I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Could Nick Sleeplicer really be here? I watched him die. I took revenge on those who killed him. It didn't make any sense but he was really here, and standing over the body of my friend. His smile took on a devilish twist, a face that he often used while taunting a target, and I knew that he didn't come back from the dead for anything good.
"Neo, who is that?" Yang asked me, unsure of what to do.
"I'll explain everything later. Get Wolf and get out of here. I'll hold him off." I told her, not taking my eyes off my old mentor for a second.
"We can take him," Yang said confidently.
"We're not a match for him."
"I am not gonna just leave y-"
"Yang," I said sharply, cutting her off. I looked over to her so she could see the seriousness in my eyes. "Please."
My reaction caught her off guard. I never let myself be so open. To show that weakness. She could see now how much trouble we were in if we didn't get away from him. Maybe she could even see the fear that I usually hid so well. She nodded and became serious too.
"Okay, but Neo, you'd better be right behind me or I'm coming back in for you," she warned.
I just smiled, hoping that she could see how much I appreciated her and our friendship. Then I shifted my attention back to Sleepslicer. He revealed his large black umbrella from under his cloak. He slightly adjusted his standing position and with his free hand motioned for us to come at him. We complied without any hesitation.
I lunged first with Yang not even a second behind me. Everything after that was a blur of motion. I tried to strike him with my umbrella, but he casually blocked me with his own. Thinking that I was unguarded he aimed a knee at my gut, but I kicked it away, careful to watch his movements and not to step on Wolf. Yang came next and aimed a loaded gauntlet at his face. With minimal movement and little effort he moved his head out of the way to avoid the shot and also to block her next blow to his stomach. Though he didn't need to, he took a few steps back away from Wolf.
Every instinct inside of me screamed to look down to Wolf, to crouch beside him to check that he was okay. I couldn't though, that was the exact opening that Sleepslicer would need. Wolf, whether I liked it or not, was my weakness. The man across from me grinned, flipping his purple bangs to the side as he waited for me to make my move.
"Yang," I said as calmly as possibly. "Get him out of here." I could tell that she wanted to protest, but she didn't. Instead she pulled Wolf up and turned to leave. Before she did she gave me a warning.
"I mean it Neo. Don't fall too far behind. This place could blow at any second." Her voice was strange. Full of concern and worry for me. It wasn't like anything that I was used to.
"I won't," I told her, and raised my umbrella, ready to attack again. Yang then began to haul Wolf back to the exit. I eyed my opponent and a small wave of guilt rushed over me. There was little chance of me making it out of this alive. If my mentor didn't kill me, the fire would. I just lied to Yang.
When Yang was out of sight, Nicholas laughed. First a slight chuckle and then out loud laughter. It was surprising to me, but I didn't drop my guard.
"What happened to you?" He asked, his laughter fading away. I narrowed my eyes and didn't reply. "Disobeying orders? Leaving the job? Joining them? Letting your feelings control you? Caring about them? You used to be the perfect soldier. A silent, obedient, cold-blooded killer." He sighed. "They broke you, ruined you."
"What happened to you?" I forced myself to speak. In front of him it was much harder. I had trained for so long to hold my tongue that even now it was hard to get it to move. "You were dead."
"That's not exactly true," he smirked at me, and lunged forward with an attack. I knocked his outstretched umbrella aside and tried to strike him with my own. He grabbed it, and pulled me forward, bringing his knee up. I raised mine too and our knees collided. What I didn't realize was that he had already moved his umbrella again, and swiped it under under the foot that I was standing on, and I fell. I managed to gain some control and rolled into a crouch.
"You see, I had it all planned out," he began to explain as I lunged at him. We crossed umbrellas and just stood for a moment, pushing them against each other like swords. "It was supposed to be the end of your training. The final push that you needed." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He planned it? It wasn't real?
He was stronger than me, and with a shove sent me back a step. I dodged his umbrella strike and aimed my own umbrella at his knee. He blocked easily, and I aimed a kick to his side. He blocked that too, which I had predicted. I placed my hand on his knee and swung myself upwards, hoping to pull a maneuver similar to the one that I had used on Yang. "However I miscalculated," he sighed. I swore internally, realizing that he had seen this coming. He was the one to train me after all.
He caught my leg and used it to swing me, sending me flying into a few burning crates. I hit them with enough force to break them, bruising my back as they splintered and burning myself as the flaming pieces landed on me. I hissed and brushed them off. They had burned holes in some of my clothes and burned my skin, but nothing too serious. I still managed to pull myself to my feet. Everything ached and my movements were slowed slightly. I barely noticed that the fire had spread towards a particularly large stack of crates.
"I anticipated that It would drive you over the edge, give you the desire that you needed to kill on your own. That bit worked out perfectly! You were so upset by my passing that you let the desire for revenge get the better of you. You released your other self, and killed everyone! It was a beautiful thing. My masterpiece! But I messed you up. How could I know that letting you feel for me, would leave you so open to everyone else?" He shook his head again in disappointment.
I heart squeezed in pain. Everything that he had shown me. Everything that we had shared and been through. It had all been an act? It was almost harder to believe than him coming back from the dead. He was the only family that I remembered. The one who raised me and protected me. I thought I had lost everything when he was gone. I... I killed for him! All of that bloodshed was for nothing. All of it was for nothing. It hurt worse than being thrown through the flaming crate.
I was so distracted by the weight of everything that I didn't see him coming towards me again. There was no time for me to block as he kicked my side, forcing me back down to the ground. I tried to roll and push myself to my hands and knees, but he kicked me again.
"Is the best that you can do little Neo?" He asked, kicking me in the side. I tried to crawl away but he kicked me again, hard enough that I felt my ribs crack. A small cry of pain escaped my lips. "You know how to make it stop. You just have to give up control," he sneered.
I knew that he was talking about giving into her. My Scary Neo mode. She was crazy and murderous, but a better fighter. She was my only chance ad beating him in a fight. I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth as he kicked me again. I couldn't give in. I didnt know a for sure way of getting her back under control. I pictured Wolf from my nightmare, all bloodied and dying from my actions. I couldnt take that risk.
"Its no matter," he was saying. "I'll get it right next time. I'll just break you down and start over from the beginning. You wont have any of those silly feelings getting in the way. You'll only kill and take orders..." He had a crazy look on his face now. One similar to the grin that Scary Neo used before she kills. I looked up at him, and just behind him I could see the fire starting to cover the large stack of boxes. My eyes widened in fear as I realized that they were about to explode. I rolled out of my attacker's reach, snatched up my umbrella, opened it and teleported away in a white light.
Using the last of my strength, I made it to the mouth of the tunnel. Yang was there, probably on her way back down to get me. A look of relief washed over her, mixed with a look of concern for my injuries.
"Neo! Thank goodness you made it-" she was saying.
"Get back!" I warned, but the look of fear on her face told me that my warning of the explosion behind me came too late. The glow of the flames reflected in Yang's eyes. The force of the blast knocked everyone that was near the mouth of the cave back several feet. My body collided with a rock. My vision blurred, managing to focus just long enough for me to see the underground base collapse, just before I slipped into the dark of unconsciousness.
