Post by cobalt on Mar 9, 2015 14:03:15 GMT -6
(I'm gonna throw all of Mercury's Guild's stories in one thread, that's why I made this.)
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The day was rough, with battle tearing through Olympus and exhausting the fighters to their core. The night was fun, letting the warriors unwind and celebrate the city living to see another day. The morning after was painful, showing the group just how much alcohol was too much.
And Felix certainly felt it.
His headache was splitting, his mouth was as dry as a cotton field in July, and thank god he didn’t sleep in his armor, because he probably would’ve died of heat stroke.
It seemed like only a few of the others, Kraven and Magnus, had woken up. Being on the complete opposite end of the bar as him with Hazel, he decided it was best to try and sleep for as long as possible. Because he was about 99% sure if he tried to get up, he’d end up falling over and probably splitting his head open on a chair or something.
For the thirty minutes he managed to fall back asleep, he was rather peaceful. However, his sleep came in flashes, and eventually, Hazel ended up waking up too. She looked more peaceful, being 16 and not stupid enough to drink like the entire rest of the group had been.
“Hey, Felix.” She sighed, leaning against the wall.
“Morning.” He groaned quietly, his head in his arms as he laid on his stomach.
“How’re you?” She asked.
“I drank about twenty gallons of alcohol within the span of up to six or seven hours at most, and I fought in a battle yesterday. I feel like I could run a 5k.” Felix snarked back, burping mid-sentence.
“Oh my god.” Hazel said, choking back nervous laughter. “Are you hungover?”
“I might as well be dangling off a cliff.” Felix sighed in response.
“Aren’t you supposed to drink water, or coffee?” Hazel asked, grabbing for straws.
“To be quite honest, Hazel, I’d rather actually hang myself over something than move anywhere from this specific spot.” Felix responded, his tired cynicism showing in his voice.
“I knew for a fact there’s a reason I didn’t drink even though the opportunity was there. This is why.” Hazel concluded.
“Oh, look at me. I’m Hazel. I’m 16 years old and I know not to be stupid enough to drink 237 shots in one night.” Felix mocked, turning back over and trying to fall back asleep. “Good for you.”
“You’re, like, 300% more of a dick when you’re hungover.” Hazel smiled.
Felix only sighed in response, struggling to swallow a small amount of bile that came up from his throat. He turned over and, despite his sweating, put his helmet on to block out the noise.
Hazel had a feeling it wouldn’t take Felix long to wake back up again. When he was with his ex, they’d gotten drunk a lot more often than they probably should’ve, and Felix had gotten pretty good at shaking off hangovers. But, then again, he really did drink a lot last night. Never drank that much with Jade.
In the meantime, she twiddled with a knife between her fingers, wondering how long it’d take her to mess up and cut herself. She thought she got about seven or eight minutes in before she broke a bit of skin on her ring finger, causing her to drop the knife and suck on the wound with a flinch of pain.
It sounded like Felix was asleep again, and Hazel wasn’t sure what to do at that point. Many of the others were still asleep, and no one she actually knew well was awake. After doing a quick count, she realized there was one missing.
Kuro wasn’t there.
Raising an eyebrow, Hazel got up and snuck into the kitchen, looking for a back exit. After a bit of searching, she found one, and noticed it was cracked, ever so slightly.
Kuro seemed like she was a lot of things, but sloppy wasn’t one of them. Maybe she was hungover, too. Hazel’s interest piqued, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to take off without Felix. He’d need help getting home.
Home.
Back to her father, back to the guild.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to go home. Felix had been talking about leaving with Jade when they were together, but Jade was toxic. Hell, it was possible Jade was just getting Felix to make drunken decisions for the entirety of that relationship.
Felix talked about leaving a lot. But he never did. First he managed to stick around after some of his comrades found out and chastised him, and when he talked about leaving for himself, she convinced him to stay. The third…he just got scared.
Felix was ready to grab his belongings and move, and Hazel felt the same at this point. Maybe it was time to get the hell out of the assassin guild. God knows she’s not going anywhere, and Felix has been cynically carefree about his assignments for a long time.
It was scary, actually. That they’d managed to find a way to trivialize human lives so much, to make them sound like schoolwork. That was the mentality Hazel had managed to distance herself from, but Felix was more objective-minded by default. Not to say he couldn’t change, but as of right now, he’d probably kill anyone in the bar, save for herself, if he was ordered.
Not to say he wouldn’t feel bad. If he at least somewhat knew his kill, he’d have to prepare himself for a few days, and he wouldn’t really function for a few more after it. Felix did his job, and he was sadly good at it, but there wasn’t any way he was proud of it.
Hazel supposed that’s where the line between him, her and Kuro was drawn.
Kuro Kage was a former assassin for the guild, obviously, and currently working independently. After she left, she could’ve done anything with her life. But she still continued killing. She took pride in her bodycount. She waved her skills over people and made them fear her.
Hazel was glad she’d have a sister, to relate to, but in reality, Kuro Kage might as well have never left her father’s side.
Felix, after about thirty more minutes, woke up with a groan. Taking his helmet and letting his head fall onto the floor, he sighed.
“Feel any better?” Hazel asked.
“At least I got to forget being in this pain for a good 30 minutes.” He sighed.
“I need to go find Kuro, you want to come with?” Hazel asked.
“Sure, I’ll get right on that. I was thinking I could learn how to fly an airplane and learn Chinese afterwards, since we’re already going to do one thing that I’ll never actually do.” Felix muttered, clearly holding back bile.
“I’ve heard Cantonese is easier than Mandarin.” Hazel sassed back, getting up and heading through the back exit.
——————————
Kuro got out early. She didn’t want to be there when everyone woke up hungover and groaning about how much they regret drinking. It was all so stupid.
Kuro herself was hungover as all hell, there was no mistake there, but the worst part of waking up with a hangover is hearing other people complain about their own hangovers. It was all such an annoyance and she’d rather actually hang herself than hear it.
Instead of making her way home, Kuro found herself wandering the city. Yeah, she felt the aches all over her body from fighting the day before, and was in a shitty mood, but the fresh air somewhat helped.
She thought she heard a few footsteps behind her, but didn’t pay much mind. They were rather fast-paced, that was a bit more alarming. She reached for her hilt, ready to pull a knife if she needed.
She made a quick glance behind her, and saw it was the girl they’d met in battle yesterday. Her name was…Hazel, she thought.
“Oh, it’s you.” Kuro said, slightly suspicious as she turned around.
“Yeah, hi.” she sighed, not seeming tried by the run at all. “Are you, not hungover?” She asked.
“Oh, yeah. I’m very fucking hungover.” Kuro sighed. “Do you need anything?”
“I just thought I should tell you something?” Hazel proposed, looking a bit nervous.
“Can it wait? I understand I sound monotone and uncaring but in reality I feel like I’m being stabbed with a thousand knives and all the pain is going straight to my head, and I really just want to fucking go home and-“
“I’m your sister.” Hazel said, before Kuro could finish.
It was funny. When Kuro found out she had a family, one member that hadn’t immediately tried to kill her the moment they locked eyes, the one time her relative didn’t seem completely insane, the first thing she did, was pull a knife and hold it to Hazel’s throat as she drove her against a wall.
Hazel didn’t struggle, there was no point. She had a feeling Kuro’s first thought would be that she’d be working with Mercury, their father. Especially considering how closely related they were.
“Look, I know it seems bad, but I promise, I’m not here to kill you!” Hazel assured, holding her hands up.
“Good fucking joke. Why didn’t you kill me in my sleep? It’d be much easier. I’d be more quiet.” Kuro growled, digging enough into Hazel’s throat to where she was close to breaking skin.
“Because I’m not going to kill you!” Hazel exclaimed back.
“Stop lying and answer me.” Kuro barked, a single drop of blood dripping from Hazel’s neck.
“Kuro!” another voice called. Leonard’s hologram appeared in front of her.
“What the fuck do you need, Leonard?” Kuro shot.
“She’s not here to kill you. Her brain patterns don’t indicate any lie, and she’s biologically related to you. She actually could’ve killed you at any time in battle, too. Hazel’s your sister, not your enemy.” Leonard said, urgently.
Kuro shot a glare and took the knife from her throat, but kept it in her hand, as Hazel wiped the slight cut on her neck, Leonard’s hologram disappearing, but listening in case he’d need to step in again.
“How long have you been working with him?” Kuro glared.
“Actually working? Four years.”
“You’re about fifteen, right?”
“Sixteen.”
There was a silence between the two. Kuro didn’t want to know if what she was thinking was true, but something in her knew she was right.
Kuro left her father’s guild at about fifteen, no, sixteen. She managed to clear her tracks before leaving, and the two have been neutral. He’d taken shots at her, and her at him, but she stayed out of his way, for the most part.
But he surely planned this.
It’d been about sixteen years since Kuro Kage left the guild. Hazel Kage was sixteen years old.
Mercury literally made Hazel her replacement.
“I honestly can’t believe this.” Kuro muttered, under her breath.
“Which part? The sister thing, or that I’m not trying to kill you?” Hazel questioned, nervously.
“That he tried to make a replacement.” Kuro replied, quickly.
“Oh. I…I was going to tell you that part, too.” Hazel sighed.
“You mean you knew?”
“Mercury literally trained me to target your specific weaknesses. Not that there were many, as he told me. He wasn’t even really a father, he was just a trainer.”
“Fuckin’ tell me about it.” Kuro muttered in response. “Look, I don’t know how far in you are, but get the fuck out.” she said, almost like an order. “I’ll let you stay with me, since it seems like you really are clear. Not to mention, you’re my sister, and sixteen.” she said.
“You…seem to be taking this shockingly well.” Hazel said, curiously.
“There’s a million things I could do right now, but to be honest, I’m too tired and hungover to do them.” Kuro confessed. “I’d rather just act stoic.” she said, quickly changing the subject.
“Your friend, Felix. Is he an assassin too?” His fighting style and use of weapons is familiar.”
“You got that much out of that one battle?”
“Is he, or not?” Kuro snapped.
“Yeah, he is. But he doesn’t like it. He’s almost left, like, three times.”
“Why didn’t he?”
“I kept him once, his comrades the second time. The third, I think he just didn’t know where he’d go.” Hazel theorized
“Do you trust him?” Kuro looked at her, in her eyes. “I figure, if we’re sisters, I can rely on your judgement as well as my own.”
“He’s trustworthy. He’s been my friend for years, and hates Mercury as much as I do. He’s a good guy, despite what he does.”
Kuro nodded, and sighed. “I wish I could say the same for myself.”
———————————————————
Kuro made her way home, and Hazel made her way back to the bar, departing home with Felix for one last time. They stayed underground for a few days, as Kuro and Fiona needed time to make arrangements for the latter. Fiona was already planning on moving out, because she’d rather live with Edward, as he was moving as well. It worked out perfectly.
They packed their things quickly, and kept themselves in their rooms for most of their day. Ready to depart as soon as someone caught wind or had the slightest suspicion. The actual plan was to leave when most of the guild’s compound was asleep, but who knew? Mercenaries were intuitive.
When the night came, they slipped out easily. They slipped by most of the people they saw, and the ones who caught them didn’t ask questions. It was easy, honestly. A bit too easy.
Felix expected Mercury to be livid, to be furious. Which was good. He wanted that asshole to feel as much frustration as he could manage before just snapping and going on a killing spree or something. At least then he’d be in jail.
Fiona had made arrangements to get a new apartment quickly, she had connections all around the city. Fiona’s room was empty within hours, and she was off, waving goodbye to Kuro with a smile on her face after they hugged one last time.
It was about 1AM when they arrived at Kuro’s place, Felix donning his armor and Hazel, looking around nervously as they made their way into the building, and up to their new living space.
Kuro had been expecting the knock on the door for a few hours, they were supposed to be with her by….12. It was 1:15. She considered grabbing some knives and heading out to look for them, as it was very possible they were caught and attacked.
When the knock came, she looked, a bit happy they made it alright. She got up and flicked the lights on, the apartment just a bit more vacant than before, and opened the door with a creak.
“Hazel. Felix.” She nodded. “Welcome home.”
——————————————————
Estranged
The air was more crisp than cold that morning, without much need for anything other than a light jacket. The underground maintained that temperature, it was almost nice. However, for Jade’s intents and purposes, a suit of body armor would get the job done. Hid his face, gave him protection, and kept him rather warm in the challenging climate. Also gave him some comfortable storage places for pistols, knives, rifles, and other useful utilities on the battlefield.
Granted, Jade wouldn’t be out long. His assignment wasn’t far out from the compound, in walking distance, actually. Funnily enough, he might have looked more like he was prepared for war more than the murder of one person. As skilled as that person may be.
It was odd to see her underground, typically she wouldn’t even bother to come. Apparently, she was visiting a few friends who lived down here. Or, from the wire he managed to slip on one of them, screaming at them. It was surprising, how easily it had been to wire tap a member of the city police force.
As Jade perched atop a crumbling building, one his target used to call home, he heard a deep voice, and a german squeak say goodbye to their friend, Kuro Kage. She’d pass right by while walking to the train station, most likely singing to herself or conversing with Leonard, Hazel, or even Felix.
Felix was another story. As much as Jade wished he could blackmail Kuro into sending Felix back to Mercury and let whatever punish come to him, then stepping in and nursing the wounded man back to health, it wasn’t his objective.
However, it didn’t mean a bit of unnecessary sadism wasn’t a perk of his rather gruesome job. He’d have his fun with Kuro, trace their location with her funny little AI friend, and get to his ex and the victim’s sister soon enough.
Jade hummed a small tune to himself, tapping his fingers to the beat as he loaded his rifle, not a sniper grade, but it’d work. After all, Kuro’s beaten path wasn’t too far from his current location. He’d probably be able to get her in the head, and if not, he’d have another chance when he next went above ground.
Then, taking a look into the distance, he caught sight of the woman, a smirk finding it’s way across Jade’s helmeted face, his seperately-colored eyes flickering with enthusiasm. He closed his right as he took his aim, the blue. He always found his aim was better in the hazel-colored. Perhaps it was superstition.
As the young mercenary took his aim, Kuro seemed to become more cautious, even looking around a bit. The assassin began to lean back, so as to avoid her gaze, but her irises locked with his, and a look of spite came over her face as her robotic arm emitted a shield with just a second of time. The shot Jade fired bounced off, coming straight back at him as he rolled right.
Muttering a curse to himself, Jade swung his legs over the side of the building, falling and catching himself in a roll. He spun to his feet, holding his rifle in a ready position as he turned to peer over the structure’s corner. A shot rang out, nearly catching Jade in the visor. He shook his head and smiled, turning back and letting out a few chaotic shots before sprinting out, skillfully evading Kuro’s gunfire.
It was almost unfair, really. Kuro not only had two of his best co-workers, but an AI and a robotic arm that could contain countless of weapons and abilities. As he dove for cover, returning fire with amazing accuracy, Jade figured he’d have to do the best he could with the circumstances.
Jade stepped up, taking and returning fire as Kuro hid behind her own cover. Jade brought out his own reflector shields, noticing that one of the four of Kuro’s “team” had managed to duplicate Mercury’s trademark cover. He was a skilled inventor and fighter, but sadly, Mercury had not been able to get his illegal weapons patented.
Then, Kuro did something he didn’t expect. She pulled a pin from an abnormally large grenade, about the size of two tennis balls, and hurled it. Jade had to think fast as it landed next to him, hurdling his cover and clicking his heels together. The lamest way to activate the most interesting thing about his armor.
Jade sprinted toward Kuro and jumped, the explosion only giving him more push as his boots ignited, shooting him over Kuro as he rained fire onto her. She managed to shield herself, and get a knife into the air that actually scraped his boots.
Oh, well, he’d been meaning to redo the gold accents eventually.
It wasn’t that Kuro was off her game, it was simply that Jade was skilled. He wasn’t a fool, he was trained by the same person who brought Kuro to where she was today. Obviously, in the 31 years he’d been doing it, Mercury hadn’t lost his edge As Jade found more cover, giving more fire to her as his clip emptied, the boss-man himself, came onto the radio.
“Winters, what’s your status?” Mercury spoke, referring to Jade by his surname.
“Well, she’s putting up a bit of a fight.” Jade replied, her fire now switching to her trademark plasma pistols.
“Expected. She doesn’t go down easily. My question is, how did she see you?”
Jade peered over and grabbed a knife from his side, as well as a detonator. He stole these from a house on the surface. Two seemingly innocent men had lived there, both with matching suits, and apparently a daughter. He considered stealing the armor, as well, but they had a rather off-putting X across the faceplate.
He hurled the knife, seemingly missing accidentally, and had his hands on the detonator, until it seemed like his armor’s left arm shut down. His suit had been infiltrated.
“It’s the damn AI.” Jade said, with a smile on his face as he quickly rolled and landed on the detonator, letting a small distance explode. It looked a bit like fireworks from the rooftop.
Jade regained control of his arm, which he took as a good sign. He didn’t see any gore directly below, but Kuro could’ve flown for a good 20 or 30 feet. Either way, he saw no evidence of her survival.
“I think I’ve overcome that issue, Mercury.” Jade smirked. “It seems even your daughter can’t escape death fore-“ Jade began, before a kick to his back sent him stumbling over the top and onto his back.
Jade groaned with pain as he fell, his breath escaping him. Unable to move until he could breathe again, he struggled to move as Kuro Kage jumped, landing a few feet away from him, an energy blade in her hand.
“You almost got me.” She growled.
“I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you-“ Jade began again, before a separate blade, one of metal, slashed him across his chestplate. It shouldn’t have hurt, but for some reason Jade felt a slight sting on his chest. Perhaps this is how suffocating felt.
“You must be Jade.” she nodded, pinning him and removing his helmet.
“I’m afraid you have me confused with another dashingly handsome young mercenary.” He smiled, his eyes flickering devilishly.
“Radiant red hair, heterochromia, blue and hazel, and it appears you’re on the line with my father. I don’t think I’m mistaken.” Kuro growled, digging her knife into his throat.
“Does Felix honestly speak that much about me?”
“You’d be surprised.”
Jade smiled, chuckling. “Listen, Kuro. If you want to kill me, go ahead and do it. Tell Felix I love him, and I expect him at my funeral. Tell Hazel that I’ll still be back to kill her eventually.” That earned him a punch in the face.
“I personally think your eyes would look better black.” Kuro smiled.
It was quiet, but Jade managed to pick up Mercury saying the word, abort. And that was all he needed to hear.
“I personally disagree.” Jade replied, secretly thankful she waited to punch his eyes until after she made the one-liner. He drove his knees up, flipping Kuro off of him and springing to his fee. Kicking his helmet into his hands and grabbing his fallen rifle, Jade slung it onto his back and got a running start as he shot himself off, out of Kuro’s view.
A few bullets came his way, but he managed to weave himself out, and keep himself safe and off his own beaten path from the compound, coming a full mile of a circle before returning to Mercury’s training facility.
When he returned, pulling his helmet back off, some of the other mercs looked like they knew he’d failed. However, they weren’t disappointed or ashamed, they were surprised he’d failed and managed to come back.
Jade made his way to Mercury’s quarters, knocking to make sure he’d been allowed entry. On his way back, Mercury asked to speak with him in person, but it was still good to knock.
The metal door slid open, allowing Jade to enter and take a seat in front of Mercury’s desk. Though his office was neat, the adjacent laboratory was anything but. Jade removed his helmet and let his amber-red hair fall down, looking much less smug than he normally would.
“Winters.” He said, his voice low.
“Mercury.” Jade responded.
“You failed your mission.”
“Afraid I did.”
“What did you learn about her. Her fighting style, weaknesses, anything of the sort.”
“She still seems to fight with a modified style of your own teachings, most likely adapted after she left us.”
“Has she changed any from when you and Ecros broke in five years ago?”
“You mean the time she caught Ecros and got rid of him?”
“Yes.”
“Of course she has. She’s somehow gotten even better at fighting, and has learned to adapt to technological fighting much quicker. Five years ago, I’m sure that knife would’ve at least wounded her. Today, she managed to get away from it and get onto the rooftop I was on, silently.”
“You can’t be serious?”
“I wouldn’t joke about her, sir.”
“You seemed to do a lot of it today after she pinned you.”
“Of course, I’m a conversationalist in combat. It ended up working in my favor, so I don’t see the harm.”
“After you kicked her off you and retreated?”
“Under your orders, I might add.”
“You’ve disregarded me to kill before.”
“But sir, if I’m honest, at that point, I realized I didn’t have much of a chance against her if I didn’t calibrate myself and plan to fight her in the way she fights now. Kuro Kage only continues to adapt, much like her father.” Jade nodded, smiling.
“She’s certainly my daughter.” Mercury nodded. “Will you need more accomplices next time?”
“I work with Felix or alone.” Jade raised an eyebrow, smirking.
“Felix broke away from us, as did my youngest daughter.” Mercury replied dryly, and almost angrily, as if he’d heard it many times before. And he had.
“Then I suppose I work alone.” Jade replied.
“I’m willing to accomodate you with anything if it means I see her dead.”
“Then it’s possible you’ll just have to come with me to bring her down.” Jade proposed.
There was a bit of silence between them, as Mercury pondered his idea. He sighed, nodding.
“I suppose you may be right. But, let me get one thing clear, Jade Winters.” Mercury said, firmly. Jade raised an eyebrow.
“I will kill her with my own weapons, my own arsenal, and on my own accord. And if you stand in my way of seeing the traitor my daughter has become dead, I will not hesitate to put you in a coffin as well.”
Jade looked a bit more nervous as Mercury said this, but nodded. “Understood.”
“Good. There’s nothing more for us to discuss. You’ll be leaving.” Mercury said, more as a statement than a request. Jade left rather quickly, for once at a loss for words.
As the metal door clamped shut, Mercury chuckled to myself.
“Soon, my girl. You will know true fear, despite your claims to never feel it. You will experience true pain, despite your claimed immunity. He growled. "Your battles against robots and aliens have not come close to preparing you for the war your estranged will bring you.”
——————————————————
Winter (new addition)
Kuro shot at Jade as he took off, but didn’t take time to chase him. Kuro would rather get home to make sure Felix and Hazel were alright. The entire situation almost left Kuro in shock as she sprinted for the train, checking over her shoulders for any oncoming attackers.
It was a big deal, to know Kuro was now being sought after instead of just a target to shoot at. She’d been tracked down before, her house had been vandalized five years before, when she had first met the Earth’s saviors. However, they never really tried to get to her.
The fact that Jade had been sent, and that he nearly got to her, was a fact that shook Kuro as she rode back to the surface. She knew Kraven and Magnus were fine, they had no reason to chase either of them, but she still asked for Leonard, staring at him seriously as he appeared.
“Let Magnus know he’s been wired. Jade, or someone else, most likely did it during his patrol. Get in contact with Rachel as well, see if you can let her give him the day tomorrow. It’s already too late tonight.” She ordered as they rode.
“Got it.” Leonard nodded. It was only them on the ride. Before long, Kuro was alone again, as Leonard vanished to converse with Magnus.
Magnus himself, and Kraven, had been relaxing together, having just eaten dinner. He thought he heard the small whoosh commonly associated with Leonard’s holographic appearance, but he wasn’t sure. He looked up, and looked around. No one. He looked at Kraven, who was dead asleep already. Regretfully, he pulled out of bed, and slipped sweatpants on as he walked into the living room.
“Leonard?” He whispered, turning to see his holographic blue light standing at the AI’s former human height.
“Hey.” he nodded.
“What’re you…doing? It’s…” Magnus began, before realizing he didn’t know what time it was. “It’s late.”
“Listen, I don’t have too long. You’ve been wired.” Leonard asserted, quickly.
“What? As in tapped?” Magnus asked, rubbing his eyes.
“Yeah. I think in your uniform’s back pocket, but I can’t be sure. Either way, you’re wearing one. I can disable it so you can hand it to IT or something at the police station, but they’ll have to turn it back on manually.” Leonard insisted, already doing it before Magnus gave a preference.
“Why was I wired?”
“To hear your conversation with Kuro. Listen, you’ll be fine, okay? You’re safe, you have nothing to worry about. I just thought I should let you know. You also have the day off tomorrow, I talked with Rachel.”
“Uh, okay?” Magnus said, confused.
“Sorry to bug you, man, but Kuro’s serious about what’s happening. She’s getting on the defensive.”
“What’s happening?” Magnus asked, curiously.
“Freaky assassin cult shit. You don’t wanna get involved.”
“Oh, god. No, I don’t.” Magnus insisted, nervously.
“Yeah, alright. Get to bed, buddy. Talk to you soon.” Leonard cracked a smile, and Magnus returned.
“G’night.” Magnus said.
“Night.” Leonard responded, before vanishing, and letting Magnus and Kraven’s living room go dim.
——————————
Leonard arrived back to Kuro, seeing her with a handgun in her right hand, and a knife in her left, as she approached her apartment. “Run into any trouble?” He asked
“No, but Mercury doesn’t have agents up here, as far as I’m aware. His compound is underground, and since I vacated during a mission, he’s very, very secure about where his mercenaries are. I honestly have to wonder how Felix and Hazel got away so easily.” Kuro wondered, as she entered quickly.
Hazel looked up from a TV show, seemingly depicting the characters in an office setting, with a rather overenthusiastic boss, and paused it, throwing her blanket off. “Kuro? What’s wrong?”
“Where’s Felix?” She said, quickly.
“He went out, he said he’d be back in fifteen minutes.”
“How long ago was that?” Kuro asked, insistently.
Hazel glanced at her clock, it read “12:00AM, midnight" exactly. He went out at 11:45. “Uh…fifteen minutes ago.” Hazel said, a bit confused.
Kuro paused, and muttered a curse under her breath. “Leonard, find him.” she ordered.
“Kuro, he’s coming up the building’s steps.” He said, in a deadpan tone of voice. Kuro then rushed out the door and down the stairs, until she met Felix, who still managed to look confused despite the armor covering him. Kuro then proved herself to be extremely strong, as she pulled the man up the stairs and into the apartment, closing and triple-locking the door.
“What the fuck is going on, Kuro?” Felix asked throwing off his helmet.
“Hazel, the CDIT today. Anything seem off?” Kuro insisted.
“Uh…no, why?"
“You were there with Xrea, correct? And Eiffel? There was some school teacher there too?” She insisted.
“Yes, yes, why are you asking this?”
“Scan them for wires, Leonard.”
“I already did earlier. They’re all clean.”
“You scanned them? Why?” Felix asked. “What is HAPPENING, Kuro?” he insisted, almost shouting.
“On my way back from Magnus’, Jade attacked me.”
There was a silence between the four, Leonard’s hologram being included. Hazel looked a bit nervous, Felix was simply in disbelief. Leonard looked busy, holographic data, charts and screen surrounding him as he worked to find, well, anything he could on the guild’s members.
“You’re sure it was Jade?” Felix asked.
“Black suit, gold highlights, red hair, heterochromia, cocky attitude. It was Jade.” Kuro asserted, very sure of herself. “My question is, why?”
“Well, that’s obvious. It’s because we broke off too. He expected Felix to leave eventually, but me, he really wanted me to stay.” Hazel said, quickly.
“Yeah, of course.” Felix added. “Wait, he expected me to leave?”
“No, not why he’s coming, why now, and why make it that complicated? Why place a wire, why not just come to where we live? They have to know by now, I’ve been in the same place for five years. I was never in the same place for even one, underground, and I was still found out eventually.” Kuro said.
“Jade’s persistent. Very, very persistent. He’s made it his personal goal to see you dead, by any means necessary. It’s scary. He always got a bit scary when he was talking about you.” Felix lamented.
“Well, why? What vendetta does Jade have against me that’s even more powerful than my father’s?” Kuro questioned.
Felix and Hazel exchanged looks, before Hazel sighed. “Jade thinks you killed his parents.”
There was a silence between them again, before Kuro looked angry.
“How old is Jade and how old was he when his parents died?”
“Jade’s 18, he was 1 when his parents died.” Felix spat, immediately. Almost a little too quickly.
“…That’s….that’s literally impossible.” Kuro growled.
“How so?” Hazel questioned.
“That would make me 12. The only mission I had when I was twelve…was….killing one of Apollo’s generals.” Kuro thought back. “That was the week before my birthday. There’s no way I could’ve done it.”
“That’s a conclusion we both came to awhile back, too, but he’s persistent. He threw a bottle of water at me when I protested that.” Hazel shrugged.
“He’s fixed on it. We nearly broke up once because I tried to reason with him. Mercury has him brainwashed. Your dad’s a fucking psychopath.” Felix looked down, looking slightly pained.
“That’s it.” Leonard said, suddenly.
“What’s it?” Kuro asked.
“Kuro, Hazel, both of your biological mothers are dead. Felix, yours have disappeared. Both happened before you could really memorize them, so you’re not pained by it. Mercury never talked about your parents. However, it seems Jade had a different upbringing. Jade was another experiment, to see how far Mercury could take it.”
“What did he do?” Felix insisted.
There was a pause, almost as if Leonard couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“Mercury killed Jade’s parents. And yours, Felix. Your mothers…he kills all of the guild members’ parents…before taking them in to raise them as his own. As private killers.”
Home
The day was rough, with battle tearing through Olympus and exhausting the fighters to their core. The night was fun, letting the warriors unwind and celebrate the city living to see another day. The morning after was painful, showing the group just how much alcohol was too much.
And Felix certainly felt it.
His headache was splitting, his mouth was as dry as a cotton field in July, and thank god he didn’t sleep in his armor, because he probably would’ve died of heat stroke.
It seemed like only a few of the others, Kraven and Magnus, had woken up. Being on the complete opposite end of the bar as him with Hazel, he decided it was best to try and sleep for as long as possible. Because he was about 99% sure if he tried to get up, he’d end up falling over and probably splitting his head open on a chair or something.
For the thirty minutes he managed to fall back asleep, he was rather peaceful. However, his sleep came in flashes, and eventually, Hazel ended up waking up too. She looked more peaceful, being 16 and not stupid enough to drink like the entire rest of the group had been.
“Hey, Felix.” She sighed, leaning against the wall.
“Morning.” He groaned quietly, his head in his arms as he laid on his stomach.
“How’re you?” She asked.
“I drank about twenty gallons of alcohol within the span of up to six or seven hours at most, and I fought in a battle yesterday. I feel like I could run a 5k.” Felix snarked back, burping mid-sentence.
“Oh my god.” Hazel said, choking back nervous laughter. “Are you hungover?”
“I might as well be dangling off a cliff.” Felix sighed in response.
“Aren’t you supposed to drink water, or coffee?” Hazel asked, grabbing for straws.
“To be quite honest, Hazel, I’d rather actually hang myself over something than move anywhere from this specific spot.” Felix responded, his tired cynicism showing in his voice.
“I knew for a fact there’s a reason I didn’t drink even though the opportunity was there. This is why.” Hazel concluded.
“Oh, look at me. I’m Hazel. I’m 16 years old and I know not to be stupid enough to drink 237 shots in one night.” Felix mocked, turning back over and trying to fall back asleep. “Good for you.”
“You’re, like, 300% more of a dick when you’re hungover.” Hazel smiled.
Felix only sighed in response, struggling to swallow a small amount of bile that came up from his throat. He turned over and, despite his sweating, put his helmet on to block out the noise.
Hazel had a feeling it wouldn’t take Felix long to wake back up again. When he was with his ex, they’d gotten drunk a lot more often than they probably should’ve, and Felix had gotten pretty good at shaking off hangovers. But, then again, he really did drink a lot last night. Never drank that much with Jade.
In the meantime, she twiddled with a knife between her fingers, wondering how long it’d take her to mess up and cut herself. She thought she got about seven or eight minutes in before she broke a bit of skin on her ring finger, causing her to drop the knife and suck on the wound with a flinch of pain.
It sounded like Felix was asleep again, and Hazel wasn’t sure what to do at that point. Many of the others were still asleep, and no one she actually knew well was awake. After doing a quick count, she realized there was one missing.
Kuro wasn’t there.
Raising an eyebrow, Hazel got up and snuck into the kitchen, looking for a back exit. After a bit of searching, she found one, and noticed it was cracked, ever so slightly.
Kuro seemed like she was a lot of things, but sloppy wasn’t one of them. Maybe she was hungover, too. Hazel’s interest piqued, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to take off without Felix. He’d need help getting home.
Home.
Back to her father, back to the guild.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to go home. Felix had been talking about leaving with Jade when they were together, but Jade was toxic. Hell, it was possible Jade was just getting Felix to make drunken decisions for the entirety of that relationship.
Felix talked about leaving a lot. But he never did. First he managed to stick around after some of his comrades found out and chastised him, and when he talked about leaving for himself, she convinced him to stay. The third…he just got scared.
Felix was ready to grab his belongings and move, and Hazel felt the same at this point. Maybe it was time to get the hell out of the assassin guild. God knows she’s not going anywhere, and Felix has been cynically carefree about his assignments for a long time.
It was scary, actually. That they’d managed to find a way to trivialize human lives so much, to make them sound like schoolwork. That was the mentality Hazel had managed to distance herself from, but Felix was more objective-minded by default. Not to say he couldn’t change, but as of right now, he’d probably kill anyone in the bar, save for herself, if he was ordered.
Not to say he wouldn’t feel bad. If he at least somewhat knew his kill, he’d have to prepare himself for a few days, and he wouldn’t really function for a few more after it. Felix did his job, and he was sadly good at it, but there wasn’t any way he was proud of it.
Hazel supposed that’s where the line between him, her and Kuro was drawn.
Kuro Kage was a former assassin for the guild, obviously, and currently working independently. After she left, she could’ve done anything with her life. But she still continued killing. She took pride in her bodycount. She waved her skills over people and made them fear her.
Hazel was glad she’d have a sister, to relate to, but in reality, Kuro Kage might as well have never left her father’s side.
Felix, after about thirty more minutes, woke up with a groan. Taking his helmet and letting his head fall onto the floor, he sighed.
“Feel any better?” Hazel asked.
“At least I got to forget being in this pain for a good 30 minutes.” He sighed.
“I need to go find Kuro, you want to come with?” Hazel asked.
“Sure, I’ll get right on that. I was thinking I could learn how to fly an airplane and learn Chinese afterwards, since we’re already going to do one thing that I’ll never actually do.” Felix muttered, clearly holding back bile.
“I’ve heard Cantonese is easier than Mandarin.” Hazel sassed back, getting up and heading through the back exit.
——————————
Kuro got out early. She didn’t want to be there when everyone woke up hungover and groaning about how much they regret drinking. It was all so stupid.
Kuro herself was hungover as all hell, there was no mistake there, but the worst part of waking up with a hangover is hearing other people complain about their own hangovers. It was all such an annoyance and she’d rather actually hang herself than hear it.
Instead of making her way home, Kuro found herself wandering the city. Yeah, she felt the aches all over her body from fighting the day before, and was in a shitty mood, but the fresh air somewhat helped.
She thought she heard a few footsteps behind her, but didn’t pay much mind. They were rather fast-paced, that was a bit more alarming. She reached for her hilt, ready to pull a knife if she needed.
She made a quick glance behind her, and saw it was the girl they’d met in battle yesterday. Her name was…Hazel, she thought.
“Oh, it’s you.” Kuro said, slightly suspicious as she turned around.
“Yeah, hi.” she sighed, not seeming tried by the run at all. “Are you, not hungover?” She asked.
“Oh, yeah. I’m very fucking hungover.” Kuro sighed. “Do you need anything?”
“I just thought I should tell you something?” Hazel proposed, looking a bit nervous.
“Can it wait? I understand I sound monotone and uncaring but in reality I feel like I’m being stabbed with a thousand knives and all the pain is going straight to my head, and I really just want to fucking go home and-“
“I’m your sister.” Hazel said, before Kuro could finish.
It was funny. When Kuro found out she had a family, one member that hadn’t immediately tried to kill her the moment they locked eyes, the one time her relative didn’t seem completely insane, the first thing she did, was pull a knife and hold it to Hazel’s throat as she drove her against a wall.
Hazel didn’t struggle, there was no point. She had a feeling Kuro’s first thought would be that she’d be working with Mercury, their father. Especially considering how closely related they were.
“Look, I know it seems bad, but I promise, I’m not here to kill you!” Hazel assured, holding her hands up.
“Good fucking joke. Why didn’t you kill me in my sleep? It’d be much easier. I’d be more quiet.” Kuro growled, digging enough into Hazel’s throat to where she was close to breaking skin.
“Because I’m not going to kill you!” Hazel exclaimed back.
“Stop lying and answer me.” Kuro barked, a single drop of blood dripping from Hazel’s neck.
“Kuro!” another voice called. Leonard’s hologram appeared in front of her.
“What the fuck do you need, Leonard?” Kuro shot.
“She’s not here to kill you. Her brain patterns don’t indicate any lie, and she’s biologically related to you. She actually could’ve killed you at any time in battle, too. Hazel’s your sister, not your enemy.” Leonard said, urgently.
Kuro shot a glare and took the knife from her throat, but kept it in her hand, as Hazel wiped the slight cut on her neck, Leonard’s hologram disappearing, but listening in case he’d need to step in again.
“How long have you been working with him?” Kuro glared.
“Actually working? Four years.”
“You’re about fifteen, right?”
“Sixteen.”
There was a silence between the two. Kuro didn’t want to know if what she was thinking was true, but something in her knew she was right.
Kuro left her father’s guild at about fifteen, no, sixteen. She managed to clear her tracks before leaving, and the two have been neutral. He’d taken shots at her, and her at him, but she stayed out of his way, for the most part.
But he surely planned this.
It’d been about sixteen years since Kuro Kage left the guild. Hazel Kage was sixteen years old.
Mercury literally made Hazel her replacement.
“I honestly can’t believe this.” Kuro muttered, under her breath.
“Which part? The sister thing, or that I’m not trying to kill you?” Hazel questioned, nervously.
“That he tried to make a replacement.” Kuro replied, quickly.
“Oh. I…I was going to tell you that part, too.” Hazel sighed.
“You mean you knew?”
“Mercury literally trained me to target your specific weaknesses. Not that there were many, as he told me. He wasn’t even really a father, he was just a trainer.”
“Fuckin’ tell me about it.” Kuro muttered in response. “Look, I don’t know how far in you are, but get the fuck out.” she said, almost like an order. “I’ll let you stay with me, since it seems like you really are clear. Not to mention, you’re my sister, and sixteen.” she said.
“You…seem to be taking this shockingly well.” Hazel said, curiously.
“There’s a million things I could do right now, but to be honest, I’m too tired and hungover to do them.” Kuro confessed. “I’d rather just act stoic.” she said, quickly changing the subject.
“Your friend, Felix. Is he an assassin too?” His fighting style and use of weapons is familiar.”
“You got that much out of that one battle?”
“Is he, or not?” Kuro snapped.
“Yeah, he is. But he doesn’t like it. He’s almost left, like, three times.”
“Why didn’t he?”
“I kept him once, his comrades the second time. The third, I think he just didn’t know where he’d go.” Hazel theorized
“Do you trust him?” Kuro looked at her, in her eyes. “I figure, if we’re sisters, I can rely on your judgement as well as my own.”
“He’s trustworthy. He’s been my friend for years, and hates Mercury as much as I do. He’s a good guy, despite what he does.”
Kuro nodded, and sighed. “I wish I could say the same for myself.”
———————————————————
Kuro made her way home, and Hazel made her way back to the bar, departing home with Felix for one last time. They stayed underground for a few days, as Kuro and Fiona needed time to make arrangements for the latter. Fiona was already planning on moving out, because she’d rather live with Edward, as he was moving as well. It worked out perfectly.
They packed their things quickly, and kept themselves in their rooms for most of their day. Ready to depart as soon as someone caught wind or had the slightest suspicion. The actual plan was to leave when most of the guild’s compound was asleep, but who knew? Mercenaries were intuitive.
When the night came, they slipped out easily. They slipped by most of the people they saw, and the ones who caught them didn’t ask questions. It was easy, honestly. A bit too easy.
Felix expected Mercury to be livid, to be furious. Which was good. He wanted that asshole to feel as much frustration as he could manage before just snapping and going on a killing spree or something. At least then he’d be in jail.
Fiona had made arrangements to get a new apartment quickly, she had connections all around the city. Fiona’s room was empty within hours, and she was off, waving goodbye to Kuro with a smile on her face after they hugged one last time.
It was about 1AM when they arrived at Kuro’s place, Felix donning his armor and Hazel, looking around nervously as they made their way into the building, and up to their new living space.
Kuro had been expecting the knock on the door for a few hours, they were supposed to be with her by….12. It was 1:15. She considered grabbing some knives and heading out to look for them, as it was very possible they were caught and attacked.
When the knock came, she looked, a bit happy they made it alright. She got up and flicked the lights on, the apartment just a bit more vacant than before, and opened the door with a creak.
“Hazel. Felix.” She nodded. “Welcome home.”
——————————————————
Estranged
The air was more crisp than cold that morning, without much need for anything other than a light jacket. The underground maintained that temperature, it was almost nice. However, for Jade’s intents and purposes, a suit of body armor would get the job done. Hid his face, gave him protection, and kept him rather warm in the challenging climate. Also gave him some comfortable storage places for pistols, knives, rifles, and other useful utilities on the battlefield.
Granted, Jade wouldn’t be out long. His assignment wasn’t far out from the compound, in walking distance, actually. Funnily enough, he might have looked more like he was prepared for war more than the murder of one person. As skilled as that person may be.
It was odd to see her underground, typically she wouldn’t even bother to come. Apparently, she was visiting a few friends who lived down here. Or, from the wire he managed to slip on one of them, screaming at them. It was surprising, how easily it had been to wire tap a member of the city police force.
As Jade perched atop a crumbling building, one his target used to call home, he heard a deep voice, and a german squeak say goodbye to their friend, Kuro Kage. She’d pass right by while walking to the train station, most likely singing to herself or conversing with Leonard, Hazel, or even Felix.
Felix was another story. As much as Jade wished he could blackmail Kuro into sending Felix back to Mercury and let whatever punish come to him, then stepping in and nursing the wounded man back to health, it wasn’t his objective.
However, it didn’t mean a bit of unnecessary sadism wasn’t a perk of his rather gruesome job. He’d have his fun with Kuro, trace their location with her funny little AI friend, and get to his ex and the victim’s sister soon enough.
Jade hummed a small tune to himself, tapping his fingers to the beat as he loaded his rifle, not a sniper grade, but it’d work. After all, Kuro’s beaten path wasn’t too far from his current location. He’d probably be able to get her in the head, and if not, he’d have another chance when he next went above ground.
Then, taking a look into the distance, he caught sight of the woman, a smirk finding it’s way across Jade’s helmeted face, his seperately-colored eyes flickering with enthusiasm. He closed his right as he took his aim, the blue. He always found his aim was better in the hazel-colored. Perhaps it was superstition.
As the young mercenary took his aim, Kuro seemed to become more cautious, even looking around a bit. The assassin began to lean back, so as to avoid her gaze, but her irises locked with his, and a look of spite came over her face as her robotic arm emitted a shield with just a second of time. The shot Jade fired bounced off, coming straight back at him as he rolled right.
Muttering a curse to himself, Jade swung his legs over the side of the building, falling and catching himself in a roll. He spun to his feet, holding his rifle in a ready position as he turned to peer over the structure’s corner. A shot rang out, nearly catching Jade in the visor. He shook his head and smiled, turning back and letting out a few chaotic shots before sprinting out, skillfully evading Kuro’s gunfire.
It was almost unfair, really. Kuro not only had two of his best co-workers, but an AI and a robotic arm that could contain countless of weapons and abilities. As he dove for cover, returning fire with amazing accuracy, Jade figured he’d have to do the best he could with the circumstances.
Jade stepped up, taking and returning fire as Kuro hid behind her own cover. Jade brought out his own reflector shields, noticing that one of the four of Kuro’s “team” had managed to duplicate Mercury’s trademark cover. He was a skilled inventor and fighter, but sadly, Mercury had not been able to get his illegal weapons patented.
Then, Kuro did something he didn’t expect. She pulled a pin from an abnormally large grenade, about the size of two tennis balls, and hurled it. Jade had to think fast as it landed next to him, hurdling his cover and clicking his heels together. The lamest way to activate the most interesting thing about his armor.
Jade sprinted toward Kuro and jumped, the explosion only giving him more push as his boots ignited, shooting him over Kuro as he rained fire onto her. She managed to shield herself, and get a knife into the air that actually scraped his boots.
Oh, well, he’d been meaning to redo the gold accents eventually.
It wasn’t that Kuro was off her game, it was simply that Jade was skilled. He wasn’t a fool, he was trained by the same person who brought Kuro to where she was today. Obviously, in the 31 years he’d been doing it, Mercury hadn’t lost his edge As Jade found more cover, giving more fire to her as his clip emptied, the boss-man himself, came onto the radio.
“Winters, what’s your status?” Mercury spoke, referring to Jade by his surname.
“Well, she’s putting up a bit of a fight.” Jade replied, her fire now switching to her trademark plasma pistols.
“Expected. She doesn’t go down easily. My question is, how did she see you?”
Jade peered over and grabbed a knife from his side, as well as a detonator. He stole these from a house on the surface. Two seemingly innocent men had lived there, both with matching suits, and apparently a daughter. He considered stealing the armor, as well, but they had a rather off-putting X across the faceplate.
He hurled the knife, seemingly missing accidentally, and had his hands on the detonator, until it seemed like his armor’s left arm shut down. His suit had been infiltrated.
“It’s the damn AI.” Jade said, with a smile on his face as he quickly rolled and landed on the detonator, letting a small distance explode. It looked a bit like fireworks from the rooftop.
Jade regained control of his arm, which he took as a good sign. He didn’t see any gore directly below, but Kuro could’ve flown for a good 20 or 30 feet. Either way, he saw no evidence of her survival.
“I think I’ve overcome that issue, Mercury.” Jade smirked. “It seems even your daughter can’t escape death fore-“ Jade began, before a kick to his back sent him stumbling over the top and onto his back.
Jade groaned with pain as he fell, his breath escaping him. Unable to move until he could breathe again, he struggled to move as Kuro Kage jumped, landing a few feet away from him, an energy blade in her hand.
“You almost got me.” She growled.
“I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for you-“ Jade began again, before a separate blade, one of metal, slashed him across his chestplate. It shouldn’t have hurt, but for some reason Jade felt a slight sting on his chest. Perhaps this is how suffocating felt.
“You must be Jade.” she nodded, pinning him and removing his helmet.
“I’m afraid you have me confused with another dashingly handsome young mercenary.” He smiled, his eyes flickering devilishly.
“Radiant red hair, heterochromia, blue and hazel, and it appears you’re on the line with my father. I don’t think I’m mistaken.” Kuro growled, digging her knife into his throat.
“Does Felix honestly speak that much about me?”
“You’d be surprised.”
Jade smiled, chuckling. “Listen, Kuro. If you want to kill me, go ahead and do it. Tell Felix I love him, and I expect him at my funeral. Tell Hazel that I’ll still be back to kill her eventually.” That earned him a punch in the face.
“I personally think your eyes would look better black.” Kuro smiled.
It was quiet, but Jade managed to pick up Mercury saying the word, abort. And that was all he needed to hear.
“I personally disagree.” Jade replied, secretly thankful she waited to punch his eyes until after she made the one-liner. He drove his knees up, flipping Kuro off of him and springing to his fee. Kicking his helmet into his hands and grabbing his fallen rifle, Jade slung it onto his back and got a running start as he shot himself off, out of Kuro’s view.
A few bullets came his way, but he managed to weave himself out, and keep himself safe and off his own beaten path from the compound, coming a full mile of a circle before returning to Mercury’s training facility.
When he returned, pulling his helmet back off, some of the other mercs looked like they knew he’d failed. However, they weren’t disappointed or ashamed, they were surprised he’d failed and managed to come back.
Jade made his way to Mercury’s quarters, knocking to make sure he’d been allowed entry. On his way back, Mercury asked to speak with him in person, but it was still good to knock.
The metal door slid open, allowing Jade to enter and take a seat in front of Mercury’s desk. Though his office was neat, the adjacent laboratory was anything but. Jade removed his helmet and let his amber-red hair fall down, looking much less smug than he normally would.
“Winters.” He said, his voice low.
“Mercury.” Jade responded.
“You failed your mission.”
“Afraid I did.”
“What did you learn about her. Her fighting style, weaknesses, anything of the sort.”
“She still seems to fight with a modified style of your own teachings, most likely adapted after she left us.”
“Has she changed any from when you and Ecros broke in five years ago?”
“You mean the time she caught Ecros and got rid of him?”
“Yes.”
“Of course she has. She’s somehow gotten even better at fighting, and has learned to adapt to technological fighting much quicker. Five years ago, I’m sure that knife would’ve at least wounded her. Today, she managed to get away from it and get onto the rooftop I was on, silently.”
“You can’t be serious?”
“I wouldn’t joke about her, sir.”
“You seemed to do a lot of it today after she pinned you.”
“Of course, I’m a conversationalist in combat. It ended up working in my favor, so I don’t see the harm.”
“After you kicked her off you and retreated?”
“Under your orders, I might add.”
“You’ve disregarded me to kill before.”
“But sir, if I’m honest, at that point, I realized I didn’t have much of a chance against her if I didn’t calibrate myself and plan to fight her in the way she fights now. Kuro Kage only continues to adapt, much like her father.” Jade nodded, smiling.
“She’s certainly my daughter.” Mercury nodded. “Will you need more accomplices next time?”
“I work with Felix or alone.” Jade raised an eyebrow, smirking.
“Felix broke away from us, as did my youngest daughter.” Mercury replied dryly, and almost angrily, as if he’d heard it many times before. And he had.
“Then I suppose I work alone.” Jade replied.
“I’m willing to accomodate you with anything if it means I see her dead.”
“Then it’s possible you’ll just have to come with me to bring her down.” Jade proposed.
There was a bit of silence between them, as Mercury pondered his idea. He sighed, nodding.
“I suppose you may be right. But, let me get one thing clear, Jade Winters.” Mercury said, firmly. Jade raised an eyebrow.
“I will kill her with my own weapons, my own arsenal, and on my own accord. And if you stand in my way of seeing the traitor my daughter has become dead, I will not hesitate to put you in a coffin as well.”
Jade looked a bit more nervous as Mercury said this, but nodded. “Understood.”
“Good. There’s nothing more for us to discuss. You’ll be leaving.” Mercury said, more as a statement than a request. Jade left rather quickly, for once at a loss for words.
As the metal door clamped shut, Mercury chuckled to myself.
“Soon, my girl. You will know true fear, despite your claims to never feel it. You will experience true pain, despite your claimed immunity. He growled. "Your battles against robots and aliens have not come close to preparing you for the war your estranged will bring you.”
——————————————————
Winter (new addition)
Kuro shot at Jade as he took off, but didn’t take time to chase him. Kuro would rather get home to make sure Felix and Hazel were alright. The entire situation almost left Kuro in shock as she sprinted for the train, checking over her shoulders for any oncoming attackers.
It was a big deal, to know Kuro was now being sought after instead of just a target to shoot at. She’d been tracked down before, her house had been vandalized five years before, when she had first met the Earth’s saviors. However, they never really tried to get to her.
The fact that Jade had been sent, and that he nearly got to her, was a fact that shook Kuro as she rode back to the surface. She knew Kraven and Magnus were fine, they had no reason to chase either of them, but she still asked for Leonard, staring at him seriously as he appeared.
“Let Magnus know he’s been wired. Jade, or someone else, most likely did it during his patrol. Get in contact with Rachel as well, see if you can let her give him the day tomorrow. It’s already too late tonight.” She ordered as they rode.
“Got it.” Leonard nodded. It was only them on the ride. Before long, Kuro was alone again, as Leonard vanished to converse with Magnus.
Magnus himself, and Kraven, had been relaxing together, having just eaten dinner. He thought he heard the small whoosh commonly associated with Leonard’s holographic appearance, but he wasn’t sure. He looked up, and looked around. No one. He looked at Kraven, who was dead asleep already. Regretfully, he pulled out of bed, and slipped sweatpants on as he walked into the living room.
“Leonard?” He whispered, turning to see his holographic blue light standing at the AI’s former human height.
“Hey.” he nodded.
“What’re you…doing? It’s…” Magnus began, before realizing he didn’t know what time it was. “It’s late.”
“Listen, I don’t have too long. You’ve been wired.” Leonard asserted, quickly.
“What? As in tapped?” Magnus asked, rubbing his eyes.
“Yeah. I think in your uniform’s back pocket, but I can’t be sure. Either way, you’re wearing one. I can disable it so you can hand it to IT or something at the police station, but they’ll have to turn it back on manually.” Leonard insisted, already doing it before Magnus gave a preference.
“Why was I wired?”
“To hear your conversation with Kuro. Listen, you’ll be fine, okay? You’re safe, you have nothing to worry about. I just thought I should let you know. You also have the day off tomorrow, I talked with Rachel.”
“Uh, okay?” Magnus said, confused.
“Sorry to bug you, man, but Kuro’s serious about what’s happening. She’s getting on the defensive.”
“What’s happening?” Magnus asked, curiously.
“Freaky assassin cult shit. You don’t wanna get involved.”
“Oh, god. No, I don’t.” Magnus insisted, nervously.
“Yeah, alright. Get to bed, buddy. Talk to you soon.” Leonard cracked a smile, and Magnus returned.
“G’night.” Magnus said.
“Night.” Leonard responded, before vanishing, and letting Magnus and Kraven’s living room go dim.
——————————
Leonard arrived back to Kuro, seeing her with a handgun in her right hand, and a knife in her left, as she approached her apartment. “Run into any trouble?” He asked
“No, but Mercury doesn’t have agents up here, as far as I’m aware. His compound is underground, and since I vacated during a mission, he’s very, very secure about where his mercenaries are. I honestly have to wonder how Felix and Hazel got away so easily.” Kuro wondered, as she entered quickly.
Hazel looked up from a TV show, seemingly depicting the characters in an office setting, with a rather overenthusiastic boss, and paused it, throwing her blanket off. “Kuro? What’s wrong?”
“Where’s Felix?” She said, quickly.
“He went out, he said he’d be back in fifteen minutes.”
“How long ago was that?” Kuro asked, insistently.
Hazel glanced at her clock, it read “12:00AM, midnight" exactly. He went out at 11:45. “Uh…fifteen minutes ago.” Hazel said, a bit confused.
Kuro paused, and muttered a curse under her breath. “Leonard, find him.” she ordered.
“Kuro, he’s coming up the building’s steps.” He said, in a deadpan tone of voice. Kuro then rushed out the door and down the stairs, until she met Felix, who still managed to look confused despite the armor covering him. Kuro then proved herself to be extremely strong, as she pulled the man up the stairs and into the apartment, closing and triple-locking the door.
“What the fuck is going on, Kuro?” Felix asked throwing off his helmet.
“Hazel, the CDIT today. Anything seem off?” Kuro insisted.
“Uh…no, why?"
“You were there with Xrea, correct? And Eiffel? There was some school teacher there too?” She insisted.
“Yes, yes, why are you asking this?”
“Scan them for wires, Leonard.”
“I already did earlier. They’re all clean.”
“You scanned them? Why?” Felix asked. “What is HAPPENING, Kuro?” he insisted, almost shouting.
“On my way back from Magnus’, Jade attacked me.”
There was a silence between the four, Leonard’s hologram being included. Hazel looked a bit nervous, Felix was simply in disbelief. Leonard looked busy, holographic data, charts and screen surrounding him as he worked to find, well, anything he could on the guild’s members.
“You’re sure it was Jade?” Felix asked.
“Black suit, gold highlights, red hair, heterochromia, cocky attitude. It was Jade.” Kuro asserted, very sure of herself. “My question is, why?”
“Well, that’s obvious. It’s because we broke off too. He expected Felix to leave eventually, but me, he really wanted me to stay.” Hazel said, quickly.
“Yeah, of course.” Felix added. “Wait, he expected me to leave?”
“No, not why he’s coming, why now, and why make it that complicated? Why place a wire, why not just come to where we live? They have to know by now, I’ve been in the same place for five years. I was never in the same place for even one, underground, and I was still found out eventually.” Kuro said.
“Jade’s persistent. Very, very persistent. He’s made it his personal goal to see you dead, by any means necessary. It’s scary. He always got a bit scary when he was talking about you.” Felix lamented.
“Well, why? What vendetta does Jade have against me that’s even more powerful than my father’s?” Kuro questioned.
Felix and Hazel exchanged looks, before Hazel sighed. “Jade thinks you killed his parents.”
There was a silence between them again, before Kuro looked angry.
“How old is Jade and how old was he when his parents died?”
“Jade’s 18, he was 1 when his parents died.” Felix spat, immediately. Almost a little too quickly.
“…That’s….that’s literally impossible.” Kuro growled.
“How so?” Hazel questioned.
“That would make me 12. The only mission I had when I was twelve…was….killing one of Apollo’s generals.” Kuro thought back. “That was the week before my birthday. There’s no way I could’ve done it.”
“That’s a conclusion we both came to awhile back, too, but he’s persistent. He threw a bottle of water at me when I protested that.” Hazel shrugged.
“He’s fixed on it. We nearly broke up once because I tried to reason with him. Mercury has him brainwashed. Your dad’s a fucking psychopath.” Felix looked down, looking slightly pained.
“That’s it.” Leonard said, suddenly.
“What’s it?” Kuro asked.
“Kuro, Hazel, both of your biological mothers are dead. Felix, yours have disappeared. Both happened before you could really memorize them, so you’re not pained by it. Mercury never talked about your parents. However, it seems Jade had a different upbringing. Jade was another experiment, to see how far Mercury could take it.”
“What did he do?” Felix insisted.
There was a pause, almost as if Leonard couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“Mercury killed Jade’s parents. And yours, Felix. Your mothers…he kills all of the guild members’ parents…before taking them in to raise them as his own. As private killers.”