The moment the four of them emerged from the wreckage of the bridge that they had just crossed over, and had taught Alden a lesson he would never forget, they found themselves under fire from a large group of First Sons soldiers, all equipped with weapons and what appeared to be gas masks of some kind. Instead of standing around, and letting the bullets hit them in the process, Sonata and Aria took to the skies and fired at the enemies that were either on the roofs or one the support beams for the train tracks, leaving the other enemies for Cole and Adagio to take care of. Fortunately, since they were still close to the harbor, it was rather easy for Adagio to beckon the water to her as she created walls of ice that protected her and Cole from the majority of the attacks, while at the same time creating a small opening that Cole could fire through and knock one of the First Sons that was in front of them. The only weapon that she couldn't stand against, in terms of a defensive barrier, where the two turrets that were firing up, though Aria and Sonata surprised them by dropping their grenade type attacks behind the people that were trying to use the turrets and blew them up... allowing Adagio to freeze the turrets in ice so they wouldn't be used against her and the others, before turning her attention to the other targets that were around them at the moment.
Normally it would have taken them a minute or two to take out a group like this, but what they weren't expecting was that the First Sons had a better resistance to taking damage and actually put up a fight, though in the end the four of them were able to take them all down and regroup... and maybe talk about what had just happened, since it was going to majorly impact what they were doing in the Historic District.
"We only just got here and these guys are eager to kill us," Aria commented, though one thing she discovered was that the clothing that the First Sons they had taken out seemed to be resistant to Cole's electricity based powers, but at the same time they weren't that resistant to the powers that she and her sisters possessed, indicating that Kessler was more interested in Cole than the three of them, "Kessler's definitely ready for a battle between us and his army, especially since these guys are outfitted for war, which means that we need to be careful when we actually head into the rest of the Historic District... otherwise they might catch us by surprise."
"Knowing Kessler, and the games he's played with us so far, I expect him to have something in mind for us once we start claiming some of his territory," Cole said, though at the same time the four of them tapped their phones, as it was time to see what John wanted before they really got started on assaulting the soldiers that were no doubt patrolling the area around them... though the four of them remained silent as the call connected to John, who likely had an idea of where they could go from here.
"Now that Alden's out of the way, it's time to move against Kessler." John said, confirming what the group was thinking about at the moment, especially since they were eager to bring down the person that was ultimately responsible for the Blast happening, "Strategically, though, he's got the four of you pinned in the Historic District. Head over to the 19th Street Drawbridge and open it, so that you can have a way out in case things go haywire. Twenty seconds."
"And where are you going to be while we do that?" Adagio asked, because so far John was sort of like Moya, since he remained hidden all the time and only talked with them when he had something to share with them, but at the same time the group kept themselves ready in case he decided to betray them in some manner.
"I'll be there when you need me. Five seconds." John stated, though that was followed by the call being disconnected, indicating that he was moving to a new location before his call was tracked, as Moya was likely trying to find him still and was growing annoyed by her constant failures in that regard.
Once the call was over Cole started walking down the street that was to the right of them and stayed below the train tracks, with the sisters walking behind him as they kept their eyes open for trouble, but the good news was that the controls for the bridge were just a minute or two away from where they had stopped after defeating Alden. When they approached their destination, however, all of them spotted what appeared to be a trolley cart from a hospital or a restaurant, only this one had a few explosives resting on it and had a television on the upper tray, though luck seemed to be with them when they discovered that there wasn't any triggering device on it. Adagio, not wanting to take a chance that it would explode when someone got close to it, flicked her hand towards the harbor and called some water out of it, where she froze the entire trolley and canceled her power as she left a frozen block behind, one that they ignored, since attacking it would likely cause the detonation anyway. The moment that was done Cole raised his hand and blasted the controls for the bridge, powering it up and finding that this was more than enough to lower the two halves into place, despite the fact that they were lowering at a slow speed like the last bridge they fixed.
One thing all four of them noticed was that this was the very same bridge that they had walked across after the Blast happened, as they recognized the dents and broken areas anywhere, though at the same time they spotted a hunched over soldier that had been waiting on the bridge, in one of the broken areas, and was now standing close to where they were standing and had some sort of canister on his back... and their phones went off for a moment, where Cole knew that it had to be Kessler contacting them.
"Our time together is drawing to a close, Cole." Kessler said, to which Cole focused on the phone while the sisters stared at the hunched over soldier, as right now they knew that it had to be something that Kessler had set up before they came over to this island, "And I fear that you, as well as those girls that have been following you around, are still not ready to face what is coming... so I have decided to accelerate things. Evolve or die, as they say. Shall we begin?"
The moment Kessler finished speaking the hunched over soldier turned towards them and activated the power he had been given, to which the group watched as he was surrounded by some light purple energy for a moment before a humanoid construct, formed from energy, manifested around him and allowed him to stand above them. What they discovered, after firing a few blasts at the Conduit, was that they couldn't hurt it when they targeted his arms, legs, or the body that came with his power, rather they needed to hit the area where the actual person was standing in, the chest as it were, in order to harm their foe. Despite learning that piece of information it still took them a few moments to take the Conduit down, where he actually tried to fake them out by shrinking after taking a few hits and regrew his form when they got close again, but the second time he tried that the group understood what was going on and blasted him into submission so Cole could restrain him against the ground for now... allowing them to take a moment to take in the fact that Kessler, just like Sasha and Alden, had Conduits in his army, which was going to make things more difficult for them when they went to tear the man's forces down.
Unfortunately they were only allowed a few seconds to catch their breath, as the street they were at the entrance of happened to have some First Sons soldiers hiding in the alleyways, where they emerged the moment the Conduit was defeated and started firing at them, causing the four of them to fight back immediately... and, at the same time, Kessler had something else that he wanted to say while they were fighting.
"I know what Trish means to you, Cole." Kessler continued, though at the same time the four of them really paid attention to what he was saying this time around, because knowing Kessler there was the possibility that he had taken her from the hospital while they were chasing Alden and the Ray Sphere, "How much you love her. But we all have our part to play, even her... and that's why she's sitting here next to me. I've planted a series of bombs across the city, and each of them are on a timer. If you fail to disarm any of them before they detonate, then she dies."
"Cole!" Trish called out, indicating that she was actually being held captive by Kessler, as it didn't sound like a recording at all, and yet at the same time that only pissed the sisters off even more than they already were, because their foe was one sick bastard and he enjoyed breaking people... something that he was going to pay for when they crossed paths with him again.
"You... you BASTARD!" Cole snapped, as he couldn't believe that Kessler would go out of his way to assault the hospital and steal Trish like this, but at the same time he already knew that there was more to this game than what the leader of the First Sons was telling them and they had to be careful... because he was sure that the moment they failed one of Kessler's objectives he'd fulfill his promise, which Cole didn't want to see happen at all.
"I've engaged the timer on the first bomb, and sent you it's coordinates." Kessler replied, though whether he was pleased with Cole's reaction or not the group really couldn't tell, as right now they were finishing off the last of the First Sons that had attacked them, "You don't have much time."
As Kessler stopped talking, and kept the line open so he could speak with them whenever he desired, Cole charged down the street and tackled the other First Sons soldiers that were in front of them, while at the same time the sisters blasted their enemies away from them so they could reach their destination. Luck seemed to be on their side, as the first bomb that Kessler had set up was actually down the street from where the ruined bridge was located, though as they got close to it the sisters discovered that this was meant for Cole, because there was an electric barrier that was keeping several innocent civilians trapped next to the bomb. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata focused their efforts on taking out the soldiers that were coming at them, giving Cole a moment to approach the barrier and drain the electricity from it, before he helped the civilians out of the area they were in and let them run for safety... all while thinking that he was going to enjoy the moment he got his hands on Kessler, because he had so much to pay for already and everything that was happening now was adding to his desire to beat the crap out of him.
When the four of them discovered that Kessler wasn't interested in talking just yet, however, they focused their attention on the soldiers that were still coming at them, meaning that they needed to disarm the bombs and take out the enemies before Kessler talked... which they were fine with doing, as they blasted the soldiers backwards and brought down the Conduit that their foe had tasked with guarding the bomb.
"Two more people, alive because of you, Cole." Kessler spoke up, indicating that he could see where they were and knew when they had taken out the group of soldiers that had been guarding the area, but when the sisters looked around they didn't see anything that would give them an idea of how he could see them, "Someone's brother and sister, or parents... the next bomb has been armed. I don't expect you, or those girls that follow you around like sheep, to understand any of this, Cole. Not yet anyway. But someday you'll thank me, of that I am certain."
Kessler seemed to know just the right buttons to push, as none of the sisters liked being called sheep in such a manner, as he made it sound like they were just following a shepherd or something, when in reality helping the people was the right thing to do and they were following Cole since he was the one that Moya had been interested in talking to all the time when they still believed that she was on their side. Sure, they could have easily stopped where they were standing and let Cole go through this on his own, but when they thought about the lives that Kessler was playing with at the moment, and all the lives he had taken the moment the Ray Sphere activated and gave Cole the powers he now possessed, the three of them kept moving and walked beside Cole once more. It had been a long time since they had trusted anyone that wasn't one of their own kind, and even then they were extremely picky about who to trust, but Cole was someone that they were willing to trust and he did the same to them... which was why they acted like a team and made sure that everyone was involved in whatever they were doing, regardless of the situation.
Fortunately the second bomb was literally right around the corner from the first one, as all they had to do was head up the street that was to the right of the first bomb and then hang a left, where a few soldiers were standing guard over the second bomb. As such the four of them engaged the soldiers that were standing guard and broke them under their power, where they were extremely happy to find that this one wasn't heavily guarded and, upon glancing around the area, didn't have a Conduit marching towards them the moment they took out the other soldiers. Cole braced himself and drained the electricity from the trap that was in front of them, to which they carefully assisted the civilians in escaping the area for a few seconds, though once that was done the four of them stood still and waited to see where the next bomb was located... and wondered just how many people were going to suffer because of the fact that the lunatic that was in control of the Historic District wanted to play a game with them.
"That's five people now." Kessler commented, as the first bomb had a pair of people and the second bomb had three near it, but at the same time the group honestly wondered what sort of lesson they were supposed to be learning from the game that their enemy was playing with them, "Five people that will see another sunrise. But I wonder, did you save them because it was the right thing to do, or did you save them because you're trying to protect Trish?"
"Because of the situation that you have forced upon us, it's both of those reasons." Adagio replied, though at the same time she seriously wished that Kessler would just step out of wherever he was hiding so she, Aria, Sonata, and Cole could beat the crap out of him and stop this madness, especially since Kessler seemed to be putting people in harms way for absolutely no reason.
"Regardless of the answer, I have started the timer on the next bomb." Kessler said, his tone indicating that he didn't care what Adagio said,once more reminding the sisters that, for some strange reason, the leader of the First Sons was more interested in Cole than he was in the three of them... even though they were a strange new addition to the game that he had been playing since the Blast happened.
As it turned out the path to the third bomb required that they head through the nearby park, which had some soldiers standing in their way as they entered the area in question, though as they started to engage their enemies the four of them discovered that the next bomb was actually closer to the second then they originally thought. The problem with that was that there was a Conduit standing near them, so when they got close it projected it's larger body and walked over to them as they opened fire on it, just like they had done in the past, though it was easier to take one of these guys out now that all of them knew where their enemy's weakness was located. It didn't take them long to bring the Conduit down, causing them to glance around the area for a few seconds to be absolutely sure that there weren't any additional ones in the area, before Cole approached the barrier and drained it, allowing him and the sisters to help the people leave the area before they waited for their true foe to tell them where the next bomb was located and comment on how many people they had saved so far... before a secondary group of enemies came at them, causing them to defend themselves as they fought off the Conduit that was leading the charge and the soldiers that were behind him.
While all that happened Adagio had to wonder why Kessler was so obsessed with Cole and the fact that he was saving everyone that he could, especially since their foe was the one responsible for the terrible future he had shown them... but she had to put her thoughts on hold for a moment, because the instant the last soldier fell Cole's phone went off again, indicating that Kessler was ready to continue talking and that they needed to listen to what he had to tell them.
"Tick, tock, tick, tock." Kessler said, where the group discovered that this time his voice having a very slight tone that indicated that he was playing with them, which they had determined the moment the first Conduit had appeared and the first bomb had been revealed to them, "The final bomb is counting down."
What the group found to be odd was that the path to the final bomb was the path through the park that they would have taken a few moments ago, though the really odd part was when they arrived at the coordinates that appeared on their GPS they found that the trolley that normally held some explosives didn't have any this time around... though before they could think about what was going on, and what game their enemy was playing, Cole's phone went off and Kessler started to speak once more.
"And it comes down to this... your final test." Kessler commented, to which some new coordinates appeared on their GPS, where the group ran over to the indicated spot that was nearby and found that there wasn't a bomb in this area, but at the same time they knew that Kessler wanted them to see something as he explained the 'final test', "From one roof hangs Trish, the love of your life. From a second roof hangs six doctors. Think of all the good they'll be able to do, the thousands of lives that they'll save. Which is more important, Cole? The life of one, or the lives of many?"
"Oh my god..." Sonata said, as she immediately understood what was going on at the moment, though the fact that Trish was actually here, hanging from one of the nearby roofs, meant that they had to do something to save both her and the doctors, because Cole didn't deserve to make this sort of decision on his own.
"Bombs are attached to each platform," Kessler continued, completely ignoring what Sonata had said, which only confirmed that he was more interested in Cole, even though Trish meant something to the sisters as well since she had gone out of her way to mend their wounds while she was helping Cole, "You have enough time to save one of them, but not both. And those girls had better stay where they're standing, because if any of them move out of the area you're currently in, even if it's to help someone else, I'll set off all the bombs and kill both Trish and the doctors."
Cole was faced with an impossible decision, did he show that he was selfish and try to save Trish, at the cost of six doctors, or did he do what he knew that Trish would do in his shoes and save the six doctors, even at the cost of losing the one that meant the most to him. In the end, however, he knew which building that he was going to climb, even if the cost of going through the action was going to hurt him more than anyone else, and he turned away from the building that Trish was hanging from as he charged at the building that the doctors were hanging from. As he did that, and left the sisters behind, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata couldn't just stand by and let their friend suffer, especially after he had managed to fix his relationship with Trish after Alden threw her and her bus onto the hospital's roof, to which Sonata stood still as she activated her power.
"Thirty seconds, Cole." Kessler spoke, where the sisters heard his voice coming from their phones as well, indicating that he was talking to all of them, as if he was trying to teach all of them a lesson or something, but that only prompted Adagio and Aria to remain still as they prepared themselves, "I wish there was some other way, that Trish didn't have to die. She's such a special woman. But in times of war, crisis, one must learn to ignore their feelings and do what benefits the whole, not the individual."
It was in the moment following the last word that Cole reached the top of his building and started pulling the doctors away from the edge, away from where the explosives were located, but at the same time the platform that Trish was hanging from exploded and she started to fall before Cole's eyes. Time seemed to slow down for Cole as the love of his life started to fall towards the ground, where she was going to die and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to save her from where he was standing, but as the explosives on his roof died down the strangest thing happened. The wind kicked up and formed a small twister of sorts that caught Trish and seemed to slow her fall, where she eventually landed in what appeared to be a large cube of water, where Cole glanced down at where the sisters were standing and found that their auras had formed around them... and this time around the blue that surrounded them was slightly brighter than before, which brought a smile to his face as he realized that they had saved Trish.
Kessler, however, appeared to be a sore loser and the explosives that were in front of Cole activated once more, to which he jumped back and raised his own shield as the bombs detonated, protecting him and the pair of doctors he had saved so far from harm... though as the others feel Adagio and Aria surprised him by flying through the air and grabbed the remaining four doctors before they could hit the ground.
"Sorry, Kessler, but we're not playing this sort of game with you." Adagio stated, taking a moment to address the leader of the First Sons for a moment, who was likely pissed with them for even acting out in such a manner, but instead of saying anything she, Aria, and Sonata carried their passengers over to where Cole was standing... where he was reunited with Trish and, oddly enough, Kessler said nothing to what they had done.
Sonata smiled as Cole and Trish were reunited, especially when one of the doctors, who lived on one of the floors of the building that they were standing on, offered them all some of the rooms to rest in, since they all deserved some sort of rest after a hard day like today... and the sisters were sure that Cole was going to spend the night comforting Trish, who he was holding onto tightly at the moment as she fought back her tears. They were sure that when morning arrived the four of them would tackle Kessler and make him pay for everything that he had done and what he had attempted to do, once they were sure that Trish was safe anyway.