THE FINALE

Balam was standing atop of a three-story house in the middle of Aerilon, appearing to be somewhat recovered from the battle in winter. His face still bore a new scar, stretching across his right cheek from when Hank had covered him in flames. It was the middle of the day, and a small crowd of onlookers had gathered below; Balam had made no effort to hide his planned arrangement with Lijon. He wanted revenge, in whichever form it would come - either he'd kill Hank now, or he'd take as many of these people with him as he could. But for now, he simply waited. An hour passed, and the people were starting to disperse. Lijon was running late. Balam groaned, then shouted: "YOU'RE A COWARD, LIJON! AND THESE PEOPLE WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT COWARDICE!", as he raised his bat and prepared to jump down. "Yeah, hang on a sec there, tough guy. Hank may be a coward, but he's [i]my[/i] coward. So, you'll be fighting me." A voice said behind him. Balam turned his head to see a tall, young blonde dressed in a brown leather jacket and short shorts. Gacko in his usual getup. Balam smirked. "I defeated Lijon one-on-one. You don't stand a chance, girly." He said, then turned properly face her, grasping his bat. "But I suppose I'll be taking up your offer either way." | A Boeing CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter flew over the west side of Aerilon, attracting the attention of most people in town. Painted on its side was an emblem resembling a circle with a triangle in the middle, straight lines extending to the sides of the circle from the triangle's points. Inside, a large group of troops was preparing for their first proper deployment in Aerilon; The USAMAA had received a tip from a citizen about a battle that was planned to take place today, between two anomalous entities known to have participated in the 'Winter Battle'. The entirety of Division Aerilon was participating in the operation, as there was a chance of this whole thing turning out big. The five members of Fox Squad, led by Captain Eric Liam Brasher, were preparing to move out as soon as the chopper would land at the edge of town. Laila was sitting rather nonchalantly, sharpening her weapons. Yevgenia and Morrish were keeping contact with Tatham back at HQ, and readying the explosives. All but Laila were somewhat nervous - a full-scale operation such as this in Aerilon could end badly for all of them. But they had to do it, because if they wouldn't, nobody would, right?

 The chopper landed not too far from the building the battle was supposed to take place in, and the five Fox Squad members rushed out, rifles in hand. One of them, CPT Brasher, clad in blue, ran to the building in front of the target one, making his way up to the roof. The other four started to round up civilians and evacuate them. Some showed resistance, but stopped upon seeing the weapons. Can't help but comply when you're talking to a large guy with a gun, unless you yourself are a large guy with a gun. | Balam prepared to strike, when he heard the incoming chopper. Both he and Gacko turned their heads to the sound. Gacko recognized the model in one look. That was a US military chopper. She turned his head back to Balam, taking a fighting stance. "Friends of yours?" She asked, earning a smirk from Balam. "No. I do not associate myself with any force but my master's." "Well, too bad your master is fucking dead then, huh?" Upon saing that, Gacko, crouched down slightly, having to jump up and over Balam's strike. He roared as he swung, enraged by the cosplayer's comment. Gacko booted him once in the face, using the momentum to do a flip and land back on her feet. Balam took a few steps back, momentarily stunned, but he regained his balance quickly. Throwing only a quick glance at the helicopter landing, he went for his next strike, the cosplayer just barely managing to dodge. Gacko sent a flurry of kicks Balam's way, but was blocked each time, the man having been trained to do just that. After about a minute of this, the two were standing on opposing sides of the roof, panting, neither of them bearing even a scratch from the others attacks. | Hank woke up with his usual groan, grasping his pounding head. He was laying on his couch, surrounded by bottles of booze, as per usual. The drunkard slowly sat himself up, then stood up on his feet. He yawned, looked around, then called out: "Gacko? Hey, bro, you home?". No response. He shrugged it off and went into the kitchen to get himself a snack. He opened the fridge door, took out a microwave pizza, and closed the door, only then noticing a note stuck to the door with a magnet. He blinked as he read it over. "Oh, fuck no." He muttered, tossing the pizza aside before running out the door, towards the other side of Aerilon. In the distance, a chopper was landing. He had no idea what that was about, but he knew it couldn't be good. | Kyra and Karen were out shopping, planning a night out soon. While both of them were used to wearing their combat outfits, they had decided to get something a bit more casual and less eye-catching for going out. As strange of a place Aerilon was, they didn't want to be one of the odd ones for once. They wanted just to be a couple of regular girls. The two stepped out of a clothing store, carrying plastic bags with a pair of jeans and some sort of top each, laughing. As they rounded a corner, Karen blinked, then patted Kyra on the shoulder. The redhead blinked, and looked at where her sister was pointing. After a short pause, accompanied by squinting, she smiled widely and squealed, running ahead, Karen following suite. A man dressed in a black leather jacket, black jeans and boots, turned around just in time to get tackle-hugged by the two. "KENSHIIIIIIN!" The two of them exclaimed in unison, and the guy had to take a moment to figure out who they were. "K-Kyra? Karen?" He asked, and the two nodded. He smiled widely, and hugged the two back. "Holy hell, guys, it's been so long! You two have definitely grown!" Ken said as the three stood back up. Karen smirked and wrapped an arm around him. "You telling us, bro? Look at yourself! You got abs for days!" Ken laughed a bit awkwardly, and prepared to say something, when he blinked and looked up at the sky. A chopper was coming close, too loud to let the three talk to each other regularly. Once it had passed, and the noises had died down, he turned back to the two. "Uh, is that a regular thing here, or...?"

 Commander Morrish, Laila and Yevgenia stepped out of the chopper as well. The Russian nodded to the commander before heading towards the same building Eric ran to, a rocket launcher on her back. Morrish glanced at Laila, then up at the scene above, with the two fighters battling it out. "You won't be fighting today if all goes to plan, Laila. For now, I want you to sit back and-" "Sorry, sir. But I don't quite feel like it." The woman replied, starting to head towards the building. Morrish didn't even attempt to stop her, releasing a heavy sigh. This wouldn't end well. | Balam took a slightly more defensive stance, grinning widely. "You know, I had expected to be facing Lijon today. I figured out the bastard's weakness, had a minion prepare everything I'd need to kill him. But you just had to be the one to come along." Gacko shrugged, wiping sweat off her brow. "What can I say, fucker? I'm full of surprises. Just like life." "Oh, shut it, you tramp. You may not be Lijon, but you still fall by my hand TONIGHT!" He exclaimed, raising his bat and going for another charge, only to stop midway, his mouth hanging open and eyelid twitching. His bat fell from his hands and down on the ground. Balam fell to his knees, then down onto all fours, revealing a large steel needle stuck in his back, a colorfully dressed woman standing behind him, grinning rather maniacally. Gacko blinked in surprise. "...What in the fuck?" She muttered. The woman started walking closer, producing another needle from her sleeve. "You know, having heard of the great battle, I had expected something more from you. But it appeared like the two of you were evenly matched, and, seeing how easy this one went down," she spoke, throwing her second needle at Balam, embedding it in his skull and causing him to collapse, dead and lifeless, "I doubt you'll be too much to worry about, either. A shame, really. All this preparation for nothing." The woman then produced three more needles in each hand. "Might as well make it fun, huh?" |  Captain Eric Brasher made it up on the roof of the building, ran up to the side and took his position as planned. He pointed his SDM-R at the opposing rooftop to see the entity designated 'Shadow Flower' charging at the entity designated 'Flaming Fighter', preparing to strike. He then saw Laila rush up the side of the building at inhumane speed, disable and kill Shadow Flower in less than a minute. Eric blinked. That was not part of the plan. The plan was to evacuate the citizens, then let the two fight it out, eliminating the victor from a distance. The Captain sighed and radioed in. "This is Squirrel, do you read me? Why the hell is Laila out there?" "No idea, Eric." Tatham responded on the other end. "But I suggest you just let her roll with it for now. We might just get half the day off if she does her work that quick. Over and out."

 Gacko raised her fists and took a fighting stance again as the woman approached her, brandishing her blades. "The 'Flaming Fighter' they call you. Quite the unoriginal name, if you ask me. I would've gone more along the lines of 'Blonde Skank'." She said, laughing at her own words. Gacko snickered. "Said the chick dressed like a slut whoring herself out to Willy Wonka." Laila laughed audibly at that. "Oh, but you are feisty. Too bad it won't last." She said, throwing the needles in her right hand at Gacko. The cosplayer cartwheeled out of the way, landing and going into a sprint at the woman. Laila threw the next three rather imprecisely, and Gacko had little trouble dodging. As she did, Laila jumped into the air and went for a drop kick, but had her attack blocked by the cosplayer. Gacko's arms were in a cross under Laila's feet for a moment. The Flaming Fighter heard a click from the woman's boots. Knowing quite well what that could mean, she threw out her hands to force the woman off, just in time to avoid her arms being penetrated by two large needles, one protruding from each boot. Laila hopped back, grabbing the needles and placing them between her fingers, while Gacko smirked, tiny red scratches forming on her forearms. "Nice panties, bitch. I can guess why you wear red." She commented, licking the little wound on her right arm. Laila simply shook her head a bit, still grinning, then charged at the fighter. | The four Fox Squad members continued their efforts to evacuate as many civies as possible as Laila began her fight above. The one dressed in black, the biggest of the bunch, built like a brick wall, was the driving force; while the others were making sure nobody remained in the buildings and got out of the way, he made sure that everyone kept a safe distance away. The smallest figure, dressed in green, began setting up a sort of police line around the area. AsLaila and Gacko exchanged their first blows on the roof, the man dressed in white looked out towards the other end of the road. "We've got vehicles inbound, ready up!" He called out, and the three of them, excluding the large one dressed in black who continued to calm the masses, took positions on either side of the road. The vehicles screeched to a halt. Two black vans with no symbols on them. Moments later, groups of men dressed in dark suits started pouring out, armed with handguns. A dozen in total, they took position behind their vans, aiming at the soldiers. Silence filled the road for a moment, before a radio message was sent to all four of them. "Fire."

The four soldiers paused for just a moment. The one deemed 'Black Fox' rushed ahead to take position next to White Fox, Green and Red on the other side of the road, hiding behind the same building the fight was happening on. All four aimed their rifles down at the vans stopped on the other end of the road and opened fire, most of the men crouching, two trying to take a few shots and paying for it with their lives, bullets riddling their chests, while the people behind Fox Squad began to scatter, screaming in panic. Green Fox pulled back to reload first, removing the spent magazine and grabbing for the next one. White Fox pulled back next to reload as well. Green glanced up for a moment, fumbling with the magazine in his hand. Blue fox had to reload after White, going back behind cover and looking over at Green. "Come on, Rookie. You know how a gun works, I know that much." He shouted out as he reloaded. White Fox had resumed firing, two more of the men in suits having been killed, and their vehicles in bad shape. Green Fox nodded frantically, peeking out of cover to resume fire the same time as Blue Fox did. This was his first real gunfight. | Gacko went for a punch, but Laila sidestepped, bringing a knee to the Flaming Fighter's stomach. Gacko stumbled back, grunting. Laila giggled, throwing a needle that just barely missed Gacko's leg, the fighter hopping back to avoid the attack. "My, for all that you've been talked up about, you sure are sloppy." Laila commented, tossing two more at her. The first missed by a wide margin, but the second scraped past Gacko's shoulder, leaving a scar. The fighter winced, clutching her fists. "You're not fighting for real, are you, bitch?" She pushed out through gritted teeth. The woman laughed at that. "No, I'm not. I don't see a reason I should." She replied, then ran towards Gacko with needles in both hands. Gacko didn't move until the last second, grabbing Laila's left hand and uppercutting her with her other arm. The woman jolted back at the strike, getting launched up into the air, still getting pulled by Gacko, who released her as she reached the highest point in her arc, tossing her across the roof. "Don't fucking underestimate me, you sassy cunt!" Gacko shouted out, her fists accompanied by flames with each movement. Laila landed rather harshly on the ground, rolling for a bit before standing back up, a trickle of blood going down from her lip. "I'll make sure not to." She responded, before charging again.

Eric kept his aimed trained on Gacko even after Tatham had given him his orders, straight from Morrish: Don't fire. He didn't know what was going on, but, as much as he didn't trust Laila, he did know one thing - she could handle herself. He watched the fight in slight awe for a moment, impressed by the agility and strength of both women, before hearing the sound of approaching cars below. He looked down to see the vans stop and the men pour out. Soon enough, a firefight broke out between these men and the Fox Squad. "Fuck." Eric muttered and placed his fingers up to his helmet, enabling the radio. "Tatham, we have hostiles engaged in combat with Fox Squad down there, orders?" "Keep an eye on Laila and the Flaming Fighter, cover her if she looks to be in trouble. Yevgenia's going to handle the attackers." Eric hesitated for a moment. "Roger that." He finally replied, and disabling the radio once more, aiming at Gacko once again, just as she hit Laila with her uppercut and threw her across the roof. Eric was about to fire, but saw Laila back up on her feet immediately, charging at the other once again. Of course. It was Laila after all. | Hank rounded the corner to see a Chinook next to the forest. Well, that's not exactly a regular occurrence. The drunkard looked down the road upon hearing gunfire, just barely managing to pull his head back as a bullet whizzed by. ~A gunfight? Well, that's unusual. Don't recall Balam using guns, and Gacko sure as hell doesn't use them.~ He thought, looking for a way around. He noticed a fire escape nearby and, using his flames to boost himself up, started climbing. Once on the roof, he could see both what was happening below and on the roof. Laila had just punched Gacko in the gut and gashed her across the leg, sending the fighter sailing over to the next roof over. The woman jumped over after the Flaming Fighter, who had just barely managed to stand back up. Upon seeing this, Hank began to rush over, using his flames to speed himself up. As he flew over the roof the two had just been on, he noticed a rather large, black puddle oozing across it. ~Must be what's left of Balam, the fucker.~ He thought, landing behind Laila and trying to hit her with a burst of flames from behind. The woman jumped into the air upon hearing the drunkard land, over the flames and a few meters to the side. Gacko blinked and smiled at Hank. "Glad you could make it, asshole." She said. Hank nodded with a smirk, then turned to face the woman, taking a fighting stance as Gacko did the same. Laila grinned widely, producing several more needles. "Now, this looks like it could finally be some fun!"

 Eric just sort of watched as the man joined in on the fight. "Tatham, who's this guy?" He radioed in. "Uh, he's bad news. That's 'The White Dragon', as the folks call them. Reportedly fought with a major demigod and won." "Understood." He responded and took aim at the man. He had to take the shot carefully. Eric held his breath, aimed at the man's head... | Yevgenia had positioned herself on the second floor of the building Eric was on. Upon seeing the vans arrive, she knew what she'd have to do. The large Russian woman took the rocket launcher off of her back and set it down. She adjusted the grip into firing mode, placed in a rocket. The gunfire outside didn't bother her too much; if Fox Squad were half as decent as they were claimed to be, they'd be fine. She aimed the weapon out of the window, down at the cars, and fired. | ...and pulled the trigger as a large explosion shook the ground, throwing off his aim. | Hank prepared white balls of fire around his fists, and nodded at Gacko, ready to strike, when a bullet hit him in the shin. Hank exclaimed in pain, and Laila laughed as she punched the drunk in the face, knocking his head to the side. Gacko roared out at that and went for a hit, but Laila blocked her, stabbing a needle through her arm, piercing the muscle. Gacko screamed, tumbling forward and collapsing on the ground next to the edge of the roof. Hank stumbled back from Laila's punch, wiping his now bleeding lip off in his sleeve, before seeing what she had done to Gacko. The drunkard halted upon seeing her injured. The flames surrounding his fists began to extend further, singing his clothes. Laila chuckled. "What? Did I break you, little man?" She asked, before kicking her leg back, pushing the fighter down to the ground. Gacko didn't scream as she fell, a look of terror and surprise on her face. She landed hard on the dirt, raising dust. She coughed up blood, her eyes filling with tears. Meanwhile back up on the roof, Hank's body began to twitch. Laila tilted her head, taking a step forward as the man's body started to be seemingly engulfed by his own fires. "Oh, I did break you, didn't I? What a shame. I was hoping for a fight. The Flaming Fighter certainly didn't manage to put up one." She said, throwing her last needle into Hank's chest, where it was quickly surrounded by white flames. Another bullet from the other side of the road passed through the side of his stomach. Hank raised his fists at Laila again, who appeared to be losing some of her confidence now, backing up slightly. Hank's flames began to burn brighter and brighter, hotter and hotter. The ground below his feet cracked, and Laila jumped back. The explosion that Hank released spewed flames over all adjacent rooftops, destroying the roof he had been standing on entirely, and damaging the surrounding concrete heavily. Laila had barely managed to escape most of it, but the flames had struck her as well, covering her face and arms in scars as she landed below. Eric shielded his eyes both from the fires and the light, his armor protecting him from the heat. Fox Squad, who had just emerged from their cover below, had to duck and cover as debris rained over the area once more. A little further away, the four Kinosans observed the huge explosion and hurried up towards it, making it just in time to see the brightly dressed redhead rushing by. Kyra blinked upon seeing her, and chased after, not waiting or saying a word to the other two, who decided to follow. Hank remained standing in his position a moment longer, surprised by his own power just there, bleeding from the wounds he had received while charging up. And for several minutes after, the air around him was still heated and filled with dust, smoke and white petals.

 Hank shakily stood up straight once more, covered in petals and dust. His suit was starting to turn red as the blood from his wounds started to soak in. He wasn't sure if he'd make it; while he was much stronger than a regular human, he wasn't immortal. But that wasn't what mattered right now. He climbed out of the crater he had formed on the roof and ran to the edge, jumping down on the side that Gacko had fallen. He landed somewhat harshly on his legs, grunting, but he didn't care. Hank kneeled down next to the Flaming Fighter. Gacko was in bad shape, her mouth filled with blood, more of the red substance oozing from her nose and the cuts Laila had made. Hank raised her head slightly, tears forming in his eyes. He checked her pulse to find an incredibly weak one, Gacko's life about to slip away. A faint white glow still surrounded Hank from the explosion before, and got brighter upon contact with Gacko. The drunkard looked down at his hands, then placed them both on the fighter's stomach. White flames formed around them as usual, but were soon joined by red ones, seemingly forming from his wounds. They enveloped Gacko, washing over the fighter's wounds. Gacko began to cough again, the blood that had collected in her mouth splattering over the drunkard. Hank smiled, shaking badly. The flames slowly died out, and he collapsed back. He was done.

 Laila ran into an abandoned storefront nearby, getting behind some shelves. She cradled her arm, now covered in burns. She moved her other hand up to her face, wincing as she touched upon the scars covering the left side. Her fists clenched up, and she grinned, vowing to kill that man one day. She planned to head back in a short while to collect the body of the Flaming Fighter. She wanted him to see it before he died. Laila cackled to herself slightly, before hearing hurried footsteps behind herself. She spun around, preparing to fight, and saw a pretty, tall redhead run through the doorway carrying a shopping bag. Laila blinked in slight surprise, and the woman dropped her bag as two other figures, a purple-haired girl and a black-haired boy, stepped up behind her. Kyra ran towards Laila and pulled her into a hug, beginning to cry. "L-Laila..." She forced out through her tears. Laila was taken aback for a moment, but her usual slightly maniacal smile soon returned. She returned the hug. "Hello there, little sister." She said, making the other two have a short 'ooh' moment. The two remained hugging quietly for a moment longer, before Laila pulled back slightly to look into Kyra's eyes. "How have you been since graduation, my beloved sister?" She asked. Kyra wiped a tear off her cheek before answering. "I-I've been okay, I guess. Karen and I have lived here in Aerilon for a while now. We've actually... made friends among the things that live here. And you?" Laila chuckled a bit, pulling her a bit closer once more, so that her mouth was up to Kyra's ear. "Oh, I've just been [i]killing[/i] the things that live here. And I've discovered something rather peculiar recently." She whispered. Kyra was slightly unnerved now. The other two turned around as they heard more approaching footsteps.

 Laila cupped Kyra's cheek with her now-scarred hand, placing the other on Kyra's chest, making the girl try and step back, but struggle in vain. "[i]We're not sisters at all.[/i]" Laila said slightly louder. Karen turned around in time to see Kyra stumble back, clutching her neck, which now had Laila's final needle stuck through it. She coughed up blood, dropping to her knees. "KYRA!" Karen exclaimed, running over and trying to halt the bleeding somehow, Kyra's eyes turning glassy as she feebly tried to hold Karen's hand, unable to speak. Kenshi turned around as well to see the scene unfold. He instinctively took his staff off his back and charged at Laila in rage, but the woman dodged away with little effort. "Oh, my, it appears my escort has arrived." She exclaimed as the four members of Fox Squad rushed into the store. While the White, Black and Red ones immediately took firing positions, Green seemed reluctant, like he had no idea what the actual hell was going on. Karen didn't even look up, crying and mumbling "It's going to be okay, Kyra," frantically clutching the dying warrior's hand. In her last moments, Kyra just wished she could muster up the strength to smile, to give the bowgirl hope. But all she could do was try and squeeze back, before her life slipped away.

/me Gacko slowly opened her eyes, grunting. Her body was aching quite badly, but she was alive. The Flaming Fighter forced herself into a sitting position, clutching at her previously wounded arm. The injury had healed completely, only the blood indicating what had happened. The cosplayer glanced around wearily, freezing up at the sight next to her. She dropped on her knees next to Hank, tears filling up her eyes. The drunkard wasn't bleeding. His heart had stopped a while ago, a faint smile on his face. Gacko broke completely into tears, hugging her brother. She cried out in a mixture of rage, pain and grief. She [i]will[/i] make that woman pay. | Kenshi dodged out of the way of the hail of bullets that ensued in the store, tackling Karen and pushing her down behind some shelves as the soldiers took aim for her as well. Laila gave the two a mock-wave, before stepping over Kyra's body and walking out. "Red, Green, do take care of these two. They'll be a nuisance otherwise." She instructed just before walking out, followed by White Fox and Blue Fox. The other two soldiers glanced at each other, Red giving a slight nod. Taking position on either side of the room, the two waited for Kenshi and Karen to step out. Meanwhile Ken was doing his best trying to get Karen to snap out of it. She had gone completely still, staring down at the floor with a blank expression. Kenshi shook her by her shoulders for a bit longer, begging for her to come back, before giving up for now. He needed to figure out a way to get out of this situation. The young man looked around the store. The shelves were empty, unsecured ones made from hard, heavy wood. He considered pushing one over as a distraction, but that alone couldn't work. Kenshi glanced around more, and saw that the lights above were hanging rather loosely, seeming like they could fall any minute. The boy took a deep breath and grabbed his staff tighter, twisting it slightly. The weapon came apart in the middle, connected by a rope, with two whips extending from the spot where it had previously connected together at. Kenshi swung the whips around for a moment, before diving across the aisle, over to the other shelf. Green Fox let out a few shots, all of them missing by a wide margin. Once on the other side, Ken flung one end of the double-whip up at the light, keeping hold of the other one. He simultaneously kicked at the shelf with all his might, and pulled the light downwards. The Blue Fox, standing on the other side of the shelf, managed to jump out of its way, just in time to get hit in the face by a bulb. While his helmet protected him well enough, it was enough to stun him, allowing Kenshi to strike him in the head with a reassembled staff. Green Fox, fearing friendly fire, could only watch. As Blue fell, Green raised his gun to fire, but was instead hit in the side by an electric arrow, making him convulse and fall unconscious. Karen was standing at the edge of the shelf, shaking and holding 'Kitty' in her hands. Kenshi approached her, and the girl collapsed in his arms, crying. "Sh-she's... gone..." She muttered.