy. Panic filled her as Surtur filled her vision. Dino collapsed, sprawled on the floor, dazed by a sudden blow to the head.
"I won't let you hurt her." With a jerk, Surtur pulled Gungnir's spear free from his back. Before Yareli could recover, he stabbed it into Fenrir's chest at full force. Sparks flew as she took the full impact of the blow, her transformation failing in midair. She grunted as her back struck some rubble. Her vision blurred, the world becoming indistinct, like she was viewing it through a blurry lens.
"Ilma!" Dino rushed forward. But bolts from Hel's rearmed gun drove him back.
"I won't allow anyone to hurt Reine," Surtur announced, his tone like flint.
Terror spiked through her heart as her vision cleared and saw Surtur looming over her, a vengeful god ready to pronounce his judgment. The untransformed Yareli backed away in terror at her opponent's wrath. Before she could flee, Surtur's stolen spear stabbed toward her at blinding speed. Desperation pushed her limbs, jerking to the side. While mitigating the worst of the damage, the blow still struck true.
"I…" Yareli struggled to speak, looking down where Surtur had struck her. It had pierced her Rangadriver, stabbing through half of her Uhyre key. Her body slumped against a wall, blackness encroaching around her.
"Ilma!" Dino rushed to his fellow Rangadriver user, dropping to her side to assess the damage. He barely noticed Surtur dashing off to parts unknown with the injured Reine grasped in his arms. Her rival and sorta-friend choked on tears behind his helmet, but Yareli struggled to even hear that.
Death had arrived to reclaim what it'd lost, for nothing could escape her in the end. But that was alright. Everyone died eventually, right?
"This is it." A million regrets remained, yet Yareli was grateful. How many people had received a second chance at life? It had been a gift she cherished, satisfied that she had at least reconciled with her father after years of turmoil. They had argued too much during both their lives. She would miss him and Gramps. She wouldn't be the person she was today without both of them.
"Hold on, I'm calling Halvorsen!" Dino said. His words sounded fuzzy, like cracking static. His transformation ended. He fingers flailed as he fumbled with something from his pocket.
While her thoughts crumbled to dust, a face revealed itself: Johan. She would miss him, an unexpected friend she had never realized she needed. It had been a dreary, empty existence before she met him. Thanks to him, she had found other friends and a life outside of her paintings. While her heart ached to meet him one final time, it would never happen. Already, she felt death's chilly hand pulling her down. Her body slumped, life failing her as her Uhyre key finally failed.