Shreds of building and debris, tossed by the army's ruthless destruction, blew across the area.
Pipes, bricks, and chrome-metal darted into the dull skyscrapers near it. Piles of debris fell on the roads, filling the entire area with clouds of dust.
The army kept laughing, laughing—they snorted with such disdain. Their pale skin turned red. The attack was another joke, this being their entertainment.
To Mercury, every impact stabbed through his skin. He felt every bitter piece of hatred at that moment, every sound of piercing echoes from it shattering his eardrums.
A crescendo of light glistening within his beating eardrums, downpouring like a cascading waterfall. An overwhelming shock deluded him into his own mind.
In that moment, all Mercury saw every word he'd said, every step he'd taken to lead up to now.
In a spur-of-the-moment decision, he jolted out into the middle of the road, smoke clearly visible hazing from his ears.
His fists clenched, digging into his palms. He marched forward, closer and closer to the army, without any emotion.
Reaching near Selune, who stood in front of them, he charged a hook that could've remodeled her dimorphic face.
As he unhinged his shoulder to throw it . . .
Zoom!
A volvern shot straight at his chest!
. . .
He bounced back, still on his feet.
His hand caressed the wound. It made a deep indentation; blood seeped through his white shirt, like a patch of blood in pure white snow.
The soldiers murmured amongst one another, "A replicant with red blood?"
Dripping profusely, his entire shirt was drenched in it.
He could barely feel it. It went numb, like static replayed in his heart on repeat. It felt more like a restart to his system rather than an end to it. Nonetheless, he had an urge—an urge to let loose.
"Aaaaaaahhhhh!" he yelped in an agony he forced himself to endure.
In that second, Mercury knelt back, but something refused to let him fall.
All around him disappeared. In his eyes, the world had vanished—the road, the buildings, even the smoke that clouded him.
All that remained was a white room and those who had fallen for him. They saw him fall, but they were sure he wouldn't land, so he could soar once more.
He saw them—their hands made sure he wouldn't fall. While he fought to stand, everyone saw him as a walking corpse.
Sara interjected, "What are you waiting for? . . . He's my love."
Mercury stared at her.
The replicant woman broke her chain of generated thought.
"Silence, Replicant. You've done enough," Selune said.
"Replicant? You're just like all those other soldiers lined up there! When it all goes down, who will you cling onto, you sly woman?"
Selune scoffed and decided the artificial wasn't worth her words.
Mercury still leaned back, nearing his fall, as his muscles twitched, sweat poured, dripping off every pore. He kept pondering; every thought felt like a millennia to his consciousness.
He peered at the cackling soldiers as he barely stood up.
His fallen friend kept holding him up, but they decided not to speak a word. It was only Mercury, and his broken mask, alone.
All the visible city lights died out.
In a heavy effort, Mercury clenched all his muscles and pulled his body up to stand again. He panted as smoke flew out his mouth.
With a daring gaze, he stared down Selune.
Unsurprisingly, soldiers standing next to her appeared shocked, but they held their rifles tight.
From behind, Sara held Mercury. "Come on!"
Then her voice warped, like she had just learned to breathe as a human.
She gripped her head. "Shoot him and I'll kill all of you!" she screamed.
Mercury heard the intrusion and her undying conflict.
All soldiers lined up their rifles, facing Mercury, and Sara smiled devilishly.
Selune made the signal with her arm to shoot and . . .
She pushed Mercury out of the range!
He was barely standing up; his wound intensified, despite it being a careful shove.
Sara smiled at Mercury and spoke to him.
"Live, Mercury. So you can suffer another day." She gleamed.
Mercury turned his head to her.
I understand now . . . her actions are a coin-toss, and one cost my friend.
I'm not worth saving, but her humanity says I am.
But it was too late . . . Sara stood confused at her decision as she faced a barrage of volvern-like shots.
Her head shook violently. She knew she would never have a chance out there, but he would. If only she could speak to him . . . for real this time.
A smile lit her face. She screamed loud, staring at him.
But Selune hadn't put her arm down. They kept firing as Sara kept screaming.
"Aaaahhhhhhhhhh!" She yelped as she was blown back.
Selune tensed her arm further as she finally dropped it.
Sara panted, her body a charcoaled, bloody mess. Her face was the only thing intact. Her blood had a bluish hue, and she still screamed. However, the scream was human, too human . . .
Barrages made several indentations in her metal body with soft skin. Wires, metal, and plates were uncovered under her once-elegant appearance.
Selune kept a straight face, staying quiet.
Sara's eyes widened as she saw Selune slowly raise the arm with her rifle. She couldn't move anything below the neck. Then, she spoke, with all her strength.
"What a nation I served! You'll see who's laughing soon!"
I knew I couldn't live in a world without him.
If only I was a real girl . . .
. . .
Sara glanced at her end.
She cracked a smile with dry lips as blood poured. Her limbs were contorted, and her face was the only message left.
Instantly, Selune's finger held the trigger with such force, and a searing torrent crackled, its intensity increasing with her hatred.
It formed an orb outside the barrel of the inhumane rifle, until—
Zoom!
Now she had nothing. Not even a face to accommodate the girl she always wanted to be. A crater not even another mask could fix.
Smoke hazed throughout the other side of the road behind Sara.
Through the hopeless smoke, one bright light of blue from a window seeped through.
She was tossed aside like a ragdoll and fell hard onto the floor, but her words hadn't.
. . .
Mercury hadn't a clue anymore. He could feel those people watching him again. He had fallen once; he could not fall again.
If only I got a chance. Maybe, I would've known what she really felt.
All she wanted was a name, a purpose, yet I shunned her.
. . .
Bloody, he tensed his muscles and panted. They wanted him dead, and they gave him an example. Faceless, limbless, and stripped of identity, to where they all laughed at your corpse.
Instantly, a rumbling occurred—a scraping against the road.
It masked the sound of crumbling debris. A reinforced vehicle charged forward.
In the cargo, a pale man with jet-black hair smiled—his blue incisor catching the light. The driver, a large man with a stone-cold demeanor, his fedora tipped downward. Both wore black roses in their breast pockets.
Halting, it gracefully skidded beside Mercury. The man in the cargo jumped out with a cackle.
He made a mockery, gesturing at the explosion colliding with the hotel with his hands.
Mercury stayed silent.
"I am the head bearer, and my name is Yulou Xiao."
Placing his gloved hand out, he stared hard into him. Mercury smiled as he shook his hand tightly, refusing to let go.
He cleared his throat and moved his hair to the side once more with a flick of his head.
"Splendid to meet you, Mercury . . ."
. . .
Both men stared intensely at each other.
Yulou broke the silence. "What a lovely name. I wonder who gave you it?"
Mercury remained awfully silent; not even a breath was audible.
Yulou's intensifying grin stressed every muscle in his face. His eyes had dark shadows around them, like a void consuming all hope.
Mercury grasped his hand harder.
Then he squeezed, and squeezed, yet the man kept smiling.
Mercury had his entire hand in his palm, the tendons of his fingers stretching to wrap around it.
He applied more and more pressure until—
Crunch!
. . .
Mercury crushed his hand.
In unison, they let go.
Despite the mangled bones, Yulou felt dissatisfied.
He presented it in Mercury's face like dangling keys. "See this? You did that!"
In an instant, he took his hand back, shook it multiple times, grabbed it with his other hand, and—
Snap!
Yulou's hand had snapped back to normal.
He chuckled, swaying his reformed hand.
Noting, Selune raised her hand to signal an attack. As all soldiers got ready to aim, Yulou swayed his hand to ceasefire.
"Quit that," he said. "At least try to enjoy your lives for once."
Mercury backed away and held his fists up. The wound felt deeper this time, and his energy was depleting.
"Why did you people kill Sara, huh? Wasn't she one of your own? And you act like that's okay?"
". . ."
"Tsk tsk," Yulou clicked, holding his fists up, swaying them with a wide stance.
But the replicant hadn't smiled.
In a spur of the moment, Mercury swung—a hook that left an afterimage.
Suddenly, an onlooking soldier raised his rifle and—
Zoom!
A shot passed, inches from Mercury's face. It made another crater in the buildings.
The shot landed in the light that once shone behind Sara, now shattered glass.
Everyone else's smile faded.
He walked slowly among the armada, eyes on each soldier, sweat dripping from their faces despite no movement.
Under sheer pressure, a small group of soldiers pointed at the culprit—rifle still smoking.
He stood in front of the pale soldier.
. . .
"Shoot yourself."
Sighing, the trembling soldier turned his rifle around and burst into tears as they all stared, bobbing his head.
He gestured, pulling the trigger with his fingers, signaling what the soldier had to do—and—
Crack!
The sound didn't flow like the others. It had contacted human skin and passed through bone. Unnatural, nauseating.
Dropping the rifle immediately, the soldier fell with a giant hole in his head. His helmet glazed in a pool of blood.
Every soldier stepped aside.
"I didn't tell you to end it . . ." he scoffed. "Seems my message was unclear to him."
Suddenly, Mercury charged.
Before he could react—
Boom!
The watcher came from afar, and lightly kicked Mercury into a brick wall.
His face hidden by the fedora, like smoke.
To Mercury, it felt like crushing pressure on his body. He got up, and the soldiers now watched in utter fear.
They dared not intervene. Selune looked away, feigning disinterest.
Staring at Mercury, "Come on, Mercury . . . do you think we're the worst thing you'll face?"
". . . You killed the best things I ever faced."
The watcher stood still, awaiting.
Mercury stopped, he recognized him.
He charged the watcher again, fist cocked.
In an instant, he caught him mid-swing, lifting him into the air.
With a flick of his wrists, he launched Mercury.
Every city light from above dimmed one by one, like the dying stars he once saw.
He too would wish he could just turn off the lights.
If they could see me now.
Do I accept this?
Can I just let this be?
Please . . .
. . .