Sev searched around the nearby area after losing trace of Lion; a name he had given to the twin that wore the lion mask. He had fought her a bit but she managed to escape into an alleyway. When he went through to chase after her, he had lost her in an open plaza. He skulked around the plaza with his sword at the ready. The steel blade reflected his face clearly. He darted his eyes left and right, scouting, looking for the slightest motion.

He felt something from behind and turned around. In the distance fires rose and exploded in the distance. AJ was still fighting his opponent. Unlike him, he wasn’t great at using his hitek abilities. The only thing he can do is flash point, a name coined by some spectre which is now used by most. It’s the power that allows him to move and experience the world at a faster rate than others.

Other than that power, he relied on his physical skill. A master at the sword and hand combat, Sev had been on the longest winning streak in his entire career. He’s killed more spectres than they have killed him; which was zero.

He glanced around the flat area once more. The buildings were raised short and some slumped to the side, leaning against their neighbor. Rusted metal shanties covered the broken glass windows. This town looks better than most, he thought.

The ground underneath his feet began to vibrate. He looked down and tightened on his sword. A pillar, flat on all sides and pointed at the top, bursted from the the ground. At the last moment possible he stepped out of the way. Landing back, another pillar rose from the ground where he stood. He jumped back avoiding that one too. After dodging three more, the pillars stopped rising from the ground.

He looked up and saw a shadowy figure standing on the roof of a building across the plaza from him. He peered through the sun’s light that shined behind the figure and saw it was infact Lion.

This is going to get fun, he thought. He then ran forward. With all his strength, his planted his frontmost foot on the ground and jumped into the air. He felt the air against his face as he came down on top of Lion. With his sword gripped tight he swung down, smashing his sword into the roof of the building.

Lion side stepped out of the way of his devastating attack. She extended out her arm in the direction of her pillars and clenched her hand into a fist. The pillars began to vibrate. In a tugging motion, she pulled her arm in. The pillars bursted from the ground and soared in an arching motion, into the air. Like missiles they came down on top of Sev who saw them coming a mile away.

He dove forward out of the way of the first one. It slammed through the roof leaving a clean cut hole and throwing out dust in its wake. The particles of dry rock choked his lungs but didn’t hinder him greatly. A few coughs and he was ready to keep fighting. As the other five came down, he gritted his teeth and raised his sword up. In one slashing motion going down, he sliced through the first one. He felt his arms trembling along with his blade as it grinded through the pillar, splitting it in half.

He didn’t try to take on the other three. He jumped off the building and rolled once his hit the ground. He stumbled a bit when getting up and then staggered a few feet away from Lion who stood on the edge of the roof. Still having the high ground, Lion was at the advantage.

He soon realized the she want’s running away but instead leading him to this place. An open area where there was just a few piles of junk and abandoned motor vehicles to act as cover. With buildings surrounding him on all directions and no roads going through, he was trapped like a mouse in this arena.

Lion raised her hands into the air and the pillars rose from out of the building. Above her they pointed down at Sev who staggered back slowly. She motioned a throw and the pillars followed. Sev turned around and hightailed it out of there. He ran for a nearby building, the first one he saw that had it’s doors open.

He covered his face with his arms as he jumped through the window. The glass scrapped his bare arms as he rolled into the room. Though the door was wide open he thought it would be mucher cooler to come in through the window. An action he regretted because now his arms stung with broken glass.

Kneeling down, he looked back over his shoulder. A pillar came crashing in through the wall. It grazed past his shoulder as it slid into the wall in front of him. Dust filled the air and he tried to hold back his rising cough. He crawled away, weaving around the wooden tables and stools before going behind the counter. He sat against the rusted counter and looked down at his wounds. They weren’t too bad, just light scratches that burned.

“So how did you get your wounds Sev?” he asked in AJ’s voice.

“Well you know, I jumped through a damn window cause I thought it was cool.”

He bumped the back of his head against the side of the counter a few times. He had to think of a way to defeat Lion. He had little skill in using his hitek for fighting and relied solely on his physical skill. Lion seemed the opposite way to him. It seemed she relied on her hitek over her physical skill in combat.

He glanced over to his right and saw a white lotus flower blooming in a potted plant. It had been years since he’s seen a living plant. He’s seen plants before but...but living was the key word there. He was sure Shilah would love to see something as beautiful as a white lotus so he crawled over to it. He then placed his hand on the mushy soil. It felt wet and clean to the touch. He peaked over the counter and saw, through the window, Lion standing on the roof of the building across from this one.

There was a small plastic ziplock bag on the counter. He grabbed it and piled the rich soil from the pot into the it. Delicate, careful, he grabbed the lotus, cupping it into his hands, he then placed it into the ziplock bag. With a piece of scrap metal he found lying on the wooden floor, he punctured three holes into the bag in order for the flower to breath.

“There, that should hold you until we get back to base.” He zipped the plastic bag up and tucked it into his pocket.

“Alright, now I have a reason to end this fight quickly.”

He stepped out from the building into the open environment. With a deep breath, he inhaled the hot air into his lungs and slowly breathed out. He looked up at Lion, eyes full of determination.

“Now I’m done messing around,” he said.

“Really, I just thought you were weak,” Lion mocked.

“Yeah, yeah suck a fat one please.” He grabbed the pillar beside him. It was twice the width of his body and three times his height. With all his strength, he dug his fingers into the rock and picked it up with one arm. His muscles pulsed as he cocked his arm back. He took a few running steps and threw the pillar like a spear back at Lion.

Wide eyed, Lion quickly raised her hand toward the incoming object. It stopped in mid air and remained motionless. She knew the physical feats of spectres but never thought one would be this strong.

Sev gritted his teeth. “How did you stop my attack?” he asked.

Lion adjusted her mask, the sudden movement had slipped it slightly off. “These pillars are infused with my hitek. I can control them at will and anything else I infuse with my power. The earth is my weapon and I use it masterfully.”

Sev tighten his grip on his sword and with a wide motion he threw it at her. The blade spiraled in her direction. It scraped across her cheek, breaking off a chunk of her mask. She then jerked to the side from the force. She then glared at him and tossed the suspended pillar back at him.

Sev jumped over the pillar right at his crashed down in front of him and landed on the opposite side of it. Since he wasn’t able to use it as a weapon, he had to destroy it. He clenched his fist and cocked back his arm. With half his strength he punched the pillar sending a shock wave booming out from behind it. It broke in half, the top falling over onto the ground.

“Alright, two down and three more to go,” he said to himself.

Facing Lion, he ran at her with full speed, vaulting over obstacles that lied in his path. At the base of the building, he planted his back most foot on the wall and ran up the side. He used it hands to help himself up. Once on the roof, he was too close for her to use the remaining pillars to attack him with.

“Let’s see how well you really fight,” he said.

He stepped forward and sent a flying jab straight her way. She barely dodged it by stepping to the left out of the way. She felt the wind from his fist, graze her ear. She looked left with her eyes and saw a punching up her way. His knuckles felt like concrete as they brushed along her jaw. Her head cocked back and she stumbled backwards.

He didn’t let up and launched there quick two quick consecutive jabs, both cracked her mask. The jabs were followed by cocking his right fist back and tilting it down slightly. He ran his fist into her cheek. She felt her jaw crack as she staggered back until she fell to the ground.

Sev grinned, showing off his winning teeth, and wiped his thumb across his bottom lip. Then he noticed her curl her index and middle fingers inward a couple of times. He looked right and at the last moment saw a pillar. It smashed right into him. Made of hard stone and felt like a carcrash, it knocked him off the room and back into the plaza. He slammed onto the ground and rolled about for few feet. Struggling, he managed to prop himself up on his elbows and look back up. He tasted the richness in his blood before spitting it out.

“Damn, should have been focusing.”

He staggered over to the pillar that had just hit him. It lied a few feet away but he managed to get over there. With a single punch he cracked it half, destroying it for good.

“Alright, two more left and she won’t have any.”

He looked up and saw Lion standing at the edge of the building. Her mask was crashed and blood dripped from her cheek. She looked forward and saw a bunch of fiery explosions in the distance. They twirled and waved, spreading out through the city streets. Her sister was still fighting against AJ and it looked fiercely. She reached into her coat and pulled out one of the dozens of pistols she stored inside it.

With her finger on the cold trigger, she fired a barrage of shots at Sev. He ran back, taking cover behind the broken pillar. With it destroyed, she could no longer use it to attack. She jumped down from the roof, it took too much hitek use multiple pillars at once. Running towards Sev’s position, she aimed her gun and fired a all her bullets. They all pierced through the cover Sev hid behind.

Running out of ammo, she tossed the gun off to the side and reached into her coat for a new one. Right as she got near the cover, Sev rose from behind it. She was just close enough for him to knock the gun from her hand. He then grabbed her by the collar and tossed her over onto his side. She fell onto the ground but quickly rose up with an uppercut that missed.

Sev stepped in and weaved around to the back of her. She turned around swinging her fist, which also missed. Unlike Sev’s, whose attacks were precise and quick, her’s were slow and sluggish. With open palms, he redirected each attack. He then leaned to the left of her next attack, grabbing her arm.

“Just as I guessed,” he said. “You’re total shit when it comes to fighting like this.”

“You may be right about that,” she said. “But that’s where you ego gets the better of you.” She grabbed him by the collar, holding on tight. He didn’t struggle but wondered what she was planning to do.

From the ground behind him three sharp spears came from the ground and plunged directly through his back. His blood dripped from the tip and down the long rod. Lion had infused the ground around them that allowed her to control them like she did her pillars but in a more controlled manner.

He slowly let go of his grip on her, his fingers trembled as he slid backwards on the spears until he landed back on the ground. A puddle of blood formed around his body. His eyes felt heavier than normal. He stared up at the blue sky above wondering why he made such a rookie mistake of underestimating his opponent.

Lion stepped over his body and grabbed one of the spears protruding through his body and broke it off. She held it in her hand like a javelin she was going to throw.

“I guess this is it for you,” she said. “You should have walked away when we gave you the chance.”

“Nah, I was just shitting around,” he replied. “I didn’t take you seriously. I couldn’t because I thought you were going to be easy. You are but then again I made such a rookie mistake that it probably cost me this fight.”

Lion pointed the spear at his smiling face. She gripped it tightly in her hand and fought against through it. “You know...my sister smiles just like you.”

Sev coughed up a bit of blood. “R-Really she does now huh?”

“Yeah, but recently I haven’t seen that smile in a while now.”

“Is it because y-you wear those mask?”

Lion shook her head. “No, even when we’re not wearing them I still don’t see it.”

Sev felt his body growing colder. The girl was started to move a faster rate than he was and all sound slowly began to come back to his senses. His body was growing weak and he couldn’t keep up flash point any longer...but he tried.

He took out the bag with the lotus flower in it and held it up to his face. The white petals glimmered in the sun’s light. It was a miracle he hadn’t smashed it yet with all the movements. He wanted to be able to give it to Shilah...he might not be able to do that.

“Is that for someone special?” Lion asked.

“It’s for my girlfriend...s-shes pretty damn sick,” Sev answered.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

His smile grew bigger. “You don’t seem like a killer,” he said. “Why do you even do this?”

Lion lowered the spear down to her side and then dropped it next to her on the ground. “Never have I liked fighting. My sister and I do it only to survive like the rest of the world.”

“What do you m-mean by that?” Sev asked.

“The nations fight because if they don’t they won’t survive. The other countries will devour them, destroy their cities, kill their people and take their women. The country will be destroyed and that’s why it fights so that doesn’t happen.”

“I noticed you’re not using flash point anymore,” he said. “I don’t think w-we have to use telepathy to talk anymore.”

Lion nodded her head. “I stopped because for a good minute I noticed you weren’t moving.” Her voice sounded soft, young like a teenage girl.

“H-How old are you?” Sev asked.

Lion took of her masked and the first thing he noticed was house purple her eyes were. They were sharp like a cats and her rosy cheeks were curved and soft, though bruised. She had to be no older than sixteen or fifteen years old.

“C-can’t believe a cute girl like you would get into something like this,” Sev said.

“I didn’t want to, but this is life.”

“So, no parents and got into military shit at a young age. A t-typical life of a kid.”

The sound of gunfire and explosions erupted in the distance. Canadian forces and US forces had begun fighting one another. For Sev and Lion it had felt like a while but that was because they were using flash point. In reality it had only been a few seconds.

“I’ve always hated being a spectre,” Lion admitted. “It’s the reason why my sister and I had to watch our parents die.”

“What happened?” Sev asked.

Lion held her head down. “In the grey ruins, our parents and we were traveling. Something black hovered overhead but we didn’t know what it was. It dropped something that exploded. We were far from the blast but shockwave caused rubble to fall from a nearby building.”

She tried to fight back the tears and lost. The rolled down her cheeks in a waterfall. “It pinned our parents under. They survived but were stuck. Then another one of those hovering black things dropped another bomb. It fell just feet from us and exploded. That’s when my sister and I flashed stepped for the first time ever.”

She clenched her hands tightly into a fist. “We didn’t know what happened. When didn’t know we were spectres or that we flash stepped. All we know is that everything stopped around us. Even the explosion slowed down. The first thing we did was try to free our parents. For hours we tried to free them but eventually the fires from the explosion crept up on us.” There was a long pause before her next sentence. “...We had to leave our parents or else we’d die too. My sister didn’t want that. Eventually our bodies grew weak from using flash stepped and when we were miles to safety, everything went back to normal.”

“War sucks ass,” Sev muttered.

“It does.”

She smiled a bit and blood spilled from Lion’s mouth. She stared down with her eyes at the thick steel sword plunged through her. It’s blade stained in his blood. Slowly, it tore through her flesh as AJ, pulled it out from her back. She fell to her knees before falling over on the ground.

“Dude, you k-killed...her.”

“Sorry but I couldn’t let her kill you,” AJ said.

Sev slowly shook his head. “She wasn’t going to...to kill me,” he said. “But it’s too late for that now I-I suppose.” He glanced over at AJ. “What happened to the other one?”

“We had a long conversation and after that...she asked me to kill her,” AJ answered.

“Why would she do that.”

“She said she hadn’t smiled in a long time,” AJ said. “She...she said she died a long time ago and was nothing but a corpse who fought because she found no other reason.”

Sev tightened his grip on the lotus bag. “Lion...Lion told me her story about her sister and parents. Though I felt her pain...I still had the nerve to kill her if I could. Do you believe that we’re c-corpses who fight just to fight.”

“Sometimes I do but then I remember something. Corpses can’t feel pain or the pain of others like living humans can.”

“I guess so. Guess that’s just the way it is.”