Footsteps thundered as Enforcers stormed the botanical garden and spread out from all three directions with their weapons raised. The first few tossed flares, illuminating the misty greenery but casting an ominous red haze through the pollen.
Orion held his breath from behind the bushes as their lights passed over him.
'This pollen is thick. I can barely see more than a few meters in front of me.'
Within that moment of thought, a scream echoed through the garden.
A thug burst forth from the foliage and, with a maddened howl, cleaved an Enforcer's leg clean off with a chainsaw blade.
"AAAA!" The Enforcer collapsed, screaming and dropping his weapon in agony. The thug raised his blade to finish him but halted when a bullet pierced his chest.
"Take him down!"
Gunfire erupted, the thug's body collapsed in a bloody heap from the hail of bullets.
Angry battlecries erupted as more thugs sprinted out of the bushes while those with guns took down several Enforcers. A fierce battle broke out, an every-man-for-himself moment as the Enforcers had to attack and defend from every side. Some boldly charged out to clash their rifles against augmented blades while others stayed centered to pick shots.
Enforcers still maintained tactical awareness. Some remained at each entrance, making it easy to pick off charging thugs and nearly impossible for them to make a break for it.
While all of this happened, the flares died but the mist remained blood red. The bloodshed had stained the flowers and vents releasing fresh pollen, giving the deadly, disorienting battle a harrowing memory.
Orion had not remained still during any of this. Adrenaline kicked in the moment the first scream pierced his ears and he took off. His appearance was a near blur with purple streaks as he charged the nearest Enforcer to break through toward C's last location.
The Enforcer spotted the movement and tried to whip his gun around, but Orion's fist connected first, shattering his mask and sending him flying several feet back to the ground.
Bullets traced him, missing narrowly as he disappeared into the brush.
Glancing back, Orion was sure he didn't strike the man hard enough to kill him. The Enforcer, however, was writhing on the ground, coughing and spluttering, clawing at his throat as the pollen visibly clung to him and entered his mask.
"AAAH! IT BURNS! HELP!" he shrieked. "NO! GET IT OFF ME!"
The Enforcer thrashed wildly on the ground, throwing out wild punches into the air before his body began to spasm and cramp violently.
'Don't breathe it in! Don't breathe it in!' Orion repeated mentally in horror as he panted through the mask.
Loud echoes of shattering glass deafened him. His eyes darted up to see the ceiling shatter and immediately he covered his head and dove under the nearest canopy as dangerous shards impacted the ground.
Several screams echoed, and Orion grimaced, knowing some found their mark. One pierced his canopy and sliced through his outer thigh.
"FUCK!" Orion cursed, collapsing to one knee. His hand immediately applied pressure as white specks floated in his vision.
"Flower!" A voice hissed from the undergrowth.
Crouched under a bush with large leaves that could be used like blankets, C extended her hand. She held a small, jagged dagger in her off-hand and Orion hesitated.
"Do you think I'm fighting without a weapon?! This way!"
Limping over, she wrapped his arm over her shoulder as he clutched his leg until they came to a rusted ladder that was slowly being revealed as the pollen exited the building from the roof.
"Climb out and get to safety," C whispered urgently, turning her head back to the sounds of chaos. "I'll contact you after we've dealt with—"
Bang
"Guh!"
Her body lurched forward, her mind blank in confusion as the breath was forced from her body.
"Flower?"
Her gaze lowered, vision shaking and blurring as she stared with confusion at a golf-ball-sized hole in her chest.
"W-Why..."
Her last breathed words as her eyes, filled with betrayal, followed Orion's cold gaze as she collapsed to the ground in a pool of blood. Betrayed and hurt, her body spasmed from the shock while her pupils dilated in her dying moments.
Orion lowered his smoking gun. He no longer felt the pain from his wound and could only see the dead corpse in front of him. No, he could almost feel it. It was a strange, emptying sensation that left him drained and weak.
'Breath... Breathe!'
The battlecries were starting to dissipate and he needed to escape. Orion immediately scanned his surroundings while adrenaline barely kept him together mentally as he loaded another bullet just in case before shoving it back into his jacket.
'No other thugs around... Fuck! I need to get out of here!'
Orion channeled light-green healing magic into his leg. His chest burned from breathing heavily through the mask and he could feel his strength leaving him as he was forced to at least stem the heavy bleeding.
The vents, still hissing and emitting pollen, were starting to quiet. Orion immediately began climbing the ladder. His hand slipped multiple times, his fresh, warm blood making it hard to grip.
The gunshots faded and the thick fog still clung to the first three meters of the botanical garden, obscuring him from view. The top half of the garden had cleared, blown out with the pressure release.
Reaching the rooftop, Orion groaned and hoisted himself up, every movement through sheer willpower.
'Keep low, observe surroundings,' Orion reminded himself while he crouched low. He paused for just a brief moment, curious to see how many were down there.
'There are dozens down there! I bet she didn't even realize this was a suicide play.'
Orion's eyes narrowed through fogged goggles at a slender, youthful figure near the rear.
'Wait... Isn't that Caitlyn-'
Bang
"AGH!"
His body rocked backward and slammed into the frame as he felt something rip into his shoulder, a quick flash accompanied by an echoing gunshot.
'FUUUUUCK! She's shooting at me?!'
'Headshot!'
Her catchphrase echoed in his mind and panic surged. 'Line of sight! I need to get away!'
Immediately he booked it. His feet and hands slid multiple times while he scrambled across the metal-framed roof. Pure adrenaline and pain, fear and exhaustion as more gunshots whizzed past him with sharp snapping sounds until he finally cleared the Cultivar's roof.
Once far enough, he collapsed onto his stomach.
"Ow..." Orion groaned flatly while his body screamed in pain. He twisted his head slowly with fatigue, eyeing the blood trail he left behind.
'I can't stop...' he thought wearily, exhaustion trying to take him from consciousness. 'She... did she shoot me? In the game it was her iconic saying that she never misses...'
Orion paused.
'She's just a kid. I might've been her first shot...'
Between those thoughts and images of C's dying moments, sharp pangs more severe than all his pain combined pierced his heart. He realized he had unconsciously been biting down hard enough he began to taste blood. Fighting back tears, he pulled himself together with a deep breath.
"What a fucking day," Orion grumbled bitterly, limping away from the rooftop.