Chapter 4: Burn My House Down
The bullet tore from the barrel, spinning through the air. Jacques stood directly in its path, eyes straining to follow its trajectory. Out of the corner of his vision, he caught the faint silhouette of the Vesper lunging, perhaps towards him, perhaps towards the bullet itself.
It was determined to stop the shot, to shield him. But it wasn't fast enough. Less than a second had passed.
The bullet struck Jacques square in the right eye. A wound that should have been instantly fatal.
The gunman froze. Agony erupted across his body, knees buckling, body suddenly too heavy to hold upright. In the alleyway's silence, the sharp crack of breaking bones echoed. He didn't understand what was happening, only that his body and organs were failing. Even breathing grew impossible; his lungs were collapsing, as panic flickered through him. Through blurred, doubled vision, he looked toward the man he had shot. A faint stream of smoke drifted between his fingers, obscuring everything but the cold blue lights glowing across his body. A sharp, jet-like roar filled the gunman's ears. In an instant, the figure was right in front of him. His body went limp.
The Vesper stood still, watching as the gunman's skull caved in from the blow. Slowly, the figure raised its head to meet the Vesper's gaze. It was Jacques.
"Okay, so you got a Drive, that's great... Uh, listen-"
Jacques' fist hit the Vesper point-blank, too fast for it to react in time, sending it flying across the alleyway. His forearms were now covered in black, overlapping scales, his hands ending in blunt claws. His entire finger structure was now designed as if it had built-in brass knuckles. Along his arms, there were much bigger scales, almost conical, sitting like exhaust vents, blue light and heat coming from within his body. Black scales similarly covered his head, now resembling an elongated skull. He didn't have eyes or a nose, with his teeth left bare, shining white in a grimace. Along the sides and top of his head, similar exhaust vents were located, shining blue from within his head. The wounds on his torso were now completely gone, with the damage left to his clothes the only proof of his gutting.
The Vesper rose from the ground, its whole body cracked and on the brink of shattering. It looked up, seeing Jacques raising his arm. The Vesper disappeared, and the second it did, Jacques' fist hit the ground, smashing into the concrete where the Vesper just was. It manifested itself once again, further away, the fractures in its body slowly closing. Jacques rose, running towards the Vesper, fist raised.
And the Vesper baited him again. It vanished once more, letting Jacques pass through before appearing once again, dragging its claws into his chest. Out of his torso, bluish-green blood spewed out, coating the concrete below him. Jacques didn't do as much as flinch as he grabbed the Vesper's wrists, crushing them in his hand. He quickly pulled the Vesper's severed claws out of his body, shoving the being away.
The Vesper staggered for a second, its hands slowly growing back. It looked up at Jacques, seeing his wounds were now sealed once again. Suddenly, they heard a noise. Not just any noise, but a ringtone. They turned their heads in unison, seeing Signe severely mishandling her phone, the words 'DAD💗' glowing on the screen, trying to close it. Jacques and the Vesper looked at her, then at each other. They both started running towards her.
The Vesper tried to close the distance first, jumping towards Signe. Jacques countered by using the thrusters on his arm to get closer, grabbing its leg. Before he could pull the Vesper back, it phased for just a second, allowing it to pass through his grasp. The thrusters on Jacques' head forced his head forward, preparing to headbutt the Vesper's scrawny body.
Jacques missed, with the Vesper disappearing just before he made contact, letting his forehead go directly into the concrete, centimetres away from Signe's feet. It re-materialised above him, ready to claw away at the girl, when Jacques raised his arm, thrusting directly into the ground, ever so slightly at an angle. His fist glided across the crater formed by his skull, the momentum forcing his body to turn, the fist landing directly in the Vesper's… face? Sending it flying.
The Vesper's claws dragged across Jacques' raised arm as it was flung back, hooking into his flesh, tearing his arm off, a second for that day. From the wound, green blood dripped. Not long after, his arm had already regrown, still covered in black scales. He got up on his feet, looking around. On the ground, he saw his previous arm, now back to looking human, red blood flowing out of it, covered in a fine, red dust. He then looked at where the Vesper should've landed. And he looked. And it wasn't there.
"JACQUES!" shouted Signe. When he turned around, he saw the Vesper, having slipped past him, fingers wrapped around her, forming a cage.
"Alright… ALRIGHT… I admit I'm not that persuasive, but when I tell you that you have to trust me-"
"Don't listen to this thing! I have no clue what it's talking about, please!"
"Rude! Don't listen to HER! I know you think I'm some sort of monster, but it's protocol, or something... You know what, I'll tell you, but briefly: she is a-" said the Vesper, the cracks in its head slowly mending themselves.
"Do it," interrupted Jacques.
"Yeah, he's not going to- WHAT?!"
"At least let me- I'm sorry, what? T-that's it? I didn't even finish telling you why-"
"Yup, go ahead."
"Jacques, what are you doing???"
"No, no, I'm with her on this. What are you planning? You can't close the distance; your Drive must have some other gimmick that you'll use when I'm distracted-"
"Are you deaf? Stop stalling. PLEASE?!"
"Well, guess what? Whatever 'plan' you had to save her won't- what's that noise?"
The Vesper tried to look back before its left arm separated from its body, completely smashed at the elbow. Its gut followed, its legs falling limp beneath it. As it crashed into the ground below, it began crawling away with its remaining arm, vanishing.
"What was it rambling on about? I wasn't paying attention," asked Jacques, approaching Signe, making sure she was unharmed.
"You… YOU…!"
"Hold that thought for a second…" he said, pointing.
Signe turned around, seeing the Vesper manifest once again, its limbs growing steadily back. But as it tried to phase once more, it flickered, remaining visible.
"…oh no."
Jacques approached the Vesper, with Signe close behind. The Vesper backed away, trying to use its remaining limbs to crawl back, the edges of its fingers now chipped and blunt, no longer able to heal or turn invisible.
"He-hey, pal! Nice trick! And I, for one, thought your only gimmick was punching! Also, if you don't mind my asking, how did you get that Drive Starter of yours?"
"It… came with the job? How else?"
"Really? I thought Redliners got one only by working for Ultraviolet. And I know you're not an Operator because you would've killed her already!"
Jacques didn't say a word. He looked through his torn-up coat, pulling out a small tag from one of its pockets, showing it to the Vesper, who stalled for a second.
"… What? That crone didn't... tell you…? Why didn't she…"
"A-and not only is he an Operator, he's one of the best Ultraviolet has! He's ranked top uh…" rambled Signe, looking at Jacques for approval. He subtly gestured to lower her expectations. "…top of all Operators! Yeah..."
"Well, in that case, we're all doomed! I hope that until then…" the Vesper muttered. Jacques and Signe slowly followed the Vesper as it crawled away, but it was too late to notice where it was crawling towards. It bumped into the corpse of one of the dead men. "…you'll understand what we were trying to do here."
The Vesper lunged its arm from the corpse's pocket, yanking the phone from within with its oversized fingers. Within less than a second, it threw the phone away, with its entire body flowing into the screen. As the device flew above Jacques and Signe, its flashlight turned on. At the end of the beam of light, the Vesper re-emerged, using its singular arm to reach towards one of the back alley streetlights, smashing it, small bolts of electricity coming out, and large burgundy bolts going in as the Vesper escaped into the electric grid. The two could only look stunned at the smashed streetlight, the whole escape too fast to be stopped.
Behind them, the cocking of a gun could be heard. Jacques tried to turn, but the bullet had already pierced his shoulder. The one holding the gun was the last of the Vesper's enforcers, his face bloody and body shaken, holding his dead friend's weapon. The man began shooting bullet after bullet, each hitting Jacques, seemingly by accident, as the man's sight was primarily on Signe.
"Bastardo! Quella serpente che stai proteggendo condannerà l'intera città! Se non la uccidiamo… tu, TU-"
The man stumbled over his words, the air in his lungs getting forcefully expelled. He dropped the gun, his arms going limp, knees buckling. He looked down, seeing an arm emerge from his gut, claws contracting, the bluish metal plates that formed it snapping into place. The man looked over at his other colleague's corpse, seeing only the gruesome sight of a man dead on the ground, his torso carved open, with only a gaping cavity left behind. The man could feel a hot, ragged breath on his neck, along with the vibration of an engine spreading from his torso and into his body.
The man blinked, and another arm pierced him, spreading him open, tearing his body in half, throwing his half of a body away from his legs, the gore left of his organs being forcefully torn open and out of his body unfurling across the ground, blood and lymph and what was left of his dinner forming a puddle around him.
"W-what was that?"
"Nothing," muttered Jacques, holding his hand tight over Signe's eye.
Velos approached the two, stepping directly onto the man's trailing organs, dragging them with his feet.
"I'm glad I didn't have to repeat myself this time."
"This one is a freebie, but it isn't called the 'magic word' for nothing. Who knows, maybe it could've prevented the Vesper from running away!"
"Aiutami… per favore… state… commettendo un errore…" groaned the man with the last of his breath. Velos kicked him in the ribs.
"Is s-someone there? I can hear someone asking for help..."
"Stress induced hallucinations! Don't worry, Dr Ren over here will fix you right up. What's the word, doc?"
"Wait, that growl. You're…!"
Were it not for Jacques' hand, one could see Signe's eye light up.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, first formal meeting, but…" Velos paused for a second, looking at Signe's extended hand. "…I don't think shaking hands is a good idea. You wouldn't want to burn yourself."
"R-right, sorry!"
"Velos, 'please' put this guy out of his misery. We don't know how far the Vesper went or whether others are coming. We should go-"
Suddenly, Kraterwerk exploded.
Jacques and Velos turned towards the burning building. Shards of glass and loose brick flew outwards, surrounding the three, its roof collapsing. The secret door they used to leave the club was now flung open, barely holding on its hinges, a pillar of thick smoke drifting out. The entire structure creaked under its own weight, support beams barely holding on.
"What happened?!" shrieked Signe.
"Still hallucinating!" growled Velos.
"Jacques, let me see…"
"We should probably go. Now," grumbled Jacques, trying to move Signe, hand still covering her eye, but she didn't as much as budge.
"Let. Me. See..."
Jacques kept his hand over Signe's eye, trying to shield her sight from the disaster. He could feel water droplets coating the scales in his palm.
"…please…"
Without a word, he took his hand off, letting the girl see the unfolding disaster.
"…No… NO! My father's in there! You- we have to help him!"
Signe turned around, tears flowing down her face, only to see Jacques, on his hands and knees, wheezing. He was back to normal, the black scales that blanketed his arms and head having liquefied like putrid fruit, whatever remained rotting into red dust.
"…A-a-are you alright? Jacques? What's happening?!"
"He's anaemic. Too much blood spent in a day, bone marrow couldn't keep up."
"…Velos is right. I'm fine, don't worry about it."
"We- We need to get Ra- my father out of there! He must've survived; he's a Redliner too, he- Velos, please, can you…?"
Signe's eye filled with more tears as she spoke, her voice trembling. Jacques got up on his feet, holding his head with one hand, slowly approaching the girl.
"Then I'm sure he's fine. We need to get out of here. I'd hazard a guess that the explosion gave them a reason to come investigate, if they weren't already."
"But- we can't leave him! What if he's stuck under there? W-what if there are other people still alive in there?"
The former industrial building flared once more, the entire structure caving even more in on itself, quaking the ground, columns of black smoke rising mighty proud above the burning ruin.
"N-NO! PLEASE! WE NEED TO HELP HIM!"
"What we need to do is leave. NOW! I... I promised your father I'll keep you safe, and staying here any longer is too dangerous. And now, I promise you he is alright. Like you said, he's a Redliner; if he's stuck there, he should be able to heal through the damage and wait out the fire. Velos, what's the time?"
Velos dramatically held out his arm, a mechanical clock assembling itself in his palm, the two bells on top missing.
"It's 10.03.10 AW, 23:55, CHROMATICAN CITY // OUTSIDE THE RUINS OF KRATERWERK."
"…b-but…"
"I promise you will see your father again."
"You do?"
Jacques tried to open his mouth, but something caught his attention. He turned around, seeing Velos clicking his fingers together. After he caught Jacques' attention, Velos' parts began snapping and revving rhythmically. He was communicating, the same way he communicated when he resembled an axe.
"<THOUGHT-DISAGREEMENT-PERSON-LAST-OBJECT-DEVIL-BEGIN-OBTAIN-DISAGREEMENT-OBSERVATION-DISAGREEMENT>"
Jacques bit his tongue, trying to think of something, turning back to face the crying girl.
"Yes, I do. Let's go."
11.03.10 AW, 12:37, OUTSIDE CHROMATICAN CITY
The engines stopped. The convoy of cars all stopped in front of a building barely holding itself together, right next to the only other vehicle near. Out of the three vehicles, multiple people emerged, all human, all wearing gas masks, rushing towards the main entrance, barely minding the half-metre layer of white, chalky dust that clogged their movement. In the distance, the wire figures stood as unmoving as before, their silhouettes still only distinguishable from the dark sky by the lighting surrounding them and the lit-up horizon.
The people quickly breached the main door. They webbed the area, spreading around the ruin, ready to engage if necessary. And after them, entered Mihaela, devoid of a mask. From her pocket, she pulled out an exoskeleton of a glove, yellow lines streaking across its length.
"This is the location of the distress signal. You should stay in the car, Executive; we don't know what's inside," spoke one of the people, trying to bar her from entering. She marched through the person and the gas mask offered to her without stopping for even a second.
Inside, she looked around the main room, a large atrium, which might've had a second floor, maybe even a roof. Brick and support beams only hinted at most walls. The entire floor, covered in centimetre-thick dust, appeared trodden in places. Broken wood chunks showed that there had once been furniture… somewhere around the building. Piles of destroyed and mangled electronics and various equipment were scattered haphazardly, appearing purposefully torn apart in such a way that determining what purpose the mechanical gore served was nigh impossible.
Mihaela looked around, halting in her tracks. She saw Lorand, or rather what remained of him, the metal body forcefully torn and mauled apart, only his head, an arm and half of his torso remaining recognisable. Inside his torso, a yellow, crystalline, dead and rotting slug slumped.
She was still, frozen, but her face didn't show sadness, didn't show anger, didn't show any emotion. Her breath was steady and collected… too steady and collected, almost entirely absent.
"We have found no signs of what could've done this to Captain Aorello, and nothing back home hints at why they came here in the first place… Did you know anything about this expedition, Executive?"
"... No. First time I learned of it was from the distress signal," she said, her voice flat and monotone. "Any signs of other casualties?"
"We found the remains of… possibly three or more other individuals. They're too… damaged to visually confirm they're all human, but we found three Wolf Tags inside the perimeter, along with a severed human hand holding the radio that sent the distress signal. Those are the only leads we have at the moment."
Mihaela paid little attention to the rundown, her gaze still stuck on Lorand. After a little longer, she appeared to snap out. She gloved herself, closed her eye, and snapped her fingers.
And nothing happened.
She opened her eye, quickly darting around her immediate surrounding. She snapped her fingers again, and still, nothing. Everything was unchanged. Her breath hitched for a moment, as if she was expecting something, something bad, relieved by the silence. She sighed—
"Executive! Captain Aorello's alive! His shell sustained severe damage, but his heart appears to show activity still!" announced one of the people, standing carefully above Lorand's half of a body. "He is in a critical state, however. One wrong move and his heart could shatter completely."
Mihaela paused once again. Were it not that she was standing with her back to the other people, one could see her eye lighting up, and a small smile creeping on her lips. She wiped the smile off her face, turning to face her Operators.
"I need two of you to help me carefully transport Lorand into the car. Make sure the Chalk doesn't touch his heart. The rest of you, try to salvage what you can from the three Operator remains you found. Let's bring them back to the city."