Amidst the shaded darkness of the silent and eerie night, sparks of blinding light flickered across the dimly lit and archaic hall of a ruined building alongside the thunderous roars of gunfire. Hazy silhouettes sprinted through the darkened corridor while countless more followed from behind.
"Get them! Don't let any of these rats leave this building alive!" The mob of mercenaries pursued after the faint figures of the thieves and pointed their rifles at obscured shadows before pulling the trigger without a hint of hesitation and delay.
Bullets riddled the dimmed wall of the dilapidated building as the ghostly thieves disappeared into a corner, earning the irritated grunts of the trailing mercenaries. They carried on with their pursuit brimming with haste and zoomed past a broken statue as they set foot into the next corridor.
As the mob of mercenaries faded into the distant halls, silence pervaded the passageway until a head peaked from the broken and bygone statue of the past. The pale luster of the moonlight gleamed through the shattered windows, unveiling the guise of a supposed thief.
"Hmm... Are they gone?" A crimson-haired lady cropped up from the surface of the derelict statue, remarking in a hushed tone as her magenta-stained eyes darted left and right across the shaded hallway of the ruined building.
Discerning that no one was around, she sighed in relief, her warm breath whisking through the air. But then, moments later, her ease transformed into a strained smile. Her rosy gaze turned to the ones behind her, landing upon two individuals.
The two were none other than her fellow employees and friends who had recently joined her latest venture after retiring from their previous jobs. This prospect was in the semblance of a newly established company. Their expressions were far from satisfied, to say the least.
"Robin, I thought this was supposed to be an easy and quick job?"
An ashen-haired girl tilted her head in confusion, her ears muffled by a pair of inky headphones. She wore a black vest mantled by a sleek white jacket. Her black skirt swayed a little as she adjusted the sheathed blade beside her belt.
Beside the aloof girl was a muscular man clad in an umber-tinted leather jacket adorned with spikes protruding from the shoulders. He fitted a pair of combat pants reinforced at the knees and tucked into heavy, steel boots. With raised eyebrows, he nodded in agreement and questioned.
"Was the commission a ruse?"
As they gazed upon their boss, the glistening moonlight unveiled her clothing. It was nothing short of casual clothing, an article that could be seen for ladies who you meet across the street. Robin narrowed her velvet gaze as she glanced apologetically at her friends.
"No, but I underestimated who our adversaries would be in the commission. Some intelligence had been excluded from the commission details." It was her job as the leader to ensure the safety and danger of the commission. "I'm sorry, Naomi."
"I don't mind. Besides, danger is an inseparable part of our line of work." Naomi shook her head, not meaning her confusion to sound like a complaint. She was merely curious as to why an infamous mercenary group was chasing after them.
"However, that damn bastard lied to me!" A cold glint escaped the rosy gaze of Robin as she gritted her teeth and barely stopped herself from screaming out loud in anger. "I didn't expect our opponents to be the Revenants."
"No names? He noted these maniacs to be no names? What an ignorant asshole!"
When Naomi and the burly man heard of the complaints that escaped the supple lips of their boss. The two could only sigh at the peculiarity of their circumstance. Perhaps it was one of the many reasons why the two of them joined her latest venture and newborn company.
After letting their boss liberate some of her anger, Naomi turned her attention towards the end of the eerie hallway and muttered. "I think we should escape first before filing complaints."
"You're right... At the very least, we have the artifact with us." Robin briefly glanced at the briefcase within the gentle grasp of her delicate fingers. Again, she sighed to herself and mumbled. "Although I'm pissed off, we need to complete the commission sent to us."
"I don't want to spend weeks trying to contact former connections for a job." She groaned in annoyance while Naomi and the bulky man avoided her gaze. After all, when their boss was working tirelessly to receive a commission, they only lounged around in the office like sloths.
"Pat, where are they?" As she straightened herself, Robin asked the muscular man about the location of their adversaries. Pat closed his eyelids for a few seconds before opening them moments later with a neon glow and answering. "Heading towards our location."
"Any exits in this building you can think of?" She inquired as they were meant to vacate the area half an hour ago but were promptly discovered by the mercenary group. The bastards have been hot in their tail since then.
"I memorized the surrounding buildings in the area, Robin." Naomi raised her hand indifferently, attracting the attention of Robin and Pat. "Our current location is within a former administrative building. There are no exits other than the entrance we entered from."
"So... We're trapped?" Robin presumed the worst of their circumstance as she sharpened her gaze and wondered if violence was the only way out. Fortunately, there was an escape that didn't require bloodshed. Naomi contested while pointing upwards. "The rooftop."
"Beside this building is another one in suboptimal condition. We could use the neighboring building as an escape route." She clarified in a detached manner as Robin grinned and Pat remarked. "It looks like we have a plan."
Before the three could continue their conversation, a lone mercenary emerged from the corridor and discovered them behind the statue. With eyes widened, the hired soldier yelled out loud and pointed his rifle in their direction. "Found them! I need reinforcements!"
Each of their gazes, cold and calm, landed on the lone mercenary, bringing shivers to his spine. In the following moments after being uncovered, Pat took out a stun grenade from his leather jacket and threw it towards the guy. "This is for you, Naomi."
"Understood..." A burst of light pierced across the dimmed hallway and blinded the mercenary with the glory of a brilliant luster. He barely covered his eyes by utilizing his arms as cover, though it disoriented him for a second. But it was enough for Naomi.
In a fraction of a second, she streaked through the distance between the group and the lone mercenary as she unsheathed her blade with ease. She seemed like a thunderbolt, precise and deadly.
Her blade swept towards the neck of the mercenary, sharp enough to decapitate his head off his body. However, it was the blunt back of her blade that made contact and narrowly knocked him out. His eyes rolled upward as he tumbled to the ground, wholly unconscious.
As Pat and Robin opened their eyelids, Naomi stood before the unconscious body of the lone mercenary. Pat whistled in approval while Robin was somewhat relieved and commented. "I figured you'd end his pathetic life without a second thought."
"I wasn't ordered to end lives. Besides, you precisely reminded me to avoid causing as much bloodshed as possible." Naomi flatly replied and sheathed her blade, securing a proud smile from her boss. Although, Robin asserted. "If your lives are only the line, kill them."
"That much is obvious, Robin." She nodded in agreement as Robin affirmed even further. "And I am not forgoing bloodshed because of the kindness of my heart. Manslaughter is simply bad for business."
"I don't want potential clients to avoid us because of some infamous reputation. The business needs money to thrive." She proudly stated a seemingly undeniable fact, prompting Robin and Pat to dully applaud her antics. She glared at them afterward and snorted.
The three continued their escape and reached the stairwell of the ruined administrative building. The mercenaries that met them along the way received the same fate as the first one. All lay across the ground, motionless and unconscious.
Through swift and muted maneuvers across dimmed hallways and shaded corridors, they reached the rooftop of the ruined building and saw a shattered scenery by their east. The night skies eastward from them appeared to be fractured in some way, akin to a broken mirror of reality.
"I forgot we were near a macrocosm all along." Pat reflected while gazing at the broken and desolate landscape beside them. It was melancholic. Robin glanced at the fragmented night skies and breathed the cold air. "A saddening sight, indeed."
On the other hand, Naomi didn't find intrigue in the macrocosm as it had been a norm throughout her whole life. She maintained her attention towards the neighboring rooftop within their reach. After all, it was their way out from their current precarious circumstance.
"Let's go-" As she called out to Robin and Pat, the closed door behind them slammed open. It was a snap of metal and concrete, resounding and sharp. Emerging from the dark shadows of the interior was the mercenary group led by a bald man.
"I was wondering what kind of bastards dared to steal from the Revenants. I should have expected it to be the rookies of Rhodes." The stern bald man uttered a snarky remark while his subordinates encircled the three.
"I'll give you fifteen seconds... Return me the artifact, and you three will leave this building alive." He announced to the group with a snobbish smile as the mercenaries encircled them further. Robin stepped back and noticed that behind them was the macrocosm.
They were cornered, and there was no way out. She glanced at her companions and saw them ready to clash against the mob of mercenaries. Negotiating was useless against the Revenants. Either way, they would die even if they had given the artifact.
Robin pondered for less than half of a second as dozens of thoughts surged into her mind. Then, a vibration knocked her out of her thoughtful stupor. The cold wind swept outward as an attack hovercraft emerged from the northside and loomed over the two groups.
"These bastards!" The bald man cursed out loud as the spotlight of the metallic hovercraft beamed over the rooftop and illuminated the shaded darkness of the night. A robotic and monotone voice then reverberated out of the hovercraft.
"This is the Sentinel Guard of the Defense Force. Offenders! Surrender yourselves and comply with the federal judgment or meet your demise."
Robin and the bald man of the Revenants glanced at one another. It was for a mere moment, but a glint of understanding escaped their gaze. All at once, the two suddenly dashed towards different directions. The bald man returned to the building while Robin took the leap of faith.
Naomi and Pat already followed suit with their boss's decision. They hopped out of the rooftop, descending towards the ground. In the next second, rockets vacated from the launcher pods strapped on the wings of the hovercraft and tore through the shaded air.
Subsequently, a deafening explosion followed while a piercing flash of radiance gleamed over their backs. Dust and rubble plummeted with them as they readied for the inevitable landing on the ground alongside the haphazard access into the macrocosm.
Throughout the experience, only a single thought echoed throughout the mind of Robin like an aching plague. 'That guy will pay for the damages of his damnable intelligence!' Which was then followed by their descent into the macrocosm.
---
A couple of hours later, Robin stood before a somber office with a strained smile after expounding her terrific circumstance. Lounging over the opulent chair in front was a middle-aged man dulled by the shadows of his office.
The clockwork ticked by the second as the man finally spoke. "And...?"
Even though she stood tall, Robin bowed her head to the middle-aged man as a sign of respect and desperation. "I need your help! My companions mean a lot to me. So, I don't care about the price. I need them out of the macrocosm. You're an Inquisitor, right?"
"The best Inquisitor in New Avalon, Alexander Oberon."