Sector B

57

"Agh!" Decha grunted as POYO slammed him into the concrete roof of a very tall skyscraper. He still had a little more strength to fight. He wiped the blood off his lip and scowled at POYO. "Deliverance sent you,"

He pushed himself off the ground and clutched onto his torso, still not fully recovered from the beam wound inflicted on him days before. Decha extended his hand, but the staff completely disappeared. His eyes widened in surprise.

"W-what?" Decha flicked his hands, hoping for the weapon to reappear. He figured out that the staff had a shield that prevented POYO from dealing serious attacks.

POYO rushed forward and kneed Decha in the torso.

All the air left his mouth and he slammed and skidded across the ground. Decha barely had time to recover when POYO pistol-whipped his head.

Decha groaned when POYO placed its metallic foot against his chest and shifted the sword to his abdomen.

"...no..." Decha grumbled weakly.

He had to protect himself for the sake of Rory. If any of his organs were damaged, especially his kidneys, then he wouldn't be able to donate. He wouldn't be able to save her.

"POYO..." Decha coughed. "Please...!"

A holographic figure appeared next to POYO. The same one he'd seen in Deliverance's letter.

"You're always getting in my way..." The disguised deep voice crept into Decha's ears. "I knew the Generals were persistent, but man, you're out of your mind for having your level of determination."

"... Deliverance."

"So, you do know who I am. That means Clarke rambled about me, eh?" The hologram figure walked closer to him. "Where is he?"

"Like I'd ever tell you," Decha sneered.

"Look at the position you're in boy, all I have to do is give the word and my bot here will end you."

"It's not... your robot..." Sweat kissed the side of Decha's head as POYO pressed harder on his chest.

"And how would you know that?" Deliverance scowled. The hologram crouched down to get a closer look. "Those eyes... they're familiar..."

Decha narrowed his eyes, wondering what he meant. Had he encountered Deliverance before?

Deliverance stood back up and crossed his arms. "So it's true... N96, you're the General on the case. That's why you were able to catch on so quickly..." He cackled.

"I'll do whatever it takes to arrest you," Decha hissed. "Then, I'll execute you accordingly."

"Bold of you," Deliverance mocked. "There's one thing I never understood. How are you able to match my droid's attacks so much more efficiently than all the others? I know you're an Outsider, but there's no way that even a high-ranked Official with the best training could match it."

Deliverance walked over to POYO. "Scan him,"

"It doesn't matter!" Decha grabbed onto POYO's feet and tried to pry them off. POYO had already scanned him and processed the results.

"You're equipped with tech." Deliverance pointed out. "Familiar tech... but they're not provided by the Agency." Deliverance observed Decha's gloves and combat boots. "These are of a similar make to my bot."

"What do you want? A medal?"

"Kill him," Deliverance commanded. "Once he's out of the way, we can continue."

"No!"

Deliverance's hologram disappeared and POYO screeched harshly before raising the blade.

"POYO! No! She'll die!" Decha squirmed and tried to wriggle out from under its foot. "Rory... will die!"