The Arcane Trilogy: Sins of the Past - Book 2

Chapter 17: A Stranger She Remains

The newly formed and unlikely squad of Caitlyn, Vi and their Firelight allies made good progress through Southside after departing from the base. Samra and Bartos led them up onto the surface, using their hoverboards and fast-paced scouting procedures to check the areas ahead of them whenever the group was due to enter a zone that they were unsure of. They were all aware that enforcers or thugs could be lurking around any corner, so they wanted to be ready.

Soon enough, the group had made their way into the sprawling maze of towering streets that formed the skeleton of Southside. As they entered the thicker parts of the jungle, Samara rapidly flicked a closed fist into the air as they approached a right-hand turn. The group all froze, Bartos' eyes and ears hardening at the action as he fished for any signs of disturbance. Caitlyn and Vi did the same as Samara slowly peered around the corner. Down the path, she spied a small congregation of thugs, with one larger man carrying a larger barrel on his back, escorted by smaller thugs with various improvised weapons.

"Six by my count." Whispered Samara as she spun back around to the others. Bartos nodded, and immediately began scaling the building they were pressed against with surprising speed for a man of his build. Before Vi could fully take into account how impressive Bartos elegance and grace in scaling the building was, Samara spoke up again. "We will flank them from the air, whilst you guys can hit them from the side down this path. You two make the first move, then we'll swoop in. That work with you?" Asked Samara, to which Caitlyn responded by unholstering her rifle, slotting several rounds into her repeater with rapid speed as she replied.

"Sounds good." She stated simply, mentally focusing herself on the fight to come.

Samara nodded as she slipped on her firelight mask, bolting at a great speed onto the wall of a building that sat opposite them, disappearing onto the rooftops and out of sight. Caitlyn breathed out a short and sharp breath, composing her senses for the focus she would need to wield as she turned to Vi.

"You ready?"

"Always." Stated Vi confidently as she clenched her fists, urging her newly acquired atlas gauntlets into action. The blue river that ran down the centre of the gauntlets and encircled the pressure cage pulsated a brighter shade of blue, as a small stream of steam shot out with a hiss, accompanied by a mechanical clank.

Caitlyn nodded in response as she rolled around the corner of the building, breaking into a jog. Vi swiftly followed behind her, her eyes already flicking to the unsuspecting group of thugs that remained unaware of their presence for the moment. As they approached the wider path that their targets were taking, Caitlyn dropped into a kneeling position, swiftly aiming her rifle at the largest of the group. As she did this, Vi broke into a full-on sprint, shooting past Caitlyn as she made a beeline for the group. At this point, the thugs turned to the sound of her frequent footsteps.

"We've got company!" Barked out one of the thugs as Vi bore down on their position. Caitlyn let a round fly, sending a resounding boom bouncing off of the darkened pathway that Vi barreled down. The bullet cut through the large thug that carried the barrel, ripping a path of flesh right through his leg and just above his knee. The larger man howled an earth-shattering cry of pain as he dropped to one knee, with the barrel attached to his back causing his balance to fail and for him to fall down on his side, clutching at his wound.

"Kill em!" He roared through his clearly pained visage.

One of the thugs closest to the largest man stepped forward with his pipe, which had shards of glass strapped to the head of the metal object. To his credit, he didn't shrink away from Vi's unrelenting advance, swinging his weapon towards her head. However, unfortunately for him, Vi had already read him like a book and she was carrying too much momentum for him to deal with. Vi parried the pipe away with her left hand, causing splinters of glass to shatter and fly away. A split second later, she threw her right hand straight into the thug's gut, flinging the man clean off his feet and sending him flying backwards. Two of the other thugs had to quickly sidestep the man shaped debris that Vi had flung towards them. Just as they were about to rush Vi together, a streak of green light flashed towards them, with Samara flying in on her hoverboard, cracking one of them across the face with a pipe of her own, sending him crashing into the thug that was next to him. He instinctively caught his brother in arms, only for Vi to pounce on him a moment later, striking him across the jaw, sending the both of them collapsing to the ground in an unconscious heap.