Adagio, Aria, and Sonata enter the portal in the statue's base and find themselves in a whole new world... one where they awaken new powers to replace what they had lost, and help Cole MacGrath save his city.
A month after Sunset Shimmer entered the portal that's located in the base of the Wondercolt statue, and disappeared without a trace, Adagio and her sisters decide that its time to investigate what really happened and see where the missing girl went. When they enter the portal themselves, however, they are brought to what appears to be another world without magic, until an explosion of some kind knocks them onto their backs and awakens something new inside them. Despite being wounded they help a survivor of the explosion to his feet and help him find his way back to his friends, while witnessing the power that woke up inside him.
When Cole MacGrath awakens from his ordeal he and the Dazzlings begin training with their new powers, while the Dazzlings try to control their excitement about having some sort of magical nature again, even if their new powers are different than their old ones. Once a few days pass the four of them venture out into the decaying city, determined to stop the Reapers and to find a way to save the city... while at the same time the Dazzlings learn what it means to truly be heroes.
(InFamous/ MLP Crossover) (Part of the Universe 13 story series, though reading the other stories is not required)
Adagio Dazzle stood across the street from Canterlot High School, for what seemed like the hundredth time that week, and simply stared at the ruined Wondercolt statue that housed the portal between this world and the world of Equus, the place where she and her sisters had come from. Adagio had pale apple green colored skin, with vivid orange colored hair that had brilliant yellow streaks, and had brilliant raspberry colored eyes, though she was still wearing the clothing she had worn when she and her sisters enrolled in the High School. Once upon a time she and her sisters had been Sirens, magical creatures that spread disharmony among the ponies that called Equus home with just their songs, but now the three of them had been reduced to mere humans and singing their voices had been broken.
The reason she was staring at the ruined statue, besides the fact that it housed the only portal that could take her, Aria, and Sonata home, was because one of the Rainbooms, a certain Sunset Shimmer, had entered the portal with the purpose of spending time in her home world... and that was a month ago.
Sonata, being the friendliest of the trio, had approached the remaining Rainbooms and spent some time with them, asking them what was wrong as she tried to understand what could have happened to Sunset. From what she was able to learn Sunset was supposed to communicate with her friends via a special book that allowed the writer to communicate with whoever had the one it was linked to. As they understood it the Rainbooms had seen Sunset writing in her book and the message appeared on Princess Twilight Sparkle's book, the Twilight from Equus anyway, and that was how she devised a way to force open the portal so she could help the Rainbooms defeat the three of them.
Now, however, the book was connected to nothing, as every time one of the Rainbooms attempted to write in it they never got a response, meaning they had no idea what had happened to their friend, as it appeared that Sunset Shimmer had simply disappeared from the face of existence.
What surprised Adagio was that Aria came up with a few suggestions that might explain why they suddenly lost contact with Sunset Shimmer; she could have been taken to an entirely different world and was killed upon arrival, she could have been hurled into space, or she could have arrived safe and sound... only to terminate the anchor to this world, cutting off all communication between this world and Equus. Adagio told Aria that the third option didn't make any sense, considering that Sunset would never do something like that to her new friends, while Aria always agreed with that statement... only to suggest that Discord had to be behind it. She wasn't sure what the Spirit of Disharmony would gain from such an act, and she was sure that he might have the power to do something like that, but none of it explained why the portal was still active from their side.
"I'm surprised that you are still wasting your time on staring at that statue," a voice said, to which Adagio turned her gaze away from the ruined statue and glanced to her right, where she noticed Aria heading her way with her usual frown on her face.
Aria Blaze had pale light grayish fuchsia colored skin, with a moderate purple colored hair that had light brilliant aquamarine colored streaks, and had moderate mulberry colored eyes, though at the same time Adagio noticed that she was also wearing the same outfit she wore back when they pretended to be students. Aria also happened to dislike the fact that Adagio was trying to figure out what happened to Sunset Shimmer, as there was no reason for her sudden disappearance, but she was used to the leader of their little group spending her time in such a manner.
"I'm trying to figure out if the portal is dangerous or not," Adagio replied, though that was only part of the truth, because if the portal could take them to different worlds, instead of Equus, she could be putting herself and her sisters in danger, without any way for them to get back to this planet.
"Then why don't we enter the portal and find out?" another voice said, to which both Adagio and Aria glanced down the street and watched as Sonata Dusk, the third former Siren, walked towards them with her usual happy expression on her face, like she didn't have a care in the world.
Sonata had arctic bluish white colored skin, which was vastly different from what Adagio and Aria had, with light arctic blue colored hair that had moderate persian blue colored streaks, and had moderate raspberry colored eyes, and she, just like Adagio and Aria, was also wearing the clothing she had been wearing while they were students. Sonata was the most scatterbrained of all three of them, as she was sometimes easily distracted by what was happening around her, but even Adagio had to admit that there were a few instances where she had a stroke of genius... though sadly this wasn't one of those rare instances.
"That sounds like the most retarded thing I have ever heard," Aria stated, once more indicating that one of Sonata's ideas were stupid and shouldn't be taken seriously, though at the same time Adagio was curious as to why their sister thought that using the portal was a good idea.
"Why would you suggest such a thing?" Adagio asked, because she was curious as to where Sonata was actually trying to impress them by figuring something out, or if she was playing around in an attempt to annoy Aria, though Adagio silently admitted that it didn't take much to set Aria off sometimes.
"Well, Sunset's been on whatever world the portal sent her for the last month," Sonata replied, clearly stating what she knew from everything that the Rainbooms had told her, while at the same time she moved around her sisters until she was staring at the statue's base, "and, from what the Rainbooms learned before the connection was severed, the portal had to be connected to a planet that has some sort of magic. Sunset told the girls that she used to be a unicorn before she came here, a powerful one at that, so if she went to a world where magic existed she would regain her former powers and potentially push herself to new heights... and she's likely cleared the place of any threats as well."
"So you're telling us that the portal is now connected to a world that's filled with magic?" Aria inquired, though at the same time she couldn't help but sigh, which told Adagio that Aria was getting annoyed with Sonata once more and that it might get physical this time around, "I don't buy that one bit. Starswirl designed the portal to send us to a world without magic, where we would have eventually withered away until we were dead, if we had been separated from our gemstones anyway. Besides, there's no way that the portal could have been rewired to suddenly send someone to another world that has magic..."
"You're right Aria, Starswirl designed the original portal to go to a world without magic," Sonata said, surprising both of her sisters by the fact that she admitted that one of them was right, which was generally something that she didn't do, but that only made Adagio and Aria curious about what she was thinking about, "but consider this for a moment, Starswirl isn't around anymore. Someone, or something, has likely taken control over the portal and are using it in whatever way they desire, which means that the rules are either the same as they were when Starswirl was around..."
"...or they have been changed." Adagio finished, as she was starting to see where Sonata was going with this train of thought, while at the same time she was proud that this might actually be one of those rare instances she had thought about earlier, "Let's say Sonata's right, about someone else having control over the portal between this world and Equus, and let's say that she's also correct about it still being connected to the world that Sunset Shimmer was sent to... that just leaves the question as to who would do something like this."
"Well, we can rule out Tirek, since he's likely still locked away in Tartarus," Aria replied, though at the same time she racked her brain for all of the potential foes and villains that might, just might, have the ability to seize control of the magical portal and use it for their own purposes, "and I doubt Ahuizotl could do it, unless he found a specific artifact that was designed for such a thing, so we can rule him out as well. Grogar... well, he's likely still trapped in whatever realm he was banished to, thus allowing us to rule him out, and we can do the same with all of the alicorns we've heard about, as I'm sure that they wouldn't do something like this. That means that we're fresh out of creatures and ponies that would have the necessary power to do anything with the portal between worlds."
"Silly Aria, you missed someone," Sonata said, to which both Adagio and Aria turned towards her again, as Adagio was surprised that Sonata might have a decent idea while Aria was annoyed at being called 'silly' by Sonata, "You forgot to mention Discord."
Adagio hated admitting that Discord might have control over the portal between worlds, as he was the only one that would send Sunset Shimmer to an entirely new world for fun, but at the same time that information worried her, because if they entered the portal they could end up in another entirely different world... or end up separated from each other. Adagio knew that she and her sisters wanted some of their magic back, not enough to do what they had done to the students of Canterlot High School, but enough to feel like their old selves again. The shattering of their pendants, and their powers, had left a void in their very being, one that was hard to replace given how the new magic of this world worked... yet Adagio was certain that, if they took the chance, they might gain some form of magic to fill the void.
It was a gamble that could either grant them what they truly desired or cost them everything, which was why she constantly weighed her options in her head before she said anything to Aria and Sonata... but today she decided that it was time that she made up her mind, even if the others were shocked by her decision.
"So what if Discord is the one in control of the portal?" Adagio asked, causing her sisters to turn towards her, as they were curious as to what she was going to say next, especially since she had been studying the portal since the day Sunset disappeared, "According to what we know the portal is going to be connected to a world with magic, how much we have no idea, but this means that there is a slim possibility that we might be able to head home, especially since there's a new gatekeeper for the portal. All we have to do is slip through the portal and see what awaits us on the other side."
"You're willing to risk heading through that portal, to head to an unknown world I might add, just to leave the world that has been our prison for so many years?" Aria inquired, though even as she spoke she knew that she wanted to leave this world behind, as it was painful to pass by the school where they had lost their magic, even though she kept that thought to herself.
"Well, not exactly," Adagio said, to which she rubbed the back of her head for a moment, as she really didn't like the wording that Aria had used, but before she could actually say what she meant she, as well as Aria, discovered that Sonata was already on the move and was walking towards the ruined statue.
Adagio and Aria rushed towards Sonata, hoping to prevent her from accessing the portal so they could come up with a better plan for using the portal, when they all agreed to it, but before they could reach her Sonata simply smiled at them and walked through the shimmering side of the ruined statue base. The moment Sonata disappeared, and left this world behind, Aria and Adagio considered letting her make the journey alone, so she could understand the consequences of her actions, but then they decided not to do that. Aria growled as she charged into the portal and followed after Sonata, leaving Adagio alone for a few seconds... where she was glad that there was no one around to see them disappear like this, despite the fact that the entirety of Canterlot High School knew about magic at this point in time.
"God dammit Sonata," Adagio said, though that was followed by her steeling herself as she walked through the portal as well, allowing it to take her to whatever world her sisters happened to be traveling to.
When Adagio stepped out of the portal and touched the ground that was in front of her, which meant that she had found whatever would the portal had been connected to, she immediately noticed two things as she looked around her, one that made her annoyed and one that made her a little bit happy. She was happy to find that Aria and Sonata were unharmed, and that they had all been sent to the same world, though she could tell that Sonata was confused while Aria looked pissed off. Adagio could understand that feeling quite well, because the area they happened to be standing in was an alleyway that looked like one they walked by when they were walking towards Canterlot High School, only it looked less colorful than what they were used to.
All of this told Adagio that they had walked through the portal, risked being separated from each other in the process, only to find a world that resembled the one they had just left... only it looked more realistic than what all three of them were actually used to.
"Well this is a fine pickle you've gotten us in Sonata," Aria said, though she was definitely angry with Sonata, if her tone and her voice were anything to go by, while at the same time she waved a hand out towards the area they were in, "We're in a world that looks almost like the one we just left, only this time I barely feel any sort of magic... we've finally come to a place where magic is nonexistent."
"I wouldn't say that," Sonata replied, to which she pointed up at the top of her head for a moment, where Adagio and Aria noticed that her ears had been replaced by pony ears, like what they had when they transformed during the Battle of the Bands, "and it looks like we also get tails to match our hair..."
"...and hooves as well." Aria stated, though while she could see that they all now possessed pony ears, all colored to match their bodies, and possessed pony tails, matching their hair colors and individual styles, she was surprised to find that their feet had been transformed into hooves.
"What are we, pony girls?" Adagio inquired, though at the same time she noticed that their old shoes had been transformed to fit perfectly over their new hooves and legs, but she was surprised to find that the three of them looked like they were a cross breed between a human girl and a pony.
One of the interesting things that Adagio noticed was that there was some sort of magic in the air, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on, but at the same time she remembered that they had passed through a magical portal and turned around so she could stare at it... only to find herself staring at a flat wall that had no portal attached to it, meaning that they were stuck in this world until Discord bothered to save them.
"Great, now we're stuck here for the foreseeable future." Aria complained, as she was already sick of this world and wanted nothing to do with it, though at the same time she growled, as she knew that the three of them needed to figure out a way home before something bad happened to them, "So, any bright ideas on how we're going to force open the portal between worlds and head home?"
"I don't know," Sonata admitted, as she honestly hadn't been expecting this to happen when they walked through the portal, though that was before she spotted that they were standing near a street that had some traffic, but what caught her attention was the young man that happened to be standing in front of a bike and was holding a package, "I wonder what that man is doing with that package..."
Adagio wasn't surprised to find that Sonata wasn't paying attention to what she had done to them, where she silently wished that Sonata could be more serious about things, before she decided that it couldn't hurt to see who had claimed her sister's attention at the moment. The man was wearing a leather jacket with pants, which had a stripe on the right leg that formed a small design on his knee that she had never seen before, along with a sling bag that was resting against his back with a single strap resting on one of his soldiers. The man had a shaved head with a light stubble beard, though Adagio could tell that the man had to be annoyed about something, as at the moment he was talking on his phone and was glancing at the package every now and then.
She watched as the man seemed to calm down, likely because whoever he had been walking to had done something that he liked, before he closed his phone and returned it to the strap that crossed in front of his chest... though that was followed by the package being opened and a bright light emitted from it.
The next thing Adagio knew she was lying on her back, in a large amount of pain no less, and she found it to be incredibly difficult to even move at the moment, but she somehow found the strength to lift her head from where it was resting and forced open her eyes. What she found, however, was that she and her sisters, who were laying on their sides at the moment, also appeared to be in pain and that their clothing was slightly damaged by whatever had just happened, though she was convinced that it was some sort of blast. Sure enough her suspicions were confirmed, as the moment she took in their surroundings she noticed that the three of them were resting on the edge of a large crater, though in the middle of the crater rested a lone pillar... where the man that Sonata was staring at earlier happened to be resting.
One thing that caught Adagio off guard, however, was that everyone that had been in the area around the man, along with their vehicles, had been destroyed in whatever blast that had knocked the three of them onto their backs... though there was no sign of any bodies or charred cars, indicating that they had to have been vaporized.
"S... Sonata," Adagio moaned, though she grunted through the pain her body was in as she picked herself up from where she was resting and carefully walked over to her sister, where she gently shook her and mentally sighed as she noticed that Sonata was still breathing, "Come on... it's time to wake up!"
"Bu... But I don't feel... like it Adagio," Sonata replied, though she also moaned as she forced open her eyes and carefully moved into a sitting position, one that allowed her to stare out at the destruction that rested around them, "Wh... What happened?"
"No idea..." Adagio said, though even as she spoke she looked out at the ruined area and noticed that the building that looked like a parking garage of sorts had a good chunk of it missing, while several of the buildings were ruined in the same manner, leaving her to wonder what had happened as she shuffled over to Aria and repeated the process.
"Why... does it feel... like something ran... me over?" Aria asked, though she also struggled to get back onto her hooves the first time around, as she was feeling the same amount of pain that her sisters were feeling, but in the end she was able to stand like Adagio and Sonata were, even if they were a little hunched over at the moment.
Once again Adagio had no answer for what was going on, though one thing was clear in her mind and that was that they needed to get out of here, which was going to be hard considering that some parts of the crater happened to be on fire and there were other sections that weren't suitable for crossing. As far as she could tell there was only one real path for them to take and that meant getting close to the middle of the crater, which also meant she and the others could save whoever was in the middle of the blast so they could ask him some questions later. Adagio bit back a moan as she pushed herself forward, where she heard the sounds of Aria and Sonata silently following her as the three of them approached the stone pillar the man was resting on.
It took them some time to reach the pillar that they had been heading towards, though when they reached it they carefully helped each other onto the top of it and approached the man, where they carefully shook him awake... where it took him a few seconds to realize that someone was near him before he forced his eyes open and stared up at them.
"Who...?" the man started to ask, though that was before he noticed how much pain his body was in and groaned, to which Adagio mentally sighed as she and Aria carefully knelt beside him so they could help him up.
"I'm Adagio," Adagio replied, answering the man's unspoken question, which had been easy for her to figure out in a few seconds, though when the man nodded she shook her head towards Aria and Sonata, giving the man a few seconds to look at them before naming them, "Aria... and Sonata... my sisters."
"Cole..." the man stated, though he had to cough for a few seconds, to which Adagio and her sisters nodded, as they understood what he was trying to tell them and didn't pester him for more information, especially since all four of them were wounded from that blast, "What... the hell happened?"
"No idea," Adagio answered, though at the same time she honestly wondered how many times she was going to repeat that statement before she and her sisters were safe, because she had said it twice and thought the same thing a third time in the span of a few minutes.
"Oh god..." Cole commented, as he was finally looking passed the sisters and was seeing the destruction for the first time, though his reaction told the trio that this was the first time he had ever seen anything on this scale before.
"There's a group of people down there!" a voice called out in excitement, to which the four of them turned their heads and noticed that there was a helicopter hovering nearby, meaning that someone had taken an interest in the blast and had come to investigate, "Hey, wave up here if you can hear me!"
Since there was little they could do at the moment, and the only other option was to walk out of this place while avoiding the dangers that had been created, the four of them glanced up at the helicopter and waved their hands, while at the same time Adagio hoped that someone would rescue all of them.
"If you can walk, get out of there," the pilot called out to them, to which Adagio's hope for rescue shattered, because now they were back to the plan that she really didn't want to use because of the pain that their bodies were in at the moment, where she sighed and waited for further instructions, "head for the bridge!"
That was immediately followed by the pilot noticing someone in the parking garage, where he called out to them and told them that they should get out of the building since it was in the process of collapsing, though at the same time the pilot flew off and left the group to their own devices. Now that they only had one option available to them at the moment, which was entirely stupid in Adagio's mind, the four of them walked down the path that happened to be in front of the pillar, causing all three sisters to moan because of their wasted energy, and walked as fast as their aching bodies would allow. As they followed the clear path in front of them, which hadn't been charred by the explosion, they had to avoid several pipes that suddenly burst and spewed fire into the air... while at the same time watching bits and pieces of structure's falling as they painstakingly pushed themselves into a soft sprint.
Along the way Cole's phone, which had miraculously survived whatever explosion that had torn this entire place apart, starting ringing, to which Cole groaned as he removed his arm from around Aria's neck and clicked a button, which was the one to accept whatever call was coming in.
"Cole! Cole, man, you there?" a male voice said, which was definitely coming from the phone, to which Adagio wondered who was even calling Cole at a time like this, "C'mon man, pick up!"
"Z... Zeke?" Cole asked in return, which meant that he was shocked to hear whoever was on the other side, though at the same time he carefully removed his hand from Adagio's neck as well, indicating that, while he appreciated their gesture, they would all be better suited by running without carrying someone, "What the hell is going on? I think there was an explosion..."
"No shit there was an explosion!" the man on the other side, Zeke, exclaimed, though something told the sisters that Cole and Zeke were at least friends, though they would have to wait and see if they were right, "TV says terrorists are blowing stuff up all over the city. Meet me at Fremont Bridge. We'll get Trish and find someplace to hunker down."
Cole nodded, despite the fact that Zeke couldn't see what was going on, and hung up, though that was when he noticed that they had come to a gap and that they needed to jump over it, where they would have to land on the top of a charred car that he barely recognized. Cole grunted as he pushed his body, where he ran forward and leaped into the air, though not a few seconds later he safely landed on the top of the car and turned around, no doubt making sure that it was safe for Adagio and the others. Sonata was the first of the sisters to jump over the gap, where she landed beside Cole and moved out of the way so her sisters could land, though all three of them managed to, somehow, jump the gap without hurting themselves more than they already were.
Adagio also noticed that, thanks to the dire situation that they were in, she and her sisters had quickly adapted to using hooves instead of normal feet, though something told her that the three of them would need some practice once they got out of this ruined place.
From there the sisters followed Cole up the patch of cement that had been lifted into the air, forcing them all to climb onto the back of another car so they could enter the dangerous parking garage, but when they walked forward the sisters jumped back as Cole was electrocuted by what appeared to be a busted power source of some kind. What surprised the sisters, and Cole himself, was that when the electricity faded away Cole appeared to be fine, while at the same time he actually seemed a tad bit healthier than he had been moments ago. Even Cole admitted that he should be dead at the moment, due to the sheer amount of electricity that had passed through his body, though he was definitely happy to be alive... to which they moved with all the haste they could muster.
As they walked, however, several sections of the ceiling collapsed and dropped cars down onto the floor, where they exploded upon impact, though that didn't stop Cole from making sure that they knew the way out of the parking garage, even though the walkway he intended on using shattered and fell to the floor beneath them. With the walkway taken out of the picture he climbed onto a large circular column that had fallen and started running across it, where the sisters watched as he jumped the gap and crossed over to the other side of the parking garage. The sisters gulped and took turns running across the column pieces that were in front of them, though they did so carefully since they had never done anything like this before... to which Cole praised them a little when they were all together again.
Cole then led them to a section of the parking garage where a portable generator happened to be resting, though a busted power line sent some power into Cole's body, where it gathered for a few seconds before he released it, destroying the cars in front of him and causing some electrical pieces to explode... while at the same time creating a path for them to walk down to the level below them.
As the four of them carefully walked down the walkway that Cole had created for them, while surprising all of them in the process, they noticed that the helicopter was flying overhead once more and was addressing everyone that it could, saying that everyone that was able to walk should evacuate to the Neon. Adagio and her sisters had no idea what that meant, but since Cole seemed to know what to do the three of them decided to trust their new companion and followed his lead as he walked towards the large metallic bridge that was close to where they were standing. At the same time, however, Adagio realized that the seemingly ordinary person that Sonata had been staring at earlier had developed powers all of a sudden... to which she wondered if it was possible for her and her sisters to do the same thing at some point.
While that thought crossed her mind, however, she noticed that there was some sort of white aura resting around her right hand, though as she looked at her sisters it didn't take her long to find that they had the same thing that she did, making her wonder if they might have actually awoken some of their old powers by stepping through the portal.
Oddly enough their auras only seemed to grow, little by little anyway, as they followed Cole towards the large bridge, where they noticed a police presence that was clearly making sure that the injured civilians were being taken someplace safe so their wounds could be looked at and taken care of before drastic measures had to be taken. When they walked by the ambulance, however, the sisters noticed that the name Empire City was written on the side of the vehicle, which really didn't tell them much at the moment and they figured they could ask someone about it later. Adagio was also pleased to find that no one was even looking at her and her sisters, as she was sure that their new forms would have attracted attention had that explosion not gone off when it did... though, oddly enough, she silently mourned the people that had been killed in the blast, even though she and her sisters had no idea who any of them were to begin with.
When they neared the cops that were standing outside their cars, however, they spotted Cole's friend Zeke, who was a slightly chubby man who was wearing sunglasses over his eyes, calling for Cole and his friends to come with him... though when they walked away from the group of cops more electricity lashed out and empowered Cole, while at the same time the sky seemed to rumble above their heads as Cole struggled with his powers. That was followed by bolts of lightning being called down from the sky, striking everything and everyone that was around Cole, though at the same time the sisters found that their auras had appeared in full force and surrounded each of their bodies. Adagio and her sisters watched as the cops that were around them were blasted away with the force of the lightning that Cole's power was pulling down on them, if his power was even behind this, while finding that their strange auras seemed to be protecting them at the moment.
The moment the lightning started falling, and people went flying through the air, Zeke called for Cole and the sisters to come towards him, while at the same time urging them to get away from the 'terrorists', to which the group headed in the direction that Zeke wanted them to go in... where they watched as the lightning blasted cops, their cars, and even the helicopter as they walked across the ruined bridge. While they quickly made their way across the bridge, however, Adagio and her sisters each felt the power of their auras also working against them, as it was draining whatever power was inside their bodies to fuel the protection from the lightning. Adagio still wasn't sure what sort of power she and her sisters had unlocked, but whatever it was had pretty much saved their lives from being fried by the lightning and she was grateful that the three of them had gotten the power when they did.
When the four of them reached the end of the bridge, where Zeke was standing with a lady that had to be Trish, Cole let a smile appear on his face before he collapsed on the ground in front of them... to which Adagio and her sisters chuckled as their auras disappeared and they joined Cole on the ground, where they allowed their exhaustion to claim them and silently drifted off into whatever dreams awaited them.
Adagio moaned as she became aware of the fact that she wasn't resting on the ground near a bridge, as whatever she was laying on was softer than what she could have sworn the ground or the road would have felt like, though she could have sworn that it was a bed of some kind. As her senses returned to her she heard the sound of what had to be hospital machines beeping in the background, though whether that was because she was the one it was tied to or if it was tied to someone else she had no way of knowing. A few moments later she carefully and slowly opened her eyes, where she found that she was staring up at a ceiling that wasn't anything special and that she was, indeed, laying in a hospital bed with some sheets resting over her body. She moaned again as she finally noticed that there was a needle and some sort of tube attached to her right arm, though as she turned her head to the right she noticed that the majority of her clothing, which had been wrecked by the blast, happened to be resting on a nearby table... along with the ruined clothing she and her sisters had seen when they found Cole earlier.
Thinking about her sisters made her more alert, as she had no idea where Aria and Sonata were and was immediately worried about them, since they had all been in the same condition when they pulled themselves out of the wreckage that they had found themselves in earlier... though before she could move she felt someone touch her shoulder and gently pulled her back into a position where she was laying with her back on the bed.
"Well, it's good to see that someone is awake, even if it's not Cole." a voice said, though as Adagio finally returned to her original sitting position she noticed that the speaker was the same as the lady she had seen next to Zeke, which meant that this had to be Trish, "How are you feeling?"
"Sore." Adagio replied, as that was the truth, because after taking that blast like she and her sisters had, where she wasn't about to question how any of them survived it when it killed so many people, but at the same time she tuned towards Trish for a moment, "Where... where am I?"
"My place in the Neon District," Trish said, though at the same time she checked a few of the monitors that were resting nearby and breathed a sigh of relief, one that made Adagio happy for some reason, "Well, your vitals are fine and it appears that you'll make a full recovery in a few days. I don't know how you, Cole, and the other girls survived being in the middle of the Blast, but at least I know that someone's going to be up and about soon."
"Other girls..." Adagio said, though that was when some of the drugs that were in her body, as she was fairly certain there were some in her body at the moment, became less effective as she thought about her sisters, "Aria! Sonata! Are they okay?"
"They're just fine," Trish answered, to which she seemed confused at first, merely because she was shocked by the sudden burst of adrenaline that had gone through Adagio's body, before she focused on the matter at hand, "I just checked on them a few minutes ago and they were sleeping soundly... at least it's better than being in a coma, like Cole is. At first I thought that I wouldn't be able to do much for the three of you, since your bodies appear to be different than mine and Cole's, but I was oddly surprised when the drugs worked just fine. Though I have to ask this; how in the world did you and your sisters end up with hooves, horse tails, and horse ears?"
"Actually, they look more like the ears and tails from that damned pony show the last girl I tried to date liked," another voice said, to which Adagio turned and watched as Zeke, Cole's best friend, entered the room that she and Trish were in, though he seemed to be displeased about something, "I never did find out why she liked it so much..."
"Well Zeke, it might have been because she had a little sister that was fascinated with the show?" Trish offered, though something about the way Trish said that made Adagio realize that she had likely known the girl that Zeke had dated and then dumped the moment he found something he didn't like, but she kept her mouth shut as the two of them talked for a bit, "Or maybe it's because you prefer fighting and... other things... than learning a few life lessons?"
"I do like some of the fight scenes in Dragon Ball Z," Zeke said, confirming that Trish was right about what he liked to watch in his own way, though at the same time Adagio was a little lost about what they were even talking about, "I was in the middle of the Cell Games when the Blast went off... I think that might have actually ruined the disk I was watching."
"You should be focused on Cole and not your cartoons." Trish stated, though that was before she sighed as she turned back to Adagio, who watched as Zeke moved towards another bed, where she guessed Cole was resting, before someone said anything about his choice of shows, "I guess it's safe to assume that you aren't from a cartoon world and that the Blast messed you and your sisters up in some manner, like it did to Cole. Sorry, I never did catch your name."
"Adagio... Adagio Dazzle." Adagio replied, though at the same time she glanced up at Trish and decided that it was best if she didn't fire off the lady's name instantly, just in the off chance that the name Cole had said was his nickname for the lady, "And you are?"
"Trish Dailey." Trish replied, to which she smiled at Adagio for a moment, the way a nurse or doctor would to a patient, but even thought that was what they technically were Adagio felt there was another reason for her to be happy, despite the brief flash of pain that came next, "You said that the other girls were called Aria and Sonata?"
"Yeah... Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk. They're my sisters." Adario answered, though the only reason she was answering Trish was because she was being nice, since there was no particular reason for her or Zeke to help them, despite the fact that they helped Cole get out of the blast area earlier... and she decided not to ask about the pain that Trish was feeling, as the mere mention that Aria and Sonata were her sisters caused Trish to stiffen for a few seconds.
"Oh my aching head..." a voice said, to which Adagio and Trish looked at the doorway and found Aria, bound up in a blanket no less, standing there, though she was clearly overcoming the drugs that were in her body, "It feels like I got hit by something... again."
Adagio found the urge to chuckle at Aria for a moment, because she had said the same when they first woke up in the large crater that they had found Cole resting in, though at the same time she had to imagine that Aria's clothing was resting somewhere else and that's why she was using the blanket to cover herself at the moment. Trish seemed a little amused by what she was seeing as well, though that was before she became more professional and went over to check on Cole, leaving Aria to walk over to Adagio's bed.
"How are you doing?" Aria asked, which was one of those rare occurrences where she asked Adagio how she was doing, instead of Adagio asking her or Sonata how they were doing, but at the same time it was an interesting change of pace since the last time it happened was around ten years ago.
"I've been better." Adagio replied, to which she carefully pushed herself back into a sitting position, giving her the chance to look Aria in the eyes as she made sure her own covers didn't fall off her body, "Though, if you want my opinion, you should put some clothes on before you drop that blanket."
"You're one to talk," Aria said, though that was when she looked down at herself, allowing Adagio to see that the drugs were definitely wearing off, since she was growing a little more alert as the minutes ticked by, "however, you're also right... I do need to put my old clothes back on, even if they're full of cuts and holes from that explosion earlier."
"Hell must have frozen over, because we just agreed on something." Adagio stated, though oddly enough that got a small smile out of her sister, something that she determined had to be because of the lingering effects of the drugs that were still in her system, before she sighed for a moment, "So, how's Sonata?"
"Actually, she was snoring when I woke up." Aria answered, revealing that Adagio hadn't been the first one to recover from their ordeal, though since Sonata was still asleep that really didn't mean much else, despite the fact that Adagio was happy nothing bad had happened to the three of them, "Hang on for a few minutes... I'm going to change into something that's not going to fall to the floor."
Adagio watched as her sister carefully walked back into the room she and Sonata were apparently sharing, no doubt trying to get used to her new hooves now that they weren't in immediate danger of being blown apart of buried under rubble, before she vanished from her sight. Since she was still confined to the hospital bed that she had been laying on, until Trish determined that she could be discharged from it, all Adagio could really do was look around the room they were in. It appeared that the place that Trish called home was either inside an actual clinic, and these were for when Cole hurt himself, or she had moved some items around to make way for her and Cole to have the beds they were in, though when she thought about him Adagio found that Cole was definitely in a coma, as he was resting in a bed nearby and seemed to be peacefully sleeping... despite the fact that Trish and Zeke were worried about him, as Trish was tending to him and his vital machines while Zeke appeared to be reading a comic of some type.
Besides that there wasn't much for her to look at, save for a picture of Trish with someone that was either her best friend or her sister, before she heard someone clear their throat and found Aria standing in the doorway she had walked through earlier... only this time she had ditched the blanket that she had been wearing earlier and was now wearing her clothing from before, complete with the rips and tears from earlier.
"It's not much, but it's better than nothing," Aria said, though at the same time she walked over to Adagio's bed and looked at the pile of clothes that were nearby, which were in the same condition as her own clothing, before she turned towards her sister, "Do you feel well enough to put some decent clothes on?"
"Since her vitals are fine, and she's got no inquires despite the fact that she was in the area of the Blast, she should be able to start moving soon," Trish commented, to which the two sisters turned and noticed that she was staring at them for a moment, though she didn't seem surprised to find that Aria was wearing her old clothing, "though we'll have to get the three of you something new to wear. Those clothes look like they've seen better days."
Adagio nodded, as she was glad to hear that she could actually be able to leave the bed soon enough, though at the same time that didn't stop Aria from helping her up from the bed, complete with the covers that she had been using to cover herself, before taking her over to where the restroom was located. Adagio was surprised when she touched the floor and found that walking came naturally to her, despite the fact that her legs were different from before, though she wondered if their trek through the crater earlier had anything to do with it. She and her sisters hadn't even attempted to adapt to their new body structure, since they were in pain at the time and had to avoid the collapsing area they had been in, but this was still strange, especially when they were banished to the Earth and transformed into humans, as it had taken them some time to adapt to those forms... she eventually guessed that, since this form was so identical to their old forms, that all three of them had adapted to walking with hooves inside the crater.
She shelved that thought for a moment as Aria opened the bathroom door and let her step inside, where she returned a few seconds later with the clothing she had been wearing before the Blast went off... to which Adagio sighed as she carefully put on her old clothes, still finding it odd that her shoes had been morphed to fit their new hooves.
"So, what's our plan?" Aria asked, knowing that Adagio had to be thinking of something at the moment, even if she was standing outside the bathroom door so no one bothered Adagio while she was changing, meaning that she couldn't see the look on her sister's face.
"We're in an unfamiliar area, with someone that clearly has powers, and we have no idea how to get home," Adagio said, though at the same time she pulled up her pants and put on her shirt, while she considered what they could do with the situation they found themselves in, "Our best course of action is to recover from the Blast, do what we can to repay Trish for even helping us out, and figure out what sort of powers we unlocked earlier... before we even consider trying to figure out a way back home."
"We... have powers?" Aria inquired, though the tone of her voice spoke volumes, as Adagio could hear that her sister didn't believe her statement, but Adagio didn't blame her, as she was having a hard time believing that and she had see the aura around her and her sisters earlier, "Explain."
"When Cole was experiencing the rush of electricity earlier I noticed that all three of us had auras around our bodies," Adagio replied, hoping to at least inform Aria of what she knew, because she was mostly guessing at the moment and wouldn't know anything for real until one of them practiced later on, "from what I could see the white auras seemed to protect us from the intense lightning that erupted from the sky and struck the area around Cole. Other than that I didn't see the auras do anything else, which means that we'll have to try accessing those auras to see what sort of powers we unlocked by coming here."
"Sounds like a plan." a third voice said, to which Aria turned to the right and found Sonata, already wearing her old set of clothing, standing near her, revealing that she must have woken up the moment she heard the two of them talking and decided to join them, "How's Cole doing?"
"According to Trish, he's in a coma." Aria said, surprised that Sonata would care about someone that they just met, but considering that his friend and girlfriend were willing to help them she guessed that she could attempt to do the same thing, especially since they had no idea where they were.
Sonata seemed a little sad by that statement, confusing Aria again, but she smiled as Adagio walked out of the bathroom, wearing her old clothing, before the three of them headed out into the part of the apartment that Adagio had woken up in. Since all three of them were up and about at this point, which was strange considering what they had been through earlier, Trish prepared something light for lunch, telling the sisters what time of the day it was, which happened to be some ham and cheese sandwiches with some chips. While all of them had lunch Trish told Zeke that there were some items that they needed to get before the nearby store was completely looted, informing the sisters that the Blast had changed how the city worked. She also asked if the sisters were feeling well enough to help out, as she wasn't forcing them to do anything since they had just woke up, but Sonata was more than willing to help out... to which Adagio and Aria decided to go with her, so they could see what sort of state the city was in.
When the meal was done Zeke decided to head out to get the errand done, to which the sisters headed out with him and were pleased to find that, thanks to everyone concentrating on themselves and the supplies they were taking home, no one seemed to care that they were part pony. Zeke lead them to the nearby store and grabbed a cart, where the sisters found he was storing up batteries and other electronic devices that some people were ignoring for the moment, before they helped him gather up some food items that had been left behind. Most of the clothes that had been inside the store, unfortunately, had been taken before their arrival, either by families that needed them or by street people to burn according to what Zeke told them, but that only told the sisters that they were out of luck. That ended up raising a question in Adagio's mind, one that she hadn't thought to ask earlier, which she ended up asking Zeke as the four of them walked out of the store with the cart he was pushing.
"So how long were we out for?" Adagio asked, as that was something that was bothering her, because neither she nor her sisters knew how long they had been unconscious for since the Blast happened, or rather since they hit the ground on the bridge after helping Cole reach his friends.
"Well, the Blast happened four days ago, so I'd say four days," Zeke replied, though at the same time he noticed a pair of goons walking down the nearby alley and counted his blessings that they didn't see the four of them, and their cart, while they were walking, "Since the Blast happened there's this plague that's stuck the entirety of Empire City, and so far there have been a series of riots, thefts, rapes... essentially the civilization of Empire City is committing suicide, but I'm sure that when Cole gets back up he'll have a plan to save our hides, especially with you three helping him out."
"What do you mean by that?" Aria inquired, as she was interested in why Zeke was thinking about that, even though she was disgusted by the fact that it appeared that order was falling apart, because while the three of them may have fed on negativity, back when they had their siren powers, they never did anything that caused something like this.
"Dude, I saw the three of you running beside Cole with these awesome auras when you were outrunning the lightning!" Zeke said, his tone telling them that he was excited by what they had done, revealing that someone already knew that they had awakened something inside them, "The lightning ignored you and fried everything else, as if your auras protected you or something. I bet with some practice the three of you will be able to control whatever powers you possess and, with whatever happened to Cole added to the mix, I'm positive that the four of you could make a difference in the days to come."
The former sirens looked at each other for a few moments, as Adagio and Aria were surprised that Zeke believed that they could help Cole, if and when he recovered, but the look in Sonata's eyes told them what their sister was thinking about without needing to be told. Sonata was already seeing herself as a hero of the city, standing alongside Cole and the two of them, meaning that she was imagining the four of them being a group of superheroes, sort of like the Rainbooms they guessed. Neither Adagio or Aria were sure that they wanted to be like the group of girls that had taken their powers in the first place, since the students of CHS had seen them as heroes after they brought down Sunset Shimmer and she, in turn, helped them bring the three of them down. Before they could really react to what Zeke had said a man, who was dressed like a thug and had a gun in the back of his pants, ran up to a nearby lady and demanded her stuff, why neither of them had any idea considering the state of the city, but that didn't stop Sonata from rushing towards the man and attacked him, as they heard her declare 'Cure on the Descendants' as her attack connected.
What really happened was that Sonata stopped behind the guy and raised her right leg in a kicking motion, right between his legs no less, and Zeke shivered at the thought of having that happen to him, especially since the thug fell to the ground in pain, leaving Sonata to make sure that the lady the thug was attempting to mug left with her stuff intact, who appreciated the rescue. Once the lady was on her way once more Sonata returned to her sisters, though she grabbed the thug's gun and handed it over to Zeke, figuring that he could use a weapon to defend himself in the future, especially since she, Aria, and Adagio had no idea how to use them. Of course her sisters were surprised that she had gone out of her way to save someone, but they were more surprised where Sonata had hit the thug, as they had no idea their sister would even consider doing something like that. Zeke, on the other hand, was more than happy to have a weapon of his own, so he could properly defend himself, though as the sisters followed him down the street they noticed that he had also robbed the store of several cases of bullets... though whether that was for weapons he already possessed or so the lunatics didn't have any ammunition none of them knew, as he didn't seem to be in a talkative mood about that.
Despite the fact that none of the sisters knew how to use a gun, something none of them really cared about, they were all somewhat pleased to see that Zeke had taken the ammunition, regardless of his reasons behind why he had done so, as the one thug demonstrated that just having a weapon was making people commit crimes to improve their lives. Another reason behind why that was a good thing was because there was an unnamed gang forming somewhere in the Neon, the part of Empire City that they were in, that was already causing problems. All four of them agreed that this gang shouldn't be allowed to have all the weapons, as it made them more dangerous, but there wasn't much they could do at the moment and simply continued on their way, where they headed down the street and kept their thoughts to themselves. Along the way Adagio, Aria, and Sonata noticed that the civilians were already losing hope, though at the same time they wondered what the government was going to do about the situation.
The sisters also had the feeling that Empire City's condition was going to go downhill rather quickly, especially when they considered what was already happening, and they needed to be prepared for anything... so they followed after Zeke and headed back to Trish's place, where they could watch over Cole and see what happened to the city next.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata spent the next four days helping Trish out in her apartment building, when they were needed, or headed to the nearby apartment building that Zeke lived in, one that he was apparently taking over since most of the people that had lived there were either dead or had run away. From what the sisters could tell Zeke used pieces of wood and metal to barricade most of the entrances that the building had, save for the front one, and kept the door locked at all times while he was away, keeping his stash of food and other stuff safe from looters. He also started rigging up some sort of fence like barricade on the roof, telling the sisters that it would keep him safe if he wanted to watch his television on the roof, and he outfitted the entire area to look like an enlarged living room of sorts. Of course the sisters helped him with some of the 'chores' that he wanted to get done, as that was what he called his efforts to protect himself, but while they wondered where he was getting all the items he poured into the building they decided not to question it, since the abandoned rooms could be used by them if they so desired... which felt wrong the majority of the time, since they had no idea if the original owners were still alive or not.
Despite how Adagio and Aria felt about the situation Sonata actually made the rooms and areas they slept in were neat and tidy, something she didn't really do when they were back on their version of Earth, for whenever the original occupants of the building returned, if they returned, before joining her sisters as they went about their days.
Trish, on the other hand, really only ever sent them out to get her some supplies that she needed while she tended to Cole, so for the most part the sisters did their best to adapt to the situation and figure out how they could benefit the people who were willing to help them. Since they weren't being sent out all that much, since they really couldn't do much against the gang that had taken over the Neon, the Reapers as they were called, the sisters spent what free time they had trying to understand Zeke's fascination with fighting shows while trying to come up with a way to get them all safely out of the city before something worse happened. Of course before they could even reach an agreement on an escape plan the government put a quarantine on the city, trapping them all inside with the monsters that had risen to power since the Blast struck Empire City and had sent the cops fleeing for their lives. Even with their limited experience with this world, which they said nothing about, the sisters could tell that the situation outside the apartment was getting worse as the days went by and wondered if there was even a way to turn things around.
All that changed on the eighth day, as that was when Cole finally snapped his eyes open and came out of the coma he had been in since he collapsed on the bridge, scaring both Zeke and Trish in the process, since when he first woke up his heart seemed to have stopped... and that wasn't counting the electricity that was coming from his hands.
"Wh... what the hell?" Cole asked, as he was staring at his hands in shock as the electricity danced from his right hand to his left hand and then returned to the hand it had come from, before it eventually faded away and he huffed for a few seconds, as if he had silently willed the electricity to stop.
"Cole... are you alright?" Trish inquired, while at the same time she noticed that the machine tracking his heart rate seemed to have stopped working, which was understandable considering that the power he had been holding might have damaged the machine.
"Hell no I'm not alright!" Cole replied, though his gaze was locked on his hands at the moment, indicating that he had no idea what he had been doing and was scared of what happened to him, "All I remember is trying to deliver a package, a bright light engulfed me, and then I wake up in a world of pain and find myself inside a large crater, only for Adagio, Aria, and Sonata to help he escape the Historic District. After that... after that I don't know what happened next, save for the fact that I just woke up and suddenly I have electricity dancing around my hands."
"Well, you were in a coma for about seven whole days and the majority of the eighth," Adagio spoke up, causing Cole to look at her and her sisters for a moment, as they were all standing by the doorway that lead to the room that Aria and Sonata had been in when they first woke up, "but I'm glad that you're okay, as our my sisters... even though Trish did all the work to make sure you came back to her."
"Trish..." Cole started to say, though before he could say too much Trish wrapped her arms around him and embraced him for a few seconds, causing Zeke to smile and caused the sisters to nod their heads, as they were glad to see that Trish, who had been depressed over the last few days, was happy once more, "Hey there, it's okay. I'll figure out what happened to me and I'll overcome it... just as soon as I figure out why they have hooves, tails, and pony ears."
"We're sure that the Blast, the event that you were caught in, caused their mutation," Trish spoke up, though at the same time Adagio and her sisters mentally sighed, as they had no idea what the would have done if they had to spill the beans already, before Trish pulled away from Cole, "Amy... she wasn't so lucky. She got caught in the Blast, though whether it was from the falling buildings, the flames that raged after the initial Blast, or the actual Blast itself I'm not sure, but I'm positive that she's been taken from me."
"Trish, I'm sorry to hear that," Cole said, as he had known that Trish and her younger sister were close, which told him everything he needed to know as he raised his arms and pulled his girlfriend into his embrace, knowing that she needed it more than he did at the moment.
Adagio nudged her sisters slightly and they excused themselves, knowing that this wasn't something they should be apart of, especially since Cole, Zeke, and Trish barely knew them, but that didn't stop them from heading outside the room so they could wait and see what happened next. Not even an hour later they were allowed back inside the area that Cole had been sleeping in, while Trish tended to him, and listened to Zeke as he explained what had happened to the city since the Blast occurred. Most of it they already knew, as they could see if whenever they headed outside either of the apartment buildings they were spending the majority of their time inside, but there were some pieces of information that Zeke talked about that revealed his grand plan to them. Since Cole had power, over electricity by the looks of it, Zeke believed that he, along with the sisters, could turn the tide against the Reapers and secure the Neon, so they could figure out what to do next without having to worry about people trying to kill them.
At first Cole seemed shocked by what Zeke was suggesting, as he had no idea how to control the power that was now coursing through his veins, but after some time he decided that he must have been given this power for a very specific reason and climbed out of the bed... where the group discovered that eight days in bed had done nothing to him, as he was able to walk just fine, which really made Trish worry about him.
What the sisters discovered was that the area on the roof of Zeke's apartment building, that they had helped him set up over the last couple of days, seemed to be the perfect place for Cole to practice using his new powers, though before they did anything Trish insisted on making sure that he was alright before he changed and went off with Zeke. One thing that Adagio, Aria, and Sonata discovered was that Cole had spares of his own clothing, which he had been wearing when the Blast happened, and made sure to change into an undamaged set before he headed out with Zeke. The sisters went along with them, mostly since Trish didn't need them around the building now that Cole was up and about, and listened to Zeke as he explained exactly how Cole was going to practice with his new powers, while at the same time coming up with ways that they could use his power over electricity to survive longer in the Neon. The first thing that Cole did, instead of heading up to Zeke's roof, was to find the dumpster outside that building, were he stared at it for a few minutes as he focused his mind, where the sisters noticed that, despite the fact that he had seen the electricity earlier, he was still having a hard time believing that he had powers.
Moments later, when he raised his right hand and blasted the dumpster with a bolt of electricity, he stared at his hand for a few seconds and glanced at the dumpster several times, where the observers could tell that he was already starting to accept what had happened... though Adagio noted that Cole fell into the category of people who needed to see something happen before he believed that it actually existed.
"Okay, I have the power to use electricity," Cole commented, to which he flexed his fingers for a few moments, seeing the electricity flicker between his fingers as he did so, before he turned to look at Zeke and noticed a familiar look appear on his face, "Zeke, what are you planning?"
"I was just thinking that we might be able to use your power to recharge batteries," Zeke replied, as he had a few in his apartment building that were already dead, so he might be able to recharge them and, if this worked and the batteries didn't explode, they might be able to trade them for items they needed, "and other things. For now, we should see what sort of powers Adagio and her sisters gained."
"Right. You mentioned that earlier," Cole said, where he turned towards the sisters, who were currently standing near a wall of a different building and were watching the duo with some interest, "So apparently you three also have powers and abilities as well. Do you have any idea what those are?"
"No. All I know is that some sort of aura appeared around us when we were following you out of the Historic District the day the Blast happened." Adagio answered, though at the same time she glanced at her hand for a moment, where she wondered if she might be able to call that power back to the surface, like Cole had done, "Aria, Sonata, and I haven't even attempted to see if that was a fluke or if we might actually have something like you do... despite the fact that Zeke thinks we do."
"Hey, don't look at me. I was just voicing an opinion on what I saw," Zeke stated, though at the same time he held his hands up, as if he was surrendering or something, while he glanced over at Cole for a moment, "Why don't you just try whatever Cole did and see if you can channel whatever power you unlocked? The worst that can happen is that the auras was a one time thing and that you didn't get anything besides your new bodies."
Adagio had half a mind to tell Zeke that these 'new' bodies were a mixture of their human forms and the ponies of their home world, but at the same time she remembered what Zeke had said about the girl that had been watching that one show, with a world that sounded similar to Equus, and decided against that. Instead she faced the dumpster that Cole had struck and sighed as she raised her right hand towards it, though as she did that Aria stepped up to her right and Sonata did the same on her left, where they both raised their right hands up and locked onto the dumpster. Adagio let out a sigh as she focused on reaching into the depths of her being, as she knew that the aura she and her sisters unlocked had to mean something, and after a few seconds she felt something react to her touch. Something enveloped her and she snapped open her eyes, where she found that the white aura from earlier had returned and had enveloped her body, though as she noticed that she also realized that the same had happened to her sisters, who were surprised by what they were seeing... and, when she glanced over at Cole and Zeke, she noticed that they were shocked by what the three of them were doing at the moment.
That brought a small smile to Adagio's face, as this confirmed that they had a new type of power to replace what they had lost, before all three of them focused on their hands as they wondered what they could do now... which resulted in small spheres of energy forming in front of their hands that, when they let them go, slammed into the dumpster and impacted it, leaving a smoking dent that didn't tear through the metal, but that wasn't the point of what they did.
"No way," Zeke said, staring at the area of the dumpster that the sisters had struck with the power they had called upon, before turning towards them and looked at their auras with a new light, as if he understood something that none of them knew at the moment, "those blasts... those auras... your powers are identical to those on Dragon Ball Z!"
"Zeke, don't be absurd," Cole replied, to which he raised his palm to his face for a few seconds, as he couldn't believe that his friend thought the powers that the sisters had used were from a television show, when they seemed to be more energy based than anything else, "Dragon Ball Z is a television show, there's no way their powers are even remotely related to it. Maybe they're drawing upon some sort of energy in the area around them and used it to create these auras and those blasts that struck the dumpster."
"Really? And this is coming from the guy who has electric powers?" Zeke inquired, to which the sisters raised their eyebrows as they stared at the duo, as it appeared that they were going to get into an argument over where their powers came from, even though the sisters had a better understanding of what they had just done, "Come on man, you need to expand your mind and see that the world is changing, and if you can get electric powers, then I'm pretty sure that they can get powers that are identical to the ki used in one of my favorite shows."
"Truthfully, I'm glad you aren't talking about the other shows you like," Cole commented, informing the sisters that there was another type of show that Zeke watched, ones that they didn't want to know about, but at the same time he sighed as he looked at his friend, "Look, I'm not in the mood to argue with you, especially after I just got out of the coma I was in for the last eight days. I'd like to make sure my body hasn't suffered since the Blast happened... and that means I need to do some parkour and climb some walls."
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata raised their eyebrows, as they had heard of parkour when they were in the world that they had been banished to and had actually done it a few times, as they had been forced to run from the cops several times in the past before they found themselves in Canterlot City. During their time running from the cops they had done what people called parkour, at least a little bit of it so they could lose their pursuers, but at the same time the three of them stood back and watched as Cole explored the area around them. That involved him climbing up the walls of the various buildings, using gaps and ledges that the sisters hadn't noticed before hand, and using the small obstacle course that Zeke set up around them, which was him jumping over some trash cans and whatever else was in the area. Zeke encouraged him while he was running and climbing through the area, though when Cole finally stopped he decided that it was time for the sisters to join him in his training. The sisters were surprised that Cole wanted them to do what he had been doing, since they had no idea about climbing buildings like he did, but Sonata was more than eager to see what she could do, causing Adagio and Aria to sigh as they joined their sister.
It was during that time, where the sisters followed Cole's instructions on where to run and where to climb, that Zeke brought the dead batteries that he had been collecting and had Cole power a few of them... though that turned out to be a bad idea, as he then proceeded to trade one to a lady on the street, who had something that he knew they needed and saw what Cole was doing to the rest of the batteries. From that point a riot happened nearby, though whether it was because of the fact that someone had seen Cole's powers or because of something else entirely they didn't know, but Zeke sighed and declared that his apartment building was going to be the headquarters for all of them. At that point the five of them headed into the building and Zeke got to work finishing up the roof, as he added barbed wire to the fences, so that way no one could hurt them or even think about climbing up here, and he made sure to have a supply of mannequins at the ready, giving Adagio, Aria, Sonata, and Cole a place to practice before they made their next move.
The sisters had no idea what Zeke was talking about, but at the moment they pushed that thought to the back of their minds as they practiced on the mannequins that were around them, where they used their 'ki' as they pretended that the mannequins were enemies. The only reason they referred to their magical power, as that was what it truly was, as 'ki' was because that was what Zeke called it and they didn't want to raise any questions if they suddenly said that they were using magic, but even as they did that Sonata wasn't totally convinced that this was magic. Sure, it felt like the power they had used in the past, but at the same time it was coming from within their bodies, just like Zeke said when he described what ki was, but she was sure that it would be some time before they understood what the true nature of their power was. At the same time her sisters were just happy to have some sort of power again, especially after they had lost their necklaces and their voice related abilities.
At the end of their first day of training all three of them felt tired, as it had been a really long time since they ever felt the need to practice their skills and the combination of Cole's climbing and parkour lessons, with Zeke's insistence that they throw 'ki blasts' around, had worn them out. Cole, of course, was also tired from his ordeals, though they had also found out that he could absorb the energy from something, like a generator or a car, and get some energy out of it, but he felt that it was best to save that for when he really needed it. Zeke, on the other hand, managed to set up some battery stations around the roof, meaning that he could watch his television and read his comics while he was up there, indicating that he felt incredibly safe with how the building was fortified. The only downside to that arrangement was that if he used the television, and nothing else, the battery stations would be sucked dry of their power in a few hours and he'd be left with two choices, either replace them or ask for Cole to fix them. Trish also stopped by before she went out to help the injured citizens in the Neon District, as she was worried about Cole, but she was happy to see that he was okay and went about her business.
When Sonata saw them interact for a few seconds, and remembered that Trish had lost her sister in the Blast, she wrapped her arms around Adagio and Aria for a few moments, revealing that she was happy that none of them had been taken from her when they came to this world. Fortunately neither Cole or Zeke were around to here that piece of information, as they already knew that the duo would have questions regarding the sisters if they learned they were actually from another world, so they kept their mouths shut for now.
As the days slowly went by the sisters found that not only were they slowly getting stronger, as after their training on the ninth day they discovered that their energy reserves were slightly larger than they had been before hand, indicating that there was some benefit to all the training they were doing. Cole was also able to increase his own abilities, which was limited to him firing a 'lightning bolt', as he called it, at whoever or whatever he was targeting, while at the same time still possessing the power to drain the electricity from a source of power. Zeke didn't find it odd that Cole could drain electricity and the sisters couldn't drain anything from the surrounding area, but even as he started to explain why he felt that way Cole realized he was just going to keep talking about his fighting show and continued his training... where Adagio, Aria, and Sonata listened in every now and then, as they figured that his knowledge might be useful, but so far they hadn't been able to put it to use.
Adagio was frustrated that they were limited to firing 'ki blasts' around, and her sisters could tell that she was that way when they glanced at her, but oddly enough Sonata was the one that said there might be a way for them to unlock more powers as they continued training, and that required they help Cole, Zeke, and Trish out. Sonata believed that, by aiding the group that had aided them, back when they left the Historic District, they might be able to gain new powers that would help them in their quest, whatever that quest happened to be. Adagio and Aria really hated to admit that Sonata might have a point, especially since it was her fault that they were in Empire City to begin with, but at the same time they sighed and decided to go with it, for now anyway. They were sure that, when the opportunity presented itself, they would find a way to break away from Cole and go their own way, whether or not Sonata was willing to come with them.
On the fourteenth day of the quarantine, six days after Cole had recovered from his coma and started training with the sisters, was when the situation they were in changed... and their entire group was forced to adapt to the rapidly changing reality they were in.
The morning of the fourteenth day of the quarantine started out like any other, the group got together and portioned out what food they still had, while Trish was amazed by the amount Zeke had stored up after the Blast had happened, before they all went about their days. For Trish that meant she was either being called in to help some of the survivors throughout the Neon District, with the dwindling medical supplies she had, while Cole and the sisters moved to Zeke's roof to continue their training. That meant they were starting with the same thing they did every day, climbing up the side of Zeke's apartment building until all of them reached the top, before they moved onto honing their precision with their blasts and running around the area as they continued to practice the parkour techniques Cole tried to teach them. Adagio felt that doing all of this was exhausting work, and that was reflected on their faces when they finally finished their training for the day, but at the same time she and her sisters were more than happy to go through with it.
Zeke, of course, decided to remain at his apartment building for the most part and stayed up on the roof, meaning that if someone wanted to see him they either had to call him or they had to walk up the flights of stairs to reach him... or, if it was Cole or the sisters that wanted to talk, they would climb the exterior to see him.
The reason Zeke stayed on the roof was because he had found a box that had been left on the steps leading to the front door of the apartment building, one that contained three sets of clothing and three smaller backpacks, identical to Cole's backpack oddly enough, though Sonata was the first to jump for joy. She quickly replaced her old ruined clothing with a pair of light gray shorts and a purple shirt, leaving her shoes over her hooves while she stored her old attire in the bag that had her mark on it, or rather what she had picked for her 'Cutie Mark' back when they were entering CHS. Adagio and Aria found two more sets of clothing inside the box, complete with small bags baring their own marks, though oddly enough Aria discovered that the pair she had picked out looked the exact same as what she was already wearing, minus the holes and missing parts she had lost in the Blast, and she switched into the fresh pair without delay. Adagio did the same, while at the same time finding it to be extremely odd that the box happened to come to this very building, with clothing and bags to replace what they had lost, almost as if someone was looking out for them... and she could only assume that Discord was watching them, while making sure that they had some decent clothing at the same time.
She wasn't sure what Discord's game was, as she was sure that he was trying to have fun with their situation, but she said nothing about it as she and her sisters followed Cole up to the roof, where they could make sure that the battery stations were powered up. When the four of them arrived, however, they found Zeke lounging on the couch he had set up in front of the television, and he already had a comic open when they decided to arrive, though he did move the comic as he heard their arrival.
"I thought you were going to watch something on the television while we trained." Cole commented, as he noticed that Zeke hadn't even attempted to turn on the device yet, meaning that he must have seen something that told him this wasn't a good idea and simply waited until they arrived.
"Batteries are dead again... you mind putting on freak show?" Zeke asked, though at the same time he moved the comic out of his eyes so he could clearly look at them for a few moments, while he seemed to be thinking about what he had said, "You're going to need to charge all of them... the TV's a hog."
"Sure." Cole replied, though at the same time the sisters could tell that this was starting to get old for him, and it had only been six days since this routine started, before he sighed and turned away from Zeke as he headed for the first battery station his friend had set up, "Glad it's good for something."
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata watched as Cole moved towards the battery station that was near where Zeke was sitting and loosed a few bolts at the station, fully charging the batteries and providing one third of the power that was necessary for the television to operation. There wasn't much the sisters could do in this situation, not when Cole was the only one of them with electrical based powers, so they simply stood there and watched as their new friend, as Sonata insisted on calling him that, moved near the second battery station and powered it up. From there it was a simple matter for Cole to walk around the fence that was in his way and loosed a few more blasts at the final battery station, where the combined power of the three stations allowed the television to come on when Zeke pressed the button. One thing the girls didn't really like was that he sometimes referred to the device as 'boob-tube', revealing the other part of his nature that they were quick to ignore... and he never tried anything on them, not with their new powers and the fact that the first thing Sonata did was kick a guy between his legs.
With the task complete Cole turned towards the sisters, who knew exactly what was coming up next as Zeke started to turn the television to the channel he wanted to watch... though before anyone could move they heard the sounds of some engines and turned their heads towards the large statue that was off in the distance, where a large airplane, the type that made supply drops, flew overhead and eventually disappeared as it continued flying off into the distance.
"You guys see that?" Zeke asked, as if he thought that they were all idiots for missing it, causing Adagio to sigh as she resisted the urge to raise a palm to her face, "With how low it was flying, I thought it was going to crash into the Neon District or something."
It was in that moment that the person that Zeke called the 'TV Jacker' seized control of the television, and any other working televisions throughout the Neon District, and appeared before them, though Cole and the sisters knew him as the 'Voice of Survival', as he liked to call himself.
Just got word that the feds dropped some relief packages into Archer Square, the Voice of Survival said, revealing what the airplane was doing, though at the same time Cole, Zeke, and the sisters knew that people would be heading there soon enough, the liars at the corporate media tells us that we're gonna get our fair share, that more is coming, heh, that's easy for them to say! They're not the ones living in this hellhole! And truth is that we've been abandoned, and no one is coming to save us.
"Told you that they'd drop food." Cole said, referring to an earlier discussion he and Zeke had during one of the breaks he had taken from his training, especially since it regarded to the dwindling food supply that they had, while at the same time turning towards his friend for a few seconds.
"Man, you must be out of your mind." Zeke replied, though as he spoke he set aside his comic and stood up, telling the sisters that he might actually be thinking of heading out to take a look at what was dropped into Archer Square, "You think any of those pencil-necks gives a crap about us? This is a PR stunt."
"That isn't going to stop you from pigging out, though, is it?" Aria inquired, as she and her sisters had seen how Zeke ate in the days since they woke up and knew that he'd eat almost anything that was available, save for a few very specific things that he didn't like.
"Hell no it ain't!" Zeke declared, as he could already imagine what had been dropped into Archer Square and what they might be able to get their hands on, provided they managed to get anything from this, "Zeke's gotta eat."
"Then you can take the stairs," Cole said, though at the same time he grinned as he turned towards the opening that was near where Zeke's couch was located, where he knew that Adagio, Aria, and Sonata would follow after him, "the girls and I, on the other hand, will use the express elevator."
Zeke, understanding what Cole was talking about, mumbled something about the fact that Cole and the sisters got to have all the fun, which he was really annoyed about, and opened the nearby door so he could walk down the stairs that were behind it. A few moments later a tired Zeke emerged from the building and moved off into the area around the spot that his friends generally landed in, to which Cole jumped over the edge and let himself fall to the ground, where he landed without any sort of injuries and broken bones, another benefit of whatever had happened to him. Once he was on the ground he moved out of the way and looked up at the roof, where he and Zeke watched as the sisters jumped off the roof and landed around the entrance of the apartment building, also sustaining no injuries despite the height they had jumped from, while at the same time Sonata smiled as Adagio and Aria let a small smirk appear on their faces.
"Those were some awesome jumps," Zeke commented, still appearing to be a little tired from his run down the stairs, while at the same time he pushed that to the side as he focused on the task at hand, "Man, I really wish I could do something like that... because running down all those stairs sucks donkey balls. Now, before we head over to Archer, I need to pick up a new six shooter."
"Here we go..." Cole said, remembering what happened the last time he held a gun, which wasn't a great experience now that he had electric powers, though at the same time he and the sisters followed after Zeke as he started moving towards the location his new weapon was in.
"Nah, that was bad-ass." Zeke stated, as he was the only one that found what had happened to be funny, because despite the fact that they hadn't been involved with the majority of the situation Adagio, Aria, and Sonata didn't find what had happened to be very funny at all, "The second you touched it, the electricity in your hands cooks of the gun powder and the whole thing goes KA-BAM! The looks on all your faces was priceless."
"It almost blew off Cole's hand at the same time," Sonata said, as she didn't like the fact that Zeke thought this was remotely funny, especially since it was his best friend that had nearby been hurt by the event.
"Which is why Cole won't be touching the new one." Zeke replied, revealing that he didn't want this one trashed as well, though at the same time there was something else that he wanted to tell them, "I traded this guy one of my home-made batteries for it."
"As in one of the ones that explode when you use them?" Adagio inquired, as she couldn't believe that Zeke would willingly give someone one of those, even if he desperately wanted the six shooter that was replacing the old one, and knew that he had put someone's life in danger, even if she didn't know who that someone was.
"Hell, he doesn't know that." Zeke stated, though at the same time they crossed the street and continued to follow the sidewalk, where Cole and the sisters followed after Zeke, as he was the only one that knew where the weapon was, "C'mon, he told me he was going to leave the gun in a parking lot a few blocks from here."
As Adagio and her sisters thought about what Zeke had done, as they had never done anything like that when they were trying to survive in the seemingly magicless world that Starswirl had sent them to, Zeke started talking about what he missed since the Blast had happened. Those included having a nice big slice of pizza, that was dripping with grease and pepperoni, while also having a big fat stack of bills in his wallet, though the sisters knew that he was picking out his favorite parts of what life had been like before the Blast. Cole, on the other hand, said that he'd settle for some hot water, which the sisters agreed with, before Zeke started talking about a time that they messed with a bike cop, where he apparently pissed all over the guy before he and Cole fled the scene. The sisters weren't sure that this was really the best thing to be talking about, especially given the current circumstances of the Neon District, but they decided to let the duo talk, since they didn't have anything to share that was like what the pair had done.
There were a few things that the sisters noticed as they followed after Cole and Zeke, as there were Reaper signs on some of of the windows, there were bags of trash everywhere, people were clearly scared of what was going to happen to them, and there were several injured people resting along the path they were following... and there was nothing the three of them could do, at least not yet.
They turned around a few more corners and ran through an alley before they found the area they were searching for, a parking lot that had a few delivery trucks, or more accurately the rectangle containers that they carried around, resting in their way as they stopped in front of four identical cars. Zeke started to moan about how the man he traded the battery to had told him that the gun would be hidden under a car, and that his assumption was that there would have only been one car upon arrival, before exclaiming that they would never find the weapon. Cole, on the other hand, had a solution to his friend's problem, as he gathered his power for a moment and loosed what the sisters guessed was a shockwave, where they watched as the circular wave moved the cars he aimed at and, if he aimed it right, he could even lift them a little bit into the air before they came back to the ground. Cole was able to use this new ability for a few seconds before he found the car that the gun was under, though while Zeke happily claimed his weapon Cole walked over to the nearby power source and drained it of it's power, restoring his own and making him ready to continue.
With the weapon claimed, and Zeke once more interested in the powers that Cole and the sisters possessed, the group started to depart from the parking lot, though as they did so Cole's phone rang and he immediately tapped the button to answer it, especially since he knew who it was without looking.
"Cole, you there?" Trish asked, to which the group paused for a moment, because for Cole this was important, especially after who his girlfriend had lost when the Blast happened.
"Hey babe." Cole said, letting Trish know he was there, while at the same time being pleased to see that all of his friends were being silent at the moment, despite the fact that they were all eager to get to Archer Square.
"You hear they dropped some food into Archer Square?" Trish inquired, which meant that the Voice of Survival must have accessed one of the televisions near where she was located, though it was kind of hard to miss the plane flying over the Neon District earlier.
"Yeah, we did." Cole replied, though as he said that he knew that Trish was going to worry about all of them, regardless of what he decided to tell her, so he decided on letting her know exactly what they were doing, "All five of us are heading over there right now."
"How are you feeling?" Trish asked, as while she worried about him she was slightly interested in the powers that he had developed since the Blast, and that included the abilities that the sisters might have unlocked as well, despite the fact that she preferred to ask Adagio, Aria, and Sonata that question in person.
"All right, I guess." Cole answered, though at the same time he, Zeke, and the sisters moved out of the parking lot, as they were losing time by standing around in one place, "These powers are all over the place. Used to be that I could barely power a light bulb, now I'm jumping off of buildings and frying the junk on Zeke's roof."
"You jumped off a building?!" Trish exclaimed, as she couldn't believe that Cole had done something like that, even if he hadn't been injured in the slightest by the action, before she said something else, "What were you thinking? And please don't tell me you managed to convince Adagio and her sisters to do the same thing."
"Relax Trish, we're fine." Cole said, deciding that it was best not to say that Adagio, Aria, and Sonata had jumped off the top of Zeke's apartment building as well, despite the fact that they were uninjured as well.
"Just take it easy." Trish replied, though it was at this point that the sisters knew she was talking to Cole, and only to Cole, so they paid attention to the path they were following while Cole ran behind them and finished things up, "After what happened to Amy, I couldn't..."
"Yeah, I know." Cole said, as he knew how much Trish was hurting after losing her sister, and that he knew that Trish would be shattered if anything happened to him, which was why he wasn't planning on letting anything happen to him, Zeke, or even the sisters that we with them.
"I'll see you guys at Archer Square," Trish stated, indicating that the call was almost over, which was good news since their group was getting close to their destination as well, but Cole knew there was something else Trish wanted to say before the call was cut off, "I love you."
As Cole said that he loved Trish as well, and hung up after she did, the group turned a corner and came face to face with the large statue of a man that they had seen the airplane fly over earlier, to which they carefully approached Archer Square and looked around for the supply boxes that were supposedly dropped into the area. As the five of them followed the crowd of people towards the center of the area Zeke looked up and spotted the supplies, which were currently hanging on part of the statue and appeared to be caught. Since none of the civilians around them appeared to be climbers, based solely on what they were seeing at the moment, Cole sighed as he approached the base of the statue and jumped up so he could grab the light in front of him. From there he started to ascend the statue, carefully making his way along the pipe that would take him closer to the supplies, which made him jump over a small gap before he could approach the cable that connected the supplies to the parachute it was attached to... where Cole lifted his hand and blasted the clearly rusted chain, allowing the container of supplies to drop down to the ground, while at the same time the civilians moved out of the way before they were hit.
Any happiness he felt when the food fell towards the ground was crushed as he heard some gunfire nearby and turned towards the source, as the red hooded menace known as the Reapers had finally entered the scene, and they were already firing at the civilians that were near them or close to their immediate area... and Cole, seeing it happen from his vantage point, growled as he knew what he had to do; he jumped off the part of the statue he was on and landed near his friends.
"Let's do this." Cole said, where he held his arm out and loosed a bolt through the air, where it struck one of the Reapers that were coming their way in the chest and knocked it to the floor, while at the same time Zeke and the sisters spread out and fired at will.
The civilians ran for cover as Cole, Adagio, Aria, Sonata, and Zeke opened fire on the Reapers that were coming for the supplies, though as they did so the five of them spread out so they could make sure they took out all of the enemies that were coming their way and no miss any of them. Adagio used some of the support structures around the area as cover as she studied how many enemies were in the area, though when they focused on someone else she emerged from her hiding spot and threw a few ki blasts at her intended targets. Aria had a much different approach, as she actually charged at her chosen targets and punched them when she got close, preferring to use the ki blasts when her foes were dazed so she was sure she was knocking them out, before she moved onto the next Reaper that turned on her. Sonata, on the other hand, avoided the gunfire that was aimed in her direction and launched a few attacks in return, where the Reapers moaned in pain as her attacks knocked them out as well.
Sure enough after the first group of Reapers were taken out two more groups charged into the battlefield, intending to take out the defenders and claim the food that had been dropped into the area, but at the same time none of the sisters were having that, and Cole agreed with them. As these groups came together the four of them assisted each other in taking their enemies out, as Adagio and Cole stood behind the support pillars for a moment, to make sure they avoided the bullets, and when the Reapers stopped they stepped out of their hiding area and blasted their targets to the ground before they moved forward. Aria and Sonata, however, had a different tactic, as sometimes Aria would be a distraction and would make sure the Reapers focused on her, allowing Sonata to take them out, and other times Sonata would be the distraction that allowed Aria to do the same. Together the four of them seemed to be more than a match for the Reapers that were coming towards Archer Square, though before long it was clear that this might be all the Reapers were sending out at the moment... and the rest of their gang would be annoyed when they realized that they weren't taking the supplies that had been dropped into the area.
Zeke watched all of this happen, and took in everything that the sisters could do with their limited skills while also factoring in what Cole was able to do with his electricity as he knocked out two Reapers by shooting the puddle they were both touching, while also firing a few bullets at the foes that came his way... before the small group of Reapers they had been fighting had been routed, much to his joy as the others returned to him. At the same time he noticed that the civilians, who had been scared off by the Reapers and had hidden where they might be safe, were now poking their heads out to see what was going on, and he knew what was coming if they didn't act fast.
"There's a lot of food here." Aria commented, looking over the number of containers that had littered the ground after Cole knocked the supply drop loose, while at the same time the others nodded their heads in agreement, "So what do we do with all of it? Do we share with the other civilians, or do we..."
"We share." Sonata replied, where Adagio and Aria noticed that her aura took on a very light blue coloration for a few seconds before it disappeared, though whatever that meant they had no idea, before Sonata turned towards the first group of civilians that were coming over and helped them take some of the supplies.
Adagio and Aria stared at each other for a moment, wondering what they should do, before they decided that they might as well do the same thing and helped their sister out, though while the two of them did that they both noticed the faint change in their auras as well. A few seconds later Cole joined them and helped open the containers so the civilians could get to the food a lot faster, especially since a few appeared to be a tad bit damaged by the drop, but they were able to make sure the people had food so they could survive a few more days. Zeke, of course, commented on how one of the items happened to be canned prunes and how he disliked them, but he moved to the side as Trish walked up to where Cole and the sisters were standing.
"I'm so glad you guys got the food down and protected it from the Reapers!" Trish said, indicating that she was happy with their decision to help the civilians that she was trying to help, while at the same time smiling at some of them as they carried off some of the food that had been dropped, "These people were starting to starve."
"We're just doing what we can." Cole replied, though at the same time he smiled as he glanced over at Adagio, Aria, and Sonata, as despite the fact that two of them seemed reluctant to distribute the food at first they eventually joined in and aided their sister, "Someone had to help them."
It was at that point that Sonata noticed something of interest, as the Voice of Survival had hacked into more of the video screens that were in the city and had a new message to play for them, though as she focused on it so did Adagio, Aria, Cole, Zeke, and Trish. As the video played the group discovered that the speaker had a few images of Cole the day the Blast happened, holding a familiar package that the sisters had seen him looking at when they first arrived in this world, one that the Voice of Survival was quick to label as the reason behind why the city was in the shape that it was in. He also started to label Cole, of all people, as the terrorist that was responsible for the Blast, the disease that came after it, the intense property damage, and all of the people that had been killed when the tragic event happened. The sisters were shocked by what they were seeing, as Cole was a good person and would never willingly deliver or set off a bomb, but at the same time they noticed two things; the first being that people were starting to look at him weird... and the second was Trish, who had lost her sister in the Blast, turned away from Cole and walked away without saying a single word.
The sisters knew that whatever bond had been in place between Cole and Trish had been severed by one video, and one man as it were, and it wasn't likely ever going to come back... though before a riot could happen Cole and Zeke make quick plans to meet at the Stampton Bridge, before heading in opposite directions. The sisters, not knowing what to do in this situation, followed after Cole as he departed from Archer Square, all so the heat would die down so they could enact whatever plan he and Zeke were going to put together next.
After a few minutes of running away from Archer Square, and carefully climbing one of the smaller buildings so they could find from any angry mob that might have formed around the Voice of Survival's 'terrorist' message, Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata came to a stop and stared out at the area around them. Cole was annoyed that someone was labeling him as a terrorist, as he didn't remember much from that day other than going to work and ran for his life with the sisters following him through the wreckage of the Historic District. Still, regardless of whether he was truly responsible for the destruction or if someone else was responsible, he still felt sorry for Trish, since she had lost her sister, and he already felt terrible for the connection between them being broken so easily. The sisters felt sorry for him, surprising Adagio and Aria in the process, and attempted to at least sooth his pain in some manner, but before they could actually do anything Cole sighed and got to his feet once more.
Even without him saying anything they knew what he wanted, he wanted to meet up with Zeke at the Stampton Bridge and get out of town, before the people truly took up arms against him and he was caught between the armed civilians and the Reapers that were tormenting people... though as he turned in the direction of the bridge his phone went off, causing him to pause for a few seconds as he accepted the call.
"Listen man, I'm almost at the bridge." Zeke said, informing them that he had made some great distance when they had been climbing the side of the building that they were on the roof of, which meant that he could give them some information on what they might expect, if he had any to give them, "Since almost everyone here hates your guts, we gotta get out of town, pronto-like."
"We'll meet you there." Cole replied, though that brought a smile to his face, as it was nice to see that his best friend was still on his side, even though he had three new friends that were more than willing to stand by his side, and they had been in the blast zone with him, "And Zeke... thanks for watching our backs."
"Ha, sure man." Zeke said, though at the same time he seemed more focused on something in his immediate area, as it sounded like he was going to cut off the connection soon enough, "I ain't about to do anything that might piss you, Adagio, Aria, or Sonata off. See ya."
A few seconds later Zeke cut off the call and the group stood there for a moment or two, as they thought about what he had said, though the sisters realized that Zeke was worried about his friends doing something to him if he ended up ticking them off, and they hoped that it was simply his nerves speaking and not his actual thoughts. They turned to Cole, to see what his thoughts on the matter were, and he simply shook his head as he returned to the street level, indicating that he didn't want to talk about this at the moment. Adagio and Aria realized that Trish deserting him, especially after everything the two of them had been through, had been more of a blow than what they had expected it to be, and Sonata was concerned for him, but instead of saying anything the three of them jumped down to the street and followed after him, so they didn't get left behind.
Despite the few days they had been awake, since the Blast happened, the sisters hadn't even bothered to learn where everything was in the Neon District, mostly because they were so focused on learning and trying to master their new abilities, but they knew if they didn't follow Cole they would be lost for some time until they found the bridge.
One thing the group discovered was that the Reapers were out in force, as when the four of them walked by several of the buildings they had to avoid the gunfire that came from the roofs, were they noticed some Reapers trying to gun them down from an area they believed to be safe. It appeared that news of the food drop had brought all the Reapers out of hiding, as they were now taking command of the roofs and it appeared that, to move through certain areas, the group would either have to take their foes out or ignore them completely. Sometimes Cole climbed up the side of the building that the Reapers were on the roof of and the sisters would command the attention of the gang members, though when Cole reached the top he blasted them into submission or punched them to the floor. There were buildings where they couldn't get around the Reapers, meaning they had to take them out before they moved forward, and the sisters took turns repeating exactly what Cole did against the first group of Reapers they had come across... and made sure to avoid the gunfire that was directed in their direction, before they returned to the street and continued forward.
Cole lead the way towards the Stampton Bridge, making sure to pick the quickest route despite the Reapers that were along the way, and eventually they reached their destination, though as they came to a stop near the bridge, however, they noticed something interesting... the way out of the Neon District, that Cole and Zeke wanted to use, had a barricade of some kind and it appeared that people were gathering in front of it.
"Stampton Bridge, the fastest way out of town." a voice said, to which all four of them turned and watched as Zeke ran up to them, meaning that he had either been hiding somewhere or he had to take an alternate route to get here, but at the moment the specifics didn't matter, "That is, if the four of you can get us past those baton-wielding goons."
"We're getting out of here, one way or another." Cole replied, though at the same time he had to weight their options, as he knew that the crowd would definitely play a part in their escape, and he saw two potential ways for this could happen, "Follow my lead."
As they walked towards the police barricade that was in front of them, and approached the crowd, the sisters heard one of the officers mention that this was a 'restricted area' and that lethal force may be used at any time, while also hearing the man state that they would tell the civilians when the quarantine was over. A simple glance told them everything, as they could either fire a few shots from inside the crowd, putting the innocent people at risk in the process, or they could willingly stand out and fire at the officers, letting them take the heat. Adagio and Aria had a specific way they wanted to do this, but Sonata, knowing them better than anyone else, shook her head and walked along the side of the crowd with Cole, where the two of them loosed a pair of blasts at the officers and commanded their attention, causing the remaining two sisters to sigh as they joined their sister. The officers, on the other hand, noticed them doing that and fired at them, though their small group was unable to do much against Cole and the sisters... especially when Cole used his shockwave to lift them off their feet and the sisters hit them with blasts to make sure they were knocked out for now.
Zeke, watching the four of them take out the first group of guards, noticed a faint flicker of blue energy, or what he assumed was energy, appear around them for a few seconds before disappearing, though he paid it no mind as Cole spotted a power source on the gate that he could charge... and soon enough the gate was open, allowing them and the rioters to pass through the first obstacle on their way to escape from the Neon District.
Cole and the sisters noticed that, as they moved into the heavily defended area and moved around the various defenses that had been placed in the event that someone breached the first gate, the police officers that happened to be in front of them were firing at them with real guns and bullets. As such they had to use the small police barricades as cover, as well as the sides of the containers that were resting along the bridge, so they could get around the gunfire and knock out the police officers that were firing at them. One thing Cole did, when the first group was cleared out, was walk up behind the first turret that was along the way and used his electricity to break it to pieces, just in case some police officers came up from behind him. From there they approached an area that had two turrets, one on the right side of the blockade and another on the left side, so the four of them split into two small groups where one of them would fire at the police that aimed up at them and the other took out whoever was using the turrets.
The moment the police officers had been taken out, and their turrets had been broken, Cole powered up the power source for the second gate and it opened in front of them, allowing them to enter the next area that the police was guarding and continued hiding behind the various covers as they fought their opponents and took out the turrets that were along the way. As they moved forward one of the police officers called out that this area was under strict quarantine and that they would be using lethal force against any 'unauthorized personnel', which told the sisters that they were more than willing to kill whoever was trying to escape the city. Still, the three of the and Cole fired at the police officers and knocked them out, while also dismantling the turrets that were in their way so that the civilians that were following them would be safe from harm. After blasting a few more police officers, disabling the turrets that were in their way, and navigating the containers that were in their way, Cole, Zeke, and the sisters finally reached the third gate in the area and Cole charged it's power source so they could move forward... but none of them were ready for what rested on the other side of the third gate.
The gate revealed a wall of razor wire, a larger number of fortifications than what they had gone through in the last few minutes, and a hail of machine gun fire that tore through the innocent civilians that had charged ahead of the group, no doubt killing them in the process. Zeke made a break for it immediately, heading towards the wall off on their immediate right and hurled himself at the fencing that was there, where he broke through it and fell into the harbor that was below the bridge. Cole and the sisters, thinking fast, followed his example and charged at the opening he had created, though instead of diving into the water they actually dove into an opening that happened to be in front of them, one that closed the moment they were in whatever room they had dove into. A few moments later a light came on and they all discovered that they weren't alone, as a second light, in a second room, came on and showed them someone that was sitting in a chair.
"Cole MacGrath," the person said, revealing that it was female by the tone, where the group realized that it was an accurate assumption since the person was definitely a lady, "along with the three unknown subjects. Perfect. I've been waiting for you four for some time now... especially after what happened two weeks ago, at Ground Zero."
Cole and the sisters stiffened for a moment, as she had to be referring to some footage that revealed what happened in the Historic District, where the four of them walked out of the wrecked area while thousands more lost their lives due to the Blast happening... though for now they remained silent as they waited to see what she did next.
"My name is Moya, and I'm an FBI agent." the lady said, almost as if revealing who she was would put them on equal footing with each other, which wasn't a bad move on her part since they knew what to call her, though at the same time she stared at Adagio and her sisters, "And who might the three of you be?"
"...Adagio Dazzle..." Adagio replied, though as she spoke, and moved her hand towards her sisters, she kept her eyes on this 'Moya', because right now she didn't trust her and wasn't about to tell her anything other than what she needed to know, "and my sisters Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk."
"Now those are some unusual names," Moya stated, though at the same time a smile appeared on her face, one that definitely told the sisters that the lady knew more about all of them, and who they knew, than they could possibly guess, before she focused on them all, "but then again, all of you are unusual, as you all have powers now... powers that you just used in an attempt to break through the quarantine and leave the city. Just like I thought you would."
"What do you want from us?" Cole asked, because he knew that the more time they spent here, with someone who likely held all the cards, the more likely they were going to get roped into something none of them wanted to do, but at the moment he knew that they'd end up playing her game.
"Before the Blast happened my husband, John White, had been assigned to infiltrate the First Sons," Moya explained, to which she held up a picture of John, so that way the four of them could burn his image into their minds, meaning that they would no doubt be looking for him if they went back into the Neon District, "they're a shadowy group that's been working on a project they call the 'Ray Sphere'. According to our limited information it's a device that's designed to drain the neuro-electric energy from a group of people and concentrate it inside a single individual. Unfortunately I lost contact with John the night before the Blast and, despite all my connections and contacts, I've started to lose hope of ever seeing him again."
Cole and the sisters could see that she seemed upset over the fact that she might have lost John, as she certainly appeared to be a grieving wife, but at the same time the sisters knew that something was fishy, as they had survived for a long time and faked many emotions over the years... and there was something about the way Moya talked, and how she quickly snapped out of her state, that sent red flags up in their minds.
"And yet I was able to find the four of you without any problems," Moya said, this time causing the group to raise their eyebrows, as they were interested in what she had to say, regardless of whether they trusted her or not, "So, I've come to make a deal with the four of you; if you go back into the city, and find both John and the Ray Sphere, I'll get all of you out of the quarantine and clear your names."
Cole didn't trust the information on the Ray Sphere, as it seemed absolutely strange, though at the same time he reflected on his own powers, and what the sisters were able to do, and decided that he might as well cut Moya some slack, just in case she was telling the truth. He glanced at Adagio and her sisters, seeing them glancing at each other for a few moments, before they all turned back towards him and nodded their heads a little bit, to which he turned his attention back towards Moya and said that they would do it. He knew that the sisters were more interested in helping him at the moment, since it was his name that was being tarnished by the Voice of Survival, but he was glad that they had his back, especially when they were dealing with someone who had all the cards at the moment. Moya then smiled and got up from where she was sitting, where she tapped a button on the side of a wall and a nearby hatch, which they hadn't noticed until now, opened up so they could jump or climb out of the area that they were in, where they barely glanced at Moya as they exited the room that she had been sitting in the entire time.
Cole was the first to land on the bottom section of the bridge, where all the pipes were running, and moved out of the way as Adagio, Aria, and Sonata did the same thing, though once they were all out of the room that they had been in the hatch sealed and they were on their own.
"Because of the riot topside, this is your only way back into the city." Moya explained, her voice now coming from Cole's phone, which caused him to moan for a very short moment, as this was something that he could do without, "Given the state of our new 'partnership', I've taken the liberty of cloning your phones frequency. I've got a lock on your GPS locator, and I can hear every word you say."
"That's... super." Cole said, his voice lacking any enthusiasm at the moment, though as he disconnected the call, for the moment anyway, he also raised his left hand towards the rusted pipes in front of them and blasted them, dropping sections of pipe that they could use to traverse the distance, without wrecking the bridge in the process.
As he blasted the sections of pipe into place, and used them to traverse the path in front of him, Adagio and her sisters followed after him in rapid succession, as from the looks of the pipes they would have to walk along these could potentially fall apart at any moment and drop them into the harbor. While that wasn't bad for them, since they all knew how to swim, Cole's electric powers prevented him from enjoying the water as everyone else did and falling into the harbor was essentially a death sentence waiting to happen. As they followed the pipes, however, the four of them noticed some Reapers further ahead of them, appearing to be messing with something ahead of them, so in response to the bullets that were flying their way the sisters loosed a few blasts of their own, allowing Cole to focus on clearing a path that they could take back to the city. Fortunately the two Reapers weren't a match for their combined attacks, as the sisters were able to clear them out of the area, allowing them to safely touch the platform they had been walking on, where things started to get interesting.
On a wall that they would have to climb around rested some sort of shard, radiating a power that seemed different from what they had seen before, though when Cole touched it a small surge of power rushed into his body for a few seconds, before finally calming down.
"Wh... what the hell was that?" Cole asked, as he had never seen anything like that before and turned towards the sisters for a moment, where Adagio and Aria shrugged their shoulders, indicating that they had no idea what had just happened to him.
"Maybe it's a fragment from when the Ray Sphere was activated." Sonata said, causing the others to turn towards her for a moment, as her sisters were curious as to what she was going to say and if there was any truth to what was on her mind right now, "You know, charged fragments of earth that, when they come into contact with someone like Cole, they grant him a small boost of power... and, if we find enough of them, maybe they'll give him a decent power boost so he can keep firing at his opponents for longer periods of time."
Adagio realized that Sonata might be onto something, as it made perfect sense when she thought about it, and then quickly brought her palm to her face, because this was another moment where Sonata had a perfectly reasonable idea that made her seem smarter than she really was. That alone made her wonder if the Blast had scrambled Sonata's brain and, in addition to awakening some hidden power inside her, it also made her much smarter than what she had been before they came to this world. In fact, now that she thought about it, Sonata hadn't actually done anything stupid since they woke up and started helping Trish and Zeke out, meaning that there might have been a positive side effect for her sister... though whether she could keep up with a smart Sonata, who didn't do stupid things, was a matter for another time, as Cole was already moving and she didn't want to be left behind, not after what they had just gone through.
The three of them followed Cole around the corner that the Blast Shard had been attached to, avoiding the exhaust pipes along the way, before they all jumped over to a wire that they could use to carefully make their way to the next platform so they could get this over with... and, when they least expected it, Moya spoke up.
"Cole, the water pressure has dropped in the main running under the bridge." Moya said, revealing that she could see what was happening in their area, at least from the various meters that were in the area that she was in, "What's going on down there?"
"Some Reapers are busting up some of the pipes." Cole replied, though at the same time he reached the end of the line and dropped down onto the platform, before giving the sisters enough room to do so as well, before he started firing at more rusted sections and lowered a new path into place.
"Interesting. I'll see what I can find out." Moya stated, her tone indicating that she was actually interested in what was happening at the moment, though at the same time the sisters finished letting go of the line and stood beside Cole as he finished up the call, "The four of you should focus on getting back into the city... don't forget whose holding your leash."
Cole resisted the urge to growl in annoyance, as he was beginning to dislike Moya already, as it was like she believed that she owned all four of them, but instead of doing that he disconnected from her and moved forward with the sisters following after him. This time around, however, he was thankful for them moving fast and being behind him at all times, as several of the pipes were actually falling apart when one of them jumped onto one of them, along with the fact that they had to pause to fire at more Reapers that were in their way. The four of them quickly made their way over the last couple of pipes that were between them and the Neon District, where Cole was the first one across and made sure that Adagio, Aria, and Sonata made it safely to the side that he was on... though once they were all together again they watched as the last pipe they used to get back here broke off from where it had been resting and fell into the water, making it impossible for anyone to traverse the path they had taken.
As they all let out a sigh of relief, that they hadn't sustained any injuries and had gotten back to the city unharmed from the entire ordeal, they heard a familiar voice call out to them, where they turned and watched Zeke, his clothes still dripping from his dip in the harbor, approach them.
"Man, it's good to see the lot of you again." Zeke said, his tone and face revealing that he was definitely happy to see them all, especially after what they had just gone through when they tried to escape the city.
"Nice work on that gate, Wrecking Ball." Cole replied, though at the same time he smiled, as he was in a joking mood at the moment, at least to take his mind, and hopefully the sisters' minds as well, off of the fact that they had just gotten a good number of civilians killed.
"Hell, I lived through the fall, no problem." Zeke stated, to which he rubbed the back of his head for a moment, no doubt where he had first hit the water, before he looked at all of them again, "But getting back to shore, well, let's just say I'm not Michael Phelps."
"Hey, at least you made it back, safe and sound." Sonata said, as she was happy to see that Zeke had survived the fall, as she had been worried for his safety as she, her sisters, and Cole made their own escape, though her words were accompanied by the others nodding their heads, including Aria, who generally hated everyone who wasn't her and Adagio.
"Speaking of which, how in the hell did you guys survive that?" Zeke asked, as he knew what he had seen when he busted through the gate earlier, though at the same time he grinned, indicating that his earlier statement, about it being good to see them again, was what he was going with.
"Zeke, let's head back home." Cole said, knowing that they all needed a breather from what they had been through, and maybe a drink or two if they had any to spare, despite the fact that Adagio, Aria, and Sonata preferred soda or water over the alcohol that Zeke kept around, "We'll tell you what happened on the way."
Zeke smiled as Cole lead the way back to the apartment building they stayed at, while at the same time the sisters followed behind them, keeping their eyes open for anyone that wanted a piece of Cole, but so far it appeared that the other civilians were either focused on the Reapers or those they lost in the riot attempt... and all three of them knew that it was only a matter of time until someone taught the Reapers a lesson, and they had the feeling that Cole was going to help them do that in the near future.
Cole carefully told Zeke the details of what happened after they opened the final gate and ran into the barricade that had killed a number of innocent civilians, and about their meeting with Moya, though at the same time he made sure to do so when they weren't near any of the other civilians. Fortunately the other people who were trapped in the Neon District were preoccupied by either the events at the bridge or the Reapers that were still terrorizing them, so he didn't have to worry about spilling the beans in front of someone that shouldn't know what he knew. At the same time Adagio, Aria, and Sonata walked near them, keeping their eyes on how the people were reacting to Cole's presence, though they were amazed that people hated him and yet seemed to tolerate their presence, which was strange when they considered that they were friends with him and should have been treated the same way. Adagio, however, was more than happy that none of them were being chased by anyone, as that allowed them to return to Zeke's apartment building, get something to eat, and retire to the roof to explain the situation to Zeke.
Since it had been in the afternoon when they tried to escape the quarantine, and failed, telling Zeke everything took some time and the sun eventually went down as the moon appeared in the sky, indicting that it was nearly nighttime, but they were able to give him the whole picture.
"...and it drains neuro-electric energy." Cole finished, describing what the Ray Sphere did, even though he was still shocked by the existence of a device that could grant powers to anyone, which didn't sound good when he thought about the Blast that happened earlier.
"I knew it!" Zeke declared, his tone indicating that he was happy about something, while at the same time Adagio and her sisters stared at him for a moment, as they remembered what he had been saying since they first woke up, "All the stuff I've been saying, every world of it is true. The government's in cahoots with a secret organization, the Ray Sphere... damn, it all makes sense now."
"Calm down." Cole said, knowing exactly how worked up his friend could get over this sort of thing, though while he wished there was an answer that didn't confirm some of Zeke's crazy theories he was stuck with the answer he had given, where he wondered if Moya would be upset with him or not, "You'll end up hurting yourself in your excitement."
"That Ray Sphere must dish out powers to whoever's controlling it." Zeke commented, his tone indicating that he either didn't hear Cole, or he did and just didn't care at the moment, while at the same time he glanced down at his hands for a moment, as if he was imagining the device in his hands, "You gotta bring it back here!"
"And do what with it?" Aria inquired, as she didn't see the point of them taking the Ray Sphere for themselves, as they had no idea how it worked and, if they were right about it being at the center of the Blast that they found Cole in, activating it again was too dangerous, even for them, "Turn you into Cole's side-kick?"
"Ah, hell with that." Zeke replied, to which he leaned back on his couch and stared at the four powerful beings that were his friends, though secretly he was still imagining what it would be like to have powers like them, "Zeke Jedediah Dunbar is his own man."
"Your middle name is Jedediah?" Cole asked, as this was the first time that his best friend had ever revealed what his middle name was, but he had always thought it was something other than what he had been told, while at the same time he could tell the sisters didn't know what to think about Zeke's middle name.
"Yes it is, after my grandfather." Zeke said, a hint of family pride, or something akin to it, in his voice, though at the same time Adagio and her sisters raised their eyebrows, but they remained silent as they listened, "Strong man for a man of his size. Uh, I don't know where Zeke comes from, but I'm certain..."
"Zeke, I'd love to listen to you talk some more, but the girls and I have some things we need to do," Cole stated, which the sisters realized was his attempt to get them away from Zeke, so they could contact Moya, or vise versa, and learn what they needed to do first in the search for the Ray Sphere, "besides, after what happened today, you need to take both a bath and a nap. We'll be back later."
Zeke actually didn't seem upset that Cole and the sisters didn't want to stick around and learn how he got his name, to the best of his knowledge anyway, and quickly realized that he had a small harbor smell coming from his clothing, to which he mumbled about it affecting his chances with the ladies and headed down into the building, leaving the four of them alone for the moment. Sure enough a few seconds later Cole's phone rang, though he had turned the ringer volume down so he, and anyone in the immediate area around him, could hear it, to which he accepted the call the instant the sisters had gathered around him.
"I've already got a couple of leads for you," Moya spoke up, revealing who it was, not that mentioning 'leads' had told them who it was the moment they heard someone talking, but none of them spoke up and listened to what she wanted to tell them, "the coordinates have been uploaded into your phone. Give me a call when you're in position."
The instant the call was disconnected Cole pulled his phone out of it's holder and looked at the GPS that he had installed into it, to help him with his courier job, and discovered that two of Moya's tasks were actually pretty close by, while the third one seemed a little further away. In fact the closest one was on a nearby building, one that he could see from where he was standing, and he could tell that the sisters were interested in what he was thinking about, though oddly enough they were being silent as they waited for him to tell them something.
"Moya sent us three objectives we can do," Cole said, to which he slipped his phone back into the pouch that it stayed in all the time, before turning to face the sisters for a moment, "If it were up to me, and if I was alone, I would take the closest objective first and see what sort of task I would have to do, before moving towards the next closest one and repeating until I was done. What are your thoughts on the matter?"
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata looked at each other for a few seconds, as they had no idea how far all of these objectives were and had no idea what Moya wanted, but since they were in unfamiliar territory they all silently agreed on one thing, to which they turned back towards Cole.
"If you feel that we should take on the closest objective first, then we'll follow your lead." Adagio said, though while she generally hated passing leadership to either of her sisters, as both made mistakes at times, she trusted that Cole knew what he was doing, save for the powers he commanded, and that they'd get done with Moya's tasks in no time.
Cole could tell that Adagio wasn't used to surrendering her leadership to anyone, save for her sisters if the look in her face told him anything, but instead of saying anything he beckoned for them to follow before he jumped out of the opening that was opposite of the one they used when they were heading to Archer Square. The instant they were on the ground he lead them to the building that the coordinates were attached to and latched onto the exterior of the building and started climbing up to the roof. Sure enough he heard the sound of his friends following after him, as they were starting to climb up the other climbable perches that were available, though it wasn't long before the four of them reached the top of the building and approached the point that Moya had given them... to which Cole tapped his phone and reestablished the connection to their handler.
"All right, we're in position." Cole said, knowing that all Moya had to do was look at his coordinates and figure out which objective she had to give them first, while at the same time he kept his eyes open for Reapers, "Now what?"
"I'm picking up some weird interference from a rooftop not far from your location." Moya told them, to which the sisters looked around for something that was out of the ordinary, while at the same time Cole stared straight ahead at a building with a circular structure on the roof, "I need you to find out it's origin and purpose."
"So what are we looking for?" Adagio inquired, knowing that as long as Cole kept the phone on Moya could hear her and her sisters as well, especially when they stood near Cole.
"Not really sure," Moya replied, which made the sisters really look at everything on the rooftops around the one that they were standing on at that very moment, "probably a transmitter of some type. Call me when you find it."
Cole nodded and disconnected the call for a moment, to which he jumped over to the roof that was across from where he and the sisters were standing, which was lower than the one Moya sent them to, before moving out of the way as his friends followed after him. From there he spotted some exterior vents that could be used to climb up to the top of the structure, though to get up there they had to first climb up the windows that were in front of them before they could even reach the vents, which in turn allowed them to get to the roof of the structure. Thanks to the path that he had discovered it actually didn't take them long to reach the top of the structure, where the four of them spotted a satellite dish, which Zeke had showed the sisters a few times before setting his up, resting nearby.
"Found it." Cole said, to which they approached the satellite dish as he connected to Moya again, while at the same time he noticed something interesting about the dish, something that their handler would want to know about, "Looks like there's a portable drive attached to this satellite dish."
"See if you can listen to it with your phone." Moya instructed, to which the group looked at each other for a moment, clearly surprised by the suggestion, though there wasn't much they could do and Cole decided that he might as well play along with her ideas.
Cole grabbed the object that was attached to the satellite dish and inserted it into the bottom of his phone, which would normally allow him to listen to something when he did such a thing, but all that came out of his phone was a bunch of static that didn't actually say anything.
"Sounds like a bunch of garbage." Adagio commented, as while she and her sisters might be used to the more modern phones that many people used in the world they had been in before this one, they all knew that there had to be a reason behind why someone left something like this in such a state.
"It's an encrypted message, but I can't break it." Moya said, though as she said that the group heard her typing something into a computer on her end, though what that something was they had no idea, "Look around the area and see if you can't find another one."
Adagio had to resist the urge to chuckle as Moya said that, as it was by sheer dumb luck that they had found the first one and there was no telling where someone had hid all of these satellite dishes, meaning that it would take them some time to even find a second one. Cole, on the other hand, focused his mind for a moment and seemed to have a better understanding of the area, reminding her and her sisters that he had the power to sense where electrical power sources were and could find things without someone telling him where they were. As such it appeared that he was using this knowledge, in addition to how they found the first satellite, before he jumped off the building they were on and landed on a roof below them, before climbing on a grind rail and started to move across it. Adagio then chuckled at that, because it appeared that their friend was in the process of developing a new power or something, to which she and her sisters jumped down to the roof Cole had landed on and followed after him.
The sisters followed Cole as he climbed up a building and paused for a moment, before turning and looking at the building that was on the corner of the other side of the street, where some Reapers were standing around and happened to be shooting at the civilians that were around them. Upon seeing them, however, Sonata growled and jumped off the roof, though the moment she hit the ground she charged at the Reaper infested building and started attacking them, where she either punched and kicked them until they surrendered, or she blasted them off the areas they were standing on. Adagio and Aria followed after her, as there were more Reapers than what they expected, and soon the three of them were engaged in a small brawl with the Reapers that patrolled this area of the Neon District, though that created an opening that allowed Cole to climb the building that the Reapers had been standing on... and, more importantly, secure the portable device that happened to be attached to the satellite that was on the building's roof.
With that claimed he climbed back down to where the sisters were and helped them knock out the rest of the Reapers before he even attempted to use the device again, though when he inserted it into his phone they got the same result as the first time... where Moya claimed that she was running a decryption program that would allow them to hear the messages, and she then claimed she needed one more sample to complete the program.
Cole was, one more, able to sense the pull of yet another satellite dish, how he really wasn't able to say to the sisters, and they followed him across the street, right into a Reaper infested area that looked like a power station, though luck was on their side as their enemies were on the nearby roofs. What they discovered was that some of the Reapers that were looking down at them were carrying riot shields, no doubt stolen from the police when the quarantine started, but Adagio found that if they timed their blasts right they could knock one of them backwards. Fortunately the Reapers were more interested in taking her and her sisters out first, why she had no idea, though since that appeared to be the case they did their best to dodge the incoming bullets as they fired a few blasts back at them in return. Cole, on the other hand, used the opening that was revealed to him and climbed up the building while the Reapers were distracted, before using his shockwave power to knock the remaining Reapers off the roof and flung them into the air... though he waited for a few seconds, so the sisters could climb up to him, before he collected the third device from the satellite.
With the device collected Cole told Moya about their progress, who revealed that she had perfected the decryption algorithm that she had been working on and installed it directly into Cole's phone, how the sisters didn't even want to know, before being told that his phone could now play the messages... to which he tested it out on the one that Cole was holding at that very moment.
I... I couldn’t stop Kessler from detonating the Ray Sphere. a voice said, which was male by the tone, though at the same time the group could easily determine that something was up, as he sounded upset and angry over what had happened earlier, Damn thing took out five or six square blocks, killed God knows how many. Found the Ray Sphere in the blast crater, next to some kid. I dunno if he was dead or not, I didn’t have time to check. I’m going to try and hold up somewhere. If anyone is even listening to these things, I need immediate extraction. Please. You need to get me out of here before Kessler finds me!
When the message was over Cole inquired if Moya knew what that was all about, where he and the sisters learned that the speaker had been John, the person they were looking for, and that he must have used these 'dead drops' to communicate with his handlers. She then informed them that they should keep an eye out for more of them while they were wandering the city, as they might actually point them in the direction of John and the infamous Ray Sphere, which caused the Blast two weeks ago. Once the call was disconnected, after they received a little reminder about the deal, Cole pulled out the other two messages and listened to them in the order they had been recovered, where the group discovered that both of them contained information regarding John's first meeting with the First Sons... though since they didn't learn anything Cole switched to his GPS and headed out for the other two points on the map that Moya had sent them earlier.
What he discovered was that, after completing the first mission, he had a very short text from Moya about the remaining two objectives she had sent him, as in she gave him a short description about them, making him wonder if they were supposed to decide this as a group.
"Well, things are getting interesting," Cole said, turning to look at the sisters for a moment, who had been staring at him the entire time he was looking at his phone, but they knew it was important for him to do so, "Of the two remaining objectives we can either go render assistance to an EMT, or we can speak with one of Moya's contacts inside the Neon District. Do any of you have a preference for what we do next?"
"Speaking with Moya's contact might help us out in the long run," Aria commented, as she knew that it was best to help their FBI 'friend' out first, now that they knew what the other two objectives were, but at the same time she knew something was up with the first one, "but, if we're rendering assistance to an EMT, whatever that is, we might get some assistance in the future."
"It means emergency medical technician," Cole replied, knowing that the sisters likely forgot what the letters stood for and didn't hold it against them, not when they were dealing with the same thing that happened to him, "but I see the point you were trying to make; if we help out this doctor we might be able to get some medical assistance from him, in the off chance that we get hurt."
"Exactly." Aria said, as she happy that Cole understood what she had been getting at, even if she and her sisters weren't planning on getting hurt at all while they helped him take out the Reapers and find the Ray Sphere, but she knew that it was better to have some aid then none at all.
Cole nodded his head and lead the way towards the second set of coordinates, though this time around they actually ran into two small groups of Reapers and had to fight their way through them before they were allowed to move closer to the building they were heading towards. While they ran through the city Adagio found it amusing that Moya's tasks seemed to start on the roofs of the buildings that were around the city, but she was thankful for any vantage points they could get while they were on the move, since their enemies knew the city better than they did. Still, she was thankful to have Cole be their guide, because she knew that she and her sisters would get lost in this district rather easily, since they would need a map to understand where they were going... even if she hated not being the leader of the group anymore, as it was because of her that they survived for so long, until they lost their powers anyway.
Thanks to Cole they managed to reach the target area, and ascended to the roof of the building in question, in no time, though when they arrived Cole told Moya they were in position, where they learned that the nearby makeshift clinic that the EMT had set up was overrun and he needed their help... and, to make sure Cole did it, she even listed the same facts that Aria gave, as if she came up with them first.
For them to actually start this particular mission they had to jump back down to the ground level and run through some alleys so they could reach the area that the emergency worker that had reached out to Moya, though it was rather easy to find him once they reached the road that was near the harbor. From there it was a simple matter to walk up to him and learn that the Reapers kept attacking the clinic he had down the street, where he asked them if they could take care of them for him. As such the four of them headed down the street and started firing at the Reapers that were in front of them, though while Cole and Aria focused on those that were on the ground level Adagio and Sonata focused on the Reapers that were firing at them from the roof of the clinic. Just for some added flare Aria also punched several of the Reapers in the face while they were fighting, letting them know that she and the others were in charge, before all of their foes were incapacitated and the clinic had been secured... much to the happiness of the EMT that had called Moya to get him some assistance, who also said he'd patch them up if necessary, and even gave them a container of bandages to help them out, if they were far from him or any other clinics.
Once that was done Cole lead the sisters back through the city, weaving this way and that way, as they hunted down the last objective that Moya had given them, for now anyway, before they reached the area that the coordinates were attached to, where they stared up at the familiar statue Cole had climbed up earlier for a few seconds... before they all sighed as Cole connected them to Moya and asked what they were doing this time around.
"One of my contacts, an electrician by the name of Brandon Carey, didn't check in last night." Moya informed them, though at the same time Adagio, Aria, and Sonata didn't like the sound of that, especially when there was a gang of criminals running around the Neon District, "He's pretty important, so you'll need to find him. He was last seen in the alley across the street from your location."
Cole spotted the alley in question and told Moya that they would check into it, to which the four of them headed over to the alley and walked over to the large shipping container that was resting in front of them, though as they walked around it they spotted a woman laying on the ground... and she happened to be dead, based on what Aria was feeling when she pressed her fingers against the woman's neck.
"Your boy's not here Moya," Cole said, though he, Adagio, and Sonata were already looking for any clues as to what might have happened here, as the blood under the woman indicated a struggle had happened, "just a dead woman."
"A woman? That doesn't make any sense." Moya replied, though even as she said that Adagio wondered if this was a girlfriend or something, for Brandon anyway, and wondered if the Reapers were to blame.
Cole, however, seemed to be focused on something else and knelt on the other side of the woman, opposite of Aria, though before he did anything he had her back away for a moment, as he didn't want her to get hurt when he attempted something, to which she nodded and backed up a little. He then rested his right hand towards the woman's head and focused for a few seconds, where a flood of images, the last moments of the woman's life, came rushing towards him and forced him to watch what happened. He could see things from her perspective, that the Reapers came while she and Brandon were here, tore him from her, and then, when he was some distance away, one of them shot her and left her to die in this very spot.
"...whoa..." Cole moaned, as that was an impressive ability he had no idea that he possessed to begin with, but it certainly made things easier to understand, even if he could do without the rush of emotions he had felt.
"Cole?! What just happened?" Sonata asked, beating Moya to the punch, since Cole had never disconnected from their handler, but she was more worried about their friend than John's wife was at the moment.
"I... I just had a vision." Cole explained, to which he lowered his hands and beckoned to the woman that they were standing around, knowing that Moya couldn't see his movements at all, while at the same time spotting a green echo of sorts near them, "The Reapers, they kidnapped Brandon. This is his wife, Lynnae. And I can see the echo of someone running away."
"Follow it." Moya commanded, appearing to be more interesting in Brandon than Lynnae, though Cole and the sisters looked down at Lynnae for a few seconds before they got moving, "We need to find out what happened."
Cole nodded and focused on the echo that only he could see before he moved around the corner, to which the sisters followed after him while he chased the echo through a different alley, across the main street that went up to Archer Square, and through a second alley. At the end of the second alley, however, the group found a white robed Reaper patrolling the area, one that crouched low to the ground for a few seconds before making a motion in their direction, which caused some sort of shockwave that traveled in a straight line and forced the four of them to separate before they were struck. Before they could fire back, however, the White Reaper seemed to vanish for a moment, causing them to look around in concern, before he appeared nearby and started firing at them with the gun that he carried, scoring a hit when he struck Adagio's left shoulder and drew blood. Adagio growled in pain for a moment as she lifted her right hand up and loosed a trio of blasts that barreled into the White Reaper and knocked him backwards, giving Cole, Aria, and Sonata enough time to get close and knock him out before he could do anything else... though once that was done they ran back over to her and pulled that part of her shirt down, so they could bind it with some bandages the medic from earlier had given them.
"Adagio, are you okay?" Aria asked, though while she knew that she and Adagio argued at times, which was quite often before they lost their powers and came here, she was still concerned for her sister.
"Oh course I'm not okay, that bastard just shot me!" Adagio snapped, though at the same time she moaned as Cole tightened the bandage around her shoulder, as the contact between the bandage and the bullet hole was painful, but she also knew that it would be some time before the wound healed.
"Well, he won't be going anywhere anytime soon," Cole said, staring at the White Reaper for a moment, who was laying on the ground where he, Aria, and Sonata left him, before he turned his attention back to Adagio, "Do you think you can take coming with us, or should one of us escort you back t..."
"Just because I got shot doesn't mean I need to sit out for a while," Adagio said, though as she said that she carefully got back into a standing position and faced Cole, knowing that he meant well by what he had said, but she was more interested in stopping the Reapers now, "Come on, let's go find Brandon and save him from the Reapers... and stop whatever plan they're trying to set in motion."
Cole nodded and picked up the location of the echo they had been following, to which they resumed following it and ran into a few small groups of Reapers that were blocking their way, but after what happened with the White Reaper a few moments ago Adagio was in no mood to play around. As such she lead the charge against the Reapers, blasting them while her sisters and Cole either stayed beside her or charged ahead and beat their foes into submission, before allowing Cole to take the lead as he resumed following the echo. Zeke, oddly enough, contacted them at some point during their adventure and said that helping out the 'Feds' was a bad idea, since he had actually seen one on a nearby roof eating a fresh apple, which was an uncommon sight in the Neon District at the moment. Cole told him not to worry about the situation, since this was the only way any of them were getting out of here, before they reached the destination that the echo happened to be taking them to... the power station that they had passed by when they were looking for the third dead drop, though they raised their guard when they realized that there weren't any Reapers around.
Of course that didn't prepare them for what was waiting for them, as when they followed the echo to the end of the line they found a Reaper, who had strapped a fair amount of explosives to himself, standing in front of the substation that powered the Neon District... before the Reaper detonated his payload, knocking all of them backwards for a moment and effectively killing power to the entire district at the same time.
"What the hell happened?" Moya snapped, while at the same time the sisters moaned as they picked themselves up off the floor and helped Cole onto his feet, who was suffering at the moment, "The entire Neon District just went dark!"
"That's because one of those maniacs just blew up a whole substation." Cole replied, his voice sounding strained at the moment, confirming the fears that Adagio, Aria, and Sonata had felt when they noticed that Cole seemed to be shaking as they picked him up, "...man, my brain feels like it's in a vise..."
"Your body must be reacting to the absence of electricity." Moya commented, echoing a thought that the sisters had been thinking about the moment the guy killed himself and took out the power around them, "You're going to have to man up and find Carey. If we don't restore the power, the Reapers will be unstoppable."
Adagio and her sisters helped Cole out to the street that was near their location and let him pull in whatever power remained inside the streetlights that were around them, restoring a good fraction of his power in the process, enough that he could see the echo again and resumed following it. Fortunately they reached the end of the line a few seconds later, as they approached a manhole cover that went underground, though while Cole smiled at this development, as he knew what rested at the end of certain areas, there was something else that came to mind.
"The Reapers are bound to make a move against us if we head down there," Cole said, to which he glanced around the area that they were in, as while there weren't any Reapers in the area at the moment he was positive that more would be coming soon enough, "Two of us should go down and find Carey, while the other two remain up here, defending our escape route and prevent our enemies from flanking us."
"Well, since your the only one that can see the echo, I say you should be one to go down there," Adagio stated, though at the same time she gently moved her shoulder and did her best to ignore the pain, because being shot by a bullet hurt more than she thought it did, "and, since I'm sure there might be some areas down there that require climbing, I'll gladly sit the first venture out, on account of my injury."
"Oh, can I go down there with him?" Sonata asked, because she was curious what was down beneath them, under the streets that they walked on, while at the same time looking at her sisters.
"Sure. I'll stay with Adagio and watch for Reapers." Aria said, though while her tone was neutral her face showed worry for their sister, as this was the first time that one of them had been shot and she was concerned, even if it was only a minor area and not her chest.
Cole nodded and pulled up the manhole cover, where he let Sonata enter the passage and started the descent towards the level that was below them, though once she was far enough he followed after her and let the cover close as he headed into the sewers, while Adagio and Aria stood guard around the exit. A few moments later he and Sonata reached the end of the ladder and dropped down onto the platform that was below them, though off in the distance she noticed some bolts of electricity.
"All right, we've tracked the echo to the sewers." Cole said, informing Moya as to where they were, even though she knew that two of his friends had stayed on the surface to make sure that the Reapers didn't come in after them.
"The Reapers must have needed Carey's help in shutting down the underground linear transformer." Moya stated, as if she was figuring something out, while at the same time Sonata tilted her head for a second, as she was confused for a moment while also saying nothing about what had been said, "Find the transformer and figure out a way to get it back online. If they killed the conduit, you'll have to re-establish it."
"That must be what we're looking for." Sonata commented, staring at the electronic device that was in front of them, one that happened to have two areas that weren't connected and had a gap that was large enough for a single person to stand between the two.
Cole nodded and the two of them jumped over to the platform that was to their left, which was a little higher up than the one they had been on, before crossing over to some circular structures that allowed them to reach the square platform that the conduit was resting on. Sonata, seeing all the electricity coming from the conduit, stayed near the edge of the platform and watched as Cole jumped up and grasped the two halves of the conduit, where the electricity surged from one side and connected to the other one. Once that was done Cole jumped to the ground and closed his eyes for a moment, his hands twitching for a few seconds, though before Sonata could do anything his eyes snapped back open and he stared down at himself with a smile on his face.
"I... I don't believe it," Cole said, though as he walked over to Sonata he stared at the conduit for a moment, as he knew exactly what had happened the moment he bridged the connection, "When I re-established the conduit I felt a surge of energy and unlocked a few new powers; the power to electrically restrain our foes against the ground, the ability to heal others by passing a surge of electricity through their bodies, and the power to drain the energy from someone's body."
"Two of those sound useful... and the other sounds wrong." Sonata replied, as that was her honest opinion on the matter, especially when the last one sounded like stealing the life force of whoever he was using the power on, before she noticed something off to their right, "And, from the looks of it, you'll have a chance to practice your new powers."
Sure enough there happened to be an injured person laying outside a gate, one that didn't seem to have a lever on their side, to which Cole and Sonata jumped over to him and Cole, focusing his new power, pressed his hands against the man's body and sent a surge into him. That, surprisingly, healed the man of his wounds and the hole that had been caused by a bullet, who got up in surprise and eagerly told someone on the other side that Cole and Sonata were friendlies, which caused the other person to lower the gate. The instant that happened the duo moved forward and used the ruined walkway to reach the area where some wounded people were resting, though as they did so Moya instructed them that they needed to restart the distribution substation by charging it, which should power part of the Neon District. As they continued forward Cole found an opportunity to heal several of the injured people that the Reapers had hurt, restrain some of the wounded Reapers to the floor, and even sapped the energy from one of them to understand his powers.
Of course when he did the third power Sonata saw a faint red glow appear in her friend's aura for a moment, though as he moved towards the other foe at the end of the line, who was wounded, she saw the moments of the third power and stopped him before he could do so... to which she shook her head, causing him to sigh as he understood what she was referring to, to which he restrained the Reaper before they moved forward.
As it turned out Adagio's suggestion that there might be some areas where they had to lift themselves turned out to be right, as they had to pull themselves along a pair of pipes to reach the next doorway, though as they did so Zeke decided to call them. According to what he said Trish came by and collected some of her things, though she could barely talk to him and, when Zeke brought up Cole, she blew a gasket before leaving the apartment building, indicating that the relationship between her and Cole was gone. Cole, of course, was still devastated by the loss of the connection that he and Trish had, but since they were busy at the moment he told Zeke that they would talk again later as he and Sonata found an area that some Reapers were defending. Since it was clear that the Reapers didn't want the Neon District to have any power, why they had no idea, the duo opened fire on their foes and made sure to take them out in a timely manner, as they had no idea if Adagio and Aria were under attack.
Fortunately it didn't take them long to find the area that Brandon was located in, though they had to fight their way through a few more Reapers, restrained them to the ground in the process, while also healing any civilians that were along the path they were following... before they jumped onto the platform that was near Brandon and walked up to the gate that he was on the other side of, where the duo noticed that he was frightened for someone's safety.
"What are you doing here?" Brandon demanded, where he seemed terrified about something, but Sonata had the feeling that she knew what that something was, especially after what she and the others had seen earlier, "Did they see you?"
"Brandon, we need to turn on the substation." Cole said, though he wondered what they were going to do, as they didn't have all of the pieces to the puzzle and knew that only Brandon could provide them with everything.
"Are you out of your damned mind? The Reapers will kill my wife!" Brandon stated, though at the same time he raised the crowbar that he was holding, indicating that if either of them tried anything he would be ready for a fight, "I've jammed this thing up tight... no one is getting in until I know my wife is safe."
"Unfortunately, that's not a possibility anymore," Sonata said, though she was sad when she heard why Brandon was doing what he was doing, especially since she, personally, would do a number of things for her sisters, as long as they stopped doing evil deeds anyway, "The Reapers... they killed Lynnae. We found her body earlier and found that they had shot her shortly after they abducted you."
"I... I..." Brandon started to say, though as he thought about what Sonata had said, and reflected on what happened the last time he say Lynnae, he broke down and started crying, though at the same time he tapped something and the gate started to come down, "I knew I shouldn't have trusted... I'm sorry Lynnae..."
There nothing the duo could do to help him, since neither of them had any experience in consoling someone that was in this position, but with the gate down they walked forward and headed through the entrance that was in front of them, where they made their way over to the substation. Since Cole was the only one that could recharge things with his powers he opened fire on the substation and loosed a few bolts at it, where the substation turned back on and he smiled, indicating that they were on the right path. Once that was done they left Brandon, who was mourning his wife's passing and promised that he would come to the surface later, and retraced their path back towards the tunnel they used to get down into the sewer. While they were doing that Moya informed them that power had been restored to North Beach, one of the sections of the Neon District, and that she would hunt down the three remaining substations, as well as update their GPS as she did so... to which the duo returned to the surface and left the sewers behind.
Sure enough they found Adagio and Aria standing guard nearby, with some defeated Reapers laying around the area, confirming that their idea to defend their rear had been a good idea, though as he looked around Cole gathered some electricity in his hands for what he was going to do.
"So, what happened down there?" Adagio asked, before she beckoned to all of the powered up lights and signs that rested around them, which had been dark when the duo went down into the sewers, "You know, besides turning on the power for this area."
"I got some new powers, and we found Brandon." Cole explained, though at the same time he raised his hands as his mind focused on the healing aspect that he had picked up a few minutes ago, "One of those powers allows me to heal the wounded that we've been seeing... and I was wondering if you'd like me to see if I can heal your shoulder."
Adagio seemed surprised that he had acquired such a power, and was backed by Sonata nodding her head to confirm what he was saying, before she sighed and nodded her head, to which she braced herself as Cole passed a surge of power through her body. A few seconds ticked by before he pulled back, to which Adagio moved her arm for a moment and found that the pain had disappeared, to which she carefully removed the bloody bandage that was wrapped around her shoulder and found that the wound was gone, as if it never existed to begin with. She was surprised by this development, as when they considered Cole's powers this wasn't something they thought about, but at the same time she smiled as she understood what they could do with his healing ability.
"Well, it seems that we can start reversing the damage the Reapers caused immediately," Adagio said, though at the same time she, her sisters, and Cole smiled as they turned back towards the Neon District, because now the Reapers had another reason to fear them.
One thing Adagio was sure of was that if Cole was able to get powers, from turning a substation on, she and her sisters would be able to develop and improve their own powers, and maybe get some sort of elemental power while they were assisting Cole in clearing the streets... all she knew that time would tell, and they were all eager to get back at the Reapers for what they were doing to the unfortunate civilians of the Neon District.
The first thing that Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata did after the first substation was back online, and had given Cole some new powers in the progress, was check out the phone that Cole was carrying, where they discovered that Moya was sending them optional objectives that they could do, to better the situation of the people in the Neon District. The only one that she knew about was right near their current location, meaning that she was either taking her time in finding new things for them to do or there was something they needed to do in order to assist her in finding those objectives. Since there wasn't anything else to do, since Moya hadn't figured out where the second substation was yet, Cole and the sisters decided that they might as well see what sort of task they would be given when they reached the coordinates that had been sent to them after the first substation was turned on. As such they walked over to the area that Moya had sent them the coordinates to, where they paused for Cole to heal the severely injured that were along the way, and was thanked by the few people that didn't believe he was responsible for the Blast, before they reached their destination.
When they stopped beside the building that the coordinates were next to, as they weren't actually on top of the building for once, the group paused as Cole accessed his phone once more and connected to Moya, as right now none of them could see any Reapers and it didn't look like anyone was interested in calling for assistance.
"I'm getting word that there are people out there who can offer some help, but I can't locate them." Moya informed them, revealing that one of the group's thoughts had been correct, though they remained silent so they could hear the rest of her statement and see what orders she had for them, "If you can re-activate the satellite uplinks, I'll be able to track them down and mark their locations on your GPS."
"Sounds easy enough." Sonata said, though she knew that Cole was the only one that could do something like that, especially since she and her sisters didn't have electricity based powers.
Cole had to agree with that statement, as the first uplink happened to be at the top of the building that they were standing next to, so he started climbing the pipes and ledges so he could reach the roof, while at the same time the sisters followed after him so they could see what he needed to do and if they could offer him any assistance. It didn't take them long to reach the part of the roof that the uplink was on, though when the group reached it they discovered that it, like some of the things they had found so far, were Cole's area of expertise, as while the uplink was a little busted he could drain the electricity from it. He would then, as Moya explained, have to run past the other uplinks in the series in order to resynchronize them, thus allowing her to find the people that needed help so she could send them the coordinates of people like the medic they had helped out. As such Cole approached the uplink and started draining the electricity from it, filling his own powers back up, before the entire thing was spent, though instead of sticking around he jumped off the roof that the first uplink was on and ran over the lower roof so he could reach the second one.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata followed after him, as his powers didn't conduct along the various grind rails that rested around the Neon District, meaning that they could follow him to their hearts content while he raced through the area they were in and ran by five more uplinks, restoring their connection... though once the last one was restored Moya informed them that she was already receiving the information, indicating that they had done a good job. What they discovered was that there was someone nearby who actually had a task for them to do and the coordinates were already provided, to which the four of them jumped over to the building that was across from where the final uplink was and dropped down into the balcony area that the concerned man was standing in. For a moment he seemed surprised to see that the group of four had come to him, as if he never expected someone to actually take him seriously, but he calmed himself down and explained the situation to them; a courier for the Reaper's was going to come through this area soon and, if they wanted to know what their enemies were up to, they would have to follow the courier.
It sounded like an interesting mission, different from what they had done so far, though as they told the man that they would look into it they heard the sound of the courier arriving, where they watched as a suicide Reaper started running down the street, heading away from the area they had come from. As such Cole and the sisters waited a few seconds for the suicide Reaper to pass the area the balcony was in before they made their move, which was Cole and Sonata using the train tracks to follow him from above while Adagio and Aria stuck to the ground, hiding behind things to prevent their target from seeing them. Normally Adagio would have been worried about someone spotting their ears or tail and assume that she and her sisters were nearby, but since people in this world seemed to turn a blind eye towards their unique features she didn't even worry about being found out at all. It held true for the suicide Reaper they were following, as while he turned around and looked at the area around him from time to time, to see if someone was following him, he was also pretty blind and didn't notice the duo following him on the ground and the duo that used the tracks and the roofs to spy on him.
Fortunately the suicide Reaper didn't go too far, as he used an alley to reach a delivery area that was vacant of cars at the moment, before he pulled out a package and slipped it under the dumpster that was in front of him, though once that was done he started walking away the moment the task was complete. Adagio and Aria waited a few seconds, to be sure there was enough distance between the suicide Reaper and the dumpster, before they emerged from their hiding places and grabbed the package from it's hiding spot. They then backtracked to a more secluded hiding spot, which would keep them out of the suicide Reaper's line of sight, and beckoned for Cole and Sonata to join them, who jumped off the roof they had been using to spy on their target and landed on the ground near them. Once they were all back together Adagio carefully opened the package and smiled when she discovered that the suicide Reaper had been carrying five Blast Shards on him, no doubt to be delivered to whoever their boss was... but, since they figured out what the package was, she handed them over to Cole, as while she and her sisters couldn't make use of the energy the shards contained Cole could gain a little extra power to help them out.
While they paused for a few moments, to let Cole take in the power of the Blast Shards, Moya called and informed them that each optional objective they completed also seemed to decrease the Reaper presence in that area, meaning that they knew that someone was fighting against them and didn't want to intrude on that person's territory... and, oddly enough, she included a map for Cole's phone, one that showed the three districts and how they changed due to their collective actions.
As the four of them walked away from the dumpster they spotted a lady waving at them, though when they approached her the sisters discovered that she had a slightly red tint to her eyes and seemed to growl at them, to which Sonata promptly pulled them away from the lady and moved into an alley.
"What was that all about?" Aria asked, as that was the first time that anyone in the city had done something like that to her and her sisters, because if anyone was angry at someone it was usually directed at Cole and not them, which made her wonder what else was going to change.
"I think there's more to this than just helping the citizens out," Sonata said, remembering what she had seen back in Archer Square, when they gave the food to the people, and at Stampton Bridge, when they drew the gunfire to themselves to protect the innocent people that followed them, along with what happened in the sewer a few minutes ago, "Every choice we make seems to have either a positive or a negative reaction, as when we gave food to the people our auras flickered blue for a moment, and when Cole tried one of his new powers out... well, the aura flickered red for a moment. This might sound strange, especially since it's coming from me, but I think the blue flickers are good actions and the red ones are evil actions... and that lady, who had a red tint in her eyes, likely had an evil mission for us and chased us off when she realized we weren't on her side of the law."
"Wait, you mean we're fighting on the side of order at the moment?" Aria inquired, though while she agreed with Sonata, about this sounding strange, she didn't know what to think about that fact, especially given what they had done before coming to this place.
Adagio thought about it for a moment, as it made as much sense as everything else in this place, before she raised her right hand slightly and stared at it, where she willed her aura back into existence and looked at the faint blue color that now flickered around her hand. Sure, she and her sisters hadn't been the best of creatures before Starswirl banished them to the planet they had been thrown to, but she never once considered that they would ever be on the same level as the Rainbooms or their Equestrian counterparts. Now that she thought about it she wondered if the power of the human counterparts of the Elements of Harmony had not only shattered their old powers, but also their decision to be leaning more towards the evil side of things... as if they wiped the slate clean and were offering them a second chance, one where they were good instead of evil and helped the people of Empire City out, instead of trying to enslave them. As if some force wanted them to be heroes, saviors of the people, instead of villains that people hated and wanted to see torn down so they wouldn't have to suffer anymore.
She didn't buy it, as there was no erasing what they had done, and yet her aura didn't lie, they had made some 'good' choices since they started helping Cole take out the Reapers, all because Sonata wanted them to share the food with those that needed it more than they did... and yet she found herself smiling a little, as Sonata was always the purest of them and made these decisions easily, which might have been why she understood this more than they did.
"This doesn't prove anything, not yet anyway." Adagio said, causing Aria and Sonata to glance over at her, where she canceled out her own aura, before she turned towards Cole, who had been studying his phone and the other coordinates that Moya had sent them, "Are there any other optional objectives available at the moment?"
"Yeah, there's a few more we can do before we do anything else," Cole replied, though he was slightly amused that Adagio, who could clearly see her own aura was pointing towards order and towards being a hero, found it hard to accept that sort of thing, while Aria seemed surprised by that fact and Sonata... well, she was much more accepting of her statement, as she believed it made total sense to her.
Fortunately there happened to be a pair of objectives nearby, ones that Moya even labeled as 'good' and 'evil' based on what she read about each one of them when contact was made, that Cole knew he could use to see how Adagio really reacted to changing her viewpoint. As such he beckoned for the sisters to follow him as he returned to the street, where he walked over to a building they had run by when they were following the suicide Reaper a few minutes ago, though before they reached it a pair a Reapers fired at them from a nearby rooftop. Instead of wasting time, and running for cover or something, the sisters reacted and hurled a small volley of faint blue colored blasts into the air, which raced into the first Reaper and knocked him on his back, giving Cole enough time to take out the second one when he was distracted by his partner's defeat. Cole then restrained them to the roof, knowing that the surviving cops had seen the battle and could come here to investigate what happened, before he jumped back down to where the sisters were standing and continued towards the objective he had selected.
When they arrived beside the building, and the sisters saw no one to talk to, Cole's phone went off for a moment, to which he smiled for a few seconds before accepting the call, knowing that the person calling was likely watching this area and contacted him the moment they were in place.
"Cole, this is Warden Harms." the voice said, one that Cole immediately recognized, though at the same time the sisters gathered near so they could hear what was going on and understand whatever objective he was going to ask them to complete, "I know that you and your friends have your hands full, but from time to time I'm going to need your help in handling some things."
"What do you have in mind?" Cole inquired, though he had the feeling that he knew what the Warden could ask of him and the sisters, especially considering the part of the Neon District that they were in.
"My men have captured a few Reapers," Warden Harms explained, causing the group to wonder if they were any of the Reapers they had fought so far, but knew that it would be impossible to tell since their attacks left no marks on the bodies of those they fought, "and I need the four of you to escort them back to the station so we can interrogate them."
Cole and the sisters walked back to the alley they had found the package in earlier and followed the path that the suicide Reaper had taken, but instead of turning left the four of them turned right and found the area that the cops were holding the unarmed Reapers in. As they took possession of the Reapers, and the few cops started to pull out of the area, Warden Harms apologized for pulling his men out since they were stretched too thin at the moment, while at the same time telling them that they didn't have to be afraid of being rough with the Reapers. What Adagio got out of that was that they could hit or punish the Reapers to get them to move, which was demonstrated when Cole blasted one of the Reapers in the arm with a light blast, prompting the Reapers to start moving. Cole, knowing where the closest police station rested, took the head of the pack and had the girls stand behind him in a diamond formation, meaning that while he lead the way it was their job to make sure the Reapers didn't slow down and, if any of their prisoners tried to break formation, blast them every now and then to prevent their escape.
It was also so that if any Reapers came to attack them, to get their guys back, they could see the attackers coming and have two of them go on the offensive to make sure their prisoners weren't taken from them... something that the sisters seemed to understand as they fell in formation and started following the path that Cole was taking.
Of course the moment they left the alley that they obtained the prisoners in was when two of the Reapers attempted to make a break for it, only for Adagio and Aria to catch them in the act, preventing them from escaping and making them fall back in line as they continued moving. As they walked around Archer Square the other two Reapers tried the same thing, only to fail the instant they tried to run, as Sonata forced the two of them back in line from where she was standing and the line started to move once more. From there it was a simple matter to cross the street and approach the police station that was in front of them, where the officers that were inside the building came out and let the group release the prisoners into their custody. As they watched the pair of cops take the prisoners inside the building, to be interrogated like Warden Harms said, Zeke made a quick call to inform them that they were doing good work in cleaning up the streets, and that they should keep it up.
From there Cole directed them to an alleyway where they found a lady wearing a medical mask over her mouth, one who told them that the Reapers had put surveillance devices on her building and asked them to remove every device they could find. As such the group headed over to the building in question and found that the devices the lady wanted them to destroy had blinking red lights, so while Cole climbed around the building and shocked them apart, on the side of the building that he took, the sisters separated and took the three remaining sides, where they blasted the remaining ones apart. They found it interesting that their blasts did nothing to the actual building that the surveillance devices were attached to, while at the same time destroyed the devices like they were nothing, causing them to wonder what they could destroy with their new powers and what they couldn't destroy. Since the four of them were working together it didn't take them too long to take out all of the devices, earning some thanks from the lady that had called upon them for assistance in the process, before they went out and looked for another objective to do.
Cole then showed them his phone and the remaining tasks that they could do, though the one that interested the sisters the most was the one that was near the first uplink, to which the four of them headed back towards the area in question and found the man standing in a small cemetery... which immediately screamed that this was a trap in Adagio's mind, to which they approached the man with some caution.
"Hello Terrorist," the man said, though at the same time he started to back up towards the square structure of the small cemetery, while Adagio and her sisters didn't like the sinister smile at was on the man's face, "my bothers and I have arranged a little party for you and your friends."
That was followed by the man being shrouded by a electric pulse for a few seconds before he transformed into a White Reaper, to which Adagio tackled Cole to the ground before he could be shot, causing Aria and Sonata to start firing at the other Reapers that were coming their way. Adagio, on the other hand, remembered what happened while they were trying to find Brandon earlier, when the last White Reaper shot her in the shoulder, and she growled as she got back back onto her hooves as she targeted her foe. As Cole got back up, and joined both Aria and Sonata in firing at the Reapers, he watched as Adagio charged after the White Reaper, firing blasts that were focused on hitting the one Reaper she wanted to take out before someone else got hurt. It was in that moment that Cole realized that Adagio was really upset and angry over being wounded in such a manner, though while she seemed to be angry her attacks were focused and didn't seem scattered... indicating that she was focused on not doing any harm to those that were around her at the moment, while maximizing the damage she did to the Reapers.
Unfortunately during she pursuit of the White Reaper her target loosed a few shots in the process and actually hit the civilians that were on the streets that he had flashed over to, to which Adagio focused her mind and suddenly she flashed through the air as well, but instead of questioning it she slammed her fist into her target's face and knocked him to the ground. That was followed by Adagio landing on top of the White Reaper and she rested her palm against his chest, to which the area between her palm and her target's chest flashed as she loosed a blast, knocking him out in the process, allowing her to sigh before she climbed off her foe.
"Adagio, what did you do?" Aria asked, as while she, Sonata, and Cole had dealt with the other Reapers they had watched her sister chase down the White Reaper, only for her aura to flash around her body and propel her through the air, like she had taken flight for a few seconds.
"I... I don't know." Adagio admitted, as she had no idea what had happened to her, but she knew what she was feeling and wondered if there was a connection between the two, "All I know is that I was getting tired of that White Reaper shooting and wounding people in the process of trying to take me out, and then, as I focused on wanting to take him out, I suddenly found that I was in front of him as he came to a stop. After that I took him out so he could stop hurting the innocent people that are around us."
Cole smiled as he tended to the wounded civilians, as it sounded like Adagio might, just might, be understanding that saving the innocent civilians that were around them was the right thing to do, especially when he saw a small flash of light blue in her aura earlier. He guessed that it would be some time before Adagio fully accepted that everything they were doing was making them heroes in the eyes of the people, as he saw a few of them cheering them on for taking out a pack of Reapers, especially ones that were gunning for the group to begin with. He also found it interesting, if not a little amusing, that Sonata took to being a hero like she had one for years, while at the same time Aria seemed to not care all that much, but went along with it because of her sister... and Adagio, who had been their leader, appeared to shy away from being a hero, as if there was something wrong with wanting to protect people.
Instead of saying anything he beckoned for the sisters to follow him to another objective, one that was nearby on a small roof, though the man they encountered informed them that the Reapers happened to be abducting people off the street for some reason. As it turned out the Reapers and their hostages were going to pass by in the next couple of minutes, though when they moved to the other side of the roof, so they could look at the ground, the group found the Reapers in question slowly marching the group of people down the large alley that was behind the building. Cole counted one Reaper per hostage, though since the Reapers hadn't noticed them they could easily get a good vantage point and fire down at their targets, forcing them to separate from each other and allowing the innocent civilians to escape harm in the process. The four of them were able to clear out the small group of Reapers in a few seconds, to which they turned their attention to freeing the civilians of any binds that had been put on them or healing any wounds they might have been given as encouragement by their captors... who in turned thanked the group for their good deed, where Cole, once again, noticed Adagio shy away from being called a hero while her sisters accepted it with ease.
He was sure that he would figure out what Adagio's deal was and why she seemed to resist wanting the praise of the people they had saved, while her sisters were happy to accept it, but for now they worked well as a team and he'd ask her why she didn't want to be a hero later... once they found a moment to take a break later on, after helping Moya and the people a little more.
After taking a break for a few minutes, after saving the abducted civilians from the Reapers that were taking them somewhere, Cole started to move towards the next optional objective, determining that the more they did the more the people would appreciate their deeds and let them take out the Reapers that much faster. What he didn't expect, however, was for the sisters to pause as they started to move out of the area that the civilians had been forced to move through, to which he stopped and turned back to look at them.
"Is something wrong?" Cole asked, knowing that, for them to work as a team, they had to communicate and come up with a plan of attack together, especially when the Reapers had a larger gang and who knew what else.
"It's... nice to save people," Adagio admitted, where Cole noticed the hesitation in her voice, something that her sisters seemed to catch onto as well, before she looked at him for a moment, "but, with part of the Neon District still without power, shouldn't we focus on giving them back their power?"
"That's a good point," Cole said, as he had been considering continuing the main set of objectives that Moya had for them to do, though since it appeared that all three of the sisters seemed to be of the same mind he guessed that it was time to continue the search for John and the Ray Sphere, "Okay then, let's go to the coordinates that we were sent and see what's up this time around."
Adagio nodded, indicating that she was ready to go, before her sisters did the same thing, to which Cole started heading towards the coordinates that were on his map as the sisters followed after him, leaving behind the grateful civilians that they had saved from the Reapers. As they made their way through the powered up section of the Neon District the group encountered a few obstacles along the way, one of which happened to be the injured civilians that both Cole and Sonata wanted to heal, even if only one of them had the power to do so. The other obstacle happened to be a few small Reaper groups, usually between two to four members, appeared in their way every now and then, though they were more than happy to engage the Reapers that tried to gun them down. Adagio, on the other hand, decided to not stay on the ground when they engaged their enemies and climbed up the sides of the buildings that were around them, so she cold flank the Reapers and sometimes even knock them off their perch... where they hit the ground and were only severely hurt in the process, so while Cole restrained them Adagio wondered if the Blast had empowered the people that would one day become the Reaper gang.
Despite the fact that the Reapers seemed to have a high resistance to pain, especially if they could survive falling off tall buildings, the group made their way through the city and ascended the building that the coordinates were attached to, which happened to be outside the powered down section of the Neon District.
"Okay Moya, we're in position." Cole said, though as he and the sisters stood on the roof of the building they could see some Reapers, a larger group than what they had encountered so far, patrolling a nearby area that happened to be close to where they were standing.
"There should be a cell tower fairly close to your location," Moya stated, to which Cole turned and faced the tower in question, or at least he hoped that it was the one that she was referring to, while the sisters looked at it as well, "find it and recharge it."
"What, are you afraid that we're suddenly going to bail on you?" Aria asked, as she thought they could be more interested in restoring power to the area that was in front of them, instead of turning a cell tower on, but she was sure that there was a reason behind the statement.
"Without that tower, you'll fall of the grid." Moya replied, though her tone indicated that she wasn't too keen on anyone questioning her and her orders, which was going to be interesting since Aria and Sonata were used to following Adagio's orders and weren't about to abandon her leadership, or Cole's since she was trusting the man, "I can't allow that to happen."
"Well, time for a headache." Cole commented, to which he disconnected the connection between them and Moya, before they jumped over to the roof on their right and then used the grind line to cross over the street that separated the side they were on from where the cell tower was located.
It didn't take them long to cross the grind line and approach the cell tower, where the sisters watched the streets as Cole started to charge up the tower, which involved shooting the power box that was attached to it for a few seconds, though that was all he needed to do as the tower came online... though as it powered up Cole huffed for a moment, feeling the absence of electricity in the area.
"Good, now you need to restore the electricity in this section of the Neon." Moya said, indicating that Cole's signal had returned to the map she was staring at, before she focused on their main objective at the moment, "Your GPS will show you where to go, but be careful... there are a lot of Reapers operating in the area."
"Well, these guys are ready for a fight, that's for sure." Adagio commented, as she could see one of the Reapers driving a truck, one of the delivery trucks, that happened to have a turret on the back of it, along with a good number of Reapers moving towards the same area.
"I'm going to need you, Aria, and Sonata to lead the way this time," Cole said, to which he handed Adagio the phone he had been using to navigate the area, which had the program opened and already had a blinking light where Moya wanted them to head to, "With the electricity off in this area I'll have a hard time making my way to the coordinates, and powering that cell tower has drained me dry."
"Then we'll stick to the rooftops and try to avoid them," Aria stated, though as she looked at the ground she knew that, at some point, they would have to engage the Reapers that were guarding the entrance of the part of the sewers they were heading to next, "though if you need power it appears that the Reapers have set up some emergency generators in the areas they control. Sure, they're scattered around the rooftops, but at least there's a way to get yourself some power if we get into a fight."
Cole nodded and followed Adagio as she lead them over to the generator that Aria had spotted, or rather the closest one of them, and let Cole drain some of the electricity from it, enough to give him the ability to fight back if they ran into some of the Reapers that were patrolling the streets. After he had some power coursing through his veins again the four of them jumped over to the train track that was in front of them and followed it, though they had to separate a few moments later when they spotted a mobile turret resting in front of them. Cole and Sonata jumped over to another building and moved behind the metallic sign that the building had, which started having small bullet sized dents punched into it as the Reaper fired at them. What the Reaper didn't expect was Adagio and Aria climbing under the train tracks to ambush him from behind, where they knocked the Reaper out and used their power to detonate the truck that it was attached to. Once that was taken care of the four of them regrouped on the track and continued moving forward, ignoring the gunfire from the other Reapers that had noticed the first turret go down, indicating that they were annoyed by having one of their weapons destroyed.
Unfortunately a few seconds later they were forced to abandon the train tracks, as a Reaper truck had been posted in the nearby park, which was level with where they were running, and started firing in their direction, to which the four of them jumped down to the street below them, ran into the alleyway in front of them, and used the area behind the buildings as their cover as Adagio moved closer and closer to their destination. Their luck then turned around as they discovered that the only thing guarding the manhole they needed to use to get into the sewer was a few Reapers, to which the four of them split up and tackled their enemies before they could harm them in some manner. Since there were only three Reapers in the immediate area of the sewer entrance, an oversight of whoever was leading the Reapers, they were able to take them out with some ease. The instant their enemies were taken out, and Cole took a moment to make sure all three of them were restrained, the group met back up at the manhole and knew what they were doing to do this time.
"So, whose coming down with me this time?" Cole asked, though since Sonata was the first one to volunteer to come with him, when he turned the other substation on, he had to wonder which of the remaining sisters would come and assist him this time around.
"I'll do it." Adagio replied, to which she handed Cole his phone, as she didn't need it now that they were at their destination, before she turned towards Aria for a moment, "We shouldn't be more than a few minutes, but if the Reapers start gathering in larger numbers to attack you I would suggest that you and Sonata run before something happens."
"Don't worry, we'll guard your escape route," Aria said, to which she and Sonata lifted the manhole up and moved it out of the way, allowing both Cole and Adagio to start climbing down the ladder before they were forced to replace it, where they prepared themselves for any enemies that wanted a piece of them.
It took Adagio and Cole a few moments to climb down the ladder and reach the platform that was directly below them, though as they reached the bottom of the ladder they let go of it and stood side by side as they stared at the part of the sewer that was in front of them.
"Okay, we're in the sewer." Cole said, though at the same time he jumped over to the raised platform that was in front of him and pulled himself up onto it, where he helped Adagio reach the top of it so they could continue moving, all while listening to what Moya was saying.
"Same drill as before," Moya stated, to which Cole nodded his head, understanding what she was referring to, while at the same time Adagio raised an eyebrow, as she was curious as to what Moya meant, "re-establish the circuit on the underground transformer and then look for the distribution substation."
Cole cut the connection off as he jumped over to the large vertical pipe that was in front of them, using the circular railing to move out of the way as Adagio did the same, before he leapt over to the ruined walkway that was below them, one that would allow them to access another vertical pipe to move forward. That, in turn, brought them to two smaller ruined walkways, one that had a smaller pipe that they could climb along to reach a third ruined walkway and a pair of vertical pipes. After getting around those parts of their path the duo discovered another platform that they could jump down onto and then crossed over the two sections of a ruined walkway, allowing them to land right on the platform that the transformer was resting on. Adagio stood back as Cole jumped up and grasped the two sides of the device, bridging the gap between them to re-establish the connection, though when her companion landed on the platform again she saw a small grin on his face.
"So that wasn't a fluke at the last transformer," Cole commented, to which he turned towards the walkway that lead right to a metal barricade, likely put there by the Reapers to keep people from reaching the substation, before he formed a small ball of electricity in his right hand and walked over to his target.
Adagio, interested in what Cole was doing, followed after him as he approached the barricade, though once he was close enough he hurled the grenade shaped object into the air and it flew right into the area that the barricade was resting in, where it detonated with enough force to tear the metal apart.
"Wha... what was that?" Adagio asked, as she was amazed that Cole had already unlocked a new power to go with his healing, restraining, and leeching powers, though while he had told them about the trio of powers he got while he was traveling with Sonata he never showed them the leeching one, indicating that it wasn't one he cared for.
"A new power... some sort of shock grenade," Cole said, though there was a smile on his face, indicating that he was pleased with the results so far, before he started walking forward and Adagio followed after him, so they could find the substation and get out of here.
As the two of them started to progress through the area of the sewers that they were in, and were on the lookout for Reapers, Zeke decided to call and inform Cole that everyone he was talking to seemed to think that Cole was responsible for setting off the bomb, even some guy called George. Adagio quickly discovered that George was actually Cole's boss when he was a normal bike courier, as the man had claimed that a package, the one Sonata had pointed out before the Blast happened, needed to be delivered and Cole took off with it so he could reach the coordinates they had been given. Cole then said that the job was terrible, the pay sucked, and that when he reached where he was supposed to take the package he got a call about opening it, which Adagio realized Sonata had seen happen, before he opened the package and, well, the Blast happened and the four of them were laying in a crater. While Zeke and Cole discussed the events that happened, however, Adagio wondered if the entire thing had been a set up of some kind, as it seemed too strange for the call to come in seconds before the Ray Sphere, which Cole had unknowingly carried into the Historic District, detonated and caused the damage that it did.
She was sure that someone was pulling the strings, as this was starting to sound like something that had been planned out ahead of time, but she said nothing as the call ended... though as she and Cole moved forward a trio of Reapers showed up on the platform in front of them, though since they were standing near some propane tanks Cole simply used his new grenade attack, which knocked all three of the Reapers to the ground.
After dealing with those enemies the duo came to an area where three turrets had been set up and had to hide behind cover as the Reapers manning them started to fire at them, though the situation gave Cole the perfect opportunity to truly test the various angles of his new grenade attack, especially with a electricity generating machine in front of him. While he did that Adagio focused on one of the other turrets, which were aiming at Cole and not at her, where she noticed that these Reapers were fools for keeping their propane tanks so close to themselves and the turrets they commanded, as she fired a blast at the tank near the turret on the left and it detonated. That knocked the Reaper to the ground, where it seemed like he was shaking from the pain, though that was quickly followed by the turret on the left side being taken out as Cole scored a lucky hit with his grenades. Together the two of them focused their efforts on the final turret and knocked that one out as well, allowing them to jump across to the turret that happened to be in front of them and reach the tunnel that would take them right to the substation.
As they walked down the new ruined walkway that they discovered a pair of suicide Reapers igniting some flares before they charged down the path towards the duo, who simply raised their hands and blasted them into the water, defusing the explosives before they could go off. After that it was a matter of Cole shooting the substation with some of his electricity before it was fully powered, allowing them to backtrack through the short part of the sewers they had been in and climbed back up the ladder. Sure enough when they reached the surface they found that another part of the Neon District had it's power restored, but Cole still sensed that part of the Neon was without power, which meant they would have to go back down there soon enough and restore more of the district's power.
"So, what did you get while you two were down there?" Sonata asked, as she knew what happened while Adagio and Cole were down in the sewers, as she had seen it in the first section they delved into, which was why the question was directed at Cole and not her sister.
"A shock grenade power." Cole replied, to which he moved them into a nearby alley, where no civilians were walking around at the moment, and demonstrated his new power by blowing up some wooden crates with the grenade that he tossed at them.
"Okay, now that's pretty cool." Aria commented, though she looked down at her hands for a moment and wondered if they were going to learn some sort of new power to replace what they had lost, something that was in the minds of both of her sisters at that very moment.
Before Cole could say anything, or Adagio could mention that they might want to hit the remaining substations in the Neon District to supercharge Cole, the phone went off, to which everyone sighed as Cole tapped the button that accepted the call, as they knew it had to be Moya.
"So I figured out why the Reapers were destroying the water pipes under the bridge." Moya said, though her statement drew the attention of Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata immediately, as they had seen the Reapers attempting to do that when they were heading back into the Neon District, "It turns out that, by isolating the city's water system, they can pump their plague into every home in the city. Anyone drinking that sludge will get sick, or worse."
"Great." Cole stated, though there was no enthusiasm in his voice, as this was another thing that they didn't need at the moment, especially when this was going to be something that Trish worked on soon enough, meaning they might cross paths in the future.
"Yeah, and it gets better." Moya continued, meaning that there were additional atrocities that the Reapers were committing with their polluted water scheme, which the group didn't understand the reasoning behind, "I'm already getting reports that Smith Fountain is already polluted, and that there are a lot of casualties. I need you to head over to the fountain and confirm the reports, then we'll figure out what we're going to do to stop this."
Since this seemed more important than clearing out the optional objectives, and would help save civilians at the same time, the group decided that they might as well check it out and headed towards the coordinates that were downloaded into the phone a few seconds later. While they started moving towards their new destination, however, Zeke called them again and informed them that areas they had cleared out, the few they had taken on, were apparently crime free all of a sudden and that people were hanging posters with their faces on them. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata had to guess that the Reapers might be afraid of them returning to the areas that they had already cleared out, if they did anything that would provoke their return, and were letting them have those sections for now. While the sisters were thinking about that Cole told Zeke that they didn't need a parade or anything, though Zeke's tone at the end made them all wonder if he was planning on riding their wave for as long as it lasted.
Despite what Zeke might be up to, in regards to the fame that the group was earning, Cole and the sisters made their way towards the building that overlooked the fountain in question, though when they arrived on the roof, and looked down at the scene, none of them liked what they were seeing... sick people resting near a fountain, one that appeared to be pouring out a black tar-like substance.
"Moya, the situation over here isn't looking too good." Cole said, letting their handler know that they had reached Smith Fountain, while at the same time confirming the reports that she had been getting, "There's a lot of sick people resting around the fountain, and the water in the fountain is black."
"All right, get over there." Moya ordered, knowing that time was of the essence for them to beat something like this, which was why she wasn't upset when she discovered that they were already near the fountain, "We need to find a way to stop this from spreading."
Cole disconnected the call and jumped down to the ground, though as the sisters followed after him they discovered that there were more sick people than what they originally thought, and Trish, like Cole had been expecting, was already trying to help someone that was laying near a valve, to which they walked over to her to see if they could help her out.
"Cole?! What the hell are you doing here?" Trish asked, her tone indicating that she was still sore over what she had discovered when the food had been dropped and still blamed Cole for the death of her sister, even if Cole actually wasn't the one responsible for the Ray Sphere going off.
"Moya wanted me to check out the fountain," Cole replied, before remembering that Trish had no idea who Moya was, since she didn't head to Zeke's place when he, Zeke, and the sisters returned from their attempt to escape the city, "and, since I had the feeling you'd be here, I thought we'd lend you a helping hand. Look, I know what that guy said about me..."
"My sister is dead because of you!" Trish exclaimed, revealing that the group was right in thinking that she was still upset over the Blast, though her glared at Cole like she wanted to strangle him, "I don't want to hear any of your excuses either. You want to help? Fine. You can start by closing that valve over there... it's jammed and I can't turn it. That's how the black tar is getting into the fountain."
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were honestly surprised by how Trish was acting, because while she was taking care of Cole she definitely loved him, then she became neutral when the Voice of Survival made that announcement, and now she was on the verge of heading down the path of hating him, yet something was preventing her from fully going down that dangerous path. Cole, on the other hand, seemed to be willing to do anything to get Trish to like him again, to which he approached the valve he and the sisters had spotted and gripped the sides of the wheel that would allow him to turn it, which he did with some ease. What they weren't expecting, however, was for some tar to spray out of the area in front of Cole, getting all over his face and the top of his shirt, causing him to stagger for a moment as he tried to get the tar off of his face and anywhere else it happened to be.
"It's all over your eyes," Trish commented, though this time her anger and dislike seemed to fade, to be replaced with a little bit of concern, before she turned towards the shocked sisters, "I need to get a solvent out of my car. Follow me, and make sure Cole gets there."
Adagio and her sisters nodded their heads as they followed after Trish, carefully pulling Cole along as he tried to fight whatever ill effects the tar had on people, though as they walked the sisters noticed that he seemed to be talking with someone, or rather someone was talking with him and he seemed to be resisting. Cole flinched every now and then while they walked, as if he was seeing something that wasn't there, and he kept telling whoever was talking to him that they weren't real, which only worried the sisters, more than they already were. Thankfully it didn't take them long to reach Trish's car, her ambulance in reality, and Cole collapsed on the ground in front of it, though Trish was able to find the solvent she was searching for and sprayed it over Cole's face for a few seconds... who coughed as he regained himself, indicating that whatever was inside the can Trish had used was great against the tar that had gotten on Cole.
"Thanks." Cole said, though he smiled at Trish at the same time, to show that he was happy that she was willing to at least help him out, especially when she, along with the vast majority of Empire City, still held him responsible for the Blast that put them in this situation.
"That's the only time I'm helping you, Cole." Trish replied, to which she stashed the solvent inside her medical supplies and started to walk away from the ambulance, indicating that she was putting the sick and wounded before Cole now, something that the sisters understood since she was a doctor, "If you get that stuff on you again... well, you'll just have to wait for it to wear off."
Cole nodded his head, knowing that Trish wasn't likely to turn around and see the gesture, and waited for her to leave the area so she could tend to those that truly needed her assistance, before sighing as he clicked on his phone again, so he could report their discovery.
"Hey Moya, we've taken care of the fountain." Cole said, knowing that their handler might be happy about the news, though at the same time he had the feeling that this was far from over, "I had to shut off the feeder pipe that led into it."
"That's good, but there are still two more water mains in the area." Moya stated, revealing that they had done a good deed by turning the first valve, even if the sisters weren't involved in making the decision, while also telling them that there was more work for them to do.
"Then we'll turn those ones off as well and see what happens." Adagio said, to which Cole nodded his head in agreement, because none of them wanted to see the innocent people suffer in such a manner.
The moment the call was disconnected the group headed into the nearby park, as Cole remembered seeing two water mains in that area and was praying that those were the ones that Moya was talking about, where they found five Reapers patrolling the area, guarding the very water mains they came to turn off. Four of them happened to be the normal type of Reapers they had fought before, while the fifth one happened to be another White Reaper, though this time around Adagio ignored it and left Aria tackle it, as she figured she might as well let her sisters have a turn. While Aria chased down and blasted the White Reaper, while also avoiding the shockwave attacks it sent at her, Cole, Adagio, and Sonata dealt with the other Reapers, though Cole eventually broke away and accessed the first of the two water mains. He then received another blast of the black tar to his face, causing him to stagger once more, but he growled and fought through whatever was happening to him as the sisters fought off the Reapers, even going so far as to tell the speaker to 'shut up' several times as he regained himself.
When Cole recovered from his ordeal, and was ready to go, he led the way to the final valve they needed to turn, though he pulled back when he noticed something that would make them stop and consider how to approach the situation... an innocent civilian that happened to be near the valve.
"So, what do we do?" Cole asked, causing the sisters to look at each other and the man that happened to be cowering near the valve, where they knew that this was another choice for them to make, "Sacrifice the man's sanity by forcing him to turn the valve, or do it ourselves?"
"I should think the answer is obvious at this point," Sonata said, to which she walked towards the valve and gently helped the man onto his feet, before having him depart from the area they were in, "We take one for the civilians, allowing them to remain healthy, while at the same time knowing that we'll always put them before ourselves... even to the very end if need be."
"Sonata, you were always one to take one for the civilians," Aria stated, though that was followed by her sighing as a very light smile appeared on her face, to which she walked up to the valve as well, joining her sister as they both grasped the wheel, "and maybe, just maybe, it's time for us to change... and take one for them as well. Maybe it's time to leave our past behind us, to stop letting our past actions define us, and take up a new mantle as guardians of the people."
"'Guardians of the people', you sound like you've lost your minds," Adagio said, but even then she couldn't deny that some of the civilians that were watching them, those that had seen them back in Archer Square and Stampton Bridge and had seen their decisions to help the people, were staring at them, and she was sure that a few of them were even cheering them on, "but, maybe you're both right. Maybe I've been wrong our whole lives and everything that's happened has been because of my poor decisions... but if you two are so keen on turning that valve then we'll do so together, as sisters... as guardians of the people."
Sonata smiled as she heard Adagio say that, as she knew that her sister always had it in her to be a force for good, but now she was starting to see the light that Sonata had been chasing the entire time and could never get closer to since she always went with what her sisters wanted. Now, however, things were changing, as without their old powers they had come to a place where they could grow, mature, and see the light that she had been trying to obtain, which was now waiting for them to embrace it. Adagio stepped forward and joined her sisters by the valve, where the three of them grabbed onto the wheel and turned it, though that was when the tar burst out of the pipe in front of them and covered them like it had covered Cole earlier. Cole, on the other hand, noticed something interesting as that happened, as the auras that the sisters used had come back in full force, only this time around their decision to put their past behind them, apparently an evil past of some kind by Adagio's words, and to put the civilians first was having an interesting effect on the three of them.
Their white auras shifted to a light blue color, fully this time around, and the tar seemed to flake off their bodies without doing any mental harm to them at all, but it was what came after that change that really got Cole's attention, and the attention of those watching this happen. The wind seemed to pick up for a moment as the sisters stood apart from each other, as they were shocked by what was happening, though that was before the wind actually wrapped around Sonata's wrists, causing her to look down in surprise. Aria was also affected in the same manner, though as she focused on her hands they seemed to catch on fire, but instead of burning away her clothing it almost seemed like she was in complete control and could summon it at will, which brought a true smile to her face. Adagio, the last of the trio, breathed deeply for a moment as she seemed to calm herself and became more collected, before she pointed at a tree and a light blue crystal, about the size and length of a pointer finger, struck the tree... hard enough to leave a dent before shattering from the impact.
Cole realized that, by changing their lives around in such a manner, they not only gained the powers they were supposed to activate from the Blast, much like his own electricity based powers, but also changed their mindsets and their strange auras... making them guardians of the people, as they seemed to have labeled themselves.
"I have no idea what you three just did, but it seems to have awakened your powers." Cole commented, to which he approached the sisters and studied them, finding that they were still shocked by the change and were actually pleased with what they were seeing... and, unless his eyes deceived him, there was a faint blue glow in all of their eyes.
"We're walking a new path," Adagio said, though at the same time she flexed her fingers as she wondered what she could do with this power, as she wasn't even mad that Sonata could use the wind and Aria could use fire, before she turned towards Cole again, "You should tell Moya that we've turned the valves off like she wanted."
"No need to tell me, I can see it for myself." Moya replied, her voice coming from the phone once more, though she didn't sound impressed, meaning that she couldn't actually see what they were physically doing at the moment, "Now that the valves are turned off, you need to figure out how those maniacs are getting that tar into the system. The only primary water line there runs under Memorial Park... you should head into one of the tunnels and look for clues."
Cole, knowing the exact tunnel Moya was referring to, had the sisters follow him as he made his way to the entrance of the tunnel, which required running through the park for a minute or two, before they jumped down to the street below them and found the entrance he was searching for. From there he and the sisters waged total war against the Reapers that happened to be guarding whatever was at the end of the tunnel, though in reality he stayed back a bit and watched all three of them demonstrate their new abilities. Sonata was able to call forth the power of the wind and sent it flying towards her targets, slicing the weapons of her foes in half with the raw power of the wind, before she knocked them to the floor and left them unconscious. Aria held a hand towards one of the flaming cars and commanded the flames to obey her will, where she hurled flaming balls through the air, like she did when she was using her energy blasts, and the Reapers actually stopped firing to put the flames out, giving her time to take them out before moving forward. Adagio also created a ball like attack to start with, though when she tossed the small crystalline sphere at her targets they were blown backwards... allowing her to progress onward while she caught up with her sisters, and leaving a smiling Cole to do the same as they moved through the tunnel.
Together the four of them made their way through the tunnel that they were in, their combined powers being more than the Reapers were equipped for, before they reached the area they were searching for, a gas truck that was modified to carry the tar around... which they fired upon and destroyed without hesitation, earning them some positive points with Moya and the civilians that they had just saved from the tar. Once the objective was done, however, Cole called someone else, as it was getting late and they all needed some sleep, especially after the madness they had been through to get two substations online and unlock all their powers.
"Hey Zeke, we're coming back to the apartment building," Cole said, though at the same time he and the sisters walked out of the tunnel and started to walk down the streets, as they were all exhausted from their various ordeals.
"Good, I was hoping to talk to you anyway," Zeke replied, though whether it was because of the posters that people were putting up of the four of them or for some other reason they didn't know, "So, what did I miss?"
"We'll tell you when we get back Zeke," Adagio stated, knowing that Zeke wasn't going to like what he heard, though all four of them chuckled for a moment when they heard Zeke mumble about them and their powers before he hung up the phone, no doubt so he could watch some television before they arrived.
Adagio knew that Zeke was going to freak when he learned that she, Aria, and Sonata developed their own powers as well, and she was sure that it was going to be an interesting sight to behold, though she knew they could also do with a rest as well... to which she smiled as she thought about Zeke's reaction all the way back to the apartment building, while pushing their mission right out of her head until morning arrived.
Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were able to return to the apartment building without anything happening at all, which was strange since the majority of the path from Memorial Park to Zeke's place rested in area that they hadn't been taken from the Reapers yet. It was Adagio that came to the conclusion that the Reapers had pulled a good number of their forces out of some of the other areas they controlled to create the force that attacked them earlier, though Aria did have to joke that maybe they were hiding now that they were fighting four people with unique powers. Cole had the feeling that neither of them were right about why the Reapers weren't showing up, but unlike them he didn't have a reason behind why they were able to get back to the apartment building without being attacked, though he wasn't about to complain. It was a nice change of pace, since he hated being shot at, and the four of them climbed up to the top of the building, where Zeke was waiting to greet them with a beer, for Cole, and some of the last remaining sodas he could get his hands on, for the sisters.
While they drank their drinks Zeke told them that they couldn't turn the Ray Sphere over to the feds, indicating that either the FBI or someone else would make use of the 'ultimate' weapon that was now within their reach, to create soldiers that the military and cops couldn't even stand against. Zeke then suggested that, when they finally claimed the Ray Sphere, they 'crack it open' and give everyone superpowers, as it would prevent them from being screwed over in the future, to which Cole couldn't resist and said that they were 'already screwed'. Once Zeke was done with his attempt to win them over, for now anyway, he asked them what he missed, to which Cole stepped aside and let the sisters take the stage, causing Zeke to raise an eyebrow as Cole sat on the couch as well. That was followed by Sonata demonstrating her control over wind, Aria flexing her fingers as flames danced around her wrists and between her fingers, and Adagio showed off the fact that she could manipulate the water around her to create crystals... though as she soon discovered her power was over the element of water and that the crystals were actually ice, which explained why it was so brittle earlier.
"So let me get this straight, one of you unlocked electric powers, another has command over the wind, a third now has the power to generate flames that don't hurt the user, and the last one can manipulate water?" Zeke asked, his tone indicating that he couldn't believe what he was hearing, especially since he was still sure that the original powers that the sisters had demonstrated belonged to a show of his, "I can't believe this is happening... the Reapers are going to be sorry that they were ever brought together! Just wish I had powers as well."
"Sure, we might overpower the Reapers now, but we shouldn't be cocky," Adagio said, to which she sat on one of the boxes that rested near the couch, as she knew that her own arrogance over the Rainbooms had brought about the downfall of her and her sisters, "If we had additional phones that came with GPS locators, like Cole's does, we'd be able to evenly divide up the optional objectives Moya has sent us and test out the powers we've gained, only really grouping back together on difficult objectives or the main hunt."
"I'll have to see what I can do," Zeke stated, though his tone revealed that he was still upset over the fact that he didn't have any powers of his own, something that they couldn't fix at the moment.
Once Zeke said that the others really didn't have much to talk about, not since they had spent the majority of their day helping people out and had unlocked their actual power, in the case of the sisters, so the five of them had something light for dinner, where Zeke moaned about the lack of provisions they had. After that Cole took the couch while Zeke retreated to his own room, leaving the sisters to head back to the rooms that they had been given since the other people who lived in the building vacated the building when the quarantine. The four of them slept through the night, where they recharged their normal batteries, before the morning of the fifteenth day of the quarantine arrived, which the group met with some eagerness as they returned to the roof after a light breakfast. The moment they had regrouped on the roof they waited to see what Moya, or anyone else, had for them to do before they moved out to do some of the optional objectives.
Before they could move off the building, however, Cole's phone went off and he accepted the call without delay, as he noticed that it was from their handler and she likely had some news for them, especially in regards to either the hunt for John or what the Reapers were doing.
"I've flagged the position of the next substation in your GPS." Moya said, to which Cole nodded his head, indicating that the location was on his phone, meaning that they could head out and see what sort of powers he unlocked when he powered up the next substation.
"Okay, we'll get moving immediately," Cole replied, though he understood that Moya seemed to know something about his abilities, most likely because he and the others had talked about the fact that substations gave him new powers and abilities when he re-established the circuits before them.
"It will be interesting to see what sort of new powers you get," Aria said, though the light smile on her face indicated that she knew exactly what was coming, because after Sonata and Adagio went down into the sewer with Cole she knew her time had come at last, as she was interested in seeing the process for herself, "and then, once we've turned the substation back on, we can continue searching for John and the Ray Sphere."
"I'm glad that someone gets the bigger picture," Moya stated, to which an annoyed look appeared on Adagio's face for a moment, especially since Cole had openly agreed with the plan and knew what they needed to do, "I'll contact you once you get the substation back online."
"Hey brother, I've got something you'll want to see," Zeke spoke up, to which the group turned towards the door that the stairs were behind, where they noticed Zeke seemed to have some new supplies with him, as he set the box on the floor for a moment, "It seems that your 'friend' agreed with your earlier statement and has provided us with three more phones that are identical to yours, save for their numbers."
"That's... great." Adagio commented, though this time her voice lacked any enthusiasm, as now Moya had the means to keep track of all four of them and contact them whenever they wished, though at the same time it provided them with the tools to help the people that were all around the Neon District.
Cole knew what Adagio was thinking, as he had been thinking the same thing, but instead of saying anything he grabbed the new phones, which he was still amazed that Moya had been able to get the supplies Zeke found through all the security measures, but if she was in charge here he guessed it made sense. The sisters stood still as he reminded them of how to use the phone, since he knew that none of them seemed to know how to use this type of phone, before he helped them attach them to the phone holders on their pack straps. Once they were ready all four of them bid Zeke farewell for now, as he sat down on the couch once more, before they jumped over to the nearby building and used the grind line they found there to move closer to the area of the Neon District that was without power. This time around they did something else in addition to helping the injured civilians out, they collected a few of the Blast Shards that happened to be on the buildings around them... as while they discovered that the shards did nothing for Adagio, Aria, or Sonata they knew that it worked for Cole and let his powers grow a tiny bit.
How Cole's powers grew from taking the power of a Blast Shard they had no idea, but for the moment they simply collected the shards and stored them in their packs so he could harvest the power when they took a break later on, when they needed one anyway.
The group discovered that, from the route they took to reach the coordinates Moya had sent them, the Reapers were actually more spread out this time around and that the four of them could approach the manhole easily, though they also had to take out the turret truck that was further up the road. Once the vehicle had been destroyed, and the Reapers in the immediate area weren't aware of the situation, Adagio and Sonata lifted the lid and let Cole and Aria drop down into the sewers below them, before they stood guard over the manhole and prepared for some resistance. They knew that the Reapers would be coming this way in no time, especially after what they had seen when they tackled the other two substations, but they stood their ground and waited to see what happened when their foes came for them... and they were more eager to show the Reapers that they weren't limited to just throwing blasts around anymore.
While Adagio and Sonata prepared themselves for trouble, which they knew was coming, Cole and Aria touched down on the platform below them as they entered the sewers, though a smile appeared on their faces as they spotted a circuit in front of them. Since it was so close the duo jumped onto the small vertical pipes on their right, jumped over to the pipe that they had to hang from, and then dropped down onto the walkway that allowed them to access the circuit that needed to be re-established. Aria stood back as Cole bridged the two halves of the device and a rush of electricity surged through his body, though when he landed on the floor his smile remained, as he liked whatever power he happened to get from that circuit.
"So, what did you get?" Aria asked, because based on what she had seen so far, from when Cole emerged from the other two areas with her sisters, he always had a new power to try out, and she suspected that the case would be the same this time around.
"A grind ability." Cole replied, to which he stood up as he beckoned to the grind line that was resting near them, though that caused Aria to raise an eyebrow for a moment, "I can use these grind lines to travel faster and, if I can believe what I saw just now, the same can be said for train tracks."
Aria nodded and watched as Cole jumped onto the grind line, though this time he didn't actually move on his own, as his electricity gathered around his feet and propelled him forward at a greater speed than when he walked over the grind lines earlier. Aria quickly determined that if they were chasing someone down, or something else that was similar to that, this would be the ability to use, though that only made her wonder if she and her sisters could learn a technique that allowed them to do something similar to what he was doing. Cole also seemed to be in control of the direction he was going when he was on the line, even if it was only two ways, though a few seconds later he jumped off the grind line and touched down on the area at the end of the first line. Aria focused on her own powers for a moment, seeing the flames dance around her hands once more, before she sighed as she jumped onto the line and followed after Cole, knowing that she and her sisters would get new abilities in time.
Cole seemed to know what she was thinking, as he was the only one that was gaining powers left and right, so he patted her back and smiled, knowing that she, Adagio, and Sonata would get some new abilities in the future, but before they moved forward their phones beeped, where they found it was Zeke this time.
"Hey guys." Zeke said, revealing that he was talking to all four of them this time around, where Cole and Aria could have sworn that they heard some gunfire on the other end, where Adagio and Sonata were, indicating that they were dealing with some Reapers.
"Hey Zeke, what's up?" Cole asked, knowing that there had to be a reason behind his friend contacting all of them, especially when they had been at his apartment building a few minutes ago and could have easily told them what was on his mind before they came down here.
"You know that TV Jacker?" Zeke inquired, referring to the Voice of Survival, though his tone indicated that he wasn't pleased about something else this time around, though Aria was beginning to think that Zeke was upset about everything that was going on, "I used to think that he was pretty righteous, but now he spends half his time trashing you... and he just started trashing the girls as well. He's calling all of you terrorists now... so I think that the lot of you should pay him a visit."
"Except that no one knows where he's holed up." Aria commented, knowing that she and her sisters had no idea where the man who was the Voice of Survival could be, and the other civilians seemed to be confused as to where he was located as well.
"He's probably holed up in the old TV station over in the Historic District." Zeke said, more in the fact that he was talking to himself, though that didn't stop the two groups from listening to him as they continued their own tasks, "You guys should find him and give him a taste of the good stuff. He's gotta learn not to run his mouth all the time."
Cole and Aria waited until Zeke was off the line before they jumped forward and used the grind line to continue deeper into the sewer, though Aria had to wait a second or two for Cole to get ahead of her before she could follow after him. While the duo moved through the sewer they found some Reapers waiting for them, like usual, though this time around their enemies were facing someone that could use electricity and someone that could use fire, but the interesting thing was when Aria loosed a fireball and set one of the Reaper's jackets on fire. The Reaper, seeing that happened, dropped to the floor, rolled for a few seconds, and fell into the water to get the flames off of him, only for Cole to shock the water and knock him out, causing his body to float to the surface. While the two of them moved through the sewer, however, they came to a part where Aria started to fall behind, though when she focused her aura so she could attack the Reapers that were ahead of Cole, who were aiming at him, she lifted off the floor for a few seconds and crossed over to where Cole was waiting... and she knocked out the Reapers in the process, opening the way for them to move forward.
"Wait, did you just glide over to me?" Cole asked, as he had seen Aria move and hover over to where he was standing, as well as taking out the Reapers that were blocking their path.
"Maybe?" Aria replied, as she wasn't exactly sure what she had done, though based on what little Zeke had told her about that fighting show he liked she wondered if this was a flight based power, one that could be trained over time, or if her elemental abilities had given her something to keep up with Cole.
Cole was interested in what Aria did and tried to see if she could do it again, though as they progressed through the sewers he noticed that she either seemed incapable of doing it again or she had no idea how to call it back to the surface, but he was sure that with some practice she would be able to do it again. He then wondered if Adagio and Sonata could do something like what Aria did, though he suspected that because Sonata controlled the wind she'd be able to glide around no problem, once she decided to try using her powers in that manner. Despite the fact that Aria couldn't use the other power she followed after Cole to the best of her ability and they made their way through the sewer, where they blasted the Reapers out of their way as they neared the substation that was their target. Once they reached the substation Cole blasted it a few times to restore the power to another part of the Neon District, giving him and the sisters to move around in when they got back to the surface.
Since they had taken out the Reapers that had been blocking the way earlier, and had restrained those that had survived the initial attack, it was a simple matter for Cole and Aria to return to the surface and climb out of the sewer, where they found a second turret truck had been destroyed by Adagio... mostly because of the ice crystals that happened to be sticking out of the vehicle's sides.
"It seems like you two had fun." Cole commented, looking at the Reapers that were laying on the floor, alive and bound by the looks of it, before he turned towards Adagio, who was smiling, and Sonata, who seemed to be looking for any additional enemies that might want to do them harm.
"Some Reapers showed up, wanting to get into the sewers so they could stop you," Adagio explained, though she turned around and waved her hand towards the ice crystals, which turned back into pure water, which was what they had been earlier before she manipulated the water around them, "it gave Sonata and I some time to practice our new powers. Did you get anything interesting from the substation?"
"Yeah, a faster mode of transportation," Cole replied, though he held up a hand to stop them from asking questions, where he found that they actually wanted to see what he was saying for themselves and were patiently waiting, "Don't worry, you'll see my new power soon enough. And, since Moya doesn't have any leads for us at the moment, I think it's time we continued helping the people, and I know a 'good' mission we can do to help boost our reputations."
Adagio raised an eyebrow as she, Aria, and Sonata followed Cole through the powered up sections of the Neon District, pausing to help the wounded civilians and beat up the Reapers that wanted to fire at them, before they started to approach a very familiar sight; Stampton Bridge. Cole walked into the underpass that was below the area they, and some innocent civilians, had tried to use to escape the city earlier, though when they did so they found a cop and someone that looked like a junkie waiting for them, where the cop had a blue band around his wrist and the junkie had a red glow in his eyes. It was rather easy to tell which person they were here to see, though as they approached the cop the junkie growled and moved away from the area, knowing that they weren't here to help him and his friends out. As the four of them drew closer to the cop, however, they heard the sound of some shots being fired nearby, though since it wasn't at them they decided to assist the cop... and then take out the Reapers that were causing problems for the people.
"What seems to be the problem officer?" Aria asked, as she and the others were wondering what they could be doing this time around, as the last 'good' person they assisted had them escort some Reapers to a police station for some interrogation, which likely was going to help them stop the Reapers at some point.
"There's a Reaper conduit that we're having a hard time bringing down." the officer said, though at the same time the group heard the sound of a White Reaper's shockwave hit the ground, where the sound revealed that he was close, and that included the cops that were apparently chasing him and his gang, "Can you guys capture him for us?"
"Shouldn't be too hard." Cole replied, to which he and the sisters moved out from the underpass and found the White Reaper in question firing at the police officers that were near him, while his fellow Reapers did the same thing.
Instead of going after the White Reaper to begin with, since he was the major threat, the group scattered to the four directions and attacked the Reapers from all sides, carefully blasting their way through the normal gun carrying Reapers that stood between them and their target. Since it was now four people who had powers, conduits as the officer had labeled the White Reaper, against one powerful person and a group of normal gang members, it was rather easy for Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata to blast their way through the Reapers and square off against the White Reaper. Unfortunately for their opponent he couldn't deal with having the four of them be his opponent, as he couldn't accurately dodge all of their attacks and eventually found himself laying on the floor, where Cole restrained him. With the task done, and the officers thanked them for assisting them in clearing out this part of the gang, and capturing the person they were after, the group headed made into the Neon District and they continued searching for more things to do while they waited for Moya to contact them again.
Fortunately Cole had another 'good' mission they could take care of, one that was back by Archer Square, to which the four of them headed out and retraced their steps back to where they performed their first act of assisting the people, where they found another officer standing near the entrance of the area, which had some Reapers preparing near the large statue.
"We got a notice saying that you needed some assistance," Cole commented, causing the cop to turn towards them, where he looked them over once, as if deciding whether or not he could trust them, before nodding his head, "what can we do to help?"
"We need you, and your lovely friends, to nab some Reapers for us." the officer said, meaning that this was like the last mission, where they beat up some people and Cole restrained them to the floor so they could be picked up later, "We need the information they have, and capturing them alive will let us get what we need... though four Reapers should be enough to get the information we need."
Cole and the sisters didn't know if the cop knew about the small group of Reapers that were in Archer Square, four of them to be exact, and used that number when he was asking them for assistance, or if it was a random number and there just happened to be four Reapers nearby. Instead of worrying about it the group headed into Archer Square and engaged the Reapers, where they each took one of them and dodged the bullets that were coming their way, only for them to quickly blast their targets to the ground so Cole could restrain them. It was a simple task, one that would improve the people's opinions of them now that the Voice of Survival was trying to make them seem like the villains, but they were fine with taking an easy mission every now and then. Once the task was done they climbed up the building that the cop had been starting near, or at least stopped in the outside table area that was a few floors off the ground, and considered what they were going to do next for the people.
Before they could actually decide on anything, however, Cole's phone went off and he discovered that it was Moya, though all four of them discovered that Adagio, Aria, and Sonata's new phones weren't making a sound, meaning that she was going to use Cole's phone when they were together... to which he clicked the button, accepted the call, and they prepared themselves for what she was going to say next.
"It seems that you and the girls are doing some fine work in the Neon, Cole." Moya said, though the sisters knew they could be doing more, especially since they were mostly ignoring the majority of the optional objectives they had been given so far, "I have a couple of things I'd like you all to look into... and one of them might even lead us to John. Get to the building that's in front of the substation you just reactivated and I'll explain everything when you get there."
Cole and the sisters looked at each other for a moment, as they were surprised to hear that Moya might have a lead on John, to which they jumped back down to the street that was below them and made their way back to the building that Moya wanted them to get to. As they climbed to the roof of that building, however, all four of them noticed a beat up train that was sitting on the tracks, though something told them that the train might be their objective, especially with the Reapers that were guarding it.
"See that old train?" Moya asked, knowing that they had gotten into position, exactly like she asked them to, and was ready to brief them on their new mission, one that might be the end of their time in Empire City, "The Reapers have some people locked up in there, as collateral to keep the people of the Neon in line. more importantly, there's a chance that John might be aboard that train."
"Well, we can't bust them out here," Adagio commented, though now she was sort of regretting their decision to not help the people more, as she knew where the train resting in relation to the zones the Reapers still owned, "that train is resting inside the heart of the Reapers' territory. Busting them out here is a death sentence waiting to happen."
"But how do we move a train when there's... no... power..." Aria started to say, though that was when she turned and glanced at Cole, as she was starting to see something that she hadn't considered beforehand, "Of course, we have someone that's essentially a third rail, as Zeke says. Cole, I bet that if you made contact with the lead car, and stayed on it, we'd be able to move the train out of here and get these people to safety."
"Worth a shot." Cole said, to which he disconnected the call and the four of them jumped down to the street below them, before they started making their way to a better vantage point, one where they could fire at the Reapers a little easier and take them out quicker before they realized enemies were near them.
Of course that plan really didn't work all that well, as the Reapers started firing at them the instant they knew that enemies were coming their way, so while Cole and Adagio climbed back up to the track Aria climbed up the buildings on the left side of the tracks and Sonata did the same on the right side. As it turned out it was rather easy to take out the Reapers in the immediate area, as there were only a few of them actually guarding the train, which didn't made sense considering that it was right in front of the Reaper Stronghold, but as the sisters got into position Cole used a shockwave to move the dead cars off the track. Once the pair of cars were on the ground level he climbed up onto the lead car and the entire train started to move forward, causing the sisters to follow after him from either the rooftops, in Aria and Sonata's cases, or follow on the track to the side of the train, like Adagio was doing. They didn't get very far as the train came to a stop a few seconds later, where Moya informed Cole that the low-voltage feeder box must have been disengaged by the Reapers and that he would have to turn it back on by blasting it a few times... and that it, along with the other feeder boxes, happened to be below the tracks.
It didn't take long for Cole to find the feeder box and energize it, to which they started moving towards the next station, which happened to be near Memorial Park, though as they approached it Cole focused on the train while the sisters engaged the Reapers that were guarding the area. After charging the feeder box that was below the station they got moving once more, though as they followed the track Cole found something else to do while focusing on the train, using his shockwave power to knock back the rocket that an RPG carrying Reaper decided to fire at him. As it turned out redirecting the rocket actually took out the Reaper in question, as the rocket hit close enough to where it came from to knock the Reaper on his back, but Cole wasn't about to question it as they continued to move the train through the Neon District and left the Reaper Stronghold behind. Of course they still had to stop every now and then for the feeder boxes, though while Cole dealt with that obstacle Adagio, Aria, and Sonata fired at the Reapers and knocked them to the ground, preventing them from doing any damage to the train and the people that were trapped inside it's cars.
Eventually Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata regrouped on the train, with the sisters being on the second car, as it rolled into the station that the civilians were crowded around, where they moved out of the way as Cole blasted open the door and the hostages were released into the care of their loved ones. The civilians were surprised by that sudden act, even though Moya had somehow informed them that the group was bringing the train in, but that didn't prepare the four of them for what happened next. People started thanking them for what they were doing to clean up the Neon District, took a moment to shake all of their hands, praised them for being the heroes they needed at a time like this, and even pulled out some posters that had been made of them, for them to sign for some reason. Those posters showed one side of each of their faces, somehow accurately catching the likeness of all four of them on their individual posters, and even had a little image of the power they wielded, like lightning for Cole and fire for Aria. All of them had to admit that it was nice to be treated in such a way, with the people on their side instead of against them, though even then they remembered their mission and kept an eye out for John... who never surfaced, even as the people and families of the Neon District went back home with their families complete once more.
Cole knew that Moya wasn't going to be happy with that bit of news, and he knew that the sisters were a little sad they didn't find John anywhere on the train, but he was certain that they could find John... even if they had to go to the Warren and the Historic District in order to find him.
Moya didn't contact Cole, Adagio, Aria, or Sonata after they had saved the people in the train, meaning that she was likely killing some time and looking for something before she told them anything, to which the four of them climbed onto the top of the train and waited as it started moving. Cole was able to determine, from glancing at his phone, that there was a fair number of optional objectives around the part of the Neon District where they re-established the satellite uplinks that Moya wanted them to fix, but at the same time there weren't any like that in the west side of the Neon. Adagio, curious as to what he was looking at, did the same thing with her new phone and stared at the area that he was focused on, though she let a smile appear on her face when she realized that Cole had missed something. There was a mission for them to accomplish in the western side of the Neon District, one that would help them out in the future, and there was another 'good' objective they could potentially do while they were in the area.
"There's actually another set of satellite uplinks in the area we're heading to," Adagio commented, causing Cole to look at his own phone for a few seconds before he moaned, as he couldn't believe he missed something that was so easy to spot, before she looked at the city, "Once you get those uplinks up and running again, and we've gotten back together, we can either take on that good mission that Moya found for us or we can do some of the optional objectives."
"More uplinks means more people to help!" Sonata said, knowing that now that her sisters were actually trying to become heroes of the people, and leave their terrible past behind them, they would be happy with the prospect of helping more of the civilians that the Reapers were harassing.
"Agreed." Aria said, where she still found it odd that she and Adagio were agreeing with Sonata, as Adagio was nodding her head in agreement, but at the same time they were interested in what else they might be able to do once Cole connected the uplinks again.
Cole and the sisters rode the train towards the area that the uplinks were located in, to which they climbed up to the top of the building that it was resting on and took out the Reapers that wanted to gun them down from afar, though that was a mistake on their part. The moment the Reapers were taken care of, as it had been a small group that they had spotted, Cole approached the uplink that was in front of them and drained it of all the electricity that was inside it, though once that was done he started moving across the rooftops. As Cole did that Adagio, Aria, and Sonata watched as he used his new 'induction grind' ability, as that was what Cole was calling the new technique he had picked up earlier, and stayed beside the first one so he could return to them when he was done. It wasn't long before the uplinks had been re-established, as they knew that the moment their GPS maps updated with new objectives for them to do, and Cole returned to them with a smile on his face.
As they went over the various optional objectives that Moya had sent them, and determined which ones they wanted to tackle first, they all discovered one particular optional objective that mentioned a mobile poison, which told all of them that the Reapers might be planning on spreading more of their tar throughout the city. Since they weren't sure what the mission entailed the four of them dropped down to the street below them and followed the GPS through the city, though they had to stop a few times to take out another group of Reapers that wanted to stop them. Adagio found it surprising that the Reapers thought that they could stand up to four powerful beings like them, especially when she and her sisters channeled their elemental powers to aid Cole in dealing with them. She had no idea why the Reapers thought they could take out someone that could drain the electricity near them and shoot lightning from his hands, another that could launch fireballs that only hurt their targets and not the builds, a third that commanded the power of the wind itself, and her, who now had the power to manipulate the water around her and even freeze it into ice type attacks.
As such the four of them were able to topple the Reapers that they came across, restrained those that were still moving on the floor, healed the various wounded civilians that were all around them, and made their way to the alleyway that the optional objective was in... where they found a man waiting for them, who seemed really concerned about something that was going on at that very moment.
"I think I saw one of those Reaper trucks over there," the man said, beckoning them to follow him to a nearby tunnel, which they did since it would allow them to see their objective, where they found a Reaper tar truck slowly driving along the street on the other end of the tunnel, guarded by a pack of Reapers, "I think you should destroy it."
Cole and the sisters charged out of the tunnel and separated from each other, forcing the Reapers that were walking alongside the tar truck to separate and follow after them, to which the four of them fired at their pursuers while avoiding the rocket fire that the RPG carrying Reapers were loosing. Fortunately there were only eight normal Reapers on the street, two for each of them, though as they outmaneuvered those Reapers they all noticed that there was a White Reaper in the area as well, who was focused on taking them all out. As such the four of them focused on outmaneuvering the pair of Reapers that were following after them, eventually knocking them out in the process, before they all turned their attention to the White Reaper. It didn't take them long to take out the White Reaper, especially since it was four powers against one, though once their foe fell they turned their attention to their main target, where they found that the tar truck was still close to where the tunnel was located. As such the four of them charged down the street and opened fire on the truck, while also making sure that the civilians stayed away from the street for the moment so they didn't get fried or hurt by any their powers, before part of the truck exploded, followed by it shuddering for a few seconds, and then it finally stopped moving. The instant the group saw that, however, they knew what was coming, to which they moved out of the way as the truck exploded and the tar simply burned away, meaning that the Reapers wouldn't be able to come back here later and claim whatever was leftover from the truck's contents.
As they finished taking care of the tar truck, and knocked out the remaining Reapers so the cops in the area could interrogate them later on, Zeke called them and informed them that a lady had approached him and asked if he could get Cole's autograph, though while their friend was annoyed about being a 'butler', as he called himself, he said he might just fake the signature and see if he could score. Once Zeke was done calling them Cole and the sisters headed back into Memorial Park and headed to the building that was in the center of the entire park, where they nodded their heads to the people that were around them as they approached their destination. When they arrived Cole's phone went off and he recognized that it was Warden Harms, meaning that he likely had another task for them to accomplish, one that would show the Reapers that they weren't in charge of the Neon District anymore.
"A group of people are marching through the streets in a form of protest." Warden Harms said, informing them that the people were definitely doing something, though at the same time the group prepared themselves for the task part of why he was calling, "They're trying to send a message to the Reapers that the people are on your side."
"I'm sure the Reapers appreciate that." Aria commented, though at the same time she knew that the Reapers were likely to attack the protesters, to try and send a message that they were still in command of the area, which the four of them were going to have to deal with.
"I've got some of my men over there," Warden Harms stated, revealing that he wanted to keep the people safe as well, but his tone meant that there was something else he was thinking about at the moment, "but in case something goes wrong, I'd like the four of you to be there as well. You have to protect the people that are marching."
"Don't worry, we'll keep them safe," Cole said, though at the same time he disconnected the call and headed towards the street that was near their location, as the street happened to be near the same street that the tar truck was trying to get to before he and the sisters destroyed it.
The four of them moved through Memorial Park and jumped down to the street level, where they found a decent group of people being escorted through the streets by a pair of cops and a police vehicle, indicating that the police were protecting the people as well. The people that were marching through the streets cheered as Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata came to a stop near them and stood with two of them on the right sidewalk while the other two did the same on the left sidewalk. Their plan was to follow the convoy for a time, until they were told that they were no longer necessary, and take out any Reapers that wanted a piece of the civilians that were showing who there were loyal to, as they were all sure that the Reapers would attack soon enough. Before they even reached the intersection that was in front of them, where the tar truck had been heading to, one of the Reapers on the roofs around them raised an RPG and fired down upon the people that the group was trying to protect... though Cole, seeing the missile coming, raised his hands and loosed a shockwave that sent it flying back towards the person that fired it.
As the RPG Reaper went down Adagio, Aria, and Sonata started firing at the Reapers that were pouring out of the alley they had just gone by, as well as the one that was further ahead of them, where they made sure the people were safe from harm and knocked down the various Reapers that were in the area. They also restrained the defeated Reapers to the ground and followed the marching people for a few more minutes, where they found that there was only once group of Reapers that wanted them dead. That was weird, especially since they had considered the fact that their enemies would have wanted the protesters and would have come in greater numbers, but with the one group of six Reapers that came after them they decided not to question it. After all, they managed to save the people from harm and earned the respect of the cops that the four of them had helped, though once that was done they stood on some steps nearby and watched the people continue walking for a few minutes.
Once the protesters had been assisted Cole noticed that there was a new GPS location on his map, one that seemed more important than the optional objectives they had been doing so far, so the four of them started making their way down the streets as they followed the coordinates... though upon their arrival they found Trish further down the street, tending to some of the sick people, but when she glanced up and saw them she packed up her stuff and marched over to where they were standing.
"This is like the fountain all over again," Trish said, which the sisters could see that it was the same as the fountain, as the sick people seemed to have the same symptoms as the people they had seen near the fountain yesterday, though that was before Trish glared at Cole, "Why aren't you stopping this?"
"We blew up a truck that was pumping tar into the main water main of Memorial Park," Cole replied, though at the same time he knew they had blown up a second vehicle that contained the stuff, which would have made this situation worse if they hadn't taken it out, "Sorry, I figured that the Reapers only had one container of that stuff and that the events at the fountain would have been the last we saw of the tar."
"Well, it's coming from somewhere..." Trish stated, to which she turned back and waved a hand towards the sick people that she had been tending to before she found the group, "these people aren't getting sick on their own, Cole."
"Trish, we'll find out what's going on," Adagio said, though she wasn't too surprised to see that Trish was being angry and hostile towards Cole, especially since she was so convinced that he was responsible for the Blast and the death of her sister, "and then, once we've figured out where the tar's coming from, we'll take care of it."
Trish's gaze softened when she looked at Adagio and her sisters, as she knew that they had nothing to do with the Blast, but she said nothing as she returned to taking care of the sick people that she had been tending to before she spotted them, allowing the four of them to stand there for a few seconds before they considered what to do.
"Hey Moya, it's that black tar again." Cole said, after making sure that the person he was calling was Moya, though at the same time the sisters joined him in glancing around the area for any additional water sources that the Reapers might be using, "There are sick people all over the place."
"The only remaining source of water in that area is from the water towers on the rooftops." Moya commented, to which Cole brought his palm to his face, telling the sisters that he had forgotten something that he should have known, but they didn't hold it against him since he had more important matters to deal with.
"All right, we'll head up there and see what we can do." Aria stated, to which the call between them was disconnected a few seconds later, where the four of them started climbing the nearby building so they could reach the rooftop that was above them and start their search for the water tower.
Oddly enough the building that Trish was standing near, tending to some of the wounded and sick, was where several Reapers were patrolling, so when the four of them finished climbing to the roof of the building they had chosen they had to start loosing blasts at their targets while also dodging the incoming gunfire. The good part about there being four of them was that the Reapers had to pick and choose who they wanted to fire at, as some of them fired at Cole and the others fired at one of the sisters. Because of that fact the four of them were able to take out the Reapers that were trying to hurt them and Cole even knocked some of them into the air with his one of his shockwaves, where either he would shoot them with his power and take them out or one of the sisters would fire and knock them out. The one other thing that was working in their favor was that there weren't any other Reapers in the immediate area, meaning that when they took out the last of the Reapers they could focus on the water tower.
As the four of them calmed down they all noticed that there was something attached to the top of the water tower, which had to be what they were looking for, but to be on the safe side Cole decided to call this in and see if Moya had something to say on the matter.
"Reapers are all over the place up here, and there a strange metal keg attached to the water tower." Cole said, hoping that Moya had something for them to do in this regard, as he was sure that if they tampered with the keg they could either improve the situation or make it worse in an instant, "And there's tar dripping out of it."
"That must be how they're polluting the water." Moya stated, though her tone suggested that she had an idea, one that the group hoped was different than what they were thinking about so far, "Destroy it."
Cole weighed his options for a moment, he could easily overcharge the system and destroy the tar keg, like Moya had asked him to do, but he was sure that if he did that he would accidentally pump more tar into the water tower and poison more people in the process. That, in turn, would likely upset Moya and make Trish even more cross with him, while at the same time the sisters would understand that he had no idea if his thoughts were right and likely wouldn't judge him for what he had done. At the same time he wondered if he could hit the tar keg from below with his shockwave, or from the front, and knock it off the water tower without expelling more tar into the system, which would keep people safe and only harm him, unless one of the sisters caught the tar before he was able to be hit. In the end Cole decided to test his theory and climbed up to the top of the water tower, which was easy thanks to the ladder that was attached to it, before he stood in front of the tar keg and charged his power once more.
A few seconds later Cole, sticking to his morale decision, readied a shockwave and threw it at the tar keg, where he successfully knocked it off the water tower and destroyed it at the same time, though that also sent some tar flying in his direction... only for Sonata to weave her energy into the area between him and the keg, stopping the tar from hitting him in the process and saving him from suffering the side effects again.
"Moya, I knocked the tar keg off the water tower and destroyed it," Cole said, though at the same time he dropped down to where the sisters were standing and nodded his head towards Sonata, who smiled and rubbed the back of her head for a moment, "none of the tar got into the systems when I did that."
"That's good to hear, for both your sake and the sake of the people," Moya stated, to which Adagio glared at the phone she was carrying on her pack strap, as Moya's tone make her wonder if the FBI lady had been expecting something else, as if she was expecting Cole to get hit by the tar again, "I've found another water tower in an area near where you're currently standing. You should check it out and see if the Reapers have trapped it as well."
As Cole nodded his head, and disconnected from Moya, the four of them had to separate as a White Reaper rushed into the area and started firing at them, though he was without reinforcements and that meant that the four of them would be more than enough to take him out. The White Reaper was only able to target one of them at a time, to which the four of them made sure that whoever he was targeting was hard to hit and struck him in return, eventually doing enough damage to drop him to the street in the alley behind him. With the White Reaper taken care of the four of them jumped over to the building that was right across from where they were standing and found a single Reaper standing guard over another water tower that had a tar keg attached to it. As such Adagio blasted the Reaper in the chest and knocked him backwards, allowing Cole to climb up to where the tar keg was located and loosed a shockwave at it, where he knocked it loose like the first one and Sonata saved him from the tar that was sent out from inside the keg.
From there the four of them jumped over to the building on their left and started to climb up the side of it, as the next water tower was supposed to be at the top of the tower and that meant that there had to be Reapers patrolling the entire roof as they looked for enemies. As such the four of them separated as they ascended to the roof, because they were planning on attacking from four different sides, but as they reached the roof and did so they found that there were only two Reapers protecting the next tar keg. Since it was four against two the group was able to take the Reapers out in a few seconds, allowing Cole to loose a shockwave and knock the tar keg off the water tower, in addition to Sonata saving him once more. After that happened the four of them studied the map of the area, and where Moya was telling them where the other water towers were, though that meant they had to cross the street that was below them, and the train track that was there was well... and head into an area that might be infested by Reapers, if the RPG guy that was pointing at them at that very moment was any indication.
Cole stayed back for a moment, since the RPG Reaper was focused on him, and let the sisters cross over to the other side of the street, where they waited for him to launch his missile, and Cole to redirect it into the air, before they revealed themselves and knocked him out so their friend could join them again. As they joined back up the Reapers on the roof of the building that was directly in front of them started firing at them the moment they spotted them, to which the group separated and returned fire, or at least Adagio and Aria did, as Cole and Sonata were using the distraction they were providing to climb up the side of the building so they could reach their target. When Cole and Sonata reached their destination they launched the Reapers into the air from behind, allowing Adagio and Aria to blast them while they were above them before they hit the ground... to which Adagio and Aria climbed up to the roof and watched the duo repeat their earlier tactic in loosing the tar keg from the water tower and preventing Cole from taking damage.
After doing that the four of them opened fire on the group of Reapers that were on a roof in front of them, where one of them seemed to be carrying a riot shield, but fortunately that particular enemy didn't stand much of a chance when Cole hurled a shock grenade at them, blowing most of the Reapers to the ground, for the sisters to take care of, while the riot shield carrying Reaper was blown off the roof and descended towards the ground. From there they noticed that the tallest building in the area around them seemed to contain the water tower in question and that all of them needed to climb up the side of the building so they could reach the roof. As such the four of them carefully climbed up the side of the building and headed towards the roof, where they found a Reaper that was manning a turret that happened to be aimed at two of them, but that allowed Aria and Sonata to attack from behind and knock the Reaper out... allowing them to gather around the water tower, where Cole got rid of the tar keg and Sonata kept him safe once more.
As the four of them got together again, so they could go over whether or not there were any other tar kegs in the Neon District, they heard the sound of something moving and turned to their left, where a new person was standing near them, someone that hadn't been standing there a few seconds ago. The man was wearing a long white trench coat, white trousers, a gray hood over his head and a gray scarf around his neck, though as the group took that into consideration they noticed that he had some sort of device on his chest and right arm. As the four of them stared at the man they discovered that he was actually was bald and had several wrinkles over his face, though he also had bright blue eyes with no pupils that gave off a dim glow... making him look like a person of great power, which worried the four of them as they turned towards the man.
"She's going to be pretty pissed about this." the man commented, though instead of looking around the area he simply stared at them, or rather he stared at Cole and completely ignored the sisters, causing Adagio, Aria, and Sonata to prepare themselves for a fight.
"Who the hell are you?" Cole asked, though at the same time he did the same thing that the sisters were doing, preparing himself for a fight, because the way the man talked made him think that he was allied with whoever was in command of the Reapers, a lady by what the mysterious man had just said.
"Just a concerned citizen." the man replied, but even said he said that his stance shifted, indicating that he was up to something, to which the four of them prepared for whatever the man was going to do next, "Now hold still."
The moment the man finished talking he dashed forward and raised his hands, where his fingers dug into Cole's face for a few seconds, though at the same time that prompted the sisters to grab onto the man so they could pry him off of their friend before Cole was hurt. What happened next, however, was them stalling the instant their hands touched the man, where their minds focused on a series of images that were coming off of the strange man, images of a world that had been decimated by something terrible. Despite the fact that it appeared that the man was only trying to show Cole the information he was giving them he decided to allow all four of them to see the same thing, where the sisters watched as the people in the images were slaughtered in unimaginable ways. They all quickly came to the conclusion that this man was showing them the future, a future that he was responsible for creating, that he had opened Pandora's Box and that it was never going to close. A few seconds later, when he finished showing them what he wanted to show them, the images stopped flowing out of him and he let go of Cole, causing the sisters to go weak for a moment as they each fell down to the floor as well... but before any of them could do anything the strange man disappeared as suddenly as he had arrived, leaving them to think about what he had shown them.
"So... who thinks... that guy... was responsible... for the Blast?" Sonata asked, though at the same time she and the others huffed for a few seconds, as it was an intense experience to be shown that unless they stopped that strange man, how she had no idea, this world was going to die.
"I do." Cole, Adagio, and Aria replied at the same time, as they all had come to the same conclusion that Sonata had, and they all knew that the damned Ray Sphere was somehow involved in the man's plan to bring that future to their reality, which none of them wanted.
"Good. I wanted to be sure that I wasn't the only one thinking that." Sonata said, though at the same time they all pulled themselves back onto their feet, or hooves in the sisters' case, before they stared at each other while they thought about what they were going to do next.
Fortunately that decision was made for them, as Zeke called them a few seconds later, almost as if he felt that the four of them needed a break, though right now they were all willing to listen to any distraction from what they just learned, especially since it meant they needed to rethink part of their mission.
"Get on back here guys," Zeke said, addressing all of them at the same time, which they were happy to hear, while at the same time adding something else that made Cole put a small smile on his face for a few seconds, "I've got some beverages chillin' for all of you."
"We're on our way." Adagio replied, though she was shocked by the fact that the world was now in danger from a strange man that had some strange components attached to his body, something that the others were shocked by when they thought about it as well.
Once the line to Zeke was cut off the four of them jumped back down to the alleyway below them, once more surprising the sisters by the fact that they could survive jumping down heights like this without hurting themselves in the process. The moment they were on the ground they made their way through the Neon District and quickly returned to Zeke's apartment building, pausing to heal and assist the wounded while also taking out any Reapers along the way, before they reached the base of the building in question. From there the four of them started to climb up the side of the building and headed towards the roof, where they smiled at Zeke as they reached their destination, though when they arrived they found that Zeke was actually standing this time and wasn't laying on the couch.
"Hey, I've been looking into your new BFF Moya." Zeke said, though that made the sisters wonder how that was possible, because they were sure that finding some information on an FBI agent would be hard, if not impossible.
"Find your magic eight-ball did ya?" Cole asked, though at the same time he knew that if Zeke put forth the effort to do something like this, even if it was to satisfy his own curiosity, he might have actually found something worth sharing.
"She's real FBI." Zeke stated, repeating a fact that the group had known from the moment they encountered Moya, but at the same time none of them spoke as they listened to what he had to say, "In fact, she's big time FBI. Highly decorated, the kind of person they send out when the shiola hits the fan and sprays all over everyone. About six months ago, she gets moved over to some new division called DEFENDER and her trail goes completely cold. Now one of my boys thinks she's working for DARPA."
"You have boys?" Aria inquired, as she understood what Zeke was saying, as she had picked up on some things when she and her sisters were living in the magicless world, but at the same time Zeke seemed annoyed when she asked that question, as if he thought he wasn't being taken serious.
"I'm being serious here." Zeke insisted, though he was happy that it wasn't Cole that had said that statement, as he would have gotten more annoyed with him than with one of the sisters, because he knew his best friend more than he knew the three sisters, "You have to pay attention. DARPA is the mother lode of black ops crap... it's this secret Pentagon group that doesn't answer to anybody. If she's in with those clowns, the lot of you had better watch your backs."
"And we will," Cole said, though at the same time he took a seat on the couch and relaxed, as right now he wanted to take his mind off of what he and the sisters had learned about who they were up against, or rather what would happen if they failed to stop the mysterious man, "but first things first... where are those drinks?"
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata grabbed one of the sodas that Zeke had provided and simply sat down around the roof, each of them thinking about what they had been shown when the mysterious man had revealed himself and showed Cole, and by extent the three of them, what was clearly a vision of the future. They all knew that the man was going to bring about the end of this world, how and when they had no idea, but at the same time they had the feeling that if they didn't stop him soon he was going to succeed in his mission... and somehow the Ray Sphere was connected to his plans, which meant that they needed to find it and fast, otherwise the man would win and they would all lose.
"The unusual conduits have been identified." Kessler commented, hearing the ticks of keys as he returned to his base of operations in the Historic District, where he could watch Cole and the strange girls that followed him around, "The first one, the one with the vivid orange hair with yellow streaks, is called Adagio Dazzle and she appears to have the power to manipulate the water in the area around her. The second girl, the one with the purple hair with aquamarine colored streaks, is her sister, Aria Blaze, and her power is over the element of fire. The final girl, with the arctic blue hair that has persian blue stripes, is Sonata Dusk, sister of both Aria and Adagio, and her power is over the wind around her."
"Updating our information," one of his soldiers stated, as they had created a small profile on the three girls the moment they first appeared near Cole when the Blast Happened, but this was the first time they were actually able to add anything to the profiles, "Does this change your plans?"
"Not at all... I'll just need to make a few modifications." Kessler said, though at the same time he stared at the screen that was in front of them, where he saw Cole and the girls arrive at the building that their fat friend called home, while his mind worked out how to overcome the changes that were in front of him.
Soon he would mold Cole into what he needed to be, to face the true evil that he had run from, and he would teach him everything he could before that happened... and if those girls survived the Reapers and the Dust Men, the keepers of the Warren, maybe they could help Cole fulfill his destiny.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata woke up early on the morning of the sixteenth day of the quarantine, earlier than they had done on the previous days since they first woke up after the Blast, and ate another light breakfast with Cole, who didn't seem hungover at all, and Zeke, who definitely had one too many drinks the previous night. The sisters found it odd that Zeke felt that the quarantine was the perfect time to get drunk, especially since the Reapers were still a threat to him and the other citizens, but they weren't about to tell him how to live his life. Cole, on the other hand, only had two beers last night, mostly because he was the only one that could turn on the substations and he needed to have a clear head when Moya informed them where the final one for the Neon District was located. There was also the fact that he, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata had to think about what the strange man had shown them when they were taking out the tar kegs that the Reapers had attached to the water towers.
The fact that the man had, somehow, shown them images of the terrible future that he had created, with humanity being slaughtered and the cities being destroyed, had kept them awake for some time and they had been trying to come to terms with what they had seen... and the only conclusion they could come up with was that the man needed to die before that future came to pass, meaning the Ray Sphere needed to be found before he got his hands on it again.
Once the four of them were done with their morning meal they left Zeke to do whatever he had planned for today and returned to the roof, where Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata went over the various optional objectives that still needed to be taken care of and how they would go about doing so. From what they could tell there were a few more tar kegs that needed to be disengaged from the water towers that they were attached to, which Cole and Sonata could easily do, there were one or two more tar trunks patrolling the streets, several doctors that they could assist, Reapers that needed to be stopped while they were rounding people up, and a number of other objectives. By Adagio's estimate they had liberated a small fraction of the Neon District, maybe twenty percent if they were lucky, which meant that the Reapers believed that they were still in control of this part of the city... something that all four of them agreed on, especially since the people were expecting them to clear out the Reapers and stop their operations.
The moment they came to that decision, and started to divide the number of objectives among them, Cole's phone went off and he discovered that Moya had some information for them, to which they sighed as he accepted the call, as they would have to put their current plans on hold.
"Cole, the location of the final substation in the Neon has been uploaded into your GPS." Moya stated, indicating exactly what was going on at the moment, to which the group got up and approached the side of the building that would allow them to jump on the train when it went by, "Head over there as soon as you can."
"We'll get the substation back online and then help the civilians," Adagio commented, though she was speaking to her sisters and Cole, who agreed with her statement, while at the same time not saying anything to Moya, as her timing with her call indicated that she was still listening to every word they said.
The instant Moya's call was finished the four of them jumped off the roof of Zeke's building and landed on the train as it went by the apartments, to which they simply stood on the front car of the train as they waited for the train to get close to their destination, where they would walk the rest of the way once they reached the edge of the powered area. Along the way Zeke called and said that he was scared of the government getting their hands on the Ray Sphere, especially since he believed that whoever Moya gave it to would use it to empower the military, or at the very least the cops, creating a force that they couldn't defend against. Cole, of course, indicated that he wasn't sure that they needed a defense against such a thing, which only caused Zeke to tell him that he needed to open his eyes and realize that the government was going to do everything in it's power to stay in power. Zeke backed that up by stating that the National Guard and Red Cross hadn't been called in to help them out, like the media was saying, and that they had lied about what happened on the Stampton bridge earlier, but Cole let Zeke talk for a few moments before the call was disconnected.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata thought that Zeke was trying too hard to convince his friend to believe in his conspiracy theories, as that was what they believed this to be, but they said nothing as they moved through the powered area and eventually reached the area of the Neon District that had no power.
Sure enough they found a few small Reaper groups, more like three groups with three members per group, guarding the area that was around the sewer entrance, though what they discovered was that their enemies didn't have any turrets guarding the entrance... allowing them to take out the Reapers that were guarding the area before they approached the manhole that they needed to enter. Adagio and Aria quickly grabbed the cover and removed it, allowing Cole and Sonata to descend into the sewer, before they replaced the cover and prepared for enemy forces to come and attack them, as they knew that more would be coming their way soon enough. When Cole and Sonata dropped down onto the platform that was below them they immediately stopped for a moment, because if their past experiences told them anything they knew that someone was going to talk with them soon enough... and, as it turned out, Moya was the one to do that this time around, instead of Zeke.
"I've got some information for you." Moya said, to which Cole and Sonata stood on the platform as they heard Adagio and Aria firing at some Reapers in the background, meaning that enemies had come to stop them and they were preventing them from entering the sewers, "The leader of the Reapers is a woman named Sasha. No last name. Until a few months ago, she was a high-ranking member of the First Sons. She spearheaded a lot of their research."
"You think she knows where John is?" Sonata asked, though at the same time she was grateful to have some sort of information on the leader of the Reapers, even though a name did little for them at the moment.
"There's no way of knowing." Moya admitted, indicating that they wouldn't know what Sasha knew unless they found her and captured her, which might be hard if she was guarded by her Reaper army and the fact they had next to no idea where she was hiding, "But even if she doesn't, you have to take her out; it's the only way we'll be able to get a handle on the plague. I'll let you know when I've locked on her location."
The instant Moya was done talking Cole and Sonata jumped over to the pair of pipes that were sticking out of the water and used them to cross over to the larger vertical pipe that they could climb around, before they had to use a series of similar pipes to reach another platform. From there they made their way through the doorway that was in front of them and discovered that the way forward required Cole to power up a terminal, one that would move some sort of device they could climb onto to reach the area the circuit was located in. Cole didn't mind powering the terminal up, as it allowed them to jump onto the moving mechanism and climb onto the top of the outstretched arm, which in turn allowed them to cross over to some pipes that brought them to the circuit that they needed to re-establish. Sonata stood back as Cole grabbed the two sides of the circuit and bridged the gap, allowing the electricity to flow from one side to another, and when he landed he grinned as he thought about the new power that was now coursing through his veins.
"Sonata, you might want to move for a moment," Cole said, staring at the fan that was in the distance behind where his companion happened to be standing, though while it took Sonata a moment to understand what he was talking about she nodded her head and moved out of the way, "Let's see how well this new attack is."
Sonata watched as Cole held up his right hand and seemed to focus his mind, as the fan that he was aiming at was spinning at a speed that made it impossible to normally hit the power terminal on the other side of it, but then Cole released a blast of electricity that raced through the gap and struck his target. Not a few seconds later another device, like the one they used to get to this point, turned on and revealed what the hidden terminal had been connected to, allowing them to move even deeper into this part of the sewer.
"A precision attack." Sonata commented, as she understood what she was seeing, to which Cole nodded his head as he stared at his hands, as this attack would come in handy in the future, before he glanced at the path that was in front of them and she smiled.
The two of them continued to use the pipes that were in front of them to access the moving devices that Cole was powering up along the way, though as they did so Zeke decided to call them again and inform them of something that he had discovered lately. The people were saying that the four of them were big heroes, or something to that extent, and that all of them had this aura of goodness, something that Cole wasn't even focusing on because he was more interested in the change that he saw in Adagio, Aria, and Sonata, but then Zeke decided to ruin the moment by saying that he could use their deeds to his advantage. Despite what Zeke had said, and his honesty in using their deeds to help him out, Cole and Sonata were able to make their way over some of the vertical pipes and onto a walkway that had two suicide Reapers blocking their path. Sonata, upon seeing them, swung her hand and her energy responded, to which the wind whipped around the first suicide Reaper, where she forced him backwards and into the waiting arms of his partner, to which they both exploded and dropped into the water around them.
Cole was surprised that Sonata had acted as quickly as she had, but at the same time he was happy that she had done so, because it allowed them to move further into the part of the sewer that they were in, where they had to stop at a platform with a generator on it. The reason behind them stopping was because there was a turret nearby that a Reaper happened to be using to fire at the area that they were going to pass through, giving Cole another opportunity to use his new precision attack. He focused his mind and aimed at the crack that revealed the Reaper on the other side, where he loosed his blast and it struck the Reaper in the head, knocking his target away from the turret before he hit the ground, allowing the two of them to move forward again. After that foe had been taken out he and Sonata continued along the path that was in front of them and eventually found another group of Reapers that would prove to be the ideal people to practice his new attack on, but this time Sonata joined him in attacking their enemies. Between the two of them they were able to take out the group of Reapers and continued down the path that they had been guarding, until they reached their destination and Cole loosed some blasts that allowed him to power up the substation.
Once that was done, and both Adagio and Aria informed them that the power was back online, Cole and Sonata made their way back through the part of the sewers that they were inside and returned to the platform that the ladder was resting on... where they climbed back up to the surface and found both Adagio and Aria standing guard over the manhole, with several defeated Reapers laying around the immediate area.
"Well, I can see that the two of you have been busy," Cole commented, though this was good news, as it meant that there would be less enemies for them to deal with in this area, especially if the Reapers knew that they were in this neighborhood, "I unlocked a precision attack when I restored the power to this part of the Neon District, so we've got a new skill we can use in our battle against the Reapers."
"That's good to hear, even if we haven't gotten anything new yet," Adagio replied, though while he knew that most people would have been upset over not unlocking new powers like he was, at the rate that he was unlocking them, Cole noticed that she and her sisters were just fine with what they knew at the moment, "though I'm not complaining about our situation... having some sort of power is better than nothing, especially after what happened to us."
Cole opened his mouth, so he could ask what Adagio meant by that, but before he could say anything his phone rang again, to which a smile appeared on his face as he realized that it was Trish that was calling him, because it meant that they might start to fix what had happened between them.
"Cole, you there?" Trish asked, to which Adagio and her sisters remained silent for a moment, as this was a personal call for him to take, something that he was grateful for as they stood near the sewer entrance, as they all knew that they were going to be sent somewhere else in the Neon District.
"Yeah, I'm here." Cole said, though at the same time the sisters looked around the area, as they heard the sound of Reapers in the area, but they remained silent as the duo walked over the phone, knowing that he and Trish needed this to fix their relationship.
"A plane just dropped a crate of medical supplies, and someone needs to protect it from the Reapers." Trish stated, once more revealing that she was choosing the people over her personal relationship with Cole, something that the group knew about without having to be told what was going on, "Since you, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata are the only ones with powers I figured that you'd be willing to help protect them... besides you owe me, all of us, for what you did. I'll be in touch once the crate is safe."
Cole looked at his phone for a moment, as he was starting to get annoyed by the fact that Trish was constantly blaming him for something that wasn't his fault, but then he sighed as he disconnected the call and let his phone go silent as he turned towards the sisters. The good thing about them was that they didn't judge him for the Blast happening, like almost everyone in the city, almost as if they had committed some great sin of their own, but even as that thought crossed his mind he chose to ignore it. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were heroes in the making, choosing the people over themselves time and time again since they first woke up in Trish's apartment, and he refused to believe that they had been evil at some point in time. He was sure that if they had been evil their auras, when they first started training with him, would have started out red, instead of the clear white aura he and Zeke had seen when the sisters first fired at that dumpster to see if they had gotten anything from the Blast.
The one thing he knew for sure was that it had taken some time for the sisters to agree on becoming the guardians of the people, which they had decided in Memorial Park, and now they radiated an aura that was like his, but he pushed those thoughts to the back of his head as he focused on what Trish wanted.
"It looks like those supplies aren't too far away." Adagio said, though as Cole turned towards her he found that she was staring at her phone, indicating that Moya must have overheard what Trish wanted them to do and had sent them all the same coordinates, "And it looks like we can clear one, maybe two, optional objectives before we find the area that the medical supplies were dropped in."
Cole nodded as the four of them headed down the street that they were on, where not even a minute later they came across a citizen that warned them of some Reapers that were pulling people off the streets, much like the abduction they had stopped earlier after they restored an earlier substation. Fortunately the Reapers in question, with the ten civilians they were attempting to cart off to wherever their base was located, were walking nearby and didn't seem aware of the fact that the four of them were nearby. As such the group attacked the Reapers from behind and surprised them, casing them to stagger as they realized that enemies were behind them and several of them fell before they had a chance to truly defend themselves. Only the two White Reapers were able to survive the initial attack, as they separated from each other and their prisoners, but the group was more than willing to focus on their targets as they made sure that the civilians escaped the area before they got hurt. Once the civilians were out of the area the four of them focused on taking out the remaining enemies, where they blasted the White Reapers until they surrendered, to which Cole restrained them and made sure that they knew that this particular area of the Neon District was now under their control.
From there the group headed further down the street, bypassing the building that Trish's coordinates were on for a few seconds, and approached an EMT that was looking for some assistance, where it turned out that he had set up a clinic on one of the piers and the Reapers had taken it over. Sure enough the pier that the EMT was pointing at had a whole pack of Reapers guarding the place, shooting warning shots at the civilians that dared to get close, but that only prompted the four of them to open fire on the Reapers as they knocked down the pair that was guarding the entrance. What was stupid on the part of the Reapers was that they actually charged out of the area that they controlled and tried to fight on the street, where Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata eagerly took them out before they could harm any of the civilians that were around them. With the four of them working together it didn't take them long to take out the Reapers, allowing the EMT to take control of the pier once more and set up his clinic again, to which the group decided to head over to Trish's objective so they could secure the supplies that had been dropped into the area.
After helping the EMT the group headed towards the building they needed to climb and heard some gunfire, to which they stuck to the streets and headed into the alleyway, where they made their way to what appeared to be a area that could be fortified against an assault... and there happened to be a pair of Reapers that were trying to destroy the supplies by firing at the protective casing that they were inside.
Upon seeing the Reapers attacking the crate of supplies the four of them charged into the area and struck down the targets that were in front of them, though once that happened the group stood around the crate and kept an eye on the area in front of them, along with the areas to their right and left. The first group of foes came from their right, following the path that had been created when all the containers had been placed down before the Blast, to which Sonata and Aria focused on them while Cole and Adagio focused on a secondary group that was coming from the front direction. The Reapers were definitely coming in full force, as they had the normal guys with guns, suicide runners, shield carriers, guys equipped with shotguns, and even a guy that was lugging around a machine gun, who happened to be on a nearby roof and stood out in the open as he opened fire on the crate. Fortunately the Reaper that was wielding the machine gun didn't last too long, as Adagio spotted him the instant he opened fire on the crate and blasted him in his chest, before heading up there and making sure that he couldn't move again, since they didn't need to combat his weapon at the moment... but once she was sure that the Reaper was down for the moment she returned to where Cole and her sisters were, where she fired at the enemies that were coming their way.
As they fought off the Reapers, who were now starting to pour in from all three directions and caused the sisters to focus on one direction with Cole assisting whoever needed assistance, Zeke decided to call and claimed that he had an important idea that he wanted to discuss. As it turned out he knew a few of the moves that Cole had used and wanted him to start naming his attacks, just like they did on his fighting show, because they could then print those names with a picture of Cole performing that attack on some shirts to make some money. Cole told Zeke that this was going to have to wait for another time, since he and the sisters were busy fighting the Reapers, though that only prompted his friend to claim that 'those idiots weren't going anywhere' and he continued to talk about his attempt to make money off of Cole's abilities. Of course since the people seemed to like Adagio, Aria, and Sonata as much as Cole, which was good news for all of them, Zeke insisted that they do the same thing, name their attacks so they could eventually print some shirts with pictures of them, exactly what he had suggested Cole do with his powers.
Eventually the Reapers, growing desperate to defeat them and destroy the medical supplies, started bringing in a few trucks that were equipped with turrets, which Cole and the sisters fired at the moment they saw them, since the turrets were much more dangerous than the actual Reapers that were approaching them. From there it was only a matter of time until they took out the three trucks that had been driven into the area, destroying the turrets in the process, before the Reapers stopped pouring out of wherever they had been hiding and left them alone. The four of them stood there for a moment as Trish, along with one of her friends, came out of the area they had been hiding in and approached the crate, as they were going to haul the medical supplies away and put them to use immediately, which would help save a good number of the civilians that were in the Neon District.
"You guys need any help moving the supplies?" Cole asked, because he was sure that if the Reapers were more than willing to attack the crate, when they thought it was defenseless, they were sure to attack Trish and her friend if the four of them weren't there to assist them.
"We got it." Trish replied, though this time around she was happier than she had been since the Voice of Survival shattered their relationship, before she looked Cole in the eye as he and the sisters stood in front of her, "And guys... thanks for your help."
"Anything for you and the people." Sonata said, knowing that they would do anything to help the people of the Neon District, as that was what they had been doing since they picked their side earlier, and that Cole was hoping that doing so would put him in Trish's good graces again.
"Does this mean we're talking again?" Cole asked, though at the same time he remained where he was standing, as Trish had said they didn't need their help, but he wanted to be available in case she changed her mind as they carted the medical supplies to wherever they were stationed.
"We'll see." Trish said, though even as she turned towards the container of medical supplies she gave Cole another smile, indicating that she was at least willing to think about the situation that they were in, to which Cole nodded his head in understanding as she and her friend worked on the crate.
Since Trish didn't need assistance Cole and the sisters headed back out onto the street and headed down to the clinic they had help set up, though as they walked down the street Cole spotted a downed cop that some of the civilians were gathering around. The four of them approached the cop and discovered that something had killed him, though as they came to that conclusion Cole used his ability to see the echo of who did the deed and discovered a Reaper that was staring down at the dead cop, before kicking him several times before heading away from the cop. Once the echo started moving he followed after it, accompanied by Adagio, Aria, and Sonata following after him, where they followed the echo through some alleys and across a street before they reached the area that the echo was heading towards... an alley where a few Reapers had gathered the rest of the dead cop's unit, preparing to execute them so they could gain total control over this area of the Neon District.
Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata weren't about to have any of that and opened fire on the unsuspecting Reapers, who turned and attacked them the moment they realized that they were under attack, but they were able to take them out within a matter of seconds and released the grateful cops... to which the four of them stood there for a moment as they wondered what to do next.
"I think it's time we take the fight to the Reapers," Adagio said, though at the same time she wove her energy around her for a few seconds and formed several crystals in her hand, ones that she could throw if she needed to do so, "Let's take back the Neon District while we wait for Moya to find out where Sasha is hiding."
Cole nodded his head as they opened their phones and started figuring out who would be taking which of the optional objectives, since they had time to kill before Moya gave them the information that they were waiting for, and they were sure that the people would appreciate them taking the Neon District back from the Reapers and their leader.
Suffice it to say that Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were slightly annoyed with Moya by the time she contacted them, as it took her longer than they were expecting for her to find where Sasha was hiding, but it gave them the time they needed to tackle the Reapers that were in the Neon District. They used that time to find the various EMT's that needed their help in either reclaiming the clinic that they had set up, since the Reapers had attacked them and drove them out, or acquired the supplies that had been stolen from them, while also taking out the enemies in that area as well. Cole and Sonata stopped every now and then to take out the tar kegs that were attached the to water towers, though while they did that they took out the Reapers that were guarding them and Sonata saved Cole from taking some tar to the face in the process. They also found an informant that was supposed to have information on the Reapers, but he died when they found him and the four of them avenged him immediately. There was also the fact that they had to follow some of the Reaper couriers and claim the Blast Shards that they were carrying around, since Cole was the only one that could use them, and even came across some Reapers attacking one of the police stations that existed in the Neon District.
When they found that group of Reapers none of them hesitated and engaged their enemies, blasting the Reapers to the ground and destroyed their turret truck that they were using to attack the station, though the cops were more than happy to have some additional Reapers to interrogate once the attack was dealt with.
While they were busy liberating the Neon District from the Reapers, and waiting for Moya to tell them where Sasha was located, the four of them collected the Blast Shards that happened to be in the various areas that they traveled through, allowing Cole to store more energy for the fights ahead of them. At the same time Cole found a number of John's dead drops, where they revealed more about his time with the First Sons and the various things he had to do while he was undercover. One of the things that interested all of them was the fact that John gave them the name of the mysterious man they had seen earlier, as John stated that he had some sort of metallic device attached to his right arm, which they recalled immediately, and now knew that the man's name was Kessler. As it turned out John reported that Kessler appeared to be a true believer of the First Sons' beliefs and that he was an incredibly dangerous individual, something that the group believed since the older man had moved faster than they anticipated... and that was without using whatever sort of power he clearly had access to.
Eventually they ran out of optional objectives to do, as they had smashed through the various groups of Reapers and their operations, to which they simply gathered on top of a building that overlooked the area that the medical supplies had been dropped in and waited... as they knew that Moya would eventually contact them and there wasn't much they could do, and fortunately they didn't have to wait long as Cole's phone went off.
"Cole, I've pinned down Sasha's location," Moya said, to which the four of them stood up the moment she started talking, as this was what they were waiting for the moment they finished dealing with the other Reapers, "she's operating out of the Jefferson Tunnel. Head to the location I've marked on your GPS and I'll fill you in when you all get there."
"Will do." Cole replied, though at the same time he smiled as he turned and looked at his companions, as they were all eager to take care of Sasha, especially since she and her Reapers were a danger to the people of the Neon District, who were just trying to survive after the Blast, "It's time to take out the leader of the Reapers."
"About time." Aria said, echoing what was going through all their minds at the moment, but at the same time Cole started moving and the sisters followed after him, though as they moved they kept their eyes open for any enemies that might want a piece of them this time around.
The group made their way through the now liberated areas of the Neon District, where the people cheered them on while the remaining Reapers fled in terror, allowing them to have a peaceful walk to the area that the coordinates were taking them to. It only took them a few minutes before they approached the structure that looked like the main base of the Reapers, as there was a bunch of metal and fences that happened to be protecting a tunnel of some kind, including a small fortress area behind the fences. From what they could see, as they climbed one of the buildings near the coordinates that Moya sent them, there were a fair number of Reapers in the fortress area of the base, but they had no idea how many enemies were waiting inside the tunnel itself, or how many innocent people that they needed to free before they found the area that Sasha was hiding in. The people, seeing them climb the building and stare at the area that served as the Reapers' main base, moved out of the area so they wouldn't be caught in the crossfire, which the group appreciated, while praying that they succeeded in stopping the Reapers.
A few moments later, when the four of them were standing on the roof of the building that was across from the Reaper base, they stared down at the fence and studied the area that they would have to go through soon enough, where they found some of their enemies preparing themselves for battle, knowing that they were coming.
"All right Moya, we're in position across from the Jefferson Tunnel." Cole said, though at the same time they were ready to jump back down to the ground level and start their battle, as it was time to kick the Reapers out of the Neon District and disband their gang.
"Since the entrance is blocked, the four of you are going to have to figure out a way to get down there." Moya stated, though the group wondered what she hoped to achieve by repeating the obvious, as they already knew this from their own observations, "Your best bet is to head into the compound across the street and look for a way to open the gate."
Cole and the sisters rolled their eyes as they disconnected the call and dropped down to the area below them, where they approached the gate and allowed Cole to charge the power terminal that was on the left side of the gate, to which the sisters watched the metal gate open before them. As the gate opened the three of them fired a single blast through the air and slammed into the suicide Reaper that was coming their way, knocking him into one of the fortifications that the Reapers had set up when they made this place. After that they all entered the area in front of him and carefully jumped up to the next area that was above them, where they had to separate and start firing at the three watchtowers that were in the fortress, as the Reapers were expecting them to attack the area, but they also had to avoid the turret fire that was protecting two of the towers. As Cole took down the first watchtower the sisters moved through the small area in front of the turrets and took the Reapers that were commanding them out, before they fired up at the Reapers that were at the top of the towers and blasted them off their pedestals.
As they cleared the small fortress of enemies, and started to group back up near the third watchtower, the sisters noticed that Cole seemed distracted by something, or rather someone, before he told the voice in his head to shut up before he regained himself... to which the four of them pulled the lever that was in front of them and the crane pulled open the gate, allowing three Reapers to pour out and guard the entrance of their main base.
The instant that happened the group jumped over the edge and surprised the Reapers before they even had a chance to react, taking them out in the process, before they turned towards the now open tunnel that was in front of them and walked into the Reapers' main base. As they walked into the tunnel the Reapers attacked them immediately, forcing the four of them to retaliate by firing several blasts in return, though while Sonata knocked their foes backwards Cole blasted them with his electricity, Aria commanded the nearby flames to attack the Reapers, and Adagio manipulated the water nearby to form ice crystals that she threw through the air, which slammed into her targets and knocked the Reapers backwards. One thing they noticed, besides the number of foes that were standing against them, was the fact that the Reapers had apparently dragged several cars and buses into the tunnel, or the vehicles had been abandoned when the Blast happened... but the flames that happened to be coming from them gave Aria the chance to flex her powers while they moved through the tunnel.
As the group moved forward they found a turret blocking the path forward, to which Sonata ran out and distracted the Reaper manning the machine and allowed Cole to use his precision attack to strike his target, eliminating the turret from the equation entirely.
From there the four of them carefully moved forward, dealing with the various types of Reapers that they had encountered throughout the Neon District while Cole occasionally suffered another burst of Sasha, as that was who they assumed was doing these deeds, attempting to talk with him. They also had to jump several times along the way, since the pieces of the path were cracked and were staggered because of the Blast, but that didn't stop them from blasting their way through the Reapers that happened to get in their way. While they walked Cole stopped every now and then and told the sisters about what Sasha was trying to tell him, in an effort of sorts to twist his perception on what was going on, and it appeared that she was hallucinating or something, as she thought that he was Kessler, which caused the sisters to stare at him before declaring that Sasha seemed insane.
"Seriously? She thinks your Kessler?" Adagio asked, to which Cole nodded as they ducked behind the cover that was in front of them, where Sonata and Aria opened fire on the Reapers that were in front of them, and that included the pair of White Reapers that were following their allies towards where they were standing, "Wow, she's gone off the deep end if she thinks your someone else, especially someone as bad as Kessler... and that might help us in the battle ahead, because Sasha might focus on you and ignore us completely."
"Oh, I'm hoping to mess up her day," Aria commented, though at the same time she gathered her energy together, mixed it with the flames that were around them, and hurled a fireball into the Reapers that were coming their way, setting them on fire and causing them to run around as they attempted to put themselves out.
Cole had to admit that he was hoping to take out Sasha as well, maybe not in the same fashion that Aria was, but at the moment he was more focused on hunting for their target and joined the sisters in blasting the Reapers backwards as they progressed further into the tunnel... until they had to stop again, when they came to an area that had a lock they needed to blast off to get on the other side of the gate, but that was the moment the four of them discovered how the Reapers were being made.
"No way..." Sonata said, looking at the innocent people that were locked in the various cages that were in front of them, as well as the pistons that were above the cages and happened to be spreading a black tar like mist over the people that were in front of them, "You mean to tell me that the Reapers aren't a gang like they used to be, rather they're a bunch of innocent people being mind controlled into obeying Sasha's orders and turning into monsters that harass their old friends and family with the purpose of turning them into the same thing?"
"It seems to be that way." Adagio replied, though at the same time she growled, because while she and her sisters hadn't been much better than Sasha, back during the Battle of the Bands, they didn't brainwash innocent people and turn them into monsters, "Just gives us another reason to take her out."
Cole couldn't agree more, as this was just wrong now that they knew how the Reapers were being made, to which the four of them smashed open the cages and freed the people that were trapped inside them, knowing that the effects of the black tar would eventually fade away in time. While they were doing that they found a few people that were dressed in the attire of the Reapers, where they carefully removed the clothing and let the confused person be pulled out of the tunnel by the other innocent people that the Reapers were trying to convert into more soldiers. After releasing the people, and ensuring that they were heading towards the entrance they used to reach this point, the group moved over the bus that served as a bridge between this area and the one in front of them, where Cole growled and told Sasha to shut up again, indicating that she was still trying to break into his mind. That was before they reached a gaping hole in the ground that was at the end of the open area in front of them, to which they dropped down into the area below them, where they found an area that seemed to be Sasha's hiding place.
As they opened the gate in front of them, or rather it opened for them, the group noticed that Sasha happened to be bald and wore a red hood over her head, along with the fact that her skin was gray colored and her hands happened to be claw shaped for some odd reason. The jacket that she wore didn't really do much, since she had it opened and showed off the sides of her breasts, and the lower half of her body was caked in red tar, preventing them from seeing if she was actually wearing anything or if she was nude. There were some strange devices attached to the shoulder parts of her jacket, almost like they were pumping tar or something, and the device she was sitting on appeared to be a throne of some kind, one that seemed to be a part of the tar production that was going on.
"Darling! What took you? Was there traffic? I told you not to take the bridge, it's always backed up at night." Sasha said, though at the same time the sisters could tell that her eyes were focused solely on Cole, especially when the four of them entered the area she was resting in and spread out, which caused her to get off her throne before it ascended into the ceiling and moved out of the way, "Get dressed, we have dinner plans tonight. Of course I told you, silly man."
The moment they entered the area Sasha disappeared entirely, though as Cole walked forward she burst out of the tar pool that they were having to walk on and reached for Cole, who defended himself by grabbing onto her head with his left hand as he struggled to move his right hand up to her head. It took him a few seconds to reach his target, though when he did so he grabbed onto one of the pump devices on her jacket and tore it off, causing Sasha to scream in pain for a few seconds, revealing that her tongue had been transformed into four tendrils, before she disappeared again. That caused the group to go on their guard, as there was no telling where their foe was going to spring up, though when Sasha revealed herself she also created images that looked and fought like the Reapers she had created, though their bullets didn't inflict any damage to any of them and she was definitely focusing all of her efforts into taking Cole out. That fact allowed Adagio, Aria, and Sonata to use their powers to their advantage, though in the process Aria grinned as she ignited the tar and turned the area into a pool of fire, while at the same time Adagio used the water to raise several ice crystal platforms for them all to fight on... giving Cole the advantage over Sasha, as she had to leap out of the tar and reach for him, allowing their friend to grab onto their target before she did the same to him.
Sonata, on the other hand, used her own wind based powers to create flaming wind gusts that rushed through the air and slammed into Sasha when she revealed herself, either causing her to disappear with a hiss or forced her to stand her ground as Cole grabbed onto another part of her jacket and ripped off another pump attachment, wounding her in the process before she fled into the burning tar.
Sasha tired to use tar based blast waves to her advantage, as in she was trying to harness the power that Aria was using in her battle against Cole, but when Aria saw that she withdrew the flames from Sasha's attack and used them to blast the insane lady in the back. Adagio, after creating the platforms, joined in the battle and blasted Sasha whenever she showed herself, weakening her in the process and giving Cole the chance to put the serious hurt on her, which worked to their benefit since she seemed to be too focused on a single target. When Sasha fell down into the tar, and created a green field of sorts around her so she could regain her energy, Aria moved the flames and allowed Cole to jump down and rip another pump piece off of her jacket, before he was forced to retreat after wounding her again. As the sisters helped Cole fight Sasha they heard her talk to him as if he was Kessler, speaking about events that Cole never was a part of and even threatening Trish, indicating that she believed that she and Cole were in a serious relationship... though that weakened her attacks and Cole eventually knocked Sasha onto her back, where she turned on her side and made no move to leave or disappear, causing the sisters to withdraw their powers as they all approached their foe.
"You'll never control it Cole." Sasha weakly said, the desire to fight them gone from her voice, especially as she turned and looked at Cole for a moment, still focusing her full attention on him and ignoring the sisters, "Look at me. Look at what it's done. It controls you!"
Cole glared at Sasha for a moment, remembering who she had been before the Blast happened, before he raised his hand and prepared to get whatever information he could out of her, so he and the sisters could find the Ray Sphere, but before that happened one of the walls exploded and they were blown backwards. As the dust started to settle, and they pulled themselves from the rubble, the four of them noticed an armed unit, that happened to be trained for this sort of thing, pulling Sasha out of the ruined area they were in. None of them were able to even throw a single attack before the group was gone, though they had to put that at the back of their minds as the area around them started to crumple around them and water started to pour into the tunnel, to which they pushed themselves forward and followed the path that was right in front of them... where they left the Neon District behind and headed into the slums of the Warren, not even looking back as the Reapers' base was buried under the rumble.
The instant they reached the opening of the other side of the tunnel, the side that lead out into the Warren, the four of them found a new type of enemy, people who appeared to be wearing trash bags and other discarded items as armor while carrying guns, that started firing at them immediately... but instead of sticking around the group climbed the nearest building and made sure they were out of sight for now.
"Cole, what happened down there?" Moya asked, to which the group sighed for a moment, as she definitely heard the explosion that had knocked them away from Sasha and caused the tunnel to start breaking apart, but they said nothing as they rested for a few moments, "Is Sasha dead?"
"Unfortunately she's still alive." Cole replied, though at the same time he smiled for a moment, because without Sasha as the figurehead the Reapers would be lost and, once the tar ran it's course, the innocent people would be freed from her control, "We beat the living hell out of her and prepared to start interrogating her for information on the First Sons and their Ray Sphere, but then some guys in masks blew open a hole in the tunnel and grabbed her."
"It was probably the First Sons." Moya commented, indicating that the people that had retrieved Sasha was the same organization she had been banished from, meaning that they didn't want their secrets falling into the hands of their enemies, "If we're lucky, they'll take care of her for us."
"Yeah, that would be nice." Adagio said, though while none of them had any love for Sasha, after what she was doing to the innocent people of the Neon District, she knew that Sasha didn't actually deserve to die, rather she should be locked up somewhere designed to restrict her abilities, "Look, the power's out in this borough and we need to recover from our fight with Sasha, so we're going to hit the nearest substation and get it back online."
Moya said nothing as the call was terminated, though since she approved of them turning the power back on, and giving Cole new powers in the process, in the Neon District they knew that she would approve of them doing the same thing in the Warren. At the same time, however, Cole tapped his phone and made a call back to someone in the Neon, someone that deserved to how what was happening to them and where they were located, in case Trish came looking for them for some reason.
"Hey brother." Zeke said, though his tone told them that he was definitely worried about them, because this was the time that they usually returned to his roof so they could rest for the next day and start a new set of missions, "Where the hell have you and the sisters been?"
"It's a long story Zeke." Cole replied, and he fully intended on sharing what happened with his friend at some point in the future, but right now the four of them had more immediate concerns that they had to worry about, "I just wanted to let you know that the four of us are over in the Warren."
"The Warren?" Zeke asked, mostly to be sure that he had heard Cole correctly, though at the same time he seemed a little thoughtful about what he was remembering, "Damn man, that place was nightmare-central before the Blast... I'd hate to see what it's like now."
"I can tell you that it hasn't gotten any better." Cole said, telling Adagio and her sisters that this place had always been in a state like this, though they had the feeling that the armed men that had been firing at them earlier were a new addition to this part of Empire City, "Look, I'll call you again when we figure out how we're going to get back home."
"Keep your nose to the wind, man." Zeke stated, though that was when the call was terminated, causing the group to sigh as they started moving towards the coordinates that Moya had sent them while they were talking to Zeke, as it was time for them to get some of the power back online.
Since the power was off in this part of the Warren, and there were a lot more enemies walking around than there were when they fought the Reapers, the group stuck to the roofs and made their way towards the coordinates that would allow them to enter the sewer. Eventually they had to use a grind line to get across the street, where Cole had to walk as well because the power was offline, though their fortune in not annoying their new enemies came to a close as the trash wearing soldiers on the roofs ahead of them started firing the moment they spotted them. As such Adagio and her sisters fired several blasts at their targets, since the power was offline and Cole couldn't recharge off of nothing, before they all dropped to the ground level and opened the manhole. Aria and Sonata stayed where they were standing, indicating that they would hold the line against these new enemies, to which Adagio followed Cole into the sewer so she could see the next power he would unlock.
As the two of them landed on the platform below them, and prepared themselves to move forward, Moya decided to contact them once more, to which they listened to what she had to tell them while they looked for the circuit that needed to be re-established.
"I've pulled some information on the Warren." Moya said, though at the same time the duo jumped onto the pipes that were in front of them and moved forward, as they knew that time was of the essence since it was only a matter of time until Aria and Sonata were overwhelmed, "A couple of days after the Blast, the homeless living there banned together and seized control of the entire borough. They call themselves the Dust Men."
"I guess that explains why they're all wearing trash bags." Adagio commented, though she wondered if there was someone like Sasha, another powerful conduit, leading the homeless people of the Warren as an army, which meant that this was going to be tough for all of them if she was right.
"I suspect that they're led by an extremely powerful conduit." Moya stated, echoing what was going through Adagio's mind at the moment, which then made her wonder if she already knew who that conduit was and was letting them figure things out on their own, "It would be a mistake to underestimate them."
Once Moya terminated the call, for now anyway, the duo made their way through the area in front of them and smiled when they found the circuit that would give Cole a new power, to which he bridged the two sides of the machine and restored the connection... though when he landed his smile from earlier returned, indicating that this power was one he liked as well.
"Check this out," Cole said, though that was followed by him running towards the path they needed to take and jumped into the air, where he held the palms of his hands towards the ground and Adagio watched as he released some power that kept him floating as he reached the platform in front of him, "I've got a glide ability now."
"That's... impressive." Adagio replied, though at the same time that complicated things for her, as she and her sisters didn't have something like that and she was sure that whatever she had learned to take out that White Reaper earlier wouldn't help her in the slightest, "I wish I had a flying ability like you do... hell, even a gliding ability would be great."
"If you want I can move on ahead and activate the substation by myself." Cole said, though based on the last time he had said something like that Adagio had surprised him, so he was trying to see if he could help coax out her inner power, as it was the only way she gained anything.
Adagio knew that she could use her power over the water to form an ice bridge, a path she could use to catch up with Cole, but that didn't change the fact that she and her sisters didn't have any sort of flying powers, which caused her to remember something that Zeke had shown them when they were first training with their new abilities. Zeke insisted that their base powers, the auras they had and the original blasts they started with, were akin to those of the Dragon Ball Z show that he liked to watch, when he wasn't focusing on the dirty shows. One of the things he showed her and her sisters was the moment in the show that one character showed another one how to tap into their 'ki' until she was able to fly, causing her to wonder if maybe they had something like that. She remembered how she had tapped into the power that had allowed her to channel her power in the first place, where she focused her mind and tried to tap into a power that would let her fly so she could follow after Cole without creating walkways... though as she thought about it her aura surrounded her and she felt her hooves leave the platform she was standing on.
She glanced down and found that a very light blue aura had surrounded her, lifting her off the platform in the process, to which she grinned as she floated over to where Cole was standing, who was smiling at her, almost as if he had intended for something like this to happen.
"You knew this was going to happen." Adagio said, though even if a part of her was mad over what Cole had done the other part of her, the part that knew better, was happy that he had done so, as this allowed her to tap into her power and unlock something else, which she would pass onto her sisters later on.
"And now you have the ability to fly as well." Cole replied, to which he beckoned for Adagio to follow him, though that was when he started moving forward and used his new ability to cross gaps while Adagio carefully flew through the air as they descended into the sewers.
The two of them used their new powers to make their way through the part of the sewer they were in and only stopped when they came to a metallic barricade, one that Cole launched a grenade at and destroyed instantly, allowing them to move forward again. On the other side of the barricade they found some Dust Men standing guard on the platform and in the water, so while Cole blasted the water and knocked out their enemies Adagio floated into the air and hurled blasts at the foes on the platform. What surprised Adagio was how deep this part of the sewers were, as there were a few instances where they descended deeper into the sewer and had to take out several Dust Men just to clear the way forward. Adagio didn't mind the change of pace, as fighting large groups of enemies over and over again got old after some time, and using her new ability like this was good experience for when she went to show Aria and Sonata what she had unlocked... especially when she and Cole jumped off one ledge and descended even deeper into the sewer, where her own power would be the best course of getting out of this area.
It wasn't long before they found the substation in question and Cole blasted it a few times, restoring the power to the area of the Warren that the four of them had found themselves in, though once that was done Adagio grabbed onto him and carried them towards the entrance of the sewer that they were in... where she let him go and they climbed out by using the ladder, to which they discovered Aria and Sonata holding down the fort once more.
"Well, the power's back on and you got a new power," Aria said, though as she looked at the two of them, and Sonata settled down as well, she noticed something odd about her sister, something that she immediately wanted to ask about before they moved, "What happened down there?"
"Cole's not the only one with a new power." Adagio replied, though at the same time she activated her aura again and floated into the air, causing Aria and Sonata to stare at her for a few seconds, as they weren't expecting one of them to unlock the power to fly, "I've gained the ability to fly... and I can show you two how to do this as well."
Cole smiled as the sisters grinned and cheered for what they had unlocked, as it appeared that when one of them actually unlocked a new power the other two were quick to follow the first one, though this made them stronger as a group and increased their chances of finding the Ray Sphere... once they stopped the Dust Men from terrorizing the people of the Warren and dealt with the conduit that controlled this area.
Once Aria and Sonata got over the fact that Adagio had figured out how to use her aura to give herself a flying ability, much like the ones they had heard Zeke talk about on the fighting show he liked to watch, Cole watched as Adagio showed them how she had accessed the new power. It was entertaining to use an alleyway, one that the Dust Men weren't using at the moment, to watch the two sisters attempt to take off as well, because while Adagio might have gotten the move down almost instantly, due to her wishing to have a glide ability like his, Aria was quick to catch on how to access the ability. It wasn't long before Aria was floating beside Adagio, her heroic aura surrounding her as she made sure she was doing what Adagio was doing, before they turned towards Sonata and helped her figure out what she was doing wrong. Based on the look of surprise that appeared on Sonata's face, when Aria offered to assist her, Cole determined that Sonata was used to figuring things out on her own... and yet now, with the three of them actually acting like sisters, they were more than willing to help each other out and master their new abilities.
He wasn't jealous when Sonata got the grasp of the flying technique and glided around the area for a few seconds, as it was something that she liked to do apparently, before Adagio had them stop so they could actually take a break, like they told Moya that they would.
Fortunately the alleyway that they had chosen to practice in, despite being deserted at the moment, was near a gas station that still, somehow, had food and drinks let inside the coolers and on the shelves, and their luck continued when Cole went in there to get something for all of them. The owner, somehow knowing about what he and the sisters had done for the people of the Neon District, simply let him take a few things and said that their payment, referring to all four of them, would be them restoring order to the Warren by driving out the Dust Men. Cole, honestly shocked by such a thing, simply nodded his head and got what he needed, as he wasn't about to abuse the man's generosity towards them, before heading out to the alleyway and giving the sisters what he grabbed. From there the four of them sat down for a few moments, ate something to replenish the energy they spent during their fight with Sasha, and drank the sodas that Cole had grabbed from the store... though he also drained some of the electricity from one of the nearby lights, just to make sure he was ready to go for when someone called for them to do something.
Sure enough they only got a thirty minutes of relaxation before Cole's phone went off again, though instead of it being Moya, like they were expecting it to be, they discovered that the caller was actually Zeke, causing all four of them to wonder what he wanted to talk about, especially when they were in enemy territory.
"Hey Cole, you remember Dwight?" Zeke asked, to which Cole tilted his head to the side for a moment as he racked his memory for the person that Zeke was asking about, though it wasn't long before he knew exactly who he was referring to and what he had done some time ago, before the Blast happened, "I just ran into his sister and she thinks that he might be in some kind of trouble. She wants to know if the four of you will look for him."
"Dwight... as in the guy that stole your car some time ago and stripped it down for it's parts?" Cole inquired, as he just wanted to be sure that he was thinking of the right guy, while at the same time noticing that the sisters were glancing at each other as they listened to the conversation, as they were curious as to what Zeke was doing.
"Yeah, he was a real tool." Zeke said, confirming Cole's statement almost immediately, as if he had been expecting Cole to say something like that, before he grew serious about what he saw saying, "But you know that I've dug his sister for a real long time now, and uh, you and the sisters would be doing me a solid if you could find him."
"And you think that if we find Dwight, she'll 'reward' you?" Aria asked, as she knew exactly what Zeke was thinking about, because she had seen some of the guys in Canterlot High School acting the same way, but she said nothing about that as she waited for Zeke to respond.
"Hell, it's not like I can do anything from the Neon." Zeke stated, informing Cole and the sisters that Dwight had to be somewhere in the district they were in, the Warren, or if he was in the Neon District he was doing a good job of hiding from everyone, "She says Dwight was hangin' around the Chummy Chicken the last time they talked, guess he was workin' over there. That might be a good place for the four of you to start your search."
Cole sighed and told Zeke that they would be on the lookout for Dwight, since it might actually led them to something that was completely different from what Zeke was thinking about, before the call was disconnected... but just as they got off of where they were sitting, and prepared to leave, another call came in, though this time it was Trish.
"Cole, are you there?" Trish asked, though while her voice sounded normal the sisters could tell that she was either tired or there was something that was bothering her, something that only the four of them could take care of since they were the only ones with powers... or at least the only ones with powers that were helping the people out.
"Hi Trish." Cole said, his voice revealing how happy he was to hear Trish call him again, even though they were still walking on thin ice with each other, and the sisters knew that he was hoping that she would eventually forgive him for something that wasn't his fault.
"It's getting bad over here." Trish stated, though where this would usually be the moment where she'd rip Cole one for not being there to assist or help out, or accuse him of the Blast again, she was dead set on something else, causing the sisters to breath a sigh of relief as they realized she wouldn't be picking on Cole for the moment, "People are dying and there's nothing I can do. I need to get a bus over to Bayview and see if it has any supplies left."
"We just came through the Jefferson Tunnel, and unfortunately it's trashed." Cole replied, though he decided not to tell her that the entire thing was likely flooded at this point, all thanks to the First Sons busting into the area and hauling off Sasha like they had done, "Same with the Stone Canal Drawbridge."
"You remember Roger Miller from Amy's graduation?" Trish inquired, surprising Cole for a moment, as this was the second time that someone was asking him if he remembered someone, before he made a sound of approval, as he had learned not to interrupt Trish while she was talking, "He's a city engineer that used to work with my dad. If anyone can fix the bridge, it would be him. Last I heard he lives by Valentine Park."
"We'll try and find him." Cole stated, as while he would do anything for Trish, and that was evident to Adagio, Aria, and Sonata, he also knew that fixing the bridge would be of some benefit to not only the four of them, but to the people of both the Neon District and the Warren.
As the four of them prepared to move out, however, a lady approached them and asked for their assistance, saying that the 'transients', apparently the slang term for Dust Men in the Warren, had put some surveillance gear on her building and that she needed their help in taking it all down. Since taking out some surveillance equipment wouldn't take long, not with the four of them searching all the sides of a building, they decided to assist her and let her point out the building that had the gear on it, which turned out to be further up the street from where they chose to rest. As such the four of them followed the lady over to the building and started climbing it, where each of them blasted the pieces of surveillance equipment that the Dust Men had attached to the lady's building, where she and the other civilians that were watching cheered them on. With all of them working together they took out the gear that was attached to the building, while also eliminating whatever the Dust Men were hoping to do with the 'information' they gathered, before they got back together in front of the building and waved goodbye to the people they had just helped... while at the same time beginning their quest to take back the Warren from the gang that controlled it, just like they did with the Neon District earlier.
The next optional objective they came across, again not supplied by Moya since they needed to adjust the satellite uplinks in the area they were in, was from a cop that happened to be standing on the side of the street, though around the corner they heard some other officers telling some captured Dust Men to remain still.
"Is there something you need help with officer?" Sonata asked, as the blue band on his wrist indicated that this was one of the 'good' optional missions they could do, boosting their reputation with the people and showing them that they were on the peoples' side.
"Yes, there is something you can help us with." the cop replied, though his tone revealed that he was thankful that they were willing to stop and listen, especially since he was planning on asking them to do something anyway, "We just captured a few Dust Men and need someone to escort them across town, so we can interrogate them for whatever information they have on their gang's movements."
Cole nodded his understanding as the cop led them to the prisoners, where he zapped them a few times and got them moving down the street, apparently taking them towards the jail, while at the same time Adagio, Aria, and Sonata walked beside him as they waited to see what the Dust Men did as they walked through the Warren. Sure enough not even a minute later two of them tried to flee while their friends surrendered, to which Sonata surprised one of the Dust Men by using the wind to trip him and force him to fall flat on his face, allowing her to bring him back without expanding too much energy in the process. Adagio, on the other hand, used her new ability and quickly flew over to where the other escapee was running to, stopping him in his tracks before knocking him backwards, forcing him to rejoin his friends as they continued their march towards the prison. The best part about that display was that the Dust Men knew that if one or more of them tired to flee again, and make an attempt at freedom, they would be caught instantly, to which they remained silent and obedient as the group escorted them to jail... where the cops outside the facility were waiting and claimed their newest prisoners immediately, as they had questions that needed answers.
From there the four of them backtracked a little and headed to the nearby intersection that they had walked by when they were escorting the four Dust Men to the jail, though the reason they did so was because one of the cops that took the prisoners into the prison mentioned that Warden Harms had something for them to do nearby... though when they arrived Cole's phone went off and he answered it, as he knew what was coming next.
"Some of my men have noticed that a group of Dust Men keep going in and out of a building in the area," Warden Harms said, to which the group watched as one of the cops walked out of the prison and joined them for a few seconds, where he beckoned to the very building that his boss was talking about, "I think they might be using it as a weapons warehouse. I need you to smoke them out and deal with them."
"We get right to that." Cole replied, to which the line between them was disconnected, before he glanced over at the building that the Dust Men appeared to be gathering inside, in the information Warden Harms had was correct, "So, how do we smoke them out? Without burning the building down."
"Well, there's an air conditioning unit on the top of the building," Aria commented, though while she knew that Cole was referring to her, with his statement about not burning the place down, she also knew that she actually wouldn't burn the building down, "maybe you can sort out the circuits or something and force it to smoke all of the Dust Men out of the building, so we can deal with them."
Cole nodded his head in agreement, as that sounded like a good plan, before he headed across the street and started climbing the building that the Dust Men were currently inside, though as he reached the roof he watched as Adagio, Aria, and Sonata prepared themselves for battle. As such he approached the air conditioning unit and pressed his hands against it's side, where he channeled his power through it for a few seconds as it fell apart before his eyes, filling the building with smoke and causing the civilians that were nearby to flee the area. Cole suspected that the sisters were telling them to get away before something happened, though as the smoke started to fill the area the Dust Men started to pour out into the streets and raise their weapons. As the Dust Men started to fire their weapons, at the innocent people around the area, the sisters started firing energy blasts at their targets, while at the same time Cole dropped down from the roof and slammed down on the ground near them... where he shocked a few Dust Men into submission before turning his attention to some of the other enemies in the area.
Aria, on the other hand, spotted a number of Dust Men coming from around the corner, indicating that they had taken the back exit to clear their lungs and were ready for a fight, to which she held her hand out and channeled her energy into a number of small marble shaped objects that contained a bit of fire in them.
"Hey, Dust Men!" Aria shouted, causing the Dust Men she was targeting to turn their attention towards her, while at the same time her sisters smiled as they knew what was coming and Cole, who hadn't seen this yet, looked over at her with a look of curiosity in his eyes, "Catch!"
Aria tossed the marbles towards the Dust Men, who stopped moving as they watched the marbles come to a stop by their feet, though that was when Aria smiled as she flexed her power and the group of marbles flashed for a few seconds, to which they exploded and knocked the entire group of enemies around like they were dolls. Cole watched as the group of Dust Men rained down on the area they had been fighting in, moaning in pain at the same time, while noticing that the ground and some sides of the buildings around them were on fire, revealing what Aria had done. A few seconds later, once the area had settled down, Aria waved her hand and the flames returned to her, leaving the ground and buildings like they had been a few moments ago, before she turned towards a Dust Man that was trying to flank her and kicked him into submission. Adagio, finding a group of enemies that were doing the same thing as Aria's group, pulled some water from the channel nearby and created a crystal ball above her hand, which she rolled over to her targets... to which Cole moved away from the Dust Men as her energy expanded and the ball exploded, shooting out ice shards that struck her enemies all over their bodies and knocked them to the ground.
Cole was surprised when Sonata joined her sisters in using spherical attacks, as the wind gathered into a small ball and she tossed it at a group of Dust Men that were coming to aid their comrades, where the power of the wind knocked them all into the sides of the buildings that were around them, knocking them out in the process... and surprising Cole in the process, as he wasn't expecting this to happen at all, but it was something good to know for the future, when they had to fight a large group of enemies like this.
"So, you all have grenade like attacks now," Cole commented, because the three of them were more than enough to deal with the Dust Men, as he had the feeling that they were showing off at the moment, though at the same time the sisters turned towards him, "when did you three get those types of attacks?"
"We've been experimenting when you go down into the sewers to restore the power," Adagio replied, as she remembered what happened when they first saw Cole use his own grenade attack and Sonata, of all people, was the first one to suggest that they do the same thing, but it really came to life when they unlocked their elemental powers, "how do you think we've been trashing the Reapers and the Dust Men the entire time when you and one of us are down there? Aria nicknamed her attack the 'Firebomb', Sonata went with 'Gale Blast', and I decided on 'Crystal Blast'... all to go with your 'Shock Grenades'."
"So all three of you have been growing your powers at the same I'm expanding my arsenal," Cole said, as he was now beginning to see another good reason as to why two of them remained on the surface when he went into the sewers to restore the power to an area, "that's good to know."
The sisters smiled at him as they considered what they were going to do next, though Cole had thought about helping Zeke first, since he had contacted him first, and then helping Trish out when they were finish seeing if they could find out where Dwight was hiding. When he voiced his opinion to the sisters, however, he could tell that they were a little surprised by the fact that he wasn't jumping to assist Trish first, but at the same time they decided that they might as well head to the location of the Chummy Chicken and see if they couldn't locate Dwight. As such the four of them headed across the street and approached the raised bridge that would normally connect to the Historic District, though instead of worrying about it they turned to their left as they approached the bridge and headed up the street as they made their way towards the piers that were located further up the street. While they walked towards their destination the Dust Men that were camping on the roofs of the buildings around them insisted on firing at them as they walked by their camps, to which the group responded by attacking them in turn... blasting them off the roofs with either their normal blast attacks or letting one of them their grenade attack to blast all of the Dust Men away from where they had been standing.
Even with the interruptions from the Dust Men, who wanted all four of them dead, the group was able to make their way towards the pier that the Chummy Chicken was located on in a good amount of time, though when they reached the area that Cole was leading them to they found something that was going to annoy Zeke and make Dwight's sister sad... as they were now staring at the still body of Dwight, who was laying on the wooden dock with his back facing them.
"Zeke, we've got some bad news; Dwight's dead." Cole said, though he made sure that the line to Zeke was open before he said anything, while at the same time the sisters walked around the area a little to see if there was any clues that they could find, leaving him to stare at the body, "It looks like someone messed him up pretty bad."
"Ah man... he sister's going to flip out when I tell her that." Zeke replied, though his tone told the sisters that this wasn't the news he was hoping for, but truth be told Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were actually hoping to find Dwight alive so they could get him someplace safe while they worked on lowing the bridge, "Hell, you guys should find out who did the deed and make them pay for it... I could play that angle. Maybe. C'mon man, I need this."
"There is something seriously wrong with you Zeke," Adagio commented, knowing that the call was a conference call between all four of them, though she and her sisters usually remained silent unless they wanted to say something, like right now for instance.
Cole nodded his head, as he had to agree with Adagio's statement, but he said nothing as he approached Dwight's body and knelt beside it, where he rested his hand on Dwight's head and channeled his power between the two of them for a few seconds. Sure enough the last memory that was inside Dwight's mind came flowing into him, like the time Moya had sent them to find Brandon or when he sensed that some of the Reapers knew where to find a cache of Blast Shards that he took for himself. What he saw, however, was some sort of metallic crab like creature, a pair of them to be exact, jump down on Dwight from the roof that was above them, before the connection was terminated and he found himself back in the present, where he realized that Dwight had been killed within the last few hours. As he stood up, and looked over at the sisters, he spotted the echo of a Dust Man that looked like he was carrying a large weapon and some sort of cage on his back... and he was already on the move, meaning that it was time to give chase and see if they couldn't bring justice to Dwight.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata, seeing that Cole was following an echo with his eyes this time around, knew what was going on and moved out of the way, as they couldn't see what he saw and patiently waited for him to move... though once he started moving they followed after him and started chasing down the person that killed Dwight.
"You use that vision-dealy to see the killer?" Zeke asked, as he heard the sound of the group moving on his phone and knew that they must have discovered something, where he put the pieces from when they hunted down Brandon together with this event and knew what they were doing.
"Truth be told, part of it was hard to make out." Cole replied, though before anyone said anything about his ability to see what happened in the last moments of someone's life, or inability to clearly see everything, he continued talking and revealed what he had seen, "What I can tell you is that there was a man, likely a Dust Man by his armor, and what appeared to be a dog... or something similar to one."
"Dwight was killed by a dog?" Zeke inquired, apparently missing the other part of that description, though at the same time the sisters followed after Cole and didn't bother to correct Zeke as he continued talking, as they headed back into the Warren as Cole tracked the echo they were following, "Damn! I had a cousin that went the same way. Whew, shouldn't have had an open casket, but old Smitty wanted one. People were passing out, puking, you name it. It was horrible. Still have recovered from that one."
"Thanks for the... information." Aria said, as she had no idea why they would want to know that one of Zeke's cousins had been killed by a dog and that the man apparently wanted an open casket funeral, but she shook her head and focused on the mission at hand, "We'll let you know if we find out anything else about who killed Dwight."
Before Zeke could say anything Cole and the sisters terminated the call and continued moving forward, though as they did so Cole noticed that the echo headed across the street and passed by a place where some guy was finishing putting up some posters... ones that looked exactly like him, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata, only there was one for each of them with a blue outline and one with all four of them that had a red outline.
"Holy crap, you're them!" the man exclaimed, as he had heard the sound of hooves against the sidewalk, a unique thing that the sisters were unable to hide at the moment, and had turned so he could see if his mind wasn't playing tricks on him, where a smile appeared on his face, "It's great what you guys have been doing lately, the way you've been cleaning up this place."
"It's nice to meet someone who appreciates what we're doing." Cole replied, as while they were in a hurry to find out who killed Dwight, and help Zeke out in the end, he knew that the echo wasn't going anywhere and they could afford to spend a few moments talking with someone, before he beckoned to the posters that were to his right, "Out of curiosity, what are these posters supposed to be for?"
"I'm just trying something out," the man answered, to which he continued to hold onto his smile as he glanced over at the posters for a moment, as if they were his pride and joy or something, before he turned his gaze back towards the group once more, "you know, spread the word about the four of you and what you're doing for the city. If you don't mind me asking, which set do you like?"
Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata observed the posters more closely, as the four that had a blue outline were a portrait of all four of them, as each poster had a full body painting of them, in their current clothing, standing on some support structure while they each channeled their elemental powers and looked towards the bright future with the people that they protected. They didn't need to be told what those posters were supposed to represent, as it was the good potential future with both them and the people of Empire City looking towards a bright future where they wouldn't have to fear the Reapers and the other gangs that were like them. The solo poster, with the crimson red outline, was of the four of them, or more accurately their heads, staring down at a ruined Empire City with a smug look on all four of their faces, like they owned the place and weren't afraid to terrorize the people to get what they wanted. It was one that spoke of fear, as in the people were supposed to fear the four of them, completely the opposite of the blue posters that spoke of love and trust between them and the people... and in the end there was no need for them to discuss which set of posters they wanted the man to spread throughout the entirety of Empire City.
All four of them agreed that it was better for the people to understand that they were on their side and that they would do everything in their power to make sure the Reapers, the Dust Men, and whoever controlled the Historic District were toppled so the people could live in peace once more.
"The ones with the blue outlines." the group said, surprising the man for a moment, as he clearly was expecting some sort of split decision so he could use both sets at the same time, but then he smiled and decided that, since they were the heroes, he'd give them exactly what they wanted.
"Right on!" the man declared, returning to how he had been acting before he got the answer to his question, to which he turned towards the red poster and immediately removed it from the wall he had hung it on, before turning towards them again, "I'll print up more of those ones and start hanging them all over the city. It's going to be awesome!"
"Zeke is going to have a hard time believing this when we tell him what happened," Sonata said, as she knew that Zeke had said something about trying to make money off of the posters, so he was likely going to be annoyed if they told him this meeting happened.
"We'll tell him later, after we find out what happened to Dwight." Cole replied, though at the same time he focused on the echo and spotted it heading into the alleyway that was just around the corner, to which he and the sisters started moving once more.
As they followed the echo to the left, however, some of the trash ahead of them transformed into some strange possessed metallic crabs that appeared to be made from scrapes of metal, though once they were back into what appeared to be their natural form they started to scurry over to where the group was standing. Cole was thinking of using his Shockwave power to knock them all backwards, as it appeared that the crabs might be weak to something, though before he could do that Aria stepped forwards, moved her hands in a circle motion, and loosed a ring of fire, one that was the size of the attack he had been planning on using, forward. The result of that attack knocked all the scrap crabs into the air and tossed them backwards, where they shattered upon hitting the ground, to which Cole filed that bit of information away, just in case they came across more of those creatures in the future.
"I call that my 'Flame Burst'," Aria said, though at the same time she smiled as she looked back at Cole, who knew exactly where she got the idea to create that sort of attack, but he wasn't complaining since the powers all four of them had developed were good ones, "it's like your Shockwave attack... only mine is, of course, made from fire."
Cole nodded his head for a moment and paused before he could move, as the Dust Men had apparently set up an ambush and used grenades or something to set fire to many of the exit points, but as he focused on the one that wasn't on fire he heard Aria chuckle. He guessed it was funny that their enemies were trying to use fire against someone that controlled that element, as Aria seized control of the flames and gathered them above her hand, cutting off the ones that the Dust Men had created, before using her Firebomb to blow some of their opponents backwards and knock them out. Adagio and Sonata did the same thing, firing at the enemies that Cole and Aria weren't focusing on, and before long they had cleared out the ambush and started following after the echo again, where the four of them wondered where it was even leading them at this point in time. Surprising enough it almost looked like the Dust Man they were following was actually heading back towards the prison, as they came out by the water channel Adagio had used earlier and they were still heading toward the area they escorted the prisoners to.
"Any luck?" Zeke asked, apparently deciding that it was time to call them again and see if they had uncovered anything, or at least beaten the Dust Man that killed Dwight, like he wanted them to since he was still stuck in the Neon District at the moment.
"No quite." Cole replied, as that was the honest truth at the moment, because so far it looked like the echo was going to take them on a wild goose chase until they were exhausted from their efforts, "We've been dealing with some crab-like things that are running all over the place. It almost looks like the transients are making them from old parts."
"Keep looking man." Zeke ordered, acting like he was the one calling the shots at the moment, telling the sisters that he was trying too hard to impress one lady, but that was their opinion and Zeke wasn't in the habit of actually listening to half of what they told him, "You guys gotta find the trash-bagger that killed Dwight."
As Cole cut off the call he had to focus on the enemies that were coming their way, as a suicide bomber was charging at them, but fortunately Sonata was the first to react as she called forth the wind and used her own Shockwave power, which she was calling her 'Tempest Strike', to knock the suicide bomber onto his back. That allowed Cole, Adagio, and Aria to blast the other Dust Men and their metallic crabs into submission before they started to follow the echo again, as Cole took a moment to restrain all of their enemies before they moved forward. The echo then led them straight to two more ambushes, causing the group to wonder if the Dust Men had known about Cole's ability to see the last moments of someone's life before he did, but decided to question that later as they dealt with the enemies that were currently in front of them. After the second ambush group they finally returned to the area in front of the prison, where they had escorted the other Dust Men to, though as the four of them came to a stop they found a heavily armored Dust Man, wielding what appeared to be a rocket launcher on his right arm, waiting on the bridge near the building they had attacked earlier.
As the Armored Conduit spotted them, however, he released three more scrap crabs from the container on his back and raised the rocket launcher so he could target them, to which the four of them separated from each other and forced their foe to make a decision on who was more important. The scrap crabs didn't last very long, not when all they had to do was let someone use their Shockwave ability to knock the creatures backwards, which only forced the Armored Conduit to fire at whoever he deemed more dangerous. As such Cole used his own Shockwave to knock the missile back at his opponent, damaging the armor he was wearing in the process, before he and the sisters started firing at their target, where they started moving to make it harder for their foe to hit them. With all four of them attacking the same foe at the same time, and dealing with any additional scrap crabs he might have called forth, it was only a matter of time until they emerged as the victors... and Cole made sure to restrain the Armored Conduit, so the cops could come and collect him before the Dust Men came to recover him.
"Hey Zeke, we just finished taking care of the guy that greased Dwight." Cole said, letting Zeke know the good news, or at least what his friend considered the good news, while Adagio and her sisters looked around in cause more Dust Men tried to attack them while their guards were lowered, "Just remember that his is a one-time deal... none of us are doing this to help you score."
"I hear you brother," Zeke replied, his tone letting Cole know that he understood what his friend was saying, even though he was thankful that they had at least avenged Dwight's death, "I owe you and the sisters a big one for this."
Cole sighed as the call was terminated, as while Zeke appeared to understand what he was telling him he had the feeling that one of them would be asked for another favor at some point in the future, from Zeke no less, but at the moment they needed to make their way over to Valentine Park, so they could figure out what needed to be done so they could restore the bridge and connect the two islands together once more.
Much to Adagio, Aria, and Sonata's surprise, getting to Valentine Park was easy, as it just so happened to be right down the street from where they helped Cole take out the Armored Conduit and avenged Dwight's death, which Zeke was then going to use to try and get lucky with Dwight's sister. Personally all three of them were annoyed at Zeke for playing that way, to try something like that on a grieving sister, and while they hoped that he got whatever he was looking for they also hoped that he wouldn't try it again, otherwise Aria was bound to kick him in a place he'd prefer not to be kicked in. Cole, of course, also found Zeke's actions to be a little creepy and downright weird, and that was coming from the guy that was supposed to be his best friend, but at the moment there wasn't much they could do about Zeke and all of them agreed that he should grow up a little before someone seriously hurt him. Once the four of them were done talking about Zeke, or silently agreeing on how weird his actions had been, they moved towards the building that overlooked Valentine Park, where they stopped once they noticed what was going on down there.
From what they could see there were two Dust Men patrolling the area, their guns at the ready, and it appeared that they were holding some people hostage at the moment, to which Cole groaned, as he had the feeling that one of them was none other than the person that Trish sent them to find; Roger Miller.
"This doesn't look good." Cole said, though while the sisters nodded their heads in agreement, as the Dust Men looked ready for a fight, he raised his hand and tapped his phone a few times, to which he mentally sighed in relief as Trish accepted his call for once, "Hey Trish, I think we've found Roger. He must have done something to piss off these Dust Men, because they're all over him and some other guy."
"There's a rumor going around that the transients are kidnapping engineers and mechanics," Trish replied, though this was news to Cole and the sisters, as this was literally the first time they had even heard of such a thing happening, which only made them wonder what the Dust Men would want with them, if the rumor was true, "and that they use them as slave labor. The worst part is that they publicly execute anyone who refuses to work."
"And that just gives us another reason to take these guys down." Adagio commented, as it was like the Reapers all over again, only this time the Dust Men were actually killing the people that they kidnapped, instead of transforming them into additional soldiers like Sasha was, though that only made her wonder how in the world Trish knew about this when she and the others didn't know about it.
"If the Dust Men have Roger, then the four of you will have to take them down at the same time," Trish said, almost as if she was completely ignoring what Adagio had said, though this time around Adagio didn't seem upset, as her sisters and Cole had nodded their agreement when she made her comment, "if you don't they'll kill him and whoever else they've brought to the park."
"Don't worry, we'll handle it." Aria stated, though at the same time Cole nodded and cut the call off for the moment, as he knew that it was time to get serious and that he couldn't afford to waste time, especially since the Dust Men might decide to kill Roger and the other engineer any second now.
Cole focused his mind and raised his hand as he prepared to use his Precision ability, where he noticed that he would have a few good seconds after the first blast, which he planned on using to strike one of the Dust Men in the head, before he would have to fire the second blast, otherwise Roger would be dead. As he thought about which target he wanted to take out first, however, he noticed that Adagio was standing to his right and that she was also holding her right hand towards the Dust Men, where she seemed to be carefully channeling the water from the nearby channel in a manner that their enemies couldn't see. Cole watched her for a few seconds, where the bits of water gathered into small clusters and froze over as they became the familiar ice crystals she tended to use, only these ones appeared to be needle shaped and appeared to be deadly looking, or at least powerful enough to knock someone out. He then carefully traced where she was looking and found that she was aiming for the Dust Man that was walking near Roger, to which he nodded his head and turned towards the one that was patrolling the area around the park, where he prepared himself as well.
The two of them waited for a few seconds, waiting for the moment when their targets paused to take a small break from walking, before they loosed a single blast a piece, to which a Precision bolt from Cole raced through the air and struck his target in the side of the head, knocking him to the ground... while at the same time the cluster of needle like ice crystals struck the other Dust Man and did the same thing that Cole had done, taking out the second target before either of them knew what had hit them.
"Okay, that just happened." Cole said, as he was surprised to find that one of the sisters had another power that they didn't bother to tell him about, to which he turned towards them for a moment, "Before we do anything else, and help Roger out, there's something I want to know... are there are other powers that you three have that I don't know about?"
"Well, there's my precision type attack, the 'Jetstream'," Sonata replied, though at the same time she tilted her head for a moment, as if she was thinking about what she, Adagio, and Aria had been practicing lately, "and, now that I think about it, I think that's all we've come up with so far."
Cole didn't know if she was being truthful or if she was hiding what she knew for a surprise further down the line, but instead of saying anything about that he made a motion that indicated that it was time to move on, which was followed by him jumping down into Valentine Park, where he and the sisters, once they landed behind him, approached Roger.
"You're that special group, aren't you?" the man asked, though at the same time he accepted Sonata's hand the moment she offered it, to which she helped him onto his feet while Aria helped the other engineer up, who promptly thanked them before fleeing the scene, "The ones with powers?"
"Yeah, that's us." Cole said, though at this point he was used to people acting like this, especially the ones that had never met him and the sisters before, but as Aria returned to him he decided that it was time to get to the real question before they did anything else, "Hey, this might sound a little strange, but are you Roger Miller? Trish Dailey sent us to ask for your help in fixing the Stone Canal Drawbridge."
"Trish? She's stuck in the quarantine too?" the man inquired, though the way he was talking revealed that he was Roger Miller, meaning that they had found the right guy, to which Cole started walking towards the bridge as the sisters escorted Roger while keeping their eyes open for Dust Men.
"I'm afraid so." Cole replied, because he was worried that something might happen to Trish while she was in Empire City, especially with all the sick people she was tending to and the fact that both the Reapers and the Dust Men had a thing for attacking doctors lately.
"Hell. I used to go camping with them, you know." Roger commented, referring to when he and Trish, and Amy as well as the sisters thought about it, were all kids and were growing up in the same area, "Kind of fell out of touch when her old man got transferred upstate. What about Amy? She make it out?"
"Uh... yeah, she did." Cole said, though the sisters could tell that he hesitated when he spoke, which made sense considering that Amy was a touchy subject for him, especially since Trish was constantly blaming him for what happened to her when the Blast occurred.
"Good, good." Roger stated, a smile appearing on his face as he followed Cole and the sisters down the street, while at the same time the group kept their eyes open for enemies, as they knew that the Dust Men weren't going to just let them take Roger like this, "I'd hate to see both of those girls stuck in here."
As the group rounded the corner, and headed left so they could get to the control panel that went to the side of the bridge that they were near, Cole turned around as some scrap crabs surged towards them and loosed a Shockwave at them, lifting them into the air and shattering them when they hit the ground again. From there the five of them headed up the street until they came to a stop at the control panel, so while Roger approached the controls Cole and the sisters stood guard as they waited for their enemies to reveal themselves in an effort to stop them from connecting the two islands. Cole wasn't sure if the Dust Men wanted to keep themselves isolated from the Reapers, which would fall apart soon enough, or if there was another reason behind why they didn't want the bridge reconnected, but at the same time he and the sisters were going to make sure the islands were connected so Trish could do what she needed to do and save whatever lives she could.
"Man, this is screwed up nine ways from Sunday." Roger commented, looking at the information that the control panel was giving him, as the various dials and readings were telling him so much at the moment, before he glanced at Cole for a few seconds, "Watch my back, because this is going to take awhile."
The moment Roger said that Cole turned to the right for a moment and immediately noticed some Dust Men making their way towards the bridge, though while he and Adagio turned towards those enemies he had Aria and Sonata watch the opposite side of the street, in case more enemies came from behind them. Sure enough, like Cole thought, a group of Dust Men started moving up the street that the group had used to get to the bridge, to which the two sisters started firing at them while Cole and Adagio focused on their enemies. What Cole found interesting was that the enemies that were coming from his direction were mostly carrying guns and shields with them, while at the same time it sounded like the majority of the enemies that were coming from the other direction were suicide bombers. The four of them didn't try anything funny this time around, as they stuck to simply blasting their enemies and didn't resort to throwing grenades at them, as there weren't enough enemies to actually justify using those attacks, but even without the grenades the group was more than able to take out the Dust Men that were charging at them.
It wasn't long before the Dust Men that were trying to stop Roger from fixing the bridge were taken care of and the group stood there for a moment, as they were curious as to what else they would have to fight before the bridge was ready to be used by the public.
"There we go." Roger said, to which the group turned and watched as the bridge started to lower so it could connect to the other island, but then it decided to stop partway down and caused the group to sigh, as they should have seen something like this coming, "You've got to be kidding me! The hydraulics on the other side aren't engaging."
"Can you fix them from here?" Aria asked, as she and her sisters knew next to nothing about this sort of thing, but at the same time she kept an eye out for any additional enemies that might be coming towards them while they were talking with each other.
"No, it has to be done on the other side of the bridge... and, fortunately for us, I know someone that might be able to help us in that regard." Roger replied, to which he pulled out the phone that had been in his pocket and tapped it a few times, indicating that he was calling the person in question, where a smile appeared when the call connected, "Lou, it's Roger. The number four hydraulic on the south side of SC isn't engaging, and I need your help in getting it online. Where are you?"
"Memorial Park, near the bridge." a voice, Lou, said, where the group noticed that Roger was using the speaker function of his phone so they could hear whatever was being said on the other end, in case he needed them to go help the person he was talking to, "But unless you're carrying a gun, I'm not going nowhere... Reapers all swarming all over the place right now."
"Well, I'm sending something that's much better than a gun." Roger replied, to which he glanced at the group for a moment, indicating that he was referring to them, which they had figured out on their own, before turning back to the control panel in front of him, "I'll see you in a bit."
"Two of us should go head Lou and the other two should stay here," Adagio immediately said, where she glanced over at Cole, who nodded his head in agreement, indicating that he was thinking the same thing that she was thinking, "We have no way of knowing if more Dust Men might show up while we're gone, so two of us should stick around and protect Roger in case they do decide to make an appearance."
"Sonata and I will stay here." Aria stated, surprising Adagio for a moment, as she would have expected one of her sisters to want to head back to the Neon District for a few minutes, "Now get going... there's no telling how long the Reapers will wait before they start firing at the civilians in the park."
Adagio chuckled as she turned on her aura once more, though before Cole could say anything she grabbed onto his back and took to the skies, where she turned towards the direction that Memorial Park was in and started flying towards their destination. Cole was, of course, surprised by the fact that Adagio was going to carry him towards the park, especially since he could easily take the train rails and get there at the same time, but he didn't complain as he experienced what it was like to actually fly for a moment. His experience was shattered when the two of them neared the park and spotted the Reapers in question, to which Adagio set them down where they would have a good vantage point so they could use their Precision attacks to take out the pair of Reapers that were guarding Lou. The two of them stood side by side for a few seconds, their minds focused on what they were preparing to do, before they both loosed their attacks and struck their targets with ease... to which they dropped down to the ground and approached a surprised Lou, as he was staring at the downed enemies that had been circling him.
"Are you alright?" Cole asked, though at the same time he stepped behind Lou and undid the sloppy bindings that the Reapers had set up around his hands, but while he did that he wondered how long it would really take for the Reapers to fall apart, especially since Sasha wasn't leading them anymore.
"Holy crap, that was insane!" Lou replied, though while it appeared that he was shocked by what had happened, even though they had saved his skin, he still found that he was amazed by what he had seen, before he turned towards the duo for a few seconds, "Did Roger send the two of you?"
"Yeah, he did." Cole answered, to which he waved his hand and beckoned for them to get moving, where he started making his way towards the nearby set of stairs that would allow them to reach the street Adagio had flown over earlier, while at the same time Adagio helped escort Lou from the park, "Let's get out of here before more Reapers show up."
"Speaking of which, why were the Reapers so interested in you?" Adagio asked, because she knew that they couldn't be trying to convert him into another loyal soldier, which make her wonder what the remaining Reapers really wanted with Lou.
"They heard that the transients are looking for engineers to work on their tower," Lou explained, to which Cole and Adagio glanced at each other for a moment, as this was the first time they had heard of the Dust Men having something like a tower, while also making them wonder where they had built it, "so they were going to trade me to the transients. I guess they figured that they'd get some sort of reward or something. All I know is that working on that thing is a death sentence... the transients work you till you drop and then they pop you in the head."
Adagio listened to Lou's explanation on what the Dust Men were doing and wondered where the tower had to be located, as she honestly didn't recall seeing one while they were in the Warren, but then again she guessed that she, her sisters, and Cole had been too focused on helping Zeke and fighting the Dust Men to notice a tower. Despite the fact that they didn't know the Dust Men had a tower, making them feel like morons for not having noticed it at all so far, both Cole and Adagio made sure that Lou reached the control panel without harm coming to him. Lou, just like Roger, asked them to defend him while he worked on figuring out what was wrong with the hydraulic that Roger had talked about, though the first group of Reapers foolishly stood on the train tracks above them, as a train came around the corner and plowed into them, knocking them all out in the process and letting the duo focus on the other enemies that would be coming towards this side of the bridge.
After the first group of Reapers failed to do anything to the duo, or even get to Lou like they wanted, another group of Reapers emerged from the part of the street on their right, to which Cole and Adagio loosed some blasts at them and made it impossible for their enemies to get close to them. After the second group fell a third and a fourth group, all smaller than the previous two, revealed themselves and continued the fight, where they discovered that they weren't ready to deal with both Cole and Adagio firing at them, as the duo was more than enough to deal with them. While they dealt with the Reapers they heard the sounds of Aria and Sonata firing from their side of the bridge, blasting the Dust Men that were trying to get at Roger, so the duo remained on their guard as they protected Lou from any other enemies that might want a piece of him. What was humorous about the situation was that when the Dust Men decided to attack Roger again, and suffered defeat when Aria and Sonata fired at them, the Reapers sent out another group to try and take out Lou and the duo that was guarding him... but, in the end, Cole and Adagio guarded Lou and beat the Reapers before they could even hurt Lou.
"Dammit, everything checks out, but the power grid is under-voltage." Lou said, his voice indicating that he was annoyed about the situation, while at the same time he seemed to be ignoring the duo for a moment, "There's not enough juice to fire the hydraulics."
"Lou, you might want to stand back." Adagio commented, causing the engineer to glance over at her for a moment, to which she beckoned to him and he decided to see what she was referring to, where he walked over to her and left the control panel alone for a moment.
Cole, seeing that Lou was now out of the way, raised his hand and started blasting the control panel that the man had been standing in front of, though he only fired a few bolts and sure enough the console indicated that it was powered up and ready for the operation to begin.
"Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got to find someplace safe to hide." Lou stated, to which he turned around and started to walk away from the duo, though at the same time he waved his hand at them as he began his search to find a place he could hide in until the Reapers were gone, "See you two around."
Since it appeared that charging the Neon District side of the bridge wasn't enough to connect the two islands together once more, like they originally thought it would, Cole and Adagio headed back into the Warren, this time by running since Cole wanted to run over the bridge. When they returned to where Aria and Sonata were standing, however, they found that the duo had taken out each and every Dust Men that wanted to kill Roger for refusing to work on their tower, though once they arrived Cole had Roger standing back before he loosed a few bolts into the control panel. That was shortly followed by the sound of the bridge moving again, to which the four of them stood there with a smile on all of their faces as the bridge came to life once more.
"And to think, if I had taken early retirement I would have missed all of this." Roger commented, though he chuckled for a few seconds, as if he found something about his own statement to be amusing, but neither Cole or the sisters were going to stop him from being happy, "I need to have my head examined."
"Hey Roger," Cole said, causing the man to turn his attention to him once more, though at the same time he was also smiling at the fact that with the bridge restored Trish would be able to help the wounded of the Neon District and the Warren soon enough, "thanks for helping us fix the bridge... and for finding someone that could fix the problems on the other side as well."
"No sweat." Roger replied, revealing that he was more than happy to lend a hand at this point, especially when four people with powers came and asked him to help them with something, before he started to walk away from the control panel he had been working on, "Tell Trish I said hello."
"I will." Cole said, to which he and the sisters watched as Roger departed from the area, no doubt returning home or finding someplace safe like Lou did, before they turned and watched as the bridge connected the Neon District to the Warren once more, and, as it turned out, there were already civilians ready to move between the two islands.
Cole let out a sigh of relief as he, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata watched as the people had a chunk of what life had been like before the Blast had happened return to them, as they seemed happier than they had been an hour ago, though that made them all smile as they stood by the control panel. Some of the people waved at them, some of them pointed, and many of them clapped once they understood who had gone out of their way to connect the two islands once more, though the four of them simply smiled and waved at them in return. Cole was thankful that the people didn't want to bother them all that much, as he had something else he needed to do and the sisters knew exactly what he was thinking, because he tapped his phone and called Trish, as he had to tell her the good news.
Hi, you've reached Trish Dailey's voicemail. the recording said, telling Cole that Trish was likely busy at the moment and had put her phone on vibrate until she wasn't needed, though he knew that he really should have seen something like this coming, Please leave a message.
"Trish, I just wanted to let you know that the drawbridge is down." Cole said, to which he mentally sighed for a moment, as he had been hoping to talk with Trish for a few minutes before he and the sisters did something else, "I'll give you a call later and see how things are going."
Adagio glanced at her sisters for a moment, as they all knew that Trish was either ignoring Cole's calls or she was actually busy with something, but at the same time she wondered if it was possible that they could convince Trish to stop being stubborn and actually accept that Cole wasn't responsible for the Blast. Cole wasn't even aware of what had been inside the package he was delivering before he stopped and talked with someone, likely Kessler when she thought about it, and knew that he was surprised when he found the Ray Sphere inside the box, before it detonated and gave him the powers he now had. She still wasn't sure if the Ray Sphere had done anything to her, Aria, or Sonata, since they weren't from this world to begin with, but the fact remained that the massive explosion that came from the Ray Sphere had allowed them to regain some measure of power. Her thoughts were interrupted as she noticed Cole tapping his phone again, indicating that he was calling someone else, to which she decided to remain still and listen to whatever he was going to discuss with the new caller.
"Hey Zeke, you still up on the roof?" Cole asked, though the moment the sisters heard him say Zeke's name it reminded them that the way to the apartment building was now open, and that they could finally get a little rest after fighting Sasha and dealing with the Dust Men.
"You know it brother." Zeke replied, indicating that he was hanging around his building still, while at the same time causing Cole and the sisters to start walking across the bridge, like normal people, "I'm trying to hook up with Dwight's sister... are you and the sisters coming by for a little siesta?"
"Yeah. We'll see you in a few minutes." Cole answered, as his body, despite being a Conduit, needed some rest every now and then and it had been quite a while since any of them had gotten any sleep, though when Zeke said nothing he hung up as they continued walking towards their destination.
It didn't take them too long to reach the apartment building, especially since Cole used the train rail to cut down the distance he had to run, prompting the sisters to fly after him so they could keep up, but once they reached the building it was a simple matter to climb the exterior and reach the roof. When they arrived at the roof Zeke informed them that he thought the super-hero thing they had going on was great, though that was because he was the only one that was taking the time to reap the rewards of what Cole and the sisters were doing. Cole, of course, stated that being a hero wasn't a walk in the park, especially since he, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata had to make some tough choices when they were dealing with whatever gang was their enemy at the moment, while sometimes also getting themselves hurt so the people around them would stay safe. Zeke, however, was too caught up in his own fantasy world and declared that he only stayed here a few extra minutes so he could witness their arrival, because Dwight's sister was apparently waiting for him and he was ready to have some fun... to which the four of them watched Zeke head down the stairs and disappear, so he could finally date someone he's hand his eyes on for a long time.
Cole and the sisters, however, just sighed as they got something to eat for dinner, from the provisions that Moya's agents had apparently snuck in for them to eat since none of them could survive on consuming electricity, in Cole's case, or relying on their power, in the case of Adagio and her sisters... though once they had their fill they headed to their beds so they could rest, as something told them that they were going to need all the energy they could muster when the next day of the quarantine started.
When the morning of the seventeenth day of the quarantine arrived, and both Cole and the sisters got up to meet it, they immediately found that Zeke wasn't at the apartment building, to which they simply sighed, ate something for breakfast, and made sure that they were ready for whatever was next. They knew that there was a number of things that they could do to help the people of the Warren, such as finding and turning on the next substation, figuring out who the leader of the Dust Men were and put him or her behind bars, or constantly fight the Dust Men until their foes were no longer able to fight back or resist them. In the end, however, Cole was surprised when Adagio, Aria, and Sonata turned towards him and said that what they should be doing was figuring out where the next substation was located so they could help him restore power to another section of the city, as well as give him a new power in the process. Based on what they had said he had figured the sisters were up for a fight and would accept nothing less, but he was pleased to see that all of them were truly putting the people before their own desires.
The moment all four of them were ready, and were dressed to take on the Dust Men, they returned to the roof and Cole tapped his phone a few times, as he planned on telling Moya what they were doing, mostly so he could see whether or not she had something else for them to do.
"Hey Moya, we're making a run on the next substation." Cole said, to which he and the sisters stood near the opening that would allow them to jump down onto the train tracks, where he would grind his way over to the Warren while the sisters likely flew at the same pace as he moved.
"It's location is flagged in your GPS." Moya replied, as if she had been expecting this sort of thing to happen and had prepared herself accordingly, so that when Cole said they were moving to the next one she had it's destination ready for them to use, "I'm also tracking a few new developments: I'll be in touch once the power is back on."
Cole waited for a few seconds, to be sure that Moya had nothing else that she wanted to say, before terminating the call and jumping down towards the tracks, where he actually landed on the second car of the train that was heading towards the drawbridge they had lowered. Sure enough Adagio, Aria, and Sonata engaged their flight abilities and followed after him, keeping pace with the train at all times, before the four of them reached the bridge and Cole jumped off of it, where he landed on the sidewalk near the cars. As he started moving the sisters landed beside him and followed after him, as they were ready to take care of the Dust Men, though as they walked into the Warren Cole's phone went off again, to which he almost sighed as he realized that it was Zeke calling him... and silently hoped, that as he accepted the call, that his friend wasn't asking for another favor so soon after the last one.
"So Dwight's sister just took off." Zeke said, though his tone said more than he likely intended to reveal, as all four of them could tell that something must have happened between the two of them last night, because Zeke sounded sad about something, "Man, it was a disaster."
"What happened?" Cole asked, because while he found it amusing that Zeke's attempt to hit on someone that just lost her brother had backfired, like he thought it might, he still wanted to know what happened and he was interested in seeing if his friend might have learned a lesson from this, "I thought you said that you were golden."
"I wanted to treat her right, you know?" Zeke replied, surprising the sisters for a moment, because based on his previous actions they didn't believe what he was saying, but they said nothing as Zeke continued to speak, "I wanted to show her a good time, let things shimmer down a bit. Any old idgit can land a one-nighter. I wanted something more... something like what you and Trish had. Well anyway, she comes over and says that she can only stay a minute or two. Then she starts talking about, uh, I don't know, how she really digs me, but she sees me as a friend. 'I'll always be your friend Zeke'... she actually said that to me. Women are something else, and I don't think I'll ever understand them."
Cole glanced over at the sisters for a moment, as they had heard the entire conversation and heard Zeke's comments, but he was surprised to find that they weren't annoyed with him, rather they seemed to have the exact same opinion of something else, but what that something was he had no idea. Though he didn't have a lot of time to think about what was going through their minds at the moment, as the Dust Men that were in the area immediately started firing at them, to which they returned fire and blasted the transients so they would stop attacking everything around them. Fortunately the people that happened to be around the area moved out of the way the moment the Dust Men attacked, as they could tell that they weren't the targets and didn't want to be hurt, but they did watch and clap in support of the group as they blasted the Dust Men into submission. Once their foes had been taken care of, and Cole healed anyone that got caught in the crossfire while also restraining the Dust Men, the four of them headed deeper into the Warren and started to make their way towards the powered down section that the substation rested in.
As they carefully made their way towards their destination, and the sisters took point since they didn't have to worry about the lack of a renewable power source like Cole did, the group finally discovered the structure that Cole and Adagio found out about when they were helping Lou earlier; the Dust Men's tower.
"So that's the tower that Lou was talking about," Adagio commented, though while she noticed that the structure was tall, making her wonder how the Dust Men could have built such a thing in the two weeks that had gone by since the Blast had occurred, she also noticed something else, "and it seems that the Dust Men made it entirely out of garbage and other damaged or discarded items."
"Hopefully they put something combustible on it," Aria said, where she gathered her power into her hand and sent a Firebomb out at the Dust Men that happened to be further down the street, where the marbles rolled under the turret truck that hadn't noticed them yet and consumed the entire thing in a fiery explosion, "that way all we have to do is warn everyone to stay away from the structure and simply set the tower on fire."
Cole didn't think it would be that easy to take care of the Dust Men's tower, as he was fairly sure if they had gotten their hands on any explosives since the Blast happened, but at the same time the four of them continued to blast the Dust Men that were in front of them and carefully made their way through the powered down section of the Warren. Of course there were a large number of enemies in front of them, which they expected to encounter based on the last few times they helped Cole reach one of the substations, but that didn't stop the sisters from attacking them more than Cole did. Even the turret trucks couldn't stand up to the three of them, especially when they used their grenade attacks to clear out the area in front of them, but at the same time Cole smiled for a moment as the four of them spotted the entrance to the part of the sewers they needed to head into. When they reached the manhole Sonata and Adagio raised the cover and allowed both Cole and Aria to drop down into the sewer, though once they were through the opening the two of them prepared themselves for a fight with the Dust Men that were coming towards their location.
Cole and Aria landed on the platform below the ladder they had climbed down and paused for a moment, because experience told them that the moment they started moving someone, be it Zeke or Moya, would contact them with information, which was either personal or mission based depending on who was contacting them... and sure enough, not even a few seconds later, Cole's phone went off and he noticed Zeke was calling him again.
"So I was walkin' over to help Trish load up her bus, and I see Dwight's sister hangin' on some guy's arm." Zeke said, though his voice revealed that he wished that he would find the person of his dreams some day, to which the duo remained silent for a moment, "She didn't even look at me."
"I'm sorry she shut you down Zeke." Cole replied, as he did feel sorry for his best friend, especially since he had actually tried to make things great for Dwight's sister, from what he and the sisters heard anyway, but at the same time he wanted to move on with the mission.
"I should have known better... she's always been like that." Zeke stated, revealing to Aria that he had known that his chances with Dwight's sister weren't all that good and he gone through with it anyway, but she said nothing as he continued speaking, "No biggie though. Frees me up to play the field, see what else is out there. Catch ya later."
Once Zeke was done talking, and the connection between them was cut off, Cole and Aria jumped across the ruined bridge that was in front of them and quickly came to the circuit that needed to be restored, to which Aria moved to the side as Cole jumped up and quickly bridged the two parts of the circuit. A few seconds later Cole, after receiving a surge of electricity through his body, landed on the ground and smiled at Aria, revealing that he did have another power that had been added to his arsenal, before he turned towards the tunnel they had to go through to reach the substation. Standing in the entrance of the tunnel was a Dust Man, who didn't seem to know that they were there yet, to which Cole lifted his hand and channeled his power for a few seconds. Aria watched as a sphere of electric energy, at least a few sizes larger than his Shock Grenades, formed in front of his hand and he launched it through the air, where it raced towards the enemy and stuck his back, exploding with enough force to knock him onto his back.
Cole and Aria were surprised by what he had done, but instead of standing there the two of them raced over to the tunnel and climbed up to where the unfortunate man had been standing, to which Cole restrained him against the ground before they continued down the path in front of them. At the end of the tunnel they were in they found a walkway below them with a trio of Dust Men standing guard, to which the two of them simply blasted them into the water and Cole finished them off by shocking the water. From there they used the walkway to reach the edge of the area they were on, before they jumped over to to one of the vertical pipes and moved around to the other side of it, then jumped onto a smaller pipe that allowed them to get over to the area that some Dust Men were gathered in... which made them good targets for Cole's new Megawatt Hammer, as he told Aria that the name was connected to the new move he had gained from the last circuit.
From there they passed through several areas with fortifications that the Dust Men had made, to guard this place from anyone that attempted to turn the power back on, though at the same time Aria noticed that the fortifications were set up in a way that allowed Cole to test his new power out... until they eventually came to the substation and Cole restored the power to this part of the Warren, which then prompted her to grab him and fly back to the entrance so they could see what else they needed to do. Of course when they returned to the surface, and found out what Adagio and Sonata had done while the two of them were in the sewers, they found several destroyed turret trucks and a number of scattered Dust Men that were moaning in pain.
"Seems like the two of you had some fun while we were down there." Cole commented, as while he was glad to have restored the power to this part of the Warren, and picked up a new power along the way, he still found it amusing that the sisters were able to hold off a large group of their enemies, even with only two of them being up on the surface.
"The Dust Men were more than ready to try and get back into the sewer when they saw you two head in there," Adagio replied, to which she flexed her fingers and the ice crystals that were around the area turned into water, which she returned to where she had gotten it from earlier, before turning back towards Cole and Aria, "and, if I'm not mistaken, you picked up a new power while you two were down there."
Cole opened his mouth, so he could make a proper response to that statement, but before he could do so he heard a sound and they all turned to look at the sky above them, where he spotted what appeared to be military drones flying through the air, no doubt looking for something very specific... such as the Ray Sphere.
"Cole, I have been receiving reports of unauthorized drones patrolling the Warren." Moya spoke up, revealing that this was going to be something that the four of them were going to have to take care of, especially since anything she did would actually damage the city in some way, "Since they're not ours, you should take some time and look into them. It also sounds like the Dust Men might actually be planning a quarantine break... and one other thing. Tell your friend Zeke to stop calling me. If he wants to play hero and track down 'leads', that's his business, but I don't want to hear about it."
"Alright, we'll look into the drones and the Dust Men," Cole replied, though once he said that he cut off the connection between them and Moya, since it appeared that she didn't have anything else to tell them, in regards to what she had mentioned to them, before he sighed, "Zeke, what the hell are you doing?"
"He's got four friends that are heroes to the people, and another one that saves lives," Sonata commented, referring to the four of them first, as they were the ones that likely set this chain of events in motion with them taking out the Reapers earlier, before mentioning Trish after them, "You know, I'm actually surprised that it took him this long to try and do something like this... and who knows, maybe he'll actually find out something we can use in the future."
Cole was still a little surprised that Sonata seemed to be thinking positive, especially when Zeke was needlessly risking his life at the moment, but after a few seconds of thought he guessed that as long as Zeke didn't do anything that directly endangered his life, such as confront the Dust Men, then he should be able to continue with whatever he was doing. Of course he still intended on talking with Zeke the next chance they got, as going out on his own like this, without telling them what he was planning, was unnecessary and foolish, though he was hopeful that Zeke would listen to him. A few seconds later, when he was done thinking about Zeke and what Sonata said, he looked at the coordinates that Moya had sent them, two objectives from what he could tell, and raised an eyebrow when he spotted a third one, but decided that they should focus on the drones before anything else. As such they headed through the Warren and made their way over to the shipping cranes, taking out the Dust Men that decided to engage them along the way, while also keeping an eye on the drones that were flying through the air.
When they reached their destination, however, Cole noticed two things; the first being that the shipping containers that were stored in this part of the Warren had been stacked and arranged as some sort of fortress, maybe a second base of operations for their enemies, while the second thing was that he spotted a crashed drone by one of the shipping cranes they were heading towards... though he stopped at the coordinates and the sisters did the same as well, as they were all eager to hear what Moya wanted them to do.
"Okay Moya, we're in position near the cranes." Adagio said, as she was sure that Cole was getting tired of constantly talking to their contact first, so she decided to step in for once and do some talking as well, while at the same time noticing that Cole was staring at the crashed drone, "What's the situation on those drones you mentioned?"
"We actually just caught a big break, as one of the UAVs patrolling the Warren has crashed," Moya informed them, to which all four of them rolled their eyes, as they could see the crashed drone resting near their exact location and had to wonder if she was trying to annoy them by stating things they could see, "I need the lot of you to recover it's flight recorder, that way I can try to figure out who's controlling them."
The group looked at each other for a few moments, knowing that these drones had to belong to the First Sons, as there was no way the Dust Men could have the technology to use these things, though they sighed as they moved towards the cranes and kept their eyes open for any Dust Men that might come to investigate the crash. They were all pleased to find out that the Dust Men either didn't care about the crash or had no idea it had happened, allowing them to approach the downed drone easily, where Moya informed them that one of them would have to use their phone to send her the data. Cole, seeing that it was rather easy to pull out the flight recorder and send the information, carefully extracted the device they needed and slipped it into his phone, sending Moya the contents of the UAV, though even as he did that he and the sisters turned to look at the other drones that were flying through the air, making them all wonder if they needed to take them out as well. He guessed that it would be a reasonable guess, since they couldn't have the First Sons, if they were the ones in control of the drones like they guessed, locate the missing Ray Sphere first and use it for whatever diabolical scheme that their mysterious leader wanted it for.
"It's just as I thought," Moya commented, causing the four of them to remain at attention, as this was likely going to confirm or deny their own thoughts on who sent the drones, "the First Sons are using drones to search for the Ray Sphere, and they've narrowed it down to the Warren."
"Well, now we know that the damned Ray Sphere is somewhere in the Warren," Aria said, as they hadn't seen a sign of the metallic sphere in the Neon District, and she was sure that the First Sons, who likely controlled the Historic District, wouldn't be using these drones if they already had the sphere, meaning it had to be in the same district they were in, "So, do they know anything that we don't know?"
"No, but we can't take any chances." Moya replied, indicating that this was the part where they learned about their main objective and what they needed to do, which likely involved the remaining drones that were flying around the rest of the Warren, "I need the lot of you to track down the rest of the drones, shoot them out of the sky, and collect their flight recorders. And you'll want to be quick about recovering the flight recorders, because those UAVs are programed to self-destruct if they crash and I have no idea why the one you just investigated didn't do so earlier, but the others might be able to do that when you knock them out of the sky."
"Well, we do have one advantage the makers of those drones never expected," Cole said, though at the same time he cut off the line, as Moya told them everything they needed to know and would likely hear the next bit anyway, while also turning towards the sisters, who activated their auras and floated off the ground, "people that can fly and attack the drones at the same time."
Fortunately since there were four more drones flying through the air, and Adagio counted them while they were listening to Moya talk, all of them could take out one drone apiece, that way everyone got to participate in the mission and wouldn't feel left out. At the same time Sonata grabbed onto Cole and pulled him to one of the roofs near the drone he wanted to target, that way he could have a good vantage point so he could target the drone he wanted to take out, leaving the others to fly up to their targets and attack them while he was doing the same thing. Before Cole actually used his Precision Shot ability, to take his drone out, he turned towards the other three drones and found that he could see what the sisters were doing from where he was standing, though it appeared that one or two of the sisters might have developed another technique to keep up with him. Sonata, for example, commanded the wind to gather around her as she flew after the drone that she wanted to knock out of the sky, where she lashed out with her hand, like a cat swiping at a toy, and the wind sliced through the wing that she had been targeting... to which Cole spotted her smiling as she headed towards the ground and claimed the flight recorder from the drone she had grounded, before leaving as the UVA activated it's self-destruct sequence.
Adagio, having control over water, seemed to be able to pull some of the moisture out of the air around her and formed what appeared to be a lance that was made out of ice, though as she hurled it through the air it separated into a cluster of smaller lances that punctured the drone's body and wings, forcing it to land. Aria, on the other hand, didn't seem to try anything funny this time around, as she simply started blasting the drone that was her target with ordinary blasts, which seemed to put puncture marks in the drone's body until she managed to make it crash as well. Cole chuckled for a moment, as sometimes the sisters made things seem a little too easy with their unique abilities, before he focused on the last drone and loosed a few Precision Shots at his target, eventually causing it to spiral out of control before crashing on the street near his location... allowing him to jump down, claim the flight recorder, and get away before it could self-destruct, to which he regrouped with the sisters and smiled as he noticed that they had all the items that Moya requested they get their hands on.
However, the moment they got back together, and started to wonder what Moya wanted them to do with the flight recorders, Cole's phone went off from a new number, to which the sisters remained silent as he accepted the call and let whoever was calling speak to them.
"I want you, and your friends, to listen to something, Cole." an old voice said, one that Cole and the sisters recognized as Kessler's voice, as they had heard some of John's dead drops and some of them had audio recordings of Kessler while he was speaking about something.
"Please, no more." a pained voice spoke up, one that the group immediately recognized as Sasha's, though if her voice as in pain that told them that Kessler had not only sent his men to grab her after their battle, but had also tortured her in some manner since they last saw her, "I'll... I'll do whatever you want!"
"Real tough guy, aren't you?" Cole asked, because while he had no love for Sasha, not after everything she did to the people of the Neon District until they shut her down, she was still a person and didn't deserve to be tortured by the person that was likely responsible for everything that had happened so far, and would happen in the future.
"On the contrary." Kessler replied, sounding serious about whatever he wanted to talk about, which only caused the group to stop as they waited, because there was so much the man could talk about and they wanted to be sure they made sure to let nothing interrupt him, "I'm weak... quite weak, in fact. Which is why you and your 'friends' need to learn this lesson and learn it well: everyone has their breaking point. You, me, even dear, sweet Sasha. What separates the strong from the weak is the ability to take the beating... hell, to love the beating... no matter how great the pain, never wavering from what needs to be done. Think you can remember that?"
"Screw you Kessler." Cole stated, because right now he had the feeling that no matter what he said, and no matter what he did, the sinister leader of the First Sons would continue his plans and strike out at them when he felt that they were ready to 'take the beating', as he put it.
Kessler said nothing as the call was terminated, indicating that he had said what he wanted to, to which Cole and the sisters sighed for a moment, as he was going to be one of the hardest people to find and they had the feeling that it was going to be some time before they dealt with him... and, since none of them wanted to think about what Kessler was doing at the moment, Cole started a new call.
"Okay Moya, we've got all the flight recorders." Cole said, though while he was aware that Moya likely heard Kessler's call, and he'd be disappointed if she didn't catch it, he also knew that she would be happy to hear that he and the sisters had gotten the items that she wanted.
"None of your phones have the bandwidth to transmit that much data," Moya told them, causing Adagio to raise an eyebrow for a moment, because if Cole could send her the flight recorder from the first drone, and there were four of them with one flight recorder apiece, then she didn't see why they couldn't just do the deed themselves, "so you'll need to find a satellite uplink. There should be one on the roof of the old Coleridge Building... hopefully it still works."
The Coleridge Building, as Cole explained, was the only building in the Warren that was surrounded by a circular street, which made it really easy to find, though as they started to move through the streets several groups of Dust Men tired to engage them and take them out. As such the group responded by blasting them into submission or clearing the way using their grenade type attacks, which they reserved for the larger groups, before they came to the building that Moya wanted them to send her the information from. Of course the Coleridge Building was guarded by their enemies, which was to be expected since they hadn't actually cleared much of this district out yet, but that didn't stop the group from engaging their enemies and taking them out, all while dodging the incoming bullets and rockets. Cole spent part of his time climbing up the side of the building while the sisters flew around him, blasting the Dust Men that wanted to stop them from completing their mission, though he did stop every now and then to lend them a hand, which resulted in him blasting several enemies before continuing his climb.
When they reached the top of the building, and the sisters landed beside Cole, they pulled all the information they had gathered from the flight recorders and found the uplink that Moya wanted them to use, to which Cole slipped it into the slot and input the command, sending everything they had gathered over to Moya.
"There, you should have everything those drones had on them." Cole said, though at the same time he hoped that they had some useful information, like where the Ray Sphere was located or where John might be hiding, but he knew that there was a lot of data for someone to go through.
"Its going to take me awhile to sort through all of this." Moya stated, indicating that the First Sons had been gathering all the information they could, on where the sphere was located and whatever else they were interested in, "I'll let you know if I find anything interesting."
Cole nodded and cut the line off once more, though this time around he knew that there were a few optional objectives that he and the sisters could do and, by the looks on Adagio, Aria, and Sonata's faces, they were eager to help the civilians a little before they did anything else.
After assisting Moya in recovering the flight recorders from the UVAs that were flying around the Warren, and taking them out in the process, Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata spent the next thirty minutes doing nothing else but assisting the people around the district they were in. The first step was Cole draining the satellite uplinks and reestablishing a connection, so that way they knew where all of the other available optional objectives were located and what they might need to do to help whoever was calling for aid, as there were plenty of people asking for help. With the connection back online the four of them were able to continue their duties as heroes and helped those that were in need, which included helping several EMT's that were located throughout the Warren, destroyed the surveillance equipment that the Dust Men set up on several buildings that belonged to innocent people, helping individual people save loved ones that were being taken by the transients, and even restored the train for the Warren. The people were happy to see them step up and do what was right, to stop the Dust Men at every turn and disrupt their operations, while also saving the innocent people that were being targeted by them, and the group was more than happy to be of assistance.
The more involving thing they did, to help the people of the Warren out, was get involved in a massive gang war between some of the leftover Reapers and an equally large group of Dust Men that had taken up residence in one part of the Warren... though the winner of the battle was neither of them, not when the four dropped into the battle, surprised their opponents, and decimated them with their powers.
While Cole was happy to see that the people of Empire City were embracing them as heroes and protectors of the innocent, and not seeing him as the person that had set off the Blast that put the city in the state it had been in for the last two weeks, he also noticed that the sisters seemed to be happier. Sonata, who always seemed to be happy, constantly had a smile on her face and was always friendly towards those that were around her, while at the same time always turning serious whenever one of her sisters, or Cole for that matter, got hurt, even though that hadn't happened for a while. Aria, who had appeared to be a more brooding and slightly angry when he first met her, had softened quite a bit since their adventure started and she seemed to be happy, genuinely happy, will all the good they had been able to do for both the Neon District and the Warren. Adagio, who had started out as someone who seemed to reject that they were aiding the people and stopping the gangs, had taken the most drastic turn, as she was now someone that smiled more often, liked the fact that they were helping the people of Empire City out, and seemed to go for more heroic actions, just like the others did from time to time.
Cole still wasn't sure why Adagio had been so resistant to change when they first started this adventure, if it could even be called that, but right now, seeing both her and her sisters being genuinely happy for what was likely the first time in a really long time for them, brought a smile to his face as he joined them while they walked down the street.
Once they had completed all of the optional objectives in the area, including the two 'good' ones that Moya had labeled for them, she insisted that the group start one of the main objectives she had sent them, though her tone told Adagio that she was losing her patience with the group. It was rather annoying and kind of killed the mood, since the more help they gave the people the more help they often received in kind, as there was one time when they were fighting some Dust Men they had to stop because the civilians got involved, only to beat up the armored Dust Men with some assistance from a nearby police officer, who then hauled the defeated transients off to jail. Still, since they had cleared out all of the optional objectives for the moment, the four of them headed over to the dock area that the coordinates were attached to, or rather the corner that was near the dock Moya wanted them to investigate... where they saw a few Dust Men walking around, minding their own business while ignoring the threat that was standing right outside the area they happened to be working in.
"Okay Moya, we're in position." Aria stated, informing Moya that they were ready for the second objective that she wanted them to take on, though at the same time all of them were prepared to move the moment they learned exactly what they needed to do here.
"The Dust Men think that if they load hostages onto their boats, the military will back off and let them pass through the quarantine." Moya explained, to which the group glanced at each other, because if their attempt to leave the city by using the bridge that Cole and Zeke had picked out told them anything, it was that an attempted escape would only result in the deaths of innocent people.
"Let me guess," Cole said, as he could tell that there was more to this objective than what Moya was telling them, but he wanted to wait and be sure that she had more to tell them and not jump ahead, while his friends remained at the ready in case the Dust Men attacked them, "the guys with the guns don't want to play ball."
"All forces positioned along the quarantine line have standing shoot-on-sight orders." Moya replied, though that told the sisters exactly what they needed to know, but they remained silent as they waited to see what else they had to worry about, "Any vessel attempting to cross the harbor will be destroyed, no questions asked. The four of you are going to have to find the hostage boats and stop them, either by disabling their engines or destroying them yourselves. If those boats leave the harbor a lot of innocent people are going to die."
"And, if that were to come to pass, your superiors would determine that the situation wasn't under control," Adagio commented, as she was beginning to see what Moya was talking about, along with what she wasn't saying to them at the same time, and simply made a connection about the situation, "I'm guessing that they would replace you in a heartbeat, meaning that they'd do something completely different than what you have planned and we'd be running from the law, since someone might think we're terrorists because of what the Voice of Survival said earlier."
"I'm glad someone get's the bigger picture." Moya said, though if she was surprised by the fact that Adagio was able to guess what she was going to say next, basically saying that the deal they had made would be void if she was replaced, she didn't let her emotions betray her, "My superiors would bomb the city to contain the situation... so use that as your motivation to stop those boats from leaving the harbor. And those tones I heard you use just now, don't ever do them again, or there will be consequences."
Adagio turned towards her sisters and Cole for a moment, to be sure she heard Moya right, and they nodded their heads to confirm that they had heard it was well, as their 'friend' now appeared to be of the opinion that the four of them were her personal super powered workforce and should listen to her orders without question or outright guessing what she was saying. Instead of saying anything the four of them let the call drop and advanced towards the harbor that was on the other side of the building that was in front of them, though while they did that Aria and Sonata took the sides of the building as Cole and Adagio attacked the roof. Fortunately the Dust Men didn't have a lot of men guarding the entrances of where they were operating, allowing them to use their powers to decimate their targets and knock them out, though when they grouped up on the other side of the building Adagio remained on the roof of the building as she focused on using the water around them to their advantage. Instead of targeting the engine, like Moya wanted them to, Cole, Aria, and Sonata took out the Dust Men guarding the boat, if any remained, and then destroyed the locks on the cages that were on the boat, freeing the innocent people that the gang was trying to use as meat shields, to which they escorted them off the boat and let them head back to their normal lives.
Once they were sure that everyone was off the boat, and checked it twice, Cole, Aria, and Sonata stood nearby as Adagio called forth her power, to which several crystal spires erupted from the water around the boat and punctured the vehicle, before she retracted them and let the boat sink... preventing the Dust Men from taking it again and trying this one more time while they were doing something else.
"Cole, I've got some bad news." Moya spoke up, her voice ruining the mood more than she could possibly know, though at the same time the group went silent as they wondered what she could possibly tell them, "The military is mobilizing several gunships and they're planning on attacking the Dust Men's boats, regardless of whether or not they're still docked. I'm holding them off, but they're not going to wait forever."
"Moya, there are innocent people on those boats that will die if you let that happen," Adagio said, though now she was getting annoyed, because the way things were looking it appeared that Moya might be claiming that she could get them all out of here, when in reality she might be lying just to get the Ray Sphere, which would mean she had no authority and was tricking them, "Look, just keep the military busy for a few more minutes and we'll have the other two boats taken care of by the time they want to get moving."
"Just remember that they want results," Moya stated, her tone indicating that she didn't approve of Adagio's tone at all, though at the same time Adagio really didn't care about that at the moment, showing just how much she had changed since they became guardians of the people, "They'll replace me the moment I'm no longer useful... and the four of you would be fugitives if that happened."
Cole hung up, as they were wasting time at that point, and the four of them headed up the street to their left, as that was where the next boat was located, and were immediately fired upon by the Dust Men that had set up shop in the area, to which they fired at them in return. Even though the Dust Men here appeared to be ready to fight them, as in they knew that they were coming, their numbers and weapons were nothing compared to the power that the group brought to bare against them. Even with the fact that their powers made them stronger than the Dust Men, and more resilient towards damage, the four of them still had to avoid the gunfire to the best of their ability and fall back from time to time, mostly to encourage their enemies to reveal themselves and make their lives easier. When the guards at the front of the base were taken care of the group continued forward, carefully taking out the other Dust Men that were on the boat and those that were surrounding it, before three of them moved forward to save the innocent people that had been taken prisoner.
Once the prisoners were freed from the cages they had been trapped in, and were off the boat, Adagio grinned as she repeated the process she used to sink the first boat on the one that was in front of them, putting holes in the vessel before sending it to the bottom of the harbor.
The instant the boat was taken care of Adagio grabbed onto Cole and pulled him into the air, to which Aria and Sonata followed after them as they headed towards the third and final boat, because since they were on a strict time schedule, with the military coming to take matters into their hands if they weren't quick enough, they needed to get the final boat taken care of before that happened. As such when they reached the third dock Adagio dropped Cole into the heart of the group of Dust Men that were guarding the area, as that was his plan from the beginning and had told her so, which allowed him to use his Thunder Drop to surprise their enemies, and knocked a few of them into the water. Once he was ready the sisters landed around the building and the harbor before they engaged the Dust Men, taking them out so that the prisoners would be able to flee in safety once the cages were open. It took them another minute or two to clear out their targets, taking down the Dust Men and making sure that some of them were bound to the ground by Cole, before they freed the innocent people that had been taken prisoner... which was followed by the boat sinking into the harbor, as Adagio did what she did to the other two boats once again.
With the third boat taken care of they escorted the people back to the street and watched as they were thanked by the former hostages, before they disappeared into the Warren, heading back to their loves ones and their homes, which brought a smile to all their faces... before a call from Moya ruined their mood once more.
"I've got more bad news, there's one more boat left." Moya stated, to which the sisters kept silent, as it almost seemed like this should have been information they were given when they started the mission, so they could have each taken one of the harbors on and taken out the boats at the same time, "You need to get over and stop them right now."
"Enlighten us a little," Cole replied, where the sisters noticed that he definitely appeared to be angry, though at the same time they knew that the reason behind his anger was going to be revealed to them soon enough, "are they really going to start dropping bombs on Empire City if a single boat leaves one of the harbors?"
"The President signed off on the order a week ago." Moya answered, where her tone once again revealed that she didn't like the tone that Cole was using, meaning that she was either going to do something to them now or punish the lot of them later, when they finally uncovered where the Ray Sphere went, "If the plague reaches critical threat level, he'll make the call... no questions asked."
"And they'll glass the whole city, just like that?" Cole asked, though he couldn't believe what he was hearing, as part of him was wondering how much of the truth Moya was giving them and how much of it was lies to keep him and the sisters in line until they got what she wanted.
"It's standard protocol when it comes to containing biological threats." Moya stated, though there was something in her voice that told Adagio that Moya believed that she had them all under her lock and key, when in reality all she was doing was trying to play on their habit of saving the people to get them to do what she wanted, "Like it or not, Cole, you and your friends are in this all the way."
Instead of wasting time with the rails, and following after Cole, Adagio and her sisters flew into the air and grabbed onto Cole once more, to which they headed towards the coordinates of the final harbor that the Dust Men were attempting to use, which happened to be further up the same street that the first two were on. It didn't take them long to reach their destination, not when it was actually near the area that they started hunting down the other drones in, before they landed on the ground and started firing at the Dust Men that were in front of them. Cole, however, used his Shockwave power to knock two rockets back at the enemies that had fired them, allowing him and the sisters time to get close and start attack their enemies, before the RPG wielding Dust Men even had a chance to reload. Once the enemies around the building had been taken out, and restrained, the group took care of the remainder that were on the boat and freed the hostages... though once they were out of the way Adagio sunk the boat as well, preventing the Dust Men from even attempting this again, since those seemed to be the only boats in the Warren.
Cole and the sisters spent a few moments helping the people back towards the streets of the Warren, where they could go and find their loved ones again, before Cole noticed that Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were much happier than they had been earlier, which made him smile as he put in the call to inform Moya that the deed was done.
"Okay Moya, all of the boats are taken taken care of." Cole said, letting their friend know that they had stopped the Dust Men from doing what they had planned, even if that meant sinking their boats to prevent it from happening again in the near future.
"Cole, I know you and your friends aren't happy about the situation," Moya stated, though there was something in her tone that annoyed the group, but instead of thinking about it and debating what it could be the four of them remained silent for now, "but we have to play with the cards we're dealt. That's just the way it is."
The group remained silent as the call disconnected, until Moya decided to call them again later with yet another item for them to take care of, though as they looked at their phones, and noticed a few new optional objectives, two things happened. The first, and more important of the two, was that Cole called Trish and asked how things were going, where he and the sisters discovered that things were apparently going good for her and the people she was trying to help, before Trish said that she and Cole really needed to talk about what happened earlier and put the past behind them. Cole, of course, was more than happy to agree with her statement, as he had been waiting for this opportunity to come up since he and the sisters started helping the people of Empire City out. The second thing that happened was that the other objective that appeared on their GPS was actually coming from Zeke's phone, and that, if they were reading the coordinates correctly, it was near their current position... or rather it was on the same street that Moya had contacted told them about the drones on, just on the opposite side of the street.
The four of them carefully walked over to the coordinates that were on their map, where they happened to find Zeke's phone resting on the ground, to which Cole sighed as he picked up the phone, because without it he had no idea where his friend had wandered off to this time around.
"You think you and your little girlfriends can come over here, doing what you please?" a voice asked, one that sounded older than most people they had met, sort of like Kessler's voice, only without the sinister feeling that came whenever he talked to someone, while at the same time the group looked around for the source of the voice, "Think again! We've got your fat friend... and we're going to kill him nice and slow."
It was in that moment that Adagio, Aria, and Sonata realized that the Dust Men had captured Zeke while he was looking for anything that might help them take the gang down or even find the Ray Sphere, indicating that their enemies had set this up as a trap to kill them all... and, because of that, the three of them were ready to follow Cole into the storage container fort area and get Zeke back, even if it meant trashing a whole lot of Dust Men to do so.
"Oh, these guys just made the biggest mistake of their lives." Cole said, to which he slipped Zeke's phone into his backpack, so he could give it back to him when they rescued him, and cracked his knuckles, while at the same time noticing that a fence moved out of the way and revealed the opening, "And they're inviting us inside... idiots."
Together the four of them headed down towards the opening that their enemies had provided for them, one that appeared to have been constructed for the Dust Men in mind when the fortress was originally set up, and walked into the trap that the Dust Men and their leader had set up for them. Sure enough they were set upon before they even rounded the first corner of the area, as the fence immediately closed behind them when they entered the area and one of the containers had a wall fall down, allowing a small group of Dust Men to attack them. As such the four of them started blasting their enemies as they moved forward, occasionally using the sides of the containers and the areas that the Dust men had hidden in as cover, allowing them to protect themselves while they fought the gang that had taken Zeke. As they fought the Dust Men they all noticed that the transients liked to hide themselves in little nooks that were impossible to see until the last second and stand up on bridges that were constructed between two different containers, usually the main wall and one of the other walls in the area.
The first real obstacle the four of them came across was some pipes that were spewing this toxic looking steam or smoke out of their openings, hitting the containers across from them, though Sonata, instead of pulling the lever like Cole could have done, simply created a wall of wind that prevented the toxin from reaching them. With the wall up Cole climbed the ladder that was originally covered and eventually jumped over to a wire that allowed him to bypass the gate that was blocking their way, though once that was done Aria and Adagio joined him by simply flying over to him. The moment the three of them were in position Sonata dropped the wall and flew over to them, where she rejoined her sisters as they all followed Cole deeper into the fortress that the Dust Men had made for themselves. Of course as they walked down the path that was in front of them the voice from before said that this island was his home and that he's been waiting a long time for this, while also declaring that no one could stop him... which only caused Adagio, Aria, and Sonata to roll their eyes, as they heard that speech before, in a much more dramatic version, many times in the past and hearing it again only made them want to punch the speaker's lights out.
As they rounded the corner Cole spotted a grenade launcher and used his Precision Shot to blast him in the head, where he fell from the walkway he had been walking on and hit the ground, though fortunately he was still alive, how Cole didn't want to know, so he restrained him against the floor before they moved onward.
"Cole, your GPS says that you and the sisters are at the shipyards." Moya spoke up, revealing that she was watching their movement and knew that they weren't doing one of the objectives she had sent them, which was likely making her mad at all of them, "What are you doing?"
"We're kicking the asses of the bastards that took Zeke." Cole replied, though that was when they rounded a corner and entered a larger area than the previous one, where they started blasting the Dust Men that had been guarding the area and just so happened to be waiting for their arrival.
"It's his own fault." Moya stated, her tone indicating that she believed that Zeke had gotten his punishment for doing something that he wasn't good at, though that exact same tone made the sisters growl for a moment, as they knew that she didn't care for their friend at all, "You can't run out and rescue him every time he gets into trouble."
"Look Moya, we're not about to abandon our friend." Adagio said, as right now she believed that their only friends included Trish, Cole, and Zeke, so leaving Zeke to face his death at the hands of the Dust Men didn't sit well with her, which was why they were attacking the Dust Men like this.
Before Moya could say anything more Cole disconnected the call and focused on the task at hand, where the four of them blasted the Dust Men that were in the area in front of them, though what was really good was when Cole ignited some spilled oil and created a pool of flames. Aria, seeing the flames come to life and dance, extended her own magic and commanded the flames, where she sent a rain of Firebombs down on the enemies that were in front of them, to which she smiled as the small clusters of fire exploded and sent the Dust Men flying around the area, knocking all of them out in the process. Adagio, of course, used the moisture in the air and created her special Crystal Blast grenade attack, which she hurled at the last couple of enemies and watched as the explosion took all of them out, clearing the way for them to continue as they looked for Zeke. As they headed down the 'alley' that the group of Dust Men had been guarding a fence moved in their way and blocked them from continuing, or that was what would have happened if three of them didn't have the ability to fly... as Aria and Sonata took off and soared over the fence so they could attack their enemies, allowing Adagio a chance to lift Cole over the fence so they could join them in knocking out their enemies.
As they continued down the path that was in front of them they spotted more foes moving into position, to which all four of them started attacking the Dust Men before they even had a chance to move into position, allowing them to brush their enemies aside before continuing the search for Zeke. This time when they rounded the next corner they found a turret at the top of the ramp, along with some Dust Men preparing explosive barrels that would explode when they collided with something, though at the same time Cole discovered that Sonata had another trick up her sleeve. Much like with what Adagio did earlier, back when they were helping Trish find Roger, Sonata focused her mind and gathered her power for a few seconds, though when she was ready she stepped out of their hiding area and loosed whatever power she had been preparing, where the person commanding the turret was knocked backwards and disabled the turret at the same time, but Sonata didn't stop there, as she had a few more targets to hit. She then purposely stood there for a few seconds, allowing the remaining foes to step up to the turret controls, where she blasted them all in the head until no more came out to challenge her.
"And that, right there, is the Needle Strike, my Precision Shot type attack," Sonata declared, revealing that she had woven together a whole new technique by watching Cole and Adagio use their own Precision Shot type attacks, even if Cole was the only one using it at the moment, "So, what did you think?"
"Impressive." Cole replied, knowing that he was the only one of the three she was asking that hadn't seen this attack yet, though it was really impressive that they started with nothing more than firing blasts of energy, and now they were learning how to shape their powers in new and interesting ways, "Come on, let's go surprise the rest of the Dust Men."
Once Cole knew that Sonata had a new trick up her sleeve, and the immediate area was cleared of enemies, the four of them headed towards the top of the ramp and found some parts of the containers sticking out, parts that they could climb on, though at the top of the containers rested a fence that was easy to join over. Instead of doing that, however, Aria dropped back down to the area they had been on before and walked forward and little, triggering the fence to drop down and caused the Dust Men to reveal themselves, where they moved into the waiting hands of Cole, Adagio, and Sonata, who rained blasts down upon them. Of course Aria joined them a few seconds later and made sure that they knocked out all of the enemies that were in their way, before they walked forward, jumped down into the area where their enemies had been standing moments ago, and continued on their way as they looked out for the cage that the Dust Men were keeping Zeke trapped inside. To do that the four of them fought their way through yet another ambush, one that proved that their enemies might be losing the battle, before they reached an area that they needed to climb up some ladders to reach the top of the containers.
In doing so the four of them spotted a cage that was nearby, suspended over the fortress they had fought their way through, with a fair amount of people resting inside it, though with the number of people it was hard to tell if Zeke was inside the cage or not.
"Zeke!" Cole called out, hoping that by shouting he would be able to get the attention of their friend, because even if Zeke wasn't inside that particular cage he and the sisters could still find the controls and get them out of here, before something happened to them, "Can you hear me?"
That was immediately followed by one of the Dust Men, apparently having been in position the entire time, loosing a missile through the air, one that struck the cage that the group was looking at, killing several of the innocent people that were inside it and dropping the rest of them to their unfortunate deaths... ones that he and the sisters couldn't save them from, despite all their powers and abilities.
"ZEKE!" all four of them shouted, as they had no idea whether or not their friend had been in that cage or not, but at the same time, as they looked down at the killed innocents the Dust Men had killed, it didn't appear that Zeke was among them, which didn't ease the pain they felt.
"Guys?!" a voice called out, to which the four of them turned towards the second crane in the area and found another cage, one that contained a single person, which happened to be Zeke, though while that made them happy to see him it also made them focus on the task at hand, "Hey guys, over here!"
"Hang in there Zeke, we're coming." Cole stated, knowing that there was no way for their friend to hear them at the moment, but that didn't stop him from wanting to say the words anyway, to which the four of them moved forward and started the journey over to where their friend was located.
What happened next was that Adagio, Aria, and Sonata took to the skies and started to bombard the Dust Men with their attacks, allowing Cole to make his way over the tops of the containers without having to focus on blasting the targets that the sisters were focused on. Even the Dust Men that was carrying a RPG didn't stand much of a chance against them, as he actually turned and targeted the container that Zeke was resting in, though Sonata appeared between them and used the wind to blow the rocket back, taking out the Dust Men in question in the process. Despite that there was one or two enemies that Cole blasted with his electricity and knocked to the ground, though he was able to get to the crane that the cage was connected to, where he looked around for the controls before he found them a few seconds later. He waited for the rest of the Dust Men to be taken out, where he assisted the sisters in taking their enemies out, before he pushed the controls and the crane lowered the cage to the street below them, where he jumped off the edge of the control station and landed on the ground nearby... allowing him to approach the cage and found that it wasn't even locked, as if the Dust Men had been daring Zeke to take his life into his own hands by either jumping or dying to them.
A few seconds later Adagio, Aria, and Sonata landed nearby and pushed the lid of the cage down, allowing Zeke to leave the cage that the Dust Men had forced him into, before they looked around for any additional enemies... though luck was on their side, as there weren't any other enemies coming at them just yet.
"Whew, there is close," Zeke commented, to which he wiped his forehead for a moment, indicating that he must have been scared for his life considering that the Dust Men were about ready to kill him, before he turned towards the group and gave them a light smile, "and then there was that. Thanks for saving my skin guys."
"Zeke, what the hell were you doing down here?" Cole asked, though all four of them were worried about him, mostly because this experience was going to have some effects on him and his attitude, but at the same time he reached into his pack and pulled out Zeke's phone, before he handed it back to their friend.
"I was just trying to help you guys out, man." Zeke replied, to which he walked out of the cage and moved away from it, because he wanted nothing to do with the cage that he had been in, before he turned towards the group, "I wanted to sneak in and see what the trash-baggers were up to."
"Zeke, you're lucky they didn't kill you the moment you were found out." Aria said, though while her tone was tough, like she had been before she and her sisters headed through the statue's portal earlier, she was still concerned for Zeke, just like Adagio and Sonata were, "Though I'm happy we were able to save you before something terrible happened."
"What are you saying?" Zeke asked, almost as if there had been some hidden meaning in Aria's words or Cole's expression when he was released from the cage that the Dust Men had kept him in for some time, "That old Zeke needs to go back to his roof and just chill? That he's only good for a laugh and a beer, but when it's go-time he ain't worth a damn? Is that what you guys are telling me?"
"We never said any of that." Adagio replied, surprised that Zeke was even acting this way, after they risked their own lives to save him from the Dust Men, though she guessed that his comment might have been directed at Cole the entire time, as he was the one that Zeke was staring at.
"Zeke, I know you mean well, but this isn't a game." Cole said, hoping that his friend would at least understand that he could still help them, though in a different manner than what he was thinking, before he considered the enemies they had fought so far, "We're facing people with powers, like we have, and they won't hesitate to kill anyone that gets in their way, so why don't you stay back where its safe? We'll contact you when we need your help."
Zeke glared at Cole, apparently thinking that his best friend felt that he and the sisters thought that they were better than everyone else, before walking off in a huff, causing the four of them to sigh for a moment as they wondered what they were going to do with him in the future. Fortunately they didn't have to think about it for more than a few moments, as it was at that moment that Trish decided to call them, where Cole smiled as he accepted the call, as he was sure that Trish might need help with something.
"Cole, I've got the last of my gear loaded onto the bus, but the Reapers are blocking the way to the hospital." Trish said, revealing that something was happening in the Neon District again, to which the group nodded to each other for a moment, as they knew what they were going to do next, "I need your help, and the help of the sisters, to get past them."
"Sure. We're on our way." Cole replied, though before they started moving there was on other thing on his mind that he wanted to say before the call was over, and the sisters didn't appear to be in a hurry to leave since they knew that he liked these calls, "And maybe, when you have a moment after helping all the sick and injured people out, we can have that talk you mentioned earlier."
"We'll see Cole." Trish stated, though her tone revealed that she wanted to have that talk, as the anger from her to him seemed to be wearing thin on her, before she hung up and got to packing the rest of her gear onto the bus, allowing them to move once more.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata smiled as they followed Cole back towards the bridge that connected the Neon District to the Warren, because the opportunity to talk with Trish, and set the record straight at long last, had made him very happy and had put a smile on his face... and right now, in face of what they had done and what they had seen, they knew that he deserved to be happy before they continued on their quest to find the Ray Sphere.
The moment Cole heard that Trish needed their help, because the Reapers were apparently harassing her and whoever else was on the bus that she was using to get to the hospital, the four of them got moving and made their way back towards the Neon District. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata all wondered how many more Reapers there could be, since they had smashed Sasha's operation and had freed quite the number of innocent people she was trying to corrupt, but all they could guess was that she had small groups hidden throughout the Neon District, which would dissipate in time, since their leader was no longer in command of the area. Sure, he could have easily taken the train rails and used his Induction Grind ability to race over to the bridge as the sisters flew after him, but for the next few minutes he decided that they might as well get some exercise and started to climb one of the buildings, as he intended to climb his way up to the roof and then jump to the next one until he was forced to use the power lines to get to his destination. The sisters, of course, decided to follow after him, as they had taken to doing this rather easily since he showed it to them, but he knew that there was more for them to learn and he was eager to show them.
As they reached the top of the first building, however, the mood was spoiled when Cole's phone went off again, though this time around whoever was calling them didn't seem like the type that wanted to wait, because before Cole could even raise his hand the call sound was cut off and whoever was calling started to speak.
"I've been keeping an eye on you and those girls, Cole." Kessler said, causing the four of them to pause and look around, searching for any signs of the leader of the First Sons, because he could either be in the Neon District, the Warren, or even the Historic District at that very moment, "Watching the four of you parade around while a bunch of peacocks, showing off every chance you get. Pathetic."
"That's real tough talk coming from a guy who tortures people." Cole growled, as he couldn't forget the last time Kessler decided to call them, where he and the sisters had heard the sounds of Sasha in the background, sounding like she had been tortured since they had last seen her.
"You still don't get it, do you?" Kessler inquired, his anger filling his voice for a moment, as if he expected Cole to have some sort of life changing discovery since the last time the two of them conversed, but at the moment they had been busy and really didn't have the time for such thoughts, "You don't get any second chances. Every time you fail, someone's world ends... ends in the worst way imaginable. I learned that the hard way... and by god, you and the girls are going to learn it as well, one way or another."
"Tell you what," Adagio said, where she stepped forward and stared at Cole's phone for a moment, silently hoping that Kessler could feel her gaze through it while she spoke, "why don't you crawl out of whatever hole you happen to be hiding in and meet us somewhere. Then we can settle this once and for all."
"All in good time, my dear Adagio." Kessler replied, to which Adagio took a step back for a moment and stared at the phone, as she was shocked that the evil man even knew her name, which meant that he must know Aria and Sonata's names as well, "All in good time."
A few seconds later the call was disconnected, indicating that Kessler had said his piece and was gone, though at the same time none of them felt like moving yet, as there was something that their true target had said that made them all pause for the moment.
"He knew your name." Aria said, though she couldn't believe it, because the only people that actually knew their names were Trish, Cole, Zeke, a handful of people that they had helped, and Moya, which didn't explain how Kessler had discovered her name, "How did he figure out your name?"
"Maybe it was back when we first encountered him?" Sonata offered, because based on what she knew, from what they had seen and what they had heard from the various recordings that John had left behind, that was the only thing that could have worked, "I mean, when he was touching Cole's head, and we grabbed onto him, he showed us what was to come by a terrible vision of the future, almost like he was pushing what was in his mind into all of our minds. Maybe when he did that, and was starting to pull back, he took the opportunity to partly read a little of our minds as well, just enough to gain the knowledge of our names."
"Considering that we know next to nothing about Kessler and his abilities, that might not be a bad guess." Cole said, though at the same time he sighed, because while he wanted to take Kessler out now, and stop his plans from coming to life, they had no idea where he was located and he appeared to be dong nothing more than taunting them, to which he turned to continue on their way, "Let's get to the Neon District and give Trish the help she needs... and then maybe we can have a few moments to relax from this stressful day."
The sisters nodded and started to follow Cole over to the edge of the building, so they could figure out the path they were going to take to get back to the Neon District, but as they did so Cole's phone went off again, though this time around it was Zeke, of all people.
"Hey, brother." Zeke said, his earlier anger and frustration gone from his voice, indicating that he had taken the last few minutes to cool down and think about what he had said and what the group had done for him, especially saving his life from the Dust Men, "Sorry I was such a prick back at the shipyards. Really screwed the pooch on that one."
"Zeke, I know you mean well, but the world is changing." Cole replied, deciding that now wasn't the best time for his anger towards Kessler to rise to the surface, as Zeke didn't deserve to have that directed at him, while at the same time hoping that his friend stayed safe, "The truth is that if you make a mistake now, like what happened with the Dust Men earlier, then you're as good as dead... unless whoever you encountered you decided to use you as bait for a trap, just like the Dust Men did."
"Hell, I know that now." Zeke stated, to which the sisters stood around and looked out for enemies, because with Zeke there was no telling if he was going to be quick about his call or if he was going to take a while, telling them about things they didn't need to know while reminding Cole of the past, "But you know how it's been for me, no family, broke all the damn time. When this quarantine went up, I thought it'd give me a fresh start. Let me really be something."
"We understand Zeke, but we need to be careful." Aria said, as while she and her sisters didn't honestly know what sort of past Zeke was talking about, not without him telling them everything, they did know the desire to change their lives for the better, which had been Sonata's reasoning for heading through the mirror, "All of us need to be careful."
Zeke didn't say anything as the call disconnected, allowing Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata to continue on their way through the Warren, jumping over the roofs and crossing the canals in the process, before finally reaching the bridge and crossed over to the Neon District. From there it was a simple matter to follow the rail over to the coordinates that Trish's phone indicated that she was at, mostly because there weren't any Reapers out and about for them to take out, which let them cool down for a moment. Sure enough it wasn't hard for them to locate Trish and her gear, though when they reached the area that she was in they discovered that she was standing near what appeared to be an armored bus with some sort of stand on the top, one that appeared to have electricity arcing over the top of it. The armor itself seemed to be there for protection against the Reapers, and maybe the Dust Men if they were unlucky, though at the same time the four of them approached the bus and wondered what they were going to do next... and they were interested in what Trish had to say before they moved forward.
"Trish!" Cole said, causing Trish to stop what she was doing, which appeared to have been her checking her gear before it was put on the bus, before she turned around and faced them, where she seemed happy to see the sisters and slightly happy to see Cole as well.
"Guys, I'm glad you were able to get here so quickly." Trish replied, though that was when she zipped up the bag and gave them her full attention, but at the same time they could all tell that she was worried about all of the people that were sick and injured at the moment, "The remaining Reapers attacked me on my last trip to the hospital... they must think that I'm in league with the Dust Men or something. There's no way I'll make it back there on my own this time around."
"Don't worry, we'll take care of them." Adagio promised, because she was itching to get rid of the rest of the Reapers, to make the Neon District an even safer place for the people that still lived here, even though she wished they had disbanded after Sasha's defeat.
"I had Roger rig up the roof of the bus with metal mesh, and a generator to keep it electrified." Trish said, explaining the reason why the roof had electricity on top of it, though at the same time the sisters knew who she had done that for and why, "Cole, it should provide you with a non-stop source of energy. Adagio, I'm afraid that we couldn't do the same for you and your sisters. Wind, water, and fire aren't as easy to manipulate as electricity is."
"Wow, that's really smart." Cole said, in the sense that he had never once considered taking a vehicle and setting up this sort of contraption, though at the same time it was just the thing he needed to make sure the Reapers didn't take out the bus, even though the sisters were going to be a big help as well.
"They don't let dumb-asses into med school, Cole." Trish growled, annoyance flashing over her face for a moment, as she couldn't believe that he had said something like that, before she shook her head and turned towards the bus, "Once you and the sisters are ready to go, with you on top of the bus, we'll get going. If you need to stop for something, please let me know so I can stop the bus and wait for you."
"Trish, can I have a quick word with you?" Sonata asked, surprising the group for a moment, as none of them were actually expecting her to say anything at the moment, but Trish simply nodded her head, letting Cole inspect the roof of the bus for a few moments with Adagio and Aria, while the two of them remained where they were standing, "Why are you acting like everything in the world is Cole's fault? And why, for that matter, are you so set on turning a simple comment into an insult that's designed to hurt him more than he already is?"
"All the evidence points to him causing the Blast," Trish replied, to which she stared at Sonata's face for a few seconds, though the look on her face told Sonata that she was going to be incredibly stubborn, "I know that he's been working hard to repair the damage he's done, with you and your sisters helping him out, but that doesn't change what happened."
"And you would be wrong to assume that Cole willingly had anything to do with the Blast." Sonata stated, as she remembered what happened that day, as it was when she, Adagio, and Aria had stepped through the portal and appeared in this world, which had been mere minutes before the Blast occurred, "Trish, we saw Cole the day the Blast happened, when that picture the Voice of Survival had shown had been taken, and the look on his face, when he saw the Ray Sphere inside the package, was one of surprise. He had no idea that the package contained something as dangerous as it did, nor did he realize what would happen when it went off, so it's unfair that you, not to mention a large number of people in this city, blame him for something that wasn't his fault... at least the civilians we help are at least willing to look beyond what happened that day and see that Cole is doing his best to help them out, and many of them lost family that day as well."
Trish stared at her for a few seconds, apparently thinking about something, before she shook her head, like she was annoyed about something, before she returned to her pack, zipped it up, and climbed into the bus without saying a word to anyone else. Sonata sighed, as she was hoping that Trish would have at least considered what she had said, but right now she guessed that her mind was more focused on getting to the hospital and nothing else, to which she floated into the air and let her sisters join her. Once the three of them were in the air around the bus, and were keeping their eyes open for Reapers, Cole climbed up on top of the bus and let one of them tell Trish that they were ready to go, which was followed by the bus starting to move as Trish began to head down the street they were on. Sure enough not a few moments later the four of them noticed that some Reapers were already coming out of the alleys they had been hiding in and were starting their assault on the bus... so while Cole focused on taking out the RPG wielding Reapers, as those posed the most danger to the bus, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata blasted the other Reapers that were in the area around the bus.
For a while it seemed like there weren't a lot of enemies in their way, which made sense considering that they had taken Sasha out, but as Trish turned the bus to the left the sisters noticed a turret truck moving into position ahead of them, so they flew forward and blasted the entire thing to pieces, reducing it to a broken truck. Once the turret was taken out they combined their Shockwave type attacks and pushed it out of the way, allowing Trish to continue on her way as Cole fired at several more Reapers that were charging at them, knocking them out so they didn't do any damage to the bus and it's cargo. Trish continued driving forward, not caring about the Reapers that the group was taking out, while she focused on making her way over to the bridge, though that didn't stop her from occasionally glancing around and watch as Cole or one of the sisters took out something or someone that would have damaged the bus. When she neared the bridge, however, she spotted something that was actually going to improve their chances of getting to their destination without attracting too much attention... and that was because a fair amount of Reapers were currently engaged with a larger group of Dust Men on the bridge, almost as if they were declaring war on each other and were fighting it out.
"Guys, the Reapers have stopped attacking us!" Trish said, though at the same time she turned the bus into the war zone, because it was the only way for her to get across to the Warren, since she didn't have powers like they did, but she was still happy to see the two gangs trying to take the other out.
"Let's let them fight the Dust Men," Cole replied, allowing his statement to broadcast to Trish, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata, that way the sisters would know not to attack the Dust Men or the Reapers, before turning his attention back to the bus and it's driver, "Trish, just keep moving and we'll do the rest."
It was hard for the four of them to not lash out at both the Reapers and the Dust Men that were on the bridge, even more so since Adagio could simply wash all of them away in an instant if she seized control of the water around them, but fortunately neither side was interested in the bus, allowing them to pass through the battlefield and slip into the Warren at last. As they started to head down the streets of the Warren, and started to fire at the Dust Men that were patrolling the streets and wanted them dead, Moya decided that now was the perfect opportunity to tell the group that she had a picture of the person that might be leading the Dust Men, but she needed to run it through the NGI to get a name, but the four of them kind of ignored the statement as they protected both the bus and Trish at the same time. One thing the group immediately noticed was that the Dust Men were definitely smarter than the Reapers, as they set up a car road block on the road that Trish had picked, preventing her from moving until it was taken out, though fortunately the combined power of all of their Shockwaves at once eliminated the blockade entirely. Just beyond the blockade was the turn that Trish needed to take to reach the hospital, which had more dead cars blocking the way and Dust Men waiting for them in the alleyways, but Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were ready for them.
Despite the fact that it took them a few moments to clear out the enemies, and the cars to form a straight path, the four of them were able to open the way for Trish to move forward... though as she came to a stop in front of the hospital, however, an elderly man appeared on top of the entrance sign with a RPG wielding Dust Man standing next to him. At the same time Moya decided to speak again and revealed that the leader of the Dust Men was none other than Alden Tate, son of Richard Tate, and had been next in line to inherit the position as the leader of the First Sons, before Kessler came and stole that future from him. While that was happening the sisters barely had a second to react before the RPG wielding Dust Man loosed a rocket and blasted Cole off the roof, though as they landed beside him they found that, despite some scorch marks, he was just fine. Not even a few seconds later the elderly bald man, who happened to be using a cane to help him walk, stared down at the bus and suddenly lifted it into the air, confirming the fact that Moya informed them that Alden was an incredibly powerful mentalist, before raising his hand and threw the bus into the air, where it landed on it's side at the top of the hospital's roof. Cole and the sisters were shocked, because while they were powerful it required some intense concentration to do anything like that, though as they turned their attention back to Alden they found that, while they were focused on the bus, he had taken the opportunity to slip away... but the message he left behind was clear to them, he was telling them not to interfere with whatever he was planning.
Fortunately it appeared that the majority of the Dust Men were preoccupied with the war with the Reapers, as there weren't any around the hospital at the moment, so Adagio flew over to Cole and grabbed onto him, hauling him into the air as she, Aria, and Sonata headed for the bus... though when they landed she dropped Cole off and helped her sisters make sure that the bus wasn't in danger of falling off the edge, which gave Cole more than enough time to pull Trish out of the bus and get her on solid ground.
"Trish, are you alright?" Cole asked, though he had to assume that the answer was no, because he couldn't imagine someone being forced to go through that experience without coming out of it terrified for their lives, and based on the fact that Trish was shaking he had to assume that he was right.
"Cole... when he threw the bus up here, only one thought crossed my mind," Trish replied, to which she took a few seconds to calm herself down, allowing Cole a brief moment to see that the sisters had pushed the bus into a position that would allow it to remain up here, before turning back towards Trish, "and that thought was focused on you, and how things stood between us."
"I'm sorry that you had to go through that," Cole said, though that was when he wrapped his arms around her, to make sure that she knew that he would always be there for her, even after everything that had happened since the Blast changed the reality of their world, "I'd never let anything happen to you Trish."
"I... I'm sorry that I keep blaming you for Amy's death." Trish said, though that was when she embraced him again, to which a smile appeared on the sisters' faces when they saw that happen, because this was what Cole had been working for ever since their relationship had been shattered, "Sonata was right, I shouldn't be blaming you for what's happened to Empire City and be mad at you all the time... I just want things to be how they were before the Blast happened. I want us to be together again."
"I want that as well." Cole replied, to which Adagio, Aria, and Sonata watched as the two of them actually kissed for a moment, apparently sparking their relationship back into existence, even if it was still weakened from Amy's death, before Cole broke it, "But, before we have that talk, we need to get you and your supplies into the hospital... there's a lot of sick and injured people that need you help."
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata smiled as Cole and Trish headed into the hospital, using the roof entrance that was nearby, leaving the three of them to take the supplies down into the building for them, but the three of them were more than willing to help them out, because seeing the duo happy again, with each other, put them in a good mood... and besides, the duo had walked into the building while embracing each other, which was a good sign that they wanted to keep strong in the days to come.
As it turned out, after getting the supplies into the room that Trish wanted them put in, there weren't too many sick or injured people in the Warren, most likely because a lot of them were still scared of the Dust Men, informing the group that they needed to clear out the area more to make the civilians feel safe again. Still, since there were a few patients for her to take care of, Trish made sure to see if she could help all of them and did the best she could to assist them, even though one came in terribly injured and Cole's healing touch was what was required, which made both Trish and the patient happy. Since they had next to no experience in this field Adagio, Aria, and Sonata made sure that they were out of the way, going over the information that Moya had sent them on Alden, what she could find anyway, and knew that they were going to have to get Cole up to speed before they left the hospital. Zeke, who had apparently been sulking around the Warren, came by when he noticed that Cole's phone was in the same building that Trish's was in, though he was happy to see that the two of them were together again... even if it would take some time for them to rebuild their relationship and return things to how they had been before the Blast.
When all of the patients had been taken care of, for the moment anyway, Trish and Cole moved to a private area of the hospital and had that conversation that Trish wanted to have, though since it was private the sisters made sure that Zeke was far away from it, as he didn't need to hear what was going on... but, after some time went by, they pulled him into the same room that the duo had been talking in. The reason behind this was that Adagio just happened to have enough of what they were doing, of lying about who they were and where they came from, and since everyone was in a chatty mood she figured that now would be the only time all of them had to talk without being interrupted... and, to be sure that Moya didn't hear anything, the six of them left their phones in another room, to be on the safe side.
"You know, of all the people that would call an 'emergency' meeting, I should have guessed you'd do it first," Zeke said, though as he spoke he sat down in a nearby chair, as Cole and Trish were taking the couch that the previous nurses and doctors had placed inside the lounge area that they were sitting in, though the sisters were also sitting in normal chairs like he was, "So Adagio, what's so important that the three of you couldn't wait until another day?"
"There's something that, well, we'd like to confess." Adagio replied, to which she rubbed the back of her head for a moment, as she honestly wasn't sure what was going to happen when she told the trio that their Earth wasn't the only Earth in existence, or that they was another sentient race out there that could rival humanity, "The three of us aren't from this world and we certainly aren't humans that had been modified by the Blast, like Cole was, even though it may have helped us awaken new powers in the end."
"The three of you... aren't from this world?" Cole repeated, clearly not seeing the point of that statement, but since he had spent the most time with the three sisters he knew that there was some truth to their statement, even if he found that such a thing was hard to believe.
"What she means is that there's another Earth out there, where we came from," Sonata said, though at the same time she thought about something important, which was going to freak Zeke out when he heard the news, especially when she considered what they had heard when they first met him, "and that Earth, in reality, is an alternate reality of sorts that had a mirror image of everyone from the planet we were born on. One of the native species on our home planet, one of the sentient ones, were the three pony tribes, Earth Ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi, who were ruled by Princesses Celestia and Luna, who controlled the sun and the moon... or at least they started doing so a thousand years ago. It's been a long time since we've had a chance to see our home world, so long that I'm pretty sure we'd get lost trying to figure out the new layout of the land and the various kingdoms."
"The three of you... were ponies?!" Trish exclaimed, though while part of her found that such a thing sounded ridiculous, which had to be the part that went to med school, she at least looked at their hooves, tails, and ears for a few seconds, before her eyes widened as she seemed to understand what was going on.
"Well, we weren't born as ponies and twisted into these forms when we came here," Aria stated, as it was hard to forget what they had been before they were banished to the magicless version of Earth they had been sent to, before Sunset Shimmer came along, "Once upon a time we were evil Sirens, using our powerful magic to cause disharmony among the ponies and the other native species of Equus, until a powerful sorcerer called Starswirl the Bearded banished us to the other Earth that Sonata mentioned. That version of Earth had no magic for us to live off us and slowly our powers began to decrease, though during our stay on that world we took a more human appearance, which is basically what you three are seeing at the moment, minus the hooves, tails, and ears. After a thousand years we were starting to lose hope of ever getting back to a world with magic, before someone brought equestrian magic to the alternate version of Equus and gave us a chance to return to our former glory..."
"Did you take the chance?" Cole asked, because while this was interesting, including the fact that they had actually been evil at one point in time, revealing why Adagio had been so resistant to change, he knew that the three of them had changed for the better.
"We did... and it cost us greatly." Adagio replied, to which all three of them moved their hands to their necks, where their gemstones had once rested, before she sighed and continued speaking, "The source of our powers shattered into tiny fragments and we not only lost the ability to sing, but also the immortality that had kept us alive for the last thousand years. Fortunately the human Elements of Harmony, led by Princess Twilight herself, did us a kindness by allowing us to live our the rest of our new mortal lives, instead of reducing us to ash, and we fled for a time, to come to terms with our new lives and what we had to do to survive. Two weeks ago, almost three at this point, we came to the conclusion to try and use the portal between worlds to head home, to try and make a new life in a world that didn't hate us, just like Sunset Shimmer did a month before we did... only the portal didn't work as intended, as we were brought here, to this world, mere moments before the Blast changed the reality that you all faced."
"And Sunset?" Trish inquired, because from the sounds of it she guessed that the person in question was another pony that had either been banished to the world they had been sent to or had gone there willingly, only to want to return home after some time, "What happened to her?"
"No idea." Aria replied, to which she glanced at the trio for a moment, finding that two of them were interested in what they were saying, while Zeke's brain seemed to have shut down or something, "All we're sure of is that she was either sent off to a whole new world, like we were, or she went home, to the continent of Equestria, and never bothered to write back to the friends she left behind. Part of the reason we even went through the mirror was to find her so we could tell her human friends what happened to her, as we figured that we'd go to the same planet she went to, but, as usual, we were wrong with our guess."
"Wait a second... where have I heard the name 'Equestria' before?" Trish commented, though as she thought about it she seemed to remember what Zeke had been talking about when he first met the sisters, and more importantly the show that he had been talking about, "That means that the world of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic is real!"
That was followed by the sound of Zeke falling out of the chair he was sitting in and hit the floor a little hard, though as Trish ran over to help him they all found that he was mumbling something about the world the show revolved around being real, him not being able to comprehend that it was actually real, and that he felt that he was going crazy. Cole, on the other hand, was shocked to find that what little information he had on the show, as he didn't watch it and had only half listened to Trish when she mentioned it, matched up with the names the sisters had said, meaning that it was highly likely that they were telling the truth, as he didn't see anything on their faces that would tell him they were lying. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata smiled for a moment as they helped Trish deal with Zeke, since it was their fault this had happened to him in the first place, but they were also happy that no one thought they were lying... not counting Zeke's complete shock at finding that a world from a television show was real, leading him to question reality now.
They were sure that he was thinking about the world from his favorite show, Dragon Ball Z, and was likely curious if it was real as well, but the sisters had to imagine that it was a real world, out there across the various stars that inhabited the vast universe they were in... but for now they focused on helping him, and then getting some well deserved sleep so they could begin to retake the rest of the Warren from the Dust Men and their leader, Alden Tate.
Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata used some of the unused beds to get some rest after their talk with Trish, in Cole's case, or confessing the truth to the others, as the sisters had done, but they made sure to help Trish carry Zeke to one of those beds before doing so. While they slept, and got their energy back so they could help the people of the Warren out by dealing with the Dust Men that controlled the district, Trish spent her time either getting some well-deserved sleep of her own or took some time to check on the patients she had helped after arriving at the hospital. She was putting the supplies she had been given, after the group secured it from the Reapers when the government sent the supply plane over the Neon District, to good use and made sure that the people were treated to the best of her limited ability. Sure, Trish wished that the Blast had never happened and that live had a sense of normalcy, but she guessed that this was going to be her normal life from now on and that she would have to get used to it... once she got used to the fact that the sisters were actually from a different world, had been banished to another one, lost their original powers, and had come here for a variety of reasons.
Fortunately nothing happened during the night, nothing that would require Cole and the sisters to get up and take care of it, which allowed them to recover from their ordeals and restore their energy, though when morning arrived they spent some time with Trish, making sure that she was just fine, before they headed outside to start the eighteenth day... one that seemed to be off to a not so good start, since the clouds were covering the sun and made it darker out.
"I've been tracking a few new developments while you were busy, Cole." Moya commented, the call coming in the moment the four of them stepped outside the hospital, though Adagio, Aria, and Sonata could tell that she was slightly annoyed with them for ignoring her earlier, "There are rumors that a large-scale conflict might erupt between the cops stationed in the Warren and the Dust Men that control it. I need the four of you to look into the rumors."
"Sounds easy enough." Adagio said, though at the same time she stretched her arms, because despite getting a good nights sleep she really hated sleeping on hospital beds, and she was sure that her sisters agreed with her, before she noticed that Cole was now staring at the hospital, "Something wrong Cole?"
"No... I'm just happy that Trish and I are finally putting the Blast behind us," Cole replied, to which he smiled as he finally turned away from the hospital and looked at his friends, because now that he knew their past, and had gotten over the fact that they had actually been evil at one point in time, he was glad that they were here, fighting for the civilians of Empire City, "Come on, if the cops are thinking about engaging the Dust Men, like Moya said they were thinking, they might also be planning on trying to arrest Alden at the same time, which means that they'll need the help of some powered up beings to even the odds."
"I'm pretty sure the four of us are the only ones that can take Alden down anyway," Aria said, though she smiled as the four of them started climbing the nearby building and headed for the roof, as one of the objective markers on their maps was near the prison, which had to be where the cops were thinking of trying to find and capture Alden.
As the four of them made their way over to where the coordinates for arresting Alden were located, or at least the ones they assumed were for bringing the man into custody, they found that, while there were a few Dust Men out and about at the moment, they were still attacked by the enemies in the area. Cole determined that, once their leader was locked up, the four of them would spend some time cleaning the streets and making sure that it was known that the Warren was no longer under their control. At the same time either Adagio, Aria, or Sonata, or all three of them, would tackle the Dust Men that were near them and open the way for them to move forward, giving Cole time to think about what they were doing and what he had talked about earlier, since he and Trish had settled things at long last. The sisters were happy for him, because part of the reason for him going out and risking his life all the time, besides it being the right thing to do since he had powers, was so that Trish would talk to him again and not treat him like he was the cause of all the wrong in the world... and after her bus had been thrown into the air by Alden yesterday, well, she had the change of heart that the sisters had been hoping for, because now she was willing to talk with Cole again.
Just thinking about the fact that Cole was able to have a second chance with Trish, after everything that happened to them since the Blast, made the sisters wonder if it was possible for them to have a second chance as well, but more along the lines of heading home, to Equus. Starswirl banished them when they were Sirens, but those powers had been damaged beyond repair with the destruction of their gemstones, making all three of them wonder if it was possible for them to even head home, since they weren't evil anymore. Knowing them their luck would be that they did all these good deeds and save all these people, only to be denied access to their home world, but at the same time Adagio found that the three of them were more interested in the here and now, instead of the far future. When they shook their heads, and caught up with Cole again, they said nothing about the fact that they were thinking about their home world and how they might be able to head home... but right now they had two insane group members to take care of and a Ray Sphere to acquire before another Blast happened and made life miserable for those that were in the area of it's activation.
Once they caught up with Cole the four of them made their way to the roof of the building that the coordinates were bringing them to, though since it was near the prison they found that the Dust Men that would normally be in the area weren't present at the moment... which only made them wonder what their foes could be doing as they came to a stop at the exact coordinates that Moya had sent them a few minutes ago, where Cole tapped his phone and let Moya know that they were in position for the mission.
"Cole, the remnants of the 43rd precinct have an offensive against the Dust Men." Moya informed them, confirming what she had told them earlier, though at the same time the four of them didn't think that the cops would be able to handle what was coming their way, "My source says that they're going to try and arrest Alden."
"Well, that would be good news for everyone in the Warren," Cole commented, remembering what Alden had done the moment he and the sisters had seen him, because it was hard to forget hearing Trish's screams as the bus had been thrown to the top of the hospital, "that psycho deserves to be behind bars."
"It appears that the battle has already started, so you had better get moving." Moya said, revealing that the cops were moving faster than what the group thought they would, but at the same time it was unknown as to whether or not this was a good thing or a bad thing in the long run, "Your top priority is ensuring that Alden is captured. Once he's in custody, I'll send in an extraction team."
The group glanced at each other as the call was disconnected, as they had their marching orders so to speak, before jumping down to the street below them and walked over the bridge that was over the canal, where they kept their eyes open for anything that might resemble a battle or something. What they ended up finding, however, was the body of a slain cop that looked fairly recent, to which Cole knelt behind the body, placed his right hand over the cop's head, and focused his mind as he pulled up the last moments of the man's life, so he could see what had happened. A few seconds later he opened his eyes and pulled himself up so he wasn't kneeling anymore, though the look in his eyes told the sisters that he had some good news and that he had some bad news to share with them.
"This guy spotted Alden not too long ago and tried to arrest him," Cole said, though as he spoke he spotted the echo of Alden walking passed where the cop had been standing, heading towards a place only it knew about and would soon reveal to the four of them, "Alden, of course, picked up a car with his mind and killed this unfortunate cop before he even had a chance to fire a single bullet or defend himself."
"How horrible." Sonata said, as she didn't like the sound of someone being crushed by a car, because this guy likely had friends and some family that were going to wonder what happened to him when he failed to come home, only to mourn his death when the other cops came to tell them the news.
"Yeah, it is." Cole replied, to which he raised his hand and tapped his phone once more, connecting them to Moya for a few seconds, as she needed to know that there was the possibility that the cops were only fighting the Dust Men and that Alden was somewhere else, "Hey Moya, we've got a bead on Alden and we're heading after him."
"Don't let him escape." Moya stated, her tone revealing that she was talking to all of them, which made sense considering that she was now constantly speaking to Cole while adding the others in afterwords, "This might be the only chance we have to capture him."
Cole said nothing as he disconnected the call, as they didn't need to be told that this might be the only chance they had to take Alden out, before he walked forward and the sisters followed after him, because since he was the only one that could see the echoes that made him the leader, even though he knew that Adagio had to hate that since she was the one leading her sisters all the time. While they walked he decided to ask her why she was constantly defaulting to him to provide them with guidance, where he discovered that it was her plans that had cost them so much and that she clearly wasn't the best person to guide a group, which was why she was following him instead of trying to seize control of the entire group. He knew the layout of the three districts of Empire City, knew where the vast majority of all the important locations were, and his plans didn't suck or cost them everything, which she was more than willing to get behind, though he could tell that she was actually trying to learn from his example and see what he was doing right... so she could be a better leader for her sisters, if they wanted her to lead them again at some point in the future.
His thoughts were interrupted as they came upon a strange scene they hadn't seen before, several people were gathered around someone that was hanging from a light pole, upside down as they quickly discovered, and the people were saying that the man had stolen their food while the man was declaring that he was innocent. Cole immediately knew what was going on here, and judging from the looks on Adagio, Aria, and Sonata's faces they understood it as well, the Dust Men stole the food and this poor guy was likely left in the position he was in to take the fall for the missing food. Of course Alden would want the people of the Warren to be starved and helpless, because that meant that some might actually flock to him and join his army, for food and other items, or get out of his way and be loyal subjects as he declared war on those that wronged him. A few seconds later, however, he was beat to the punch as Aria set the rope on fire and let the guy fall toward the ground, though Sonata caught him with the wind and gently set him down on the ground, where the people stared at them for a few seconds and realized that, if they were saving the man from them, then they must have been tricked into believing that he had stolen the food... where they quickly helped the man onto his feet, offered some light apologizes to him, and then dispersed so the group could continue on their way.
Of course the four of them continued after the echo, though as they did so Cole stopped outside the area that the echo had gone into, as the place that had been here before the Blast had been transformed into a trash inspired fortress of some kind, which seemed to fit the image the Dust Men were going for.
"What the hell?" Cole asked, as he was honestly shocked to see such a transformation in the large pack that had been apart of the Warren for a long time, especially since Trish had mentioned this place to him, which she had learned of it's existence from one of the people she had helped, "I knew that the Dust Men had turned this park into what they call Tent City, but I honestly never expected them to make the entire place into such a massive complex."
"I'm still surprised that they managed to build all of this, and their massive tower, in the two weeks since the quarantine went into effect," Adagio replied, though hearing that this had been a park at one point in time, before Alden came to power, just upset her even more than she already was, to which she sighed and looked at the path in front of them, "I think I see a path where the echo might have gone, but you'll have to show us where it went... while we fight off the Dust Men that clearly don't want us here at all."
Sure enough the moment Cole led them into Tent City the Dust Men started firing at them, causing the four of them to separate from each other as they tackled the enemies that where in the immediate area, which was followed by Cole blasting some of them into the walls around them, Sonata pushed them around with the wind that was around them, Aria took some joy in using the flames around them to grenade their enemies, and Adagio cooled some of them down by freezing them in solid blocks of ice. Once the enemies were taken care of the four of them regrouped at the place where they separated and followed Cole as he tracked the echo once more, though at the same time he let the sisters take point and blast any enemies that were in front of them, just so he could focus on the task at hand. Of course the Dust Men also tried throwing grenades at them, which set fire to something in the process, but Aria simply brought the flames over to her, putting the path back to the way it had been moments ago, and hurled some fireballs at the enemies that had tossed the grenades at them, blowing them back and knocking them out in the process. Cole had to chuckle at that, because the Dust Men had seen what Aria was capable of and still they brought flames to the battle, which was giving her ammunition to use against them... and there was no way to limit Adagio and Sonata, since they controlled the water and wind that was around them at will.
Cole found that he was curious, for a small moment anyway, what this adventure would be like if the former Sirens were using their old powers, before their gemstones shattered and they lost who they used to be, but then he decided that he didn't want to know and continued following the echo through Tent City.
When they reached a point where a turret was firing at their position, only to be joined by another one some distance away, Cole gathered his power and used his Precision Shot to strike both of his targets in their heads, knocking them backwards and put the turrets out of commission for the moment. While he did that the sisters found some Dust Men standing on the opposite side of the divider that was in front of them and smiled, as their attacks were more than enough to push their targets backwards and knock them out, opening the way for them to move forward. When they noticed that there was a large water source nearby, which had to be the heart of the former park and Tent City, Adagio smiled as she extended her right hand towards the water and started to use her power to manipulate it, just like she did with the water in the canal. What happened next was that a stream of water, roughly the same width of a person, shot out of the pond and started to wrap around itself, though that was when it transformed into a watery serpent that almost looked like a dragon of some kind... causing the Dust Men that were watching this to pause as they considered what she was doing and what else she might be able to do.
Adagio waved her hand and the watery dragon roared as it started to fly through the air, though as it did so it solidified into an ice dragon that barreled into the turret one of the Dust Men was heading towards and froze the entire structure in ice, before flying out of the ice and struck several of their enemies, encasing them in the ice as well... though once she had enough of their enemies frozen the dragon coiled around her and roared once, before breaking down into pure water and returned to where it came from, leaving their frozen enemies where they were imprisoned.
"Now that was impressive." Aria said, as she had no idea that Adagio could do something like that, because it certainly wasn't one of the skills she had practiced alongside her and Sonata when someone went into the sewers with Cole to restore power to a part of the city, "Where did you learn how to do that?"
"I don't know." Adagio admitted, because while Zeke had been their source of information for powers related to that Dragon Ball Z show that he liked so much, and he usually had something interesting to share, he never told them about something like this, meaning it was likely her own power speaking to her, "Though it certainly turned the tide in our favor, that's for sure."
"Kessler had better watch out, because we're all improving as time goes on," Sonata commented, knowing that their true enemy was likely watching their progress and was making notes of what they were able to do as they continued to fight the enemies that were thrown against them, "and soon we'll be ready to take him out as well, to stop that terrible future from coming true."
Cole nodded and picked up the trail of the echo once more, though as he moved forward he noticed that, while the sisters were still following him, Adagio chose not to blast the Dust Men, likely to let her sisters have some fun in punishing their enemies since her new attack had done so much damage on it's own. After a few moments of debate he decided that it was best if Aria and Sonata took care of the remaining enemies, even if there were only a few of them left, allowing him to focus on the echo... and the fact that Alden really transformed the park into such a terrible place.
"I still can't believe that they made a shanty town of sorts in this area," Cole commented, just as he climbed a pipe to get further up and moved out of the way so the others could follow him, where Aria and Sonata blasted the Dust Men that were on the other side of the pond, taking them out in the process, "though we're fortunate that they left a clear path through the area, because without it we'd have to resort to one of you flying around to guide us."
"It appears that Alden has been gathering all the scrap metal, junk, and anything else he could get his hands on before the quarantine went into effect." Moya spoke up, ruining what was supposed to be a conversation between Cole and the sisters, though that only made them continue in silence as they reached the part where Adagio's ice dragon froze the Dust Men in solid blocks of ice, "I guess is that he used it all to make that ridiculous tower of his."
"You know, that does raise a question that I'm sure we'll all dying to know the answer to," Aria said, though as they walked she gathered the flames from a nearby trash can and put the fire out, giving her something to hold onto in case there were any other enemies ahead of them, "Why the hell is he building the tower?"
"Honestly, I have no idea." Moya replied, which was her echoing the groups thoughts as well, because none of them knew why Alden had built the tower or what he intended to use it for, "As far as I can tell, there aren't any combustibles in it, so it's not an explosive device... maybe he's overcompensating for something."
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata resisted the urge to moan at that statement, because they knew what it meant from having heard a number of men over the years say the same thing, or even ladies at times, and instead they focused on climbing the end of the path that Cole had brought them to. When they reached the top of the pipe they found a few more Dust Men guarding what appeared to be a control station for a crane, one that appeared to be offline, and they quickly dealt with the enemies that were in front of them, before Cole said that Alden's echo was in the ground area below them. It was in that moment that a helicopter flew over the area they were in and said something about having found Alden, which meant they were on the right track and jumped down into the area below them. Cole then followed the echo to what appeared to be part of the park, with fake marble pillars around the area, before noticing the pile of junk that was blocking the path... only for the junk to pick itself up and reveal that it wasn't a pile of junk, rather it was a person surrounded by junk, forming a golem of some kind, before some of the scrap metal shifted and formed a protective casing around the person that was controlling it.
"Holy crap!" Cole said, taking in the fact that the metallic golem was shaped like a human, with two arms and two legs, but had the same yellow glow that the metallic crabs had, though as the four of them separated the creature seemed to be focused on him, which meant he was going to be on the defensive for a while.
As the battle began the golem started by firing small bits of metal out of it's right hand and even loosed a metallic boulder of sorts from it's right shoulder, causing Cole to dodge while Adagio, Aria, and Sonata started to fire at the golem in return. As it turned out the creature could do the same thing with it's left side of the body, meaning that they had to be careful about what they did at any given moment, but fortunately the sisters found a weakness when their combined attacks shattered the joint between the golem's left arm and his it's body, causing the arm to break apart and become a pile of scrap by the time it hit the ground. What the group discovered was that the moment the arm was gone the golem knelt for a moment and the scrap protecting the conduit was pulled back, revealing the man that was controlling the creature, to which Cole fired a few bolts at him and weakened the construct, if the change in the yellow to an orange color was anything to go by, before the golem sealed the breach and continued to attack them with only a single arm. When the battle resumed, however, the sisters tackled the second arm and soon it exploded was well, permanently crippling the golem in the process, allowing Cole to take the final shots at the construct and take it out... where the man inside it crumbled against the side of the chest piece and stayed there, allowing the four of them to stand there for a few seconds to enjoy their victory.
"Attention all units," a voice said, which was the same one that came from the helicopter that had said they sighted Alden earlier, to which the four of them focused on it while they waited to hear what was going on, "Tate is in custody. Enroute to the Eagle Point Penitentiary."
"Well, that happened." Cole said, to which he tapped his phone and connected to Moya, as he was sure that she had likely heard the news, but he knew that she also liked hearing it from them, "Hey Moya, the cops nabbed Alden and they're taking him to the pen."
"I've heard... and so have the Dust Men." Moya stated, to which the four of them glanced at each other, because Alden getting captured only recently happened and it seemed too soon for the Dust Men to have heard the news, "They're already rampaging through the streets of the Warren, shooting everything in sight. You need to deal with them."
Cole and the sisters nodded as they started to leave the area they were in, because it seemed like something strange was at work for the Dust Men to already be showing their dislike for Alden being captured, as if this had been planned or something, but at the same time they were the only ones that could deal with the Dust Men... and deal with them they were going to do, once they figured out what their foes were doing at the moment.
Since time was of the essence, as the Dust Men were already shooting at the innocent people of the Warren and any cops that happened to be getting in their way, Cole let himself be pulled into the air by one of the sisters as they flew towards the building that Moya had sent them the coordinates to. At the same time Adagio and Sonata, the two that weren't carrying him, focused on blasting any Dust Men that happened to be on the rooftops that they were flying over, as they always turned up and fired at them first, clearing the way so that Aria could get Cole to their destination. While all that happened the four of them also heard the sounds of gunfire in several different areas of the Warren, meaning that this must have been Alden's plan the entire time, force the cops to chase him and then surrender, but once the majority of the officers were after him his forces attacked the remaining officers and the innocent people that were around them. It was just like what happened when the four of them helped Trish get her bus to the hospital, Alden was trying to send a message to them that they should stay out of his business... and here he was likely saying that, despite their arrival, he still owned the Warren and that there was no one that could stop him, be it the cops or people like him, who had powers of their own.
With that though in mind the sisters brought Cole over to the building in question and dropped him off, before landing behind him, but that was when they found an armored bus, more deadly looking than the one Trish used, slowly driving down the street with several slots that the Dust Men were firing out of... and the people were screaming, as they had no idea what was going on and were likely hoping that someone would come and save them.
"Damn it, those maniacs have outfitted city buses with automatic weapons," Cole commented, speaking to the sisters for a moment, just in case they didn't understand what they were seeing, but based on the looks they were giving him it was clear that they understood what he was saying, "and, to make things worse, it appears that they're firing at everything, or anyone, in sight."
"We need to take control of this situation before the military catches wind of it." Moya stated, causing the group to glance at their phones for a moment, as they had, in the heat of chasing Alden through Tent City, forgotten that she could hear every word that was said near them, which was why the sisters had insisted on everyone leaving their phones in a different room when they revealed that they were from a different world to the others, "If they think the Dust Men might use those weapons to break through the quarantine, they will take immediate action."
"What, do they just sit around the office all day, daydreaming about blowing stuff up?" Adagio asked, because right now she wasn't about to trust this world's military to do anything, as from the sounds of it they were more than ready to level the entire city if the quarantine was broken, killing thousands of people, if not more than that.
"The four of you know what to do." Moya replied, not even bothering to answer Adagio's question on what the leaders of the military were doing at the moment, but at the same time the sisters knew that those same leaders were likely trying to find some excuse to level Empire City and be done with the whole mess, even if it killed so many people in the process.
"Well, according to our maps, there are four of these buses out there." Cole said, looking at his phone for a moment, as he was surprised that there was an even number of targets for them to take out, almost as if Alden had noticed their number and was using this to distract them in some manner, but then he shook his head and felt that he might be giving the old man too much credit for what was going on, "I guess our plan of attack is simple this time around."
"Yeah, divide and conquer." Aria stated, to which she surrounded herself in her flaming aura and took off, heading towards one of the other buses that was further away from the one that was likely going to be Cole's target, before both Adagio and Sonata followed after her, though they separated and heading towards the two other buses that the Dust Men were using.
Cole couldn't help but chuckle for a few seconds, because he knew that if it had been him tackling this sort of situation, all on his own anyway, he would have ended up with a large number of innocent people dead, or at least severely injured from what was going on. With Adagio, Aria, and Sonata helping him out, and their flying abilities making it easier for them to traverse the districts that they were in, he would be able to decrease the amount of hurt civilians that would have been hurt today, which was going to make them, and Trish was well, very happy. Once he thought about Trish, and how she would feel if so many wounded showed up at the hospital, Cole got underway and used one of the power lines to cross over the street and get on top of a new building, where he still had a good view of the armored bus as it turned down the exact same street he was following. Cole smiled as he jumped over to a smaller building and ran over to the edge, where he threw himself into the air and used his Static Thrusters to lower himself onto the top of the bus, right where the generator was located, and loosed several powerful bolts into it... eventually causing the bus to stall as it's weapons turned off, before a small interior explosion blew several parts of the plating off and the bus went silent.
Once the deed was done Cole jumped off the bus and stared at it for a few moments, daring any of the Dust Men that had been inside it to come out, but when they didn't he simply climbed up the building that was behind him and wondered what the sisters were doing to their targets.
"Hey guys," Zeke said, surprising Cole for a moment, as he wasn't expecting Zeke to suddenly call one of them, or all of them as his words suggested, to which he moved over to part of the building and waited for Zeke to continue, even though they could both hear the sounds of the sisters tackling the Dust Men in their areas, "I just wanted to call and let the four of you know that I'm over at the prison, helping out the cops."
"You're joking, right?" Cole asked, because he knew Zeke's history better than the sisters did and he knew that Zeke couldn't stand to be near cops, even though they were the only thing protecting the people of the districts that they had taken from the gang that owned them, "I thought you hated cops!"
"It's like you said earlier, things are changing... and we know things that others don't." Zeke replied, his tone indicating that he remembered what the sisters had told them and the fact that he knew they couldn't talk about it without informing Moya of two entirely different worlds, especially the place that the sisters came from, "Besides, any lawman that's stayed in this hell-hole is the real deal, and you got to respect that. Anyway, I'll catch you guys later."
Aria disconnected the call the moment Zeke said that he had to go, as she was flying above the bus that she had chosen as her target, who happened to be circling the building that they had sent the information the drones had on them over to Moya. From the looks of things they weren't aware of the fact that she was flying above them, studying what they were doing for a few seconds, before she gathered her power and flew down towards the left side of the bus, surprising the Dust Men inside it while she slipped in a special surprise. That was followed by her flying away from the armored bus as her Firebomb grenade went off, knocking the Dust Men around the interior while blowing several holes in the plating of the bus, which also appeared to cripple it at the same time, revealing that they were more designed to battle someone like Cole and not people like her, and maybe her sisters as well. Still, despite the fact that the bus was taken out, she spent a few moments pulling out the dazed Dust Men and took their weapons over to a trash can, knowing that some of the cops would come by and arrest them as well.
"Guys, there's a number of gunshot victims coming to the hospital." Trish commented, indicating that she had found a moment to get a small break so she could contact all four of them, as they were the only ones that would tell her exactly what was going on, "What's going on out there?"
"Well, the Dust Men are going crazy because their leader's been captured," Aria stated, to which she looked around the area and spotted another small group of Dust Men on a nearby roof, one that she would take out soon enough, "it appears that they think something will happen if they shoot up the place. Don't worry, we're doing everything in our power to stop them from putting more people in the hospital."
"I have the supplies necessary to deal with the cases that are coming in at the moment," Trish said, revealing that a fair number of people had been hurt since the Dust Men started this venture of theirs, before she sighed, indicating that she needed to get back to work, "but please, stop them before they put more people in danger."
"We will Trish." Cole promised, as it only seemed fair for him to make the promise to Trish, and none of the sisters sounded upset over it, though before he could say anything else Trish hung up and went back to work, but this time he nodded his head and knew that she would have done that, to which he turned his own attention to seeing if Adagio or Sonata needed assistance with their buses.
Adagio, being the bravest of the three sisters, flew towards the powered down section of the Warren and found her target driving along side the part of the road where the water was even more accessible, to which she smiled as she held a hand out towards the water. The harbor responded and the water gathered around her, where she formed a series of Ice Lances that floated around her, each of them waiting to be used in some manner, before she targeted the armored bus and started hurling her lances at the war machine. Since each lance was hardened ice, and the tip was the sharpest point of all, all she had to do was throw a lance and watch as it pierced the bus, stalling it almost immediately, to which she responded by throwing the remainder of them into the structure of the bus, where she smiled as the Ice Lances tore through the bus and prevented it from moving, while striking several important locations that would prevent it from moving in the future. The Dust Men that were controlling the bus and it's weapons, however, found themselves knocked out thanks to her attacks, to which Adagio kept the smile on her face as she moved back towards the area that Cole was waiting in, as she had good news to tell him, even if he would know the news by looking at his phone.
When she arrived at the place Cole was standing in she found that not only was Aria back, but so was Sonata, which made her wonder what their sister had done to her target to get done so quickly, and something told her that she was going to find out in the next few moments.
"So, what did you do to your bus?" Cole asked, because he had the feeling he knew what Adagio and Aria had done, so it was a simple matter to ask Sonata the same question and see what sort of answer she gave, even though it was clear that she had taken the bus out.
"Well, it was driving next to the canal, so I just pushed it into the water and let it sink." Sonata replied, surprising the others for a moment, as they had been expecting her to use her wind to carve up the bus or something, like what she did with the drone earlier, but then they chuckled as Cole raised a hand.
"Hey Moya, we've taken care of the armored buses." Cole said, letting their handler know that everything was good on their end, especially since they had no idea what they were supposed to be doing next, even though he could guess what Moya wanted them to do after this.
"My extraction team is prepped and ready to go, but the military is dragging its feet with the clearances." Moya told them, revealing that, despite the fact that she had told them she would be ready to take Alden, she wasn't actually ready since the military wasn't cooperating with her, "I need the four of you to head over to the prison and secure Alden until my team gets there. It won't be long before the Dust Men try to break him out."
The group didn't bother speaking their minds on the subject, as all four of them were sure that this was one of Alden's plans and that they had fallen for it, but instead of wasting time Aria grabbed onto Cole and followed after her sisters as they took off once more. This time around they flew towards the prison, where a large number of cops were gathering and preparing themselves, as they all knew what was about to happen, exactly like Moya had told the four of them about, and the sisters landed outside the prison, near the terminal that Robert worked on to get the bridge lowered. When they arrived at their destination Moya told them that she was sending her extraction team out, ignoring all the clearances she would have needed to go through since they didn't have time for that, and informed them that it was their job to keep Alden in chains, as her team was at least twenty miles away. Sonata took a moment to inquire why she didn't just have one of them claim Alden from the cops and fly him to the extraction team, but Moya, apparently, wasn't going to have any of that and insisted that they do things her way... but at the same time Cole suspected that she was playing a long term game and that they weren't aware of what the agent was really doing, though he focused on the task at hand.
From there the four of them entered the prison through the main gate, climbed other the booth that people usually had to walk up to and visit when they came here, and moved over a wall to enter a large courtyard that appeared to be the perfect place for a battle to happen, if a wall fell down anyway... and, much to their interest, there was a walkway with some electricity dancing around it that reminded them of what Trish had done to her bus, with Zeke standing in the safety of the hallway that was beneath the walkway.
"Hey guys, the boys in blue need to move some lops to a more secure part of the prison." Zeke said, his tone revealing that he knew that things could get ugly at any moment and that he was going to speak as quickly as possible, surprising them by the fact that he was actually taking this seriously, "They need the four of you to assist the other cops in holding off the trash-baggers while they make the transfer."
"What the hell is a lop?" Aria asked, speaking what was on all their minds now, because she was sure that Cole, who had never worked with cops before, had no idea what the word meant and neither she or her sisters had ever heard that word during their stay in the world they had been sent to before this one.
"It's a prisoner... a shank-holder." Zeke explained, though based on the looks on all their faces he could tell that they were surprised that there was another term for 'prisoner' inside the prison, one that Zeke had figured out without having to be locked up in the process, "C'mon, get with the lingo! Oh, and Cole, I rigged the walkway that's above me to be crackling with juice, like Trish did to her bus earlier. Figured that we might as well take every advantage we can get for when the battle between us and the trash-baggers starts."
"Thanks Zeke." Cole said, as he was sure that this was going to be useful during the battle to come, though as he said that he climbed up to the walkway and positioned himself on top of where Zeke and the cops were standing, while at the same time the sisters flew into the air and stayed there as they waited to see what happened next.
Fortunately they didn't have to wait too long to figure out what was going to happen next, as not a few moments later small flaming boulders flew over the wall and descended into the area they would be fighting over, though as the mass came towards them the sisters realized that it was just a flaming hunk of junk, even as they knocked it out of the air. Aria, made sure to drain the flames from the pieces of trash and gathered them around her in small spheres that almost looked like they were made from glass, though she intended on using them the moment their foes showed themselves. The skills the four of them used the most often for the next couple of minutes, against the flaming balls of junk and the added flaming cars that were added after some time, were their Shockwave techniques, as it allowed them to stay in one spot and focus their fire, without having to get in the way of what someone else was doing and came in handy when something got thrown at Cole, who threw it back at the thing that sent it his way. For a time it appeared that all the Dust Men were going to do was have their metallic golems hurl flaming balls of junk and cars at them, though when Zeke said that the prisoners had been moved, however, part of the wall that was on the other side of the area they were in collapsed and the Dust Men started pouring into the area and began firing at the cops.
That action prompted the sisters to abandon the air, as it appeared that the Dust Men weren't interested in throwing things anymore, and landed around the courtyard that they were supposed to be guarding, where they started blasting the Dust Men that were pouring into the area, leaving Cole to remain on his electric walkway and continue firing at those that the sisters either ignored or missed. As all of this happened, and a second part of the wall collapsed and let more enemies pour into the courtyard, Cole called out for Zeke to head to Alden's cell and make sure that the person the Dust Men came for didn't leave with his followers, since Moya's team was on their way here. Zeke clearly hated not being on the front line, since he was trying to be helpful, but he nodded his head and headed into the prison, leaving Cole and the sisters to engage the Dust Men while the cops continued to fire at them, making sure that none of them gained enough ground to threaten their defensive perimeter, even though they activated the turrets to help them out. That was until a well placed rocket from one of the RPG carrying Dust Men struck the walkway and destroyed the entire thing, making Cole fight with the others, but at the same time he preferred to get his hands dirty... which was why he ran to where Adagio and her sisters were fighting at the moment, before slamming his fist into a Dust Man and knocked a second one backwards with a blast of electricity.
Something that the Dust Men seemed to have forgotten about was that the side of the prison that they attacked happened to be near the canal, which Adagio used to their advantage as she called upon the water and froze several of the Dust Men where they were standing, making sure to stay away from Aria's flames at the same time. Of course that changed when a golem smashed through part of the already ruined wall and opened it up even further as it marched into the area they were defending, though that was when Cole and the sisters attacked the golem together, repeating the movements they had used against the first one when they were chasing Alden's echo. Zeke, of course, called and mentioned that Alden was currently strapped to something that was putting electricity through his body, knocking him out in the process so he couldn't do anything until Moya's team came to get him, which only made Cole worry what the extraction team was doing, especially since they wouldn't be able to hold the ground forever. They even learned that the whole idea about passing electricity through Alden's body was Warden Harms' idea, which was great since it meant that Alden couldn't do anything to defend himself now... allowing the four of them to turn their attention to the battle as the golem fell down in defeat, to which they turned towards the Dust Men and continued the fight.
A few seconds after the golem went down, however, Cole felt the power leave him as the actual power to the prison was disconnected, to which Zeke informed them that the Dust Men must have sent someone to the roof to kill the power and that they needed to act fast before Alden woke up. As such Sonata offered to take Cole up to the prison's roof, as Adagio and Aria's abilities to manipulate the water and the fire around them seemed to be keeping the battle in a stalemate between the Dust Men and the cops, though they also didn't need her to be down here at the moment. Cole, already knowing what would happen if Alden was set free, nodded his head and soon the two of them were flying up towards the roof of the prison, though along the way he fired several blasts at the Dust Men that had climbed the walls of the prison and flanked them, because if even one of them remained they cut shut off the generators again and they'd have to do this all over again. It didn't take Sonata long to get Cole up to the generator and let him blast it a few times, to get the power back up and running, though as that happened they heard that more Dust Men were invading the ruined courtyard and that both Adagio and Aria were backing up as well... to which Sonata flew them back down to the ground level, all while thinking that they overlooked something about this entire situation.
What was odd about what happened next was the fact that the Dust Men, who already had a hole in the perimeter of the prison, smashed down the gate that the group had brought some of the imprisoned Dust Men to when a cop asked them to do so. From that point on the Dust Men invaded not just the new opening they had created, but the old one as well, leaving Adagio and Aria to fire at the enemies that were coming through the first gaping wall they made while Cole and Sonata defended the second area that they were invading. There were more Dust Men than what they were expecting, because for every transient they took down two more took his or her place, indicating that Alden had planned the attack on the prison well in advance to gather the army that was attacking them and outfit them with their makeshift armor and their weapons, as well as create a number of golems and crab throwing conduits to use against them, keeping all four of them busy for the next couple of minutes. Even with the four miniature power areas that Zeke had set up in the second area, in case the Dust Men attacked that area instead of the first one, didn't do much in the grand scheme of things, as the Dust Men continued their attack... so much so that when a loud explosion was heard Cole didn't bother to notice what had happened, not until the power suddenly died once more and he was left with no choice but to plan his attacks without expanding too much energy in the process.
"Cole!" a voice said, to which Cole, who was currently hiding behind one of the small structures in the area he and Sonata were guarding, glanced over at the wall and found Zeke rushing over to him, where he slammed against the structure and huffed for a moment, "Man, I didn't think I'd be able to get to you in time."
"Zeke, what are you doing out here?" Cole asked, because Zeke was the only one, apparently, that knew how to read the machine that Alden was strapped to, meaning that if he was out here, and not watching the machine, there was the possibility that their target could get free without them being able to stop him, "You should be inside the prison, making sure Alden doesn't get free!"
"Well, we might have a problem with that," Zeke said, to which he gestured up to the top of the prison again, where Cole moaned, because if that meant what he thought it meant, and her seriously hoped it didn't, then they were in for a world of pain, "it seems there was a second group of trash-baggers making their way up to the generator when you guys restored power to it, but this time they blew the damn thing up. The only way we're going to be able to keep that machine powered up, and keep Alden from escaping, is if you come with me and use your power to blast it, until Moya's unit arrives... if it's even comi..."
Before Zeke could finish his statement there was a second explosion that cut off several of the officers that were inside the prison, more specifically the ones that were supposed to be guarding Alden, though that was followed by the entire prison shaking for a moment before several massive cracks appeared in it as the metal was pulled apart a little. That seemed to be a sign of some kind, as the Dust Men that had seen it started to pull back and soon the prison was silent, save for the sounds of the cops breathing hard after survived an attack on the prison and the sisters calming down, but at the same time Cole couldn't stand still and not know what happened. He and Zeke rushed to the opening that Zeke had come out of, which would take them to Alden's cell, but they quickly discovered a hole in one of the walls and a large number of bricks scattered around the place, accompanied by dust and some smoke, indicating that the Dust Men had tricked them the entire time. As Cole headed towards Alden's cell he heard from the other cops that the various Dust Men that they had captured, before they managed to find and capture the leader of the gang, were gone as well... confirming Adagio, Aria, and Sonata's suspicions that the Alden had been playing with them the entire time and that this had to have been him making a statement.
Cole's worst fears came to life as he reached Alden's cell, which had a group of cops, who had a number of bullet holes in their bodies, resting around the opening, indicating that the Dust Men had permanently cut the power, blew open a hole near where Alden would be taken, killed his guards, and then sprung him as he made his signal... all according to whatever plan he had made. Now he was out there again, no doubt heading back to Tent City so he and his army could celebrate their victory over not only the cops, but over the four powerful beings that were protecting Empire City, showing that they weren't what everyone thought they were... but at the same time it filled him with the desire to take Alden out and shatter his plans, and there was no way he was going to blame this on Zeke, because his best friend would have been killed if he hadn't come looking for him. Alden and the Dust Men were going to pay for their actions tonight, and for everything else they had done since they took over the Warren, and he was sure that the sisters would be more than willing to help him take their target down at long last.
The hours following the assault on the prison were terrible, as Cole, Zeke, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata retreated to the hospital that Trish was working in, though they remained in an area where there weren't any patients and they told no one that they were there to begin with. All of them put their phones in another room as well, as none of them, not even Zeke, wanted to talk with Moya, who was going to freak out when she learned from her extraction team that they were too late to pick up Alden, who was long gone at this point. The sting of their defeat was hard to forget, because that night they could hear the sounds of the Dust Men partying and cheering about their victory, meaning that whatever plan Alden had put into motion had succeeded and they were also celebrating their leader's genius at manipulating events to his benefit. The sisters were also annoyed with themselves, as they had manipulated events to their benefit in the past and had seen this coming, but then shrugged off their feelings like it was nothing... they had figured out that Alden was planning something, as events didn't make sense considering that Alden pretty much gave up to the cops, and yet none of the sisters bothered to try and change things.
No one tried to take the blame for what had happened, because all of them had done their best to stop the Dust Men from freeing their master and they still failed because they had underestimated their opponent, though that didn't change the fact that they remained silent throughout the night and let the Dust Men have their victory... because soon they would be the one's laughing, once they figured out how to take out Alden and destroy whatever he was planning.
Eventually they got up from where they were sitting and separated into two groups that went to different areas of the hospital, as Cole and Zeke headed to one room to talk before they went to sleep, while at the same time Adagio, Aria, and Sonata went to a different room and focused on what they were feeling. All three of them were annoyed with themselves for not trying to stop Alden's plan, frustrated at Moya for the lack of being able to send in her team quicker than what she said she would, and angry at Alden for the unnecessary amount of death and destruction he caused with all of the tasks he sent his followers to do. So many people had died since they came to the Warren, be they the innocent people being terrorized, the cops that were supposed to protect them, or the Dust Men that were terrorizing everyone, and that was pissing the three of them off more than they were willing to admit. They hadn't felt this way in a really long time, not since the Battle of the Bands at the very least, but this time around they were more concerned with the loss of life that was happening around them and the fact that Alden was celebrating his victory, even though it caused that very thing.
"We have to stop whatever Alden is planning next, before he completes his preparations." Adagio finally said, as she decided that they had taken enough time being silent, but she also understood that she and her sisters were really annoyed and angry at what happened, especially since they had been played like that.
"So long as he remains free, finding John and the Ray Sphere is going to be impossible." Aria added, remembering what Moya had asked of them, though even as that thought came back to mind she had to wonder if the lady was lying to them in some manner, which wouldn't be too hard to imagine since she clearly wanted the Ray Sphere more than she wanted John back, "That also means that the Dust Men will be united against our efforts for the foreseeable future, now that their leader's plan has made a mockery of both the cops and the four of us... and this time around we don't have a magical portal to use to get away from the consequences of what's happened."
"I get what you're saying, Aria, but even if we could leave it just wouldn't be right to leave Cole alone to fight Alden, the Dust Men, and Kessler," Sonata stated, to which both Adagio and Aria glanced at their sister for a moment, knowing that she wanted to protect as many civilians as she could and that what happened at the prison had annoyed her more than it annoyed the two of them, "Sure, he might be able to tackle them on his own, but we proved that the four of us are much stronger when we work like a team... and sometimes, even teams have to lose every once and a while, only for them to come back even stronger than before. We cannot allow one defeat to push us back and make us falter, because we might fall back into the depths we had been in before we came here and discovered the light."
Despite how crappy she was feeling, about letting Alden go free and losing all those cops in the process, Adagio smiled as she thought about Sonata's words, because she knew that, if the three of them could rise from being beaten by the Rainbooms, then they could certainly do so again. Sure, they may have been tricked by Alden, who had gotten what he wanted by reducing the prison to it's current state, but at the same time they knew that he couldn't run forever, not when there wasn't a way off the island without the military blowing the entirety of Empire City to pieces. The three of them had been growing alongside Cole, unlocking new powers either at the same time as him or further down the line, which meant that Alden should fear them if they figured out where he was hiding, because the next time they crossed paths with him would be the last time they saw each other. The three of them were determined to stop Alden, since he was planning something big, and they went to sleep knowing that sooner or later the three of them, including Cole, would put a stop to the crippled man's plans.
Once the morning of the nineteenth day of the quarantine started, and the group had their breakfast in silence, Cole climbed to the top of the sign where they had first spotted Alden and stood there for a moment, watching the sun rise as Adagio, Aria, and Sonata stood behind him, waiting for him to ready himself for their next mission... to which the moment was ruined as their phones went off, where they found that Moya was trying to reach them again.
"Cole, where the hell have you and the sisters been?" Moya asked, her initial tone revealing that she was already angry with them, though whether or not the extraction team had told her the news wasn't important, as she was bound to ask them what happened anyway, "I've been trying to reach the four of you since last night."
"Well, we were guarding the prison and fighting the Dust Men last night," Cole replied, as right now he still wasn't in the mood to talk with Moya, not after what happened at the prison, but he knew that this needed to happen, otherwise she wouldn't stop harassing them, "unfortunately the transients managed to flank us, busted Alden out of his cell, and killed every cop on their way out while their leader started to break the prison in half."
"This is unacceptable!" Moya snapped, her tone becoming even more angry than it had been moments ago, meaning that she was pissed over losing Alden, since that meant he was still a threat to their real mission, finding the Ray Sphere and John, "The four of you had explicit orders to keep Alden there until my extraction team arrived. What the hell happened at the prison?"
"We were tricked from the very beginning," Adagio explained, knowing exactly what had happened, since she and her sisters had thought about it after Alden had been captured and before he managed to escape, "All those Dust Men we captured since arriving in the Warren were all part of Alden's plan to make the cops look like fools, and unfortunately he scored even more by tricking us as well. Alden had his soldiers ready to spring into action the moment he was 'captured', distracting a good number of cops in the process, and then attacked the prison with his army, while a force snuck up to the generator and blew it up, effectively allowing the Dust Men that opened his cell to free him. No one is to blame for what happened at the prison... Alden just bested us, it's as simple as that."
"I have half a mind to suggest that you're lying to me to cover up for that fat man who thinks he's a hero," Moya said, to which Cole glared at the phone for a moment, as he was annoyed that Moya would even suggest that it was his fault that Alden escaped, "but, regardless of whose really at fault for Alden escaping, the four of you should cut him loose... he's bound to become a liability that you don't need and might screw again in the future."
"Look, with Alden back on the streets, there's only one thing we can do at the moment," Cole stated, wanting to get away from Moya blaming Zeke for everything that was going wrong, because apparently she hated him more than she was angry with the four of them, "we're going to hit the next substation, get me a new power in the process, and take out some of the Dust Men while we figure out how we're going to topple Alden and wreck his plans."
Moya said nothing as Cole dropped the call and headed out, to which he and the sisters jumped off the part of the roof that they had been standing on and began the walk towards the powered down section of the Warren, as they wanted to keep to the ground until it was time to climb once more. None of them wanted to give the Dust Men a flying target just yet, even though the sisters would be more than willing to blow them all up in the process, though for now this was the best way to make some ground while the Dust Men were still hungover from their party the night before. While they made their way towards the section of the Warren that they needed to head into, however, Trish called Cole and asked why Zeke was so upset and why he kept muttering things about the prison. Cole decided that it was time to tell her what happened, revealing that they had been tricked from the very beginning by their enemy and that Zeke would have died if he stayed inside with the cops, instead of coming outside to come get him to keep Alden in stasis. He also said that his friend definitely wasn't at fault for what happened, since there was no way any of them could have stopped Alden's plan in the first place... but at the same time he and the sisters were going to stop Alden with all their might, even if they had to climb his stupid tower and bring it down.
Eventually the four of them reached the powered down section of the Warren and the sisters started engaging the Dust Men that were in their way, where Adagio and Aria focused on channeling their powers and knocked out the Dust Men that were in their way... where they also opened the manhole and let both Sonata and Cole drop down into the art of the sewers that they were above, before engaging the other Dust Men that were converging on them.
"There's that familiar smell that I got used to," Cole commented, just as he dropped down into the area that was below them and moved out of the way, as sonata landed beside him and stared at the path they would be heading through this time around.
Sonata shook her head, as she didn't think that she, personally, would get used to the smell that came with the sewers, before both she and Cole started moving forward, where Cole stuck to using the pipes to get across the area in front of them while Sonata used her flight ability to float though the air as she followed him. It wasn't hard for them to find the circuit that Cole needed to reestablish, and there weren't any enemies in the immediate vicinity of where they were traveling, so he approached it while Sonata landed nearby. Sonata watched as he bridged the two halves of the circuit together, passing a good amount of electricity through his body and awakening a new ability for him to use in the future, though she smiled as Cole jumped to the floor and stretched for a moment, but the smile on his face told her that he must have succeeded in his mission.
"Oh hell yes." Cole commented, to which he raised his right hand for a moment and a barrier, in what almost looked like an oval, appeared in front of him and appeared to be attached to him thanks to the electricity that was connecting it to him, before he glanced at Sonata, "It's some sort of shield that allows me to prevent myself from taking damage."
"Lucky," Sonata said, as that sounded like an awesome ability to have, because at the same time she was sure that it wasn't something that she and her sisters would be able to create on their own, before moving out of the way as she followed Cole into the depths of the sewer area once more.
As they moved deeper into the sewer Cole used his new shield technique to stop the bullets from hitting him, as there were some Dust Men further ahead of them, but as he did that Sonata used the wind to knock their foes into the water, allowing Cole to blast the water and knock them out in the process as they continued towards their destination. The next area contained someone that was manning a turret and a rocket launcher, though Cole grinned as he brought up his shield and negated the bullets that were coming his way, allowing Sonata to focus on several enemies that needed to be taken out before they could move. She did take out the rocket launcher first, mostly so they didn't have to worry about that guy first, before focusing on the other enemies, though once she had cleared out a few of them Cole lowered the shield and started blasting the other Dust Men, knocking them backwards or into the water, where they were shocked into submission, before he took out the turret guy as well. Sonata smiled as she surveyed what had happened, as Cole's shield ability was already coming in handy, and it did so again in the next area when there were two turrets to taken out, but that didn't stop them from making their way forward.
The majority of the Dust Men down here definitely weren't ready for someone like Cole or Sonata to appear and attack them, even though they put up a valiant effort on their part, but despite that fact the pair were able to make it to their destination and Cole powered up the generator... before Sonata latched onto him and carried him back to the entrance, where they climbed up and found Adagio and Aria finishing off some Dust Men that had been attacking them. When the two groups rejoined each other, however, Cole's phone went off, to which he sighed and decided to take the call, since it might be Moya telling them more information on what they were doing next, or chewing them out for letting Alden escape them.
"Cole, my name is John White." the caller said, to which all four of them stopped what they were doing, as this was the very person that they were looking for, which made them wonder if this was a trick or if this was their lucky day, "I need to talk with you and those girls that have been following you around."
"John? Where are you?" Cole asked, because this was great news, as this might just mean that they were one step closer to getting out of the city, even if he was starting to think that such a thing wasn't the best idea in the world at the moment, not with Kessler running around.
"Meet me on the roof of the Adams Building," John replied, though his tone suggested that it had better be the four of them, otherwise he was likely going to disappear before they got any answers, which meant that they needed to play by his rules for now.
Not even a moment after John stopped talking he hung up on them, revealing that he didn't want to stay on the line for too long, otherwise someone was bound to track him down and that was the last thing they needed, especially since the First Sons were likely looking for him as well... though at the same time Cole decided to give Moya the news, if she hadn't heard it already from the connection she had to their phones.
"Hey Moya, are you sitting down?" Cole asked, knowing that this could potentially be a bad thing for them to do, but since she was their handler, and had asked them to find John, he felt that she should at least know they were making progress in finding the Ray Sphere, "John just called us."
"What? All I heard was static." Moya replied, her tone suggesting that she would have done something to get around the static to talk with them, but that also showed that John wasn't taking any risks at the moment, "What did he tell the four of you?"
"Not too much, just that he wanted to meet with the four of us." Adagio said, giving Cole a moment to remember where their destination was located, that way they didn't have to spend too much time scouring the Warren looking for a single person, especially the person that might know where the Ray Sphere was located, "We're heading out now, so don't expect us to contact you again until after we've had a chance to talk with him."
What Aria meant was that they were going to do things the easy way this time around, where Adagio grabbed onto Cole before both she and her sisters took off, to which they headed over to where the Adams Building was located, which happened to be near the bridge that connected to the Neon District. As they flew over to their destination the four of them kept their eyes open for anything and everything that might endanger the meeting with John, mostly since he had to have been undercover for a long time and was likely a little paranoid about things, but it was better than him being scared away and leaving them in the dust again. When they neared the building Adagio carefully set Cole down on the roof before landing beside him, where Aria and Sonata looked around for a few moments to make sure that there wasn't anything that would ruin this... though once they decided that the coast was clear, and that there were no enemies or FBI in the area, they landed around Cole as well, before nodding that the area was clear for the moment.
Cole nodded his head and tapped his phone a few times, to let John know that they were in the area he wanted them to be in and that they would be waiting for him to arrive, though before he could complete that action a helicopter flew in and started pointing it's searchlight at an area near them.
"John White, we're here to extract you." the pilot stated, indicating that he had explicit orders to track John down and take him in, though whether or not this was Moya's doing or the First Sons the group didn't know, but it was ruining something they told no one about, "Please maintain your current position."
"You idiots brought a chopper?!" John exclaimed over the phone, his tone indicating that he was mad at them for betraying his trust, while at the same time revealing that he wasn't likely to believe anything they told him at all, which would make things much more difficult for them, "I told the four of you to come alone."
"You've got it wrong John, we don't know who they are." Cole stated, hoping to at least earn back whatever trust the man had towards them and show him that they had followed his orders, as he was the only one that could help them in the situation that they were in, "They aren't with us!"
It was in that moment that John disconnected the call and ran off, as the helicopter started to follow him, to which Cole dialed Moya and asked why she had sent a chopper to their location, where they discovered that it wasn't the military that had sent one, but the First Sons masquerading as the military. Once they understood the danger that John was in the sisters took off and started following the chopper, though this time around it was Aria's turn to carry Cole over the city as they hung back and followed their target. John, as the four of them agreed, must have had a car or something, as he was moving fast through the city, going around parts of the Warren that they had visited at some point in the last day or two, while at the same time the four of them hung back and kept the helicopter in sight, since they didn't want the gunner, if there was one, to turn and fire at one of them while they were flying. The odd thing about what was happening before their eyes was that John was ducking and weaving in a manner that was taking them back to the sewer they had just been in, or at least the sisters found it odd that they were returning to that area, so soon after leaving it... but that only made the four of them be on guard for whatever was waiting for them, since there was no telling what would happen once both John and the helicopter came to a stop.
By the time John came to a stop they found the man standing near the edge of the sidewalk that had the harbor in front of it, though they were only a few steps away from where the manhole they opened earlier was located, to which the four of them landed and approached John as the helicopter came to a stop as well.
"Stand down, John!" the pilot ordered, revealing that they were getting fed up with what John was doing, which also included holding a gun that was pointed right at the cockpit of the helicopter, despite the fact that it might not do a lot of damage in the process, "This operation's been terminated."
"No one's taking me in!" John stated, to which started firing at the helicopter, to drive it away so he could flee before something else happened, or at least that was what Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were thinking at the moment, since he ran away the moment the helicopter revealed itself.
That was followed by a flaming ball of junk flying through the air and collided with the helicopter, killing everyone aboard it while the flaming wreckage landed in the harbor, though at the same time the group turned towards their right and found a golem walking towards them. Unfortunately the creature stopped a few moments later and picked up something, the gas container from the destroyed helicopter that went flying, that would easily destroy it's right arm, but at the same time Sonata pointed out that there were people scattered all around the construct, meaning if they ignited the gas container it would likely either severely harm those innocent people or outright kill them. For most people it would have been a hard decision, kill the innocent people or let the golem throw the gas container at them, but for the four of them they stood their ground and waited, indicating that the people would remain unharmed from this battle, causing the golem to hurl it at them. Of course Adagio surprised them by flicking her hand towards the harbor and called the water to action once more, where she used it to encase the gas container and then froze all the water around it, where the explosion was caught in the area between them and the golem, before the four of them engaged the creature as the civilians fled for their lives once more.
Since it was purely just the four of them fighting a single golem, as there were no Dust Men to aid it this time around, the group was able to do some serious damage to the creature while Cole incorporated his new shield technique into the fight, making it easier for them to fight... until the golem fell to the floor in defeat, only for them to discover that John had run off the moment the battle started, meaning that it would be some time before they found him again.
"We have two minutes, forty-five seconds before they can triangulate my position, and I plan on being gone before then." John said, his voice coming from their phones once more, though this time around the group decided to see what he had to say, since he still had information to give them, "So keep your mouth shut and listen. I know that none of you are with the agency... too undisciplined, too cocky. But I also know that the lot of you want the same thing I do... the Ray Sphere... and you're going to help me get it."
"So you do know where it's at." Adagio stated, as that had been their assumption since Moya told them to search for John in the first place, though this confirmed that the man knew where the blasted device was located, potentially in enemy hands considering what John had just said.
"One of my UAVs spotted it at the top of Alden's tower." John replied, informing the group that it hadn't been the drones of the First Sons that they had shot down and destroyed earlier, rather it had been ones that John had sent out to learn where the Ray Sphere was located, "Either help up there together and retrieve it, or do so with someone that all four of you trust. One minute, fifty-two seconds."
"And what do you want us to tell Moya?" Cole inquired, because so far John had made no mention of her and that was really starting to annoy him, because either they had a fight and weren't acknowledging the other's existence, or Moya had lied to them from the very beginning.
"Who the hell's Moya?" John asked in return, his tone revealing that he was not playing games at the moment and now thought that they were wasting precious time that they didn't have, which was actually making them annoyed with him at the same time.
"Well, according to her, she's your wife." Aria answered, though at the same time she was ready to punch something, because John's tone was enough to make the sisters realize that Moya had tricked them from the beginning, that she wasn't attached to John and was using them to get what she wanted.
"The four of you are getting played." John said, his tone indicating that he would not budge on what he said, meaning that they had to take his word for it, whether or not it was the actual truth on the matter, "I've never been married and I don't know anyone named Moya. One minute, nineteen seconds."
"I hope you aren't screwing with us right now." Cole said, as right now all of them were still sore over their defeat at the prison, and finding out that someone had tricked them from the very beginning, and had likely lied to them, was really going to piss all of them off, "She said that she's an FBI agent, just like you."
"FBI agent? Yeah, that would be the day, I hate those bastards." John informed them, revealing that Moya must have actually lied to them, which meant that they couldn't trust the fact that she said that she could get them out of the quarantine or clear Cole's name, "You won't see me, but I'll know when you have the Ray Sphere. Once its in your possession, we'll figure out how we're going to destroy the damn thing."
Cole and the sisters remained silent for a few seconds, letting John drop the call and disappear once more, continuing to run from whoever he was running from, while they thought about what they were doing now, as originally they had come to find John, grab the Ray Sphere, and get out of here. Now, however, they could either abide by the established deal they had with Moya, accepting that she was saying the truth and that John was lying, and potentially screwing themselves over in the process, or they could take their chances and go with the plan that John had in mind, the destruction of the Ray Sphere, so it didn't do what it did to Empire City to the other cities across the world. In the end Cole pulled out his phone and tapped in Zeke's number, because while he knew that the four of them could take out the Dust Men, easily based on what happened at the prison, there was someone that deserved to be here with them.
"Hey Zeke, you there?" Cole asked, knowing that Zeke would want to hear this, especially since there was the very real possibility that his friend might have been right about Moya not being who she said she was, or at the very least there was the chance that her promises weren't to be trusted.
"Yeah man, I'm here." Zeke replied, though his tone revealed that he was still a little depressed over all the death he had seen back at the prison, which made sense considering what had happened, before the group heard the sounds of him opening a door and closing it, "What's up?"
"Unfortunately, we can't tell you that over the phone," Cole said, as he knew that Moya was likely listening to them at the very moment, so he wanted to give her almost no information in case she tried to assault the tower on her own, "just head over to the tower that the Dust Men have been building and we'll fill you in when we meet up."
"Alright, I'll head over there pronto." Zeke stated, to which they heard the sound of him hanging up before he headed outside the hospital, meaning that he was likely on his way over to where the entrance of the tower was located and that they had best get moving as well.
Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata stared at the tower that was looming over their heads at the moment, because if the Dust Men did have the Ray Sphere, like John seemed to think they did, then that meant they would have to take out Alden to get at it... and, despite the potential danger that thought posed, they were all eager to take him down and show him that his plans meant nothing, and then they could begin figuring out how to take Kessler out once Alden was done for.
What Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata discovered was that there were no Dust Men patrolling the streets at the moment, which allowed them to make their way to the area that they had fought the first golem in without having to waste time and energy on enemies that would be easy to take out. At the same time all four of them thought about the fact that there was the very real possibility that either Moya or John was lying to them, trying to get at least one of them on their side so that they could accomplish their goals, and so far the evidence they had found was making them lean towards siding with John. Sure, Moya said that she had promised them a chance to leave the city if they handed over the Ray Sphere, and would also clear Cole's name in the process, but at the same time every instance of where she told them something, like the extraction team, didn't pan out the way they had hoped and she had no regard or respect for Zeke. The sisters, thanks to the large considerable amount of time that they had spent in the other world, knew that something about her screamed that she couldn't be trusted and were happy that Cole was willing to put his faith in John at the moment, as he seemed to be the only one of the two that was trustworthy... even though he fled from them after they saved his life and the lives of the other innocent people, but that was something to talk about in the future.
After a few minutes of walking the four of them reached the area that they had been heading to and stood around the pillars that were still standing, knowing that any moment Zeke would show up and they would get this operation underway, even though it could be done with the four of them and Cole was calling on Zeke because he was his oldest and most trusted friend, something that the sisters were still understanding.
"You know, despite how smart it seems Alden is, his tower isn't the best place for him to fight," Cole commented, to which the sisters turned and looked at him for a moment, as they were interested in what he had to tell them before Zeke arrived and they got moving, "From what I can tell there are several barrels that contain some fire in them, likely so that the Dust Men can keep warm during the night, and that already gives two of us the ability to fight about with some good energy sources nearby. Add in the fact that you, Adagio, can pull moisture from the air itself to form your attacks and that Sonata can use the wind means that the Dust Men don't stand a chance against us... even though I'm hoping for something like what happened at the prison, with an entire army coming at us."
"I don't think Alden realizes just how many followers he lost in that attack." Adagio said, recalling how many Dust Men that she and her sisters had taken out, so that the cops could put them in the parts of the prison that were compromised by the assault that had their foe had planned, "He might be planning on letting the heat die down, giving him time to collect his followers and free the others, meaning that he wouldn't be expecting us to attack him in such a manner... and maybe we can get the damn Ray Sphere before he shows up."
"I'm still annoyed that there aren't any combustibles on this tower," Aria added, to which she manipulated her power for a moment and started creating a few marbles as they waited, indicating that she was preparing for a fight since the marbles were her Firebomb attack, "I was looking forward to blowing the entire place up and reducing it to ash and metal in a single instant... but doing this is better than nothing anyway."
Adagio knew that Moya would have been listening in to their conversation, but at the same time there was a high chance that John, to earn their trust, had found out how Moya was listening in on their conversations and might have actually jammed the signal, making it so that she would have to call them. She was only speaking about the Ray Sphere in such a manner because there was no chance that the FBI agent would have enough time to authorize an attack on the tower before they claimed their prize, especially when she had no idea that the Ray Sphere was supposed to be at the very top of the structure. Even if Moya did figure out where the item was located there was no way that the sisters would allow her forces anywhere near the tower, meaning that the Ray Sphere was as good as theirs, once they climbed to the top of the tower, fought the Dust Men that were likely guarding it, and either fought Alden or counted their luck that he was absent for the moment.
As it turned out she didn't have a lot more time to think about the situation, as not a few moments later she, Aria, Sonata, and Cole heard the sound of someone running towards them, though they all smiled as Zeke ran up to where they were standing, to which he huffed for a few seconds before pulling out his gun.
"Glad you made it here without being shot at," Cole said, to which he walked over to Zeke and put a hand on his shoulder, as he was happy to have his best friend with them as they took on the Dust Men and claimed what everyone wanted to get their hands on, "and that you came at all... after what happened at the prison, I honestly thought that you might decide to back out and let us handle the Dust Men."
"Like I would miss the chance to help defeat the trash-baggers that killed all those cops the other day," Zeke replied, showing that his respect for the cops that had been trapped inside the Warren hadn't been fake, that he actually respected them for all the hard work they were doing, before he gestured towards the tower, "So, ugh, what's going on? You said that there was something that you guys couldn't tell me over the phone, which is why I got here as fast as I could."
"We just found out that the Ray Sphere is at the top of this tower," Aria stated, where she glared at the structure once more, possibly imagining that the entire thing was on fire, before she turned back towards the group, "The plan is rather simple; we start climbing the exterior, beat up every Dust Men we find on the way, take the Ray Sphere from where it's being held, and then we get the hell out of here before Alden and reinforcements show up. You want in on this?"
"You mean it's all the way up there, at the top of the tower?" Zeke asked, as he was honestly surprised that they had even found where the damn thing was located, because he had started to believe that it might have been a lie the entire time, but it seemed like the evidence to support it's existence was nearby, "I'm not sure how much I'll be able to help the four of you, since you can topples armies on your own... but hell yeah, I'm in!"
"It looks like the Dust Men have elevators so they can reach the upper levels of the tower," Sonata commented, as she had spotted something that was going to make Zeke's ascent even better, as he wouldn't have to climb the tower like Cole would, since he was going to be stubborn and refuse their assistance to fly them both to the top, "that should make it incredibly easy for us to get to the top of the tower."
Cole nodded and together the five of them started moving towards the tower, though while he used the pipes to start climbing up to the next level, and Zeke ran over to the elevator so he could wait for them to call him up, the sisters simply flew up to the area that Cole was heading towards and started firing at the Dust Men that were literally around the corner from where they landed. As that happened Cole aimed at the fan that was attached to the elevator and shocked it a few times, giving it enough juice to start moving and allowed Zeke to join them, where the two of them fired at the other Dust men that were blocking the way.
"How did you guys manage to track down the Ray Sphere anyway?" Zeke asked, because the last thing that he recalled them telling him was that they didn't appear to be any closer to finding the device, which made him wonder what had changed since this morning that would have allowed them to find where it was resting.
"Believe it or not, but we actually ran into John earlier," Adagio replied, allowing Cole, Aria, and Sonata to move forward and blast the Dust Men that were in front of them, even knocking one of them over the edge in the process, while she focused on the question that Zeke had asked, "He's the one that told us that the Ray Sphere is at the top of the tower, after one of his UAVs spotted it before we knocked them all out of the sky earlier, since we were told they were being controlled by the First Sons."
"Wait, you ran into Moya's husband?" Zeke inquired, as he remembered what the four of them had told him after the disaster on the bridge, after the Voice of Survival declared that Cole was a terrorist because he happened to be carrying a package that exploded seconds after being opened, "How'd he take the news that she was more interested in finding and recovering the Ray Sphere, than having the four of you track him down first?"
"According to John, Moya lied to us." Adagio stated, though she was still angry about that, so much so that she blasted a Dust Men off the edge and dropped him into Tent City, where an alarm may or may not go off in the next few seconds thanks to the body falling from the sky in such a manner, "He's never heard of her before and doubts that she's even a member of the FBI, which means that either Moya lied to us and tried to play us, or John is trying to lower our defenses while plotting whatever it is that he's plotting."
"And what about the Ray Sphere then?" Zeke continued, because he was interested in what they had to say about the device that they were after, especially since Moya wanted them to hand it over to her in exchange for their freedom, which was a lousy trade in his mind, "I take it, with this new information, that you guys aren't thinking of handing it over to her and the feds anymore?"
"Honestly Zeke, we haven't gotten that far in our planning yet," Cole said, to which Zeke and Adagio came to a stop behind him, Aria, and Sonata, where they discovered that the second elevator was right in front of them, "We will figure out what to do with it, once we've managed to get our hands on the damn thing, but right now we need to focus on getting up to the top of the tower."
As Cole started to climb up the side of the tower, using the signs that happened to be sticking out of the wall, the sisters floated into the air and followed after him, making sure that any Dust Men that showed themselves wouldn't be able to harm him at all or make him fall down and force one of them to catch him. For the most part the climb seemed to be nothing more than a serious of jumps that Cole was able to perform with little to no effort, though when he neared the end of the line the sisters moved towards the walkway and started blasting the Dust Men that were in their way, opening an area for Cole to use. Not even a few seconds later Cole jumped onto the area that they were on and together the four of them blasted their way through their enemies, either knocking them out or sending them off the edge, where the height either severely shattered their bodies or killed the outright. It didn't take them long to silence the Dust Men and let Cole power up the elevator, allowing Zeke to ride up to the level that they were on, though as he followed them a few more enemies decided to try and attack them... where they soon found themselves defeated as the group moved forwards once more and continued towards the next level of the tower.
That's how it went for the next couple of minutes, as Cole would climb the sides of the tower with the sisters following after him, and even sometimes just one of them since they wanted to be sure that Zeke didn't get ambushed while they were away, before he reached a point where he either needed the sisters to tell him where the next jump was located or to clear out some enemies that might have shown up. It was a good arrangement, since it gave them time to think about the Ray Sphere and what they were going to do with it, though they returned to reality when they had some Dust Men to deal with, which was generally followed by the fight being over not even a few seconds later, which made sense when Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were super powered beings that could hold their own in such a manner. For the most part Zeke really didn't have to fire his gun at anyone, save for when someone really surprised them, though he kept his mouth shut as he thought about what they were doing and what they were going after... though Adagio couldn't help but feel that there was something about Zeke's attitude that she should be focusing on, but thanks to the battles they were in she kept her attention on their enemies and not on Zeke.
Of course the situation changed when they reached the very top of the tower, near the controls for the crane that was keeping the tower together, as the moment all five of them got together they immediately noticed something that was different from what they encountered so far.
"Hey, what the hell's going on?" Zeke asked, as they all walked forward and stepped onto what appeared to be a flat area, save for some barricades that he had to wonder why they were there in the first place, but he had the feeling that he'd found out soon enough, "There's no one up here."
"I know you!" a voice said, to which they stepped out into the middle of the platform and turned towards the metallic structure that was nearby, where they found Alden standing or sitting in some sort of control point, along with the fact that he was glaring at them all, "All of you! Locked me up like an animal, tied me to that bed, tried to electrocute me! I showed you, though. You and those pigs."
Not even a few seconds later the contraption that Alden was standing in started to move down to the platform they were standing on, as if it was going to attach to something, but as it started to move down towards them, and Dust Men jumped down from the top of the crane to engage them, the sisters spotted the Ray Sphere attached to the area in front of where their foe was standing. Cole glanced at Zeke, who nodded his head in understanding and backed up as the four of them attacked the Dust Men that were trying to stop them from dealing with Alden, where Cole blasted them with his electricity and knocked them to the floor, while Adagio either froze her targets or pinned them to the floor, Aria simply blasted them with her power, and Sonata knocked them around with the wind. As all of this was happening Cole noticed that Alden seemed surprised by the power that they were displaying, which made sense considering that he had actually never seen the four of them fight and likely hadn't gotten a good chance to determine what their powers were, but even as that happened he called a golem to join the fight and told it to smash them... though as the golem advanced towards them Cole nodded towards Zeke for a second, to which their friend rushed forward and started tugging on the Ray Sphere.
While all of this happened Alden appeared to be talking to himself, saying that when the tower was complete he would replace his old and frail body with one that was made from steel and concrete, which the group thought was insane when they thought about it. There was also the fact that, while Alden was talking and the group was tearing apart the trash monsters that were attacking them, a helicopter flew around the top of the tower, though standing on the railing was none other than Kessler, who hadn't been noticed by Alden yet. That, however, changed the moment the golem and the rest of the trash monsters were dealt with, as the pilot picked that moment to pull up beside the platform and Kessler stepped out onto the platform, where his eyes seemed to dance between Cole, the sisters, the Ray Sphere, Alden, and even Zeke... making it hard for them to determine who he was more interested in and what his plans were, which only made the group ready themselves for a fight with the big bad himself.
"Kessler!" Alden shouted, his attention immediately diverting toward the man that, according to the information the group had been given, had stolen everything away from him, though at the same time the group stared at them and hoped that they would attack each other and save them some time and energy, "You stole my childhood, my home! You dare come here?!"
"Poor, poor Alden." Kessler replied, his tone revealing that he didn't much care for the old man that was in front of him, who had suffered greatly for the actions that he had caused in seizing control of the First Sons in the manner that he had used in the past, "All that potential, squandered. Your father would've been so disappointed."
"You dare mention my father!" Alden exclaimed, his rage and anger filling his voice as he focused solely on the one man that he hated more than anyone else, as Kessler was the one person that he wanted to kill above all overs, even if he had to kill others to get to him, "I'll kill you, all of you! Tear you limb from limb!"
It was in that following moment, as Kessler took a step near Alden, that Zeke was able to finally pry the Ray Sphere from the cradle that Alden had attached it to before stepping into whatever machine he was standing in, though now he was caught between two very powerful men that could easily tear him apart if they wanted. Cole called out to him, telling him that it was time to move and that if they jumped from the top of the tower the sisters would catch them and the Ray Sphere, something that all three of the sisters agreed to, but even as they did that Zeke stood there as fear gripped his heart. The four of them watched as Zeke, though the fear that he was now feeling, realized that the key to his dreams, the powers that had made the four of them so likable by the people of Empire City, was resting in his hands and he seemed to play back the information that Moya had given them about the device. It was in that moment of understanding that Zeke, reverting to the asshole that Cole had known long before the Blast had ever happened, pressed the two halves of the Ray Sphere together and activated it, choosing to kill thousands of innocent people, who were already suffering from the first Blast, in order to give him the power to fight both Alden and Kessler... though when the light faded there was nothing different about him or the area around them, shocking Cole and the sisters as they wondered what had gone wrong with the activation sequence.
Before they could react, or even Alden for that matter, someone was much faster than all of them and made the first move, as the moment the light disappeared Kessler held out his hand and stared right at Zeke, indicating that he was talking to him and him alone.
"It seems that the Ray Sphere didn't do what it was supposed to do," Kessler said, a faint look of glee appearing in his eyes as Zeke turned towards him, because they all knew that he was the man that had been responsible for the creation of the device that he was holding, the same one that Kessler had been searching for after the Blast happened, "and I know exactly what went wrong! Come, Zeke Dunbar, bring me the Ray Sphere so I can fix it... and give you the power you crave."
"Zeke, don't you dare listen to this asshole!" Adagio said, because she and her sisters knew exactly what Kessler was doing, as they had seen the tactic used time and time again over their years in the other world, though at the same time all three of them prepared to attack Kessler before he slipped away from them.
It was in that moment that Zeke, understanding that the power he wanted was so close that he could almost taste it, turned and looked at all four of them, looking them straight in the eye for a second, before he charged at Kessler, who jumped back onto his helicopter and grinned as he pulled Zeke, and the Ray Sphere, aboard. Cole was stunned by the sudden betrayal of his closest friend, the person that he had trusted time and time again throughout the years, while the sisters were shocked that Zeke would do something like that, especially since he knew that Kessler was the person they were trying to beat. At the same time Alden went ballistic at the loss of the Ray Sphere, causing the tower to start coming undone as something emerged from within it, but instead of sticking around Adagio tackled Cole off the platform and grabbed onto him, where she flew away from the tower as Aria and Sonata followed her... though they landed nearby and watched as the tower of trash collapsed before their eyes, kicking up a lot of dust and smoke up in the process, while preventing them from doing much as they kept an eye out for Alden or the helicopter.
As they did so they heard a roar of some kind as a creature moved through the smoke and headed towards the bridge that connected the Warren to the Historic District, which meant that Alden, and whatever body he had been creating, was heading towards were Kessler had made his base of operations... and, in all the excitement the day had brought them, none of them had noticed that it was already turning towards the late evening, making them wonder where the day had gone for a few seconds, before Cole's phone went off.
"I told you to pick someone that you could trust." John stated, indicating that he not only knew what was going on, how none of them really wanted to know at the moment, but he had seen what Zeke had done and what he had tried to do with the Ray Sphere, "Ninety-three seconds."
"Zeke's my best friend, almost like a brother to me." Cole replied, because right now he wasn't in the mood to be talked to or lectured by someone that was hiding from all of his problems, especially since he could be helping them deal with the situation in some manner, "He's one of the few people, besides Trish, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata, that I actually do trust... or did, anyway."
"Well genius, you blew it." John said, his tone revealing that, as of this moment, he was going to pin everything that both Alden and Kessler did on Cole, since he was the one that made the decision to bring Zeke in when he wouldn't have been of any help to the group, "Thanks to you Alden's on a killing spree and, to make matters worse, Kessler has the Ray Sphere once more. We need to resolve both situations. Sixty-three seconds."
"Why don't we let the two of them fight each other and swoop in when the dust clears?" Aria asked, because she was sure that the Historic District was mostly uninhabited at the moment, since that was where the Blast had taken place some time ago, "Surely we can grab the Ray Sphere once they've taken each other out."
"What if one of them activates it again and kills another ten thousand in the process?" John asked in return, apparently not knowing that the Blast annihilated everyone that was living in the Historic District, save for the unlucky survivors that were now living under Kessler's rule, which had to be far less than the number John said, "And who the hell knows what that Moya person wants with it. No, this is the only path we can take. Thirty-eight seconds."
"Look, you had best be serious about blowing that damn sphere to pieces," Adagio said, because right now she was annoyed and both her sisters knew that when she was annoyed she always broke something, though this time around it was likely going to be Alden that suffered her wrath, "because we're not in the mood for jokes."
"You have my word." John replied, though at the same time none of them were actually going to believe that promise until John did something that showed that he was committed to the destruction of the Ray Sphere, "Alden's heading into the Historic District, so you need to catch up with him and take him out, before looking for Kessler. I'll be in touch."
Instead of wasting time, and heading through the wreckage that was all around them, Cole let one of the sisters, Aria this time he noticed, pick him up as they flew towards the bridge that Alden was using to get to the Historic District, where they made record time and safely landed in front of the entrance of the bridge. From there the four of them walked forward, noticing that several of the Dust Men were following their leader, to the best of their ability, and started to fire at them the moment they saw the group enter the area, only for the group to attack them in return. The bridge, as they soon discovered, was already partly destroyed and some parts of it were on fire, though Aria used the flames to their advantage as she cleared out the Dust Men that were in their way, allowing Cole and her sisters to move forward before she caught up with them as they searched for Alden. While that happened, and Cole had to use the support structures on the side of the bridge to move forward, Moya called him and said something about being disconnected almost every time she tried to call one of them... to which they replied that they were a little busy and couldn't provide her with any tech support, before the call was disconnected by someone else, likely John at this point.
Fortunately it didn't take them long to blast their way through the Dust Men that were in their way, especially since they were all in areas were a single blast knocked them off the area they were standing on, before they found the area that Alden was in... and he happened to be traveling in what appeared to be the upper half of a golem that was made to resemble a person, though he turned and glared at them.
"Alden, this ends NOW!" Cole stated, because it was four against one, meaning that no matter what Alden did he was going to lose to the group, since they had the superior firepower and the attacks that the sisters used were sometimes even stronger than his own attacks.
"Ignorant piss-ants!" Alden snapped, indicating that he believed himself to be untouchable, that his incomplete metallic body would still give him the upper hand in this fight, all while he glared at them with anger in his eyes, "This is what my father wanted... me, governing all I could see! My destiny will be fulfilled! The four of you are like Kessler, craving something that doesn't belong to you. None of you understand, see the truth! But I do. I see it all!"
"You know, for something that can 'see it all', you aren't very smart." Adagio said, knowing that such an insult was going to make Alden mad, though at the same time she ignited her aura and extended her hands, along with her power, towards the water that was all around them, "You saw our powers when we were fighting your followers earlier, and what we were capable of at the top of your tower, though now... well, it's time for you to see your folly."
Cole watched as Adagio willed the water to rise and two massive dragons made out of water rose from the harbor, where she had them circle around the golem's arms for a few seconds before biting into the shoulders, where they froze into solid crystalline ice that prevented Alden from moving the arms. Aria took it another step forward as she latched her own energy onto the flames that were in front of Alden's golem, where the flames took on the shape of flame spikes and punctured the golem's body, further limiting the amount of movement that it was allowed to do. Even Sonata got in on the action as the wind acted up, forming blades that pierced the golem's back and not only pinned it against the spikes that were poking through it's chest, but also making sure that it was unable to move from that point forward, to which Alden stumbled out of his dead golem with a look of fear in his eyes, as he now understood how strong the group was... so much so that he actually threw himself into the harbor to get away from them.
This time around Adagio didn't do anything with the water as she and her sisters retracted their powers, as Alden was either going to be collected by authorities or drown, so she didn't find it necessary to bother with him at this point, not when he understood that he was outclassed now.
"Well, he's dealt with." Cole said, though at the same time the sisters nodded their heads and turned towards the other side of the bridge, where all four of them knew what was on the other side of the entrance, "One more district and we'll bring an end to this adventure... and finally make Kessler pay for all the lives he's destroyed so far."
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata followed after Cole was he started to head towards the Historic District, where Kessler and his army were gathering themselves for the final battle with the four of them, though this time they would be playing in Kessler's territory... and they had no idea what sort of tricks or traps he had for them, which meant they had to be careful as they moved forward from this point and engaged their enemies.
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.
The hours following Kessler's attempt to kill Trish, or six doctors depending on what decision Cole made, were quite emotional for Trish, as it was the second near death experience that she had been through since the Blast had happened, though unlike her encounter with Alden, who was sending a message, Kessler fully intended to kill her without a hint of regret or regards for the lives he had nearly ended. Cole, on the other hand, remained by her side as he tried to calm her down, but the fact that she had actually been seconds away from death had triggered a response in her and it would be some time before she put this behind her, even though both she and Cole were grateful to the sisters for making sure that she survived the encounter. Of course her clothes were wet from the fact that Adagio had caught her with a large cube of water, after Sonata used the wind to catch her, but at the same time the doctor who was allowing them to spend the night in the building had found some replacement clothing for her to wear, at least until her actual clothing had dried out and could be worn again without making her cold.
The sisters, on the other hand, sat near the windows and looked out at the Historic District, keeping their eyes open for the First Sons that were patrolling the area, as they were sure that their enemies were under orders to kill them the moment they came outside. Kessler was no doubt pissed over the fact that they had played his game and then cheated to save everyone that he had endangered, but at the same time it only stood to reason that he had been anticipating that he'd only have to deal with one Conduit, Cole, and not four of them in total. With the three of them helping Cole it made sense that they would be able to overcome everything that their foe used against them, though a good side effect of that was that Trish had been saved and that both she and the doctors would be able to save the people of the Warren or the Historic District, but all of them agreed that Trish needed to head back to the Warren, where she would be safe. The reasoning was that if she was still in this district, where she was supposed to have met her end, Kessler might order her immediate death, just to get at Cole and punish them for cheating like they did... but even then the sisters were sure that his hands would be tied once they went to town and started fighting them once more.
There was no telling what Kessler had planned next, because they honestly hadn't been expecting the villain to kidnap Trish in such a manner, but now that they knew the lengths he was willing to go to, in order to 'teach' Cole the 'lessons' he needed to know, they all agreed that he needed to be taken out soon, before he endangered someone else.
As the hours ticked by Trish recounted how she had been kidnapped, as the First Sons had barged into the hospital when she was looking over what else she needed to do and threw a bag over her head the moment she tried to stop them from taking her and some of the other doctors she was working with. They quickly discovered that four of the doctors were actually from the Warren, while the other two had been stationed inside the district they were in and had been taken by Kessler the moment the quarantine went into effect, indicating that their foe had planned for this to happen and had prepared accordingly. That just informed them that Kessler had planned all of this way in advance, making them wonder what else he had planned for them, but at the same time the group comforted Trish and made sure that she was calm after what had happened to her, before she asked what happened to Zeke, as she expected one of the sisters to have gotten him so that all of them could have been in the same area for the final confrontation... even though she was going to be taken back to the Warren, where the Dust Men had lost control of the situation thanks to the collapse of their tower and their leaders' downfall.
"Um, well, you see..." Cole said, rubbing the back of his head for a moment, as he honestly didn't to tell Trish the news that Zeke had taken the Ray Sphere and joined Kessler's side, especially after what she had just been through, but at the same time he honestly couldn't see a way out of this situation.
"Zeke tried to activate the Ray Sphere when we attacked Alden's tower," Adagio spoke up, knowing that if they didn't tell her the truth now, and waited until they were done with Kessler and the First Sons, Trish would be mad at them and that might undo all the work Cole had done to earn her trust back, "when that failed Kessler, who arrived to taunt Alden, promised him that he could 'fix' the device and give him the power that he desired... so, as of right now, Zeke's somewhere inside the Historic District, under the watchful eye of the First Sons and their leader."
"Zeke... betrayed us?" Trish repeated, clearly shocked by the fact that Zeke would have done such a thing, but then, when she started to recall what he had done before the Blast happened, she growled as she stared out the window for a few seconds, "If I see him again, after everything that's happened to me, I'm going to slap him for even thinking that joining Kessler's side was a good thing... and I don't care what his reasoning is, because there's no reason for him to give that damned sphere back to the person that made it, whose likely use it again."
"Don't worry Trish, we'll deal with Kessler and his plans." Cole said, though he was thankful that someone had stepped in and told her about the situation, but at the same time he wrapped his arm around her neck, so that way she knew that he was there for her, "We'll stop him from activating that device and killing anyone else... even though we'll have to break his plans and kill him before he's able to do that."
Trish nodded her head, as she clearly didn't like the thought of them actually killing anyone, but at the same time she knew that Kessler was one of the few people that she would agree that needed to die, because he had put the lives of so many people on the line earlier. Instead of saying anything the group remained silent and continued to rest from their various ordeals that they had been through, as they needed to be ready for what the next day brought them... and the first thing they were likely going to do was restore power to the rest of the Historic District, after making sure that Trish made it back to the hospital safely.
When the morning of the twentieth day arrived Cole, Trish, and the sisters had a light meal, as supplies were running low in the Historic District, or at least it was for the civilians since they were sure that Kessler had stockpiled food before the Blast happened, before Cole said goodbye to Trish for now. A few moments later, once Cole and Trish said their goodbyes for now, Aria, having been chosen to take Trish back over to the Warren, let Trish grab onto her and held tight, where she leapt into the air and flew back to the Warren, where she would drop Trish off before coming back to her sisters. Fortunately it didn't take Aria long to get back to the Historic District, where she landed in the park where the dead had been buried by the survivors of the Blast, though at the same time the others discovered that she had gotten Trish back to the hospital without anything happening along the way. The moment they were back together they discussed how they were going to go about restoring the power to the rest of this island, as, according to Cole, this island didn't have any sewers, which meant that there wasn't a substation under the ground either... though before they could get too far into their thoughts Cole's phone went off, where he found that John wanted to talk with them again.
"I saw what Kessler tried to put you through," John commented, his voice reflecting that he felt sorry for Cole, since the love of his life had been endangered and he had been forced to make a choice, though Cole was fortunate he didn't have to face it alone, otherwise Trish would have died last night, "Hell of a thing. Every minute that mad dog walks the planet, all of our lives are at risk. Seventy-five seconds."
"You know, if you've been keeping tabs on us, you could have at least told us that Trish was in danger." Sonata said, as it made sense that John would have known about the kidnapping, since he was keeping tabs on the four of them and everything that the First Sons had been up to since the Blast happened.
"I couldn't risk distracting you, not when Alden was on a rampage." John replied, his tone immediately shifting back to what they were used to, his uncaring attitude towards anyone that didn't benefit his mission, a tone that all four of them were starting to hate, "But you're right, I could have told you the news and I should have the moment you crossed over into the Historic District... though it doesn't matter anymore. You saved a lot of lives last night, including the love of Cole's life, and you should all be happy for it... and burning with a desire to get revenge on Kessler."
"Oh trust me, we all have the desire to bring him down." Cole stated, as the four of them, plus Trish and the doctors they had saved, wanted to bring Kessler down before he did something that put the entire city in jeopardy, before he turned his attention to what they had been discussing, "And I take it you have an idea?"
"I can help you get some payback for what Kessler did." John said, revealing that he had thought about this and knew what they needed to do, causing the four of them to listen as they waited to hear what sort of information he could give them at the moment, "The power grid on the southern half of this island never got updated, so it still uses the old external substations. Turn on all three substations, and you will restore the power to the rest of the island... and get a new power in the process."
Cole smiled for a moment, because the thought of adding a new power to his already considerable arsenal of powers, and knowing that the sisters would find a way to grow their own powers for an ability that was like his, made him excited to see what sort of power he might unlock. Since their enemies might be looking at the skies, as Kessler was now likely prepared for flying enemies, the four of them agreed to follow the streets and ignore the roofs this time around, though at the same time they were forced to fight the First Sons that were in their way. What didn't surprise them was that their enemies had a turret trunk on a few of the entrances into the powered down section of the Historic District, as that was common with all the gangs they had encountered so far, and they were still easy to take out thanks to Cole's Megawatt Hammer or the grenade attacks that the sisters had. What did surprise them was that, for the moment anyway, there weren't any RPG wielding soldiers in their way, though when Sonata went to one of the roofs, to be sure that they weren't being followed in some manner, she jumped off the roof as a mine went off, informing the group that they would have to be extra careful when they used the rooftops later on... while at the same time getting more confirmation that Kessler was definitely out to kill them.
It didn't take them long to reach the manhole that would allow them to descend to where the circuit was located, even when they had to take out several more members of the First Sons and pass by where the Blast had happened, though this time around, when they arrived at their destination, Cole lifted the lid out of the way and insisted that all three of them join him this time. He suspected that they would come out of the sewers in a completely different area and he wanted to be sure that they were all together when that happened, to which the sisters nodded as they climbed down the ladder that was in front of them and headed into the sewers, before Cole followed after them and let the lid fall behind him. As they suspected there were soldiers guarding the path to the circuit, to which the four of them fired at the enemies that were blocking the way forward, blasting them out of the way and dropping them into the water, where either Cole blasted them or Adagio froze them. Fortunately the group that was in front of them, containing only two men, were easy to take care of without any real work on their part, allowing them to climbed their way through the pipes that were in front of them before they reached the circuit... where Cole stepped forward and bridged the two halves together, allowing the power to course through his body and awaken another power.
"Oh yeah, that's a good one." Cole said, just as he touched the ground and looked at his hands, as he had seen what sort of power he'd be able to call upon next and knew that it was going to be a devastating one, especially since their enemies wouldn't see it coming until it was too late, "I got a Lightning Storm ability... meaning I can pull powerful bolts of lightning from the sky to deal with our enemies."
"Sort of like what happened when you first activated your powers," Adagio commented, referring to the day of the Blast, when the powerful bolts of lightning and torn themselves from the sky and struck down the unfortunate cops that had been near Cole, where the three of them had been protected by their auras coming to life at the same time.
"Exactly." Cole replied, though at the same time he started to make his way though the path that was in front of them, as he really wanted to go outside and see what sort of damage his new power could cause, something that the sisters were eager to see since they had only experienced this power when he was out of control.
The moment the group understood that Cole had a new ability, which was common when he reconnected the circuits down in the sewers, they headed through the opening that was in front of them and engaged the First Sons that were waiting for them. Despite the fact that the First Sons were prepared for battle they weren't expecting the sisters to be the ones to attack them first, as Adagio used the water that was around them to freeze some of them where they were standing, while Aria burned them and forced them into the water and Sonata simply used what little wind she could gather to push them off the platforms, allowing Cole to finish off the enemies that were swimming at the moment. It was clear that Kessler had prepared his soldiers to fight against someone with electric based powers, so while they fell back on their training they were slightly outmatched by someone that could manipulate the water around them, someone that could throw fireballs at them, and someone that twisted the wind at a moments notice. Cole guessed that this was only further verification that Kessler had planned for this to happen, that he had chosen him from the moment he seized control of the First Sons... which only made Cole want to hurt Kessler even more, because the man seemed to think that he was playing a game with them and that the lives of those around him were expendable, which they weren't.
After taking out their enemies the four of them headed to the end of the sewer, where a ladder to the surface was waiting for them, though as they climbed up the ladder and started pouring out onto the street that was above them, so they could find the substations, a turret truck didn't seem to notice them as it drove by them and came to a stop close to where they were standing.
"Oh, those idiots are going to be the first to taste my new power." Cole said, though at the same time he had the sisters back up a little, as he had no idea where the lightning was going to strike first, and he waited for a moment as they moved out of the way, before turning his attention to the truck.
Cole raised his hands towards the sky for a moment, feeling his own power connect to the sky, before he brought them down in a pulling motion and a powerful bolt of lightning came down from the sky, striking the ground in front of him and moved in the direction he was facing. The resulting damage was some cracks in the ground where the bolt had struck, but more importantly the bolt surged through the turret truck that was in front of him and blew the entire thing to pieces, including taking out the soldier that was standing where the turret was located, though when he stood straight the bolt stopped and disappeared. That told him that, if he wanted to use this power, he'd have to stay in the same stance until he had the desired effect that he was going for, though part of him wondered if he could direct the lightning with his gaze and not where he was facing, as he was sure that if he moved a little the bolt would disappear as quickly as it came to his call... and when two more turret trucks came into the area, and parked in front of him, Cole grinned as he glanced at the one to his right and called the lightning down, blowing it to pieces, before shifting his gaze and tore the one on his left apart as well.
"That's some powerful lightning." Adagio commented, as she and her sisters walked out of the area they had been standing in while Cole was dealing with the turret trucks, though she wasn't surprised to find that the trucks their friend had fired at had been torn apart, before she looked at him, "How are you feeling?"
"Incredible... yet at the same time I'm a little drained." Cole admitted, indicating that his newest ability really took a lot out of him and that he was going to need a continuous source of power if he was going to use it multiple times in a row, like the bus he had rode on earlier when they were helping Trish go to the hospital, "I guess it's time we head out and find those substations so we can restore the power to this isla..."
"Cole, we need to talk." a voice said, to which the four of them glanced down at their phones, as it appeared that Moya had gotten tired of being ignored and was calling them once more, though at the same time Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were tired of her presence, "I know what John's been telling you."
"Listen Moya, there's nothing for us to talk about anymore." Aria stated, stopping Cole before he could say anything, because right now their 'handler', if she could even be called that since she had a terrible time fulfilling her promises to them and was pretty much at the mercy of the military in terms of getting stuff done, was just another annoyance that they didn't want in their lives at the moment, "You've lied to us, about this entire situation, from the very beginning... you should have known that it was only a matter of time until we found out that you weren't telling the truth."
"I didn't have any other choice." Moya replied, though the annoying tone that she used all the time, when she was calling them, was back and the sisters stared at their phones for a moment, while at the same time Cole did the same thing, as he was annoyed with the FBI agent as well, "I had to make myself appear sympathetic, to get all four of you to help me. The Ray Sphere cannot fall into the wrong hands!"
"I'm going to call bullshit on that." Sonata said, surprising Adagio and Aria for a moment, as this was a first from their sister, but they said nothing as they waited for her to finish talking, as they were sure that she had something specific to say to Moya, "There were other things you could have said that wasn't feeding us a spoonful of lies, like maybe say that John was a rogue agent or a traitor and that he needed to be brought in. We might have bought that, but instead you went with a lie that easily fell apart when we ran into John, so it's your own fault that this is happening now. And, based on what we saw earlier, I'm sure that your real plan was to just take John and the Ray Sphere when we found them, leaving us here to fend for ourselves once more... but I hate to break it to you, no ones getting that damned sphere."
"No, I would have done everything in my power to get the four of you out of there." Moya stated, as if she thought that such a ploy was going to work at this point, but at the same time it showed that she really wasn't paying attention to what the four of them had been thinking.
"Moya, you're no longer in control anymore," Adagio replied, knowing that, since Moya was near where the military was stationed, this entire situation could escalate in a matter of seconds and introduce another enemy for them to fight, but they would cross that bridge when they reached it, "We told Kessler this yesterday, and it applies to you as well; you are no longer running this game anymore, you don't get to decide what rules we follow, and you don't get to decide what happens when someone tells you off. The Dazzlings are in control now, and you will find that we play for keeps... now go away and leave us to our work."
A few seconds later Adagio tapped her phone and the connection was terminated, though at the same time Cole stared at the sisters for a moment, as he was surprised that they had suddenly changed when he wasn't looking, but he suspected that it was Kessler's endangering so many lives that had made the change... and yet, at the same time, he found that this was something he could accept, because the three of them seemed happy about the situation.
"You do realize that Moya's not going to just sit on the sidelines and let us walk away, right?" Cole asked, as he wanted to be sure that the sisters understood what they had done, though even if they didn't understand the situation he was sure that their powers would allow them to overcome anything that Moya threw at them.
"We'll cross that bridge when we reach it," Adagio replied, to which she, Aria, and Sonata turned towards him for a moment, as they were interested in getting underway, since there was something that they needed to do before they did anything else, "Come on, let's go find those substations and restore power to the rest of the island."
What they did, instead of heading through the streets, was climb up the side of the nearby building before using the rooftops to reach the location of the first substation, though as they made their way through the city the four of them blasted the mines that were on the roofs in front of them. At the same time the sisters flew through the air and made sure to stay near Cole, though while they did that they blasted the First Sons soldiers that were on the street level, surprising them that some of their enemies weren't standing on the roofs, but they weren't going to complain about the situation that was presented to them. It didn't take them long to reach the area of the first substation, which happened to be located near a gas station, though it also had a bunch of First Sons soldiers standing around it, indicating that Kessler knew what they were going to do and had his followers ready to stop them. As they headed towards their destination the First Sons decided to blow up the gas station when the four of them neared it, as the plan was to clear out the area first, but as flames consumed the station Aria grinned as she extended her hand towards the destroyed station... to which the flames danced and she sent them at the First Sons, burning them in the process while blowing up the turret truck that was moving into position.
Adagio shook her head for a moment, as that was a stupid decision for the First Sons to make considering that they were fighting someone that could control the flames and use them against them, but once the area was cleared out Cole approached the substation and loosed a few bolts at it... though at the same time, since it was one of the older machines, he could tell that it needed to charge before it was ready to go.
"Those substations are old, so they're going to come online in fits and starts," John spoke up, though whether or not he had heard what they had told Moya wasn't important at the moment, as he was focused on the mission at hand and nothing else, "The four of you are going to have to defend each one until they power up."
"I've got an idea," Cole said, seeing that there was some electric field on top of the substation, which he climbed up on and felt the power course through his body as he turned towards the sisters, "You might want to back up, because I don't want this to hurt any of you."
Adagio was tempted to tell Cole that the possibility of Cole's Lightning Storm hurting them was slim to none, since the three of them could use their aura to defend themselves, but instead she nodded her head and headed to the top of the building that was above the substation, where her sisters joined her. As they prepared themselves for what the First Sons had planned for them, since they weren't going to let them do this without a fight, their enemies charged out from where they were hiding and started heading towards where Cole was standing, who only grinned as he raised his hands towards the sky. What followed was Cole unleashing a Lightning Storm upon the First Sons, who suffered as the lightning coursed through their bodies and scattered them in the process, to which the sisters simply stood where they were standing and watched the mayhem as their enemies were defeated by Cole's attack. While that happened some of the First Sons actually tried to attack the three of them from behind, though Sonata was the first to react as she used the wind to push them off the roof and let them fall to the ground... giving Adagio and Aria the chance to stare at the enemies being dealt with by Cole and the couple of Lightning Storms that he summoned.
When the first substation was finally powered up, and the First Sons stopped coming at them, the sisters rejoined Cole and headed towards the second location on their GPS, though as they moved through the city they fired at the enemies that got in their way and destroyed the turret trucks at the same time.
"So how much did Moya know about me? Fifty-two seconds." John asked, though at the same time he added the number of seconds at the very end, something that the group was used to hearing since they had first encountered him, while at the same time they carefully moved through the city.
"Honestly, she didn't tell us much about you." Cole replied, as while Moya had asked them to find John, for her own purposes anyway, none of them were sure what pieces of information they had been given were the truth and which ones were the lies, "Does it really matter at this point?"
"She works for a different agency and knew I was undercover." John stated, his voice revealing that he was annoyed about what he was talking about, which made sense considering that someone could have easily ratted him out to Kessler if they really wanted to, "That means the NSA has been compromised, and that someone is outing agents. Our entire national security apparatus could be exposed. Twenty-nine seconds."
"John, no offense, but we've got some more important matters to deal with at the moment." Adagio said, her mind focused on Moya and what she was going to do now that she knew that she was no longer in control of the situation, as she was sure that the lady had something planned, "Look, once we've dealt with Kessler and the First Sons, and their damned Ray Sphere, then we can focus on figuring out what's wrong with the NSA and see to helping your fellow agents."
Sure, she and her sisters knew nothing about this world's organizations, the security based ones, but she was sure that with some time and patience they might be able to learn something about them, while at the same time she meant what she had said, as Kessler was their target at the moment and he needed to be dealt with. Even though she was busy thinking about their enemy it didn't take them long to reach the second substation, where Cole powered it up and took up his defensive position on top of it, while at the same time the sisters stayed in the nearby tunnel and blasted the First Sons soldiers that tried to use it to attack Cole. At the same time Cole unleashed the power of his Lightning Storm and carved his way through the soldiers that were coming at him, knocking them around like dolls and knocking them unconscious at the same time, meaning that he wouldn't have to worry about them at all, as the four of them would be long gone by the time they woke up. While all of this happened Cole knew that John was likely looking for the Ray Sphere, no doubt annoyed that Zeke had given it back to the man that had created it, but Cole simply used his anger as he summoned the Lightning Storms to deal with his enemies, intending to use as much of his anger as he could so he wouldn't be upset over what had happened at the top of Alden's tower... at least for the next couple of minutes anyway.
Eventually, thanks to their combined efforts, the four of them were able to restore the power to the second substation, to which they vacated from the area and started to make their way towards their third and final destination, so they could restore power to the Historic District and get to work on stopping Kessler.
"What would you have done if Trish had died, Cole?" Kessler said, causing the group to stop as Cole glanced down at his phone once more, as he absolutely hated this man with every fiber of his being, because he was responsible for everything that had happened so far, "Would you have buried her? Would you have mourned her passing and used that as inspiration to fight on? Believe me, I know how hard it is to bury a loved one, even though I am still disappointed in your friends for stepping in when they did."
"Kessler, you might think that you're in control of this game of yours, but that's a lie," Adagio stated, though this time around Cole was glad that she was stepping up and talking to the person on the other end, as all he was thinking about was telling the evil man that he was going to tear him apart until he was dead, "My sisters and I have played this type of game before, on a much smaller scale anyway, and we always play for keeps... so, as of right now, you no longer have a say in what rules we follow or what we do. We're going to tear your plans apart, destroy the First Sons until there's nothing left of them, and then the four of us are going to kill you with all the skills we've learned so far."
"Yes, you probably will." Kessler replied, surprising the four of them by how tired he sounded, like he had been forcing himself to do so many horrible things for the greater good or something like that, but they knew that he was an insane old man that was out to destroy the world, so they didn't let his tone weaken their resolve to kill him, "In fact, I hope you do. I've been at this for a very long time, and I'm tired. Worn out. Won't be much longer until the end."
The group glanced at each other, as it was clear that Kessler was planning something this time around, to which they resolved to keep their eyes and ears open as they continued through the city, bringing defeat to the First Sons soldiers that were in their way, before they found the location of the third substation. This time around their enemies brought in more soldiers and turret trunks to try and destroy the substation, to which the sisters each took up a position that wasn't facing the direction that Cole was facing, before they all unleashed their might upon the First Sons. Lightning rained down from the sky and blew several groups of enemies apart, while Sonata used the wind to knock her targets around like dolls until they surrendered, Aria created a wall of fire to purposely make her targets decide whether they stepped through the flames or went around to another side, and Adagio used the moisture in the air to create small ice lances that pinned her targets down in a single spot, before she froze them completely. Between the four of them there was no way for the First Sons to even get close to the substation, so when the machine was fully powered up, and the power was restored to the area that they were in, their enemies fled the scene and left them alone.
Victory was clearly their's, there was no doubt about that, though before they said anything they waited to see what John might have to say about their situation, since he always seemed to have something new to tell them when they finished an objective he sent their way... and sure enough their phones went off a few moments later, with a call from John about the next task they needed to complete.
"I just found out what Kessler wanted with Sasha," John said, reminding them that Kessler had taken Sasha and was likely torturing her at that very moment, though while they didn't care about her too much they knew that there had to be a reason behind his actions, "he's milking her like a damn cow, turning her mine-control tar into a gas based toxin. Forty-one seconds."
"Do I even want to know what he's got planned for that toxin?" Cole asked, because Sasha's tar had controlled the minds of so many people that had lived in the Neon District, corrupting them and transforming them into obedient members of the Reaper gang, which they had taken out before heading into the Warren.
"It seems that Kessler is planning on spreading the toxin across the entirety of Empire City." John replied, though as he said that the four of them stared at their phones, as they already knew the implications of what he was saying and knew that this had to be stopped before it got worse, "If Kessler succeeds in spreading the toxin to everyone in the city, he could take control of each and every one of them... and then send them all after the four of you."
Adagio growled for a moment, as she couldn't believe that Kessler thought that he could get away with something like this, as he was pretty much trying to create an army of innocent people that they would have to fight through in order to get to him, but at the same time she found herself touching the area where her pendant had been. Sure, she and her sisters had used their compelling voices to either subtly or directly manipulate the minds of those that were their targets, save for the human versions of the Elements of Harmony, thanks to what Sonata was able to find out about them when Sunset up and vanished, but now that power was gone. Even as she thought about it she knew that the only other way to deal with this madness, instead of attacking whatever was dispensing the toxin, would have been to use their voices and target the people, as in freeing those that were already trapped under Kessler's thumb and shielding the others from the toxin, but that wasn't an option. It would have been an act of redemption, that they used their voices for the good of others instead of controlling them and ruining their lives, but with their shattered singing voices such a thing was no longer a possibility... and she barely moved when she felt someone touching her shoulder a few seconds later.
When she felt a like shaking she turned and looked at her sisters, seeing that they had been thinking the same thing that she had been considering, and yet, in their eyes, there was a fire that glowed that showed that, even though they didn't have their voices anymore, they would like to try anyway... and, as she stared into their eyes, she found that the desire to try awoke in her as well, so much so that the three of them asked John if he knew where the Voice of Survival's studio had been located. If Kessler was going to try something like this, and attempt to brainwash everyone, then it seemed like the perfect time to try their luck and see if they earned the right to have their old powers back... even if they weren't on the same level as before.
Kessler stared down at the screens in front of him, four of them showing the balloons that were spreading his mind-control toxin over the entirety of Empire City, and found that his plan seemed to be working like a charm, despite the fact that those pesky girls that were following Cole told him that this was no longer his 'game'. He was annoyed that he didn't kill Trish and teach Cole the lesson that he was supposed to have learned, but at the same time he decided that it wasn't too much of an issue, as he could always try again later and correct the mistake while Cole was distracted. That wouldn't be too hard to arrange, since the Ray Sphere was still in play he could tempt the 'heroes' with the tool that had given Cole his powers and send them on a wild goose chase, but first he needed his men to finish up their preparations for the next stage of the plan, which they would be finishing any moment now. Once Cole and his group found the Ray Sphere, and did whatever they wanted with it, he knew that the final showdown between them would begin, and he planned on making sure that Cole was ready for what was coming next, as it was going to be even worse than he was.
His thoughts were interrupted as one of the screens showed on the many screens that the Voice of Survival had revealed himself on when he had a message to say, even though most of the recent ones had been from the First Sons to paint Cole as a terrorist so the people would be out for blood, even though they're on his side at the moment. After some thought he had ordered the death of the Voice of Survival, tying up a loose end in the process, and had forgotten about the studio the man had worked in entirely, which was why his attention, and that of his followers, were drawn to the screen that was in front of them. What he discovered was that the three girls that were following Cole around had quickly cleared the area of the studio to give themselves some room, along with three microphones that they happened to be holding onto, as if they were going to play a song for the people of Empire City, which actually caused some of his followers to laugh at them before they even started. He had to wonder if the news of what he was going to do to the people of the city had reached them and had broken their spirits, as if they were going to apologize or something before they died... but then, when they opened their mouths, that was when everything seemed to fall apart.
Kessler had to admit that he wasn't fond of music, not after all the pain and hardships that he had been through to reach this point, but as the sisters started to sing, in what sounded like the voices of three angels, he heard them sing about 'falling under a spell' and that the people needed to break free, or something like that. Since the song was being broadcast all over the city he determined that nothing could go wrong from it, but as he watched them sing his followers reported that the people that were already under the control of the toxin were somehow breaking free and were dancing along to the song. As the seconds went by Kessler found that everyone that had been influenced by the mind-control toxin had broken free and was now acting like they had been before the balloons went into the air, and those that weren't under the influence weren't affected at all. He honestly couldn't believe what he was seeing, as Conduits didn't have the power to do something like that, not unless that was part of their power like it was for Sasha, and yet the three sisters, who commanded one of the most powerful elemental powers he had ever seen, had somehow developed another new power that they shared together... one that was breaking the hold that he had on the people across the city, though while that happened he noticed Cole MacGrath destroying the balloons and blowing his entire operation out of the water.
Kessler growled as he ordered his followers to proceed with the next objective and ignore the singing girls, though as the screens changed, and left his second failed task behind, he noticed that all three of the sisters now wore a sapphire pendant around their necks... though he soon let that thought fade away as he focused on his next objective, knowing that it was only a matter of time until the group started their search for the Ray Sphere.
Cole, after dealing with the four toxin filled balloons that had been scattered throughout the entirety of Empire City, sighed and headed back to the Historic District, or more accurately the building that the Voice of Survival had used to spread his lies about him, apparently at the command of the First Sons based on the information they found around the man's corpse when they found the building. He had heard the sisters sing when they appeared on the television screens all over the city, something that they told him they might not be able to do since their original Siren powers had been broken, but it seemed that, with them coming to a new world and gaining new powers, there was a chance that they had redeemed themselves enough to earn back what they were missing. At the same time, however, he had to think about the effects of their song, as he had felt something touch his mind and then discovered that, when he fell beneath one of the balloons because he mistimed the jump, that the toxin had no effect on him, though he wasn't sure if it was because it didn't work on Conduits or that it was a smaller dose than what Sasha used. And, speaking of Sasha, he had felt her screams of agony as the sisters cut off all the mind-controlled people that she was used to controlling, depriving her of the army she had been creating and freeing many of the Reapers at the same time... and then she was gone, her voice no longer able to reach his ears, and he suspected that it was part of what the Dazzlings had done.
When he reached the building that they were supposed to be in, however, he found them standing on the roof, looking out over the city that they had sung to with a smile on all of their faces, as they were pleased with the results... and, oddly enough, each of them were wearing a strange sapphire pendant around their neck.
"It seems that your plan worked like a charm." Cole commented, causing the three of them to turn towards him for a moment, though at the same time he was happy that their plan had been so successful, as Trish would have been cross with him if he had killed any of the mind-controlled people that Kessler was trying to create, "The people are free of the toxin that Kessler was spreading throughout the city, they're showing no signs of ever being mind-controlled in such a manner again, and it seems like you've even managed to expel Sasha's whispers from my mind as well. What in the world did the three of you do?"
"Remember what we told you earlier, about our true selves?" Adagio asked, though as Cole nodded she glanced down at her neck, where she fingered the gemstone that was resting there, as she understood why the three of them had been given a second chance, before turning her gaze back to their friend as he nodded, "Before we lost our original powers, which we told you the tale of, we used to sing and sow chaos among the people that were around us, until eventually we went over our limits and suffered a terrible defeat. Our voices were the key to what we had done, so without our powers we couldn't do anything, but after coming to this city, and helping you tackle the Reapers, Dust Men, and the First Sons, as well as helping you save the people at the same time, I thought that maybe, just maybe, we had earned another chance."
"And it appears that, by following a different path, we've been given that second chance," Aria said, though she was fingering her sapphire, enjoying the fact that both she and her sisters had gemstones again, even if this time they were different from their original ones, "When we sung we focused on using our power to free the people from the mind-control that Kessler was enforcing on them and protect them from future attempts, by either him, Sasha, or anyone else that comes after them... and our original powers resurfaced and gave us what we wanted."
"I don't think we'll need to feed on negative emotions anymore," Sonata spoke up, staring into the heart of the gemstone that she was holding, while at the same time remembering what they had done when they had their original ruby pendants, that the Rainbooms had shattered when they were stopping them, "I think that these represent the return of our original powers... and maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to unlock our true power with these gemstones."
Cole knew what the sisters were talking about, as he remembered what they had told him back when they explained that they were from an entirely different planet that worked differently than his world, and happened to be full of magical creatures that were strong enough to beat them in battle. Them getting these gemstones back had to be a temptation for them, one that might make them return to the evil that they had been doing before their defeat and, at the same time, he knew that if that happened he'd never be able to best them, but even as that thought crossed his mind he knew that it would never come to pass. From what he had been told the original gemstones had been like rubies, based on the color they had possessed, and these new ones were sapphires, meaning that they had to reflect the fact that they were on the path of good and that the temptation to go back to their old ways wouldn't work on them... they were heroes of the people, and the new gemstones reflected that fact, so he knew that there was no way for them to return to their old habits, not without them suffering if they made such a decision.
He was also sure that the desire to turn the people against each other had risen when they sung their song, but he was pleased to see that they were sticking to their new lives as heroes... though as he opened his mouth to say something, however, his phone went off and they turned towards it, because it was either Kessler, John, or Moya that wanted to bother them at the moment.
"Listen to me, Cole." Moya stated, her tone indicating that she wasn't about to play by the rules that the Dazzlings had told her earlier, to which the sisters looked at their phones for a moment, because they were simply curious as to what she could say to them and what threats she would make, "I know you and those girls are angry, but this is bigger than you and them... it's bigger than all of us! The fate of our country, maybe even the entire world, depends on what happens to the Ray Sphere. Imagine what would happen if it fell into the hands of a terrorist organization. The Ray Sphere isn't a weapon of mass destruction, it's a weapon of ultimate destruction. The four of you HAVE to find it and give it to me, so I can safely lock it away where no one can get their hands on it."
"Listen well, Moya," Aria said, as she was getting tired of this lady and the constant lies that she was telling, because it sure sounded like she had no intentions of locking away the Ray Sphere, rather it sounded like she knew exactly what it was capable of and wanted a loyal soldier that was as powerful as Cole was, "We told you that you, as well as Kessler, are no longer in control of the situation and, since you lied to us from the very beginning, you can consider the deal void as of this very moment. It's like Adagio said earlier, we're in complete control of this situation, so back off and let us do what needs to be done to save these people."
With that said Aria disconnected the call and the four of them smiled, as they were all happy for their own various reasons at the moment, though as they sat down, to discuss the next stage of their plan, their phones rang again, but this time it was someone completely different.
"You know, I think it's time we went of the offensive." John said, surprising the group for a moment, because so far John had been sticking to the shadows and only coming out when he felt that the time was right, which meant that there was a reason behind this sudden change, "I've managed to rig up an old police chopper with some surveillance gear, which should help us locate the Ray Sphere's location. Forty-three seconds."
"And you're sure that such a thing is going to work?" Cole asked, because while he didn't doubt John's ability to plan things out, as so far he seemed to have a good head on his shoulders, there was also the fact that certain things kept catching him off guard.
"Look, I spent months following Kessler around, copying his notes." John stated, reminding them of the fact that he had been put inside the First Sons to get information and eventually smash the organization down from the inside, only he never got the chance to do that considering that Kessler got what he wanted, "With the rig I've got on this chopper, you riding shotgun, and the girls flying around us, we'll find the Ray Sphere in no time. Meet me by the old Ashford Building in the Historic District. Sixteen seconds."
Without wasting a second Cole and the Dazzlings walked out of the studio that the Voice of Survival had been using and headed over to the building that John wanted them to met up on, which wasn't too far away from where they had been standing, and they were able to climb it easily, as there weren't any First Sons soldiers in the area. A few moments later a helicopter, one carrying a decent sized platform with several metal dishes on the bottom side, came into view and eventually pulled up beside the building, where they found John sitting in the cockpit and discovered that the platform was being powered by a generator inside the helicopter. Cole assumed that John had taken notes when he was watching them help Trish to the hospital, or when they assisted the cops in defending the prison, and made this according to what he had seen, though he smiled and jumped onto the platform while the Dazzlings floated in the air near the helicopter, keeping a decent distance so they didn't get hurt by the blades that kept it in the air.
Once they started moving through the area, however, John opened a line so that all four of them could hear him easily, which meant that he was likely going to tell them exactly what they were going to do and how they were going to go about completing their mission.
"Kessler's positioned a mobile jammer on each island, and the damned things are cloaked." John said, to which Cole and the Dazzlings glanced at each other, as they had the feeling that they knew where this was going without him saying what he was going to say, "They mask the emitted by the Ray Sphere, which is why no one is able to find it. The dishes on the bottom of the platform are set up to find those jammers... though as I find each one I'll stop in the area and you four will go down and destroy it."
As they acknowledged what John was saying, indicating that they knew the plan he wanted to stick to, Adagio and her sisters noticed some RPG carrying members of the First Sons and attacked them before they had a chance to get into position, preventing them from firing at the helicopter, while at the same time Cole fired a few blasts at some other enemies that were on a nearby roof. Aria had a blast with their enemies, as some of the groups that they came across were bunched up enough where she could use the Firebomb technique she had developed and blew the groups apart before they could even attack the helicopter. Sonata used the wind to push back the rockets that were being launched at them, the ones that Cole didn't see anyway, while blasting the First Sons that were in their way, though at the same time Adagio called the moisture out of the air and hurled Ice Spears at her targets, damaging them and knocking them out of the way at the same time. For the most part Cole stayed still and returned the rockets that were coming from a different direction, but thanks to the Dazzlings moving through the air, blowing the First Sons apart, despite their obvious attempts to prepare for such an attack, and opening the way for John to get them over to the Warren... where they continued to blast their way through the enemies that were waiting for them.
A few seconds after entering the Warren again, however, John came to a stop and told them that he had the location that the first jammer was in, to which Cole jumped off the platform, climbed down the building that John had stopped near, and crossed over to the area that the Dazzlings were heading towards. As they did that they discovered that the First Sons had flying drones of some kind, ones that attacked them when they got close, though at the same time the four of them found that they were easy to destroy and took them out immediately, before heading down into the lower area that the jammer was hidden in. The soldiers of the First Sons turned towards them as they dropped down into the area and opened fire, causing them to scatter and use their powers to dismantle the guardians of the jammer, but before they bothered to find the jammer Sonata noticed that something seemed to be moving with some sort of invisibility cloak on and discovered that it was another type of Conduit that Kessler had created for his operation in Empire City, but since she was watching the area it was easy to take the new enemy out.
Once the enemies in the area were taken care of, and the Dazzlings confirmed that, Cole had them move out of the way before unleashing a Lightning Storm on the jammer, blowing it to pieces, to which they returned to the helicopter and let John take off as they started the search for their second target... while at the same time blasting the soldiers that were on the rooftops around them. As they flew towards the location of the next jammer, which John had located while they were dealing with the first one, John revealed that he had been chasing after Cole the day the Blast happened, to stop him from opening the package that contained the Ray Sphere, only he lost Cole when he ran a red light. Cole, of course, had been a bike courier and had been behind schedule delivering the 'package' to the area that it was supposed to go to, but even he had to admit that if John had caught him, or if he hadn't run that red light, none of this would have happened the way Kessler originally planned... but, at the same time, the Dazzlings knew that Kessler would have just gotten his hands on the Ray Sphere again and the Blast would have happened anyway.
One other thing John wanted to talk about was Cole's plans for leaving the city, since that had been the plan when the Voice of Survival started to ruin his good name, though after a few seconds Cole said that he wasn't planning on leaving Empire City, not when there were people that were threatening the people that had embraced them as heroes... though John insisted that they worry about their futures, especially since the government wasn't going to leave them alone, not with the power they commanded. John seemed to think that the government, if they couldn't recreate the Ray Sphere, would be able to lock them up and force them to follow orders, causing the Dazzlings to huff at such a thought, because while they trusted John a little they weren't about to tell him everything. Cole, on the other hand, knew that, as Sirens, they were likely immune to mind-control and had to be extremely hard to command when the order wasn't something that they would have done anyway... and besides, he was sure that the Dazzlings would escape whatever prison or cell the government tried to throw them in, if they could even catch them anyway.
When they entered the Neon District they made sure to take out the First Sons that were along the path that John was following, though at the same time the group found that some of the former Reapers, now cured of Sasha's mind-control, were firing at the First Sons while they were distracted, while at the same time they all had their hoods pulled back and looked at the skies with a look of joy on their faces. Cole knew that they were looking at the Dazzlings, knowing that they were the ones that had saved them from the terrible fate that Sasha had planned for them, and were eager to take their rage out on another group that was trying to take control of the area, or at the very least that was what was going through their minds at the moment. He then glanced at the sisters for a moment, finding that they hadn't planned for such a thing to happen, to which he wished the people luck and that they didn't get hurt, as they likely had loved ones waiting for them at the end of the day, and let John carry them to the location of the second jammer, though upon arriving at their destination they assaulted the First Sons that were in their way and headed towards their target. Just like the last jammer they found some cloaked enemies protecting the cloaked device, but at the same time none of them cared as they used their powers to blast the First Sons out of the way... until Cole unleashed a Lightning Storm and tore the jammer apart, once the sisters had taken care of the soldiers anyway.
With the deed done they returned to the helicopter and John moved out for the third jammer, which was located in the Historic District and couldn't have been located while the other two were still operational, where the four of them guessed that the explanation made sense, but paid it little attention as they engaged the enemies that there trying to stop them from reaching the third district... and, along the way, they got a call from the last person they expected to hear from, especially after his betrayal.
"Cole, I know you're there." Zeke said, to which the sisters raised an eyebrow for a moment, as they were surprised that he wanted to talk with them, after what he pulled on top of Alden's tower when he had his hands on the damned Ray Sphere, "Come on man, talk to me."
"There's nothing for us to talk about." Cole replied, as Zeke's betrayal had hurt him more than he had expected it to, mostly because of how close they had been before he had made the terrible decision that he had made, "If you want to talk so badly, then why don't you call Trish and apologize for what your new best friend did, because if it wasn't for Adagio and her sisters, and their quick thinking, Kessler would have killed Trish."
"I didn't know what Kessler was going to pull something like that, honest." Zeke stated, his tone insisting that he didn't know anything about what their enemy was planning, which made sense considering that he likely didn't trust Zeke and was only keeping him around to inflict some more pain on Cole, in the sense that his best friend betrayed him.
"Zeke... I'm just hang up before one of us says something that we'll regret later on." Cole said, to which he tapped his phone and disconnected the call, because while he was angry with Zeke, furious even, he had some hope that his best friend would see the light before it was too late, and, at the same time, being mad at him was only going to distract him for their current mission.
Before Cole had a moment to ask one of the sisters their opinion on Zeke, however, John came to a stop at the garage they had run through after the Blast happened, when they were all still wounded from the explosion, and indicated that the third jammer was somewhere inside the structure. As such Cole jumped down onto the floor below him and the Dazzlings joined him, where the four of them carefully cleared the floor they were on of all enemies, what few there were, before they made their way to the next level and repeated the process of clearing out the First Sons that were guarding the jammer. This time around the cloaked enemies were a little smarter about how they approached the battle, but at the same time their movements alerted Sonata to where they were standing and she knocked them out accordingly, allowing Adagio, Aria, and Cole to deal with the other soldiers and drones that were in the area. Even with the small force that was guarding the final jammer the four of them were able to take it out quickly, opening the way for John to figure out where the Ray Sphere was being hidden so they could retrieve it... and hopefully destroy it without anything happening.
"I need to get some things ready before we go after the Ray Sphere," John stated, to which the helicopter moved out of the area, indicating that he was leaving them behind, though at the same time that didn't concern the group, not with the flying abilities that the Dazzlings had picked up earlier, "so try and get some sleep. When we make our move, Kessler's going to hit us with everything he's got."
"Um, how about no." Adagio replied, as she couldn't believe that John was going to have them go through all this work, smashing the jammers so they could figure out where the damned Ray Sphere was located, and then not move until he was ready to take action, when it was going to be the four of them that did the fighting, "By the time you finish getting ready, which might be an entire day if we're being honest, Kessler might run off with the Ray Sphere and then we'll never find it if he runs away from Empire City. Just tell us where it's located and we'll go secure it, then you can join us and we'll blow the damned thing to pieces."
"Fine, have it your way." John said, though at the same time Cole wondered if Adagio had used a little bit of her old power to convince John that they needed to move now, but if that was the case he would have heard something in her voice and he hadn't actually heard anything that was different, "Get to a roof near the old Examiner Building and I'll explain the next stage of our plan once your in position."
"Did you command him to obey you?" Cole asked, as he only mentioned that the moment the call between them and John was disconnected, though at the same time it was his curiosity that was getting the better of him at the moment, as he wanted to know the truth before they went forward.
"No, but I was thinking of trying that if he refused to agree with my suggestion." Adagio replied, as she was happy that John had agreed with her, as she knew that they couldn't waste an entire day, especially since there was no telling what Moya was going to do now that she wasn't in control of the situation anymore, "Come on, let's get the show on the road."
Cole nodded and the four of them headed out from the garage that they were standing in, where they carefully climbed the nearby building and made their way over to their destination, though as they did that all of them noticed something odd about the skies, there were planes approaching the Historic District that appeared to be some of the military vehicles that they had seen earlier. It appeared that Adagio's suggestion to get things underway was well worth it, because it seemed like Moya was launching an offensive to try and claim the Ray Sphere, though at the same time that made them get over to the roofs near the Examiner Building so they could get the device first. Fortunately, with the fact that the sisters could fly through the air, it didn't take them long to reach one of the buildings in question, though as they landed all four of them noticed that, while they were busy with the jammers, Kessler had his forces install large machines on some of the roofs, which were pointing at the planes at the moment... and, as they looked around the area, there was no sign of John and his helicopter, meaning that he was wasting time that they clearly didn't have.
A few minutes later they spotted the helicopter in question, though from what little they could tell they could see that John was both annoyed about something and happy about another thing, where Adagio suspected that he was happy to follow her suggestion, since Kessler's forces would be under attack from the military soon, and annoyed that things were moving faster than what he originally planned.
"Kessler's been keeping the Ray Sphere inside the old Examiner Building, though it'll be a bitch to get into it." John said, which made sense considering the machines that Kessler had set up and the fact that Moya was sending in the military to take care of things, "I have a canister of fentanyl rigged to the bottom of the chopper, which should incapacitate anyone inside the building. The downside is that Kessler has set up some anti-air guns on the surrounding buildings, which will tear me apart long before I can get into position."
"It also seems like someone else has come to play as well," Cole commented, referring to the military plans that were currently drawing the fire of the anti-air guns, but at the same time knowing that John would become a prime target if he moved too close to the building, "Look, I'll take out the guns on the surrounding buildings, the sisters can deal with the incoming military plans, and then you can gas the bastards... then we'll take the Ray Sphere and be on our way."
"That sounds like a plan." John said, though this time around he was happy to hear that everyone had some part to play, as they needed to act quickly before Kessler moved the Ray Sphere again, before he cut off the connection between their phones and continued to pilot the helicopter until the skies were clear.
Cole nodded and turned towards the sisters, who understood what they were going to do this time around, as they knew that the planes were only going to ruin this operation before they had a chance to get what they had come for, but before any of them could move Cole's phone went off again... and this time around they all had an idea as to who was calling him without even looking at the front of the phone.
"Do you see those jets, Cole?" Moya asked, though her tone was a mocking one, as if she believed that she was in complete control of the situation and that, in the moment she was told that she wasn't in control, she had ordered the planes to take flight, which was why they were coming towards the Historic District, "They'll be hitting targets all over Empire City, clearing the way for a ground invasion in a few hours time. I warned the lot of you that if I lost 'control' of the situation, which you claim to have done to me, they would escalate things and take action immediately. You shouldn't have reneged on our deal."
"So what, you lied to the military and told them that the situation was worse than you thought it was?" Cole asked, as he couldn't believe that Moya was actually willing to kill everyone in Empire City, all the innocent people that Kessler had put in danger, all because the Dazzlings had taken the control of the situation away from her, "You can't pin the blame on us, Moya, not when you're the one that's ordered the death of thousands of innocent people because we won't hand over the Ray Sphere... which we don't even have yet."
"Oh Cole, I've already pinned all the blame on you and those girls that keep following you around," Moya replied, her tone remaining the entire time, showing that she believed that she had control of the entire situation, regardless of what everyone else did, "even if you all survive the bombing, and somehow make it out of Empire City, the entire world will know that the 'Demon and Sirens of Empire City' are still at large... and sooner or later you'd wish you had taken my deal when it was still on the table."
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata stared at their phones for a moment, anger written all over their faces, before they turned towards the incoming bombers that were preparing to destroy more of the city and kill so many more people, where Cole watched as their auras snapped to life and they surged off into the distance. This was further confirmation that they had turned over a new leaf, as they weren't about to let Moya have her way, and he watched them for a few seconds as they flew towards the bombers, where the first one to react was Sonata as she formed some wind claws and tore the wings off the planes that she was targeting, while dropping the bodies into the water below them. Adagio pulled the moisture to her hands and started hurling Ice Spears at the wings that were her targets, blowing them to pieces in the process, before moving onto the next plane that needed to be destroyed, while at the same time Aria, using the fires her sisters created with their explosions, created a pair of flaming swords that allowed her to cut through the metal wings like they were made of butter or paper. Even when the bombers started firing at them the sisters proved that they were too much for them, as they flew out of the way and smashed the planes to pieces, while at the same time making sure that the pilots escaped their vehicles before they exploded... showing that, despite their anger, they were only pissed off at Moya and weren't about to hold the pilots accountable for the orders they were given, save for the one pilot that attacked Adagio, who simply froze him in ice and let him sink to the bottom of the harbor.
Cole chuckled as he got to work as well, carefully fighting his way through the First Sons soldiers that were protecting the anti-air guns that were his target, as this time around he was actually fighting all on his own without the sisters to back him up, but at the same time he proved that he was stronger than his enemies... and he unleashed his Lightning Storm to blow the anti-air guns apart, giving John some space at the same time. When the last of the anti-air guns were taken care of, and before John could say anything, Cole moved away from the building and let John move in with the fentanyl, which he dropped the container down onto the building and let the gas spread throughout it. The only downside was that there was a team of soldiers waiting across the street from the building, hidden in the cloaking device that had kept the jammers hidden, that moved into the building with their masks on and hauled the Ray Sphere into a nearby truck, one that got moving the moment the soldiers were ready to leave the area. As John moved to follow them, and ordered Cole to follow without stopping for a moment to let him onto the helicopter, the Dazzlings flew back into the area and Sonata grabbed onto Cole as they took to the skies... where Cole found that every plane Moya had sent at Empire City, and he meant all of them, were wrecks that were now floating in the water around the city.
It was in that moment that Cole was, once again, happy that the Dazzlings weren't his enemies, as they were already strong enough to tackle a fleet of planes that were ordered to drop bombs on the city, but at the same time he knew that such a thing was going to keep the military from allowing Moya to send in more troops... not when the results of the mission she sent the last ones on was a total failure. The First Sons led them on a short chase from the Warren and headed into the Historic District, where they stopped at the longest pier that was in the city and had their guards ready themselves, while at the same time the sisters landed just outside the area and set Cole down, where John retreated to set the chopper down before he joined them.
As John went and did that Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata advanced forward, where they started firing at the First Sons soldiers that were in front of them and destroyed the drones that happened to get in their way, though at the same time their enemies decided to use some sort of gas grenade to obscure their vision for a few seconds, as Sonata cleared away the gas not even a few seconds later. In addition to all that their foes had a turret lined up and ready to fire at them at a moments notice, something that wasn't a threat when Aria threw some Firebomb marbles over the container that they were hiding behind and blew the soldiers manning the turret away from it, allowing Cole to disable it in the process. There was also a few cloaked Conduits that wanted a piece of them, which Sonata pointed out and let both Adagio and Cole deal with them, before they continued forward and blasted their way through the enemies that were in front of them, all while they kept their eyes at the end of the pier, where the Ray Sphere was resting. After they smashed their way through the area that the third turret was keeping guard over they discovered that they had already cleared out all of the guards that Kessler had assigned to this mission... which meant that he either wasn't expecting them to have cleared out the soldiers that quickly, or he fully intended to sacrifice them so they could get their hands on the Ray Sphere.
As the four of them approached the glowing device they already knew what they were going to do, as this thing was capable of leveling whole parts of a city and killing thousands of lives in a single instant, making it an incredibly dangerous weapon for someone to possess, even when it created people like Cole... and, as they considered how to get it out of it's casing to smash it, John ran up to where they were standing and glared at the glowing orb.
"You know, I had my hands on that THING once." John said, though the group noticed that he put some emphasis on the word 'thing', indicating that he despised the Ray Sphere with every fiber of his being and that he would enjoy having the chance to destroy it, "Kessler asked me to hold it for him while he adjusted some of the cables that were inside it, during one of the tests to make sure it was working right. I could feel it pulsing, like something was inside it, trying to get out of it's cage... it's not right, and everyone wants to get their hands on it. Look, that big lightning strike of yours should be able to destroy the protective container that it's resting in... and then, once it's free, we can blow it sky high."
Adagio snapped her fingers and some of the water rose up to where they were standing, where she manipulated some of it into longer Ice Spears that she stuck into the ground around the protective container, keeping it in one place in case it decided to move when it was struck. Aria and Sonata, on the other hand, created some spherical shaped balls that contained some potent fire and wind energy, indicating that when the container was hit they were all going to add their power and hopefully blow the Ray Sphere to pieces, before the three of them back up onto the top of the truck the First Sons used to bring it here. Once they were in position Cole glanced at the Ray Sphere one last time, knowing that any lesser man would activate the sphere and gain some sort of power, or even increase the power they had already been given, before he remembered all the people that suffered because the device had been activated. The sky rumbled for a moment, feeling his power rise for a few seconds, before Cole jumped back and raised his hands towards the sky, where he pulled one of the strongest Lightning Storms out of the sky and directed it right into the protective container... setting off the attacks that the Dazzlings had prepared for this occasion, which exploded the moment the lightning stuck Cole's intended target.
In that moment something went horribly wrong, as when the Ray Sphere cracked open it unleashed a vortex of energy, one that immediately grabbed onto John, who was the closest to the protective container at the time, and tore him apart until they were absolutely nothing left of him. The Dazzlings, seeing what was coming next, hightailed it out of there by flying towards the entrance of the pier, though Adagio grabbed Cole before he could be hit by the blast and pulled him to safety as the vortex exploded, tearing the majority of the pier apart in the process... though when the energy died down, and the smoke disappeared, they found that both John and the Ray Sphere were gone, protecting who knew how many people with the device's destruction.
"I'm disappointed, Cole." a voice said, to which the four of them looked down at their phones and found that Kessler was calling them again, thought at the same time none of them were surprised that he was disappointed in what had transpired, since they weren't aiming to please him, "The Ray Sphere was the catalyst of your powers, and it could have easily strengthened you even more... and you rejected it. I, for one, wouldn't have done what you did."
"Yeah, well we're not like you, Kessler." Cole stated, as he was getting sick and tired of this man acting like everything was a game and that he could do whatever he wanted, because that was what they had seen from him so far, and he could tell that the Dazzlings wanted to put him down as well, "I'll admit that, at the beginning, I used to believe that I thought this was all about us and what we wanted, but now, after everything that we've seen and everything that we've done, I can tell you that we know the truth. This is about keeping Empire City, and the people that call it home, safe from monsters like you... and once you're dead, there won't be anyone else to threat these people."
"That remains to be seen." Kessler replied, as if he was challenging them to a battle or something, which all of them were more than ready for since they had been trying to find Kessler since they first discovered his existence and the future that he was destined to bring about, "Meet me at the Stanton Building."
The look in Cole's eyes told Adagio, Aria, and Sonata everything they needed to know, they were heading back to where the Blast had happened, where Kessler intended to fight them for both Empire City and the future of the planet, to which the four of them set out immediately... and the Dazzlings intended on making sure Kessler had a taste of their full power before they gave him the death that he deserved.
As Cole led the way back to the site of the Blast, where they had all woken up, battered and beaten by the energy of the Ray Sphere being unleashed, they found that they weren't harassed by the remaining members of the First Sons, as if they knew that their leader was going to do battle with the four of them in their place. Cole wanted to kill Kessler for so many things, because he was the man responsible for the creation of the Ray Sphere, the destruction and death that was caused by the Ray Sphere detonating, for the quarantine being placed on Empire City the moment after the Blast happened, Zeke's betrayal, and Trish's near death experience. And, if all of that wasn't enough for someone to want Kessler's dead, there was also the fact that he was the one that was responsible for the utter destruction of the entire world and the total annihilation of everyone that lived on Earth, which they had seen thanks to the visions that he had shown them. In Cole's mind he found it funny that Kessler was trying to teach them that the needs of the people were greater than the desires of a single person, mostly because he was preparing to destroy the entire world at some point in time... and, if he was reading the situation correctly, he and the Dazzlings were the only ones that could stop him at the moment, which was why he was playing this game with them in the first place.
The Dazzlings, however, knew that something had to be up, because it wasn't like Kessler to suddenly call them out and have them do battle with each other, though at the same time they couldn't disagree that this was the perfect opportunity to eliminate him, because if they walked away from this challenge he'd just go on killing again. While they walked, and focused their minds on what they were going to do next, the three of them glanced towards the sky and made sure that there weren't any additional planes in the air, because they didn't want Moya seeing that they weren't there to defend the skies and take a chance to attack the city once more. Of course if they knew Moya as well as they thought they did, and that was a big guess on their parts, she was likely coming towards the city on a boat that had clearance to dock here, since it would be from the military, but since that same military had just tried to wipe out the city and it's people they weren't going to be friendly towards it when it arrived. As they thought about saving the people of this city, like they had when they freed them from Kessler's mind control game, all three of them found that their gemstones flashed with a blue shine for a moment, once more enforcing their new thoughts... before they turned their attention to the situation in front of them and followed Cole towards the area the Blast had happened in.
When they rounded a corner, and came to a stop at the top of a hill that was partly a ruined building, they started out at the open area and zeroed in on where Cole had been when the Blast happened, as that was where Kessler, in all his sinister glory, happened to be standing, patiently waiting for the four of them to arrive so he could do battle with them.
"There he is," Cole commented, taking a moment to survey the area around Kessler, because he fully expected some sort of trick to be activated the moment the four of them were out in the open, while at the same time the Dazzlings stared at Kessler while he spoke, "the man that will destroy the entire world if he's not stopped."
"You know, that's something that still bugs me," Adagio said, as something about this entire situation, and what Kessler had shown them in that vision earlier, didn't make sense and she wasn't about to blindly walk into the area without seeing what the others thought, "If Kessler is the one that will destroy the world, like we've been led to believe, then why go through all the effort to create a device that will empower someone with the power to stop him, when there's the potential that he'll be defeated by his new enemy?"
"Maybe he set this all up and is broadcasting the fight all over the planet?" Aria offered, because all three of them agreed that something was up with the situation, and even Cole knew that something was wrong, but at the same time they had no idea what that something was, "It might be that he created this situation to show the world what the First Sons are capable of and that, by defeating the greatest champions that the world has to offer, he'll install a level of fear in everyone that will allow his future to become a reality that much faster. That's my opinion anyway."
"It's not bad, I'll give you that." Cole said, to which he turned towards Sonata, as she was being the most quiet of all of them, but he suspected that she was currently thinking about the situation as well and that she might have an idea on what's going on, "And how about you, Sonata? What's your opinion on the matter?"
"You know, as bad as Kessler is, I have the strangest feeling that he's not responsible for the end of the world," Sonata replied, though at the same time she knew what was coming next, as she raised her hands to stop them from saying anything until she finished her thought, but as she did so she noticed that her sisters, who usually interrupted her, were curious and actually wanted to hear her opinion, "Remember when he was showing us those visions earlier, about all the death and destruction that would be caused at some point in time? All we ended up seeing was the effects of what was going to happen if something wasn't stopped, but if Kessler really is behind all of that, and had set up an elaborate game like this before those visions had come to pass, he would have shown us that it was him that had caused the destruction of the future. Bare with me for a moment... what if Kessler's not responsible for the destruction he showed us? What if there's something else that's coming, something even worse than Kessler, that ends up destroying the world, unless someone stops it first? What if... what if he's actually creating the heroes that can defend the world from the true threat that only he knew about?"
Adagio and Aria glanced at each other, surprised that Sonata, of all people, was still coming up with ideas like that, and yet, when they thought about it, neither of them could fault her for thinking that way, as Kessler never showed them who was actually responsible for the events they had witnessed. Even Cole was surprised by Sonata's take on what was going on, as he never stopped to consider that maybe Kessler wasn't the true villain, but either way he knew that the man needed to be taken out before something else happened, that much they all agreed on. Once the talking was done, and they spotted Kessler turning his head towards where they were standing, the four of them continued to walk towards the center of the crater that was in front of them, where all of them kept their guards up, just in case their opponent had a trick or two ready for them. As the four of them walked Kessler finally turned towards them, but he said nothing as they draw closer and closer to the center of the crater, even waiting for them to climb up to the place that Cole had been when the Blast occurred... where they came to a stop and stared at the man that was responsible for everything that's happened to Empire City in the last three weeks.
"And here we all are, back where it all started." Kessler said, waving a hand at the area around them, reminding the four of them of what happened when the Ray Sphere was activated, before facing them with his full attention, "I was so worried that you weren't going to live through the blast, Cole, but you fine... more than fine, actually."
"Wait a minute... you were there!" Cole stated, staring at Kessler for a moment, because now he was remembering something from when the Blast happened, as when he first heard the man's voice he thought it sounded familiar, but now he understood what was going on, "On the day the Blast happened I heard your voice for a moment... you were checking on me, to be sure I survived!"
"I have always been there, Cole," Kessler replied, though the way he said the statement made the sisters wonder what he meant, because so far there was a reason he did everything and they had to wonder what reason he was aiming for with the tone of his voice, "every step of your life!"
Instead of addressing the Dazzlings at all, like they thought he would since they were such a pain to his operation, Kessler teleported away from where they were standing and appeared in the lower area of the crater, where he went on the offensive by launching orange colored electricity balls into the air, causing the four of them to scatter as the attack came their way. What was interesting was that the cluster of balls Kessler had thrown were basically mines, as they hit the ground and remained where they landed, only to detonate if something or someone touched them, though they paid the mines no mind as they charged at Kessler, who raised his fist for a moment and then slammed it into the ground. That resulted in the ground beneath their feet, and hooves, violently shaking for a few moments, though he appeared to be using that as a distraction so he could get really close to one of them and use a Shockwave ability, almost like Cole's Shockwave ability, to knock them onto their backs. It was made clear that Kessler wasn't messing around, as he was going on the offensive immediately, though at the same time Cole and the Dazzlings got up and returned fire, forcing him backwards so they could better understand the situation before he gained the upper hand.
What happened next was that Kessler brought his hands close together and loosed a powerful blast at Adagio, clearly showing that he was going to try and take out the Dazzlings before focusing on Cole, who was clearly his true target at the moment, but Adagio was more than ready as she snapped her fingers and a thick ice wall appeared in front of her. Of course when the electric blast struck the ice wall it shattered it into a thousand pieces, but Adagio moved out of the way before she got hit, though Kessler did the same thing twice more, throwing two more blasts and both Aria and Sonata, who used their own powers to dodge the attacks before they were hit. At the same time Kessler started speaking to Cole, as he had nothing to say to the Dazzlings, where he started mentioning certain things that he shouldn't have known about Cole's life, like the fact that Cole's mother apparently lied to everyone she knew and said that Cole was a teacher, instead of a bike messenger. Unfortunately the group discovered that Kessler was also relentless in his attacks, he he alternated from the explosives mines, to the powerful blasts, to the shockwaves, and the earth shaking... before he forcefully yanked Cole out of where he was standing and grabbed onto his head, shocking him for a few seconds before the Dazzlings blasted him in the back and forced him to drop their friend.
As Kessler turned towards them, and gathered his power so he could deal with them accordingly, the Dazzlings went on the offensive immediately, to which Aria found the gas lines that were disconnected from the rest of the Historic District, as she didn't want to burn the entire district down, and set them on fire, giving her a source of flames that she could easily empower herself with. From there she started forming Firebombs and scattered them around Kessler's feet, forcing him to warp his way through a gauntlet of fiery explosions, several of which she were sure had hit their mark, as one of them knocked Kessler into the side of the crater before he continued moving. Aria grinned as Kessler started to attack her back, as she flew through the air and avoided them to the best of her abilities, though in return she made sure to give him some pain as well, as she started firing Fireballs down at her target, who had trouble avoiding them since she was hurling them through the air towards him. She had a few more surprises for Kessler, as when she twisted her hands towards the flames around them she broke some of the embers off and caused them to take the form of large fiery cats that were designed to explode if they were hit or reached their target... and, along with her Ember Cats, she also loosed both a Fire Breath, which charred the area around Kessler, and used some more of the fire to create a fiery version of Adagio's Ice Dragon, which was purely designed to explode when it was wrapped around it's target.
Sonata was up next, as Aria pretty much forced Kessler into the area of the crater that she wanted to fight in, though what she did was actually get up close and personal with their foe, as she dropped down in front of hm and kicked him in the chest, letting him know just how bad it was for someone to be kicked by hooves, before she went on the offensive for real. Kessler found that, when he tried to warp away from Sonata, she quickly crossed the distance without giving him time to actually form any sort of defense, as she flew towards him the moment he reappeared and started battling him again, using her fists and hooves for the first new moments. When she grew tired of doing that she jumped into the air and flew around the area, where she used her power to create some of her Gale Blast grenades, the force of which knocked Kessler around like he was a rag doll or something, but at the same time that gave her a few seconds to gather some more of her power into a greater wind based attack, one that Cole hadn't seen yet. When Kessler finally hit the ground, and moaned for a moment, Sonata leveled her hand with him and released what she called her 'Air Cannon', which was a powerful enough to crush Kessler into the ground and flatten the area around him, though she was pretty sure that she saw some blood come out of his mouth in the process.
Once Kessler decided to get away from Sonata, as he was beginning to see that facing all three of them, including Cole, who was watching him at the moment, was a terrible idea, though at the same time he found a wall of ice in front of him, to which he stopped and looked over at Adagio, who was floating in the air near him. Despite how easily he had knocked Cole to the floor, which was only due to his experience, he knew that Cole was what many would call the 'Prime Conduit', the strongest one of them all, and yet, even as he thought about that statement, he was beginning to see that it was the girls he should have been worried about the entire time. In his mind Adagio, the leader of the sisters, was by far the most dangerous of them, because her power was over the water itself and she could pull as much moisture out of the air as she needed to fight someone, or summon the water from a nearby stream, canal, or even the harbor to do her bidding, which usually involved freezing and destroying her opponents before they had time to react. Just thinking about that made him jump backwards, avoiding the Water Dragon that had been aimed at him, though that was apparently what Adagio wanted since there were four more of them coming from behind him... though as he was covered in water, and knew that it was going to freeze over, he purposely readied a mine in his hand and found himself frozen in ice.
A few moments later the mine exploded and tore the ice apart, though while the electricity healed him a little he still hit the ground and jumped to his feet, where he was actually feeling tired already, which made sense considering that he had no knowledge on the girls that he was fighting... and, to top it all off, he was even shot a few times by a bullet, coming from Zeke of all people, and by some Megawatt Hammers that were directed at his back, damaging him instead of healing the wounds he had been given.
"Please, you think I'm scared of you?!" Kessler demanded, to which he raised his hand and wiped the blood from his mouth, before he stood up and stared at the four Conduits that were in front of him, mentally noting that the sisters were standing near each other with some space between them, because despite everything that had happened so far he was confident that he could still salvage this situation, "The four of you are weak... and this entire operation was a waste of both time and energy. So I'll simply end all of you and start over..."
"Seriously? Do you honestly think that you're winning this battle?" Adagio asked, as she couldn't believe what she was hearing, because while she knew that Kessler was a powerful Conduit, potentially one that would have been at Cole's level of power and would have put up more of a fight if it was one on one, he wasn't strong enough to face all three of the Dazzlings at the same time, before she sighed and tapped her new pendant, "Very well then, if you are so eager to die, then we shall fulfill your desire... and save the planet that you are trying to destroy."
Cole, Zeke, and Kessler watched as the three sisters closed their eyes for a moment, seemingly opening themselves to an attack from their foe, though that was followed by their auras, a brilliant blue color that matched their new pendants, enveloped them for a few seconds. The three of them watched as the Dazzlings were swallowed by their auras, which transformed into three pillars of blue energy, though at the same time Cole noticed that the air seemed to vibrate a little in response to the power that was being unlocked inside all three of them, the same power that they had lost when they were banished from their home world and lost again when their original pendants had been broken. That was followed by a flash of light that made the three of them shift their gazes for a moment, indicating that something was happening, even as the ground shook under the intensity of their power, something that Cole assumed the other districts of Empire City had to be feeling... and, if he knew Moya as well as he thought he did, the military had to have felt this as well and were likely preparing to come in and investigate the disturbance the Dazzlings were causing.
When the pillars of energy faded, and both the ground stopped shaking and the air stopped vibrating, Cole stared at the figures of the Dazzlings as they floated in the air, thinking that it was just them expanding their power or something, but when the smoke cleared he found that it was something entirely different. The Dazzlings were definitely floating there, with the last bits of their energy peeling off of them, but as Cole stood there he found that they had changed since their auras had transformed into pillars of energy, as they now had a pair of translucent wings, like the fins of a fish, behind their bodies. The next thing Cole noticed was that all three of their eyes had changed as well, because while each of them still had their original eye color their sclera had turned blue, like their new pendants, and there seemed to be strands of blue energy emitting from their eyes. The most drastic change was when he looked at their tails, because before they had been covered in their energy they had pony style tails, though now, after they had awoken their inner power, those tails had been transformed into some odd fish style tails that were covered in scales, which were covered in scales that were darker than their actual skin color.
He and Zeke knew that the Dazzlings had some sort of magical power, based on what they had told them back in the hospital a few days ago, but at the same time Cole was surprised by the sheer pressure that was coming from all three of them, as they appeared to be stronger than what they had been moments.
"Wh... What is this?!" Kessler asked, surprised by what he was seeing, as this wasn't what he was expecting when he started the battle with Cole and the girls that were following him, though at the same time he could tell that they were stronger than they had been moments ago.
"This, Kessler, is our true power." Aria commented, though at the same time she was extremely pleased with what the three of them had done, because it appeared that following the path of good, and turning over a new leaf like they had done, had given them the greatest gift they could have asked for.
"Summoned to defend the people of this city from you and your plans," Sonata said, feeling the wind all around her as she looked at the wings that were on their backs, as well as the fact that their tails had transformed as well, but she also kept herself at the ready for when it was time to attack.
"Kessler, your arrogance will be your downfall," Adagio stated, though as she spoke she prepared herself for the final part of their battle, something that her sisters mimicked once they saw what she was doing, while at the same time Cole did the same thing, "Now then, it's time we bring this fight to a close!"
As Cole got ready for the battle to resume the Dazzlings moved through the air at faster speeds than what they had been using earlier, though as Kessler focused on one of them, Sonata as it turned out, Adagio appeared above him and loosed a surge of Ice Spears down at her target, where Kessler found one of them going through his right leg. Sonata grinned as she used the opening that had been presented to her and unleashed a surge of wind based slash attacks at her target, where a number of cuts appeared on Kessler's body as his clothes and body were heavily wounded in the process, much to Zeke's amazement as Cole readied himself. A few seconds later Kessler snapped the Ice Spear that was in his leg and aimed at Sonata once again, where he released a powerful blast of electricity at her, though Adagio messed with him again by using the moisture to create an Ice Wall in front of her sister, letting her escape before the wall exploded from the impact. As the ice shards floated in the air Adagio grinned as she transformed them into another set of Ice Spears, where she sent them back down at Kessler and several of them actually pierced his body again, though as Kessler staggered for a moment Aria struck next... by calling all the fire in the area to her and transforming all of it into a storm of Fireballs that further wounded Kessler and set him on fire at the same time.
When Kessler emerged from the flames, and his body was more wounded than he had been moments ago, the Dazzlings smiled as they floated down to a more personal level and formed a triangle around Kessler, where they started to use their vocal ability, the same one they used against the Rainbooms until Sunset Shimmer stepped in, and caused their target to stagger as he fought against their power... where they forced him into the middle of the crater, with the power of their Siren abilities, while at the same time Cole moved towards them.
"Enough!" Kessler shouted, waving his hands and loosing some blasts that made the sisters move, but at the same time they had done what they wanted to do, before he stared at them all and started gathering his power, as he intended to wipe them out before he died of blood loss, "I will not be made a fool of!"
"It's too late for that." Cole said, to which Kessler turned towards him as he grabbed onto his head, shocking him and returning the favor from earlier, before pulling his hands back and, while Kessler was stunned, delivered a powerful uppercut that knocked him into the air, before he prepared himself as the Dazzlings moved out of the way, so they didn't get caught in what happened next, "DIE!"
That was followed by Cole pulling the most powerful Lightning Storm from the sky and slammed it into Kessler, who was knocked into the ground in front of him and was forced to take the entirety of the attack in the process, before Cole finally stopped channeling the power and dropped down to where Kessler was laying... though as he did that the Dazzlings landed behind him and followed him towards Kessler's broken.
"Trish... I'm sorry..." Kessler coughed out, spitting out what would have been an alarming amount of blood for someone like him, though none of the group was surprised based on the damage he had taken, but they were surprised by what their foe was saying, "please... forgive me..."
In the following moment Kessler, using what was likely the last bit of his energy, rushed forward and grabbed onto Cole once more, while at the same time the Dazzlings grabbed onto him at the same time, before he delved into his memories once more and showed them the same vision he had shown them earlier, only with some changes. The four of them didn't see Kessler destroying the world, like he had shown them back when they first started this adventure, rather they saw a terrible Beast that was intent on extinguishing all life on the planet, exactly like what they had seen in the first set of visions. The scene shifted to Kessler, when he first unlocked his powers and was standing with his family, a wife and two sweet looking girls, as the Beast tore another city apart, but instead of fighting the creature, and potentially saving the planet, Kessler made the selfish decision and fled with his family, allowing the people they left behind to die at the hands of what had been his nemesis. Kessler spent years running as the beast slowly killed off everyone around him, where he and his family watched the world fall apart around them, until it was too late for him to do anything to save anyone, as even his family had been killed in the process.
From there he used his newest and most dangerous power, one that allowed him to take a one way trip back in time with the intent to rewrite history, where he seized control of the First Sons, tossing Alden out like a piece of trash, and purposely accelerated the creation of the Ray Sphere. At the same time he had his new organization spend decades plotting the Blast that Cole and the Dazzlings had been caught in, organizing the quarantine to keep everyone trapped inside Empire City, and figuring out where Cole had been living at the time. Yet there was only one thing that drove Kessler forward in his mad quest to create the savior that would stop the Beast, one thing that would ensure the safety of the world, and that was a picture of his wedding day... when he married Trish, with Zeke as his best man. Both Cole and the Dazzlings were surprised and shocked by that information, unable to accept that Cole and Kessler were the same person from two different timelines, but from the memories they were shown the Dazzlings could tell that it was true, as hard as the truth was to swallow. Yet, as Kessler's plan to mold Cole into the savior he failed to be was revealed to them, there was one stray thought of Trish, alive and well, and Cole still doing what needed to be done for the world... and, oddly enough, he was pleased that she had survived his attempt to kill her, as Cole deserved her based on what he had done so far.
A moment later the four of them were pulled back to reality as Kessler finally let go of Cole, where he staggered backward for a moment and collapsed on the ground behind him, though this time around the group was sure that he was dead, based on the fact that his body had stopped moving... though all four of them walked away from Kessler's body with a mix of emotions, but there was one thing that they knew for sure, and that was that a Beast was coming to destroy this world.
"So it's over," Zeke commented, to which he put his gun away and stared down at the corpse of Kessler, the person that had been behind the Blast and the quarantine of Empire City, though there was a slight smile on his face, because he knew that the man had gotten his just desserts for his actions, before he turned towards the group.
"Yeah, Kessler's dead." Cole said, barely keeping his anger and hatred in check at the moment, because Kessler was a person that he absolutely hated with every fiber of his being, though he also despised the fact that his own future self had come back and tried to ruin his life to turn him into the perfect savior, "Now we just have to dismantle the rest of the Reapers, Dust Men, and the First Sons, and then the people of Empire City will be safe at long last."
"Don't forget about Moya," Adagio added, remembering what had happened the moment they broke the agreement with the FBI agent, who had tried to level part of the island and get it ready for a ground invasion, which was likely coming their way at that very moment, "though, if we're being honest, I don't think she'll be around much longer. Based on the fact that she tried to pave the way for a ground invasion, with those bombers that she sent at us earlier, I'm positive that she's on her way to Empire City with an army to try it again, and she's likely aiming at us."
"If it's anything like her last attempt, we'll smash it as well," Aria said, because she was eager to see what sort of plan Moya had in mind for when she came to Empire City again, as she had to agree with her sisters and knew that the FBI agent was coming towards them, "If she attacks from the air, like the last time, we'll take to the skies and tear any of her bombers apart before they get close to the island. If she tries to come by using a ship, however, she'll find that she might not be able to reach the island at all, especially when we take our powers into consideration."
"You know, that raises a new question," Zeke commented, staring at the Dazzlings for a moment, taking in their new forms and the strangeness of their translucent wings and their tails that had gone from ponytails and became fish tails of some kind, "What's up with those wings and tails? And, while I'm at it, what's up with those sound based skills that you used against Kessler earlier?"
"Remember what we said earlier, about our true selves?" Adagio inquired in kind, as she knew that Zeke knew that they were Sirens, as Cole and Trish knew that from their discussion, though when Zeke nodded his head she was happy to continue speaking as she, Aria, and Sonata took in their additions, "Back when we were battling the Rainbooms we were able to take a form similar to what we have now, the pony ears, the pony tails, and the translucent wings, and, as a bonus, we were able to channel our powers through our old pendants to summon a projection of our true selves. My best guess is that accessing the power inside our new pendants has allowed us to become even closer to what our true Sirens forms looked like, which explains the fish tails at the same time. And those sound based powers are what come naturally to us, even more so before our defeat, and it's good to have them back once more, though the temptation to use them for evil had been there for a moment, I won't lie about that, but the desire to use our voices for the safety of the people rang true in our minds... we've pretty much been restored to the height of our original power, before we were defeated and sent to the other place that we were eventually defeated in.
At the same time, however, when I use my power now I feel like there's more room for us to grow and enhance our powers, like we haven't reached the limits of our potential yet... like we can still grow even stronger than we currently are at this very moment."
"Oh good, I wasn't the only one feeling that way," Sonata said, speaking for the first time since they defeated Kessler, though at the same time Aria nodded her head as well, showing that all three of them were feeling the same thing at the moment, "Did we honestly need to use our full power against Kessler? It actually felt like we were too much for him to handle on his own."
"I'm glad that you three were able to force him into a corner like that," Cole spoke up, as he was sure that, if they hadn't been tempted to use their full power because of what Kessler had said, they would have beaten him in time anyway, but at least this way the battle was over, "though now we should focus on our last foe, before we figure out how to get the three of you to revert back to your previous forms."
"About your other foe," Zeke said, causing the four of them to turn towards him, though while all of them were angry over the fact that he had betrayed them at the top of Alden's tower, by taking the Ray Sphere and giving it to Kessler, they were slightly happy that he had come to assist them, despite the fact that he didn't need to help them out, "When Kessler brought me to his base of operations, or what I assumed was his base of operations, I saw a few monitors that showed the exact position of everything that's around Empire City. I saw the bombers coming at one point, only for you to take them all out apparently, and, if I didn't read what was on the screen wrong, it appears that there's a boat coming towards us... one that might be larger than anything we had before the Blast happened."
"Can you show us where his base was located?" Sonata asked, though as Zeke looked at her, as while he was a little surprised by her sudden question, because she had been silent since Kessler's defeat, he nodded his head and indicated that he could take them to the building in question, "Well then, just take us there and we'll do the rest... I'm sure that the rest of the First Sons might not be as strong willed as Kessler was, meaning we might be able to 'convince' them to share their information with us."
Cole grinned for a moment, his earlier anger and annoyance fading away, because he knew that, with the return of their pendants the Dazzlings were much stronger than they had been earlier and their songs could control the minds of those around them, those that they were targeting anyway. Sonata was suggesting that they do the same thing to the First Sons, use their powers to try and control their enemies so they could see the consoles that Zeke was talking about, but while he had no idea if such a thing would work he knew that the Dazzlings would want to try their luck out, especially since Moya was coming to kill more innocent people. As such Zeke took them over to a vehicle that he had used to get here, one of the trucks that the First Sons had used to transport the Ray Sphere and their soldiers, before they all climbed into the back while he took the driver's seat and got underway. As they started to head away from the crater, however, Aria had them stop before she flew out of the back area, where the others watched as she set fire to Kessler's body, to erase his existence and to make sure no one came and collected his body for any strange and sick experiments... though once that was done she returned to the truck and they continued driving through the Historic District.
Fortunately it didn't take Zeke long to get them to the area that he had been held in, before Kessler sent a good portion of his soldiers to attack the group, though when they arrived Cole and Zeke stood back as the Dazzlings, still in their transformed state, climbed out and walked towards the seemingly abandoned building. From there Cole and Zeke watched as the soldiers of the First Sons noticed that they had enemies coming and pointed their guns at them, though before they were able to start firing at them the Dazzlings started to sing once more, where Cole noticed Zeke sway a little as the sisters walked towards their targets. What was more interesting, than the fact that Zeke might have a weaker mind than most people, was that the First Sons, who happened to be mentalists from what they had discovered when they first started this adventure, were falling under the voices of the Dazzlings and soon their minds were under their control, to which they stopped singing and beckoned for Cole and Zeke to come to them.
"So... you turned them into zombies?" Zeke inquired, though he was fortunate that the sisters hadn't directed their power towards him, as the feeling that came with hearing them singing had been more than enough for him to experience at the moment, especially with what happened to the soldiers in front of them.
"No, they'll be back in control of their bodies when we release them," Adagio replied, knowing how easily she and her sisters could take control of the soldiers and keep them that way, but at the same time she didn't want to abuse the return of their true power, to which she waved a hand and the soldiers beckoned for them to follow them into the building, "but for the moment this is the best way to get to those computers that you were talking about, without they smashing all of their information and leaving us with nothing to follow. We'll figure out where Moya's ship is located, and if she has any other forces coming towards the island, and then, when we leave the building, we'll make sure that they regain control of their bodies when we leave the area."
Cole nodded his understanding as they walked into the building, where he noticed that the soldiers definitely seemed like zombies or something, but at the same time he trusted the Dazzlings, because when they used their voices on the people of Empire City they had been freed in a timely manner. A few moments later the soldiers came to a stop in the very area that Zeke had talked about a few minutes ago, where the soldiers tapped on the controls and showed them that there was definitely a large boat on it's way to the city, though that was before they revealed that there was a marker on it that had Moya's name on it. Cole wasn't surprised that Kessler was keeping taps on Moya, meaning that he either planned for her to be the one chosen to have Cole stay inside the city, and the Dazzlings since they had been there at the same time he encountered the FBI agent, but at the same time this was good news for them, since that meant that they could figure out where their foe was coming from and give them some time to prepare for her arrival.
"According to this, if I'm reading it right, it appears that Moya should arrive by the time night arrives," Aria said, staring at the screen that was in front of them, where it showed that their foe was definitely coming towards the city, though it appeared that Kessler had figured out that she had some weapons and soldiers on the ship, "but, thanks to our powers, I don't think she'll get that far... especially when Adagio can freeze the entire area around her large ship before she can get close to the city."
"Well then, let's give her a welcoming that she'll never forget." Adagio replied, to which Zeke quickly copied the information from the screen and transferred it to their phones, so that they could know where the ship was coming from, before they left the building.
As they climbed into the truck, and Zeke got them underway, the Dazzlings turned back towards the soldiers and released them from their control, where they watched as the First Sons seemed to be confused for a few moments before they realized that something had happened to them... but since the truck was long gone, however, it was too late for them to do anything, to which the group focused on Moya and her forces.
Moya stood at the head of the ship she had commanded to prepare for an attack on Empire City, as Cole and those girls weren't listening to her anymore and the bombers she had sent to level part of the city had been taken out all of a sudden, no doubt because Kessler wanted no one to interfere with what he was doing. She had convinced the general that was in charge of the operation, the one involving Empire City, to approve her venture into the city, along with all the weapons and soldiers that were aboard the ship, including a mutated Conduit that Kessler had created, who she wanted to send after Cole and the girls. In addition to David Warner, the Conduit in question, her soldiers had found Alden Tate and had captured him the moment they found him, though at this point he had been experimented on and killed, and they found Sasha adrift on a boat, no doubt sent away from the city by Kessler, and right now she was draining the rest of her power so she could turn part of the city against Cole and the girls. The soldiers would be dealing with the people, hopefully to draw Cole into the trap that they were planning, though at the same time she grinned, as she had something in mind that would allow them to control Cole... once they put the device inside his body, which would happen once she got her hands on him anyway.
That was her plan, attack the city and draw Cole out of hiding, something that the general was hesitant to agree with but went along with it when she explained that this had a hundred percent chance of succeeding, though at the same time they had to attack at night, to get ready for the assault... but, as night came upon them and the captain got underway once more, something unexpected happened.
"General, I have some bad news," one of the soldiers said, to which both Moya and the General turned towards the man for a moment, as they were both ready for the assault and any bad news was going to put them behind schedule, as it was only a matter of time until their targets noticed what was happening, "the entire ship is surrounded by ice."
"Ice? At this time of the year?" the General asked, to which he laughed for a moment as he followed after the soldier, because he was going to enjoy punish the soldier for what was going on, since he knew that the man had to be pulling his leg at at the moment, "I'll be the judge of that."
Moya followed after them and walked over to the edge of the ship, though as they looked over the side they found that the water that had been around them, at least in the immediate area of the ship, had definitely been frozen over rather suddenly. She was surprised, because a few minutes ago there hadn't been any ice in the water at all, but now it appeared that something was keeping them stalled, because she could tell that the captain was trying to move them forward and the ship was going nowhere, meaning that the ice had to go deep. She wasn't the only one that was surprised, as the General was surprised as well, though as she turned to order the soldiers to do something, as there had to be something they could do to free themselves, she stopped in her tracks, as standing in the middle of the deck, near where she had been moments ago, was none other than Cole. Despite the fact that the soldiers were pointing their guns at him, waiting for her or the General's orders to fire at the intruder, she was interested in how he could have gotten out here, as the ship was still a good distance from Empire City and shouldn't have been able to get here... not with his weakness to water, which was why she had camped out here for as long as she had gone, but at least this made things much simpler for all of them.
"Cole MacGrath, this is an unexpected surprise." Moya said, where she stepped forward so she could see the Conduit that she had been after since the first time they had encountered each other, while at the same time noticing that none of the girls were present at the moment, "I see that you have come to turn yourself in... too bad that you doing this won't stop us from completing our mission."
"Oh, I'm not here to turn myself in," Cole replied, where he glanced at all of the soldiers that were around him, many of which had their weapons pointed at him, while at the same time knowing something that they didn't know, "I came to tell you that, for your actions against the innocent people of Empire City, you are going to be punished by the very people that you want to kill."
"You think that you can win against the army that's surrounding you?" Moya asked, as that was the funniest thing that she had heard all day, as she had to laugh for a moment, before she grew serious and stared at Cole, "You should have run when you had the chance, because now we'll take you in and turn you into a weapon for the government... and then, once we're done with our investigations, we'll be able to recreate the Ray Sphere and it's effects."
"Actually, it doesn't matter what you have planned," Cole stated, though this time around he frowned, because the thought of more explosions, similar to the one he and the Dazzlings had been caught in, was a terrible thought that he didn't want to come to pass, "because the Dazzlings and I are going to stop you before you even get to Empire City."
Moya opened her mouth to say something, especially since she wanted to how why Cole thought that he was in control of the situation, but before she could say anything the ship rocked as an explosion tore apart part of the ship, to which she rushed towards the side and found that they were now taking on water through a large hole in the side of the ship, one that hadn't been there moments ago.
"You know, it's rather easy to damage a ship of this size when we can carve a hole through the metal sides and set fire to whatever is on the other side of the exterior," Adagio said, to which she and her sisters floated down until they were near Cole, while at the same time the soldiers stared at them with shock, before of their transformed bodies, and anger, as Moya was pissed at them based on the face she was giving them, "What's wrong Moya? Didn't we tell you that you were no longer in control of the situation, that Empire City and it's people were under the protection of the Dazzlings? You should have known that, after we tore your bombers out of the sky, this wasn't a game that you could win, though it appears that you haven't told anyone about our conversation... shame on you."
"Anyone who wishes to stop following the insane orders of Moya, which includes rushing to your death, please step forward," Aria said, looking at the soldiers that were around them, knowing that many of them were here because they had been ordered to do so, but many of them were still innocent in their eyes and deserved a chance to live a new life with the people they condemned, "we'll take you to the island and set up a place where you can help us save the very people that you are being sent to kill. Think about all the lives that your 'boss' is ordering you to end..."
"Enough of this foolishness." Moya snapped, to which the General and the soldiers turned towards her for a moment, as they were all interested in seeing what she did next, especially after the display of power that the Conduits in front of them had already put on for them, "You attacked us first, which means that whatever comes next will be on your heads... and besides, word of the 'Demon and Sirens of Empire City' is spreading like wildfire, and soon you'll find that everyone will blame you for the Blast and that you'll regret not taking my..."
Moya was cut off as Adagio, growing tired of her barking, manipulated the moisture in the air and formed an Ice Spear that went right through her left shoulder, while at the same time pinning her to the nearby container that was behind her while the soldiers prepared themselves. Since it appeared that the time for discussion was over Sonata grabbed onto Cole, as they had planned, and pulled him away from the ship, while at the same time her sisters took to the skies as well and started avoiding the bullets that were coming after them, showing that all of the military wanted them dead. Of course Sonata used her power over the wind to cut several more gashes into the exterior of the ship, separating the metal in the process, which opened the way for either Cole or Aria to ignite something, causing the military vessel to stagger as more explosions rocked it. Adagio, holding back for the moment, waited for a good number of holes to be opened in the exterior before she commanded the water once more, to which the water surged into the holes and started flooding the interior of the ship, causing it to start sinking in the harbor once she removed the ice that had been keeping it still... and, as they watched the ship go down, she caught a glimpse of Moya being dragged inside the ship by a few angry soldiers, no doubt because it was her fault that they were all going to die.
Together the four of them landed on the nearby pier and stared out at the sinking ship, watching as the soldiers fought and killed each other to try and escape, but in the end none of them were actually able to leave the ship, though the Dazzlings would have saved some of them if they called for help. In the end Moya had gotten what she deserved, and now it was time for them to clean up the city as they planned out how they were going to tackle the Beast, as they knew it was coming and that they needed to be ready for it's arrival. In the future the Beast had arrived in Empire City, as Kessler had seen it on the television when it first arrived, and for some reason the man from the future believed that, even with the change to history, that it would still come here, though he had no idea when it's arrival was going to happen. The four of them, including Zeke and Trish, needed to be ready for anything and everything, as it was only a matter of time until the Beast arrived and started it's rampage of destruction... and this time around Cole would be ready to face it, with the Dazzlings at his side, because they weren't going to let the future be repeated.
Together the four of them would destroy the Beast when it arrived and save the world in the process, then, once that had happened, the Dazzlings would try and figure out how they were going to go home... but for now they were focused on taking out the Beast and fight at Cole's side, though even as they walked back towards the city, and reverted back to their original anthro forms as their wings and fish tails disappeared, they had the feeling that something was coming and that they would be ready to meet it whenever it arrived.
A month had gone by since Kessler's death and the destruction of the military ship that Moya had brought in to deal with Cole and the Dazzlings, only for the sisters to blow a number of holes into the exterior, flood the interior, and sink the entire vessel before it could reach Empire City, resulting in the deaths of a few hundred soldiers and Moya herself. Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata weren't happy with the loss of life, since it could have been prevented, but in the end Moya made the decision to attack the city and the four of them acted accordingly, though that didn't change how they felt about what happened that day. Even Trish, who was used to saving lives, had to agree that this was one instance where they couldn't have much else, though when the Dazzlings mentioned their songs, and explained what had happened earlier when Kessler tried to mind-control everyone, she simply said that Moya likely had them all bent to her will in some manner, so it would have been a waste of energy, even if she wished they could have saved some of those people.
The days following Kessler's death were interesting, as the four of them took their time in clearing out the Dust Men and the remaining soldiers of the First Sons, as the Reapers that they found were simply brought before the Dazzlings, who sung to them and cured them of Sasha's mind-control. They did everything in their power to make sure Empire City was as close as it could be to how it had appeared before the Blast happened, helping the people whenever they needed assistance, aiding Trish in collecting the occasional medical drop that the government sent in, and cleaned up the streets. It amused them that the government, who had authorized Moya's mission in some manner, were still helping the innocent people inside Empire City, but at the same time Adagio's reasoning was that they had seen what happened to Moya's ship and didn't want to repeat it with anything else, be it another ship or a squad of bombers. The Dazzlings had officially created a stalemate of sorts, one that they could turn to their favor in a moment if they so desired, but at the same time they were waiting for Cole to come up with a plan of attack for when the Beast arrived, as they knew it was coming and were preparing themselves accordingly.
Cole spent his time, what parts of it weren't used to help the citizens out with whatever problem they were having, fixing the other electrical parts of the city, improving the lives of everyone inside the city's districts, while at the same time further empowering his body for the fight that was coming. The Dazzlings, not having a way to power up like Cole did, had to do the next best thing, they practiced fighting against each other every day, using the crater they had fought Kessler in, and sometimes some of the citizens would stop and watch them, which usually turned to them cheering the sisters on as they practiced their skills. Sometimes the people even set up things for them to destroy, to further improve their existing skills, though the one thing they preferred to practice alone, as in just the three of them and no one else in the immediate area, was when they transformed into their full power forms, where they felt their wings and fish tails return, as well as their true Siren voices. They didn't want their practice sessions to accidentally enthrall someone that was watching them, which was why they had a secluded spot that everyone knew to stay away from when they were in the area, as Cole was the icon that told them that they were doing that, though he was happy to make sure that the three of them were undisturbed when they practiced their music sessions.
The time standing guard gave Cole time to think about Zeke's attempts to make amends towards him and Trish, the latter of which having smacked him upside the head for joining Kessler like he had, but at the same time there was still some tension between him and Zeke... and that included the fact that, one time before he became the guard for when the Dazzlings did this, Zeke happened to be spying on them from afar. From what Cole recalled Zeke had seen the three of them strip down and slip into the water, which had earned him a smack the moment Cole figured out what he was doing, but all he knew was that the sisters must have wanted to feel the water around them in their full powered form, to feel like their former selves again, and he wasn't about to stop them. The Dazzlings also ended up smacking Zeke when Cole told them that he had been peeping on them, and another from Trish since she said it was an inappropriate thing to do, and soon enough Cole became the guard to make sure that no one, not even him, saw the Dazzlings when they wanted to do this private practice session... even though he couldn't control all the satellites and whatever the military used to spy on them from afar.
Other than beating up the rest of the Dust Men and the First Sons, and wiping out the rest of the Reapers by freeing them from Sasha's mind-control, there wasn't much left for them to do, save for patrolling the streets every now and then, but the Dazzlings took most of the shifts, since they could fly, and let Cole spend some time with Trish, who had gotten some spare time with the number of enemies dwindling and the number of innocents being hurt going down as well. Cole also ended up telling both Zeke and Trish the truth about Kessler, where Zeke seemed to understand and helped calm down his anger in some manner, while at the same time Trish had been shocked at first, that the future Cole was such a coward when she compared him to her Cole, but she was happy that Cole and the Dazzlings had taken Kessler out. The two of them were able to improve their relationship, to what would have been the dating phase once more, save for the fact that most of the shops and restaurants were broken still, but it was better than what their relationship had been after the Blast happened.
When Cole and the Dazzlings were out on their morning patrol, walking around the Neon District for a change, they heard the sound of a helicopter and found one of the military type coming down towards them, where a lady named Lucy Kuo came down to meet them all. She also had a folder with her, one that she handed to Cole, and explained that she knew all about the Beast, so much so that she had purposely come here, into the quarantine, to get Cole and the Dazzlings out so they could be made ready for the Beast's arrival. As the four of them examined the papers that were inside the folder, and both Trish and Zeke caught up with them since the Dazzlings informed them that something was happening, Kuo explained that she had a friend, a Dr. Wolfe, that had worked on the Ray Sphere prototype and that he had a method that would allow them to amplify their already incredible powers to the point where they should be able to tackle the Beast and destroy it. All they had to do was get on the ship that would be arriving in the next thirty minutes, head down to New Marais, and she would make sure that they met up with Dr. Wolfe, so they could prepare for the coming of the Beast and strike at it the moment it showed itself.
Neither Cole nor the Dazzlings liked the idea of leaving the people of Empire City without any protectors, especially since the military could move in at a moments notice, but in the end they all agreed that they should get going and even convinced Kuo to let Zeke and Trish come as well... to which they quickly gathered what they needed and prepared to depart from the city, all while feeling that something bad was right around the corner.
Agent Kuo, true to her word, had a ship docked at the large pier before they even made their decision, one that she ushered them onto after locking the gate behind them, as she didn't want any civilians catching wind of what they were doing, before she walked off to tell the captain that they were ready to leave. As she went and did that Cole, Zeke, Trish, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata stood at what was the back end of the ship, near the ramp that had allowed them to climb aboard the vessel like normal people, and stared at Empire City, the place that they had fought to protect and would have died defending if it came to that.
"Man, I tell you, Cole, that Agent Kuo?" Zeke commented, staring out at the city while he spoke, while at the same time the others glanced at him while Cole simply stared at Empire City, imagining what the citizens would think if they saw a boat with their protectors leaving all of them behind, "She doesn't mess around, huh? First boat outta town? Chick's got some connections."
"At least her connections are real." Trish spoke up, as she was liking how efficient the agent was, in the fact that she had everything lined up perfectly so that they could leave without raising the alarm, especially since it gave her a moment to change out of the attire she had been wearing and wear her agent clothing again, "Unlike Moya's, as, from what you have told me, she was never able to use them to the best of her ability, always screwing something up or misjudging what was happening around her."
"Look, Zeke, this is going to be a short term visit." Cole said, to which he glanced at his former best friend, because right now he was letting the Dazzlings have that, especially since Trish was his girlfriend, while he spoke, "We're going to get inside New Marais, find out where Dr. Wolfe is waiting, get some new powers in the process, and then we'll come right back and prepare for the Beast's arrival."
"Come on man, you and the Dazzlings deserve to relax a little after everything that Empire City put you through!" Zeke replied, as if he actually wanted to spend some of his time relaxing in the city before they came back here, though at the same time Trish and the Dazzlings shook their heads for a moment, "I mean, we're going to New Marais of all places!"
"We need to be ready for when the Beast arrives," Adagio stated, where she stopped leaning against the metallic wall that she had been leaning on since they boarded the ship, while at the same time Aria and Sonata glanced at the city that was in front of them once more, "as much as I would love to relax, and take a vacation of some kind, we need to be focused on our mission and be ready for what's coming."
"Trust me, the four of you will be more than ready once you're done working with Dr. Wolfe." Kuo said, where she walked over to where the group was standing, knowing that they were all anxious to get underway and get the powers they needed to face the Beast.
"Work? Ha, that's easy Kuo." Zeke replied, though at the same time Cole and the others brought their palms to their faces, as they knew that he was going to say something that wasn't appropriate for this operation, "When we get there, we're gonna be about the 'Three Bs'... that's beer, boobs, and mechanical bulls."
"Can I smack him again?" Trish asked, because at this point she honestly had no idea why Cole was even bothering to bring Zeke with him, especially after his betrayal, but at the same time Cole simply shook his head and calmed her down, as he knew that something was coming.
"Zeke, I don't think you understand the scope of what's going on here," Kuo stated, as it appeared that Cole's friend was as stupid as she believed him to be, from just the first glance anyway, and wondered why he was coming along in the first place, though before she said anything else there was a bright red explosion nearby that caught her attention... not to mention the attention of everyone else in the process, "What is going on?"
As Cole and the Dazzlings focused on the source of the explosion, which couldn't be any of the gangs since they had dismantled all of them before Kuo arrived to meet with them, they found that it was being centered around the statue that the first food drop had been caught on. Fire, ash, and smoke immediately began to gather near the top of the large statue, which was starting to fall apart at the same time, before they noticed that people were being picked up and disintegrated before their very eyes, their existence destroyed in a matter of seconds. It was in that moment, as the statue's top snapped off and fell to the ground, that Kessler's memory of the day the Beast appeared in his future, in the future Empire City, flashed through their minds, where the events of the future matched what was happening before their eyes... and, at the same time, four of them understood what was going on. The moment they understood what was going on the four of them jumped off the ship, Cole by jumping onto the dock by the side of the ship and the Dazzlings taking to the air, before they started moving towards the gate.
"Uh, MacGrath, we had a deal." Kuo said, speaking over their phones for a moment, as she had given them her number the moment they agreed to come with her, so they could contact each other better when they arrived in New Marais, "This boat is leaving."
"Relax Kuo, we got this." Cole replied, though at the same time he noticed that there were some civilians that were actually at the gate, but whether it was because they had seen the boat or because of the Beast's appearance didn't matter to him at all, as he raised a hand and blasted the lock off the gate... allowing the people to head to the boat while he and the Dazzlings headed towards the Beast.
As they moved down the pier they found buildings around the statue collapsing, being destroyed by the Beast's power, and the creature even launched a flaming bus through the air, where it struck the other boat that was off on Cole's right and it went all the way through it, causing it to sink in the process. When Cole reached the end of the pier, which the part that connected it to the city had been destroyed, Cole stood there and started firing bolt after bolt at the Beast, who was currently tearing the area around the statue apart in what appeared to be the same rampage that Kessler had seen on the news. After a moment or two the Beast, annoyed with Cole, grabbed onto the top part of the statue and hurled it towards the pier, though at the same time Adagio, having landed behind Cole, commanded the water to rise and caught the upper body with the water, freezing it before it could crash into the pier. Of course the Beast saw that and walked over to where they were standing, where the Dazzlings discovered that the Beast was a gigantic humanoid creature made out of molten lava and rocks, with fire pulsing through his system and his eyes appearing to be inflamed.
When the Beast got close to the wall of ice he raised his fist and swung at it, crushing the entire structure while letting the upper body of the statue fall into the water, though at the same time Adagio waved her hand and the ice turned into water, which she moved out of the way so it didn't hurt Cole... but with the Beast being able to use one punch to destroy her Ice Wall, with as thick as it had been, she knew that this wasn't going to be an easy fight.
"Cole! Stall him for a few moments!" Adagio called out, to which she flew backwards a bit, so she could get some distance between herself and the Beast, before her sisters flew over to her, where the three of them focused their minds and awoke their inner powers.
While that was going on, and the Dazzlings were engulfed in the pillars of energy that came when they were in the middle of a battle and they transformed into their full power forms, Cole blasted the Beast with everything he had, though he wasn't going to run out of juice for some time, as a benefit to his work had given him an unlimited supply of electricity he could use, which was perfect considering who was in front of him. Not even a few moments later, after getting annoyed, the Beast gripped the bottom of the pier and ripped part of it up, knocking Cole into the air, before loosing some sort of energy wave that kept him in the air, where Cole used his Ionic Thrusters to keep himself where he was and moved around the area, continuing to attack the Beast. As that happened the pillars disappeared and the Dazzlings, now sporting their translucent wings and fish tails, emerged with their full power unlocked, to which they started to unleash the pain on the Beast, as Adagio used the water to create two large Ice Dragons to keep the Beast pinned down in one area, allowing Aria to use the Beast's inner fire to their advantage by blowing some of it up, the parts that the dragons weren't attached to, while Sonata called upon the wind and cut several gashes into the Beast's face and body.
At one point part of the Beast's head blew off, a small portion when they considered how gigantic the creature actually was, and that only seemed to piss him off as he snapped the Ice Dragons in half, though that prompted Adagio to turn the Ice Dragons into a storm of Ice Spears, large ones that punctured the Beast's body. Despite those spears slowing him down a little, however, the Beast continued to move towards Cole, though at the same time Cole grinned as he raised his hands towards the sky and loosed the newly upgraded Lightning Storm, now called the Ionic Storm, down on the Beast, which was basically a really powerful lightning bolt from the sky, supercharged by his power and the sky itself, that struck the Beast square in the head. That was followed by another part of the Beast's head blowing up as the lightning ended, to which the Beast sunk into the water, seemingly defeated, though instead of sticking around to find out the Dazzlings flew back to the ship as Cole started to run over the pier that was still falling apart around him. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata landed on the ship and turned towards their friend, who was making his way up the ramp, though as Cole jumped into the air he stalled for a moment... which was followed by the Beast bursting out of the water and grabbing Cole before he had a chance to escape, though Cole had the sisters stand back for the moment as he unleashed another Ionic Storm on the gigantic creature that was holding him.
The good news was that the surge of power blew the Beast back and forced him to drop Cole, who landed in the water for a moment, though as the Beast sunk into the water once more, and the ship got underway to leave Empire City behind, Adagio used her power and lifted Cole from the water... where Trish took him to the infirmary, so she could be sure that her boyfriend didn't die from fighting the Beast. The Dazzlings stood at the back of the boat for a few minutes, watching Empire City slowly start to disappear as they headed for New Marais, though as they did that the three of them stared at the water as the Beast pulled itself out and continued his rampage. The resulting destruction seemed to fuel his recovery, because as they watched the Beast put itself back together, his face reforming in a matter of seconds and any other wound he had been dealt closed as if it had never happened, revealing that Kessler had been right to fear the Beast, because even four powerful Conduits weren't enough to critically wound such a creature. Once the Beast had put himself back together, however, he turned and looked at the ship the Dazzlings were on, as if telling them that he was coming for them, before he loosed an explosion that rivaled that of the Ray Sphere... and, when the smoke cleared, Empire City was a ruined place with no one left, indicating that the explosion had wiped everyone out.
As the Dazzlings watched the ruins of Empire City disappear in the distance, however, they noticed the military engage the Beast as he started walking, knowing that he was chasing them and that he wouldn't stop until the world was dead... though the three of them vowed that they would bring an end to the Beast, and that meant traveling to New Marais, where they had the feeling that a new danger was waiting for them to arrive.
In the hour following Empire City's complete and utter destruction, at the hands of the Beast, the Dazzlings reverted back to their base forms and helped the various citizens that had called Empire City home get used to what was on the ship that they were using to leave the wreckage behind. All three of them were disappointed, as both they and Cole had been both strong and ready to face the Beast, the only problem was that he was so strong that none of their attacks really seemed to do much to him and only seemed to slow him down a little. When they used their full power forms against Kessler they had dominated the fight and utterly ruined him, but even the memories that the future Cole had shown them couldn't have possibly prepared them for what happened, as the creature was stronger than what they were expecting. Kuo was right about one thing, they needed to speak with Dr. Wolfe and see what sort of upgrades he might be able to give them, or just Cole since they weren't from this world, before the Beast found them again, as the look in the creautre's eyes told them that he would be following him until they were all dead.
Trish and Zeke tended to Cole during that time period, though when he woke up they had to tell him the news that Empire City was gone, destroyed by a violent Ray Sphere like explosion, and he had some equally terrible news to share as well, the Beast had drained the electricity from his body and had broken his powers... so he was left with only a few abilities and not enough power left to his name, which meant that he was weaker than them, something that he aimed to change.
In the days that followed the Dazzlings found that the people they had rescued either kept their distance, from them and Cole, or sometimes came up to them and struck up a short conversation, but in the end they all knew that the people were afraid and were trying to calm themselves down. Trish spent her time making sure that anyone that was injured was tended to, by herself or the medical staff aboard the ship, and made sure that Cole was ready for the training exercises that the Dazzlings wanted him to go through so he could be ready for when they reached New Marais. Zeke, on the other hand, spent his time creating a device that would allow Cole to better focus his powers, a melee weapon of sorts, though at the same time the Dazzlings knew that he was trying to make amends for what he did back in Empire City. Kuo and the rest of the staff, despite the additions they had taken on when the Beast had shown itself, acted out their routines to keep themselves calm, though Kuo also kept taps on where their enemy was and what it was doing... as the Beast was traveling down the coast as well, wiping out every town and city that it came across, while the military tried in vain to stop it.
When they reached the point where they would have to go into New Marais, however, they discovered that the city was on lockdown and wasn't letting anyone in, though Kuo had a trick up her sleeve and requisitioned a smaller boat for them to use to get to their destination. The Dazzlings were the first ones to arrive at the boat, where Agent Kuo was making sure it was ready to depart, before Cole, Zeke, and Trish arrived so they could leave as well, though at the same time the sisters found that they had changed their appearance a little. Cole was now wearing a simple black and yellow t-shirt, paired with black cargo pants that had a white Union Jack design on its right leg, only this time it was spanning his entire leg, and he still carried his pack in it's usual spot on his back, with the strap diagonally across his chest and his phone resting in the same location. Zeke and Trish, on the other hand, simply cleaned up their clothing so they didn't look like they had been in a place that was on fire or something, like Empire City had been when the Beast arrived, though while Zeke had a gun in his shoulder holster, for combat, Trish had nothing except her medical supplies.
The moment they were all ready Kuo had them gathered on the smaller boat and Zeke, apparently being the only one among them that could actually steer a boat, stood inside the structure that held all the controls for the boat while the others gathered in the front area of their vessel as they headed into the swamp that rested between them and where New Marais was located... though everyone remained silent for a few moments as they entered the swamp, until Kuo decided to have a conversation with the group that had taken on the Beast.
"Hello Cole. Hello Dazzlings." Kuo said, though her tone revealed that she found it a little weird to call the sisters by the title they had given her, as she felt that it was a band name, but at the same time Adagio and her sisters agreed not to share an unnecessary information with her until they were sure that she could be trusted with the information, "You know, when the four of you go to talk with Dr. Wolfe, everything is going to become completely..."
Adagio glanced over at the agent as she paused in her attempt to start a conversation, which they would have been fine with having since none of them had talked since they left the boat, but Kuo seemed to see something off in the distance and immediately turned towards Zeke.
"Zeke! Zeke!" Kuo stated, her tone frantic for a moment, though at the same time, while she made a motion that resembled killing something, the Dazzlings got up from where they were sitting and walked over to where Cole was standing, "Cut the engines!"
"What's wrong?" Cole asked, because if there were enemies around the area he knew that he and the Dazzlings could take care of them, though at the same time they had no idea if there was an opposing force in New Marais and had to be careful when they reached the city.
"Militia blockade." Kuo replied, pointing at the area that was in the distance, where the Dazzlings spotted some weapons that were aimed in the direction that they were in at the moment, though at the moment it didn't look like any enemies had noticed them yet, "We get any closer and their artillery will sink us."
"I'd like to see them try," Adagio commented, knowing that her command over the water would be used to good effect in an area like this, as the swamp had enough water for her to manipulate and command however she desired, but she would have to wait and see what happened before she used her power.
"I guess it's time that we go and introduce ourselves," Cole said, noticing that Zeke had cut the engines at the right moment, because they were resting near a small dock of some sort that had a clear path into the Militia area that Kuo was so worried about.
"Wait up man," Zeke said, to which he walked out of where the control area was, where the group noticed that he was carrying what appeared to be a baton with two prods as the head, causing the Dazzlings to raise their eyebrows in surprise for a few seconds, "Here she is..."
"And you're sure that it's ready?" Cole asked, staring down at the weapon that he had helped Zeke make, as it was slightly different from the one that he had been practicing with, while at the same time he could see that the others were looking at the weapon as well.
"Uh, I hope so." Zeke replied, revealing that he knew that it worked as well as the prototype version they had been using on the boat, but at the same time also telling them all that he wasn't exactly sure that it was ready for combat and was only handing it over for testing, "Give her a try."
Cole gripped the weapon for a moment before shifting his stance, causing the two pieces of the head to extend for a moment, before he moved around the area and swung it a few times, finding that it was as good as he could possibly hope at the moment, while at the same time this put him on the same level as the Dazzlings, as they could create weapons from their elements within seconds.
"What is that thing?" Kuo asked, as she had seen the two of them working on something in their spare time while they were on their way here, something that resembled a weapon, and was both surprised and shocked by what Cole was holding at the moment.
"I call it the Amp." Zeke said, though he was pleased when Cole channeled his electricity through the handle and it danced around the tips of the head for a few moments, as that meant that his work had paid off since it appeared to be working as well as he intended it to.
"Good work Zeke," Cole commented, to which he walked over to the edge of the boat and stared out at the part of the swamp that they had stopped near, before he turned towards the others as the Dazzlings gathered near him, as they were ready to get underway, "This is going to help us make one hell of an impression."
Together Cole and the Dazzlings jumped off the boat and landed on the dock that was in front of them, to which the four of them walked into the area that was directly in front of them, while at the same time Zeke carefully moved the boat out of the way and backed up to a good distance while he waited for them to clear the path forward.
"Hey Kuo, does the NSA know what you're doing with the four of us?" Adagio asked, as she, her sisters, and Cole had learned some pieces of information about Agent Kuo during the ride to the point where they had to get the smaller boat, though part of her make her wonder if the agency would like working with people like them.
"I took a leave of absence." Kuo stated, her tone revealing that she had moved with the best interests for the planet first and not her own personal gain, which the Dazzlings would have assumed would have been a different decision for the other agents she worked with.
"Why is that?" Cole inquired, though at the same time he slipped the Amp into the holder that was on the back of his pack, because right now he didn't need it and he was sure the modified strap would be able to hold it until he needed to beat someone up, "I mean, you seem pretty 'by the numbers'."
"The NSA plans on dealing with the Beast by deploying the military." Kuo explained, to which the group immediately understood why she was heading down a different path, especially since she had gone through the effort to get them, Zeke, and Trish out of Empire City before the Beast showed up, "Dr. Wolfe has a better plan: the four of you. He invented Ray Sphere technology. You guys want enough power to take down the Beast, he's your man."
Cole didn't need her to explain everything to them, because if what she said was true, and she believed every word of it without the Dazzlings calling her out for lying, then all they needed to do was head into New Marais, find Dr. Wolfe, and do whatever was necessary to get the powers they needed so they could take on and destroy the Beast. As they walked through the small patch of land that the dock was attached to, which had a few trees and a small campsite, it wasn't long before they noticed a bridge that had parts of it that had collapsed, though as the sisters simply floated in the air and bypassed the bridge entirely Cole found that he could still use his Static Thrusters, allowing him to catch up without falling behind. When the group moved onto the next patch of land they were attacked by two armed soldiers, likely members of the Militia that Kuo was so worried about, though at the same time they shouted that the four of them were freaks, which meant that the army that controlled the city didn't like Conduits. At the same time the Dazzlings stayed out of the way as Cole withdrew the Amp from it's resting place, extended the top part of it, and beat up the two soldiers, who were sort of distracted because they were trying to fire at the sisters.
Once the two enemy soldiers were defeated Cole let Zeke know that the Amp was going to work just fine, as he was liking how it felt in his hands, and Zeke told him to have fun and put some notches in it for him, to which Cole hung up and the four of them moved through the area that was in front of them. Fortunately it wasn't long before they found another pair of enemy soldiers that seemed to be guarding a bridge of some sort, though the four of them were able to outright beat them and secure the area, allowing Cole a few moments to stock up on his power reserves since he hadn't done that since they had been on the ship. The moment he was ready the four of them stood by the edge of the bridge and quickly discovered that the walkway was raised at the moment, though while the easy path would have been to ignore the structure and fly over they also noticed a second option that definitely had some consequences attached to it.
"Cole, it looks like you could lower the bridge if you give the generator some power." Kuo commented, revealing that she could see the same thing that the group could see, though at the same time there was something else the four of them knew since they were looking beyond the generator, "Just don't overcharge it... a fire could blow up the entire village that's around it."
"It could also take out any resistance that they might face in the area." Zeke added, as he was sure that there had to be some Militia forces in the area that they had come to, while also revealing that he was of the opinion that they should just overcharge it and clear the way at a rapid pace.
"Not to mention the women, the children, and their pets." Trish spoke up, though that was followed by the sound of her hitting Zeke again, showing that she had no desire to blow up innocent people, even though it was the Militia that they were interested in beating up at the moment.
Cole, already knowing what he was going to do, raised his hand and loosed a few charges through the air, where they watched as the power went from none existent and moved into the yellow section, before moving into the green area as the last bolt struck the generator. From there it was a simple matter of waiting for the bridge to lower into position, along with Kuo thanking them for showing some restraint, before they started to walk over the now extended bridge and headed over to the village that the Militia were in. The Dazzlings covered Cole as he made his way over to some clearly injured villagers, allowing the sisters to blast the members of the Militia that had witnessed them open the bridge and assumed that they weren't human, though it wasn't hard for the three of them to defeat the area while Cole used his Pulse Heal to mend the wounds of the civilians that were near them, earning him some thanks from Trish, who was always happy to see him use his powers for the good of others and not just himself. A few moments later, when he was done healing the wounded civilians, the four of them pressed onward, blasting and beating their way through the soldiers that were in front of them, while at the same time hearing one of them shout out that Bertrand was going to hear about this, though that only told them the name of their next foe.
When they moved into the next area they found that the Militia were using their artillery to attack the four of them, though that was when Aria, Sonata, and Cole stepped back as Adagio connected herself to the water that was around them and ensnared the charges that were flying down towards them, freezing them in ice and preventing them from going off at the same time. While she did that Aria found some flames nearby and noticed that the nearby riverboat, where the charges had come from, had some red gas containers at very specific points, where she gathered the fire into several fireballs and sent them flying through the air, where they collided with the containers and exploded, tearing apart the riverboat, scattering the Militia that had been aboard it, and wiped out the artillery. Cole, seeing the riverboat sink in such a way, opened the line and told Kuo that they were going to scout ahead and make sure that there weren't any other nasty surprises waiting for them, to which he was told to let them know when the path was clear so the three of them could join the group in New Marais.
From that point Cole used the debris from the destroyed riverboat to move forward, as the sisters floated around the air around him, before the four of them stopped at a point where some Militia guards must have been posted at one point, while finding that their television was set to one of Bertrand's messages... one that they ultimately decided to ignore, since there was no reason for them to listen to a message from someone that told his followers that Conduits were freaks and deserved to be killed.
After ignoring the television Cole used the nearby grindwire to race from the platform they were on to the one that was across the water from where they were standing, showing that he still had access to the Induction Grind ability as well, before the Dazzlings flew over to the other platform. When they arrived at the second platform they found that there was a turret pointed in the direction that Cole had come from, though Cole surprised the Dazzlings by also displaying that he had access to the Shock Grenade power as well, which he used to great effect by throwing one behind the turret and blew the Militia soldier into the water. From there Cole used the next grindwire that was in front of him, as the Dazzlings took to the air, and they crossed over to the next platform, though while Cole was forced to walk along the yellow pipes that were taking him closed to the city Sonata decided to have a turn with the Militia soldiers that were in front of them, as she used the wind to knock one soldier away from the turret he was using and them blasted the other two into the air so they could fall into the water as well.
Once those guys were taken care of Cole used the grindwire that was near Sonata to race into the city, to which he landed on the dock and stood up, where he was followed by all three of the Dazzlings, who smiled at him, as they were happy to see that not all of his powers had been taken from him.
"Okay guys, you are clear to dock." Cole said, tapping his phone for a moment, letting Kuo, Trish, and Zeke know that the path was clear and that they could finally enter the city as well, while at the same time he noticed that the Dazzlings were staring at the impressive city that stood before them.
"Nice." Kuo replied, to which Cole heard the sound of Zeke starting the engine once more and hear the sound of the boat passing through the water that he and the Dazzlings had fought their way through, "We're heading to your current location, then, once we've arrived, we'll head out for Wolfe's lab."
"Militia sure has changed this town," Zeke commented, opening a line to Cole the moment Kuo hung up, though at the same time the way he spoke told the Dazzlings that both of them had been here at some point in the past, "ain't nothing like it used to be. Ah, remember?"
"Yeah Zeke, I remember." Cole said, to which he turned towards the Dazzlings for a moment, knowing that they still knew nothing about the city that they were going to be spending some time in until he got the powers he needed to stop the Beast, "The two of us came here four years ago, where I spent my time learning home to climb and do parkour. There was a flood before that point that left half of the buildings abandoned, turning the area into a haven for urban exploration... hell, even Zeke manned up and gave it a try. You see, in any other city you had about ten minutes, from the moment you started climbing, before the cops showed up, but here, in New Marais, the police always had their hands full in one way or another. I'll admit that the place was lawless the last time we were here, it was a bit raunchy as well, and except for the hangovers it was God damn heaven."
"But not anymore." Adagio spoke up, to which she looked up the ramp that led to the nearby street and knew that the Militia had to be on the move, though from what they knew, from the little they had learned, those soldiers hadn't been here the last time Cole and Zeke had been here.
"Yeah, not anymore." Cole agreed, to which he sighed, as while he knew that Zeke was looking forward to some time relaxing, and he knew that they deserved it after everything that happened in Empire City, they needed to move fast before something else happened, like the Beast showing up or something similar to that, "Now it appears that this Militia is going around looking for 'deviants' to punish... and right now, they're the only thing standing between us and the power we need to stop the Beast."
The Dazzlings nodded and stood beside Cole as they waited for Zeke to come in with their boat, as they knew that the only person that knew the whereabouts of Dr. Wolfe's lab, in their group, was Kuo, though waiting a few more minutes before they got started on their new adventure wasn't going to hurt anyone.
After Cole told the Dazzlings about the last time he and Zeke had come to New Marais, and they leaned against some of the wood poles so they could relax a little, Cole told them everything that he remembered about the city that was in front of them and knew that they were happy for any information so they wouldn't be lost when they headed out to find Wolfe's lab when Kuo arrived. The only problem that Adagio thought about was where Trish was going to go, as she and her sisters didn't honestly trust Zeke to keep her safe, but Cole was sure that she would be able to find someplace to pick up being a doctor and heal some of the wounded that were no doubt around the city. Aria and Sonata spent most of the time looking up the nearby ramp and stared at the city, wondering if anyone was going to come and check out the area that they had landed in, but as the seconds ticked by it didn't appear that they were going to be interrupted by anyone and Zeke would be able to dock the moment he arrived. That was good news, as there wouldn't be anyone to witness their arrival and tell their new foe about them until it was too late, though at the same time Bertrand might already know that they were there, so it was only a matter of time until they figured out what he knew and didn't know.
It wasn't long before Zeke steered the boat up to the dock that they were standing on and pulled up beside it, where he came to a stop and allowed Kuo to step off, while at the same time Trish stayed on the boat, because despite how Zeke acted by joining Kessler's side she still trusted that he might be able to keep them safe.
"Zeke, you move this boat at the first sign of trouble." Kuo ordered, as the last thing she wanted was for someone to discover that the boat had arrived, as that would tell whoever found it that someone had entered the city and then they'd have to move fast before Bertrand found out about them.
"Aye aye, Super Spy." Zeke stated, still acting like this was a game and that he was going to have a blast when it was time to relax, even though Kuo shook her head as she walked away from the boat and Trish glared at him, silently threatening him with another slap to the back of the head if he pulled anything funny.
"You expecting some action in the near future?" Cole asked, though at the same time he couldn't fault Kuo for acting in such a manner, as this would also keep Trish safe, something that he wanted for her after the pain that she had been through at Kessler's hands.
"The Militia is going to be on guard after that little stunt you and the Dazzlings pulled in the swamp." Kuo replied, to which the sisters stopped leaning against what they were leaning on and walked over to where she and Cole were standing at the moment, "Though that raises a question. Why didn't one of you blow up the oil tanks in that camp? It would have made getting through the area a lot easier."
"We're not about to start torching families to make our lives easier." Aria stated, where she flexed her fingers for a moment and let the flames return for a few seconds, reminding Kuo that Cole wasn't alone in his decisions, before she clenched her fist and the flames died immediately, "We're here to help the innocent people of the city, not cause them to fear us and wish us dead."
"Good, that's exactly what I wanted to hear." Kuo said, causing the group to glare at her for a moment, as they felt that asking such a question, with Trish still nearby, was a bad thing to do, though that was when she started moving and the four of them followed after her, "You all made the right choice. I'm impressed, you all acted like professionals. Now, let's go find Wolfe and get you some new powers."
"Sounds like a plan." Adagio said, as it felt nice to actually be making progress instead of just simply standing around doing nothing, even though the short wait for the boat to arrive hadn't been all that annoying, and, at the same time, she could see Kuo dialing something on her phone.
"Hey, Dr. Wolfe. I'm back in town." Kuo said, indicating that she was now trying to reach the very person that would be able to increase their powers, or at the very least allow Cole to empower himself for the battle with the Beast, "I have MacGrath and the Dazzlings."
"Goog, that's very good." a new voice replied, one that was definitely male and was older than Kuo, which told the group who he was, even though Kuo had done that a few seconds ago, "Unfortunately, I have a bit of bad news. Don't worry, I'm alright, but the Militia searched my lab this morning and discovered the Blast Core I'd been hiding."
"Okay, just stay in your lab." Kuo said, as she was happy to hear that he was alright, especially since he was the key to getting Cole ready for the final battle with the Beast, who was currently making it's way down to New Marais, "We'll swing by the West Lookout and see if we can get it back."
In the moment following that statement one of the Militia soldiers, who happened to be standing on the exterior second floor of a building, loosed a rocket at them, though Cole, seeing it coming since he was curious which street Kuo wanted to take, hurled Shockwave and knocked the rocket back towards the person who fired it. At the same time, as she understood that they were under attack, Kuo called out for someone to 'hit him with a grenade', showing that she knew more about their powers than she originally told them, but none of them were in the mood to argue as Sonata hurled one of her Gale Bombs behind the soldier and blew him away with ease. As she did that Cole gathered his power and did the same thing, hurling a Shock Grenade up to where the second group of enemies were located and blew them up as well, clearing the way for them to move forward, which would have been great if Kuo was heading that way. The reason he thought that was because she headed into an alley that was blocked on the other side, by a truck that was parked there, and instead of simply climbing over it Kuo asked one of them to remove the vehicle... to which Cole sighed and loosed a Shockwave at it, pushing the truck out of the way and allowing them to move deeper into New Marais.
As they rounded the corner, and headed towards a new street, another group of Militia soldiers appeared in their way, where Aria formed a Firebomb in her hand and scattered the marbles all over where the enemies on the ground were standing, knocking them out with the force of the explosion. Adagio, on the other hand, simply blasted the final opponent into the wall and smiled when he didn't get back up, while at the same time the structure their enemies had been standing on collapsed, knocking out whoever wasn't knocked out yet. From there they turned to the right and started to head down the street that was in front of them, where another rocket launcher soldier, on a nearby roof across the street, fired a rocket at them, to which Cole loosed a Shockwave and knocked the rocket back at whoever had fired it at them. As that happened, and the four of them prepared for yet another fight, Kuo got a call from Wolfe about the Militia returning and knocking on his door, to which Kuo stated that they were on their own, indicating that she was going to help Wolfe out, and informed them that the Blast Core, whatever that was, glowed purple.
A few seconds after Kuo separated from them, however, the group approached the group of buildings that the Militia had been guarding, where it appeared that the Blast Core was located, and the Dazzlings flew to the top while Cole, in a moment of observation of a new pole, launched himself halfway up to the roof. From there the four of them regrouped on the roof and started their assault on the soldiers that were standing guard all over the area, blasting them into submission and blowing up the lookout structures that they had set up on the roof, all while the Militia called out that they were all 'freaks' and that they needed to be killed. Fortunately it didn't appear that the group of enemies in front of them had any reinforcements coming their way, allowing them to approach a container that had a strange purple glow coming from it, though as they approached it they heard someone calling for help, where Cole looked over the edge of the roof and found two Militia soldiers in the process of mugging someone... to which he growled as he jumped down to the street level, landing behind his targets, and beat the crap out of the soldiers before they could do anything to stop him.
Once the mugging had been stopped, and the lady had thanked him for helping her out, Cole climbed back up to the top of the roof and approached the container that the Dazzlings had been guarding, where they discovered that a Blast Core looked like the Blast Shards they had found all over Empire City... only the coloration that it gave off was different and even he could tell that it seemed to be even stronger than the shards he had picked up earlier.
"Kuo, Wolfe, I'm pretty sure that we just found the Blast Core," Cole commented, opening a line to Kuo, so she could hear that they found what they were looking for, while at the same time he noticed that the Dazzlings seemed to be looking at the charged piece of earth that he was holding at the moment, "Are you guys still at the lab?"
"MacGrath... the Shards, they're... Oh God!" Wolfe said, his voice sounding like he was distressed over something, though that was before the four of them heard an explosion as the area that Wolfe was in, or at least they assumed that he was in, exploded, indicating that something had blown his lab to pieces, to which Cole stashed the Blast Core in his pack before he started to move forward.
From there Cole used the various grindwires that were in front of him to make his way over to where Wolfe's lab was located, while at the same time the Dazzlings took to the skies and followed after him, though they had to be careful since it was raining Blast Shards and the sharp shards could potentially hurt if they got hit. Along the way to Wolfe's lab they ran into several Militia soldiers, where Cole ignored them while the Dazzlings blasted them off the roof that they were standing on, opening the way forward and making sure that they weren't wasting time since they had no idea what was going to happen next. At the same time, however, the Dazzlings heard the soldiers call them the 'Demon and the Sirens', revealing that Moya had been right about the name she chose for them spreading like wildfire, though that only made them more determined to set the record straight and prove that they were heroes, instead of villains. When they got closer to Wolfe's lab Cole started blasting the Militia soldiers that were in the area around the building in question, either knocking them out or knocking them off the roof that they were standing on, before he followed his friends towards their destination.
It was there that they found Dr. Wolfe, who was currently under some paneling that Cole pulled off him, the group discovered that he was an older man that was wearing a dirty, brown dress jacket with a blue shirt under it, along with gray pants and brown shoes, and that included a pair of glasses that were on his face.
"My God!" Wolfe said, as the moment Cole freed him, and pulled him into his feet, he stated at Cole for a moment, clearly remembering something that he had seen before this point and could only stare as a single thought came to mind in those few seconds, "You look just the same."
"Same as who?" Cole asked, though at the same time he had a feeling that he knew who Wolfe was talking about, because he had been working on the Ray Sphere and that meant that he likely had been in contact with Kessler, the man that he and the Dazzlings hated and had killed for his crimes a month ago.
"Kessler, the man who gave you your powers." Wolfe replied, though when Cole removed his hand from the man he didn't seem upset, rather it appeared that he had been expecting such a reaction and was slightly pleased to see that his thoughts had been correct.
"We know who Kessler is." Adagio stated, as both she and her sisters hated the future Cole, as that was who Kessler had been, for everything he had done to Empire City and the pain that he had put both Cole and Trish through, all in the name to prepare them for the Beast's arrival.
"At the beginning we were friends," Wolfe said, as if he was trying to explain what he had done, working with the man that had wrecked a good portion of Empire City, and the group let him speak, since it would give them more information than what they already had, "He told me of his plans for you, and for the Beast... but none of those plans included three more Conduits, all of which bare pony ears, pony tails, and hooves in place of feet."
"Then you know we failed," Cole replied, as the pain of what had happened, before he and the others started the journey to New Marais, still hurt, and he knew that the Dazzlings felt the same way that he did, "We couldn't stop the Beast when it arrived... Empire City is gone."
"Yes, and it won't stop unless you expand your abilities and become powerful enough to use this!" Wolfe said, to which he picked up a spherical device that hummed with power for a moment, a power that reminded all four of them of the foul Ray Sphere and the damage that it had caused.
"Another Ray Sphere?" Sonata inquired, not sure how such a thing was going to help them, not unless Wolfe was suggesting that they activate the entire city, transform them all into Conduits, and prepare them for a war with the Beast, which only seemed like a bad idea.
"No, a Ray Field Inhibitor," Wolfe replied, though he couldn't fault her for thinking that this was another Ray Sphere, since it had been built from the blueprints of the original Ray Sphere, but at the same time he found that all of them were staring at the device, "I call it the RFI. Think of it as an Anti-Ray Sphere."
"Wait, you mean that this device has the power to take powers away from people, instead of giving them out?" Aria asked, as that seemed like an interesting idea, though if that was the case she started to wonder why they needed such a thing to combat the Beast, before wondering if the Beast was actually an extremely powerful Conduit, which made her thoughts make sense.
"Precisely." Wolfe said, glad that one of them understood what he was talking about, before his smile widened when he noticed that all four of them were the same way, showing him that they all understood his explanation on what the RFI did and what it could do, "With the RFI you can combat the Beast, subtract his abilities. Please, keep it safe."
"Will do." Cole said, as he was the one that had been given the RFI, meaning that it might only work for someone like him, and carefully stored it inside his pack, determining to give it to Trish, as she would keep it safe until he needed it, before he pulled out the Blast Core that he had picked up earlier, "What about this?"
"Ah, Blast Cores. They power the RFI." Wolfe stated, taking the Blast Core from Cole's hands and observed it for a few moments, as he knew that this information would be useful to all four of them and set their course through the city, so they could gain the power they needed, "They're batteries for the same energy that fuels all genetic mutation. Pass a current through it, and it's energy will be released into the nearest Conduit."
"So this is going to make one of us stronger?" Cole asked, as that was what they had come here for in the first place, though at the same time he knew that it was a bad trade that only one of them gained incredible power while the other three stayed at their current level... despite the fact that the Dazzlings were so much stronger than he would ever be.
"Theoretically it should only work for a single Conduit, but with four near it I have no idea what might happen," Wolfe replied, as he knew that Cole was thinking of making sure that all of them had a power boost, increasing all of their powers in the process, but he honestly had no idea if such a thing was possible, "but yes, it will make one of you, at the very least, stronger than you are now, and that's only the first of the Blast Cores. Together we can defeat the Beast!"
"Oh, enough with the pep talk Wolfe," Cole said, to which he moved to an area that would give him some room to do what the scientist had said, while at the same time bracing himself as he prepared to activate the first Blast Core while the Dazzlings watched over him, "Let's do this."
The moment Cole passed a current through the Blast Core the Dazzlings watched as he was picked up by the power and floated in the air for a few moments, which was when his arms and legs became outstretched as the power danced all over his body and flowed into him, though as that happened all three of the sisters felt their own powers rise for a few seconds as well. It wasn't like the surge that was going through Cole's body, that much all three of them knew immediately, but at the same time they knew that the height of their powers had gone up, making them stronger in the process, and when Cole finally hit the ground, his body smoking, they staggered as well, but weren't downed by the sudden flow of power that he had experienced. After that happened Wolfe tried to start cleaning up his lab and moving things around, also refusing the help of the Dazzlings at the same time, to which they simply stayed on the roof and watched over Cole as the scientist headed into the building, though the majority of their time was spent blasting the various groups of Militia that were attacking the building. It wasn't long before the Militia tried to land on the roof so they could haul Cole away, though while Kuo and Wolfe chased the soldiers away from the ground floor, and headed after them, the Dazzlings made sure that Cole was safe.
During that time Zeke surprised them by making it to the top of the roof that they were on and actually fired at some of the Militia that were running away, no doubt to fight another day when the sisters thought about it, though they did move when they noticed that Cole was getting up again.
"Yeah, that's right. Run bitches!" Zeke shouted, to which he fired a few more shots at the fleeing Militia soldiers that had been trying to sneak up on the Dazzlings, who had likely known that they were in the immediate area, before he turned towards Cole and the sisters.
"What happened?" Cole asked, though at the same time Zeke offered him a hand and he took it, allowing himself to be pulled back onto his feet, but while he felt a little out of it he could tell that his power had been increased by some degree, which was good news.
"The Militia came by with the purpose of trying to haul you away," Adagio said, though while she spoke she was glad to see that there wasn't anything wrong with Cole, along with the fact that it appeared that the Militia might have given up for the moment, "Kuo's still chasing them with Wolfe."
"So, what happened to you?" Zeke asked, as the last time Cole had been laying on the ground was when he was the victim of the Ray Sphere explosion that everyone in Empire City called the Blast, so he had to wonder if something similar happened this time around, "Did that old man slip you a roofie or something?"
"No, he didn't." Cole said, as this wasn't the time to be thinking about things like that, especially since they were on a mission at the moment, but at the same time he felt something new inside his body, "Though now that you mention it, I think I might actually have a new power."
"Then strut your stuff, peacock." Zeke replied, as he had overheard Kessler call Cole that once while he was talking to him, and the Dazzlings since they were nearby, and it didn't appear that Cole hated being called a peacock, though the glare that he got told him not to say it again.
Cole looked around and spotted a small parking lot that had a few empty cars inside it and a single Militia soldier patrolling the area, to which he smiled for a moment as he made his way over to the area that he had been staring at, though when he arrived he focused his mind and he, somehow, levitated the car next to him into the air for a few seconds, which he hurled at the soldier and knocked his target out. It was a useful ability, he knew that much from simply testing it out, though it would be some time before he started changing his routine to include another ability that he had just picked up, even though it was an interesting ability when he thought about it. As he made his way back to where Zeke and the Dazzlings were standing, however, Zeke informed him that a pack of cops, three of them to be exact, were patrolling a nearby area and might actually be looking for him, since he did cause some damage with his new attack, but in the end Cole decided that such a thing was one of those 'evil' actions that he and the Dazzlings stayed away from. He also thought about his friends, finding that none of them seemed to have any additional powers to their already considerable arsenal, and guessed that, if they were affected by the Blast Core, all they got out of it was a small power boost, or maybe they got nothing and had the same level of power as they did before he activated the Blast Core.
Either way didn't matter to Cole, as the Dazzlings had more than enough power to defeat whoever was in their way, and that was without them using their full power forms, and he knew that the four of them, with Zeke, Trish, and Kuo helping them, would be able to find the remaining Blast Cores and power themselves up... and then it was only a matter of time until the battle with the Beast, where they decided the fate of this world.
Cole spent the next few minutes in one of the alleys that were near where Wolfe's lab was located, as he was interested in his new power and wanted to be sure that he memorized how to use it, which was why he was picking up random items and causing them to stay in the air for a few moments, allowing the Dazzlings to observe him, before he put the items back down and moved onto a new target. He didn't throw anything around, not like when he first used the new power, as there weren't any foes around their immediate area and he didn't want to draw attention to them until they were ready to go, as they had no idea what Kuo was doing or what Zeke was up to. The moment one of them revealed what the next step of their plan was, and filled them in as to what they were doing, the four of them would move from the alley that they were in and head out to the area where they would get a full briefing on what they were doing, but until then they were going to stay in this area and remain out of sight until the time was right for them to move. Of course that didn't stop the Dazzlings from making sure that the Militia didn't find them before they were ready to get out of the area, but for the most part it seemed that they would be able to leave without being seen by their enemies, allowing them to get underway the moment a call came in.
Fortunately they didn't have to wait too long, as not a minute or two after Cole stopped practicing with his new telekinesis ability, and started to take a break, their phones went off and they discovered that Kuo was calling them, which meant that it was time for them to move at last.
"I'm tracking the guys that took Wolfe, but it's going to take awhile." Kuo informed them, confusing the group for a moment because they could have sworn that Zeke said that both Kuo and Wolfe were chasing off the Militia that had attacked the lab, not that Kuo was chasing the Militia soldiers that had taken their new acquaintance away, "However, while I'm doing that I think the four of you should salvage some of the fallout from Wolfe's lab. We want to get to it before the Militia does."
"Alright, we'll move into position and see what we can find." Cole replied, as while it wasn't the best mission in the world, as he was sure that the four of them would be more than able to help Kuo track down the soldiers that had taken Wolfe and rescue him, it was still something for them to do and they moved out immediately.
The moment the call was dropped the four of them climbed up the side of the building that was next to them and quickly reached the roof, where Cole looked around for a moment before finding the area that Kuo had sent them the coordinates to, to which they got moving towards their new mission area. One thing that was good about the path they were taking to reach the area that Kuo wanted them to head to was that it passed through part of the city they had gone through to reach Wolfe's lab, meaning that there weren't any Militia soldiers in the area, for now anyway, and that was good for them. Along the way they only stopped for two things, one was to help the injured people that were always in groups of three for some odd reason, while the other reason was so that they could stop someone from being mugged by the Militia, though again they found something odd when they discovered that the three muggings they had stopped had been direction towards women. Despite them stopping the Militia a few times in the process, knocking them out every time they stopped, no alarms were raised and no additional soldiers came running out to kill them, allowing them to slip back into the shadows as they headed for their destination.
A few moments later, after they made sure that the Militia in the area weren't aware of the fact that they were currently in the area, the four of them gathered around the area that Kuo wanted them to gather in and prepared themselves for the mission that she wanted them to tackle.
"Okay Kuo, we're in position." Aria said, though at the same time the four of them looked around the area of the city that they were in, as while Cole was refamiliarizing himself with the area she and her sisters were taking in the area so they could have a better idea of the city's layout in their heads, "What do you want us to do?"
"I spotted one of Wolfe's carrier pigeons up near the top of the Clock Tower." Kuo replied, though as she said that Cole waved to the Dazzlings and pointed at the tower in question, knowing that they likely hadn't noticed it yet and was showing them what he knew, "I need you guys to retrieve it."
"Sure," Cole said, not really sure why they would want to waste time tracking down a carrier pigeon and capture it, even if Kuo said that they needed to recover it, and silently hoped that their friend had a reason behind what she was asking them to do, "but why do we need to do that?"
"Well, when Wolfe was undercover with the First Sons, he used messenger birds to smuggle reports to his NSA contact," Kuo answered, surprising the group once more, as while they knew that Wolfe had worked with the First Sons, or more specifically Kessler, learning that he was an undercover agent seemed a little odd, unless Kuo meant that she convinced him to betray Kessler in some manner, "Obviously I was his contact. And before any of you ask, no, he's not a boyfriend or a love interest, he's a contact we had inside the First Sons, and sometimes even a 'father figure'."
"Well, we'll get whatever the bird is carrying and get back to you." Adagio replied, to which they hung up their phones and got moving, as while Cole had to climb the tower she and her sisters could simply fly around the exterior and see if they could pin point where the bird was located.
Fortunately it didn't take that much time to locate the bird that Kuo wanted them to find, as it was circling the top of the Clock Tower, though the Dazzlings circled around it to make sure that it didn't leave the area, since it might contain valuable information on what was going on. When Cole reached them, however, Kuo contacted them and asked them if they had any stun related powers, since she didn't need them to actually kill the bird to get the message, though when Cole thought about his Shockwave power he knew that falling from this height would kill the bird anyway. It was in that moment that the bird glanced at Sonata, who had her arm raised out towards it, before flying close and landed on her arm for a moment, giving her enough time to take the thumb drive from the collar around it's neck, which was when it took off and departed from the area entirely. Once they had the message, and were preparing to head back down to a safe area to listen to it, Zeke decided to barge into the call and told Cole that he should use his Thunder Drop ability, though when Cole looked at the ground he saw a bunch of innocent people that would get hurt if he did that... so he simply used his Static Thrusters to glide over to a roof that they could stand on and listen to whatever the message had to say.
When the four of them reached the roof that they had chosen, and still found no Militia soldiers in the area, Sonata handed Cole the thumb drive, as it appeared that Kuo only uploaded the encryption key to one of their phones, and waited to see what sort of information it had to share with them.
Agent Kuo, a voice said, one that was definitely Wolfe's voice, confirming that this was his recording and that it had to be important since he tied it to a bird's neck earlier, I feel quite confident that only you will be able to decode these messages and that they'll prove to be invaluable evidence in your case against the First Sons. The world needs to learn about what's happened. Efforts must be given immediately to repair the damage done by the Ray Sphere. Damage for which I am ultimately to blame. Share these recordings with your contact in Empire City. Time is short.
"It's a good start." Kuo commented, listening to the recording that they had listened to, though the way she spoke indicated that she was hoping that they could find the rest of Wolfe's recordings and keep them safe, or at least that was what they thought she wanted, "I saw a whole flock of those birds escape from Wolfe's lab after it blew."
"Okay, we'll keep our eyes open and see if we can't find some more of them," Cole said, though at the same time he was sure that, even if they spotted one of the birds, they wouldn't actually care to take it's information, as they only collected a few of John's dead drops back in Empire City before growing tired of them.
"Oh, that reminds me," Kuo spoke up, her tone indicating that she had been about to hang up and continue her search for Wolfe, but then she remembered something that she wanted to tell them and was going to do so before she hung up, "While you're collecting Wolfe's reports, I also spotted some Rayacite fragments near the tower."
"Ray-a-what?" Adagio inquired, as this was the first time she was hearing something like this, and based on the looks that both of her sisters had, as well as Cole, she knew that none of them had been told anything different, meaning that this was, once more, new information.
"You know, the chunks of earth irradiated during Ray Sphere testing." Kuo explained, almost as if she expected one of them to know exactly what she was talking about, when in reality none of them seemed to know what she was referring to and were a little lost, "Wolfe seemed to think that one of you would know what to do with them."
"Oh, those things," Cole said, as he had taken another look at the tower that he had climbed and discovered a glowing shard that was familiar, one that the Dazzlings recognized as well, "Back in Empire City we called those shards of earth Blast Shards, named after the Blast that happened when Kessler detonated the Ray Sphere. I'm the only one, of the four of us, that can absorb the energy of a Blast Shard, and after I do that to a few of them my body is capable of storing more power than it previously could."
"And, judging by how widespread the explosion was, I'd say Wolfe had a decent collection of them," Aria spoke up, as she and her sisters had avoided the falling chunks when the lab was blown apart, which meant that the entire city had a number of shards sticking out of their buildings now.
"Yeah, I'll be sure to pick up a few more of those before we move on to our next objective," Cole said, though as he reached to turn off his phone, or at the very least disconnect the call, he thought about the recording they had just listened to and something still didn't make sense, "Hey Kuo, in that recording Wolfe mentioned that you had a contact in Empire City."
"You all knew him," Kuo replied, which only raised several questions at the same time, as the only person that was in the NSA had died shortly after they met him and it was clear that he had no contact with anyone in his agency, "his name was John White."
"No way." Adagio said, as, like they were all thinking, there was no way that John could have been in contact with Kuo during the events following the Blast, meaning that either Kuo was lying or John was able to do more than they thought he could with his limited resources.
"The NSA had a vague idea of what Conduits were." Kuo stated, indicating that she was going to tell them everything that they needed to know, or rather what she deemed was what they needed to know about the current situation that they were in, "They scanned every single field agent, and both John and I had the gene. We were logical choices to infiltrate the First Sons, so John was assigned Empire City and I got New Marais. We worked together to maintain our covers."
"What did John say about us?" Cole asked, as this sounded like something they might need to know, as it appeared that their entrance into New Marais had given Kuo some insight as to who they were and what was important to them, and he could tell that the sisters were eager to hear what their new friend said.
"After the Blast, his reports got kind of sketchy and hard to believe." Kuo said, no doubt remembering some of the reports that she must have read at some point in time, though at the same time the group didn't say anything that would make her upset with them, 'Of course, after having seen the four of you and the Beast in action..."
It was clear that there was something she wanted to say, the four of them knew that just from listening to her, but at the same time Kuo seemed to think about something else and hung up, indicating that she either didn't want to talk about it or she might have gotten close to the soldiers that took Wolfe. As such the group collected a few more Blast Shards, those that were in the immediate area anyway, and gave them to Cole, as he was, as he said, the only one that could harness the power inside the pieces of earth, but as they were doing that Zeke called them again. From the sounds of it he was reminding Cole of the last time they were here, where he encountered some 'unsavory' characters and now they heard that they were in town and needed some help from Cole, as they specifically referred to him as the 'Electric Man', and said that he could bring along his friends, meaning the Dazzlings. Normally the four of them didn't want anything to do with Zeke's plans, but since they had no idea how long it was going to take for Kuo to get any information on what happened to Wolfe, they decided to play along and started to head out of the area that they were in.
As they did so, however, Sonata made a comment that caught all of them off guard, as they weren't expecting her to make such a comment, to which they stopped and turned towards her, so she could explain herself and tell them why she thought what she was thinking.
"Is it just me, or does the Beast now seem like a Conduit?" Sonata asked, to which she watched as both of her sisters stopped and Cole stood beside them, each of them looking like she had grown a second head or something, to which she stared at them for a moment, "What?"
"Why would you suggest that the Beast is a Conduit?" Cole inquired, as this wasn't something that the three of them had thought about before, despite the fact that Wolfe said that the RFI could subtract the Beast's abilities, which really made him interested in hearing what she had to say.
"When the Beast appeared, back in Empire City, didn't it look it he was emerging from the same vortex explosion that engulfed John when the Ray Sphere tore itself apart?" Sonata said, as the more she thought about it the more it seemed to make sense, at least it did to her, and she was trying to explain everything to the others, "Kuo said that both she and John had the Conduit gene, which means that either of them could have had their powers activated if they were caught in a Ray Sphere explosion. John was caught in the middle of the Ray Sphere being torn apart, which torn him apart until there was nothing left of him... and then, one month after that happened, the same type of explosion happened and suddenly the Beast came to life before our eyes. You have to admit that there's something strange about all of this."
None of them were actually willing to believe that, because John, who must have known he had the gene since his agency tested everyone, wouldn't have gone near the Ray Sphere for fear of becoming the Beast, if the massive creature was a Conduit like Sonata now thought he was. After a few more moments of standing around, however, the three of them headed out and forced Sonata to sigh before following after them, as there would be time for them to talk about this later, when they weren't being bothered and could have a moment to rest. Once the four of them were back together they headed towards the location of the coordinates that Zeke was sending them, pausing for Cole to heal people or for them to beat up the Militia that were mugging someone, all while being praised by the people for their assistance before they got underway once more. At the same time Cole kept an eye open for Blast Shards, letting the Dazzlings zip around to where one was located and pry it out of where it had landed, before letting him take it, though as that happened he could tell that none of the sisters seemed to care much about the shards, other than collecting them and increasing his own energy storage in the process.
After a few minutes of making their way through the city they found Zeke standing in what appeared to be an area with a number of small boats that weren't in use, though at the same time they were more interested in what he wanted them to do before they switched to waiting for Kuo to say something.
"Hey, word is out of our arrival." Zeke said, indicating that his contacts, whoever they were, now knew, for sure, that they were in town and were hoping to use the super powered beings to their advantage, though it remained to be seen since the Dazzlings recalled something like this from Empire City, "I got contacted by a cop and a junkie."
"That's one hell of a fanbase." Cole commented, to which he looked off towards the building that Zeke had been staring at the moment they arrived, knowing that the building in question had to be where they would find the people that had contacted Zeke recently.
"These people take you seriously, and I mean all four of you." Zeke stated, where he waved his hand towards all of them for a moment, indicating that everyone knew who they were, or at least what the news had said about them, which was lies since it was likely everything Moya told them to run, "Helping one of them out will send a message, but you need to think about this for a moment. New Marais is a fresh start for us... it's a clean slate. The people here pay attention to people like you... especially since one of you has lightning coming out of his hands, another can create fire and use it to her advantage, a third can use the wind to devastating effect, and the last one can manipulate the moisture in the air and do whatever she wants with it. So, what are you going to do about it?"
"We're going to send a message." Adagio replied, as she, both of her sisters, and Cole had seen the two men that Zeke wanted them to talk to, or at the very least one of them, and could see that one of them had a faint red aura around their body while the other had a faint blue aura.
One thing the four of them had discovered was that, when confronted by a choice like this, they were able to tell which was the 'good' option and which was the 'evil' option, to which the four of them decided to help the cop and let the junkie know that they weren't on his side. When they approached the cop, as that was who they would have chosen anyway, they discovered that the Militia had a gang in the nearby mansion and were shooting up 'deviants', and that the cop wanted them to stop the gang and heal the wounded, which wasn't a problem for them. Once they knew what they were doing they headed over to where the mansion was located and Cole immediately started to tend to the wounded, mending their wounds and allowing them to run, though after the third one the Militia soldiers forced a poor man off the roof and put a bullet in his head at the same time, executing him instead of doing what they did to the other people they were tormenting. The Dazzlings, seeing the Militia preparing to execute another group of people, sprung into action immediately, as Adagio manipulated the moisture in the air and formed some Ice Walls in front of the innocent people, preventing them from being hit by any stray bullets, while at the same time Aria and Sonata flew right up to the soldiers and beat them up... giving Cole time to heal the rest of the wounded and make sure that there weren't any additional enemies that were coming to attack them.
After that they were called back to where the cop was located, as he was under attack by three Militia soldiers, who the group beat up within a matter of seconds and let Cole restrain them so that the cop might question them later on, and hopefully put an end to this before it got out of control. Once they were done with assisting the cop, who was happy for their assistance, they ignored Zeke's attempts to get them to attack a street performer and heard back from Kuo, only with news that she still had no idea where Wolfe had been taken. She did, however, have some news for Cole, as she mentioned something about him flexing his powers and gave them some coordinates to head to before cutting the call off as she got back to work hunting for Wolfe. The group, one more having no leads, sighed and headed out for the new area that they were being sent to, as they were sure that they could do something to pass the time until they could actually fight the Militia, rescue Wolfe, and figure out what else they needed to do to prepare for the arrival of the Beast.
After Kuo told them where they needed to go, or rather where she wanted them to go so Cole could 'flex his powers', the group moved through New Marais and did what they did when they were making their way over to where Zeke was standing, meaning they stopped muggings from happening, let the musicians do their thing, and healed any wounded civilians that might be laying around the area. The Dazzlings weren't sure why Zeke hated the musicians that called this city home, the ones that seemed to be playing with ordinary everyday objects as it turned out, but they were sure that he would be able to get over his dislike and focus on the mission that they were on. While they were on their way towards the area that they were heading towards they discovered that Trish was safe and would be that way, unless the Militia actually discovered where she was hiding, but at the same time Cole knew that she was likely tending to some of the wounded that were in the area of the city that they were in. Another thing they discovered was that some of the civilians clearly feared them, as the 'Demon and Sirens of Empire City', while others actually understood that they weren't evil creatures bend on tearing them down... but it seemed like it would take some time before the people understood that they were on their side and would deal with the vile Militia that controlled the city now.
Fortunately it appeared that the majority of the soldiers that were in the Militia seemed to be busy at the moment, as there didn't seem to be many of them out there, thus allowing the group to get to the coordinates that Kuo sent them rather easily... where they discovered that it was an alley of sorts between an ordinary house and a market building that sold bait, food, and both soft drinks and alcohol.
"Okay Kuo, we're in position." Cole said, opening a call to Kuo for a moment, that way she knew that they were ready for whatever tricks she had up her sleeves for them, as he still had no idea what she meant when she said that he needed to flex his powers and why the Dazzlings didn't need to do that, "So, what's going on?"
"Wolfe had speculated that absorbing a Blast Core might expose some dormant powers in a Conduit." Kuo explained, immediately telling Adagio, Aria, and Sonata the reason why they weren't included in this mission, in a sense anyway, and that was because they hadn't absorbed the full power of the Blast Core, instead they appeared to have only taken a small amount of energy to increase their own powers.
"Alright, that sounds interesting," Adagio said, because it sounded interesting, though at the same time they weren't being given a lot of information on what was going on at the moment, while noticing that her sisters were glancing around the area to be sure there weren't any enemies in the immediate area, "but how is he supposed to find these dormant powers that the Blast Core might have revealed?"
"Based on what Wolfe told me, it seems like the key is to stress your body by using your powers in different ways," Kuo replied, revealing that the scientist she was looking for must have done an intense amount of research on Conduits, the Ray Sphere, and the Blast Cores that he had discovered, and had shared some of it with her in the process.
"So it just mix it up when we're fighting the Militia?" Cole asked, as that sounded vastly disappointing, as he expected something else to unlock the dormant powers that the Blast Core had awoken, not pull off what he could already envision Zeke calling 'stunts' to unlock new forms of the powers that he already possessed, "That's it?"
"Hey, I thought it was weird when Wolfe told me all of this," Kuo said, telling the group that she had thought there would have been a secret or something to unlocking the dormant powers that were exposed after a Blast Core was absorbed by a Conduit, only to be disappointed in the news as well, "I did, however, spot a Militia squad that's close to where you guys are. Maybe you can start with them?"
Cole sighed and hung up before moving out, as this promised to be quite boring in terms of what they usually did back in Empire City, to which he and the Dazzlings headed away from the edge of the city, where the coordinates had brought them to, and headed a little into the city. The location that Kuo had found the Militia soldiers at had at least six of them harassing the people that living in the cul de sac that Kuo had sent them to, though since this was his time to shine Cole raised his hand as the Dazzlings landed on a nearby roof to watch the show. What Cole did was take aim at the enemies that were further away from where he was standing and fired several bolts at them, knocking them to the ground, before using his Amp to punish the soldiers that were close to where he was, before Sonata pointed out that there happened to be a pair of soldiers escorting some 'deviants' away to use as target practice. That caused Cole, who had beaten the soldiers around him, to raise his hand again and loose another bolt at his targets, though this time around the bolt separated into three smaller blots that seemed to go in three separate directions, before joining back together as they slammed into his first target... and then he made sure to fire a second one and knock out the remaining soldier that was escorting the innocent people away, who were thankful for him, as well as the Dazzlings, to come to their aid.
The Dazzlings stared at Cole for a few moments, as he was just as surprised as they were, and he targeted a trash can that was nearby with the same pincer style blast, which struck it like his original blast, before he focused his mind and the next blast was the same as his original blast.
"That's... interesting." Aria commented, as she wasn't sure what to make of the sudden change in Cole's lightning, even though they could all hear Zeke complaining about how the new 'Pincer Bolt' didn't have the same flare as Cole's 'Alpha Bolt', causing them to wonder why he was the one nicknaming all of Cole's abilities once more.
"Indeed." Kuo added, somehow knowing that they would have been finished with allowing Cole to test his powers and see what else he had gotten from the Blast Core that he had absorbed earlier, but at the same time they knew that now wasn't the time for questions, "It also stands to reason that your other powers might be able to grow in similar ways, though it might take some time before you figure all of them out."
"Well, that 'Pincer Bolt' is definitely a great start," Cole said, as he was interested in seeing if there were any other variations to his powers that he could find out already, regardless of the fact that he was sure that most of them were likely buried deep inside him and needed more Blast Cores to draw them out of hiding, "When we're fighting the Militia I'll be sure to try and push myself... I might be able to get something fantastic out of this training."
"I'm happy that you're making progress Cole, I really am," Kuo replied, though her tone told the Dazzlings that she was getting annoyed about something, which meant that it might be time for them to get underway and see what sort of damage they needed to do before they figured out where Wolfe was being held, "but, unfortunately, I'm not having the same luck that you and the girls are. I've lost the trail on Wolfe and the clock is ticking. Once the Militia get what they want out of him he's as good as dead."
"We won't be able to take out the Beast without him," Zeke commented, showing that he was listening in to the conversation and was ready to offer his opinion and thoughts, just like he did back in Empire City, only in the past it got him into trouble and complicated things sometimes, "Wolfe is the whole reason we came down here."
"Calm down Zeke," Kuo said, revealing that, despite the fact that it was her companion that had been taken by the Militia, she was calm and collected at the moment, which was strange considering that the sisters thought she'd be more upset over what was going on at the moment, "if we can get Bertrand to talk, he'll know where Wolfe is being held."
"Forgive me for asking, but who are you talking about?" Zeke inquired, as right now he had no idea who the major enemy in their path to stopping the Beast was, thought it appeared that Kuo was going to tell him, which was why Cole and the Dazzlings said nothing as this exchange happened.
"Joseph Bertrand the Third," Kuo replied, not at all shocked that Zeke had no idea who she was talking about, despite the fact that there were several areas where all the televisions continued to run his messages pretty much all day long without stopping, "he's the leader of the Militia. He's an elusive guy most of the time, but I have it on good authority that tonight he'll be giving a speech in front of St. Ignatius."
"Doesn't sound like we have much of a choice in the matter," Adagio said, understanding what they needed to do and who they needed to target, while at the same time she and her sisters fingered their new pendants, as she had an idea that was sure to work, "We'll just grab Bertrand after he delivers his speech, shuttle him to a secure area that the Militia won't find for an hour or two, and then we'll have him tell us exactly where Wolfe is being held... along with any secrets he might have hidden away and any Blast Cores he might have taken from Wolfe before the Militia attacked his lab."
Cole knew exactly what Adagio was referring to, which had Kuo confused for a moment since they still hadn't told her that part of their power came from their pendants and, if they started to sing, they could cause whoever they were targeting to fall under their spell. They freed all of Empire City from Kessler's attempt to use a toxic gas to mind-control everyone, something that they wouldn't stand for, and also used it to temporarily take control of an enemy to get the location of something they needed, like the location of Moya's ship, before freeing them. What Adagio was suggesting, and what her sisters were agreeing with, was that they put Bertrand under their spell and force him to reveal where Wolfe was being held, any secrets that they might be able to use against him, the location of any Blast Cores, and, if they were in the mood to do so, even destroy his entire campaign by forcing him to make a number of terrible decisions that would turn the city against the Militia in moments. The best part would be the fact that they were still using their powers to protect people, especially if they managed to get him to arrange a meeting with the Militia so they could dismantle the entire army in one instant... though while he knew that something like that might not happen, as it would make things too easy for them, it was a nice thing to think about.
The moment the call was finished, and everyone had hung up so they could continue their various missions without slowing down, Cole and the Dazzlings headed into the busier part of the city and took to the roofs, where they would be able to avoid being seen until the time was right. Cole took the position as the leader this time around, since he was the only one that knew the route through the city, and the Dazzlings were more than happen to follow him, though along the way they did have to silence a few Militia groups that happened to be along the roofs, no doubt making sure the area was secure before their leader's big speech. Fortunately it didn't take them too long to reach the roof of the building that not only gave them a good view of the stage that Bertrand would be standing on later, but it also gave them a good view of the beautiful cathedral that was across the street... though, due to the fact that the Dazzlings had pony ears, pony tails, and hooves they couldn't get any closer without someone ratting them out immediately, so they would have to stay on the roof until it was time for them to move in and capture their target.
"Hey Zeke, Kuo, we're in position for the rally," Cole said, though at the same time both he and the Dazzlings took up some positions around the roof that they were on, as all four of them had the feeling that it would be some time before their target took to the stage, "but we're going to stay out sight until Bertrand takes to the stage. Zeke, since the Dazzlings can't enter that place without being spotted immediately, I'll meet you inside and then you can call in our backup once I'm sure we're ready to move."
"Low profile, I got ya." Zeke replied, though as the call was cut off, without Kuo saying anything, Cole and the Dazzlings noticed Zeke walking into the area in front of the cathedral, so he could hear what would be said before his friend came into the area.
The four of them sat there and waited, knowing that something was definitely going to happen when the rally started, though they just had to be patient and wait to see what that something was... and make sure that they didn't just use their powers to strike down Bertrand when he took the stage, otherwise they'd never be able to find Wolfe.
As the next two hours ticked by, and the group found this to be incredibly boring as the day turned to night, the people of New Marais came out and visited the rally, where the Dazzlings spotted that the majority of them didn't seem to be people that they had helped earlier. The Militia was definitely out in force, no doubt looking for anyone or anything that they might need to fight while Bertrand was talking to the masses, and eventually their target emerged from wherever he had been hiding and started to address the crowd that had gathered in front of the cathedral. Bertrand, as the Dazzlings soon discovered when he stepped onto the stage, wore a black coat with leather boots, a white shirt underneath, with a red vest, while at the same time he appeared to be in his late fifties, maybe his early sixties, based on his face and the coloration of his hair. The moment Cole spotted him, and Zeke informed them that Bertrand was coming out onto the stage, he left the roof and headed down into the rally, where the people would be too focused on what their 'leader' was saying and wouldn't notice his arrival, while at the same time the Dazzlings remained where they were resting, as they could hear Bertrand just fine and would be waiting for the signal so they could move.
As Cole walked into the area he found Zeke standing in the middle of the crowd, sort of hidden from Bertrand since he hadn't been spotted yet, to which he walked over to where his friend was standing and kept himself from doing anything that would reveal where he was standing.
"My friends, tonight we face the gravest threat that this fair city has ever faced," Bertrand said, where he stopped in front of the podium that had been placed on the stage and turned to face the people that were in front of him, seemingly unaware of the enemies that were observing him, "The Devil walks among us... Cole MacGrath, the 'Electric Man', or more commonly called the 'Demon of Empire City', is here in New Marais. As are his terrible temptresses Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk, three strange girls that are known to break your will just their voices, earning them their titles as the 'Sirens of Empire City'. I know, I know, I'm angry too. Our forefathers bled and died in defense of this city. When history called upon them to stand against the enemy! Did they surrender? No! They fought! To the last man... My men, these fine young men, are the guardians of this city. And they are all that stands between you and the freaks! And as God as my witness we will hunt them down and destroy them all!"
It was in the following moment that one of the scared citizens that happened to be in the crowd pointed out a figure that was on top of the scaffolding that was near the stage that Bertrand was standing on, a nearly human creature that had what appeared to be scythes for hands, clawed feet, and four mandibles in it's mouth. As the Dazzlings noticed the creature they also discovered that Bertrand seemed to know whatever it was as well, as the moment the creature appeared Bertrand whispered something to one of his guards and left, while at the same time the civilians fled in terror as more 'swamp monsters' appeared in the area. That was as good a signal as they could have asked for, as not a few seconds later the three of them flew from the top of the roof and landed behind Cole, who was approaching the strange swamp monsters that were threatening the people, and it was clear what they were going to be doing for the next couple of moments. That was followed by the four of them separating for a few seconds as they engaged the swamp monsters, where Cole beat his opponents with his Amp and blasted them away, Adagio used the moisture to form a spear made out of ice that allowed her to defeat her targets with ease, Aria simply blasted her opponents and fried them, and Sonata used the wind to slice the creatures up... and, once the four of them were done, they noticed Bertrand driving off in a limo and immediately followed after him.
To anyone else it would have been hard, if not impossible, to catch up with the limo and meet Bertrand, but Cole on the other hand, thanks to the assistance of the Dazzlings, was picked up into the air, flown to the front of the car, and dropped in such a manner that he would be able to land in front of the roof opening... where he was able to see Bertrand sitting down in the back of the car, apparently smoking a cigar and not caring about what was going on around him.
"Bertrand," Cole said, making sure that the phone line was open so that Adagio, Aria, Sonata, Zeke, and Kuo could hear what he was going to get out of the man, before the sisters swooped in to take him away to a private area for their little session anyway, "it's about time that you, the Dazzlings, and I had a chat."
"I have nothing to say to you... freak." Bertrand replied, though it was in that following instant that a helicopter, one that the Dazzlings originally assumed was one that was under someone elses control, lowered to a decent spot and caused Cole to hit the back on his head on the metallic foot railing... knocking him off the limo and allowing the car to disappear into the city at the same time.
The Dazzlings growled for a moment, as it appeared that they might have underestimated their enemy this time around, and grew more annoyed when the pilot of the helicopter blew up several of the cars that were around Cole, some that happened to have people inside them, and doused the area in flames. Aria, being the master of fire, reached out with her hand and summoned all the fire into the air, where she heard the pilot let out a stream of curses, since he apparently didn't know what sort of opponent was chasing Bertrand, before she formed the fire into a flaming sword that she hurled through the air and struck the gas part of the helicopter. Not a few seconds alter the vehicle exploded and the parts fell to the ground, the pilot killed for his crimes against the fair people of the city... and yet, as the four of them helped Cole back onto his feet, they knew that it was only a matter of time until they found out where their enemies were hiding Wolfe, and then they could get back to the real reason they were here, in New Marais.
At the very least it appeared the Zeke might, just might, have a lead for them to make up for what just happened, so the four of them moved to an area where Cole could rest for a few minutes and then they would move out before the Militia found them.
The first thing the group did, after getting a very brief call from Zeke that detailed that their might be something else for them to do while he and Kuo continued their search for Wolfe's whereabouts, was head over to one of the roofs that was nearby and waited there. The reasoning behind that decision was because it appeared that Bertrand didn't have any other helicopters in the area and they didn't want to be on the ground floor, where the Militia soldiers were running around with the intent of either killing them or the strange creatures that had suddenly showed up out of no where. When they thought about it Adagio, Aria, and Sonata shared a glance with each other, as none of them had ever seen that sort of creature before and knew that where there was a small group of creatures like it there was bound to be a hive, complete with larger and more menacing creatures than what they saw tonight. Cole, on the other hand, rubbed the area of his head that he had been smacked on by the part of the helicopter, as he was annoyed that he hadn't seen that coming and knew that they would have told him about it if they had been closer to him... but, despite his feelings, he wasn't going to blame the Dazzlings, as it wasn't their fault that he had forgotten that Bertrand might have some air support.
A few moments later Cole's phone went off and the group turned towards it, because it was likely either Zeke or Kuo calling them with a progress report on what they were doing and how their individual searches for Wolfe's location was going, to which he tapped the call button and accepted the one that was coming through.
"Damn man," Zeke said, though based on the sounds that were in the background, those that the group could hear at the moment, it sounded like he was still making his way out of the rally area in front of the cathedral, as the four of them guessed that he had hidden himself with the crowd and fled when they did, "Kuo never told us that this town was overrun by a pack of inbred shirtless crocodile freaks."
"I know." Cole replied, though while he was sure that Zeke was excited about the arrival of a new enemy, ones that weren't human this time around, he and the Dazzlings were more concerned for the people that had nearby been attacked at the rally, the innocent people that had gathered to here Bertrand speak, "I guess that means that we'll have to be careful in the future and get some information on them... despite the fact that you likely think this is awesome."
"Oh, completely." Zeke stated, his tone betraying the fact that he was going to enjoy this adventure, even if he actually didn't do anything except get additional information on the Militia, their important bases, and whatever else he happened to be searching for when he wasn't talking to one of them, "It totally makes up for the Militia being here. And it gets even better guys. I think I might have actually stumbled on a lead to Wolfe's location. I overheard some folks talking about a strange device being found over on Gaffney Street."
"Then we'll head over and take a look," Adagio said, though she was a little disappointed that Zeke thought that those swamp monsters were cool and made up for the fact that the Militia was in town, especially since they seemed to attack everyone indiscriminately.
The moment the call was over the group stood there for a few more minutes, allowing Cole to make sure that he was ready for whatever happened next, though once he was ready to go the Dazzlings took to the air as he used one of the nearby grindwires and headed off in the direction of Gaffney Street. As they headed off towards their next destination the group paused to stop a few muggings, surprising them in the process since they had figured that this wouldn't have happened since those creatures showed up, stopped another two abductions, again surprised for the same reason, and had Cole heal some of the wounded that were along their path. Despite what had happened the Militia seemed quite eager to continue their reign of terror over the fair people of New Marais, annoying all four members of the group at the same time, though the group occasionally stopped and knocked down a group of soldiers that spotted them, just to keep Bertrand in the dark as to where they were going, even if he wasn't keeping track of what his soldiers were saying. They did pause on the street for a moment or two, as one of the television stores had a broadcast about the destruction of Empire City and how many people had been caught in the explosion... but, after a few seconds of listening to it, Cole sighed and continued on his way, to which the Dazzlings followed after him, knowing that the loss of his city was a sore spot for their friend.
Despite the delays that they had faced, with the Militia being at the heart of every instance, the group was able to make their way over to Gaffney Street, where they discovered a scared man that was at the exact coordinates that Zeke had sent them, indicating that he knew the location of the strange device that Zeke had mentioned to them before they started their journey to this location.
"I'm glad that you guys came." the man said, his nervous look being slightly replaced by a look of happiness, as if he had heard the stories about the group and believed that they were heroes of the people, before he glanced off in the direction he had been staring at before their arrival and pointed at it for a moment, "I found something stuck to a wall over there. Maybe it's nothing, but, given what's been happening recently, you can't be too careful in this town."
As it turned out, because of the route they had taken to reach where the man was standing, they had bypassed the wall that the object was attached to, though as they carefully approached the object the four of them discovered that the object in question was rectangular shaped, vertical instead of horizontal, and happened to have a Blast Shard resting in the center of the device. The Dazzlings, despite the fact that they didn't didn't know much about this world, knew that this was dangerous and called for the people to get away from it, as there were several civilians that were standing around it, but as the first person stepped away from it the device fared and, thinking quickly, Adagio formed an Ice Wall in the form of a shield in the area in front of them. That was followed by the device exploding and destroying the Blast Shard in the process, though as the Ice Wall was shattered, and turned to water without hurting anyone, the group found that the people that were right in front of the device, and hadn't listened to their statement to move, had been blown backwards and were definitely dead. The only person that they had saved, who had been smart enough to move the moment one of them suggested moving, quickly thanked them for their assistance and promptly fled the area that they were in, allowing the group to look at the wall... and, as the Dazzlings looked around the area, they found that the man that had pointed out where the device was located had fled the area.
"I think there's another bomb down there!" someone said, where they found a scared lady, who had witnessed the explosion of the first device, pointing further down the path that was near them and, sure enough, there was a second device strapped to another wall, before she ran off the moment the group noticed it.
Cole approached the device and seemed to have the bright idea to absorb the electricity from it, as the Dazzlings watched as the device powered down as their friend took the power from inside the device, to which he raised his hand and pulled out the Blast Shard that had been trapped inside it, allowing him to take the power for himself instead of letting it be blown to pieces.
"Zeke, it looks like someone's making bombs out of the Blast Shards that rained down on the city earlier," Aria said, knowing that their friend would want to know what they found, though as that happened both Adagio and Sonata studied the device as Cole absorbed the power of the shard into his body.
"That's all the more reason for the lot of you to collect them, right?" Zeke inquired, as he knew that the Dazzlings couldn't use the Blast Shards and would give any they found to Cole, since he was the only one that could use the shards out of all of them, but none of them brought it up.
Of course there happened to be another Blast Shard Bomb nearby, as a cop had called Zeke about since he figured that he knew who could deal with it, and Zeke even brought up that there was another shard nearby, being carried by one of the civilians, though all Cole said was that Trish was going to smack Zeke again for even suggesting that they torment the people for their Blast Shards. As such the four of them headed out towards the area that the third bomb was located in and found the cop in question staring at the bomb, where Cole stepped forward and defused the device by stealing it's power, before pulling out the Blast Shard and continued on their way as they sought out more opportunities to assist the people of New Marais. At the same time the Dazzlings took to the air for the moment and looked at the man that Zeke had pointed out, making sure that he was safe since he was carrying the Blast Shard that Zeke had spotted, before they sighed and returned to Cole's side, where they headed to an alley where they would wait and see what happened next.
As it turned out, when the phone rang again, they were being contacted by Kuo this time around, which meant that she either had information on where Wolfe was located or had another task for them to take care of while she continued her search for anything useful.
"Hey guys, I hit up all my old connections and the closest I've come to finding Wolfe is his interrogator." Kuo said, though her tone told the group that she wasn't happy at the moment, either because they had lost Bertrand or because she was displeased with the fact that it had taken so long to get this far, "Now the guy's currently winning it really big at Black Jack, but he should be visiting Wolfe later on. I would follow him myself, but he just hit on me at the bar."
"Alright, send us the casino's location." Cole replied, though this time around he was happy to have some lead as to where Wolfe was located, because so far it was clear that they needed Wolfe's help in stopping the Beast, "We can follow this guy from the rooftops and find where Wolfe is being held, because he'll never see any of us... people never look up."
The Dazzlings chuckled at that fact, because it was true that none of their enemies, even those that had known that they were able to fly, had bothered to look up at the sky at all while they were following them, meaning that they were able to figure out where their target was located with ease. That was followed by they heading out of the area that they were in an headed towards the casino that Wolfe's interrogator was staying in, which was rather easy to get to since none of the Militia soldiers seemed to be out and about at the moment, though at the same time the Dazzlings felt something they hadn't felt in over a thousand years. It was another magical signature, which they would have been happy with, but, at the same time, it had a chaotic nature to it, one that they remembered from encountering the creature that it belonged to several times before they were banished from Equus. They were shocked, as they weren't sure what the being was doing on this planet, but at the same time this was either a good thing or a really bad thing, as the creature in question could easily turn against them or assist them... it all depended on what he was feeling at the given moment and if he had any ulterior motives for being here.
"Alright, we're in position above the casino," Cole said, speaking to Kuo for a moment, so she would know what's going on outside the building that she was standing in, even if all of them knew that she didn't like the man that was their target at the moment, "Let us know when our guy's on the move."
"That might be awhile, as he's still doing pretty well at the table." Kuo commented, though there was something in her tone that told the group that she knew something else that they might want to know about before they started their stakeout of the building, "There's also this strange man that asked about Adagio, Aria, and Sonata a few minutes ago, and the reason behind calling him that is because he's wearing two odd looking gloves, as the left one looks like it's modeled after an eagle's talon and the right seemed to be modeled after a lion's paw."
"Be careful, that creature is not to be trusted," Adagio stated, causing Cole to turn towards her for a moment, while at the same time Aria and Sonata stared at the casino, as all three of them were wondering what the creature was even doing here at the moment, "If we're right, and I don't think that there's any possibility that we're wrong, that creature is Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. I don't know what he's doing here, I honestly don't, but be careful... he could either be here to observe us, assist us in some manner, or get in our way until someone admits defeat."
Cole sensed that there was much more to the creature than what Adagio was saying, though at the same time he could tell that she didn't want to talk about the being all that much, to which he nodded and they continued to watch the casino, so they could see where Wolfe's interrogator went and what the creature wanted.
Wolfe's interrogator spent the next three hours at the casino, apparently winning a good amount of the games that he played and scored big, which only caused him to stay all that much longer and annoyed the group that was watching him and the entrance. Kuo kept the line open, keeping tabs on both their target and the strange person that sat near where she was sitting, where the Dazzlings learned that Discord, if it really was him, was enjoying a drink with a miniature umbrella in it, while also glancing at Kuo every now and then. That only worried Adagio and her sisters, because they still had no idea why the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony was even here, though at the same time they kept themselves at the ready, as there was the potential for the creature to attack them and they didn't want to be caught off guard. According to what Kuo said it appeared that Discord was either using his magic to fool the bartender into pouring him drinks, even though he couldn't get drunk even if he tried, or he was using someone else's money to pay for them... or, as the Dazzlings considered a third possibility, it might have been that he was creating them with his own chaotic powers.
For a while it seemed like their target was going to keep playing until he won a specific amount of money, as that was Kuo's guess behind how long he had been here, but then she reported something strange; Discord moved his fingers a little, their target suddenly decided to bet big to triple his money, and he ended up betting on a losing hand that cost him all the money he had earned... to which he got up from the table in a huff and walked away.
"I don't know what he did, but it seems to have worked in our favor." Kuo commented, revealing that she might trust the being more than the Dazzlings did, though that was because she didn't know him like they did, and not even a few seconds later the annoyed interrogator was on his way outside and left the casino behind, "Our target's on the move, so stay out of sight until you find where he's hiding Wolfe."
As Cole and the Dazzlings followed after their target, with Cole sticking to the grindwires and the Dazzlings taking to the air once more, Cole decided to inquire how they were going to get Wolfe out of whatever building he was locked away in, where Kuo informed him that she had 'appropriated' one of the Militia trucks. Cole was honestly surprised by her actions, though at the same time the Dazzlings didn't care, as Kuo further explained that there was some code or rule somewhere that allowed law enforcement officers to commandeer civilian vehicles to prevent crimes from happening, which was what they were doing. Fortunately it appeared that luck was on their side, as the interrogator didn't have to travel too far to reach the building in question, which was a tan colored house on 8th Street, one that would prove to be difficult getting a truck into since it appeared that the Militia had roadblocks set up to stop traffic along the canal, which appeared to be their next mission. The moment they knew what they were doing, and that they had a limited amount of time before Kuo arrived with the truck, the four of them dropped down to the area that they would be working in and started assaulting the Militia soldiers that were standing outside the house.
Because of how powerful the four of them were it didn't take them that long to smash and blast their way through the soldiers and the first roadblock they had set up, allowing them to move further down the canal so they could repeat the same thing at the next one... only for something large to move through the ground below Cole's feet, something that the Dazzlings knew wasn't Discord. When they rounded the corner, and found the destroyed roadblock they had been heading towards, they also discovered that the source of the destruction was a four-legged creature that looked more like an insect of some kind, though it tore up the ground around it for a few seconds before coming back to the surface and stared at the four of them. As they quickly discovered the creature was prone to charge at whoever it was targeting and had an armored hide that caused all of their blasts to bounce off of it, but when Sonata used her grenade attack, and found that it hurt the creature, the group joined her and tossed their grenades at their opponent. That allowed them to discover that when the beast went back underground it shed off the attacks that were attached to it and that it liked to move behind them so it could charge one of them down, resulting in them avoiding the attack before retaliating with their own attack.
It took a few minutes for them to take the creature down, the Ravager as Sonata decided to call it, but when it was down the four of them moved the remaining care out of the way, including the still corpse of their enemy, and Cole made a comment about how they were now officially no longer the biggest freaks in town... before they headed back over to the house that the truck was waiting at, with Kuo and Wolfe climbing into the front seat as Cole landed on the back, though the Dazzlings stared off into the distance as they spotted a familiar figure standing on a nearby roof.
"Discord." Adagio said, staring at the seemingly human form that the Spirit of Chaos had taken, while at the same time her sisters did the same thing, before she turned and looked at Cole, "You two should get Wolfe out of here. We'll head over to where our 'friend' is standing and see what he wants... and, if he's against us, stall him before he comes after you guys and Wolfe."
Cole barely had enough time to nod his head before the Dazzlings took off, where they raced towards the roof that Discord was standing on, though as the three of them landed on the roof they heard the sound of Kuo starting the engine and her taking off... followed by Cole blowing up the Militia that were attacking them.
"Discord, what do you want?" Aria asked, though she was more annoyed that this was happening now instead of happening at a later time, when Cole might actually need their help in securing Wolfe's escape, but it was better than letting the creature do whatever he wanted.
"What, no 'hello' or 'it's nice to see you again'?" Discord inquired, though at the same time he snapped his fingers and summoned one of the relaxing chairs that the Dazzings had seen on one of the cruise ships they had spotted when they were out on the water earlier, where Discord sat on it and leaned back, "Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, Sonata Dusk, I'm wounded that you think so lowly of me."
"The last time we saw each other was when we argued about Equestria," Adagio replied, because since she and her sisters had been evil at the time they were more interested in turning the ponies against each other and feeding off them so they could expand their influence over the world, while all Discord wanted to do was play games on the ponies and twist the fabric of reality to his whim.
"Ah yes, those were good times, until we were both punished," Discord commented, remembering those days easily, despite the fact that he would prefer not to do so, before he took a sip from the goblet that he was now holding, which was different than the glass cup he had been sipping from inside the casino, and faced them, "I just came by to say hello, see how the three of you are doing, which is quite well if I'm allowed to offer my thoughts, and keep you entertained for a few minutes."
"Entertain us?" Sonata asked, as that didn't make a lot of sense, even if she was actually the only one among their number that hadn't actually argued with Discord, as she let her sisters do that, she was still confused by the choice of words that he picked whenever he talked.
"As I said, you've been doing a marvelous job at saving lives, defeating your enemies, and increasing your power," Discord said, showing that he had, somehow, been observing them and had been taking notes on everything they had done so far, or at the very least that was what Adagio suspected since no one would imagine the Spirit of Chaos doing something like that, "however, despite the powers you have gained so far, there is one thing that'll happen today that you won't be able to change. I checked with a friend before I came here, and the event is a fixed point in this planet's history, so you won't be able to change it at all... even if one of you were there to see the other truck coming down the street."
It was in that following moment that they heard the sound of a car crash over the open call that Cole had left them, so he could figure out what was going on with them and Discord, but the moment it happened the three of them took to the skies and found the burning wreckage that rested on the outskirts of New Marais. There they found Wolfe, dead and still locked into the seat he had buckled himself into when Kuo had rescued him, Kuo missing, meaning that the Militia must have dragged her away to present her to Bertrand as a trophy of their work, and a wounded Cole, who they carefully picked up and flew off to an area that Trish could meet them in so she could patch up Cole. Sonata, who wasn't carrying Cole, glanced around and found that Discord had disappeared the moment they flew off to see what the car crash was, meaning that it would be some time before they figured out what he truly wanted... and, at the same time, they needed to come up with a new plan of attack, otherwise the Beast was going to destroy the entire world without them being able to do anything to stop it.
Trish spent the next couple of minutes checking over Cole's body, making sure that he wasn't terribly wounded and could get back up when he had some rest, while at the same time Zeke and the Dazzlings gathered near her, as all four of them were worried for Cole's health. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata knew that Cole would likely heal himself once he was back on his feet, by draining one of the nearby power sources, but at the same time they had no idea what sort of damage that car crash he had been in a few minutes ago had done to his body. The good part was that none of the Militia soldiers were bothering to come up to the roof that they had landed on and investigate what was going on up there, meaning that they were busy with whatever Bertrand wanted them to do, though that also meant that the group was able to hide themselves until Cole was ready to move once more. Eventually Trish sighed and packed up her supplies, showing that she had done everything she could for someone like Cole, and that she desperately wanted to do more to assist them, but at the moment all she could do was check his body, make sure there weren't any broken bones, and patch up any wounds he had so he didn't bleed out before he could drain the electricity from one of the poles around them.
"What the hell happened?" Trish asked, as Zeke had, as per her request, kept her in the loop with what they were doing and where they were going, that way in case they needed some medical assistance she would be ready for anything, and she had come to a safe area to tend to Wolfe when he arrived.
"Well, Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, showed up," Adagio replied, because Cole, Zeke, and Trish were the only ones in this world that knew that she and her sisters were from a different world, one that the people seemed to have somehow found out about and make a cartoon about, which meant that the three of them knew that Equus, and all of the ponies that called it home, were real, "He distracted us by informing us that we wouldn't be able to change the course of fate when it came to Wolfe, because he mentioned that car crash being a fixed point in time and that none of us would have changed the outcome."
"Wait, does that mean what I think it means?" Zeke asked, though while he was still shocked that a show that was based around ponies, friendship, and life lessons was actually real and he was friends with three of it's former residents, he didn't really care about the creature they had encountered, as he was more interested in what was going on around them at the moment.
"Wolfe's dead." Aria stated, as she remembered what she and her sisters had seen back at the scene they had discovered, because this was going to change everything they were about to do in New Marais, especially since the only one that knew where to find the Blast Cores was gone, "And by the time we got there the Militia had carried off Kuo as well, so we'll have to find and rescue her at some point as well... and that's while also figuring out how we're supposed to find Blast Cores without Wolfe there to assist us."
"Then Zeke and I will do our best to help out in that regard," Trish said, as she could only imagine the pain that Cole was going to be in when he got up, since he was going to be pissed that Wolfe was dead, that Kuo was gone, and that there was nothing the Dazzlings would have done to assist them in stopping the car crash, "and, if I see Discord while we're at it, I'll tell you immediately, since I'm sure that the three of you are the only ones that would be able to deal with such a creature without being utterly defeated in an instant."
"I guess that we should help the citizens of New Marais while we wait for Cole to get up." Sonata commented, as she knew that there were a number of people that needed assistance with whatever was happening to them, along with the various people that the Militia was harassing on the streets and the Blast Shard bombs that might have been placed on some of the walls around the city, "At the very least we can prove to the people of New Marais that people like us aren't evil, like Bertrand is claiming that we are, and that we're heroes that are working to protect them from the terrors that exist all around them."
Adagio and Aria glanced at each other before they nodded, as Sonata's words made sense when they considered that they were Guardians of the People, or had been to the people of Empire City, and that the people of New Marais would see them in such a light when they were done assisting them with whatever they needed help with. As such the three of them took to the skies and separated from each other, because with their various powers there was no reason for them to stick together for a simple side objective that Zeke knew the location of, which he hadn't told them about since he knew that they were more interested in getting the reason they were in the city out of the way. Sonata sought out the various medics that were scattered around New Marais and assisted them in recovering the supplies that were stolen from them or clearing out the clinic that they had established, as it appeared that the Militia were keen on harassing them, just like the gangs in Empire City did before they got to them. Aria flew around and dismantled the Militia patrols that she spotted, cleaning up the streets in the process, because she was more pissed off that they apparently couldn't do a thing to stop Wolfe's death from happening and Discord even showed up to distract them from the mission they had been on.
Adagio, on the other hand, stuck to the areas that were close to the water and was surprised to find a number of civilians asking for assistance in either taking out a Militia boat that a bunch of supplies that the evil soldiers could use against the people, or actually sinking a boat that was actively firing at the city for some reason. It was rather easy for her to take out the boats, as all she had to do was manipulate the water around her target and sink them in seconds, much to the terror of the soldiers that tried to shoot her down and stop her from sinking them, even though it was impossible for them to hurt her at all. The people that were watching her blow the ships up, or sink them depending on what the soldiers did, cheered her on as she made the water around New Marais safer than they had been since Bertrand had taken control of the entire city, but eventually she ran out of targets to hit and left the streets near the water as she sought out more targets to eliminate so the people would be even safer than they were now.
Four hours passed before Cole woke up, though when the first of those four hours had gone by the Dazzlings returned to the roof that Zeke was standing guard on, observing an area of the city for clues as to where the Militia could have taken Kuo, while at the same time Trish watched over Cole while he slept. When the remaining three hours went by Cole finally stirred and asked what was going on, since the last thing he remembered was the car crash, to which the group informed him of what happened and what they were doing to find where Kuo had been taken. Cole was annoyed, as the loss of Wolfe really damaged their chances of stopping the Beast, despite the fact that it was going to be him and the Dazzlings against the creature when it arrived, but Trish's presence was enough to calm him down before he did anything rash, which allowed him to listen to Adagio, Aria, and Sonata as they told him everything that they had done while he was knocked out from the crash... and, after they were done, he stated that he was pleased with the sisters for proving Bertrand wrong, that they were heroes instead of villains.
Once that was done, and Trish said that he was fine to move once he got some electricity in his body to repair the damage to his body, Cole moved over to a generator that was nearby and pulled the power back into his body, allowing his body to be healed as he focused on what the group was doing at the moment... which involved him walking up to where Zeke was standing, as he was still staring out at something that was off in the distance from the roof that the entire group was standing on.
"Come on man, there's no reason for you to be down." Zeke commented, putting down the binoculars that he had been holding the entire time he had been waiting for Cole to awaken, though at the same time he knew that his friend was still annoyed with Wolfe's death, "Sure, Wolfe might be gone, but we still have you and the Dazzlings... not to mention the RFI that he gave us."
"That things a paperweight without Blast Cores." Cole replied, as he didn't want to think about the device that they had been given, the only thing that could apparently subtract the powers of the Beast when he was strong enough to power it, and wanted to focus on finding Kuo, "Wolfe was the only one that knew exactly where the Blast Cores are located, so how are we supposed to find them without him leading us to them?"
"Honestly, I don't know how we'll find them." Adagio said, because she knew that the Blast Cores were important to this entire operation, but because only one person knew where they were located it was going to be even harder for them to figure out where they're located, "But that's another thing that we'll have to work on while we're taking down the Militia and whatever operations that they're working on at the moment."
"Okay, Zeke, what's up with the binoculars?" Cole asked, as he had been wondering what his friend was doing at the moment and finally decided to ask what he was doing, though knowing his friend it was likely something inappropriate that was going to get him smacked by Trish when the truth was revealed, "You spying on a chick in the shower?"
"Not this time." Zeke replied, knowing that Trish was nearby and knew that she would smack him again if he was actually doing something like that, especially with the Dazzlings standing near them as well, before he turned his attention to what was in front of him, "I think I found Kuo. I heard that some gal escaped the lynch mob, took off through the swamp. Probably hiding in one of those bootlegging shacks they got back there."
"Finally, something to do." Aria said, to which she and her sisters got up from where they were sitting, or leaning in her case, and approached the edge of the roof that they were on, where they stared off into the area that Zeke was looking in at the moment, which Cole was doing as well, "Come on guys, let's go check it out."
Cole nodded and the four of them descended towards the ground level, where they headed in the direction that Zeke had been looking in and were immediately stopped when they found a group of protesters saying that 'New Marais won't bow down, keep MacGrath out of our town', showing that they were believers of what Bertrand was spewing and that they didn't approve of Cole and his friends. Of course one thing they could have done was break them and force them to stop saying things like that, but the sisters knew that was a bad action to go through and would ruin what they had done earlier while Cole was resting, which was why they bypassed the protesters and headed into the swamp area that Zeke had been looking at earlier. The first thing they did was jump over the ruined bridge that was behind the building that they were heading to and entered the swamp, though as they made their way around the trees they found a smaller building that was the shack that Zeke was talking about, but when Cole opened the door they found that no one was in the building and that someone might not have lived here for some time.
Since they determined that whoever Zeke had discovered the existence of wasn't here, and Zeke informed them that there were more shacks around the area, the four of them headed out and headed towards the second location that he wanted them to investigate, only to stop when they discovered a swamp monster with a gas head standing nearby. The group discovered that, when the gas head exploded the creature died, which was good to know as additional enemies came at them, because that information allowed them to defeat the additional enemies that appeared, before they walked forward and entered a Militia controlled area. The soldiers seemed surprised to see them, as they paused the moment they saw them, before they opened fire and caused the four of them to separate as they began the assault on the soldiers that were ruining New Marais, especially when Aria burned down one of the watchtowers that were looking for their enemies. The turret that was some distance away from where they were standing came online and opened fire on Sonata, who flew behind it and knocked the soldier behind it out, before destroying the turret itself, allowing Adagio to manipulate the moisture into creating some Ice Walls to prevent their enemies from accurately firing at them... though in the end that only allowed Cole to take them out as well before they approached the second shack, where a machine gun carrying soldier appeared and primed up his gun.
Adagio stared at the soldier for a few seconds as she wove her magic through the air and froze their opponent in a block of ice, allowing them to open the door of the shack and find that Kuo hadn't been there either, though that was followed by Cole, Aria, and Sonata attacking the swamp monsters that came out to ambush them. The swamp monsters didn't last long against the four of them, especially when their enemies only came in groups of three at a time, and they were able to cross over to a piece of land that had an alarming number of Militia soldiers guarding the next shack that they would be investigating. Despite their enemies numbers Cole had the advantage, as some of the soldiers were knocked back into the water by Sonata, who were then frozen by Adagio as she blasted a few more into the trees around them, and Aria knocked out the two turrets that were nearby, allowing him to take a few of the soldiers for himself before the entire area was cleared of enemies once more. When Cole went to open the door, however, the Militia squad that was over to their right suddenly exploded and caught their attention, as that wasn't normal at all, to which they abandoned looking in the shack that was in front of them and headed over to the area of the explosion... though what the group found when they arrived was a decent amount of smoke and a number of dead Militia soldiers scattered around the area, as well as a lady that was carrying a Blast Core in her left hand.
The lady in question had braided dreadlocks, with specific parts partly colored with a dark red, dark colored skin with some make up applied to her face, while her attire consisted mostly of leather, with a black half-opened vest, and leather pants and boots. The interesting thing was that the lady also had several slightly torn sleeves and wore several bands and ornaments, several decorative rope necklaces, and had metal finger attachments on both her hands, making her look more menacing than the Militia soldiers... though when she turned around, and noticed that she had company, she flashed around the area with some sort of teleportation power until she knocked Cole to the ground. As the lady came in to deliver the next attack, however, she stopped when she noticed that Cole's right hand had electricity dancing around it as he prepared to defend himself, which was followed by the Dazzlings appearing around her with a blade made from the element they command resting close to her body.
"The Demon and the Sirens?!" the lady exclaimed in surprise, which was when she backed off of Cole, the movement allowing Cole to get up as well, and took a few steps back as she realized that she had been correct in figuring out who was standing around her, and they were annoyed with her at the moment, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, Cole MacGrath, Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, Sonata Dusk. I'm a fan."
"Is that so?" Cole inquired, as this was a first, because the other Conduits that he had met, Sasha, Alden, and Kessler, had all wanted to kill him and the Dazzlings in their own manners, so it was unusual for them to meet another Conduit that was actually a fan, before he pointed at the Blast Core, "Where did you get that?"
"Off of these fools. I thought it was kind of pretty." the lady replied, staring at the Blast Core for a moment, as her expression revealed that she didn't know what she was even holding at the moment, before she turned and looked at the group once more, finding that the Dazzlings had banished their elemental blades for the moment and were looking at her with some interest in their eyes, "Why, you like pretty?"
"You could say that." Adagio commented, as the only thing they cared about at the moment was the Blast Core, as that would give Cole even more power so he could be ready for using the RFI, and the only 'pretty' thing that she and her sisters cared about was their pendants.
"It's all yours." the lady stated, surprising the four of them for a moment, as they could have sworn that she would have insisted on keeping the Blast Core, though that was when she beckoned to an area that was nearby, where it appeared that some of the Militia and Bertrand's rally materials were gathered, "All you gotta do is help me bust a few crackers first."
"You look like a real damsel in distress." Aria said, though she was being sarcastic about it, because they could tell that the lady was a powerful Conduit and that she actually didn't need help taking care of the Militia, which was why the four of them waited to hear the reason behind the request.
"It ain't about needing help." the lady explained, to which she turned towards Cole for a moment, as he was the one that she was the most interested in, telling the sisters so many things with how she she was looking at him, "I just... want a little company. My name's Nix."
Cole, seeing that they could either get on her good side and get her to hand over the Blast Core or get on her bad side and knock her out to get it, decided that they might as well see what she had in mind and beckoned for her to lead the way to the destination that she had in mind. As the four of them followed after her, however, they discovered that she was really excited about meeting them, as she even said that she never thought that she would have the opportunity to run with both the Demon and the Sirens of Empire City. None of them were all too happy to hear the name that Moya had given them, before they sank her boat and killed her anyway, but right now they knew that it was best to keep Nix in their sights and not fall behind, which was why they followed her to the roofs above where the lynch mob was gathering for their next attack, while at the same time helping her take out a group of enemies on the ground level. It was up on the roofs that the group found a number of Militia soldiers guarding the area, soldiers that Nix immediately the moment she saw them, to which they joined in and revealed that five Conduits rained even more destruction and defeat than just one did on their own, even though Cole and the sisters were only knocking them out while their new 'friend' had an appetite for destruction that she just couldn't seem to fill.
It took a few minutes for them to actually clear out their enemies, as Nix had a preference for jumping around and getting in the way at times, just so she could show off her control over her powers, which seemed to resemble a flammable tar like substance that she used to trap her enemies until one of the others detonated the appendages that were holding a foe in the air. When all of the enemies were taken care of, and they were sure that the area was clear for the moment, Nix had them help her dump oil on all four of the banners that were around the lynch mob, which she must have set up ahead of time when no one was here, to which the four of them simply heaved the barrels up and assisted her in her mad scheme, before they ignited the banners and filled the area with fire and smoke. From that moment forward Nix went on a killing spree as she smashed and blasted her way through the lynch mob that was trapped in front of her, while at the same time Cole and the others couldn't watch, not when she was having too much fun at the expense of everyone around her... though that didn't stop her from cheering once the entire thing was done, and acting like the four of them had gotten in on the action, even though she took everyone by herself.
"Here it is, Mr. Pretty." Nix said, as when she finally calmed down the group dropped down to where she was standing and approached her, where she held out the Blast Core for Cole to take, but paused when he grabbed onto it, as there was a weird look in her eyes, "Am I ever going to see you guys again?"
"Maybe." Cole replied, as he wasn't sure that he wanted to do anything with the local nutcase, not when she was so willing to kill everyone that got in her way and preferred to burn everything that her enemies had built, before he claimed the Blast Core from Nix's weakened grip and held an electrified hand up, "We've got a little something in common."
Nix smiled as she teleported out of the area and left the group to their own devices, though as the group headed back into the city, however, Zeke felt that they shouldn't be hanging out with Nix, something that the four of them mostly agreed with since she was crazy, but that faded away quickly when Cole told him they got a Blast Core out of it. As Zeke sent them the coordinates of the new safe house, where he was going to set up shop this time around, the four of them couldn't help but worry when he said that he had a surprise for them, to which they kept quite as they headed back into the city so they could see what sort of powers Cole got from the second Blast Core they had recovered.
Despite the protesters they had spotted earlier, and had left along since they didn't want to piss off the people of New Marais, the journey to the coordinates that Zeke had sent them was quite uneventful, as there weren't any Militia soldiers to stop, the Dazzlings had completed many of the side objectives before Cole had woken up, and the streets seemed to be silent for the first time since their arrival. The only thing that they stopped for was the various Blast Shard bombs that had been put on the walls in the path they were following, where Cole drained the power from them and swiped the shard from where it was being held, allowing him to drain it's energy before they moved forward. The area that Zeke had put his base of operations in, hopefully for the time being, was in a shopping area that could easily be found by anyone that was willing to take a few seconds to look around, especially since it appeared that he had picked the roof once more, just like he had gone back when the quarantine of Empire City had gone into effect, only this time he didn't have any walls or safety measures, so someone could get to him and he wouldn't be able to fight back too much.
When the four of them reached their destination, however, they found that Zeke had decorated the area in question with pieces that looked like what he had back in Empire City, essentially making it look like the roof house that he had stayed on for the majority of their mission to find the Ray Sphere and stop Kessler's plans.
"Looks just like home." Cole commented, as he was impressed that Zeke was able to make a base in this short amount of time, especially since they had only been in New Marais for six or seven hours so far, while at the same time finding it strange that his friend chose to replicate the place he had lived in earlier.
"It sure does." Adagio said, though she honestly didn't care too much about the temporary base that Zeke had set up, as she had the feeling that they weren't going to be getting any sleep anytime soon and that they would be spending the majority of their time either fighting the Militia, the swamp monsters, or hunting down the Blast Cores.
"Cole? Dazzlings?" a voice stated, to which the group turned towards the stairs that would allow someone to reach the roof base that had been created, where they found Zeke walking over towards them, only this time he was wearing the attire of one of the Militia soldiers that the four of them had been fighting since they arrived in New Marais, "Get your hands up you deviant subhuman homosapiens!"
"You... joined the Militia?" Aria asked, though at the same time she hoped that this wasn't a repeat of what happened in Empire City, where he joined Kessler's side for some power that he never got, but at the same time the group readied themselves for whatever was going to happen next.
"Nah, it's more like, Zeke Dunbar: Double Agent." Zeke replied, where he used his hands like they were a gun and pretended to fire them, though that was followed by him pulling his hands apart with a smile on his face, one that still brought up some concern with the group, "You get it? I'm a spy!"
"For our side, right?" Cole inquired, as he was still thinking about what Zeke had done back in Empire City and wouldn't put it past his friend to try something if he felt that the other side was better than the one he was currently on, even though betraying them again would result in his immediate death since the Dazzlings weren't going to let something like that happen again.
"Oh ye of little faith." Zeke said, though the look on his face told the Dazzlings that he was still trying to overcome what he had done back in Empire City, and that this might be a good idea in the long run, since they were sure that their enemies might know more about the locations of the Blast Cores than they did.
"Well, my faiths been shaken before, Zeke." Cole replied, showing that he wasn't about to forget Zeke's betrayal and that it would take some time for him to make amends for what he had done, even though the Dazzlings might be more than willing to forgive him since they had been evil at one point in time before turning into the heroes that they were.
"Thought that was water under the bridge." Zeke said, his expression fading from the happy tone that it had been a few moments ago, once more indicating that he wasn't happy with Cole reminding him of his failings and that he was trying to overcome his past mistakes, "Come on, man! You ready for that Blast Core you picked up a few minutes ago?"
"Yeah... yeah, I am." Cole answered, though as he pulled out the Blast Core and prepared himself, since this was going to be intense like the first one, he also glanced over at the Dazzlings, who would watch over him and make sure that nothing happened, where they nodded and he turned his attention back towards the Blast Core.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata watched Cole as he activated the Blast Core and allowed the power to course through his body, just like the first one that Wolfe had given them, and soon enough he collapsed on the floor of the roof and twitched a few times. At the same time, just like the last time this happened, the Dazzlings felt their own power increase as well, confirming that they hadn't imagined what they had felt earlier when Cole used the Blast Core that the Militia had been attempting to steal, though that was followed by them sitting down as they waited to see what happened when Cole woke up. Zeke, on the other hand, said that he would be right back and he simply headed downstairs so he could change out of the Militia attire that he was wearing, as he came back up a few minutes later with his normal attire on, showing that he clearly was playing for their team, otherwise he would have run off and called in the Militia to arrest them, which would have sucked for the soldiers and for him, especially because of the powers the three of them commanded.
Fortunately they didn't have to wait long for Cole to wake up, as it took about ten minutes at most, but as he finally stared to stir, and got back onto his feet, the Dazzlings heard the sounds of someone firing at someone else, indicating that the Militia were at war with someone.
"Cole, I'm glad to see that you're up and ready to go." Zeke said, to which Cole stretched his arms for a moment, as he was curious as to what sort of power he had unlocked by using the Blast Core, before the four of them faced him, "As you can no doubt hear, there are some idiots down there that are currently shooting everything that moves."
"I'll take care of them," Cole replied, where the Dazzlings nodded, as they understood that he was eager to see what sort of skills he had unlocked by absorbing the power of a second Blast Core, before he turned towards the edge of the roof that they were standing on, where he saw the Militia that Zeke was talking about, "This will give me the chance to see if I got anything from that Blast Core."
Zeke nodded and stood near the girls as they watched Cole as he jumped into the air and glided down into the area that the Militia were in, where they discovered that whoever they had been fighting had either been killed for they were simply drunk and were firing at everything around them. At the same time, however, Cole wasn't about to let them have their way, which was why the first person he approached he blasted with his normal blasts, the second person he knocked around with his Shock Grenade, and the third one was unfortunate, as he was the one that Cole smacked around with his Amp for a few seconds. The moment the three soldiers had been dealt with he looked around for any additional enemies that might be in the area and found that, for the moment anyway, there appeared to be no one left for him to fight, but at the same time he stopped as he spotted a strange purple sphere floating near the third soldier he had smacked around, one that hadn't been there a few moments ago.
"Man, you see that?" Zeke asked, though at the same time Cole was sure that he and the sisters were watching what he was doing at the moment, but he didn't deny that he was interested in seeing what was up with the sphere, "There's some sort of weird glow on the last soldier you knocked out. You do that?"
"No, but I can feel it." Cole replied, to which he walked over to the strange sphere and held his hand out, where it surged into his body and disappeared a few seconds later, but at the same time he understood more about it than before he tried to touch it, "It's... it's Ray Field energy. I bet this guy was around when they were testing the Ray Sphere."
Just as Cole was about to test the new power he had unlocked, as he was positive that he had one now, he noticed a bunch of civilians walking over to where he was standing so they could check out what happened here, so he moved out of the area that he was in and headed towards the street near the water. Fortunately he found that there was no one in the area that he had chosen, and the Dazzlings were on a nearby roof so they could see what happened, to which he took a deep breath and centered his mind, which was when he gathered some power into both of his hands, brought them together, and spun around before releasing the charge towards the water. What happened next was that a vortex of some kind, like a twister or a tornado, formed with the base connected to the charge that he had released, to which he watched the Ionic Storm move out into the water for a few moments before it finally broke apart. He was surprised by the power that he had unlocked, as it reminded him of his Lightning Storm skill he had learned shortly before the fight with Kessler, but he knew that he'd never actually use this power unless he was sure that there were only enemies around and no civilians, as this could definitely hurt them if they got caught in the crossfire.
He was also sure that the Dazzlings were impressed by his power now, as they clearly weren't expecting him to get something like that, so soon into their second adventure together, but before anyone could say anything it appeared that Zeke wanted a word with them, to which Cole accepted the call and waited to see what his friend had to tell them.
"You guys might want to come on back to our base, I've got some good news." Zeke said, though the way he spoke revealed that he might have found something that they could use, or had found someone that would be able to help them further down the line, before they heard the sound of Nix in the background, "That, and I just met your pal from the swamp. Well, then she disappeared, and now she's back again... it's so confusing."
Cole glanced at the Dazzlings for a moment, as they were curious as to what Nix wanted, before Adagio grabbed onto him and pulled him into the air as they flew back towards the hideout that Zeke had created, though as they flew down to where Zeke was waiting for them they found that he was reading something while Nix moved around the area... but when they touched down on the roof Zeke closed his book and stood up while Nix stopped teleporting everywhere.
"I tell you guys, spying on the Militia, man, it's taken years off of my life already," Zeke said, to which he walked around for a moment like he had something bad to say, but then a smile appeared on his face as he faced the entire group of Conduits that were waiting for him to reveal the news he had found, "but man was it worth it."
"You found out where they're keeping Kuo." Cole replied, though a smile did appear on his face, because if this news was correct they would gain someone that could decipher Wolfe's information, or what she remembered from all of it, and hopefully point them in the direction of the remaining Blast Cores.
"Bertrands got all of his veterans protecting an old cane plantation." Zeke continued, thankful that Cole and the Dazzlings appeared to be happy with this information that he was giving them, otherwise he was sure that one or more of them would have been disappointed with him wasting his time in such a manner, "Word is they got all the serious 'deviants' caged up in there."
"That's the place with the streetcar out right, yeah?" Nix asked, though at the same time the others knew that she had come up with a crazy idea, if the banner burning and her breaking of the lynch mob earlier was anything to go by, and only wondered what she was thinking this time around, to which Zeke nodded his head, "I've got an idea. We fill that streetcar with explosives, we get it going real fast, we ram it through the front door, and boom!"
"Not to rain of your parade, but that would kill everyone inside the main building," Aria said, though as she spoke flames danced around her arms for a moment, causing Nix to glare at her for a moment, while the others gaze her their attention for a few seconds, "not to mention possible spread to the trees surrounding the entire building and, potentially, even do the same to the nearest buildings on the other side of the street. Setting the house on fire isn't going to work this time around, regardless of what you think, Nix."
"The Militia's also been parading around some cops, the ones that have been fighting against them," Zeke added, telling them that there was more news that he needed to share with him, but at the same time they knew that this was likely connected to where Kuo was being held, "If some of you break them out of their cage, and arm them once more, they might help us clear the Militia out of the old plantation building... not that it matters since we've got so much firepower to use against them anyway."
Nix immediately complained that there was no way that she was going to help them free cops from their cells, arm them with the guns they had been using before their capture, and then ask them to assist them in attacking the plantation that she said needed to be burned to the ground to strike fear into the Militia's hearts. Zeke, on the other hand, said that Nix clearly didn't know who Cole was and said that it was up to him and the Dazzlings, before Nix growled and teleported out of the area as he went to the location where he could prepare for the mission, not that it mattered since there was no reason to discuss what they were going to do. The moment Zeke ran out the door Cole took to the grindwire as the Dazzlings took to the skies, as they were planning on heading towards where Zeke had placed the area that he wanted to speak to them at, but as they made their way through New Marais they got a call from Nix asking them not to get soft on her, informing them that she wholeheartedly believed that they were evil, like Moya wanted everyone to think, and she declared that the plantation would burn, one way or another.
When they arrived at the destination that Zeke wanted them to be at they looked over the edge of the roof that they were standing on and looked down at the Militia that were driving around with a cage full of cops, while at the same time noticing the firepower that they had on them at the moment.
"They're sure packing some heat just to humiliate some police officers." Cole commented, knowing that this would have been a challenge for him, if he had been the only one to do something like this, but with the Dazzlings assisting him he was sure that they would be done with this in no time.
"It'll be worth it." Zeke replied, as he knew that the four of them had no idea what he had seen while he was beginning his spy run through the Militia, which was surprisingly easy for him to join when it should have been hard since he was sure that someone knew that he was Cole's friend, "The cops in those cages are just a fraction of what they got back at the plantation. You bust those boys out, and you're going to have a hard time keeping them back."
The four of them stood there for a moment, because Bertrand had recorded a message for his soldiers to play while they paraded the police around New Marais, saying that they were arrogant and were unwilling to accept the help of the Militia when the swamp monsters showed up, making the civilians suffer because their loved ones died. Of course once the four of them had heard enough, and were annoyed with the Militia once more, Cole dropped down to the area below them and started firing at the Militia soldiers that were currently riding on the cage the police were caged in, while at the same time the Dazzlings supported him by blasting the other soldiers as well. What was interesting was that Bertrand even had a helicopter flying around the area as well, though when it fired a missile and missed one of them, however, it also blew up a car that someone was inside, to which Aria growled and repeated what she did earlier, as she was getting tired of helicopter pilots killing innocent people. As such she hurled a flaming blade through the air and it connected with the gas container for the helicopter, blowing the entire thing to pieces as she turned her attention to the other soldiers that were currently standing in their way... who were currently a little more terrified of them than what they had been a few moments ago, which meant that her stunt had paid off as well.
The cops, grateful for the rescue and slightly terrified of the Dazzlings, as some of their powers were even stronger than Cole's, armed themselves with the weapons of the Militia and advanced on the plantation building that the rest of their friends were being held in, to which the group followed after them and Cole lead the charge as the Dazzlings kept an eye out for Nix. For the most part Adagio, Aria, and Sonata found that they weren't actually needed for this type of assault, as the freed cops were already in the process of freeing more of their friends, along with arming them with weapons that the Militia soldiers had been carrying, and Cole was already smashing apart the various artillery weapons that were scattered around the grounds, since that was what was preventing him from entering the warehouse he and Zeke believed Kuo was being kept inside. The only strange thing the sisters found were several coffin like containers that had an icy fog emitting from them, like someone was trying to flash freeze someone or something, and the same strange chill seemed to be coming from the small warehouse that Cole was heading towards... and they had to jump to the side as Nix, who had somehow gotten the streetcar to run on her own, rode the explosive filled streetcar through the main gate and jumped off as it crashed into the house, blowing up a good portion of the building in the process and killing who knew how many people as well.
Nix simply shrugged as she headed off into the distance, clearly seeking more fun with the Militia that were coming in as reinforcements, to which the sisters walked over to where Cole was and helped him open the door, where they all noticed that the air inside was cold and seemed to get colder as they used the elevator to descend into the depths. It was too easy to find Kuo, who looked like she had been bled dry and had her blood replaced with something else, as it looked like her body was starting to freeze in some manner, to which Cole growled and zapped the machine to let Kuo go, allowing the sisters to catch her. Once that was done they all walked over to the elevator and took it back to the surface, but as that happened Adagio, Aria, and Sonata watched as the lights came on and revealed that there were more ice coffins lining the walls around the room they had found Kuo in, where the glass cases smashed open and the occupants that were trapped inside, wearing some sort of weird armor, started to pile out of the room. When they reached the exterior of the warehouse, and found that Zeke was waiting for them with a truck, the four of them walked Kuo over to their destination and found that the people that Bertrand had locked up were Conduits in some manner, the only thing common about them, besides the armor, was the fact that they all used ice type powers as they made their escape from the area they had been imprisoned inside.
Fortunately the cops and the Militia were still fighting, as that allowed them to get Kuo to the truck and Zeke took off the moment they were ready to leave, though as they left the burning plantation behind all four of them knew that their troubles had only grown larger... as they had released another enemy into the world, which meant that finding the next Blast Core was going to be even harder than before, and they hoped that Kuo was ready to assist them after she got some decent rest after her ordeal.
After Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata freed Kuo from where Bertrand had kept her locked up like some science experiment or something, and Zeke had assisted them in their escape with the exhausted Kuo, they called Trish and told her the news that they had rescued their friend. Of course since it appeared that Kuo might have unlocked some sort of Conduit ability, maybe the ice powers that the strange group of soldiers they had freed were using, Trish had them bring Kuo to a building that she was allowed to work in and used the equipment there to make sure that their friend was well taken care of. While she was doing that, and Zeke stood near her to make sure that the Militia didn't follow them after he trashed the truck he drove four blocks from where they were hiding, leaving Cole and the sisters to stand up on the roof and observe the city as they waited for any news on Kuo's condition. They were also looking for Militia soldiers, as they were sure that some of them had been called out to prowl the streets for any deviants that might have escaped the attack on the plantation earlier, though even as that happened Zeke's Militia communicator, which didn't have GPS so their enemies couldn't track him, said something about someone beating up more of their men... though the laughter on the other end sounded like Nix was still having fun and wouldn't be calming down anytime soon, which worried all of them a little.
What none of them were expecting was for it to take Trish eight whole hours to finally make any progress with Kuo, not that they could blame her since Kuo had refused to tell them anything of what Bertrand had done to her, even though they could guess on their own, and remained silent the entire time she was in Trish's care... until Cole finally got a call that brought all four of them back together on the roof, so they could hear what was going on at the moment.
"Three sleeping pills later, and some other things, and she's finally out." Zeke said, revealing that it had taken Trish quite some time to get Kuo to go to sleep, as she was clearly exhausted from her ordeal and Trish knew that she needed some sleep, especially if the others were right and she was in the middle of developing her own Conduit powers, "When are the four of you going to get some sleep?"
"Not anytime soon, that's for sure." Cole replied, as he knew that the four of them could go for a decent amount of time before they needed to retire for the night, another perk that came with being a Conduit he supposed, though at the same time he knew that Trish might not approve of what he was doing, "Right now we need to get the power back on in Ascension Parish. I, personally, keep imagining Bertrand holed up over there, laughing at what he did to Kuo."
"Don't worry Cole, we'll make him pay for what he's done to Kuo," Adagio said, because both she and her sisters understood his anger at the moment, as Kuo was the reason they had been able to get out of Empire City when the Beast arrived and weren't killed when the creature attacked them, and they owed her for that, "Zeke, do you have any idea where we can start the process of getting the power up and running again?"
"Yeah, there's a transformer near the canal," Zeke answered, though at the same time the group knew that he was in the process of sending the location of their target to them at the same time, meaning that once the conversation was over they would be moving out to restore the power to the next area of New Marais, "shouldn't be too hard for you guys to fix, since Cole's the one with electrical superpowers."
The Dazzlings glanced over at Cole for a moment, who nodded as he disconnected the call and jumped on the nearby grindwire to get moving, before they took to the skies and followed after him, as he was more familiar with New Marais and would be able to lead them to their destination, even though they could use the GPS to find their way. At the same time the three of them looked out for any additional enemies that were in the immediate area, but, oddly enough, both the Militia and the swamp monsters seemed to be inactive at the moment, and they knew that it wasn't because Nix had been beating the stuffing out of the Militia since the events at the plantation. Adagio guessed that the fact that their enemies weren't out and about, at least in the areas they checked anyway, meant that they might, just might, be able to power up Ascension Parish without being attacked, but, since she and her sisters remembered what happened back in Empire City, there was a good chance that they were going to be attacked regardless.
Despite the fact that it was nighttime now, and that it was slightly harder for some people to navigate the city, Cole was able to make his way to the transformer that Zeke had sent them the coordinates to, where the Dazzlings landed near him as they observed the piece of machinery that was glowing at the moment, no doubt because Cole was near.
"Okay Zeke, I'm pretty sure that we found it." Cole spoke up, as he had tapped his phone and knew that Zeke had been patiently waiting for them to tell him something, even though they literally only got off the phone with him a few minutes ago, after he told them where this transformer was located.
"Alright, now somehow the Militia managed to isolate that transformer from the rest in Ascension Parish," Zeke said, though at the same time a new location appeared on their GPS, where the sisters found that the point he had given them was close to where they were standing, which appeared to be in a more rundown area when the sisters flew into the air to get a good idea of where the point was located, "Maybe you can bridge this one to the other one somehow?"
"It's worth a try." Sonata spoke up, though as they glanced down at Cole he nodded to them, to which she and her sisters flew over to where the other transformer was located and lowered themselves down to the tops of several of the buildings that were around what was going to become Cole's target.
As the three of them stood around the transformer they faced the area that Cole was standing in and watched as some sort of missile like projectile, which appeared to be made out of pure electricity from the looks of it, that erupted from where their friend was standing and raced through the air as it turned towards where they were standing. The three of them watched as it moved around in the air for a few seconds, indicating that Cole must have had some sort of control over the bolt in question, before it angled itself down towards the transformer that was their target and slammed right into the device, giving some power to it. It was in that moment, when Cole informed Zeke that he was successful, that Zeke told them that they would need to defend the transformer for a few minutes, as it would take it some time to get it's voltage back up and running again, and that the Militia were sure to come running once they realized what they were trying to do. As such Cole started moving from the first transformer and quickly made his way to where the Dazzlings were standing, though as that happened Zeke demonstrated his education, as he said something about 'resetting the condenser' and then called Cole a dummy, since he had taken shop classes while Cole had gone to college prep.
The Dazzlings would have tuned out the conversation, as it wasn't interesting to listen to, though Cole dropped down into the area that the transformer was located in and the instant he approached the machine it activated, but that was followed by Zeke warning them that the Militia was on their way to where they were standing. As such the four of them turned towards the various openings that were around the area that the transformer was located in and started firing at the Militia soldiers that started to enter the immediate area, showing that there were some enemies that had been relaxing in the area around them, and that they were eager to stop them from turning on the transformer. The Militia seemed to think that they could stand up to the four of them, but clearly these guys weren't prepared for the power that Cole and the Dazzlings possessed, as many of them fell to the ground in defeat within a matter of seconds, though at the same time their grenade attacks blew their enemies away from each other and knocked many of them out... and the surge of power that erupted from the transformer, when it finally reached full power, took out the rest of the enemies that the four of them hadn't beaten by that point.
Once that was done Cole nodded as the Dazzlings took to the skies and he rested a hand on the second transformer, where he loosed another electrical missile into the air and the three of them followed after it, as they were interested in seeing where it went so they could protect the transformer that he was seeking out. As Cole moved out of the area that the second transformer was located in, after reaching his target, he inquired as to how Kuo was doing, where Trish replied that what was happening to their friend, as her skin was colder than a normal person's, reminded her of what happened to Cole when the Blast happened. The Dazzlings knew that Kuo was developing powers, and even Cole agreed with them since they knew that Kuo had the Conduit gene that apparently allowed this sort of thing to happen in normal people, and that she was going to need some training when she finally came to, once they figured out what sort of power she had unlocked from her ordeal. Fortunately it didn't take them long to gather around the third transformer, as Sonata flew out to where Cole was running, grabbed him, and carried him over to the transformer, where they opened fire on the soldiers that were already converging on their location... and, just like the last time, the four of them kept watch over the four points their enemies could come from and continued to take down their enemies before too many of them gathered in one area and overwhelmed them with their numbers.
When they finished the third transformer Cole loosed the missile once more and slammed it into the fourth and final transformer, where Aria was standing so she knew where it was located, allowing Adagio and Sonata to carry Cole over to where it was located and they started firing at the mass of enemies that were already converging on where the final transformer happened to be located. This time around their foes came from one direction at first, from the south of where they were standing at the moment, where the transformer was located, before they started pouring in from the east a few moments later, causing them to separate their firepower accordingly. From there the four of them soon found themselves dividing their attention between all four directions, as the Militia really wanted to take them out and keep this part of New Marais without power, which honestly didn't make sense when they thought about it, and soon the transformer loosed the same power surge that knocked out the other enemies, allowing them to take a moment to relax and figure out what they were going to do next in their campaign to stop Bertrand and find the Blast Cores.
While they were doing that Zeke called them once more, to which they accepted it rather quickly, as they were interested in seeing what he had to say about Kuo and her condition, since that was what they had been talking about for the majority of the time they had been doing this, so they stood near a building and let Zeke speak.
"Those Militia goose steppers just kidnapped some girl from the slums." Zeke said, though at the same time Cole and the sisters knew that there was an ulterior motive behind him saying this, as they remembered what he had asked them back in Empire City and that hadn't worked out for him in the long run, since the lady he had been attempting to get with friend-zoned him the next morning, "I mean, broad daylight and everything. You guys should go find her and save her. You guys would really look like heroes, and maybe get some more converts for your fan club."
The group glanced at each other for a moment as the call ended, as they couldn't believe that this was something that Zeke wanted them to focus on, but after a few seconds of thinking about it they determined that the more people that knew that they weren't the terrorists that Moya made them out to be. Once they decided that they would look into the incident that they had been informed about Cole made his way to one of the grindwires and started grinding his way to the part of New Marais that Zeke was sending them to, while at the same time Adagio, Aria, and Sonata remained in the air and kept their eyes out for any additional enemies that might try and take them out along the way. As it turned out there were a few Militia soldiers, the dumb ones they noticed, that thought that it would be a good idea to attack the four of them, to which Sonata lashed out with her wind based abilities and knocked the attackers backwards, while using her grenade type attack to really damage some of them and make them stop their actions. A few seconds later, when she was sure that the soldiers had been taken care of, Sonata nodded her head and continued flying, where she caught up with her sisters as they followed Cole to where Zeke was sending them, only they notice that they were getting closer to the part of New Marais that was the swamp.
When they finally arrived at their destination the four of them dropped down to the street level and immediately started looking for clues that would assist them in figuring out what happened to the lady that Zeke had heard about earlier, while at the same time noticing that none of the people around them seemed to care about them.
"Help! Somebody, help me!" a voice called out, one that was definitely a lady's voice when they listened to it, to which the four of them turned their attention from the part of New Marais that they had been staring at and glanced out at the swamp that was near them, where the voice was coming from, "Oh my god! Somebody help!"
"Let's rescue her and get out of here," Aria commented, to which the others nodded their heads for a moment before they headed into the swamp, sticking to the dry ground and avoiding the water, though Adagio did manipulate the moisture into a blade formed from pure ice to make sure that she was ready for anything.
As the four of them headed in the direction that the lady's voice was coming from they found themselves assaulted by several of the swamp monsters that they had seen earlier, the ones that just had spikes for arms, which were the easiest targets to take care of and the group found that they had been correct in their thoughts. Cole and Adagio focused on beating their enemies with their melee weapons, especially since Adagio had a ready source of water to form new weapons in case one broke on one of their enemies, leaving Aria and Sonata to blast the swamp monsters that were further away from where they were standing. What surprised them was that it was rather easy to find the location of the lady in question, who thought they were 'Uncle Laroche', before asking them to get her down after hearing them beat up another pair of enemies that had jumped out of the water, to which Cole did as she asked and blasted the ropes that were holding her in the air, allowing her to fall into the waiting arms of Sonata, who carefully set her on the pier that they were standing on. That, in turn, was immediately followed by the lady stating that they needed to find her uncle, because he was like the four of them, in the sense that he wasn't afraid to fight the Militia, to which Cole beckoned for her to lead the way, since she had an idea where he might be, before he and the Dazzlings followed after her.
Zeke was definitely right about one thing, they were going to need help in taking out Bertrand, because while they were four of the strongest Conduits to walk the Earth at the moment, not counting any that Kessler and his organization might have created, they needed assistance in taking care of things, as they couldn't be everywhere at once.
What was interesting was that as they followed the lady through the swamp area that they had been in, where it looked like she was going to be sacrificed to something at some point in time, the swamp monsters came at them in full force, to stop them from taking the lady out of the area. As such the four of them retaliated in kind, using their powers to blast their targets and beat the stuffing out of them, leaving a trail of twisted bodies behind them as they eventually left the swamp and headed back into street area, though what they found out was that the people that were near them seemed to be terrified of what they were doing, as if they were angering something that was nearby. At the same time they were being screamed at by the Militia of all people, as they claimed that the lady was a sacrifice and that her death would have saved lives, while also calling the four of them idiots at the same time, prompting Aria to set the soldier that called them idiots on fire, causing him to run around and scream his head off in the process. After that point they were taken down an alley way, where a swamp monster and some sort of small rolling insect tried to attack them, which they took out in a few seconds and continued on their way through the alley they were walking through, though at the same time the lady refused to answer Cole's question of why the creatures cared about her so much.
Not a few seconds later they came across some wounded Rebels, soldiers that worked with 'Uncle Laroche' and fought against the Militia, to which Cole sighed and used his Pulse Heal, which had been upgraded to heal a wider area in a single instant without him knowing, to heal all of the soldiers before they moved on once more... where they headed toward a small park of sorts that had a lion's statue in the center of it, which was where they spotted a man wearing a green jacket standing nearby, with a pistol in one of his holsters.
"Uncle Laroche!" the lady said, as she had seen the worried look on her uncle's face and immediately ran over to where her uncle was standing, while at the same time Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata stood nearby as they looked out for enemies, since this was an exposed area that could easily be attacked at any moment.
"Sara!" the man, Laroche, replied, to which he opened his arms and embraced the lady that the four of them had saved, though at the same time he seemed to ignore them for a few moments as he was reunited with his missing family member that he had been worried about.
"It was horrible!" Sara exclaimed, showing that she was worried for her life when the Militia had kidnapped her from where she had been walking and tied her up to where the group had found her, before she focused on her uncle, "They tried to feed me to it!"
"I understand why the Militia is making these sacrifices, but... but not with my kin!" Laroche said, though at the same time Cole and the Dazzlings stared at him for a moment, as none of them were too happy that the man had willingly known about something that was going on and didn't even try to stop it from happening.
"What? You KNEW ABOUT THIS?!" Sara nearly shouted, as the moment her mind registered what her uncle had said she was immediately annoyed and angered at the same time, because this wasn't a matter that she could laugh over and couldn't even begin to understand why her uncle didn't tell anyone about this.
"Alright, you understand... when your older..." Laroche started to say, showing that he had more to say than what he managed to get out of his mouth, though that was before he noticed that Sara hadn't returned to him alone, as there were four strangers standing nearby, "Sara... who you brung with you?"
"My name's Cole MacGrath," Cole replied, gesturing to himself for a moment, just so the man could know that he was referring to himself, before beckoning to the sisters, where he noticed that he seemed to understand who they were once he heard his name, "and these are my friends Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze, and Sonata Dusk."
"The Demon and Sirens of Empire City." Laroche stated, showing that he knew who the four of them were now, but where the last few people who had said the name had tried to insight fear, in the case of Bertrand, or had said the name in a sense of awe, like Nix when they met her, the group sensed that Laroche was observing them to make his own decision on whether or not they could be trusted.
"Look, we don't want any trouble," Adagio said, knowing that the easiest way out of this situation would have been the way that the way she and her sisters had taken while they were evil, seize control and force him to follow their orders until they were done with him, which was why she was simply talking and not using her power, "In fact we want the same thing that you want; driving Bertrand and the Militia out of New Marais."
It was in that moment that a monster roar could be heard down one of the streets near them, where the four of them turned and found a rather large creature, one that was even larger than the Ravager that they had faced earlier, staring at them, though this one looked like a tank of sorts and seemed to be ready for battle. Laroche and Sara started to retreat from the area, trying to pull the four of them away since this wasn't something that they could beat, to which Cole simply told the man that this was something that they were good at, as dealing with things that others couldn't take care of was something that they could do. Cole then started the battle by firing a few shots at the creature, the Devourer as Sonata decided to call it, and they found that the electricity seemed to bounce off the armored plating that happened to be the creature's scales, but then it opened it's mouth and latched onto Cole with it's tongue. What happened next was that Adagio, Aria, and Sonata opened fire on the Devourer's exposed mouth, as there had been plating around it's mouth and had moved out of the way when it opened it's lips, allowing them to deal massive damage in the next couple of seconds and caused it to let go of Cole so it could close it's mouth.
Since it's mouth was it's only weakness the group decided to use that to their advantage, as Cole, Aria, and Sonata rapidly moved around the area in front of the Devourer and forced it to pick one of them, where Adagio's sisters would move out of the way as they were targeted, which would allow the tongue to hit something else and freeze when Adagio manipulated the moisture around it. Adagio also used some of the other moisture in the air to form sharp spikes that went through the unarmored sections of the beast's body, where the elbows and knees were located, forcing the creature to howl in pain and further open it's mouth so the others could open fire and deal even more intense damage to their enemy. Fortunately it seemed that fighting four people like them wasn't something that the Devourer had been evolved, or created since they had no idea if it was natural or not, to deal with, because the third time they pulled off letting three of them fire into the creature's mouth caused it to wobble for a few seconds and collapse on the ground in a heap, definitely dead from the looks of it, and then it dissolved as a green mist surrounded it... but even as they stood there, staring at where the creature had collapsed, the people cheered for them killing the creature, meaning that they might actually have a chance to get rid of Moya's name for them and create a new future in the process.
Laroche called and his tone while he was talking spoke volumes that he still didn't trust them, but was willing to accept their help since they had saved some of his wounded soldiers and his niece at the same time... but after that happened Zeke called and said that Kuo wanted to see them and that she had a surprise for them, to which they immediately headed out for the coordinates so they could see how she was feeling and what they could do to help her, before focusing on whatever surprise she had for them.
As it turned out Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata didn't have to go far to find out where Kuo was waiting for them, as the set of coordinates that Zeke had sent them brought them right into the cemetery that was across the street from where they met Laroche and took out the Devourer. As the four of them entered the area, and looked at all of the coffins and stone structures that had been built to house the dead, they wondered why Kuo, if she really was up and about like Zeke claimed, would want to meet them here, of all places. The best reason that the Dazzlings could come up with was that she had figured out where one of the other Blast Cores was located and wanted to share it's location with them, as well as finding it along side them, though the only other reason would have been because this place was mostly deserted and, if she had become a Conduit herself, this was a good place to train her new powers without the risk of hurting people. Of course if that was the case she could have easily practiced inside an alleyway, like the four of them did when they first started learning their own powers, but at the very least they could give her some pointers and see just how skilled she was once they were done teaching her.
It didn't take them long to find Kuo sitting on one of the stones that rested near a coffin, though what was interesting was that she was no longer dressed in her agent attire, rather she was wearing some slightly more revealing clothing, less than what Nix wore, she now wore blue eye shadows to her eyes, which were now icy blue colored, and she had dyed her hair a very dark blue. Adagio glanced at Kuo's hands for a moment, where she and the others noticed that her hands were emitting some icy exhaust at the moment, revealing that her powers had to be ice based, not that such a thing was a surprise since she had been trapped with those ice soldiers earlier... but their observations came to an end as they approached Kuo.
"Kuo." Cole said, though as he and the sisters came to a stop Kuo turned towards them and got up from where she had been sitting, but as she neared them, and he crossed his arms a little, the Dazzlings looked around as they kept an eye open for enemies that might come for them, "Wow, that's a really new look for you."
"Yeah, you... you like it?" Kuo replied, but the look on her face showed that she wasn't mentally prepared for the sudden change from an ordinary human being and was forced to become a Conduit in such a manner, but it was much better than having an explosion take out so many people and empower her.
"Well, you did forget a cape..." Sonata started to say, in an attempt to be humorous, to try and make this situation a little different than the reality that they were in, before after a few seconds she could tell that now wasn't the best time to be doing this and switched statements, "Come on, don't you think that this is a little extreme?"
"I'm not an agent anymore... you're looking at the new me." Kuo said, though her tone revealed that she had enjoyed being a simple agent and not a super powered Conduit that people either liked, because they were heroes, or hated, since some went out of their way to cause pain for ordinary people, before she sighed, "It's a little hard to hide."
"Kuo, are you alright?" Cole asked, because he knew that this couldn't be easy for her, especially since she had a good future with her agency once the Beast had been taken care of, but now she had to adapt to a new life and that was something that she was focusing on a little too much at the moment.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine... I'm fine, but, uh, it's cute that you care," Kuo replied, though it was in that moment that she decided to raise her left hand and reached for Cole's face, where the area around where her fingers touched froze a little and made Cole pull back, where Adagio raised her own hand and removed the ice by turning it back into water, before she turned towards Kuo.
"Kuo, you need to learn how to control your powers." Adagio stated, though she held up her hand as Kuo started to open her mouth, as she had an idea what she was going to say in that regard, but as Kuo kept her mouth shut Cole, Aria, and Sonata watched what she was going to do in the next few seconds, "I know, you're likely wondering how you'll even get around to controlling your powers, but remember, back in Empire City we went through the same thing when we recovered from the Blast. We know what it's like to suddenly awaken with new powers, even if my sisters and I took a couple of days longer to figure out what our affinities were, and all four of us can help you figure out how to help you control your powers, so that way you can join us in taking out Bertrand for what he did to you and what he's doing to the people of New Marais."
"Okay... you're right." Kuo said, where the look in her eyes showed that she had been expecting to be screamed and shouted at for what she had accidentally done to Cole's face, even if Adagio could reverse it in a second with her own powers, but she was also ready for whatever they had in mind, "When do we start training?"
"Right now." Aria spoke up, as it was time that they figured out what Kuo was already capable of, since all Conduits had some sort of power unlocked when they first awakened their powers, so they could help her build her powers and see how she could assist them in the future, "Let's see what you can do."
"Well... I can fly." Kuo replied, though at the same time, if that was true, it explained how she was able to get over here, to where they had been fighting the Militia and the swamp monsters, in a few minutes, instead of the ten to twenty minutes it would take a normal person to traverse the area between the two points.
It was in the seconds that followed that Kuo lifted herself up into the air for a few seconds before rushing forward, where she seemed to disappear entirely, to which Cole sighed as the four of them headed into the rest of the cemetery as they searched for her. As it turned out she was standing on the other side of the stone wall that separated two parts of the cemetery, on one of the stone structures to be exact, and this time around they found that there was a light smile on her face as she stared down at them as they approached her once more.
"That's pretty cool, right?" Kuo asked, though she knew that the Dazzlings might not be impressed, since they were used to flying around the area all the time, as that was how they followed Cole when he moved through the areas that they were working in, she figured that Cole might be impressed by having another ally that could fly.
"Okay, if you're trying to make me jealous, it worked." Cole replied, as Kuo might think that the Dazzlings were Conduits as well, but they still hadn't told her the truth that the three of them were actually inhabitants of a world that many considered to be a cartoon world, and that they were even stronger than what Kuo thought they were.
"Some of Wolfe's notes talked about the theory that two Conduits, compatible ones, might be able to combine their powers in some manner." Kuo said, where she raised herself into the air and dropped down to the area that the others were in standing in, knowing that Cole had to be rather annoyed about being the only one among them that didn't have the power to fly on his own.
"Really? That's interesting." Cole stated, remembering when they were hanging with Nix the one time and how his power seemed to resonate with her napalm power, as that was what he and the Dazzlings had determined her power had to be, since it was similar to Sasha's own powers in some manner, "You know, I did a few things like that when we were with Nix, and..."
"Please stop." Kuo said, where she stared at Cole for a moment, as from her perspective, which was heavily influenced by her job as an agent, Nix was an evil Conduit that was only hanging with Cole to corrupt him and burn the city down until they moved on to somewhere else, "I do not want to hear anything about that."
That was, once more, followed by Kuo flying through the air as she continued to explore the cemetery, why the four of them still had no idea, and the group made sure to stay a few steps behind her, but this time, when they reached her, they found that she was staring down at a pair of Militia soldiers that were drunk on the job. When they noticed the enemies Kuo flew down near them and started to manipulate the air around one of them, where she nodded to Cole and prompted him to loose a blast into the icy mist, freezing the soldier in a block of ice in the process. Adagio, seeing that happen, raised an eyebrow as she snapped her fingers and the second soldier was frozen in ice as well, though Kuo was lost in the fact that her powers and Cole's powers were compatible, and then moved out to see what else the two of them could do in this situation. Kuo followed that up by finding two more enemies and knocked them into the air with a small blast of her power, where Cole knocked the wounded soldiers out when they landed on the ground near him, showing him and the sisters that Kuo already had a decent control over her powers.
"So, I've been reading over the notes that I was able to pull out of Wolfe's lab, and everything points to there being a Blast Core somewhere in this cemetery." Kuo stated, revealing the reason why she wanted to meet them here, as there was something that they needed to power up Cole located somewhere in the numerous coffins that were scattered throughout the entire area, "Unfortunately his clues are intentionally cryptic, so without him we'd be screwed, but luck is on our side, as he happened to leave a photograph attached to his notes... and I've already sent it to your phones."
Cole and the Dazzlings looked at their phones for a moment, finding that the picture was of part of the cemetery that they were currently in and that Wolfe seemed to have circled one of the crypts that he had taken a picture of, one that just so happened to have a sword carving pointed toward a statue. Fortunately it appeared that Kuo had cracked the first clue long before they knew that they were coming here, or maybe it was dumb luck, as the coffin in question wasn't too far from where the five of them were currently standing, to which they simply walked over to their destination, had Cole lift the lid with the first power he had picked up since they entered New Marais, and found a new photograph waiting for someone to pick it up. This time it revealed a part of the cemetery that was further away from where they were standing, but that wasn't a problem for them as they started moving towards the location that another clue was likely hiding in, as the Dazzlings were sure that another one was waiting for them. What was annoying was that a group of Militia were fighting an invading group of swamp monsters that came out of nowhere and were completely silent until the group turned around the corner... though they simply waited for their enemies to weaken the other side before they finished both sides off, allowing them to continue on their way once more.
Fortunately it didn't take them long to find where the second picture was taking them, as the grave in question just happened to be a little bit beyond the last of the enemies they were taking out, but as they found the third picture in the grave, just as the Dazzlings thought they would, Cole stopped when he noticed something odd.
"What's with the graveyard?" Cole asked, to which he beckoned over to the pile of body bags that were laying near some of the stone coffins, causing the others to look at what had caught his attention at the moment, to which Kuo sighed while the sisters looked around in disbelief, "Why is it so packed?"
"You didn't know?" Kuo replied, where she noticed that none of the four Conduits that she was training with seemed to know what she was referring to, to which she shook her head and got to explaining what she knew, "It's a... it's the same plague that you guys dealt with back in Empire City, only it's... it's more lethal now. It worked it's way all the way down the coast, so it was only a matter of time before it hit New Marais... and now it's raging out of control. So many people are sick or dead already... and there are more bodies than people can bury."
"Wow, that's just sad." Adagio said, looking at the pile of bodies that was resting nearby and wondered how many of them had loved ones that were left behind, to suffer through the loss of a loved one, before she, Aria, and Sonata sighed for a moment, "Maybe the Beast won't be the worst thing to happen to this city."
Cole nodded his head and found that the third photograph showed a rectangular building with some sort of stone circle surrounding it, one that they remembered seeing by the entrance they had used to get into the cemetery to begin with, and got moving right away. Of course it wasn't going to be easy on them this time around, as not only did they have to fight another Militia group, who clearly wanted them dead, they were also attacked by the ice guys that had broken out of Bertrand's lab when they rescued Kuo, who apparently felt them before the others even saw them. As Adagio, Aria, and Sonata started the battle with their enemies, and some of the ice guys paused when they saw Adagio could do with her powers, Kuo started to freak out over the fact that she had felt them before even seeing them and then made a comment about their enemy having a device that could transfer powers, before joining them as they took down all of their foes and moved on once more. As with the last photograph it didn't take them long to find the structure in question, but as they approached it, and found what appeared to be a vault with a skull carving on it, they were attacked by a Ravager, only this one was slightly different than the others the group had fought... and, as it roared at them, it also pulled up egg clusters from the ground beneath them, spawning more of the smaller roller insects that they had smashed earlier.
The Hive Lord, as Sonata decided to call it, had one glaring weakness that the group could exploit, as while Aria and Sonata focused on breaking the eggs, with fell apart in one hit, Adagio, Cole, and Kuo focused on the true enemy, finding that the grenade weakness from the previous Ravagers worked perfectly, as the creature howled in pain whenever one of those attacks went off in it's face. Fortunately the group was able to beat the Hive Lord in a minute or two, as it was more resilient than the original Ravagers were, and dropped it to the ground as the last of the eggs broke, allowing them to approach the stone structure once more, where Cole opened the lid and immediately found the familiar glow of a Blast Core waiting for him.
"So, uh, that wasn't so bad," Kuo commented, though at the same time Cole reached into the vault area of the structure and removed the Blast Core from where it was resting, stashing it away in his pack until he was ready to use it, before he turned towards Kuo, "you know, using powers."
"Kuo, you have a bright future ahead of you as a 'deviant freak'," Cole said, to which the Dazzlings, impressed by Kuo's display when they were battling the Militia, the swamp monsters, and the ice guys earlier, nodded their heads, showing their friend that they agreed with Cole's statement.
"Thanks for your help back there," Kuo added, referring to the couple of pointers that Cole had given her while the Dazzlings were busy taking care of some of their enemies, only for Kuo to come in and show them her own power, which was actually quite impressive, "I feel... I feel better about things."
"Hey, you'll get used to being a Conduit." Sonata said, as while she and her sisters might not be Conduits, since they were Sirens, no one besides Cole, Zeke, and Trish knew that fact and they preferred to keep it that way, which was why they were acting like Conduits, "It just takes some time, that's all."
"Maybe." Kuo replied, though as she turned to leave the cemetery, since she knew that Cole would be heading somewhere to fire the Blast Core and increase his power even more, she did pause for a moment and glance back at them with a small smile on her face, "See you around... Coach."
Cole smiled as Kuo departed from the area that they were in, heading back to wherever she wanted to be when she felt like being alone, before he and the Dazzlings moved out of the cemetery that they had been searching through and made their way to the new hideout that Zeke had created, near the opposite end of Ascension Parish. Since three of them could fly, and Cole could use the grindwires to move around, it wasn't hard for them to move out of the cemetery and start making their way towards the coordinates that Zeke had sent them, just in the off chance that they wanted to swing by and use the Blast Core. When they reached the new hideout, and Cole climbed the side of the building it was on while the Dazzlings just landed on the roof, they found that it wasn't as great as the one that Zeke had previously built, but it was still better than nothing... and, from the looks of it, Zeke was spying on something else.
"Detective Dunbar, are you on a stakeout?" Aria asked, though at the same time the four of them relaxed a little, as in a few minutes Cole was going to spark the next Blast Core and increase his power even more, while at the same time boosting the power of their magic in the process, something that she didn't care to figure out.
"Yeah... sort of." Zeke replied, taking a brief moment to lower his binoculars for a moment, so he could look at the four of them as they came to a stop around him, before he glanced at the fort that was close to where he had chosen to make their latest hideout, "You guys remember the machine that Bertrand used on Kuo? The one that gave her the powers that you helped her out with? I heard that it's going to be moved around soon... and, if I'm right, I'm betting that it'll end up here, in that fort."
"That's interesting." Cole said, as he could already imagine what might happen if he got his hands on the machine, as it would be easy to add another affinity to his electricity, like Kuo's frost or Nix's flames, and increase his strength at the exact same time, before he focused on the task at hand and pulled out the Blast Core, "Hey, I'm going to activate that Blast Core Kuo helped us find. You mind sticking around until I wake up?"
Zeke glanced at him for a moment, with a look that said that he would be more than happy to stick around until he was ready to move and see what sort of abilities he gained this time around, to which Cole moved off to the side and braced himself as he went through the process of unleashing the power inside the Blast Core... before he hit the ground and the Dazzlings, feeling their own power rise as well, simply sat around the hideout and decided to get some sleep while they waited for Cole to get back up.
It was just a little after six in the morning when the sisters stirred and found that Cole was still knocked out, telling them that whatever power he had to be getting was worth being out for so long, but instead of waiting around they found out where Trish was hiding out, flew over to the building in question, picked up some items for breakfast, and flew back to the roof that Zeke and Cole were currently on. Zeke appreciated them going out and getting something, since all of them hadn't had something for quite some time, and joined them as they waited for Cole to wake up from what he had done, though eventually it was the smell of breakfast that caused Cole to awaken. He joined them for a couple of minutes, letting the rest of the energy from using the Blast Core dissipate, while at the same time the others were interested in what sort of abilities he had unlocked this time around. When they were done with the food that the Dazzlings had brought over to the hideout, and Zeke started to go back to to what he had been doing before the sisters had arrived, Cole got up and stretched his arms a little, showing that he was ready to get started on figuring out the abilities he had unlocked.
As the Dazzlings observed what Cole was able to do they found that his new abilities were an odd bunch, as he had some improvements to his Static Thrusters, as he could float higher and farther than he did before, had the ability to do what they referred to as a Car Jump, where he could use a car to launch up into the air a little more than his normal jumps allowed, and he regained his Precision Bolt attack, which brought a smile to his face.
"Cole baby, you wanna play a little show and tell?" Nix asked, her voice coming over the phone for a moment, making him and the Dazzlings wonder when she had gained his number, while at the same time revealing that she seemed like a crazy stalker that had met her idols, "I got something that'll blow your mind and the Sirens' minds."
"She must have something important to show us." Adagio commented, because Nix closed the call before any of them could respond to what she had said, but at the same time she could see that the others seemed to be thinking the same thing that she was thinking.
"Then we had best see what she wants to show us." Cole said, to which he sighed for a moment, as they should be focusing on finding the remaining Blast Cores and preparing for the Beast's arrival, but something told him that this might be important enough to invest some time into seeing what Nix wanted.
The Dazzlings nodded as they and Cole headed out of Zeke's new hideout and started the trek to where Nix wanted to meet them, as they were all interested in seeing whatever important item that Nix wanted them to see, and they all hoped that it was worth the time they were taking out of their budy day to be with her.
Upon hearing that Nix had something that she wanted to show them, and finding that Zeke still needed some time to figure out if the rumors about the device being transferred were true, Cole and the Dazzlings decided that they might as well head out and see what their friend wanted to show them. As such the four of them made their way through New Marais, stopping every now and then when they spotted the Militia trying to mug someone, when they tried to cart off 'deviants' in the name of Bertrand, defused more of those Blast Shard bombs, and generally helped whoever they could along the way. One thing that Adagio and her sisters noticed was that the people of New Marais seemed to be warming up to the idea that not all people with powers were as bad as the media made them out to be, especially when one of the ladies they had assisted went out of her way to tell her friends that the four of them were heroes and not villains. It was nice hearing that some people enjoyed them coming to their assistance, especially when the Militia was involved in the ordeal, and that brought a smile to their faces as they continued to make their way to the coordinates that Nix had sent them earlier.
One thing they had to contend with was running into a few groups of swamp monsters, one of which was lead by one of the Ravagers and another lead by a Devourer, that they had to pause and take care of before they killed more innocent people than they had already. Cole was pleased that they had already figured out the weaknesses of their enemies, as it allowed them to bring an end to the larger threats in a timely fashion before they focused on the smaller, less threatening, enemies that were running towards them. Doing all of that also brought a smile to the faces of the people that were around them, showing that the swamp monsters were a blight on New Marais and that they were pleased to see that they were being taken care of at long last, since the Militia was having such a hard time killing them. Of course the people that the four of them had saved were also pleased to see the Militia were being beat as well, since it was clear that they weren't doing their job in keeping New Marais safe, and that brought a smile to their faces as they continued towards the destination that Nix was waiting at.
It took them some time, in addition to stopping some fights between the Militia and the swamp monsters, but eventually the group made their way to the area that Nix was waiting in, though when they arrived they found themselves in a part of the swamp that had a small dock that had no ships... and, as they entered the area, they found Nix sitting at the end of the dock, with her feet rather close to the water that was in front of them.
"You had better watch your feet," Aria commented, letting Nix know that the four of them had arrived, even though she likely knew that they were there since three of them had hooves instead of normal feet, but it never hurt to talk and someone know what was going on, "alligators aren't the worst thing in the waters anymore."
"Too bad, nice day for a skinny dip." Nix replied, though as she spoke she glanced back at them for a moment, just to show that she was acknowledging that they were there, before she glanced out at the water once more as she thought about something else.
"Go right ahead, we're not stopping you." Cole said, even though he wasn't interested in seeing Nix in such a situation, especially since he still had Trish in his life, and his tone even reflected that for a few seconds, though whether or not Nix caught that none of them could really tell, "Want to tell us what this is all about?"
"I grew up out there..." Nix stated, beckoning to the swamp in front of them, to a specific part that she knew about, while at the same time the group watched what was going on, as they were interested in what she had to tell them, since that was the whole reason they came out here in the first place, "It's a whole other world. Only people I knew were thieves and crazies, and poor like you never seen. My momma was all that... used to be..."
"Nix... what happened?" Sonata asked, as the tone in Nix's voice revealed that she was emotional about what she was talking about, meaning that it had to be a sore subject of some kind, and she knew that talking about it would help ease the pain that she was feeling at the moment.
"That's what I'm going to show you." Nix said, to which she held up a hand and Cole, being nice to her, helped her back onto her feet, though that was before she turned and looked at them with a familiar smile on her face, "But first, we have to get the four of you a boat... and these good 'ol boys have a real nice boat."
Of course Nix was referring to the nearby plantation that the Militia currently controlled, who she attacked instantly once they arrived outside the gate, but as the group followed her they knew that they could have bypassed getting the boat since one of the Dazzlings could have carried Cole to the destination as they followed Nix. Since their friend wanted to harass the Militia once more, and this would affect their overall influence on this area at the same time, the four of them joined Nix in her assault and started blasting the soldiers that came out to fight them, who clearly weren't expecting such an attack at the moment. Nix, just like Kuo the previous night, called out for Cole to assist her in taking out the enemies that were in front of them, combining their powers in the manner they had done when they first came into contact with each other, while at the same time the Dazzlings simply focused on the task at hand and continued to take out the soldiers that got in their way. Between their power, and the combination that Cole and Nix were pulling off, it didn't take the five of them long to clear out the enemies that were all around them and secure the boat that Nix wanted them to claim... and she was the only one that smiled when she looked at it.
Cole and the Dazzlings hoped that whatever Nix wanted to show them was worth all this effort, because while they were happy to clear out the Militia, and let someone else take control of the plantation that they had just cleared, none of them had any idea what they were doing.
"Let's go for a ride." Nix stated, though at the same time, as the group noticed that the boat in front of them was identical to the boat they had used to get into New Marais in the first place, she jumped onto the boat and started to head towards the control room, "I know the way, so I'll drive. You just enjoy the view."
Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata jumped onto the boat and let Nix get them underway, allowing her to take them out into a part of the swamp that they hadn't been in before, not that they cared enough to explore the area in question, to which they stood still and watched as they moved out from where the plantation was located. It didn't take them long before one of them found something out of place, as the four of them were the first to notice that there were some Militia watchtowers that were lining the way to Nix's destination and, as it turned out, even Nix spotted them, but not a few moments later they found out that, while the first tower was empty, the ones following it had guards on them. As such Cole focused on knocking around the rockets that were being fired at them while Aria, using some of the fire that was already near them, destroyed the towers that were attacking them and allowed Nix to continue moving them towards their destination. Unfortunately it wasn't long before Nix ordered them off the boat, as she wanted them to take care of the Militia that were in front of them so they didn't sink their boat, and the group replied immediately, attacking the various enemies that were in front of them and knocked them around, while at the same time obliterating the towers that were all around them.
When the swamp monsters made their arrival, however, Nix immediately called out for them to let the idiots fight it out with the creatures, to which the group decided not to annoy her and returned to the boat as Nix moved up to where they were standing, allowing them to move even deeper into the swamp. Cole even commented that the swamp monsters seemed even more pissed off than usual, where Nix informed him, and the Dazzlings, that they were just defending their territory and the five of them didn't need to waste time on them, not when the creatures would take care of the Militia for them. A few seconds later, however, some of the blade arm swamp monsters jumped onto the boat and tried to attack one of them while they were looking at the other enemies, but Cole and the sisters were ready for battle and retaliated the instant their enemies showed themselves, while at the same time they wondered if the swamp monsters was why the Militia had built a stronghold of sorts in this area, to keep them from heading into New Marais.
It didn't take them long to reach another Militia camp, one that had already been broken by something that clearly wasn't them, and Nix continued to drive the boat towards her destination, before they spotted a Hive Lord that wanted to fight the 'invaders', forcing them to battle it... not that it lasted too long, since their grenades were more than enough to take care of their opponent and allowed them to return to the boat so they could move forward. As they moved forward more Ravagers and Hive Lords started attacking the boat with projectiles, though Nix told the group to leave them alone and that they should ride it out, before they heard a roar that was vastly different than the others they had heard so far from the swamp monsters... and, if they were right in their thoughts, it was even larger than their current enemies.
"What was that?" Adagio asked, though while she wasn't afraid of anything this world had to offer them, since they had fought the Beast already, she was still curious as to what they had jut heard, and she could tell that the others had the same thoughts that she had.
"A sign that we're getting close." Nix replied, though her tone was more silent than what they were expecting, telling them something about the situation, but before anyone could say anything Nix spoke again, cutting them all off in the process, "Shut your mouths, and maybe it'll pass us by."
The five of them remained silent as they heard the large creature make it's way through the swamp, crushing some things as it walked through the area and growling every now and then, but, for the most part, it appeared that Nix's idea was worth it, as the creature never came to attack them and left them to their own devices.
"Think we're good." Nix eventually said, showing that they had gotten some good distance between them and whatever creature was hidden by the fog that had sprung up, though at the same time the group looked around the area that they were in as she continued to move them forward.
"What the hell was that thing?" Cole asked, because he sensed that Nix might know more about the creature than what they knew about, though at the same time he was happy to put that behind them, while knowing that, at some point in time, they would have to deal with that creature.
"Never stuck around to get a look." Nix replied, showing that she actually knew nothing about whatever they had seen in the fog, despite what Cole had been thinking, and she continued moving the boat towards their destination, "Anyhow, we're here. The real show's up ahead on foot."
When Nix brought the boat to a stop, and turned off the engine, she went dead silent as she lead the way to what she wanted to show them, forcing the four of them to do the same thing as they followed after her, before their eyes widened as they reached the area in question. Resting in front of them was a familiar sight, as they had been in one when the Ray Sphere went off and gave Cole his powers, because resting in front of them was a blast zone that looked like it had been created by either the actual Ray Sphere or a modified one of some kind, with a pillar where the device rested in the dead center of the blast. Nix, speaking with a pained voice, described what had happened here, revealing that Bertrand had come here with a number of outcasts and a Ray Sphere, though the people he had brought here were prostitutes and swamp dwellers, people that he thought no one would care about, before he released the power of the Ray Sphere. Nix was forced to watch as her entire family was swallowed by the blast, especially her mother, and her own powers had been activated that night, turning her into a powerhouse of a Conduit, but, at the same time, she wasn't the only one that had survived the activation of the Ray Sphere.
As the group started to leave the area in front of them, and took the boat back to New Marais, Cole and the Dazzlings had to wonder what sort of power Bertrand, who hated Conduits with a unique passion, had unlocked by sacrificing all those people in such a manner... and something told them that they wouldn't find out for some time, even though not knowing his powers meant that they had to be careful with him in the near future.
"I had to show that to someone, just to prove that it was... real." Nix commented, though at the same time she brought the boat to a stop when she reached their destination, which would allow them to leave once they were ready to depart, "Figured that the Demon and the Sirens of Empire City would understand."
"We're going to get Bertrand, Nix, I can promise you that." Cole said, though now they had a few more reasons to take out the man that was in control of New Marais, because he needed to be stopped before he did something that couldn't be reversed.
"Oh, I know, it's just, uh..." Nix replied, where both Cole and the Dazzlings noticed that she was thinking about what she had showed them earlier, as it had to be deeply emotional for her in the first place, before she stared down at them from the room where the controls were located, "look, I gotta go punch something... been driving that boat too damn long. You know?"
Before any of them could reply Nix charged out of the control room, jumped back to where the dock was located, and headed off into New Marais without looking back, causing the four of them to look at each other for a few seconds as they wondered what they were going to do about her in the future... though before they could consider anything they heard their phones go off and found that Zeke wanted to talk to them for a few moments.
"Hey guys, I've got some big news." Zeke spoke up, though as he said that Cole and the Dazzlings could tell that he was pleased with the results of his spy work, meaning that he might have found the machine that Bertrand had used on Kuo earlier, something that Kuo wanted to destroy, "It's time we huddle up."
Cole nodded his head the moment the call was over, to which Aria grabbed onto him as she and her sisters took to the skies once more, before they headed towards the base of operations that Zeke had chosen for them this time around, which happened to be the first one he created and not the one that was near the fortress he had been staring at the last time they had seen him. Fortunately it didn't take too long for them to reach their destination, on account of the fact that the Dazzlings could move fast when they were flying, and when they reached the hideout Aria set Cole down before they all landed around him, where they found that Trish had joined them this time around... and both Kuo and Zeke were walking up to the roof at that very moment.
"Hey guys, I thought that was you," Zeke said, looking at the four new arrivals for a moment, as only they could have gotten here so quickly, despite the fact that Nix had a head start on them, and, just by thinking of her, the easy to anger Conduit joined them as well, even though she may have some crazy idea in mind when he said what he was thinking about this time around.
"So we is all here." Nix stated, noticing that all of the Conduits were present, meaning that the unstoppable force had gathered once more, even though she personally felt that six was a little too much for New Marais at times, before she focused on the task at hand, "What's the big secret, Zeke?"
"It's official: the Transfer Device is somewhere inside Fort Phillipe." Zeke replied, revealing that his work studying the fort for signs of the machine that had been used on Kuo had bore some good fruit this time around, because Cole and the Dazzlings were smiling the moment they heard the news, even though a pained look appeared on Kuo's face as she thought about the machine once more.
"Oh, little girl's pissed that Bertrand copied her powers onto a bunch of nobodies." Nix said, though at the same time the majority of the group glanced at her, because they were a little surprised that she was going to stir up drama when they needed to be united against their enemy.
"It's got to be destroyed..." Kuo stated, to which she turned from where she had been standing and faced the rest of the group, deciding that now wasn't the time to be fighting with Nix, as that would come at a later time, once the Beast was no longer a threat for them to worry about, "We have to destroy it."
"What?" Nix replied in kind, showing the group that she had her own thoughts on the matter, while at the same time Kuo raised an eyebrow as she stared at the Conduit that was clearly her polar opposite, "No, no, no way. We keep it for ourselves, rip off the powers of everyone else. Yeah?"
"Kuo, Nix, now isn't the time to be talking about what to do with the machine, since you don't have it yet." Trish said, as while she didn't have the terrible experience that Kuo had with the Transfer Device, as Zeke called it, she knew that such a thing had to be destroyed, especially when she thought about the power that the Dazzlings commanded and wondered if those could be transferred as well.
"What did you say, bitch?" Nix asked, though as she turned towards Trish, as she was annoyed that someone with no powers at all had the nerve to offer some advice on the situation, because she could put up with Zeke, mostly because he found her some fun things to do, she wasn't about to take it from her, while the others raised their eyebrows as Cole glared at the back of her head, "Just because you hang out with Zeke doesn't mean that we have to listen to your opinions on what to do and what not to do. Who the hell do you think you are?"
"She is Trish Dailey, and she's my girlfriend." Cole answered, though at the same time he rested his right hand on Nix's left shoulder, where her eyes went wide for a moment as she felt some of his electricity as he touched her, "Trish has had some wonderful ideas in the past, ones that have helped us take care of business back in Empire City, so I would suggest that you listen to her from this point forward."
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata knew that, since Nix was pretty much a fan of Cole and the three of them, thanks to the stories that Moya had spread, she would be willing to listen to what he said, to which Nix nodded her head and Cole stopped touching her shoulder, before they returned to the task at hand.
"Now then, onto the matter at hand." Cole said, as he was already getting tired of this and wanted both Nix and Kuo to not fight for a few moments, even though that wasn't going to happen for some time, and he hoped that their friend from the swamp could mind her manners in the future, in regards to Trish, "Fort Phillipe is huge, so it's going to take an army to help us clear it out, cover the exits, and do anything else that we can think of before we claim the Transfer Device from Bertrand. I suggest that we ask Laroche if he and his Rebels would assist us, since it will remove a thorn from his side in the process."
"Yeah, we can use the textbook 'Hearts and Minds' campaign," Kuo added, as she was liking where this was going, even though Nix looked like she was irritated that she couldn't just destroy the rebels and the Militia at the same time, as she turned towards Cole, "We give them something that they really need."
"You mean like medicine?" Trish asked, though that was when a smile appeared on her face when Kuo nodded her head for a moment, as she knew something that the others didn't, not that it mattered since they were Conduits and they healed differently than normal people, "Since we've arrived in New Marais, and you've started gathering more power while freeing the people, I've noticed that none of the Militia suffering from the plague. Zeke, thanks to his Militia status, has made a map of all the Militia patrols, so if we look at it we can find where Bertrand is hoarding all the medicine and then, with them in hand, we can give them to the Rebels and enlist their help in this mission."
"Oh yeah, this is going to work out just fine." Kuo said, to which she, Zeke, and Trish headed down to where Zeke kept the map in question, leaving Cole and the Dazzlings alone with Nix, who was clearly upset that they were already thinking about taking the side of the Rebels.
"No, no, no, that's going to make them stronger!" Nix stated, showing that she was definitely annoyed about what was going on, as if she had another plan of attack that they could use, though the Dazzlings, at least, were willing to amuse her since she showed them that blast zone earlier, "We need them angry, and dependent on us."
"Nothing good comes from trying something like that." Adagio replied, remembering what she and her sisters had tried to do before their original amulets had been shattered, before she stared at Nix, knowing that she had no idea what she was talking about.
"Here's my idea: you dress me up as one of those Militia guys, and then I go on an ass kicking spree." Nix said, her tone revealing that she liked her idea, as it involved killing people instead of giving away medicine to people she considered lower than her, "Then one of you, or all of you, can swoop in and save the day, making you look like big heroes to those Rebel idiots. What do you think?"
"Personally, I think you're crazy." Aria stated, as that sounded like a horrible plan, going on a massacre and then swooping in to 'save the day', just to convince an army to assist them, as that would actually weaken their chances of succeeding in the assault and Nix wasn't thinking about that.
"I think you like it." Nix said, to which she joined off the roof and headed off to the area that she was going to wait in, to see if they picked her over Kuo and the others, as if she thought that they were actually going to change their minds from what Cole had said earlier.
Cole and the Dazzlings sighed as they waited on the roof for a few moments, as they weren't going to go with Nix's insane plan and knew that helping the Rebels was the correct path at this point in time, and a short break would allow Zeke, Kuo, and Trish some time to figure out where the medicine was located... and then, once they were located, they would give the medicine to the Rebels and get the assault of Fort Phillipe underway.
Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata remained on the roof that the group had gathered on, where they had discussed what they were going to do in regards to the fort that the Transfer Device was located in, which also gave Trish, Kuo, and Zeke a chance to study Zeke's map of the Militia patrols. It never ceased to amaze them that the Militia just gave away their secrets to new members, as if it would allow them to better their communications and how they operated, but at the same time it gave their enemies, the ones that were smart enough to consider this action, a chance to take things from them without being caught in the action. The other thing was that Nix definitely wanted to kill people, as the moment she took off they heard some sounds of her attacking a nearby Militia group, though at the moment, since they were far away from the fort they were going to attack, it wasn't going to harm their coming operation, even if Nix was heading to a position to prepare herself for the chance that they came and joined her, instead of assisting Kuo and the others.
It took ten to twenty minutes for something to happen, not that the four of them were worried since they knew that it had to take some time to figure out where the medicine was located, but when Zeke, Kuo, and Trish were ready they sent them coordinates for the mission start area and they moved out immediately.
As they moved out from the area that the first base had been located in, and began the trek to where the coordinates were located, Cole had to stop every now and then when he found some Militia mugging people, trying to abduct them off the street, and many other things that annoyed him. Of course the Dazzlings felt the same way, since they had learned to be heroes, or at the very least Guardians of the People back in Empire City, and they also assisted them in taking care of the enemies that Cole wanted to fight before they reached their destination, while also allowing their friend to deactivate a few of the Blast Shard bombs that they found along their path. They were still surprised that there was actually someone in New Marais that was collecting these shards and turning them into bombs, because that sounded like a stupid thing to do, but at the moment it was best for them to disarm the bombs and let Cole collect them as they continued down the street that they were following. One thing they expected was Nix calling them and being furious about how they were assisting Kuo in giving medicine to the Rebels, who she felt should be weak and dependent on the lot of them, but at the same time they ignored her and continued on their way, because one fact they knew was that she would come assist them regardless of what plan they chose... just because she wanted a good time and enjoyed beating up the Militia that were currently in control of New Marais.
When the four of them reached the coordinates they were slightly surprised to find that they were standing in front of one of Fort Phillipe's entrances, though as they did that all of them noticed that none of the Militia seemed to be watching the area, as they weren't attacked while they were standing there, waiting for Kuo, Trish, or Zeke to contact them... before Cole decided to see if they needed help or if there was something they could do to assist the others in locating where the medicine was located.
"Kuo, do you and the others have any leads on where Betrand's medicine is being stockpiled?" Cole asked, as he knew that he and the Dazzlings were thinking about that, especially since they had been given the coordinates to this location, but at the same time he felt that was better to ask them what was going on before something happened.
"Yes... I... do..." Kuo replied, though it was in the following instant that an ambulance, with Kuo in the driver seat and Trish in the passenger seat, burst right on through the metal gate in front of them and came to a stop near where they were standing, bringing a smile to their faces at the same time, "Cole, get on top. Dazzlings, fly around us and help Cole protect us from the Militia that's sure to try and take us out while we're moving through New Marais. I know where we can find Laroche and his Rebels."
Cole nodded and jumped on top of the ambulance, knowing that he had more reason to protect the vehicle since Trish was riding along with Kuo, and the Dazzlings floated in the air around them, before Kuo got underway and they started the trek to the location that Laroche and his soldiers were waiting in. The moment they headed down the street that the four of them had come down to reach this point they were immediately attacked by the Militia, who were also surprisingly well versed in forming barricades behind their backs apparently, and Cole nodded his head as the Dazzlings took care of the enemies that were the farthest away from their location. Despite the three of them doing that Kuo made the choice to turn left, instead of allowing Sonata to use her wind powers to knock the large truck out of the way, to which they simply sighed and followed after her, knocking the Militia around while Cole protected the ambulance from the more immediate threats. When Kuo came to a stop, in the next alleyway, was when Sonata swooped in and used her power to remove the cars that the Militia had set up as a roadblock, so they could attack someone from behind, and soon enough the ambulance was moving once more, while, at the same time, she, Adagio, and Aria continued attacking the enemies that got too close to the three of them, leaving the immediate enemies around the vehicle for Cole.
When Kuo reached the next blockade it was Aria's turn to surprise their enemies, as she used her power to drop charges of fire on the cars that were blocking them and blew them to pieces, tossing the enemies around like they were dolls, before allowing the ambulance to move once more. As they continued down the street Kuo informed them that, while she and the others were going over their plan to acquire the medicine, that Nix bragged about how great her plan was and that the group had made the right choice once more, where Trish proclaimed that, as long as there was a right choice to be made, Cole and the Dazzlings would take it over the wrong action any day of the week. Zeke, who must have been in a same area and was listening to the conversation, said that it was pure crazy to dress up as a Militia soldier and start war with the Rebels, and that it came straight from a comic book, though he was the only one among them that would have known something like that. It was in that moment that Kuo revealed that the Rebels might accept them more once they showed up with these supplies, causing Cole to say that she was still the same person she had been when they first met her, only she had powers now and had a new view on life, before they were forced to stop when they spotted a Devourer up ahead, destroying everything in it's path... to which they had Kuo stop the ambulance some distance away and moved towards their target, as the four of them would be able to take care of the creature before it hurt anyone else, especially after the last one they fought.
That was, however, until Adagio spotted that they were near the canal this time around, as the last time they had fought a Devourer it had been near a park, and she grinned as she stepped in front of the pack and extended her hands towards the canal, where she channeled her power and caused two Ice Dragons to burst out of liquid, catching their foe's attention rather easily. The Devourer roared a challenge as it faced them, though at the same time Adagio sent the two dragons flying through the air, where one of them acted as a shield and intercepted any attacks that the Devourer might hurl their way while the second one attacked the creature on it's own. The fortunate thing was that these types of enemies didn't have any resistances to her water and ice abilities, Aria's fire abilities, or even Sonata's wind abilities, as she was able to freeze several parts of the Devourer and shatter them without the creature being able to hurt them, before she destroyed the rest of the creature and opened the way so Kuo could continue to move the ambulance through the path she had chosen... though she was also sure that Kuo and Trish, despite being used to both her actions and the actions of her sisters, were a little surprised she could break one of those powerful swamp monsters on her own.
The next roadblock they encountered didn't last very long, not when the four of them were able to smash their way through the obstacles that the Militia had put in their way, though after that they didn't have any other threats bother them for the moment... allowing them to head to where the Rebels were located, in an alley that instantly told the Dazzlings that Bertrand must be tolerating their existence, as the area they discovered wasn't that secret, nor was it that well hidden from enemies.
"MacGrath? Is that you surfacing an ambulance with your friends flying around you?" a familiar voice asked, showing that Laroche had been correct when he gave them, or at the very least Cole, his information when they first met him, and, at the same time, the Dazzlings were sure that he was annoyed about something.
"Mr. Laroche, we have come baring medicine for you and your men." Kuo replied, knowing that Cole and the others were on the lookout for any enemies that might be in the area, where she noticed that the Dazzlings were already on the move at the moment.
"You brought more than just medicine, you stupid girl!" Laroche snapped, though at the same time the Dazzlings smiled as they separated from each other and started attacking the Militia soldiers that were coming towards the area that the Rebels were gathered in, "This place used to be a secret!"
"Really?" Cole asked, because at this moment he didn't feel the need to do anything to assist Adagio and her sisters, as it appeared that they had the situation under control, before he focused his attention on Laroche, "Not to sound rude or insulting, but your 'secret' base wasn't that well hidden, not if it took the lot of us only a couple of hours to find where you were located... meaning that Bertrand knew where you were hiding and was waiting for an opportune moment to strike you all down, no doubt to inspire the fact that his Militia are the 'guardians' of New Marais."
Laroche, despite the situation they were in, had to admit that it did seem rather odd that the Militia was attacking now, especially after he considered the fact that Cole and his friends would have ensured that the way here had been cleared of enemies, before making him realize that he was lucky they had come when they did. At the same time, however, he was slightly terrified of the three girls that followed in MacGrath's footsteps, as the three strange half human half pony girls were strong enough to take on the entirety of the attacking group of Militia soldiers, even if they weren't all that big to begin with, without even breaking a sweat. Even his men were just as shocked as he was, but they seized the opportunity to cheer for them and their friends, as if this was a display that showed the world that Conduits weren't as bad as they were made out to be by the news, but he'd be keeping his eyes on them anyway, just to be on the safe side in case something happened in the future. Eventually the assault had been repelled as quickly as it had arrived, once more displaying the power that the three girls possessed, and his men cheered for them as they helped themselves to the supplies that had been brought to them, causing him to sigh as he knew that the group wanted something from him and his forces.
"Well MacGrath, it appears that my men believe that we can't lose with you guys on our side." Laroche said, though at the same time he looked at the plans he had been making before the group barged into the hidden area that was their base of operations, or what had been their secret base.
"Then why don't you and your men help us attack Fort Phillipe?" Sonata asked, as she could tell that Cole and her sisters were thinking the same thing, so they were more than willing to let her talk first and get to the root of what they were doing in this area, "Together we can force Bertrand out of Ascension Parish."
"Ain't got much of a choice since you blew our hideout." Laroche replied, as he wanted them to feel a little sad for revealing where the base was located, in case they were wrong and Bertrand had only found them because of them driving into the area, before sighing as he thought about what they were going to do next, "They'll wipe us out first if we don't get them first... besides, I owe all you for bringing the medicine to us. Some of my men have been really sick lately."
As Cole, the Dazzlings, and Kuo got underway Trish stayed behind to make sure that the medical supplies were evenly distributed among the Rebels, who were currently in the process of moving themselves to a new location so they could prepare for the coming assault. While that happened Cole and his friends stood on top of one of the buildings that would allow them to look out at the fort they would be attacking in due time, while at the same time noticing that the Militia guarding the area didn't seem to notice the fact that there were Rebels gathering outside the fort, or if they did they weren't concerned at all. One thing they all agreed on was that there needed to be a signal of some kind, one that would start the assault, and the Dazzlings said that they had an idea that Cole knew nothing about, but at the same time he remembered their various powers and knew that it was best to allow them to do as they wanted. As all this happened, and the Rebels continued to move into position, the one thing that Cole was staring at was the Transfer Device, located in the direct center of the fort with what looked like a Blast Core in the middle of it, meaning that he might have to use it before destroying the device entirely.
After about an hour and a half of waiting for the Rebels to get into position, however, Kuo flew up to where the four of them were standing and told them that she, the Rebels, and Laroche were ready to begin... to which the Dazzlings flew into the air and started to gather around the air, some distance above the fort, and she couldn't help but stare at them as they started to fly around in a perfect circle.
"Cole, did they tell you what the signal would be?" Kuo asked, because she could tell that some of the Militia were already looking towards the sky and were aiming up there to see what was going on, so they could fire at the Dazzlings while they were distracted.
"No, but they said it was something that you wouldn't be able to miss." Cole replied, though he still wondered what they were going to do at this point, because it didn't seem like they were doing anything special this time around, not like when they used their voices to shield the people of Empire City from Kessler's attempts to mind-control them.
As Adagio, Aria, and Sonata flew around in the air, with a perfect distance between them as they rotated in a perfect circle, the three of them activated their affinities once more and Sonata was the first to act, as the wind bent to her will as strands of it started to gather around her body, with her directing the power to the center area between them. As she did that Aria ignited her own power and flames danced around her body once more, though after a few seconds she extended her hand and the fire jumped into the middle of the area between them as well, joining Sonata's wind as two spheres, one of wind and one of fire, formed between them. Adagio waited a couple of seconds before she started to gather the moisture in the air around them, where an orb of water burst into existence as it moved towards the other two orbs that her sisters had created, before the three of them started to pull themselves together into a single mass, which was what they were aiming for. Once the attack was ready the three of them stopped flying around in perfect circle and raised their hands towards the sky, where the combined sphere flew into the air and disappeared into the clouds, but that was quickly followed by the entire sky lighting up as if it was on fire... and was accompanied by harsh winds assaulting the Militia, and not the Rebels, fireballs raining from the center of the storm, powerful ice shards forming from the rain, and a number of other things that made the scene look like one that straight out of an apocalypse or something.
Cole, Kuo, Nix, and the Rebels stared at the scene that was happening before their eyes, as no one had told them that the Dazzlings could pull off something like this, and watched as the Militia tried, in vain, to stop the storm from tearing apart their forces and knocking them around like they were mere dolls.
"MacGrath, why were we needed to assault the fort, when they can do that?" Laroche asked, as this wasn't something that he had been informed about, and, based on the look that was on the faces around him, he could tell that he definitely wasn't the only one thinking about the situation in front of them/
"Because we could have used the extra manpower to take out the Militia," Cole replied, though he wasn't sure what to make of this, as Kuo seemed happy to have the Dazzlings take out their enemies in such a manner while Nix shouted that the sisters were cheating and hogging all the fun, "Had I known that the Dazzlings could unleash Ragnarok on our enemies, as that's the only thing I can think to call what's happening before our eyes, we still would have delivered the medicine, since Bertrand's men definitely didn't need it... but we would have simply told you when the assault was over, just to save time and energy for everyone."
Suffice it to say that the Dazzlings, in their assault, somehow managed to avoid damaging the Transfer Device, while at the same time knocking out the majority of the Militia that were guarding the fort, damaging the mortars that had been installed to the point where the Militia couldn't use them, and opened the way for the Rebels to charge in and finish off the rest of their enemies. Once the Dazzlings were sure that there weren't any additional enemies, and the majority of the current ones had been routed by their attack, they extended their hands towards the sky and cancelled their attack, to which it took some time for the storm to stop and disappear as quickly as it had appeared, though when they returned to the ground they got some happy faces and many surprised ones, showing that many were shocked by what they had done to sow chaos among the Militia. They then turned towards the fort and found that it was slightly damaged from their attack, while the city around it was unharmed since they had been targeting a specific place, and the three of them stood back as they followed the army into the fort, watching the Rebels take out the rest of the Militia while Kuo, Nix, and Cole headed towards their prize.
"I'm going to enjoy watching this thing burn." Kuo said, staring at the machine with a look of hate in her eyes, as she remembered the pain that it had caused her earlier, when she had been hooked up into one of the straps, and the Dazzlings could tell that she wanted to get rid of the thing before it could be used on anyone else.
"So, how does it work exactly?" Aria inquired, as she and her sisters wanted to see the Transfer Device for themselves, before Kuo got her way and blew it up, but right now she could say that she wasn't impressed by the seemingly shoddy machine that was in front of them, save for the Blast Core that Cole was also after.
"Power it on, strap yourself in, and then suffer while it rips your insides out." Kuo replied, knowing that the only reason one of the Dazzlings was asking was because they actually wanted to know, while someone like Nix, on the other hand, might get a kick out of torture.
"And it's powered by a Blast Core," Cole commented, as he understood what to do next, as he stepped onto the machine and started tugging on one of the straps, before he turned towards his companions and considered what he was about to do, "Hey Kuo, mind giving me a hand with this thing?"
"Hey, what about me?" Nix asked, as she seemed to know what Cole was planning, because she wanted to use the machine as well and could see it in Cole's eyes, especially when he saw the Blast Core, though it annoyed her that he was picking Kuo over her.
"Nix, it's to move the device to a more secure location." Adagio said, though at the same time she spotted a Militia car heading out of the fort and knew how to get Nix away from the machine, especially since she might be a danger to all of them in some manner, "Hey Nix, think Bertrand is in that car?"
Nix took one look at the car before she took off and started chasing after it, which was definitely being defended by some Militia guards, like a decoy or something, but the plan worked out and Cole smiled, to which Kuo, not believing what was going on, sighed as she climbed back into the machine. The sounds of pain that came after she and Cole strapped themselves into the two harnesses, and the Blast Core was moved into place, were sounds that the Dazzlings would hear for a few more days to come, especially since it seemed like Kuo was the one being tortured and Cole seemed to be getting off without anything happening. During the brief few moments that this happened a chopper flew overhead and a missile struck the fort, damaging the machine and knocking both Kuo and Cole from it, but as they regained themselves they spotted Bertrand, for real this time, climbing aboard as he made his escape... only for Cole, in his annoyance, to loose a powerful lightning blast from his hand and hit the tail of the chopper, though whether it went down immediately or not was hard to say.
Instead of chasing after Bertrand, and ensuring his defeat, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata moved him to a more secure location and then headed out to help Kuo recover from her ordeals and help the Rebels settle into the fort, knowing that they would be on the hunt once more, once Cole was up and ready to do so.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata spent the next couple of hours helping the Rebels move their supplies, both weapons and medical supplies, into Fort Phillipe and the surrounding area, as Laroche and his soldiers insisted on making sure that the area around their new base was well secured and well stocked for any further attacks. At the same time, however, the three of them heard some of the Rebels talk about their 'Ragnarok' attack, the combination of their elemental powers into a single mass that they unleashed on their enemies, and many of them were scared of them, as their combination attack had been more than any of them were expecting and they didn't know what to make of it. Adagio had to admit that she never thought about the damage their attack could have done, as she knew they had been targeting the soldiers and nothing else, but even then they were still surprised by some of the damage that they had done to the structures around the fort, even if none of those damages had actually jeopardized the safety of the fort. Her sisters were also surprised by the damage, meaning that all three of them had underestimated the boosters they had gained from Cole activating the Blast Cores, even if they gained only a fraction of the power that Cole gained, which only made them wonder what sort of power they could get when he activated the remaining Blast Cores they were looking for.
While they assisted the Rebels in their efforts Trish tended to Cole, making sure that nothing bad had happened to him in his fall to the ground, while Zeke stayed near them as he kept tabs on whatever the Militia was talking about on their radios and Kuo ran off to find Bertrand, something that Nix seemed pissed about since she had chased after the wrong vehicle after seeing the damaged helicopter that Cole had blasted out of the air.
The three of them knew that Bertrand was their enemy at the moment, as was his Militia, but none of them wanted to leave Cole behind, which was why they were more than willing to let Nix and Kuo, who were both more than capable of chasing their target on their own, follow the wounded helicopter and see where Bertrand was hiding. That was what they were expecting, but, as it turned out, Nix was having fun pushing Kuo's buttons and was constantly annoying her, causing the two of them to stop every now and then and argue over whatever they happened to be talking about at that given moment, meaning that Bertrand was getting away and Nix seemed to be more caring about annoying Kuo than her true target at the moment. Fortunately there was some time between every instance where Nix bothered their friend, showing that she had no love for the 'Ice Bitch' as Nix liked to call Kuo, who didn't have a nickname of any kind for their fellow Conduit, and she preferred not to call her by 'Swamp Witch', since that was the Militia's term for her, and she tried to ignore Nix whenever that happened... even though ignoring Nix was hard at times, something that the sisters knew from their previous experiences with her.
As it turned out, however, Cole only had to rest for about four hours and shake off the effects of the latest Blast Core, though when he started to get up Trish informed them of what was going on and the Dazzlings were the first ones to arrive in the room that the Rebels had given them to house Cole in until he was better.
"Hey Cole, how are you feeling?" Adagio asked, as she knew that the answer would have been 'okay' or 'great' if he had activated the Blast Core in the normal manner, but after seeing the pain that Kuo had been in, and the pain that Cole himself had felt in the process of using the now damaged Transfer Device, they knew that he might need a few more minutes to recover before he was back to normal.
"Better." Cole replied, to which he stretched his arms for a moment, as they were a little stiff from how he had been resting on the bed that Trish had put him on, but for the most part he was ready to get going and figure out where Bertrand's helicopter had crashed, "Where's Kuo and Nix?"
"Chasing after the helicopter." Aria answered, as that was what Zeke had said they were doing a couple of minutes ago, when they last asked him what the two polar opposite Conduits were doing, before she focused on the task at hand once more, "From what we can tell the vehicle went down pretty hard and now Bertrand is on the run... if you're up to chasing after him once more."
"Yeah, I'm ready to go once more," Cole said, as he knew that he should rest some more, but with Bertrand running around still he also knew that he should focus his efforts into helping the others capture their target and dismantle his Militia so they could resume the search for the Blast Cores without any obstacles, before another thought came to mind as he thought about their friends, "Did Kuo get anything from the Transfer Device?"
"No, it appears that if anyone got any additional powers it might be you," Sonata stated, as the three of them could tell that their friend was stronger than he had been earlier, even if he couldn't tell that he was stronger at the moment, before the three of them turned towards the doorway, "But we're positive that you might have gained something in the process, and, as such, we has the Rebels clear out an area outside the fort for you to test whatever new abilities you might have gained from activating the Transfer Device... and, after seeing what we did earlier, some of the Rebels are a little worried about you gaining new powers, just in case you get something like we used to clear out the Militia."
Cole nodded and followed the Dazzlings outside the fort, where they gathered around the area that Nix would have attacked, as she whispered to them what her plan had been when she was toying with Kuo, before he stepped forward and focused his power once more. What he did was take a few deep breaths, to show that he was thinking about something and calming himself down in the process, before he pulled his hands to his right side and gathered the power that he had used to create the Ionic Vortex, which froze the area in front of him while also creating sharp looking icicles at the same time. After that he discovered he had a few new attacks to go with the 'Ionic Freeze'; a 'Shatter Blast' that appeared to be twice as powerful as his normal blasts, a 'Frost Shield' that acted like his old Polarity Wall ability, an Ice Grenade of his own, and an 'Ice Launch', as he could freeze the ground beneath his feet to launch himself into the air with a pillar of ice left behind. As he practiced these moves he had to feel sorry for Kuo, as he had intended for them to share powers and make the team even stronger than they had been before that point in time, not even counting the power that rested inside Adagio, Aria, and Sonata, but, as luck would have it, Kuo got the short end of the stick once more and, from the looks of things, that blast took out the Transfer Device entirely... and, without Wolfe around to help them, as he was sure that the man had built the device, there was no way to repair it and put it to work for the rest of the team.
At the same time he honestly didn't know if the Transfer Device would have even worked for Adagio and her sisters, since their abilities were more magical in origin and not based on what had awoken his power, or the powers that Nix and Kuo had, before he sighed and turned towards his friends, who appeared to be ready to get underway.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata watched as Cole managed to keep a good pace with them from that point forward, as his new launch ability allowed him to get some decent air as he followed after the three of them, though they did pause every now and then when he had to stop the Militia from terrorizing the public of New Marais, giving him a chance to truly test his new powers out. As such none of them did anything as Cole's new blast and grenade worked wonders on the smaller groups that were in his way, while something like the Ionic Freeze was more than enough to take out large clusters of enemies that were converging from multiple sides. That only made them wonder if the Militia didn't care about their leader in the slightest, since he had gone down with that helicopter after Cole's powerful attack had struck it, but at the very least they were using the opportunity presented to them to, as they also believed that it was worth the time and effort to erase the presence of the Militia and restore the cops back to where they had been working before Bertrand's goons came in and forced them out, or establish a Rebel foothold if there happened to be no cops around and plenty of Rebels in the area they were in.
Even with them stopping every now and then, to see what the Militia was doing at any given moment, the four of them were still able to make their way back over to the first area of New Marais they had explored and found their way over to the bridge that Bertrand's helicopter crashed in front of... before Cole advanced towards it so he could see if their target was anywhere nearby, as he was itching to bring an end to this madness and put him away for his crimes.
"Oh, there's no way he's walking away from this one." Cole commented, seeing all the damage that had been caused from his attack, as he guessed that the attack he had fired had been supercharged from the Transfer Device, before he climbed into the vehicle, "Hey old man, are you in... here? Where the hell is he?"
That was immediately followed by some sort of swamp creature letting out a furious roar, one that caught their attention since it was the same one that they had heard when Nix was showing them the Blast site that Bertrand had created when he used his Ray Sphere, before they turned towards the source of the noise.
"What the hell?" Adagio asked, as she, her sisters, and Cole turned around and found part of the street behind them was on fire, which hadn't been on fire when they first entered the area, and immediately moved to investigate whatever happened to be going on at the moment.
The ground shook twice as they approached the smoke that was in front of them, but after a few moments of doing that they watched as the cloud of smoke was removed and they could see whatever was causing the disturbance, which turned out to be a massive monster that slammed it's arms into the ground and roared at them. The Dazzlings, having spent a good portion of their lives as Sirens and had to deal with creatures like Discord, weren't scared of the Behemoth that was standing in front of them, but, at the same time, they agreed with Cole's decision to move away from the civilians so they didn't get hurt in the process. What they discovered, as the Behemoth chased them, was that it had several glowing purple weak points that it occasionally revealed to them over the course of it's attacks, which were points that the four of them targeted the moment they were shown them, as they knew that, to defeat this sort of armored creature, destroying those points were crucial to this encounter. Of course, while all this was going on, the Militia finally decided to get in on the action and started firing at the Behemoth, their bullets appearing to do absolutely nothing to the monster that they were fighting, while, at the same time, a number of swamp monsters emerged from the nearby water to defend what appeared to be their leader, meaning that they had to go down as well, which Cole and the others did as they continued their assault on their main target.
Suffice it to say that the Dazzlings knew that the Behemoth wasn't a natural creation, as all the weaknesses told them that it had to have been made by someone over the years, maybe even Bertrand himself for his own plans, and eventually they dealt enough damage to knock it backwards, where it was consumed by the same vortex that arrived when one of the Devourers were taken out, to which they watched what happened next. What happened next, however, shocked them for a few seconds as the Behemoth shrunk in size and mass before their very eyes, where they found it taking the form of Bertrand, who was frightened as he glanced at the four of them through the mist that was surrounding his disappearing monstrous form, and they were the only ones close enough to see what was going on. A few seconds after discovering that they now knew his secret, and getting a grip on himself, Bertrand ran for his life and disappeared, but it was clear that he was heading for a boat that was near where the helicopter was located, where they watched as he headed off towards the next part of New Marais that they would likely be exploring in the near future.
"So, Bertrand is the Behemoth from the swamp," Adagio commented, as Nix was going to want to know that piece of information, as she was the only one that would care about something like this to begin with, but, at the same time, she knew that they needed to figure out how to restore power to the other zone, "Who would have thought that such a thing was even possible?"
"I don't know, but his secret is ours now." Cole said, as this was going to be great once he and the Dazzlings met up with Kuo and Nix again, because he was sure that they could use this information against their opponent and maybe even put the hurt on him in some manner, "Though he's headed into Flood Town... and it currently has no power."
"Well, that's something that can be fixed in a few minutes." Zeke stated, his voice coming over their phones, indicating that he must have been watching the area of the helicopter for some time from his safe location, and that he already had a plan in mind, "Don't worry Cole, I'll get the transformers ready for you."
Since it was going to take Zeke some time to ready the transformers, meaning that they had time to kill, Adagio and her sisters moved around the ruined parts of New Marais that the Behemoth had marched through, using their individual powers to put out fires and tend to the wounded civilians, allowing Cole to imprison the Militia anyway, because he was willing to leave them alone until one of them fired at him, causing it to go downhill from there. The Dazzlings would have left the Militia alone, since they had been helping them against the Behemoth, but the moment they attacked Cole was when their original plans fell apart and they simply let Cole knock them to the ground and lock them there, so that the cops or the Rebels could take care of them later on. Fortunately it didn't take them long to deal with all of the instances that were happening around them, from when the Behemoth was running amok or the Militia that weren't involved in the attack that were harassing the civilians, and eventually Zeke gave them a little message, a text as they were called, that the transformer was ready for Cole to use now.
When the four of them reached the transformer, however, they got called by the last person that they expected to hear from, especially so soon after the assault on Fort Phillipe, but, at the same time, they were slightly curious as to why Laroche wanted to talk with them.
"Hey, I heard that you and those girls of yours are fixing to turn the power back on in Flood Town." Laroche said, though there was something about how he referred to them as Cole's 'girls' that made the Dazzlings frown for a moment, as they didn't like whatever he might be implying.
"Look, we're well aware that you and your Rebels might need help every now and then," Cole replied, as he was of the same mind that the Dazzlings were thinking about, as he didn't like Laroche's word choice either, but he was going to roll with it and hope that this call would be over soon, "but we're after Bertrand."
"Two birds with one stone, huh?" Laroche inquired, though this time around his tone was one that the four of them liked, as he sounded happy about the fact that they were still chasing Bertrand, while also informing them that he wasn't going to keep them long after hearing that piece of information, "I'm liking how today is shaping up."
Cole shook his head as he walked up to the transformer that was in front of them and stood beside it, just as the Dazzlings floated in the air around it so they could track it to where the next one was located, and then he loosed the missile that would allow him to restore power to their target. What they found interesting was that the transformer that they were going after first was on the side of the bridge that was on their side of the island, as part of the bridge was raised at the moment and that was the part by Flood Town, and the missile struck the device without delay. As Cole made his way to where they were floating, and activated the transformer that lowered the other half of the bridge into place, Laroche decided to speak with them for a moment, saying that the people of Flood Town had things rough since the levies, as they lost everything that they had, including the fact that he lost his wife. The most interesting part about what he said was that the people of Flood Town suffered from the flood, then suffered at the hand of the Militia, and now they were suffering at the hands of the ice guys that had escaped when they rescued Kuo, not that Laroche knew that they had accidentally released them earlier.
As they made their way into Flood Town they finally came into contact with the ice guys once more, as two of them ran up to the area they were in and demanded that the four of them leave, as Flood Town was 'theirs', only was total war to break out between them and the attackers. Zeke had something interesting to tell them, as these guys used to be mercenaries from South Africa, a group known as Vermaak 88 from what he had uncovered, and that they had gone insane from the torment that they suffered from what Bertrand had done to them. Since they were enemies, as none of them wanted to stand down and let the four of them do what they came to do, Adagio and her sisters attacked instantly, as Cole had to pick and choose who to attack since he was without any sources to restore his power supply, but Adagio smiled as one of their enemies tried to use some of his ice abilities against them and she, on the other hand, grabbed onto the attack with her own power and converted it back into water, which she used to pin down the soldier's comrades in the form of icicles.
Suffice it to say that the soldiers of Vermaak 88 were surprised to see someone like Adagio among the group's number, though that only made it easier for her sisters to take them out and open the way into Flood Town, where they had to carefully make their way through the air, while carrying Cole, as there were a large number of enemies on the ground and it would take forever to fight their way through them all. Fortunately it didn't take them long to find the transformer in question, as it wasn't too far from where the entrance of Flood Town was located, but what really shifted things in their favor was when Cole activated the transformer the enemy soldiers sometimes walked into the water as they tried to fire at them, making them perfect targets for Cole. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata focused on the enemies that didn't touch the water around them, knocking them around while defending themselves from time to time, but for the most part it appeared that the basic enemies weren't all that strong in comparison to their own power and were easily taken down, meaning that they had to keep an eye out for the truly terrible enemies... and soon enough energy rippled out of the transformer and knocked out the enemies that were around them, just like the last ones did when they activated them, but before they could move they received another call.
"How's it feel being this wrong, Cole baby?" Nix asked, though her tone revealed that she knew that Cole had used the Transfer Device with Kuo instead of her, and that she had been tricked into leaving the area so she couldn't have a chance to use it, which clearly annoyed her.
"Nix... is this about the Transfer Device?" Cole inquired, as he couldn't believe that Nix thought that he was her property and that he should bend to her will every time she wanted something, even though he and the Dazzlings had told her that he already had a girlfriend.
"Everyone screws up from time to time." Nix stated, confirming that Cole had hit the nail on the head, that this was about being cheated out of offering her powers to Cole and taking some of his, as she apparently thought was her right since she believed that she was the first Conduit he had encountered in New Marais, "The bigger the man, the lower he may fall. Maybe it's a one time thing... or maybe, you're just a fool."
"Nix, I would refrain from calling us fools." Sonata replied, though this was one of those times that Adagio and Aria were surprised, as Sonata was glaring off into the distance while she spoke, as if she was looking for Nix so she could focus on her at the same time, "While we have been called much worse over the years, much worse than fools, our actions were for the benefit of the team and for the benefit of New Marais."
"Yeah, well, don't screw up again man." Nix said, though before anyone could say anything else she cut off the line and let them to their own devices, to which the four of them sighed once more, as it appeared that Nix was developing a crush on Cole, despite the fact that he was currently taken at the moment.
Once Nix had been taken care of, and they were sure that there weren't any additional enemies in the immediate area, Cole fired another missile into the air and two of the Dazzlings followed after it, allowing Adagio to grab onto Cole the moment the others reported that the transformer had been struck and take to the air. Of course when they arrived at their destination the soldiers of Vermaak 88 attacked them, to prevent the transformer coming online, and they repeated what they had done against the last group that they had battled, where the Dazzlings used their powers against the soldiers while Cole focused on using the water to their advantage to shock enemies into submission. A few moments later the transformer was back online and Cole loosed another missile to locate the next one in the sequence, where the four of them headed out for the next transformer and started to defend it, only this time around they were on a wooden tower and not near the water, meaning that Cole could fight more while still having to pick and choose his targets. The fortunate thing was that the Vermaak 88 soldiers that came at them weren't all that great in terms of strategy, as they kept their distance and tried to take them down from afar, but that allowed the four of them to defend the transformer until it flared and the power was restored to Flood Town at long last.
As they settled down, and Cole got some power back in his body, Zeke informed them that Laroche was setting up a medical station inside Flood Town, claiming to have a cure for the plague that was ravaging New Marais, to which the group decided to head over there to see what was going on... and, at the same time, no doubt defend the area from attackers, as something told them that Laroche and his Rebels were going to be attacked soon enough.
The first thing that Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata found out was that Vermaak 88 did, in fact, currently control the majority of Flood Town, meaning that they had used their powers to gain control of this section of New Marais, through fear tactics and the like, which meant that one of the things they would have to do while they were here was drive them out before they endangered anyone else. At the moment it didn't appear that there were any side objectives that would allow them to take out the soldiers of Vermaak 88, save for the few Militia guards that were still harassing the civilians of this part of the city, so that meant that their new opponents were free to remain in control for the moment, but that would change when they found a way to get back at them. Of course that didn't stop them from taking out the soldiers that were harassing the people around them, break the fortifications that the soldiers of Vermaak 88 had set up and knock out those soldiers, and free anyone that was being attacked at the moment, while making sure to get rid of the bombs that had been made from Blast Shards so they didn't hurt anyone.
One thing they found to be interesting was that the tormented soldiers of Vermaak 88 seemed to stall when Adagio showed her powers to them, because her ability to manipulate the moisture in the air also worked against their ice attacks, meaning that she could turn their ice to water and then turn it back to ice as she used it against them. The other thing she did was just convert the ice to water and leave it alone, as a good amount of the ice soldiers liked to stand in the flooded area and Cole took advantage of the situation, shocking them into submission and cutting the number of enemies down in the long run. Aria and Sonata, on the other hand, did what they always did, they made sure to keep an eye on their enemies as they flew, or use grindwires in Cole's case, through the area of New Marais that they were in and occasionally attacked their enemies as well, just to remind the soldiers that all four of them were dangerous and not to underestimate them because two of them weren't showing off their powers. Even the Militia seemed to forget that all four of them had their own powers, but they were quick to remind their enemies and make sure they remembered the danger they were in, before the group put a stop to whatever plan or activity the Militia was up to in the area.
Fortunately it didn't take them long to figure out where Laroche had setup his 'clinic' that was giving out the 'cure' for the plague, something that they didn't believe he had to begin with, and that was mostly because there were several civilians that were already moving towards the area in question, so the four of them just followed the people... and when they arrived they discovered that the building was halfway fallen apart and didn't look like it would be a safe place to treat people, but then they spotted Laroche and Zeke talking about something and headed over to them.
"Hey guys," Cole said, to which he and the Dazzlings approached the pair, who happened to be looking at a map of the area, though he was happy to see that them walking up to the pair had pulled their focus away from the map, as he and the sisters needed to know the situation before they figured out what their next move was, "What's up?"
"You guys showed up just in time, that's what's up." Zeke replied, though what was surprising was the fact that this entire clinic was already under siege by enemies, though for the moment those enemies weren't near the building and were approaching them as they spoke, "We've barely had time to set up everything and we're already in trouble."
"Already?" Aria asked, as she found that a little hard to believe, but then she remembered that Laroche was claiming that they had the cure for the plague, meaning that enemies might be coming to stop them from assisting the people that were in this area, "So, a reliable birdie told us that you happened to find a 'cure' for the plague. What's the truth behind what you're telling the people?"
"There is no cure... there never was one." Laroche said, though he didn't like the looks that the three girls, not to mention Cole himself, were giving him, as if they were judging him in some manner and didn't like the fact that he was willing to lie to sick people about such a thing, "Nearly everyone in Flood Town is dying from the plague... look, all I'm trying to do, with Zeke's help, is use the supplies that you guys brought to me and my men, who are fine by the way, to ease their pain before they have to check out. The only problem is that the majority of the people that are coming to this building can't actually reach us, because they keep getting jumped by the swamp monsters in the area."
"I've set up a few defenses around the camp to protect them as they make a run for it," Zeke added, knowing that Cole and the sisters would want to know what he was doing to assist the Rebels, or in this case Laroche, before he turned towards them, "Cole, since we don't have near enough power to keep them all going, we were hoping that you could help us out in some manner, and that's including having Adagio, Aria, and Sonata help protect the people as well, because I know that they're itching to help out."
"We're sure going to give it our all to protect as many of them as we can," Sonata stated, to which her sisters nodded their heads in agreement, though not a few seconds later they all heard the sound of an alarm going off nearby, "What in the world is that?"
"Something out there just tripped one of the motion sensors I set up," Zeke answered, showing that he had planned all of this out the moment that Laroche had told him what he was planning on doing, though the only part he couldn't get around was the lack of sufficient power to fuel his devices, before he turned towards the group, "You guys ready to head out and kick some ass?"
The alarm was coming from the building behind the one that they were standing in, though when they arrived the four of them found a spotlight of some kind waiting for them, one that, when Cole activated it, shined a bright blue light on the area that Cole was targeting. Zeke revealed that this particular beam was designed to turn swamp monsters to dust when it was shined upon them, surprising the four of them when Cole targeted one of the monsters and vaporized it in a matter of seconds, before he turned towards the next target and continued his assault. Adagio questioned if Zeke was aware of the fact that this was a spotlight, to which he replied that it was a 'Killer UV Spotlight of DOOM!', or the Dunbar Beam as he was planning on calling them, and that they would get crispy swamp monsters when the light was focused on them, while at the same time it might make the civilians a little sicker, but since they had the plague Zeke figured that such a thing was okay to overlook. Once the swamp monsters in this area had been taken care of, and the Dazzlings reported Cole's success in taking them all out, another alarm went off, on the west side according to what Zeke said, and they moved out immediately, where Sonata carried Cole through the air as they reached the area where the next outpost happened to be located.
When that happened, and Cole activated the second Dunbar Beam, the four of them spotted a Ravager that was moving through the area and was quickly burned to a crisp when he shined the focused light on his target, causing him to claim that this weapon was awesome and causing Zeke, who was listening to them, to claim that should be awesome since he had created it.
There were seven Ravagers in total attacking the area, though all of them fell before the might of the Dunbar Beam, but once the last one fell a third alarm went off and the four of them moved through the air, where Cole claimed control of the spotlight and started vaporizing the swamp monsters that were in the area. What surprised the sisters was that there were quite a large number of enemies in this area, causing them to wonder if they could do something to assist Cole in taking out the creatures that were going after the civilians, but for the most part it actually seemed like Cole was able to keep the enemies back and not let the people get hurt. The instant the swamp monster had been taken care of the four of them needed to head back to the second outpost and found that the Ravagers had some reinforcements, in terms of more Ravagers and normal swamp monsters, and Cole attacked them with the spotlight once more. When that group fell before the Dunbar Beam the other two alarms went off, so while Cole and Aria headed towards one of them while Adagio and Sonata headed towards the other one, though when Adagio arrived she manipulated the moisture in the area and used the ice in question to hurt their enemies... as both she and Sonata used their grenade style attacks to knock back the enemies that were surging towards them, all while making sure that the people were safe from harm at the same time.
When both groups took out the enemies that had triggered the two alarms the worst thing happened, all three of them went off at the same time and Laroche, understanding the this wasn't working, called for the four of them to retreat so they could guard the actual clinic together... our course, when they arrived at the building, they found that the soldiers of Vermaak 88, even some bulkier ones that stood on large ice pillars, were attacking the swamp monsters and the group held their powers at bay so they could see what was going on.
"Hey, thanks a lot." Laroche said, to which he waved at one of the bulkier soldiers for a moment, as he figured that they were the commanders of the Vermaak 88 forces, while at the same time the group stared at the soldiers in the area and prepared themselves accordingly, "You guys are alright."
"We don't want your thanks." the soldier in question replied, his voice sounding like he was having trouble breathing, which made sense considering what had happened to him and his fellow soldiers, while his words confirmed why the Dazzlings were ready for battle, "We want your Blast Core."
"Wait, you found a Blast Core?!" Adagio asked, turning towards the Rebel Leader for a moment, as she couldn't believe that the man, who knew that they were looking for those things so Cole could power himself up even more than he already was, but at the same time she and her sisters weren't about to let the Vermaak 88 soldiers take it away.
"I was planning on telling you guys..." Laroche replied, to which he moved his hands a little, showing that he honestly didn't have much to say to the soldier's accusation that he had a Blast Core, but at the same time they all knew what was going to happen in the next few seconds.
"We'd sooner die than give it to you guys!" Zeke declared, because he knew that the soldiers that were standing in front of them were already planning on attacking them, so he might as well be the one to declare war between the two groups and let both Cole and the Dazzlings defeat their enemies.
"We accept... your terms." the soldier stated, to which both he and his bulkier comrades gathered their power and loosed a beam of ice energy at them, only for them to be stunned a little when Adagio raised her hand and the ice dissolved into water for a few seconds, which she used to pierce their shoulders and knock them backwards.
"You know, ice vs water is never a very favorable match up." Sonata commented, as she remembered all the times they had seen people using ice type attacks against someone that used water type attacks, though Adagio's control over water, and the moisture in the air, made it incredibly harder for an ice type opponent to get the drop on her, before she sighed and stepped forward as Aria did the same thing, "Not that you guys stood a chance to begin with."
Cole joined the Dazzlings as they assaulted the soldiers of Vermaak 88 that had come into the area to claim the Blast Core that Laroche had found, and not told them about, though thanks to the combination of their powers, and the fact that three of them could fly, the soldiers had a hard time trying to take them out or even the odds. Laroche and Zeke stood back and watched as the four of them took out the enemies that were around them, though since the bulkier soldiers were the only enemies in the area it was easy for the group to take out their targets and restore the peace to the clinic area that had been set up. Once the four of them were sure that the enemies had been taken care of, and there weren't anymore in the immediate and surrounding areas, they returned to where Laroche was standing and stared at him, as he had some explaining to do, since the Vermaak 88 soldiers was his fault.
"We're in the clear." Laroche confirmed, showing that he was focused on the task at hand, and had seen that the enemies had been taken out, before he turned towards Cole and the sisters that were standing behind him, "You and your friends did some real good work here tonight, even if you don't agree with my methods, and I was originally planning on giving you the Blast Core... but there is one more thing I'd like to ask your assistance on before I hand it over. I've already sent the coordinates to your phone, so once you get there I'll explain myself... and then, once you're done, the Blast Core will be yours."
Cole glanced at Adagio, Aria, and Sonata for a moment, finding that they were still annoyed that Laroche had hidden the fact that he had a Blast Core from them, but instead of getting too bend our of shape the four of them simply headed out of the building they were in an sought out the area that Laroche had sent them the coordinates to. Of course they had to stop the Militia and Vermaak 88 soldiers that were harassing the civilians, each for their own reasons as it turned out, and only came to a real stop when they reached the building in question, where they found a well of some kind that happened to be on fire. Something immediately told them that this wasn't normal for Flood Town, as Laroche wouldn't have asked them to come out here if this was something that one of the civilians had done, though at the same time Cole tapped his phone and opened the line to Laroche, so they could get underway with this objective and could take home the Blast Core that had been promised to them.
"It's getting a little hard to breath since those ice freaks lit fire to the wells." Laroche said, though at the same time the group looked at each other, as they had no idea what he was referring to since they hadn't noticed weren't finding it hard to breath, but at the same time the four of them waited to see what else he had to say, "Hey, you guys should be near a well cap. If you use that to snuff out the flames, we'd all appreciate it."
Cole glanced at the area in question and found the well cap in question, something that he could lift with his Kinetic Pulse and position over the well that was in front of them, but as he did that Laroche revealed that there were several other wells and they were far away from where they were standing, and they only had the one well cap. Since Aria was with them, and her power was over fire itself, she separated from the pack and headed towards one of the other wells that Cole and her sisters were heading to, as the three of them could carry the well cap without having to throw it through the air to reach their target. As that happened Laroche revealed that Flood Town had once been called Bellevue, which was before the flood came through New Marais and created what rested all around them, and that he, and many members of his resistance, still loved this area despite it's current state. He even told the four of them that he was responsible for the people and that he had to consider every angle, so helping the ice guys by giving them the Blast Core, when they willingly set fire to the wells, didn't make sense to him... and that, since the four of them and Zeke had done right by them so far, they would do right by them and hand over the Blast Core once the wells were taken care of.
One thing they found out was that each of the wells were being guarded by some Vermaak 88 soldiers, who were easily taken care of when the group got to them, despite the fact that Aria had to fight some sort of evolved ice soldier that was different from the heavy breathing one they fought a few minutes ago. What Aria found was that, just like all of the larger and more opposing enemies, was that this guy was severely weak to grenade type attacks, causing her to sigh as she decimated him and moved on, though once that battle was over Cole, Adagio, and Sonata revealed that they had snuffed out the flames on their end. At the same time, however, Aria waved her hand and willed her energy to cut off the flames that were in front of her, where she watched as the flames wavered for a moment before disappearing, to which she smiled as she took to the skies and headed towards the other well that the others were heading towards. Her plan was to assist them, pure and simply, and that was all that was needed from her as they fought the larger group of ice soldiers that were guarding the last of the lit wells, who all insisted that Flood Town was theirs and that the four of them needed to leave or be destroyed. After that was over, and the well was capped off, the four of them paused as they heard some Militia in the nearby rail yard shouting about something and heard some sounds of swamp monsters in the area, causing them to wonder if there might be a link between Bertrand and the swamp monsters.
Zeke and Kuo, who had been listening over the phone, stated that they had heard the sounds as well and that they needed to get in there to see what was going on, once they were done assisting Laroche and the Rebels anyway, since that was their current objective at the moment... though Laroche, hearing that they capped all the wells, revealed that he had given something to Zeke as a prize that they might want to get their hands on. As such the four of them made their way to the newest hideout that Zeke had created, as there wasn't much he could do in Flood Town, and found that the area in question was a train car that looked unassuming, and happened to be near the bridge that connected to the first district of New Marais. Of course when Cole went to open the door, and climb inside, Zeke rushed forward and immediately pointed his gun at the opening that had been created, though Cole, deciding to play along, simply raised his hands and prepared himself.
"Whoa. Password for the clubhouse?" Cole asked, because when Zeke got like this it was best if he, and anyone else involved, played along, despite the fact that the Dazzlings didn't seem to care, no doubt since they were more magical than he was and could easily stop the bullet if he actually fired at them.
"Yeah, 'Don't shoot my ass'." Zeke said, though his tone revealed that he was only playing around, as once he figured out that it was only Cole and the Dazzlings he put away his gun and approached them, knowing that Cole, at the very least, would play along before getting down to business.
"Don't shoot my ass." Cole replied, though the moment that left his mouth Zeke extended a hand and pulled him into the train car, to which they paused as the Dazzlings climbed in as well, before the door was put back to the way it was, before they found Kuo standing nearby, looking at some notes until they entered the hideout.
"Guys, I've got some news for you." Kuo said, to which she held up the notes that she had been reading before their arrival, when she was setting this place up with Zeke, and knew that they were interested in hearing what she had to say at the moment, "I was sifting through the wreckage back at Wolfe's lab, and I found one of his journals, the only one to survive the destruction from the looks of it. It turns out that he initially created the RFI to cure the plague!"
"You're kidding me." Adagio said, though at the same time Zeke, who had been holding onto the RFI as per Cole's instructions and kept it hidden in their safe house when he spied on the Militia, pulled out the device and handed it over to Cole for the moment, who studied it for a few moments, "So, how does it do that?"
"Well, according to Wolfe's analysis, the plague is... it's created by radiation poisoning." Kuo replied, to which she saw some lights flash in the eyes of those that were around her, as some of them understood what she was talking about and knew what had caused it, "Ray Field radiation to be exact."
"It's a Ray Field Inhibitor." Aria stated, recalling the wording that Wolfe had used when he first introduced them to the device that would allow them to defeat the Beast and save the world, though at the same time Cole moved the device to the table that was nearby, "If Cole can fire that thing up, it'll not only help us defeat the Beast, but it will also take out the plague at the same time."
"Here's the Blast Core from Laroche," Zeke added, picking up the glowing shard from the table, where he had left it, and handed it over to Cole, who smiled as he switched from the RFI to the Blast Core, as this was going to boost his powers and maybe allow him to wield the device they were carrying with them, "maybe this, combined with the ones you've used so far, will be enough to use the RFI."
Before anyone could stop him Cole moved to one side of the train car and passed a current through the Blast Core, empowering himself and the Dazzlings in the process, though that only prompted Kuo to ask if anyone knew how many Blast Cores Cole had absorbed so far. Sonata revealed that this made the fifth Blast Core so far, and that Cole hitting the ground was normal when he absorbed the power from one of them, but, since it was clear that Cole was going to be out for a few hours, she and her sisters sat down in the chairs or the couches that were nearby and settled into them. They were going to take this opportunity to get some rest and recover from the fights they had been in since the last time they had a chance to rest, to which the three of them dozed off as Zeke and Kuo discussed the next stage of their plans... which they would find out about once Cole was up and ready to go, after he had a chance to test out any new powers he might have discovered from absorbing this Blast Core.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata, despite not being able to tell what time it was when they first woke up, discovered that Cole was still asleep and knew what they had to do, as the first thing Adagio did when the three of them got up was head out of the train car and fly to where Trish was located. The reason that Trish was mostly spending her time in the first part of New Marais that they had landed in, instead of following them through Ascension Parish, until they attacked Fort Phillipe, and following them into Flood Town, was that her experiences in Empire City told her to stay where the injured were and leave the superhero business to the four of them, Zeke, and whoever joined their quest. Fortunately that meant that the Militia would never to be able use her against Cole, like Kessler had gone, and that allowed her to get any information that might be useful to the group, unfortunately Zeke was the one giving them those pieces of information, so whatever she found was mostly void by the time she got around to telling them what she found out. She also had the opportunity to gave some food while she did her work, which she gave part of it to the girls, or in this case Adagio, whenever they arrived, since she knew that Cole would continue with the mission until he dropped from exhaustion.
When Adagio arrived Trish had already prepared the pack that she would take back to her sisters, Zeke, and Cole, so they could have something to eat before they really got serious about their assault on Flood Town, though Trish barely said anything as she collected the pack... though as Adagio started to leave, however, she could have sworn that she heard Trish cough a few times as she headed outside, just like they had heard Zeke cough a few times when he was staking out Fort Phillipe when he was looking for the Transfer Device.
As Adagio flew back to where the others were waiting, and making sure that the train car was safe while ensuring that their enemies didn't find them, she had to wonder if Zeke and Trish might be coming down with the cold, as it was better than thinking that they might have caught the plague. She wasn't sure if Cole could handle both his best friend and his girlfriend suffering in such a manner, and neither of them telling him because they didn't want to distract him from bringing Bertrand to justice and finding the Blast Cores, but since she had no idea what was going on she decided to remain silent for the most part. Aria and Sonata, as she found out, had gone out and taken out one or two of the side missions that were around their area, just to show the Vermaak 88 soldiers and the Militia soldiers that they were still in the area and that they were a force to be reckoned with, though they eagerly returned to the train car when she came back and claimed something for breakfast while she offered some to Zeke, who appreciated the gesture.
The sounds of them eating were what woke Cole from his slumber, induced by the Blast Core, and he took a few seconds to regain himself before he claimed something to eat and joined them, only for Adagio, Aria, and Sonata to notice that he didn't seem alright... as if he had an upset stomach or something similar to that, though at the same time they hoped that using that last Blast Core hadn't done something to him.
"Cole, are you feeling alright?" Adagio asked, because she was concerned for his health, just like Trish was, mostly because he was the only one that could access the Blast Cores, though he was also their friend and that meant that friends was supposed to be concerned about each other.
"No, I'm not good." Cole replied, though at the same time he set down his breakfast and stood up, where he picked up the RFI and walked over to a section of the train car that wasn't crowded, where he stopped and gripped the device that would help them stop the Beast and the plague, "Let's see if I've got enough juice to power this thing."
The Dazzlings, accompanied by Zeke, watched as Cole ran a current through the device and noticed the bits of electricity that gathered around his hands, as well as the device, but as they watched the group came to the conclusion that he still needed more power before he could use the RFI. That was because Cole tried to use the device once and nothing happened, only for him to try a second time and managed to keep the spark up for a few more seconds than the first attempt, but that ended the same way and revealed that Cole didn't have enough power to use the RFI, despite the power that he was already putting out at the moment.
"A couple more Blast Cores and we should be ready to go." Cole said, to which he sighed for a moment as he placed the device back in the container that Zeke kept it in when he was going between hideouts, as it was safer to have him hold onto it instead of risking it being damaged by letting them hold onto it.
"Well, go out there and see what you got from this Blast Core." Zeke stated, as he knew that, after Cole absorbed one of the Blast Cores, his powers increased and he always gained something new in the process, while the Dazzlings only grew in power, not that he personally believed that they needed more power based on what he had seen, "I'll hold down the fort while you go do that."
Cole nodded and headed outside, causing the Dazzlings to follow after him, and they moved to the ramp of the bridge and turned towards the water, where Adagio nodded her head and manipulated the water to form several ice targets that would be used for Cole's target practice. Cole, once the targets were set up, raised his right hand and focused his power for a moment, where he loosed what appeared to be a kinetic rocket of some kind that raced through the space between them and the water, before it slammed into the first target and shattered it into pieces. Cole grinned as he decided to see if he could practice some other types of moves, as he fired one rocket out and let it pass by one of the targets, before he blasted the target with a shock and the rocket redirected into the back of the target, blowing it apart and scattered more ice in the process. The third target he tried something interesting, as the rocket that he fired separated into three smaller pieces and only came back together when they struck his target, shattering another target, before he loosed a rocket that froze the water along it's path and still broke the target in the process.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were impressed by the power that Cole was displaying, as this meant that their enemies were already done for when they decided to come after them again, but at the same time they turned towards their friend as he stared at the targets he had broken, as they knew that he had to be pleased with the results he had gotten from the last Blast Core.
"Oh yeah." Cole said, as this was definitely a power that he could get behind, as it would allow them to do great things in the process, before he turned towards the sisters that were standing near him, knowing that they were happy to see that he was pleased with this power, "Yeah, this is going to work out just fine."
"It might be a good time for the four of you to return to the freight car," Kuo said, her voice coming over their phones for a moment, though at the same time that meant that she must have slipped into the train car that Zeke was in a few moments after they had left, meaning that there had to be something that she wanted to discuss with their friend before telling them, "Zeke and I were drawing up some plans when Nix showed up, and uh... yeah, we could use you in calming her down and forming a plan of attack."
Cole and the Dazzlings looked at each other for a few seconds, as they were curious as to what sort of plan Kuo and Zeke could have come up, but since it appeared that their presence was needed they turned around and walked back to the entrance of the train car, where they found Kuo standing in front of a map of New Marais as they opened the door... while at the same time noticing that Zeke was sitting in a chair, already drinking a beer, and Nix sitting on a crate as she stared at Kuo.
"The raids from the ice gang are getting worse, and yet Bertrand continues to go into this train yard all the time." Kuo stated, giving the group some knowledge on what was going on, especially the four she wanted to talk to as they entered the train car and closed to door behind them, before taking some seats around the area they were in.
"Weird... why would a rich bastard like Bertrand want to get his shoes all muddy in a place like that?" Zeke asked, as the more he found out about their foe the more he realized that he didn't understand the man, especially after figuring out that he was a Conduit with a mostly unknown power.
"I am still working on figuring that out." Kuo replied, though her tone revealed that she had no idea what Bertrand was doing there, save for the fact that they heard the sounds of the swamp monsters inside the compound when Cole and the Dazzlings were helping Laroche near that area the previous day.
"Can we get him on one of his visits?" Aria inquired, because that sounded like a reasonable idea, as they could plan an assault that would drive him out into the open so that she or her sisters could fly in and grab him before he changed into his more monstrous form.
"I wish. His visits are completely random and there's no pattern to be found." Kuo answered, though her tone told the group that she wished that it was as simple as Aria suggested, but since the reality was different than what they were thinking they had to come up with a plan before they moved forward.
"I know what he's up to, but she won't listen, Cole!" Nix stated, her tone revealing her own annoyance that Kuo didn't trust her and clearly didn't think that she could contribute to the overall objectives that they set for themselves, and her annoyance that her plans continued to be ignored, as the group hadn't done a single one of her tasks yet.
"Hey, Nix, why don't you let the grownups talk for a little while." Kuo said, as she honestly had no desire to work with Nix, not when she sometimes acted like a child and had some ridiculous ideas and plans whenever she came to these meetings, which was why she was glad that Cole and the Dazzlings didn't agree with her.
"See what I'm talking about?" Nix asked, but at the same time she knew the look in Cole's eyes, as he actually valued the opinions of those around him and would actually listen to what she had to say, even if he might side with whatever horrible plan Kuo came up with.
"I'm listening." Cole stated, though while Kuo rolled her eyes, clearly not liking the idea of listening to anything Nix ahd to say at the moment, Zeke took another drink from his bottle, as he just wanted more information before they figured out their plan, and the Dazzlings just stood there, no doubt as enforcers to make sure things didn't boil over into a fight between Nix and Kuo, "Let's hear it Nix. What's Bertrand up to in the train yard?"
"Okay. You know how Bertrand fights?" Nix said, referring to the Militia and his own powers, especially since she could now add the fact that he was the Behemoth to her mental list, before she revealed what she knew, "Well, he's got other powers as well. Those swamp freaks? They is his!"
"You mean the monsters?" Adagio inquired, as it seemed more appropriate to call them swamp 'monsters' than calling them swamp 'freaks', though Nix nodded her head, showing that she was happy that someone was understanding what she was saying, "Are you suggesting that he's making them?"
"Yeah! I've seen it myself." Nix replied, though at the same time she thought about the memory that she was referring to so the others could know what she was talking about, even if one of them didn't believe a word she said, "They wild at first, but then he works with them for a while... and those monsters are his!"
"So, you're saying that he bonds with them?" Kuo asked, because while she didn't believe most of what Nix was saying, as she had a habit of trying to make Cole and the others go down the path of criminals, she did want to know something that might change how they went about their planning.
"Like a bear and his cubs?" Zeke added, though the thought of Bertrand bonding with the swamp monsters seemed weird, and he wasn't even drunk enough to consider that something like that was even a reality, but that didn't stop him from talking, "Like Bertrand's their mommy?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying." Nix said, though where she found that Zeke might be making fun of her and Kuo thought she was insane, no surprise since that was a thought she seemed to have all the time, Cole and the Dazzlings were curious as to why she was saying all of this.
"NIx, how... how do you even... how do you even know any of this?" Kuo asked, not that she believed what Nix was saying, but since Cole had already allowed their companion to speak her mind, and Zeke was encouraging her, she figured that she might as well get all the information that she could on the situation.
"I've been there myself! I even tried it out once!" Nix replied, sounding pleased about what she had done for a few seconds, but then her face fell as she remembered what had happened to the creature, "I even had a monster of my very own... poor baby, the Militia got wise as we were attempting to leave, and he died protecting me."
"Well, this is very touching and all, but if what you say is true..." Kuo said, though as she prepared another part of her statement, however, she found a look of anger on Nix's face as the other Conduits got to her feet and growled, only to cause one of the Dazzlings to move.
"Are you calling me a liar, Snow White?" Nix demanded, as she knew that Cole and Zeke, at the very least, had some emotion behind her short story, even if they didn't care about swamp monsters all that much, but being called a liar, if even indirectly, didn't sit well with her.
"Enough!" Sonata stated, to which the wind whipped around both Nix and Kuo, stopping them from getting closer to each other and really attacking the other lady, something that they didn't need at the moment, though she waited for the two of them to calm down before she released them, even though she kept the wind at the ready in case one of them tried anything in the next few seconds.
"Nix, I'm not calling you a liar, but we need to see for ourselves if this is actually happening," Adagio said, though she was pleased to find that Nix was pleased with her statement, as it was better than being called a liar, before she thought about what was going on, "How about we head into the train yard and get some photo evidence while we're there? If we can prove that Bertrand is actually creating the swamp monsters, and that the Militia is willingly helping him to make themselves seem like heroes, we could turn the entirety of New Marais against them without having to expand our own powers to do so... and, at the same time, free as many prisoners as we can find."
"Oh hell no!" Nix stated, her tone revealing that she absolutely hated the plan that was revealed to her, as right now she had a much better and much grander plan in mind, one that would restore her past a little, "We're going to go in and the three of you, and Cole, will guard my ass while I bond with some of the monsters inside the train yard. Just think of the hell we'll raise in the process, if we're able to raise an army of those things!"
"I need a moment to think about this." Cole stated, as he was tired of Kuo and Nix fighting, even if someone came up with an idea that Kuo could agree with since he saw her nodding to Adagio's idea, though as he turned towards the door so he could leave he paused, to look Kuo in the eyes before she nodded, before he and the Dazzlings headed outside the train car and left the container behind.
As the four of them headed out of the area, and left Kuo, Nix, and Zeke to get ready for what was coming next, none of them were shocked when they found Nix calling them and complaining to them that she needed to claim some of the monsters as her own, that it would change her life for the better and that they would make killing Bertrand even easier than it currently was. Despite the pleading tone that was in Nix's voice, showing that she was desperate for them to assist her, Cole and the Dazzlings already agreed on what they were doing and headed out for the coordinates that Kuo had decided to sent them, showing that she agreed with their plan, as it might have been something that she would have thought of on her own had Adagio not spoken up when she had. As they moved through the area that they happened to be moving through, at a slower pace than normal to give the others some time to get into position, Sonata spotted Kuo flying towards a specific building and nodded, as it appeared that she was getting things ready to expose Bertrand. When they reached their destination they came to a stop and waited for a couple of minutes, as they were sure that their target was inside the train yard and were waiting to see if Kuo was ready to go.
"Uh, I'm still running a bypass on the TV antenna, but it's going to take some time." Kuo said, speaking to the four of them for a moment, as they needed to know what they were doing next, though her tone revealed that she was focused on what she was doing at the moment, "You guys had better start without me... and before you start complaining, we're already running out of time until Bertrand departs for the time being. As you no doubt know, there are guard towers posted all around the train yard, but fortunately I found a gap that you guys can sneak through to get inside... you'll just have to take the long way around."
The 'long way around', as it turned out, meant that Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata had to make their way through the Gas Works for a moment, which was powered down still so there weren't any sources for Cole to draw power from, but they didn't have to fight all that much. From what they were able to tell the Militia soldiers that were in the area were currently going to war against the Vermaak 88 soldiers that were protecting the area, so while the two forces declared war on each other the group used that as an opportunity to slip by them and enter part of the swamp to get to the train yard without being seen. As they did that Kuo revealed that they needed to move fast, as she had, somehow, drugged the guards that were in the compound, making them realize that Kuo was great at multitasking and getting things done in a timely manner, before they made their way through the swamp and found the entrance that Kuo had told them about, one that they were surprised that Bertrand hadn't patched up. From there Cole pulled out the camera that Zeke had made special for him, since the others tended to blow up in his hands without the modifications that had been made to it, and snapped a picture of the poor people that were currently trapped inside the train car that was in front of them, though once they had the picture the Dazzlings assured the people that, one they had enough evidence to bring down Bertrand, they would be back to free them from their cell.
Even though they couldn't use their powers, since they would attract attention to where they were located, Cole and the Dazzlings carefully made their way through the area and found their way to a second train car, one that contained a number of the gas type swamp monsters, Gasbags according to the sign, before snapping a picture and heading for another one. Of course as they walked by an area where some unobservant guards were standing they overheard one of them mention that the other guard actually had the plague and that he'd shoot him if he gave him the bug, but that only told them that Bertrand's forces weren't immune to the dangerous plague at all. The third train car that had an opening that they could see just happened to contain a Ravager, one that seemed slightly annoyed about the predicament that it was in, but at the same time it didn't look like it was ready for battle, allowing them to snap the picture and move on more it roared at them and suddenly raised the alarm. The final train car held a trio of swamp monsters that were labeled as 'Corrupted', according to the sign on the side of the door, and Cole quickly snapped a picture of them as well, including a few more of all the other containers in the immediate area so they had a great listing of what Bertrand was up to when they revealed this to the people.
In was when the four of them ran out of targets to take pictures of that Kuo gave them good news, as Bertrand was supposed to be here, at this very moment, and that he was heading towards the biggest warehouse in the area, where the group moved out for the warehouse with the intent of catching him in the process of making monsters, just to seal the deal and turn New Marais against him... though when they reached the roof they found Bertrand standing near a man that seemed scared, where Cole snapped a picture and continued to do so when something interesting happened.
"You're scared, aren't you son?" Bertrand asked, his voice still reaching the roof area as the group looked down in through the skylight, while noticing that the Militia guards weren't even looking at the roof as he walked around the chair and the man that he was talking to, "It's alright, I understand your feelings perfectly... but there's no need for you to be scared anymore. Why don't you have a seat?"
The man looked at the chair and then the guards, clearly worried that something might happen, but in the end it seemed that he was one of those people that clearly believed that Bertrand was good and he took the seat that he was told to sit into, which put a smile on Bertrand's face.
"Alright, let's begin." Bertrand said, to which he stopped when he was behind the man and raised both his hands until they were parallel with each other, lined up with the man's head between them, before his power activated and the man started to twitch, where Cole snapped a picture as the poor man's arms cracked and shifted as they transformed into the bladed arms of a Corrupted, "Don't give up, Nate! We'll gonna get that demon out of you, even if it takes all night!"
Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata watched in shock as Bertrand tortured the poor man, as the next thing to change was his legs snapping and shifting into the form of the Corrupted's legs, with the feet changing accordingly, before the man's chest cracked open and resembled the form they were familiar with, and then his head shifted until the man was no more and a simple monster remained in it's place... but, at the same time, Cole had snapped a picture of every step of the transformation, just to show the people what Bertrand was capable of. Once the transformation was over, and they had all the pictures that they needed, Kuo told them that she was now broadcasting all those pictures to the people of New Marais, along with having them on a backup in case something happened to the area she was in, before telling them to keep Bertrand on ice until she got there. Laroche, who they didn't even know was part of the plan, revealed that half of New Marais wanted to join the Rebels and fight against the evil that Bertrand was spewing, surprising them by how quickly the word had spread, and this time the Dazzlings realized that there was no need for them to even use their Siren powers against their foe... as it was easier for him to make a fool of himself and let them expose him, even though killing him would be their responsibility in the future.
What surprised them was that Bertrand had an escape ability, as the instant that he discovered that his secret had been revealed to the people he surrounded himself in the energy that came when he switched forms and disappeared, but this time the group moved out to free the people that were trapped in the cages around the train yard. From that point forward the train yard became a war zone between the Militia soldiers, the Rebel soldiers, five powerful Conduits as Kuo joined the four that were already there, and even the freed Corrupted that Nix had taken to, behind their backs and had freed while they were causing chaos, and Nix was smug about it as she and her new 'family' escaped. There was even a Devourer guarding the final cage that they were going to open, easily destroyed by the combined grenade power that the group threw at them, and the people were overjoyed to be saved from their terrible fate and thanked them as they headed off into the distance as well.
The group was pleased with their work, as New Marais now knew the true face of Bertrand and wouldn't trust him or his Militia from this point forward, meaning that it was only a matter of time until the streets were safe for the people once more, though they also knew that it would be some time before they dealt with Bertrand... but when they met him again they were going to ensure that Bertrand lost the war that was going on between them, and then they could focus their efforts on preparing for the Beast's eventual arrival.
Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata assisted Kuo in freeing any remaining civilians that Bertrand had trapped in the train yard, defeating the remaining Militia that were in the area, and made sure to clean up any Corrupted that didn't follow Nix back into the swamp. They were still slightly surprised that Nix had come into the area and freed a number of the Corrupted from their cells, when it would have been better to get rid of them before they hurt any of the civilians that were fleeing from the area, but what's done was done and there was nothing they could do to stop it from happening. Kuo, of course, was annoyed with their comrade, especially since she went behind their backs to do something like this, but in the end the four of them calmed her down before she headed out to do war with Nix, because they needed to focus on Bertrand and the Beast, which was currently making it's way towards New Marais. Fortunately it appeared that the people they had saved hadn't paid attention to the fact that some of the Corrupted had made it out of the train yard and were now living in the swamp nearby, allowing the four of them to save them without hearing any complaints about it.
Eventually the four of them came to a stop as they completed all the objectives in the train yard, allowing Kuo to focus on the remaining people that were in the area, though at the same time they wondered if it was time to assist the people before they continued chasing Bertrand... but that decision was made for them, when Zeke decided to call them and gathered their attention immediately.
"Brother, you and the Dazzlings need to get over here, double time." Zeke said, though this time around his tone revealed that he was serious about something, which meant that this was either a good thing or a bad thing, "I just found that... well, you gotta see it to believe it. Just hurry, before the Militia finds me."
"Okay, we'll be at your coordinates in a few minutes." Cole replied, to which he discovered that Zeke's current location was back in the first area of New Marais that they had visited, though when they turned towards Kuo she waved them off and said that she could clean up the area before they went after Bertrand again.
As such Cole and the Dazzlings took to the air and flew over towards the area near where Zeke was located, with Cole being carried by Sonata this time around, and, oddly enough, there weren't any Militia in the area for them to fight or be distracted by, allowing them to reach the area that Zeke was in rather quickly. One thing they noticed, as they reached their destination, was the store called 'Red Ring', and electronics store from the looks of it, but they were more interested in the fact that Zeke was riding in a vehicle that was hauling something big, based on the container that was resting behind where the driver seat was located. Once they reached the area Sonata set Cole down, she and her sisters landed around him, and then the four of them headed over to where Zeke was sitting, but at the same time all of them were staring at the container that was behind Zeke, as it had to be something important to cause him to piss off whoever he had taken it from, likely the Militia, meaning that they would have to guard it or something in the near future.
"Hey there guys. Care to take a joyride with me?" Zeke asked, though at the same time he leaned out of the window and stared at them for a moment, but the smile on his face told them that whatever was inside the container definitely had to be important for him to do what he did, "Want to share the benefits of me spying on the Militia?"
"Come on Zeke, we don't have time for this." Cole said, as he and the Dazzlings had been thinking that he had been serious about the entire thing, even though they were still interested in the container that Zeke was hauling, "The Beast is getting closer with every passing moment, and we need to be prepared for it's arrival."
"Oh ho ho, that is where you are wrong, my friend!" Zeke stated, before he tapped the container from where he was sitting, as he was pleased to have found it when he did and knew that they could use it against the Beast, especially considering what he knew at the moment, something that the group wasn't aware of, "I have found us a surefire way to take out the Beast, without the RFI and the other Blast Cores. Make yourselves useful and remove the panels back there... you'll see what I mean soon enough."
Cole stared at Zeke for a moment, as the thought of Zeke discovering a weapon that Wolfe had created, because that had to be the only reason he would say something like this, that could take out the Beast seemed too good to be true and almost made him laugh, but he steeled himself and assisted the Dazzlings in removing the panels... only to reveal a large rocket, a nuke of some kind he realized, resting in front of them, and the Dazzlings stared at it with a look of shock and confusion for a few seconds.
"Jesus, Zeke... is that a nuke?" Cole asked, as he couldn't believe that Zeke was thinking of even using something like this against the Beast, because rockets like this had a tendency to deal massive damage to both their target and the surrounding area, which was New Marais in this situation.
"Learn to love the bomb, man. Old Bertrand did." Zeke replied, though his tone revealed that he had found some information on the rocket that was in front of them and was willing to impart that knowledge to them, "He had Wolfe fix up this little pocket rocket for him. My best guess is that he wanted some insurance in case one of his experiments went south... way south."
"You want to use this thing on the Beast?" Cole demanded, as he turned towards Zeke and stopped him from turning on the vehicle for a moment, by just staring at his friend as the Dazzlings stared at the device, "Dude, if we fire this thing we'll end up blowing up the entire city!"
"Wait, this... thing... can blow up the entire city?!" Adagio asked, though her tone revealed that this was news that they weren't expecting, as both she and her sisters were shocked by the information given to them, and that only made them see the rocket in a new light.
"Yeah, depending on what type of bomb we're talking about." Cole replied, as he knew that there were a few different types of nukes and powerful rockets, but since they had no idea what sort of device Wolfe created, since it appeared that the notes that Zeke found didn't say anything, he couldn't predict the true destructive power of the weapon, "Do you mean to tell me that the three of you never witnessed or heard of something that can take out a city in a single instant, between the two worlds that you've lived on before this one?"
"Well, we've actually never seen something like that in action." Aria said, to which she recalled the information that she and her sisters knew, as there were several beings in Equus that could do something like that, at least according to the stories anyway, "But there are stories, all unconfirmed mind you since ponies don't want to upset their Princesses, of Princess Celestia calling upon the power of the sun itself to purge a city of darkness from the face of Equus, of Princess Luna doing something similar with the power of the moon, and a few other magic users that possessed enough power to wipe of city out in seconds. As Sirens all we did was cause some chaos among the ponies and feed on the emotions that came from it, so we never used our magic to wipe out a city or even witnessed the power of the Princesses in action, at least in doing that. This is unfamiliar territory for us at the moment."
"Well, we're going to use this and hit the Beast before he has a chance to reach New Marais." Zeke replied, though at the same time he activated the engine and started moving out of the area that they were in, indicating that he had been thinking about this since he found the rocket, which explained why he didn't participate in the previous missions as much as he had been doing earlier, "I already set up a targeting system up on one of the harbor cranes, so all we need to do is get the rocket in position, aim at our target, and then fire at the Beast... hopefully we can beat him before he gets too close to New Marais."
As soon as he said that, and the four of them followed after the truck that he was riding in, they heard some explosions nearby and turned to look at the source, where they found the Beast, in all of his dangerous glory, standing not too far outside the limits of New Marais, attacking whoever was attacking him. Since they hadn't been paying attention to the news they had no idea that the Beast was so close to their location, and had barely noticed him when they were flying through the sky a few minutes ago, but the fact that he was here, tearing through the defenders like they were nothing at times, was slightly terrifying. The Dazzlings weighed their chances of this even succeeding, as the plan to recover the remaining Blast Cores and empower Cole, so he could use the RFI, seemed to still be the better course of action, but Zeke was moving out of the area and they followed after him, as it was best if they defended him from the Militia and make sure that they reach the crane he was heading for. Cole, on the other hand, mentioned something about both he and Zeke liked big explosions, something that Zeke immediately agreed with as he reached the street, before getting on top of the vehicle to guard Zeke's path, even though that anyone that fired at a nuke was an idiot in his opinion.
Of course some of the Militia tried to block their path and demanded that they returned 'their' nuke, only for Zeke to shout at them in return and told them to stop firing at the 'thermonuclear missile', especially since one straw bullet could set the entire thing off and kill all of them, but the Dazzlings made sure that no missiles reached the bomb that they were moving through the city. When they reached the bridge that Zeke wanted to cross over Sonata raised her hands and the wind kicked up, allowing her to knock off all of the cars that were blocking their way, which let Zeke continue over to Flood Town once more, only for Adagio to growl when she saw the Militia boats in the water firing at them. All Adagio did was cause some of the water to freeze and punctured the boats with some well placed ice spikes, allowing her to sink them before they even had a chance to do some damage to them or the missile, while Aria and Cole headed to the back of the truck and dealt with the Militia soldiers that were coming from behind, since that was a tactic that their enemies were fond of using, even if it wasn't effective at all. The only thing of interest, besides the fact that the Beast was ripping his way through his enemies, was the fact that the Corrupted were still in Flood Town, as they were attacking both the Militia and the Vermaak 88 soldiers, allowing them to focus on clearing the path and get the nuke in position so they could fire it.
When they reached the crane in question, however, Zeke told them to get up to the top of the crane and start zeroing in on where the Beast was located, to which Aria grabbed onto his back and hauled him up to where the device in question was resting... only for her and her sisters to engage the mass of Vermaak 88 soldiers and Corrupted that were coming to fight in this area, since they didn't want one of them screwing up Cole's concentration while he aimed at the Beast or mess up Zeke as he moved the nuke into position. Fortunately the Beast was standing in the same area, as he was focused on whoever was attacking him, which gave Cole some time to make sure that Zeke was ready before he targeted the creature, especially since the Dazzlings were making short work of the enemies that wanted to stop them from firing the missile in the first place. Once all of them were ready, however, Cole zeroed in on where the Beast was standing and the missile flew off of where it had been resting, to which they were all knocked down to the ground when the nuke hit the Beast and it detonated it's payload, where they all heard the Beast roar in pain for a moment before they heard nothing else from him.
It took them a few moments to regain their focus, especially since this was the first time the Dazzlings had ever witnessed something so terrifying, though as they all started to get up, and Cole celebrated for a moment as he headed out to check up on Zeke, all three sisters noticed something odd... the area that the nuke's blast should have been located, where the Beast was standing last they saw it, was missing, to which they wondered if he was truly gone or if he was playing them while their defenses were down.
"Looks like... looks like we won!" Zeke commented over the phone, though at the same time the sisters followed after Cole and kept their guards up, as they didn't trust the missing blast zone and the fact that there was no evidence to suggest that a nuke had been fired in the first place.
"Zeke, where the hell are you?" Cole asked, because at the moment he wanted to make sure that his friend was alright before they got out of here, especially since they were still in enemy territory at the moment, before some coordinates, that happened to be nearby, appeared on his phone and they moved out immediately.
What the four of them found was that Zeke had been pinned down by something that had flown through the air after the nuke's blast, to which Cole used his Kinetic Pulse to move it out of the way as both Aria and Sonata moved the metallic poles out of the way so they could quickly move forward. Of course Zeke, as they were assisting him in getting back on his feet, made a comment about Empire City, where Kessler had beaten him a little after they returned to the Historic District, only for the group to get moving so they could survey the results of what they had done. The downside was that the crane that they used to lock onto the Beast, and the one next to it, were being pushed away from each other as the Dazzlings recognized the power that was being displayed in front of them, as that meant that the Beast was getting ready to reform before their eyes, and that also meant that they had to get out of here before that happened. As they left the area that the cranes were in, however, the mass of energy that the Beast was pulling in expanded and exploded, creating a shockwave that knocked them through the air and caused them to crash into the ground some distance away from where the cranes were actually located, and knocking them out in the process.
It wasn't until an hour or two later that the four of them regained themselves and noticed that the city, despite the fact that the Beast should have already detonated it like it did to Empire City, was still intact and that they still had a chance to defeat it. Of course Cole called Zeke, since he was the only one not present at the sight of where they woke up, and they discovered that Zeke had recovered first, only to chase the Beast into the area of New Marais called Gas Works, where they assumed Bertrand was hiding out now that his base in Flood Town had been compromised earlier. Since they knew that their next destination was Gas Works, since it was the last place to look for Blast Cores, the group knew that the next thing they had to do, after making sure that the blast hadn't hurt them more than they currently thought at the moment, was start using the transformers and restore power to Gas Works, where they would likely have to deal with the remainder of the Vermaak 88 soldiers, whatever Corrupted creatures remained before Bertrand created more of them, and the Militia, if they were over there to guard their master. They also knew that Laroche might have some information for them in that regard, since he's being fighting Bertrand the longest, but they guessed that time would tell what was going on in the other part of the city, and time was no longer on their side, not with the Beast hanging out somewhere in New Marais, waiting for something to happen.
The Dazzlings weren't too happy to see that they had failed in their mission to stop the Beast, just like they did back in Empire City, but this time they were going to use the time given to them to prepare for the final battle... and hopefully, when they came across the Beast again, they could beat him and finally save the rest of the world, though time would tell what happened to them next.
The first thing that Cole and the Dazzlings did, after recovering from the truck being flipped over by the blast of the Beast pulling itself together, was contact Trish and make sure that she was safe and sound, since she had been in a part of New Marais that was near where the Beast had been walking, even though he was heading towards Flood Town. Trish was safe, which allowed Cole to relax a little, but she was upset that Zeke, when she asked why they were asking if she was safe and sound, had decided that firing a nuke at the Beast was a good idea, even if he had swallowed the entire blast and used that energy source to appear where the missile had been fired from. The four of them agreed with Trish, as none of them were actually happy that Zeke stole the missile and thought it was a good idea to use it, but that was in the past and now they had to deal with the fact that the Beast was somewhere in the Gas Works section of New Marais, if Zeke's words could be trusted this time around. They all knew that they would have to restore power to that part of the city, as it was likely where Bertrand was hiding as well, and they had no idea where the remaining Blast Cores were located, which means that flushing out their enemy was a good idea until they found something to power Cole up with.
Once they knew that Trish was safe, and their conversation was over, Cole headed out and the Dazzlings followed after him, heading to one of the transformers that Cole had used to power up Flood Town, as that was the best way to power up Gas Works without searching for a completely different transformer that may or may not be connected to the ones that he was going to be firing the missile at.
"This is bad... this is really bad." Cole commented, as he came to a stop when they reached the transformer that was their target, but he wasn't actually referring to the device in front of them, as it was exactly how they had left it earlier, rather he was referring to the fact that the Beast was somewhere in New Marais, somehow hiding himself until the time was right for him to strike.
"Cole, we'll find him and put him down before he can kill the city." Adagio said, knowing that the Beast had done that to Empire City, while they were in the middle of departing for New Marais no less, and she also knew that they had to be quick about finding him and Bertrand, especially since her sisters were nodding their heads in agreement, "Come on, how about we start by restoring power to Gas Works? That should give us some time to think about what happened and plan out how we're going to find the next Blast Core, and who we need to take out in the process to gather the power we need to actually stop the Beast."
"She's right." Sonata added, showing that she wasn't the idiot that Adagio and Aria always thought she was, because this entire experience in this world had allowed them to see that she was much smarter than what they always believed her to be, while at the same time Sonata smiled at Cole, "Besides, there are still a number of people that we need to save, bombs that need to be drained of power, and the overall plan behind why Bertrand has been creating a large number of Corrupted enemies and Vermaak 88 soldiers... there's something about that entire situation that has been bugging me lately, and I'm sure that the answer rests somewhere inside Gas Works."
"You guys are right, we should focus on the task, and enemies, in front of us," Cole replied, to which he blasted the water that was in front of him, taking out the pair of Vermaak 88 soldiers that foolishly entered the area while they were talking, before tapping his phone and connecting to Zeke, who was inside Gas Works at the moment, "Zeke, I'm about to start the process of restoring power to Gas Works."
"Roger that brother, I've got your back like the Dazzlings do." Zeke spoke up, meaning that he would assist Cole in whatever manner he could pull off if he needed assistance, and if the Dazzlings were preoccupied by something else in the area, while at the same time no doubt spying on the remaining Militia soldiers that were in the area that they were planning on invading soon, "Just be careful, cause you guys are gonna get tagged by a couple of ice guys along the way... maybe you can use that Tesla Missile ability, or whatever you call it, to take some of them out in the process?"
"You know, we never considered using that against enemies," Aria said, as that was true, none of them had even taken a moment to think about using that ability to take out a good number of foe that were in their path, and she could tell that Cole liked the idea of that already, "We'll be in contact with you Zeke... Cole's getting ready to restore power to Gas Works and start searching for Bertrand."
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata took to the air as Cole fired a Tesla Missile into the air and followed after it from a safe distance, watching it curve into the chest of one of the Crusher enemies, who belonged to Vermaak 88, and knocked him to the ground in defeat, before coiling back and started the trek towards Gas Works. They then watched as the missile took out two more Crushers along the way to the transformer that was the first one that needed to have it's power restored to it, bringing a smile to their faces, before they found exactly where the transformer was located, to which Sonata headed back and collected Cole so they could get the show on the road. When they returned to the transformer the four of them engaged the incoming Vermaak 88 soldiers that charged at them with the express purpose of stopping them from turning on the power to the area, though at the same time Zeke told them that Gas Works was a big industrial area that was made from Bertrand's shipping and oil interests, something that they mostly ignored while they took out the soldiers that were coming towards them.
One thing that the Dazzlings thought was interesting was that the first thing the soldiers said, as they jumped down into the area, was that Cole was the 'Prime Conduit', to which they believed that their enemies were referring to the fact that he was the strongest Conduit in the world at the moment... despite the fact that Sonata personally believed that the reality was different, since they weren't sure what the Beast was, but she said nothing as they defended the transformer with all of their might.
When the transformer loosed some energy, the sign that it had worked, Cole smiled and loosed another missile into the air, allowing the Dazzlings to follow after it and watch as it smashed it's way through the Crushers that were in the path that it was following, meaning that turning on the next transformer would be even easier once they figured out where it was located. Aria, this time around, was the one to go back and collect Cole once they knew where the second transformer was located, where they landed on the structure that it was on top of and the four of them started firing at the soldiers that were moving in to destroy them, just like the Militia and Corrupted before them tried to do. While that happened Cole smiled once more as Zeke said that there had been some recent sightings of Bertrand in this area of New Marais, as they were planning on finding him and taking him out at some point in time, which only motivated them to take out the soldiers that were trying to stop them from turning on the transformer that they were guarding. The interesting thing about this group of enemies was that they believed that Cole was powerless without a source of power, even though when there weren't any electrical sources he let Adagio, Aria, and Sonata take point, and proclaimed that they would never give up Gas Works... only for the power surge of the transformer turning back on to take out the enemies that were in the immediate area and drove the others out of the area for the moment.
The next transformer, and the final one from the looks of it, was in an area that appeared to have a gate that might close at any moment, though when the Dazzlings found their next destination Adagio went back and brought Cole to the area their target was in, only to land on a roof so they could observe what might happen... to which she and her sisters watched as the gates closed, trapping Cole for now, and Bertrand, accompanied by two soldiers, stepped out of the nearby building and stared at Cole for a moment.
"Mr. MacGrath, how do you like my new security system?" Bertrand asked, his tone revealing that he was smug about the situation that had been presented to him, but at the same time Cole noticed that he seemed to have forgot about the fact that there were three more Conduits like him running around the city, "There's no way out, not unless you have the strength to lift one of the gates. It's nothing special, but it will stop your lightning... even though it was originally intended to help me take out Kessler so I could seize control of the First Sons, had you and your friends not done him in first."
"You? Take out Kessler?" Cole asked, though at the same time he had to chuckle over that statement, as it was actually funny when he thought about it, before he grew serious as he glared at Bertrand, because he knew what was coming next and decided that he might as well stall Bertrand, "Please, even if you found a way to nullify all of his abilities, you wouldn't be able to beat him... and I'm positive that he's laughing at your statement at this very moment."
"True, I never did figure out all of Kessler's abilities." Bertrand admitted, showing that he had been taking his plans to betray the leader of the First Sons seriously, though since Cole and the Dazzlings took care of Kessler he didn't have to dirty his hands with that deed, "Now bullets, on the other hand, they can slip through these bars without a problem."
"You know, I have to admit that this is an elaborate mouse trap." Cole added, as he knew that Bertrand must have set this up some time ago, when he realized that Cole was in the city, though instead of doing anything he simply crossed his arms as he stared at the person that wanted to talk with him, "So, Bertrand, what is it that you want?"
"I've seen the way the winds blowing... been watching my authority bleed away ever since you and those unusual girls, those Unusual Conduits, arrived in my city." Bertrand stated, to which Cole raised an eyebrow, as it sounded like the term that Bertrand had used was more of a title than anything else, but he said nothing as he waited to learn what was going on at the moment, "And now the Beast, the thing that the First Sons was designed to defeat, is is New Marais... and, a you no doubt know, I cannot defeat the thing on my own. But together... oh, together the five of us would be heroes!"
"I get what you're saying," Cole said, though at the same time he walked a little, showing that he was thinking about something, while his eyes glanced at the roof that the Dazzlings were standing on, as they were preparing themselves to tackle Bertrand or come to his aid if something happened, "It's interesting that you would want to team up with my group, to defeat the Beast... only, I have the feeling that once everything is said and gone, and you have your chance, you'll try to backstab us and run off once more. Listen to me, Bertrand, you want to help me and the Dazzlings defeat the Beast and save New Marais? Then get out of the way, let us find the remaining Blast Cores so I can power the device that Wolfe gave me, and we'll leave once the Beast is defeated... all you have to do is free me and stay out of our way."
"I wish I had the same faith in your abilities, and those of your friends, that you do," Bertrand said, his tone revealing that he didn't believe that the four of them had the power necessary to take out the creature that he had been warned about when he joined the First Sons, "But if you aren't with me, than you're against me. Very well then... boys, take care of this Conduit freak while I hunt down the girls that came with him... they have to be around here somewhere."
Cole said nothing as Bertrand walked out of the area and headed off into the distance, causing his soldiers to nod their heads as they prepared their guns, but before they could fire Zeke ran into the area and declared that the pair of soldiers didn't stand against Zeke Dunbar, the so called 'Man of Action'... who took out both of his targets before getting into the forklift and drove it towards the gate, which he pulled up so Cole could get out of the area as the transformer activated and restored power to Gas Works.
"Zeke, that was... amazing!" Cole said, as he had never believed that by letting Zeke follow them into all these areas of New Marais, and spying on the Militia so they understood what was going on, would have paid off in such a manner, but at the same time he smiled as he walked out of the caged area, while the Dazzlings landed near them, "I'm sorry that we've been treating you badly since our arrival in New Marais."
"Don't sweat it, brother." Zeke replied, waving his hand for a moment, as he already knew that he deserved the treatment that his friends had given him, including the slaps from Trish every now and then, before he focused on the four Conduits that were around him, "In fact, I'd say that you guys have been treating me too nicely since the events of Empire City... I mean, I did try to activate the Ray Sphere and gain superpowers, not to mention that I gave the device back to Kessler and ended up getting John killed in the process."
"Zeke, I'm sure that all the help you've been giving us makes up for all of that," Sonata spoke up, to which Adagio and Aria nodded their heads, because at the moment they knew that Zeke had done more than enough to redeem himself in their eyes, before she focused on the task at hand, "Okay, now that we've restored power to this section of the city, where do we go from there?"
"Actually, I heard something from a 'friend' of mine." Zeke stated, indicating that it was one of the few Militia soldiers that had joined with the sole purpose of protecting his family, but with Bertrand being discredited his friend had departed from the Militia to keep himself alive and find better employment, "My friend seemed to think that there is a Blast Core tucked away in one of Bertrand's warehouses in the area, so it might be worth a look since you're after them."
Cole grinned and declared that Zeke was the man, causing a smile to appear on their friend's face as he departed from the area, though they waited a few seconds for the coordinates of the warehouse to arrive before they headed out of the alley and made their way over to the warehouse in question. As they headed towards the warehouse they had to contend with a few Vermaak 88 soldiers, which made sense considering that they had claimed the area for themselves earlier, but the four of them wiped the floor with them and continued on their way like nothing had happened. At the same time Zeke told them over the phone that the Blast Core was supposed to be in a crate that was marked with the Militia symbol, so all they had to do was break them up until they found the safe that was supposed to be inside one of the warehouses. When they arrived they found a pair of Militia soldiers blasting some holes inside a dead Vermaak 88 soldier, laughing as they did so, meaning that they never saw the four of them coming and had no idea what hit them in the back before their worlds went blank... before they found the crate not even a second later, with the safe inside it, and Cole immediately went to open it, though when the container was open he found no Blast Cores.
What he did find, on the other hand, was three property deeds to the three remaining warehouses that Zeke had heard about, meaning that they needed to check the other ones to confirm or deny the story that Zeke had been told by his 'friend', and found that the second warehouse was right across the street from where they were standing.
The interesting part about the second warehouse was where they found a number of Vermaak 88 soldiers trying to find the Blast Core as well, based on the message they left on the ground and the words that they were shouting at each other, though Adagio sighed as she manipulated the moisture to her advantage. Cole and the others stood back, so they could search the remaining crates for the safe in question, while Adagio turned the moisture into ice and used it to attack the soldiers that converged on her location. Aria and Sonata smiled as they watched that, as their sister's power over water made it harder for her enemies, whose powers were iced based, to do anything to her, not without giving her more power to use against them, based on the ice crystals that littered the area around her enemies, who were knocked out and would remain that way for a good amount of time. The second safe, however, was located near the roof of the warehouse, where it wouldn't be located by normal people, and they found four Blast Shards inside it, to which Cole informed Zeke of the news and looked at where the remaining two warehouses were located.
As the four of them headed out to the third warehouse they found a group of soldiers, with a Crusher watching over them, walking down the street, to which they rapidly dealt with the lower powered foes first, so they didn't run off to get reinforcements, and then focused their grenades on the Crusher, blowing him up and allowing them to continue on their way to their destination.
The third warehouse had Militia soldiers guarding it, instead of Vermaak 88 soldiers, and yet none of them were prepared for the group's arrival, as Sonata took point this time and unleashed a powerful wind that tore through the foes that were in front of them and made sure to get rid of anyone that was hiding as they dropped to the ground. Once that was done the four of them walked into the warehouse and smashed their way through the crates that were scattered all over the area, only for a surviving soldier on the exterior to seal the doors and start to gas the area, causing Sonata to sigh as she blew off the metallic roof and the gas was blown out of the building. She was sure that the tactic was a good one, but against a Conduit that controlled the power of the wind itself that same tactic was pretty much worthless, allowing the four of them to continue their search for the safe, since it was the whole reason they were here to begin with. The safe that was hidden in the warehouse didn't have anything and Zeke, upon hearing that over the phone, apologized for wasting their time and decided to call it a day, since they had cleared three of the four locations, but both Cole and the Dazzlings said that they were heading to the last one, as there had to be a reason behind all the opposition that they were receiving at the moment and moved out immediately.
The fourth, and final, warehouse was close to the third one and they found that the Militia intended to guard it with their very lives, though at the same time the group simply destroyed the watchtowers that were around the area, dealt with the Militia soldiers that were coming at them, and then walked into the warehouse once the coast was clear. What they found inside the warehouse were more of the containers that the Vermaak 88 soldiers had been trapped in, which reminded them of what they found when they were freeing Kuo, and found the safe in no time, but before they could open it they heard something make some loud noises behind them. As they turned around they found a large ice soldier, larger than the Crushers they had fought so far, slowly walking towards them, though at the same time it appeared that the creature seemed more monstrous than all the other Vermaak 88 soldiers, but as they turned towards it, however, it roared and waved it's hands, where ice erupted from the ground and showed that it was the strongest foe in the Vermaak 88 forces... a Titan, as Sonata suggested.
"Aw, he thinks he's intimidating," Adagio said, though at the same time she turned to the side and Aria stepped forward, to which her lands blazed as the entire area seemed to catch on fire, but while Cole noticed that some parts of it was on fire he also spotted some parts didn't catch on fire, to prevent the entire area from exploding due to the gas that happened to be in several of the large containers around them.
The Titan, on the other hand, didn't stand a chance against the magically enhanced flames that were dancing around the area that they were in, as it's body started to melt before their very eyes and eventually it was reduced back to the man that was wearing the same suit of armor that Bertrand had stuck him in... allowing the four of them to open the safe, where they found the Blast Core that Zeke had promised them, which made Zeke happy, and, as an added bonus, they found Bertrand's briefcase. The four of them were disgusted by what they found inside the briefcase, as they found a number of invoices for these forced Conduits to be shipped all around the world, not to help him earn the respect and love of the people of New Marais, rather to start a new war with Conduits being a new weapon on the front lines. Adagio, Aria, and Sonata recognized what they were seeing, as this seemed like the genocide of anyone and everyone that had the Conduit gene, showing them that Bertrand hated what he was so much that he was willing to destroy anyone that might have the specific gene that gave them powers, while at the same time hiding his true nature and making money off of the unfortunate souls that he had turned into monsters.
They were sure that the four of them would do everything in their power to stop this from becoming a reality, and they were positive that the others would agree with them once they showed them the briefcase, but first they had to find a safe place for Cole to activate the Blast Core... and then they could begin sabotaging Bertrand's shipments, or whatever else they might have planned for their war against both Bertrand and the Beast.
After acquiring the latest Blast Core from where it was hiding, or in this case being held considering that the Militia had been guarding it from both them and the Vermaak 88 soldiers, Cole and the Dazzlings made their way through Gas Works and headed to the roof area that Zeke had claimed as their newest base of operations. Cole wasn't exhausted or anything, since it was Adagio and her sisters that had smashed through the more powerful enemies so he could conserve his power for the fights ahead, but that didn't change the fact that he needed some time to himself before he activated the Blast Core and unlocked whatever powers it might give him. One thing they discovered was that the Militia seemed to have decided against pissing them off, as they weren't around the area that the Vermaak 88 soldiers controlled, and the parts of the area that they did control they stuck to to avoid being destroyed in a few moments. Fortunately that also spread to the Vermaak 88 soldiers, as none of them were out and about, likely because the majority of them had been defeated in their raid of the warehouses to try and find the Blast Core, meaning that they could move through the area without having to deviate for any enemies that were hurting people.
At the same time that gave the Dazzlings a few moments to understand what they had found inside the briefcase, as they were convinced that Bertrand's ultimate goal, behind the creation of all these Forced Conduits, was not to make money, since he donated a good portion of it to charities and other things like it, rather it was the genocide of all Conduits. Based on what they had learned about this world, from what little they could have found on their own, there were several people in the past that thought that they were working for the benefit of the planet by exterminating certain races or species, even though that resulted in wars and fights. It seemed that Bertrand was attempting to repeat the past for some reason, though the downside of the entire situation was that so many innocent people would be caught in the crossfire and that didn't sit well with them, not after having spent the time to learn about their own mistakes and make their lives better as Guardians of the People. They were also sure that there was no one, in all of Equus' history, that could match up to what was going on in this world, since most problems were dealt with before they could cause serious harm to the planet, before they all sighed and focused on moving through the area of the city they were in once more.
Despite the area that Zeke had decided to use as the base of operations for when they were in this part of the city, for however long that was since they were chasing Bertrand and searching for the Beast, Cole used one of the power poles to launch himself up to the roof and landed on the edge of it, before Adagio, Aria, and Sonata landed around him... while he moved forward and took a seat on the couch that Zeke had set up, before looking at the television that happened to rest in front of them.
"Hey." Zeke said, acknowledging their presence for a moment, showing that he was focused on the movie that happened to be playing on the television for now, though at the same time the Dazzlings honestly didn't care, since they were more focused on the fact that Bertrand and the Beast were still at large.
"Hey." Cole replied, though at the same time he raised his feet until they rested on the side of the table, while he noticed that the movie was an American Western that he remembered having been part of Zeke's collection, which told him why Zeke was watching it at the moment.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata watched as Cole's phone vibrated, showing that either Kuo, Nix, or Trish wanted to talk to him at the moment, but what really happened shocked them, as Cole glanced at his phone for a moment before he raised his hand and clicked it off. Zeke, not a few seconds later, had his phone go off as well and raised his hand for a moment, where Cole glanced at him as he clicked it off as well, before picking up one of the beer bottles he had sitting in a cooler and handed one to Cole, who broke off the top on the table before drinking from it. Zeke offered one to the girls, knowing that the three of them might want to unwind as well, but they shook their heads and observed the duo as they laughed at the old movie that was playing at the moment, before sighing and keeping a watch over the area around their base of operations, since it was possible that Bertrand might find them while they were here and wanted to be sure that they kept their location hidden for as long as possible. At the same time, as they spread out to be sure they kept the entire area secure, they found that once the American Western movie was over there were a few comedy movies that both Cole and Zeke watched, to just enjoy their time together, while sharing more drinks with each other since the Dazzlings didn't want the ones that Zeke had brought for them.
Eventually the day turned to night, more bottles appeared on the table in front of the duo, and the movies continued to play, to which the Dazzlings ignored what was going on and occasionally one of them headed out to deal with one of the optional objectives that were still around the city, mostly because it was boring to wait for Cole and Zeke to do something other than sit on the couch and drink beer. The two of them fell asleep at some point in time and it took Cole some time before he woke back up, to which he pulled out the Blast Core they had gained, moved to an area that was good enough, and passed a current through the stone, releasing the power into his body before he crashed into the ground and fell asleep for real. At the same time the Dazzlings noticed the slight increase in power that they gained when Cole activated one of the Blast Cores, but this time around they sighed and waited for Cole to get back up, since they all felt that they were wasting time, especially since the Beast was still at large and Bertrand needed to be taken care off before they could focus on the true enemy.
When morning arrived, and Zeke had to use a remedy to get over the slight hangover that he had developed based on the amount of beer that he had drank, which Cole wasn't affected by thanks to his use of the Blast Core, the Dazzlings gathered together as Zeke stood nearby... and Cole, finally stirring from what he had done, opened his eyes and moaned for a moment.
"You getting used to that yet?" Zeke asked, though he had the feeling that this wasn't something that someone could get used to, not without absorbing a large number of Blast Cores, and he knew that they didn't have the time to go do something like that.
"Well, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?" Cole replied in kind, though at the same time he picked himself off of the floor and stretched his arms and legs for a few seconds, as the only downside to using a Blast Core was how sore his body felt for a few minutes, which usually disappeared when he tested out his new powers.
"Well, that depends... do you feel any stronger?" Aria inquired, as that was the whole point of Cole absorbing the Blast Cores that Wolfe wanted him to find and take into his body so he could power the RFI, which Zeke was still holding onto since he rarely went into the battlefield.
"I... I don't know." Cole said, to which he looked up at the roof that was higher than the one they were on and raised his hand for a moment, where he swung his hand as he focused on his new power and watched as a tether of some kind raced out and latched onto the edge of the ledge, pulling him up into the air before he pulled himself onto the roof, "Okay, now that's a nice way to climb and scale buildings."
"I also figured out what that message I got was last night." Zeke added, to which Cole dropped down onto the level that they were standing on and walked up to him, while at the same time he added some new coordinates to their phones for what was coming next, "I found out that Bertrand is loading something major onto the cargo ships in the harbor... no doubt it's the first shipment of his do-it-yourself Conduits."
"I'm willing to bet that those foreign powers paid Bertrand in advance for them." Sonata commented, remembering what they had seen in the briefcase, all incriminating evidence based on what they had seen, and knew that he was trying to start a world war, before she glanced up at the group, "How pissed do you guys think Bertrand will be if we went over to the harbor, assaulted the guards that are guarding the shipment, and sabotaged his ships? Think he'd come out of hiding long enough for us to deal with him?"
"Maybe Bertrand would get so mad that he turned into that bug thing." Zeke said, though he had to grin as the others smiled, as they were all thinking of sabotaging the ships and getting rid of the Forced Conduits that were being stored on board the ships, all while he was thinking of a way to get rid of Bertrand and the Beast, "Then maybe we can sit back while he and the Beast go at each other, and then swoop in and finish off whoever is left over."
"I'm going to be honest, I don't think that we'll be that lucky." Cole spoke up, as he had the feeling that something was going to happen after they sabotaged the ships that were in the harbor, something that the Dazzlings agreed with based on the nods that they were giving him, before he turned to leave the area, "Well then, I think it's time that we paid the harbor a visit and deal with those Forced Conduits... and whoever is guarding the shipment."
From there Cole, using his new Lightning Tether ability, moved forward and started to make his way towards the harbor that the shipments were in, while at the same time the Dazzlings flew overhead and kept an eye open for enemies that might try to stop them from progressing. Fortunately it didn't take them too long to reach the area that they were heading towards, as it wasn't hard to find the ships in question, and along the way they found a few Vermaak 88 soldiers and took care of them, just in case they were part of a larger unit in the area. When the four of them reached a certain point Zeke contacted them and informed them that the ships were still in the harbor, meaning that the ones they couldn't see at the moment were still there as well, and that the only natural way to sabotage the ships was for Cole to get to the front of the ships and disable the electric anchor winches that were located in that area. Of course they could have used Adagio's power over water to sink the ships, something that she was thinking about since it would ensure that the Forced Conduits wouldn't be used in the future, but they decided to come to an agreement once they boarded one of the ships and cleared it of any enemies that were guarding it.
As the four of them moved into the area they found that the enemies in question were the Vermaak 88 soldiers that they had encountered so far, though the reason they were here was obvious to the Dazzlings, as they had come to free their captive friends and increase their army tenfold, based on the crates aboard the ships. Adagio took a step back and let Aria, Sonata, and Cole focused on fighting the soldiers that were jumping around the area and trying to kill them, where the three of them used their powers to smash through their enemies and scattered them in the process. Adagio, on the other hand, focused her power for a few seconds and the water around the ship vibrated, as she intended to sink the ship and deprive those foreign powers of people who had been turned into Forced Conduits, while also depriving the Vermaak 88 soldiers of any additional forces that they were trying to gain. It was a good idea to sabotage the ships and prevent them from leaving the harbor, she agreed with that, but with the ice enemies around them she felt that leaving the ships in an area that they had easy access to was a terrible idea in her mind, which was why ice spikes erupted from the water and punctured the sides of the ship. Not a few seconds later she switched tactics and sent the water into the holes that she had created, causing the large ship to shudder as the water started to claim the lower levels, to which her sisters and their friend finished off the last of their enemies and pulled back.
They then spent a few moments to watch as the ship filled with water and sunk before their very eyes, depriving their foes of forces that they would use to torment the people of the city, but once the ship was under the water they turned towards the next ship, where they found it was the only one left in the area... meaning that Bertrand only had enough crates to fill two cargo ships, which made their jobs even easier since they didn't have to go out of their way to find a third ship that wouldn't have been in this harbor.
What was interesting was that the second ship had a larger force of Vermaak 88 soldiers guarding in, some of them clearly trying to open some of the containers so they could free their comrades, and near the front of the ship in question stood a Titan, something that Aria would be able to deal with without any assistance from Adagio, Sonata, or Cole. While Aria dealt with the Titan, by melting it until only the poor person that became the creature was left laying in a pool of water, the others eliminated the remaining soldiers that were around the area, making sure that they didn't free any additional forces to terrorize New Marais with. It didn't take them long to deal with the enemies that were around the ship, and make sure that the containers were sealed, before the four of them returned to the front of the second ship and Adagio started punching holes into the parts of the ship near the water, which would allow it to sink into the water and dispose of another large number of Forced Conduits. When she did that, however, the four of them felt a familiar surge of power behind them, one that belonged to the Beast, and turned around immediately, where they found a man whose iris were a deep red color and had several scars that were visible on his body, since he was wearing a dark red suit with no undershirt, though the scars roughly matched the cracks in The Beast's skin... though at the same time the Dazzlings recognized the man that was standing before them.
It seemed impossible, considering that he had been ripped apart when the Ray Sphere was destroyed and a vortex of energy was unleashed, but standing in front of them was John White, the person who had helped them by finding where the Ray Sphere was located and unwillingly sacrificed himself in the process... and, if they took Sonata's words from when they arrived in New Marais into consideration, it was possible that he had become the very thing that the four of them had been trying to defeat the entire time.
"What the hell?" Cole asked, as he wasn't sure that they could trust their eyes, because he was hoping that this was just a form that the Beast took and that it wasn't John who had been transformed into their enemy, though the next few seconds would tell him whether or not his thoughts were correct.
"It's good to see you again, MacGrath." the man said, his voice confirming that he was John White, much to the shock of the majority of the group, before he glanced at the girls that were staring at him as well, "It's also good to see the three of you again as well."
"John, you died." Aria stated, as that was something that they had witnessed and she wasn't sure that she wanted to admit that Sonata was right about another thing, because it was strange to admit that Sonata was right about anything when she acted foolish from time to time, "We saw the Ray Sphere rip you apart."
"You're right, I was dead... for a while, anyway." John replied, to which he took a few steps forward, as if he wanted to talk to them for a moment and nothing else, while at the same time his eyes shifted to Cole, showing them that he was focusing on him, "I can still feel it... the Ray Sphere exploding, tearing me apart, atom by atom. Yet, somehow, a part of me lingered on. I had to pull myself back together... do you have any idea how hard that is?"
"I imagine it's pretty tricky." Sonata said, though at the same time she knew that one of them was going to ask the question that they were thinking, which was why she was willing to step up to the plate and ask it, even though she knew that Cole and her sisters hoped that she was wrong, "It's clear that you're not a ghost, since you're clearly standing before us, meaning that you're a Conduit of some kind... let me guess, you're the Beast?"
"You're smarter than I originally thought you were." John stated, to which Sonata smiled for a moment, as she was a little happy to have right in this regard, before he focused on all of them, as he had something to say, "I want to show you something, Cole."
Before Cole could do anything John raised his right hand and placed two of his fingers on his forehead, though not even a second later the energy around his head pulsed as he staggered backwards, while at the same time John vanished before the Dazzlings could get him... which meant that they had to play his game and see what he was doing so they could form a better plan of attack for when they faced him.
You can see it now. See the plague. John said, his voice echoing in the area around them, something that only they could hear at the moment, but at the same time Cole knew why the Dazzlings wouldn't be able to see whatever John had given him, since they weren't from this world, Meet me at the plague ward... you need to see it for yourselves.
Since the ships were taken care of, and they were sure that there weren't any other ships left in the area for Bertrand to use to transport any additional Forced Conduits around the world, Cole and the Dazzlings moved forward and started their trek through Gas Works, while Adagio made sure that the ship sank before they walked to their destination. As they walked Cole glanced around every now and then, seeing something when he sensed the area around him as he focused on the people that were near them, but the Dazzlings didn't say anything about that as they walked, as they had no idea what he was seeing since John's power didn't work on them. While they did that John spoke to them again, revealing that New Marais wasn't the only place that the plague was in, because at the moment the plague was spreading all over the East Coast, infecting millions of people in the process, and, if they chose to believe his words, it was only going to get worse in the coming weeks. He then stated that the government couldn't do anything to stop the plague and that only they could do something to stop it, which was why he was directing them towards the plague ward, as there was a potential Conduit that was staying there and he wanted them to find her and attempt to heal her.
Fortunately when they arrived at the plague ward they found that Trish wasn't present, as she was usually visiting all of the areas in an attempt to heal as many people as she could, though right now she was back at one of the safe houses, resting from all the energy she had expanded so far... though even then it didn't take them long to figure out where the lady in question was resting, only Cole found that his healing abilities couldn't do anything to help her.
"These people are already dead... nothing can be done for them," John said, to which the four of them glanced to the side as he materialized nearby, while at the same time walking towards the lady and glancing at her, causing the group to back up and give him space as the Dazzlings prepared their auras to protect them, "but she's different. Because of the Conduit gene. I have the power to activate her, to activate all of our kind, but not without cost."
In the following moments John gathered his power for a moment, which was followed by a fiery explosion, like a miniature Ray Sphere, going off and knocked the four of them backwards, but the Dazzlings, thanks to their preparations, managed to move them out of the plague ward as that happened. A few seconds later they turned around and looked at the smoking building, as they were shocked that John had done that in front of their eyes, though while Cole recovered from the ordeal the lady that John had told them to seek out started to walk out of the building. She seemed to be smiling, like she knew that her life had been over the moment she found out that she had the plague, and now she was given a second chance at life, something that she intended to use to the best of her ability, but there was something that she had to do before she did anything else. She knelt down for a moment, to thank Cole and the Dazzlings for what they did, believing that they were the ones that had saved her, before she flew into the sky and went flying off into the distance, annoying Cole for a moment because he was still the only Conduit around at the moment that didn't have the ability to fly around the area.
Humanity is dead. John told them, causing them to look around as Cole pulled himself to his feet once more, but this time around none of them bothered to look around for the voice, as they knew that John would appear when he wanted to and that he could be anywhere inside the city at the moment, Help me save what I can.
Cole and the Dazzlings stared at the smoking building, realizing that John had been following them all the way from Empire City and that every time a city was attacked he was actually using a Ray Sphere blast to kill thousands upon thousands of people to activate however many Conduits were inside that city, all in a twisted sense of trying to save people from the plague that came from Kessler's creation of the Ray Sphere.
"Hey guys, I found out that Bertrand's holed up in the Molloy Building, waiting for a chopper to arrive." Zeke spoke up, his voice coming from their phones for a moment, but at the same time the four of them heard him cough more than he had been doing earlier, making them wonder if he had the plague as well, "Too bad it won't ever arrive due to a 'heinous act of sabotage' by your's truly."
"Nice work Zeke," Cole replied, as this improved their moods greatly, as they were still slightly devastated by the fact that they had figured out who the Beast was and what he was planning, because now they could deal with Bertrand and finish off his plans at long last, "We'll ambush him on the helipad and finish this."
"We got him this time!" Laroche added, his tone revealing that he was happy with the fact that they were finally going after Bertrand at long last, and this time without him having anywhere to go, meaning that the game of cat and mouse between them was over, "If he changes into the monster form of his again, my boys will light him up with those special spotlights that Zeke invented."
Cole glanced at his friends for a moment, as they were all eager to bring an end to Bertrand's plans, and they headed out of the area that they were in immediately, though once they were done with Bertrand they were going to focus on John's plan and figure out if there were any remaining Blast Cores in the city before the battle with their true enemy... and then, once they were sure that they were ready, the battle with the Beast would begin, and they were going to do everything in their power to bring him down.
Getting through Gas Works was easy, as all the Militia that had been in the area had been taken care of either by the four of them or by the Vermaak 88 soldiers that were trying to recover some Blast Cores, so they could be made whole or something to that effect. Since there weren't that many enemies around the area Cole and the Dazzlings decided to improve their chances of drawing Bertrand out by making the area around the helipad that he was going to walk out onto all that much safer, to give him the illusion that nothing was wrong until he walked out and realized that the helicopter wasn't going to arrive. As such that meant that they had to spend a few minutes beating up the local Vermaak 88 soldiers, who were taking a beating since they had wiped out a good chuck of their forces so far and a fair number of them had been sunk when Adagio sunk Bertrand's ships, making it impossible for their enemies to increase in numbers at this point. Their enemies, on the other hand, tried their hardest to overcome the four of them, but due to the sheer power that the Dazzlings possessed, and that was backed up by Cole's own power, they were unable to actually do anything and fell before their assault.
As the same time that gave them a few moments to consider what they had learned about the Beast, as three of them were still shocked that Sonata had called it out and said that there was the very real possibility that John White was actually the Beast, since he had been destroyed by the Ray Sphere and the moment the Beast arrived in Empire City did look like a more powerful Ray Sphere explosion. Adagio and Aria weren't used to the feeling that their sister was right about something that they had encountered, maybe because they had a habit of ignoring her since most of her suggestions sounded dumb or ridiculous in the first place, but this was going to show them that maybe they should pay more attention to her and whatever she was trying to tell them. Cole, however, was still surprised that John, the man that wanted to defeat Kessler and destroy the Ray Sphere, had become the Beast and that his plan involved killing millions of people that were infected by the plague that was born from Ray Field Energy, which would only activate more potential Conduits and give rise to an empowered humanity. When he thought about that a little more, as the Dazzlings finished off the last batch of enemies, he realized that such a future was never going to be possible, as there were good Conduits and there were bad Conduits, like Kuo and Niz respectively, meaning that this path would almost certainly kill everyone on the planet and leave next to no one behind.
It was in that moment that he decided that John needed to be stopped, that the Beast needed to be destroyed before he could fulfill the terrifying future that Kessler had shown him and the girls before his death, and he was sure that the Dazzlings felt the same way that he did at the moment.
"The area around the helipad is secure." Aria commented, the flames around her fists dying down as she reined in her power, as she had to fight a few Titans that wanted to crush her and even had a 'beam struggle', as Zeke would have called the event, with one of them, before she burned it and reduced it to a normal size once more, while at the same time her sisters joined her around Cole, "So, I guess we might as well see if Bertrand will come out of hiding."
"It's about time that we dealt with him," Adagio said, as she was growing tired of Bertrand running and trying to hide from who he was and what he had become, though it wasn't his fault that the activation of his Conduit gene had given him the power to make the Corrupted and become the Behemoth, "Hopefully Kuo and nix will come around and help us take him out, if he transforms into his monster form, just so we can be sure that he's dealt with and that we're not wasting our time on something that isn't him."
"I guess we should count ourselves lucky that he doesn't have the power to make others take on his true form, to use as decoys against us," Sonata added, knowing that such a power would have been at the height of Bertrand's potential, if he had bothered to power himself up like they were helping Cole do, before she glanced at the building that they would be ambushing him on and sighed, "Hey Cole, should we get the show on the road and take him out?"
"Yeah... let's get moving." Cole said, finally snapping himself out of his thoughts, as he had been focusing on the Beast for too long, before he ran over to the electric pole that was nearby and propelled himself into the air, causing the three of them to take to the skies and follow him towards the helipad.
When the four of them reached the area that Bertrand would be walking out onto, to get on the helicopter that Zeke had taken out with his sabotage and likely blocked the rest of the Militia from sending him calls so they could launch their ambush, they immediately moved out of sight of the door that their target would come through and waited... though not a minute or two later they heard the sound of the door opening and Bertrand, looking eager to leave, walked out of the building, only to stop when he realized that the helicopter wasn't there.
"Your chopper's going to be a little late." Cole spoke up, though as he and the Dazzlings walked out of where they were hiding Bertrand turned to face them, with a look of anger in his eyes, but they were expecting that, since they had gone out of their way to mess with him and all of his businesses that he had throughout New Marais.
"It took you, and your childish friends, a while to find me, boy." Bertrand replied, but as he focused on the group that was standing between him and the door he walked through he found that Cole was carrying his unusual weapon in his hands and the three girls were at the ready with their elements, a power that still confused him since Kessler said that he hadn't seen Conduits like this during his tests.
"Childish, are we?" Adagio said, to which she raised an eyebrow for a moment, as it had been some time since she and her sisters had been labeled in such a way, though she guessed that Bertrand might think that if he believed that he was the oldest person in the area at the moment, "Please, compared to the three of us, as in my sisters and I, you're the child."
"We also found out that you're selling Forced Conduits." Cole commented, deciding to draw attention away from what Adagio had said, as Bertrand didn't need to know about the world that the Dazzlings had come from, while at the same time focusing his attention on the man in front of them, "Don't you have enough money already?"
"The world needs to experience first hand the evil of our kind." Bertrand stated, finally admitting that he was a Conduit, even though he went out of his way to make it seem like he was an ordinary person with no powers, and that had worked until the four of them came along, "Conduits must be purged from the world, and making the people scared of them will do just that."
"We were right... you're trying to start a genocide." Aria said, as she remembered the conversation they had when they found Bertrand's briefcase, as they had all thought that he might be out to kill everyone of his kind, even if that meant that no one was around to face the Beast.
"Conduits are an abomination!" Bertrand snapped, glaring at all of them for a moment, knowing that he'd never be able to convince the Demon and the Sirens of Empire City to join him in his crusade, before they all terminated themselves in the man of those that remained to pick up the pieces.
"Do you really think that we're the 'Demon and the Sirens of Empire City'?" Cole asked, to which he waved his hands in a manner that was identical to how Bertrand talked to the people of New Marais, sort of mocking him while at the same time trying to tell him that he shouldn't believe what he heard on the news, "Let me tell you something, Bertrand, we were the Guardians of Empire City, so named by the very people that we swore to protect, until the Beast came and decimated the entire city with a single blast."
"Cole MacGrath, you shortsighted fool, we're all demons!" Bertrand said, though at the same time he stepped back so that he was near the edge of the building, as he had a feeling that he knew what they were trying to do to him, and yet he had to be ready for what happened next, "Our pride has turned all of us into monsters."
"You know, I finally understand why you're so upset at Conduits." Sonata spoke up, as she had been quiet the entire time they had been talking, because there was something about Bertrand's hatred towards Conduits that she couldn't quite place, but now, however, she understood the reasoning at long last, "You thought that the Ray Sphere that you activated was going to turn you into some sort of shining superhuman, one that would save the world from the Beast, but instead it turned you into a monster that stands at the same height as the Beast."
"Don't you dare press me," Bertrand stated, though the look on his face told them that he was drawing ever closer to breaking, that the monstrous side of him was trying to break free, before he glanced at the area around him, "If I change into that... thing... again, well, there will be blood on all our hands."
"Oh Bertrand, if only you knew the truth." Adagio said, recalling all the years she and her sisters spent using their powers to get what they wanted, food or entertainment, and the number of times that it resulted in those around them actually reaching the point where blood was drawn, which helped them tone down their powers so they never reached that point again, "Just transform into your true form and let's be done with this. And please, don't talk about how Conduits aren't part of the 'divine plan' or that they're the 'unholy product of science, greed, and the Devil whispering in our ears'... I've heard enough about that, from your earlier gatherings, to know that you're just trying to buy time for something to happen and distract us so you can run away again."
"And part of what you would have told us is wrong, Bertrand." Cole added, to which he held his Amp with both of his hands and some of his electricity danced around the head of the weapon, all while he focused on the person that was in front of them, "Not all Conduits are monsters. The Dazzlings and I use our powers for the benefit of the world, while the Beast, for example, uses his powers to kill people and destroy entire cities with a single blast... what I'm saying is that it's the person behind the powers that you need to hold accountable, not the powers that they command."
"You're right..." Bertrand said, though that was followed by him throwing himself off the edge of the building that they were on and initiating the transformation into his monstrous form, to which the Behemoth formed before their eyes and roared with all of his might, which was exactly what they were planning on.
The four of them moved immediately, as it appeared that Zeke had a truck waiting nearby for them to use so they could lure the Behemoth into an ambush point that Laroche and his Rebels had set up ahead of time, and it didn't take them long to reach their destination. As Cole climbed onto the back of the truck, and the Dazzlings flew in the air above him while keeping their eyes on their enemy, Zeke gunned the engine and took off, causing the Behemoth to chase after the vehicle like a dumb monster as he tore his way through whatever was in front of him. Laroche seemed pretty happy about the situation, as they would be able to lead their enemy right into the ambush without him even catching on to what was happening at the moment, giving them the opportunity to deal with the Behemoth in their own way. While all of this happened the Behemoth opened his mouth from time to time and fired the seeking spit-like missiles at them, causing either Cole or one of the Dazzlings to use their Shockwave style attack to knock the green colored spit out of the air and let them crash to the ground, all while forcing the Behemoth to follow them as they remained in his sights. When the Behemoth started to charge at the vehicle, however, the four of them opened fire and their combined attacks went right into his open mouth, where one of his weaknesses was located, and the explosion forced him to slow down as he continued to follow after them.
Of course Laroche was happy to see the Behemoth smash up Gas Works as they lead him on a merry chase, revealing that all his money was tied up here in one form or another, but at the same time Cole and the Dazzlings honestly didn't care that much, as they were keeping their enemy zeroed in on their location and making sure that the truck wasn't hit by anything in the process.
After a couple minutes of weaving through Gas Works, destroying a number of vehicles and pieces of the buildings along the way while also blocking the spit-like missiles as they flew towards them, Zeke finally stopped in an area where the Rebels had set up his special spotlights, while also revealing that Kuo and Nix, despite hating each other, were standing nearby as they waited to unleash hell upon the Behemoth. When the spotlights turned on, and the Behemoth was stopped, the group dealt with the Corrupted that came out to assist their master, no doubt because their enemy called them in at some point, before the Behemoth revealed one of his weaknesses to them, a foolish move on his part since all of them were waiting for that to happen. It was a slow process, as they had to wait for their enemy to attempt to damage them with his attacks, and that meant going through a few of the abilities that they already knew about, before he revealed the weaknesses in his arms, the ones in his chest, or even the mouth one, as it had recovered while he was attacking them. Of course that only lasted so long, as the moment the second weakness was taken out the Behemoth roared and forced Cole to back off, as he grabbed onto the landing gear of a helicopter they were using for their operation and flew to a safe distance that would entice the Behemoth to continue chasing them, while at the same time the Dazzlings flew near him as both Kuo and Nix helped the Rebels move out for the next ambush area.
As they flew through the air, and kept the Behemoth from doing any damage to the helicopter, Laroche informed them that Zeke had been working on some anti-Bertrand missiles, all made by his hand, that they were planning on using against their foe, and the only problem was that the Rebels apparently couldn't aim a missile at all. The plan was simple, the four of them would keep the Behemoth focused on them and protect the helicopter, while at the same time the pilot would get them into position for the missiles to be fired and then they would let them go the moment their target was in the designated area. It wasn't long before they reached the area that the first missile was located in, though when the Rebels fired it, however, it pierced part of the Behemoth's body, between the softer skin and the harder shell, and became stuck without exploding, only for Zeke to reveal that he knew what happened and would fix it for the other missiles before they needed to be fired, which also prompted the four of them to blow up the missile and cause the Behemoth to stagger for a moment as it roared in pain. They didn't travel that far away from where the first missile was fired and soon came to another stop as the second missile was fired, another dud like the first one, and the group sighed as they blew that one up as well, causing the Behemoth to roar in pain once more as it zeroed in on where the four of them were located, indicating that he was going to chase them until they were dead.
When they finally drew the Behemoth to the final ambush, based on what Laroche said, Cole dropped down to the ground and joined both Kuo and Nix in dealing with the new batch of Corrupted that came at them, while at the same time the Dazzlings fired at the weaknesses that had been exposed, dealing even further damage to their enemy... however it wasn't long before the others joined them and they rained pure destruction on the Behemoth, who eventually roared in pain as the last of his weaknesses broke and collapsed on the ground in front of them. A few moments passed before anyone did anything, just to be sure that the Behemoth was actually dead and not faking, but once it was determined that the creature was dead the Rebels celebrated, Kuo smiled and nodded her head, Cole and the Dazzlings looked pleased with themselves, and Nix, still hating Bertrand for what he did to her family, spat on the Behemoth's corpse a few times before leaving the area.
After defeating Bertrand, and leaving his monstrous corpse behind, Cole and the Dazzlings went off and rested on one of the roofs nearby, watching as the Rebels spent seven hours painstakingly cutting up the massive body and hauling the parts away, no doubt to be burned in a celebration or something like that. None of them really said much after their victory, as there was no real reason for them to be happy over Bertrand's death, other than the fact that he could no longer make or sell his Forced Conduits, so they simply sat there, had something to eat to calm their nerves, and waited for the day to be over so they could rest and then focus on the Beast when morning came. Kuo remained near the Rebels, helping them sever the Behemoth's corpse into pieces and get them onto the trucks that they were using, though she seemed happy that the people of New Marais were accepting Conduits now, especially since they seemed to think that Bertrand was actually a swamp monster that could take a human form and was trying to trick them. Since none of them wanted to tell them the truth, as that would put the fear of Conduits back in them, the group simply let the people believe what they wanted to and left it at that, but the fact that they were treated like heroes once more was good news for Adagio and her sisters, as it made them all happy.
Nix, on the other hand, went off to join the domesticated swamp monsters that she had freed while they were getting incriminating evidence on what Bertrand was doing in the train yard, but they all knew that she would be back soon enough, since she wanted a piece of the Beast before the four of them brought him down, with whatever plan Zeke and Kuo were thinking of at the moment.
"Well, it took thirty men, seven chainsaws, and seven pickups, but we finally got that monster's corpse off the street," Laroche spoke up, causing the group to look at their phones for a moment, while at the same time noticed that Kuo was headed off to either meet Zeke or get some rest for tomorrow, since they would be planning what to do once all of them were back at a hundred percent, "MacGrath, Dazzlings, thanks for all you're help. You four have been quite the inspiration for both me and my men."
"We're just glad that he's off the streets as well." Cole said, knowing that the Rebels would likely see them as allies for the rest of their days, and that was a good thing since they knew that the Beast was their ultimate opponent and would be making his move soon, now that Bertrand was dead.
"Now that Bertrand's gone, the Militia is starting to fall apart." Zeke added, though as he entered the conversation, and had a few coughs added to his words, Laroche broke his connection, as he and his men intended to celebrate their victory, not that the group was planning on stopping them, "Sure, there are still a few of them that are gung-ho, but I don't think that I'll be picking up anymore information after today."
"Wait, does this mean that you found something else that we might be interested in?" Adagio asked, as that was the only reason that Zeke might still be tied to the Militia, to see if they had any additional Blast Cores that they could use to power Cole up for the final battle with the Beast.
"Oh yeah, I've found out where another Blast Core is located." Zeke replied, to which the four of them glanced at each other, because they had figured that they had gotten their hands on all the Blast Cores that Wolfe and Bertrand had been gathering, but it seemed that there was one more left for them to grab, "Meet me near the dock on 3rd Street."
Cole and the Dazzlings moved out immediately, as they weren't too far from where the dock in question was located, though at the same time they all noticed that there was a storm starting to gather over the city, something that Cole could use if he really needed to. Not a few moments later they found Zeke, who was using a pair of binoculars at the moment, spying on the dock area in question, where they immediately noticed a good number of Vermaak 88 soldiers walking around the area, though since they hadn't been noticed they stepped up behind Zeke so they could get the information that they needed for their next mission.
"The one that's walking around at the moment is their leader, and he's got the Blast Core." Zeke stated, to which the four of them looked at the soldier in question, knowing that he was bound to run the moment they came at him, but at the same time that might be beneficial to them, as it would allow them to take out the rest of their enemies if he took them to his base of operations, the ice tower they had flown by earlier, "He's got them all preparing for something."
"Alright then. With that Blast Core in hand we might be able to power up the RFI and take on the Beast." Cole said, as it was great to be near the end of the line, because this was what Kessler had been preparing him for since the moment the Blast happened in Empire City, before noticing that Zeke was leaning against some pipes and was coughing, "Hey man, are you okay?"
"Yeah... I'm fine..." Zeke replied, waving his hands as if he didn't want Cole to waste time on him for a moment, but at the same time Cole glanced at the Dazzlings, as they were all concerned for their friend's health since those that had the plague eventually died in some manner.
"No, no you're not. Just let me have a look." Cole stated, though at the same time he held a firm glare as he looked at Zeke, who eventually stood straight and let him do what he was thinking of doing, activating his empowered vision that John had given him, before he took a step back for a moment, confirming what they were thinking, "Jesus, Zeke... why didn't you tell me that you had the plague?"
"For the same reason that Trish refused to tell you that she's got it as well; you and the Dazzlings have too much on your plates to be worried about us." Zeke answered, though at the same time Cole's eyes widened in shock, while all three of the sisters did the same thing, as all three of them were hoping that the coughs they had heard in Trish's presence were just the signs of a common cold, not the plague that was killing people, before Zeke focused on the task at hand, "Besides, Kuo said that the RFI was designed to combat the plague, as well as take on the Beast and subtract his abilities, meaning that there's a chance that we could be cured when you activate it."
"Then we haven't got much time," Adagio said, because based on Cole's face she realized that if Zeke was this far along with the plague, as he had to be near his expiration time if she could believe the expression Cole was wearing, that meant that Trish was in the same boat as he was, which was why a look of determination appeared on Cole's face as he realized that his girlfriend was in danger again, "Let's go get that Blast Core, absorb it's power, and then end this before the Beast decides to blow up New Marais as well."
Cole, now angry at the fact that both his best friend and his girlfriend were going to die if he didn't get the final Blast Core from the Vermaak 88 General, walked towards the dock and drew in the power of the storm that had decided to open above their heads as they were talking, which he turned on his enemies as he devastated them all on his own. Sure, his power was the combination of his and Kuo's as he froze enemies where they were standing and wasted no time in dealing with them, but it was still an amazing sight to behold as he tore through the defenses as he sought out the General that was holding the Blast Core. The Dazzlings, however, noticed that the General was escaping and immediately chased after him, finding that he was incredibly fast and was making his way through Gas Works, but at the same time Cole followed after them once Zeke told him what was going on, even though they ran right to the base of the ice tower, where the rest of the Vermaak 88 soldiers were waiting for them. At the same time, however, the General moved towards the top of the tower and planted the Blast Core at the peak of the icy part of it, intending to use the tower was a lightning rod to cook the Blast Core, like Cole did in the past, but, at the same time, this was useless for them since their forces weren't immune to Aria's power.
The immediate area around Aria heated up as she started channeling her power over the primal element of fire, where their enemies found that her aura alone could reduce their ice based attacks to nothing and those that were encased in ice found their armor melting before their eyes. Of course that was only the beginning of the end for the Vermaak 88 soldiers, as Adagio could use the melted water to form new ice attacks, ones that weren't affected by her sister unless she wanted them to, and used them to pin several of the soldiers down. Sonata even added to that by calling upon the wind and forming a twister that ran over the flames, turning it into a Firestorm that was directed at a number of enemies that were trying to come around the corner and attack them, only to find that their attacks were useless and that their armor, if they had any, was gone by the time they realized what was going on. Cole, however, was forced to stand there for a few seconds as John contacted him mentally and tried to convince him that both he and the Dazzlings should join forces with him to save what was left of humanity, while at the same time not sounding all that sorry that he had attacked them when he was 'reborn' as the Beast and tore Empire City apart.
While all of this went on, however, they got more news that the Beast hit the swamp near Flood Town, killing everyone in that area, meaning that Nix likely lost the swamp monsters that she had domesticated and gave her all the more reason to want the Beast dead, which only motivated them to pick up the pace. In response to what they had discovered Aria gathered her fire together and formed what appeared to be a flaming lance, where Adagio, Sonata, and Cole each poured a little of their own power into it before she pulled her arm back and sent it flying through the air between them and the area that the Blast Core was resting in. A few moments later the weapon struck her target and the peak of the ice tower, to the horror of the Vermaak 88 soldiers, shattered into a thousand pieces, while at the same time the Blast Core hit the floor above them and the Dazzlings pulled Cole up there, ignoring the enemies as they retreated before the display of power that they had shown them. It didn't take long for Cole to claim the Blast Core and get out of there as Sonata carried him away from the tower, where they headed to an area that was near Zeke's latest hideout and waited out the rest of the storm, as there was no reason for Cole to activate the final Blast Core while the storm was going on.
It took hours for the storm to tide over and dissipate, to which Cole and the Dazzlings returned to where Zeke was waiting for them, drinking yet another beer, before Cole pulled out the Blast Core and moved off to another part of the roof before activating the last power he'd be getting before the final battle with the Beast... which resulted in him falling to the ground like normal, while the Dazzlings moved into the building so they could rest up for what they knew was going to be one of the most intense battles of their entire lives.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were able to spend a good number of hours sleeping in the building that Zeke had claimed the roof of for his latest hideout, giving them an area that allowed them to rest and plan out their attacks in the area, or plan out how they were going to deal with the Beast. All three of them knew that they were going to need it, as the Beast had survived their first battle and simply put himself back together as they used the boat to flee from Empire City, and the Blast Core induced sleep that Cole was in would allow him to recover all his energy by the time he woke up. Of course the three of them were worried about their chances, as the Beast had took a nuke to the face, essentially ate it when it exploded, and came at them with the determination to kill them, only to disappear and then contact them as John White, who only seemed interested in activating Conduits at the expense of the people around them. The RFI was the only thing that was supposed to deal with the Beast, subtracting his abilities when activated, which meant that all they needed to do was distract him and let Cole activate the device that would allow them to win the final battle, but before that they needed everyone to gather together and figure out a plan of attack.
When morning finally arrived, and the three of them stretched for a moment as they worked out the kinks in their arms and legs, they walked out to where Zeke had been sleeping, as he slept on the couch he had been sitting in last night, and found that Cole was also up, based on the flash of powerful lightning off in the distance, indicating that he had regained the Ionic Storm ability, where he called powerful bolts from the sky to strike his foes.
"It's impressive as ever." Adagio commented, though at the same time her sisters nodded their heads, as the return of Cole's powerful Ionic Storm technique meant that he was near the peak of his power, only now that power was even stronger thanks to all the Blast Cores he had absorbed to reach this point.
"What is?" Zeke asked, though at the same time he coughed once more, showing that he hadn't improved since the last time they had seen him, before the door opened behind them and Trish walked out, only it appeared that she knew that Cole had found out that she had been hiding the fact that she had the plague from him.
"Cole's power... that's what she's referring to." Trish replied, as she glanced out at the area that the lightning had come from while she talked, because she was more interested in what her boyfriend was doing at the moment, before she sighed and sat down nearby, "Let's just wait for him to get back... I think it's time for you guys to take care of the Beast and end this madness."
"Yeah, I'm ready for the RFI." a voice said, to which the group turned around and watched as Cole climbed up onto the area that they were in, before sitting next to Trish, because finding out that she had the plague had added another reason for him to stop the Beast and eradicate the plague, "When are the others getting here? We've got a plan of attack to make, especially since we have no idea when the Beast will try to destroy New Marais."
"Nix and Kuo are on their way as we speak," Zeke answered, though at the same time he pulled out the RFI from where he had been hiding it, so it could be safe from harm while everyone was out doing things, and set it on the table in front of him, drawing the eyes of everyone to it automatically, "they're coming to watch you spark the RFI, so you can finally kill the Beast."
"Speaking of which, I'm here." another voice said, to which Kuo walked up to where they were gathered, though she looked sad about what was going on at the moment, even though they were going to see what happened when the RFI was finally activated and someone channeled the power inside it, before noticing someone else enter the area shortly after she arrived.
"It was bad... it was so bad you guys." Nix spoke up, using her warp ability to get into the area that the group was currently gathered in, while at the same time looking like she was upset, which made sense when they considered the fact that her domesticated pets had been killed earlier.
"I'm glad that you all could make it, because there's something that we need to tell you," Cole stated, to which he walked to the front of the table, parallel with the RFI, before he glanced at Zeke, Kuo, Nix, and Trish for a few seconds, as it was time to tell them what he and the Dazzlings had discovered, "Listen, things aren't as cut and dry as we thought. it turns out that the Beast is someone that a good majority of us knew back in Empire City... a Conduit called John White."
"John is alive?!" Kuo repeated, as she had been told that he had died when the Ray Sphere had been destroyed, as that was when the device had torn him apart, but at the same time she remembered the times that the two of them had shared back when they were spying on the First Sons.
"According to him he's still alive," Adagio said, as she knew that part of John must have died when the Ray Sphere tore him apart and he had been reborn as the Beast, especially since he had been ready to sacrifice his life to destroy the Beast when he first learned of it's existence when Kessler told him the news, "but he believes that he isn't committing mass murder when he walks into a city and initiates a Ray Sphere blast. He's willing to sacrifice hundreds, if not thousands, of people when he uses his powers in this manner, because it apparently activates the potential Conduits around him while curing them of the plague, and he's also tried to convince us to join his cause and betray humanity."
"Help him?!" Nix growled, getting to her feet and pointing at Cole, because in her mind Cole was the center of the entire group and that everyone gathered around him, meaning that the Beast was somehow his fault as well, "You're pal just killed all of my babies, and you're saying you want to help him?!"
"We never said that John was our friend, only that we knew him from Empire City." Aria stated, knowing that Nix was more unbalanced than she had been earlier, because those swamp monsters had been a force that had stabilized her mind and made her a pleasure to work with, "Besides, John's pretty much killing everyone that doesn't have the Conduit gene, and he's already killed who knows how many people on his way to New Marais... I honestly don't care what he says, the Ray Sphere destroyed John and gave birth to the Beast."
"Don't worry Nix, we're going to deal with the problem at hand," Cole added, to which he picked up the RFI and walked over to a more open part of the roof, as he wanted some room for when he activated the device and finally brought an end to the Beast, "Let's bring an end to this madness."
The moment Cole started to pour his power into the Ray Sphere, so he could finally take out the Beast and save New Marais from what the creature was planning, the Dazzlings watched as Kuo and Nix, who had smoke rising from their bodies, fell to the floor and cried out in pain. The instant they saw that Sonata moved through the air, as in she raced over to where Cole was standing, gripped onto the RFI, and ripped it out of Cole's hands, cutting off the power to the device and let the smoke that was emitting from their friends stop, as they knew that something had gone horribly wrong.
"Oh my god... I was dying." Kuo moaned, as she carefully picked herself up from where she was resting and stared at the RFI, because this wasn't something that they had been told about, though the new information that they had gained put a wrench in their plans, "I could feel my body dying."
"It didn't even fire off... it wasn't even fully charged!" Cole added, though he was annoyed, as Wolfe had told him that he needed a none specified number of Blast Cores to power the device before he could fire it, but this time them that they needed a power source or something to truly use the device against the Beast, "Zeke, did something in the RFI break before Wolfe had a chance to give it to me?"
"I don't know, let me look at it for a moment." Zeke replied, to which he took the RFI from Sonata and stared at it for a few moments, though while he had some knowledge of machines, even ones that empowered Cole and his powers, but he had the feeling that his skills might not be able to help them out.
"Wolfe, he had to have known that this was going to happen." Sonata commented, to which the rest of the group stopped what they were doing, as her sisters were used to her figuring things out before anyone else did and the others were taking a page from their book this time around, "If we use the RFI, like we just attempted, it's not going to kill just the Beast, it's going to kill every Conduit in the world, activated or not."
"Oh yeah, then why weren't you three affected?" Nix demanded, because she had noticed that none of the Sirens had been affected by the activation of the RFI, while at the same time she, Kuo, and Cole had felt their bodies start to die in the most painful way possible.
"I guess it's time we told you and Kuo the truth; we're not from this world." Adagio stated, deciding that now was the perfect time to reveal the truth to them, because even though Kuo knew about Discord she still didn't know that they were from an entirely different world, "Aria, Sonata, and I are from Equus, a world that the people of this world have somehow captured in the show called My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, where Discord, the Spirit of Disharmony and Chaos, is also from. A thousand years ago we were inhabitants of that world, before a powerful unicorn and his allies banished us to a world without magic, intending to eventually vanquish us in some manner, and that would have happened had another pony not come to the magicless world and brought Equestrian Magic to that world. Long story short we thought we could take advantage of the situation and seize control of that world, but we failed and our original powers were shattered, but some time later the pony that brought magic to that world tried to go home and we never heard from her again. We thought that, by entering the same portal she used, that we could find her and figure out what was going on, only to come here, join Cole after the Blast happened, and gained new powers with the purpose of killing Kessler, saving Empire City, and defeating the Beast when he showed himself."
"You're... ponies?!" Kuo asked, as she couldn't believe what she was hearing, even though she had a younger sibling that liked that show and told her all about it whenever they spent some time together, and she noticed that Nix seemed to be confused as well.
"No, we're Sirens." Aria replied, to which she noticed that both Kuo and Nix seemed to remember the stories of sirens, from this world anyway, and understand what she had said, or at the very least what their original powers had been before coming here.
"This is terrible, because if we don't use the RFI to kill the Beast than millions of people will die," Sonata said, drawing them all back to the matter at hand, because they needed to focus on why they had gathered together, while at the same time noticing that Cole had an arm wrapped around Trish at the moment, "but, if we do use the RFI to kill the Beast, then hundreds of Conduits, activated and potential alike, will lose their lives without knowing what's going on."
"I don't care what happens to me!" Nix stated, causing the group to look at her for a moment, finding a familiar look of determination on her face, before she glared at Cole for a few seconds as she turned towards him, "All I care about is that the Beast dies. The four of you need to make a decision; will you use the RFI and kill the Beast, or will you betray me and the rest of humanity and join our enemy?"
"Look, John's plan isn't pretty, but it's the right one." Kuo added, surprising the group for a moment, as none of them were expecting Kuo, who had recruited the four of them to take out the Beast after they got their new powers from Wolfe, which hadn't happened the way they planned, to suddenly become selfish like this, "Conduits are immune to the plague... he needs to make as many as he can before more of the sick, potential Conduits or otherwise, die. Think about that, instead of focusing on your damned pets!"
"Kuo, I know you're new to the world of being a hero, but we're not about to kill off the majority of this world to save a smaller portion of the population," Adagio said, because now was the time for them to get ready for the attack on the Beast, as she had the feeling that Kuo might end up betraying them, since they were already planning on sticking to the original plan, "Wolfe said that the RFI can also purge the world of the plague, in addition to dealing with the Beast, so we're going to power up this device and blow the Beast away. And before you say anything about how my sisters and I have no right to decide anything, we know exactly what Cole would choose to do before he even says anything... besides, you aren't the only one that finds the situation unfair. How do you think the three of us will take having to watch our friends sacrifice their very lives to destroy the Beast and save the world?"
Kuo growled at them, claiming that all of them were going to pay for what they were planning, before using her power and flew out of the area, though the only reason Adagio was letting her go was because if a battle broke out between them, and Kuo decided to attack them, her power over water would easily defeat Kuo's ice power.
"We've got bigger problems than Kuo betraying us." Zeke spoke up, to which the group turned towards him as he pointed at part of the RFI, as he had discovered something that was going to complicate whatever plan they were going to come up with to destroy the Beast, "See this broken part here? That's the power regulator. Without it, you'll just burn the RFI up when you go to use it. Fortunately, this being broken isn't the end of the world, because I have an idea that might just be what we need to fully charge the device and get it ready for the battle with the Beast."
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata glanced at each other as Zeke began to detail the idea that had come to mind while he was looking at the RFI, all while the group had been determining the side of the battle that they were going to be on, because they could tell that this plan sucked already... and yet it was the best they could come up with, in the amount of time they had, because the Beast would be coming the moment Kuo convinced him that she was joining his side and informed him of what they were planning on doing to defeat him.
Three hours had gone by since Kuo had revealed her twisted nature and went off to join the Beast, though at the same time Zeke contacted Laroche and told him that Cole and the Dazzlings were going to make their move on the creature that came to destroy New Marais. While it was part of the truth, as the Ray Sphere blast that the creature would use to activate all the Conduits in the city would pretty much blow New Marais to pieces, they also didn't tell Laroche and his Rebels that those that survived the impending blast would be transformed into people like them, superhumans. The reasoning was so that they didn't cause people to run to the Beast's side in an attempt to save their own lives, because if the RFI worked like it was supposed to, and also get rid of all the energy that had been released thanks to the prior explosions, the plague would be destroyed and humanity would be saved. With the information they gave him in mind Laroche eagerly agreed to help them and Zeke informed him of what he needed to do, to help charge the RFI, and that they intended to hit their foe with everything they had to give the four of them and Nix the time they needed to get ready.
By the time the third hour had come to an end Cole, Adagio, Aria, Sonata, and Nix were standing in one of the towers of the local citadel, where Bertrand had his rally when they entered the city, and both Zeke and Trish were there as well, preparing things for the final battle, even if they couldn't do much to help out this time around.
"We're running out of time, Zeke." Nix commented, as she was staring at the sky and she knew that the patterns resembled the handiwork of the Beast, as it looked like it was on fire at certain points and the sky itself was red, which told her what she had told them.
"Okay, we should be good to go." Zeke said, staring at the modifications that he had made to the power box in front of him, all within the last hour anyway, and at the RFI, which was drawing in power so it could be ready for the final battle with the Beast, "These things might fry fast thanks to all the power the RFI is drawing in, which is why I had Laroche and some of his Rebels hook up a few more of them around the city, just to make sure it gets all the power it can."
"You know what, it's official... this plan sucks." Cole spoke up, as he couldn't believe that they were actually going through with this, even though most of Zeke's plans, up to this point in time, had worked out far better than anything he could have come up with on his own.
"I know... I only wish we had more time to come up with something better." Zeke replied, as he had been thinking the same thing the entire time he had been working, but right now, thanks to Kuo going to the Beast's side, they all knew that they had to hit him fast, before he nuked the city and killed everyone, "Look, the moment the RFI is ready to go you need to flip the switch and activate it."
"Yeah, you got that right." Cole said, to which he glanced at Zeke for a moment and embraced him, because he was his best friend and he had certainly earned the right to be called that once more, before they separated and he turned towards Trish, who was doing her best not to cry over what was going to happen next, "Trish, I know I promised you a lot of things before all this happened... and I'm sorry that we'll never be able to do any of them."
"It's... it's okay, Cole." Trish said, though at the same time she pulled Cole close and kissed him, since this was likely going to be the last time that they would ever be able to share something like this, before pulling back and smiling at both him and the Dazzlings, "You and the Dazzlings are heroes to the people of New Marais, they're counting on you to defeat the Beast and save the city from him... so go save the world. Just know that I'll miss you after today."
Cole stared at Trish for a few seconds before nodding his head, showing that he agreed with her, before Nix said that it was time to get the show on the road and removed the RFI from the power box, to which she walked over to the edge of the tower, called out for the four of them to watch her back, and then took off. Not even a few seconds later Cole, Adagio, Aria, and Sonata followed after her as she headed towards the water that was off in the distance, where Laroche and some of his boats were waiting to take them to the first area that he and his men had set up for them. The moment they arrived at the area that Nix brought them to they started heading over in the direction of Gas Works, where they had been earlier that afternoon, only for them to learn that the Beast was already tearing his way to the first substation with a good number of Rebels attempting to stall him, indicating that Kuo had him what they were planning on doing, since she had a working knowledge of what the RFI did. Before they could get close to their destination, however, they found that the Beast was already on top of the first substation, which was when he loosed a powerful blast down at the device and blew it, and a few structures around it, to pieces, causing Nix to retreat to the boats with the RFI.
At the same time, however, the Beast turned and looked at them, indicating that he could feel where the RFI was located and started to move towards them, meaning that they were going to have to act quickly before something terrible happened, such as losing the RFI.
"Cole, you and Nix need to get the RFI out of here." Adagio said, though at the same time she and her sisters reached deep into their cores and tugged on their true power, as they knew that the time for holding back was over, because one wrong move would spell the end of everything they had been working for.
Cole nodded and, despite Nix's protests that the three of them should come with them, headed towards the part of New Marais that they had just come from, to which Nix followed as she kept an eye on what the sisters were doing, before she noticed the stunning blue auras that had wrapped around them as they floated into the air. That was swiftly followed by three pillars of blue energy swallowing them in the process, causing the air around them to shudder for a few moments as the ground and the waves shook under the intensity of what was going on, and Cole, who was familiar with this, knew that they were even stronger than when they did this the first time around. When the pillars died down, however, Cole smiled as he took in the familiar translucent wings, the odd energy emitting from their eyes, and the scaled fish tails that replaced their normal pony style tails, all of which indicated that they weren't holding back and that they were bringing their full power to bare against the Beast once more.
"MacGrath... what is that?" Nix asked, though at the same time the two of them jumped to the next boat, as the Rebels were moving towards the Beast and they were using them to get back to shore, so they could make a run for the substation that Zeke had set up earlier.
"That is what the Dazzlings look like when they're using their full power," Cole replied, though as he said that he focused on getting back to shore, as while he knew that the three of them could distract the Beast they wouldn't be able to hold him back forever, regardless of the power that they had been gathering the entire time.
The moment the Dazzlings had awoken their full power, and separated for a moment, Adagio raised her hands and two large serpent Water Dragons erupted from the water all around them, which she used to coil around the Beast and harden into Ice Dragons, restricting his movements as he struggled against her attack. While she did that Aria flew over to the flaming wreckage of the first substation and gathered the flames to her side, where she started unleashing a storm of powerful Fireballs and weapons that were made out of fire at the parts of the Beast's body that weren't covered by her sister's attack. Sonata joined them by gathering the wind to her side and started slashing at her target, cutting gashes into his arms and legs while he struggled to get free of the bindings that the Ice Dragons put him in, before flying behind him and unleashing a powerful gust of wind that knocked him into the water, allowing Adagio's attack to pull him deeper and deeper for a couple of moments. That was, of course, until the Beast finally shattered the bonds that were holding him down, rose out of the water, and crushed the three boats that were around him, as they dared to attack him while he was battling the Dazzlings, only for them to find that one of them had been Laroche's boat, causing them to silently mourn the man's passing for a moment before they got back to work in stalling the Beast with the rest of the Rebels.
The interesting part about all this was that the Beast was more interested in the Rebels than the three empowered Dazzlings that were flying around him, tearing parts of his arms and chest off with their powers, even his head at one point, but, just like their last battle, he simply regenerated his missing chunks and continued his assault... though when Cole's voice came to them over the phone, indicating that they had made it to the shore, the Dazzlings pulled out and the Rebels continued their assault. As they followed after Cole and Nix, however, they heard the sound of water moving and found that the Beast was now following after them, to which Adagio clapped her hands together and the entire harbor around their enemy froze, at least the area between where they were and Gas Works, giving them time to get into position now that the Beast had been slowed down a little more. Of course the Beast tore his hands free from the ice and Adagio, paying attention to him, turned that ice into a number of large bladed ice type weapons that punctured his arms and pinned him to the frozen part of the harbor he was in, before she turned around and watched as Cole and Nix slipped the RFI into the container that had been set up ahead of time.
"Turn away Cole." Kuo stated, a pillar of ice forming nearby as she stood on top of it, while at the same time she glared down at them, showing that she had turned her back on what they had been fighting for the entire time they had been in New Marais, especially since she was getting ready to blast them.
"Or what? You'll freeze me to death?" Cole replied, though as he said that Nix formed a smoky barrier around the RFI and the power box that it was attached to, which was great since the Beast had freed himself from Adagio's attacks and was coming at them once more, "Sorry Kuo, but you should have realized that your power would mean nothing against someone like Adagio and that you wasted your time joining the Beast's side."
Kuo growled as she started firing ice bolts at the group, though while Cole, Aria, and Sonata went to battle the Beast Adagio stared near her and waved her hand at the incoming attack, transforming it back into water that simply hit the roof in front of her. When Kuo tried her beam attack Adagio also separated it into several different strands that missed the mark, annoying her opponent in the process, before she even turned the pillar of ice into water, causing it to flow off the roof as Kuo hit the ground. As she started to get back up, however, Adagio moved her hands and the water from Kuo's attacks rose into the air for a moment, forming ice cuffs around Kuo's hands before she pinned her to the side of the building that she chose to stand on, which she followed up by pinning her legs and body to the building as well, to prevent her from moving, and then sealed her mouth shut, as she didn't want to listen to whatever Kuo had to say. As she wrapped up with Kuo, however, Cole unleashed an Ionic Storm right on top of the Beast's head and stunned him for a moment, giving them more time for the RFI to charge... before Nix, deciding that she was going to take matters into her own hands, let her flames form around her as she took to the air, looking like a firebird or something, before exploding when she came into contact with the Beast's stunned head.
As the Beast, now missing half his head, fell to one knew Cole and the Dazzlings didn't have time to mourn Nix's death, as Adagio and her sisters couldn't feel her presence anymore, to which Cole grabbed the RFI and moved out, to which Sonata caught him as he jumped into the air as they took off to the cathedral once more. When they reached their destination Cole was dropped down in the same tower that they had originally put the RFI in, back when this battle began, and slipped the device into it for a few seconds, before the electricity gathered around him, indicating that the RFI was fully charged and ready to go.
"I guess this is the end." Sonata said, though at the same time they heard the sound of something moving and found the Beast approaching them once more, fully intending to smash the RFI and Cole, but at the same time the three of them were ready to defend Cole so he could activate the device and end this.
"No, not yet." Cole replied, though even as he spoke he knew that Zeke and Trish had to be in a safe building nearby, so they weren't in the way of the final battle, before he glanced out at the Beast as their foe approached the cathedral, as he knew what was going to happen next, "I'm going to force him to admit defeat first, and then I'll blow him away."
Now that Cole was further empowered by the RFI, boosting his powers to the heights of what the Dazzlings used when they were using their full power forms, like they were doing right now, the four of them unleashed a storm of powerful attacks that forced the Beast to stagger as each attack hit him. This time around Cole's electric based attacks did a little more than what the Dazzlings could do, as the Beast was indeed forced to his knees, like he wanted, and it appeared that he was out of energy already, which made sense considering that he had been fighting three powerful Conduits before this point and the addition of the fourth was too much for him to bare. Truth be told the Dazzlings were a little disappointed in the fact that the Beast, once Cole was empowered by the RFI, went down so easily, because while Kessler didn't have the powers that their current opponent had he still put up a decent fight, though at the same time it appeared that Cole didn't care, as when they landed he pulled out the RFI and looked up at the Beast. As all that happened Kuo, who apparently freed herself from Adagio's grip, maybe because Adagio felt that she had been defeated and removed the ice when they started the final bout with their true opponent, walked into the area and fell to her knees... only to tell the four of them that they had made the right choice, that even Nix, of all people, had made the right choice, and that she was scared for what was going to happen next.
"Cole... it's time to end this." Adagio said, knowing that the time had come for her and her sisters to say goodbye to someone that they had come to call their friend, someone that had accepted them for their faults and had helped them forge a new destiny for themselves, one that came with the return of their former powers... and she would have been lying to herself if she didn't admit that saying goodbye to Cole hurt more than she was willing to admit.
Cole nodded, knowing that Adagio, Aria, and Sonata would be able to watch over the world for some time, making sure that nothing else like the Beast reared it's ugly head, and prepared to use the RFI and end this entire adventure, but before he poured his power into the device three yellow beams of energy came down on where they were standing, only for him to find that they were enveloping the Dazzlings. All three of them had been standing in positions around the Beast, to make sure that he didn't get back up before Cole activated the RFI, which was why the beams were separated as well, but as he looked around for the source of what was going on the Dazzlings looked behind him, where Cole turned around and found something that he could only describe as a chimera creature that looked like a serpent in terms of it's body. It was hard to say what the creature was supposed to be, as there were too many animals included in the construction of the creature, but at least the Dazzlings recognized it, only for Cole to realize that the only thing from their world, that appeared in this world, was Discord, the Spirit of Disharmony and Chaos that he and the others had been told about.
"You're right. It's about time your adventure ended." Discord spoke up, to which he raised his left claw for a moment and snapped his fingers, which caused the Dazzlings to lift into the air as they remained trapped inside the pillars that he had placed around them, "Please, don't struggle. I'm taking the three of you home, and there will be no ifs, ands, or buts in regards to the decision I have made."
"You're taking them home... to Equus?" Cole asked, as he wanted to be sure that the spirit was taking his friends away to some forgotten world or something like that, because from what he could tell at least Adagio and Aria didn't like him, while Sonata seemed indifferent or something similar to that.
"That's correct... though I should add a sleep spell to make things easier," Discord commented, snapping his fingers again, to which Cole noticed Sonata immediately doze off and that Aria fought it for a few more moments before finally surrendering, while Adagio was clearly holding it back, "Anyway, have fun saving the world!"
Adagio, seeing her sisters be knocked out by Discord's magic, punched the magical barrier that separated her from the outside world, because she couldn't believe that the Spirit of Disharmony and Chaos would care enough to watch them fight against the Beast and then rob them of the chance to say farewell to their friends before heading home, which was something she had never thought of until this moment. After the failure with the portal that Sunset had gone into, which had brought them here instead of where Sunset had been taken, she had thought that using portal related magic would be worthless, but right now she didn't want their adventure to end this way and fought against the spell that Discord had cast on her. As they rose into the air, however, Adagio watched as Cole smiled at them, showing her that he was grateful for all the time the three of them spent with him since they arrived in this world and that he was happy to call them his friends, before he gripped the RFI once more and started to pour more power into the device. Not even a few seconds later a beam of pure power burst into the sky and pierced the atmosphere, dispersing the energy around the entire world... and as Cole fell to the ground, and the RFI rolled away from his hands, Adagio watched as Kuo collapsed on the ground, the life gone from her body, and the Beast turned to ash that disappeared into the wind.
All Adagio could manage was a weak smile as she collapsed in the pillar that she was suspended in, just like her sisters were, before she closed her eyes and wondered what Discord had in store for them this time around... and then she drifted off into the enchanted sleep that the spirit had put the three of them in, not knowing where they were going for real or if he was even planning on letting them wake up when they arrived at their destination. All she could do was silently hope that he hadn't been lying to Cole, before her thoughts drifted off and she remembered nothing more.
Adagio moaned as she finally started to emerge from the spell that Discord had cast on her and her sisters, though it was a slow process that took some time for her to get her body moving and actually open her eyes, which would make sense considering that the Spirit of Disharmony and Chaos wasn't the best spell user in all of Equus. The first thing that she noticed in her new surroundings was the sun that was coming through the nearby window, which honestly didn't tell her much since all three of the worlds that she and her sisters had been to had windows, at least according to what they overheard when Sunset told her human friends about Equus. The second thing that she became aware of was the fact that there were birds chirping in the background, again a common item between all three worlds, and she remained laying wherever she was resting for a few moments, trying to determine if she could pinpoint which of the three worlds the birds belonged to, but in the end she couldn't figure it out. As such she yawned for a moment, pulled off the blankets that she had been sleeping under, and climbed out of the bed that she had been laying on, though as she took a few steps forward she stopped in mid-step as her brain caught up with what she had just done... to which she turned back around and looked at the large bed that she hadn't known she was sleeping in, the nice bed sheets and pillows that accompanied it, and the extremely nice room that she had woken up in.
In that moment she could have guessed which world she was in, as the version of Earth that they had gone to, where they met Cole and the others, didn't have walls that seemed to be made out of pure crystals, and yet, seeing how the world that Sunset had been in reflected their home world, she refrained from saying anything as she moved towards the door and opened it, finding a hallway that was unfamiliar to her.
Before she went anywhere she looked down at herself and found that she was still wearing the same clothes that she had been wearing when Discord abducted them, though instead of ransacking the nearby closest for something new to wear she walked out into the hallway and started exploring. The first thing she found out was that there were a fair number of doors on both sides of the hallway, making her wonder where she was since she had no idea what sort of place needed all these doors, but at the same time she kept her eyes open for anything that was open, so she could figure out what was going on. What surprised her was that she actually found a door that was open, as she hadn't attempted any of the other ones in case this was a trap that Discord had set up, because he was known for pranks and everything like them, but when she pushed open the door she found a room not unlike the one that she had been in earlier, only this one was a little larger than hers. In fact the room really just seemed like a slightly enlarged version of her own room, with the bed made meaning that whoever slept in the room was long gone already, but she found two things that she didn't expect to find at all; two doors leading out to a balcony of some sort, and a mannequin of some kind, shaped like a female human, that had been the resting place for some sort of clothing, which was vacant at the moment.
When she walked through the balcony doors, however, her eyes widened as she looked out at the pristine landscape that was in front of her, which included a town that had a number of people that looked like her and her sisters, a cross between ponies and humans, walking about and enjoying their day... before she decided to back up and close the doors to the balcony, so she could go find her sisters before she attempted to figure out the truth behind where they were.
"Good, your awake." a voice said, one that Adagio had heard before, as she and her sisters had talked to the girl that it belonged to when they invaded the school and attempted to rule the world, only for them to be defeated by that very same girl and the friends that she had made.
Adagio turned around slowly and came face to face with the last person, or pony as it were, that she ever expected to see, especially since she and her sisters had been so sure that the girl in question had been lost among the number of planets that the broken portal could have sent her to; Sunset Shimmer. Sunset's body was the same as hers and her sisters, a cross between human and pony, though she still possessed her unicorn horn and seemed to be at home in the anthro body that she was stuck in, making her wonder just how long she had been stuck in this form. What was odd was the clothing she was wearing, as she seemed to be wearing some cyan blue colored baggy pants that covered a good portion of the lower part of her body, and came complete with a a blue colored belt around the top of it with a black colored sash that had golden colored trim and three lavender colored diamonds in a vertical pattern. A few moments later she noticed that Sunset was wearing a golden bracelet on both of her arms, starting near her wrists and going halfway up her arms, and that she happened to be wearing a black collar that had a white trim on both ends of it, amber colored strips in equal intervals, and a lavender diamond in the direct center, complete with a cloth binding around her breasts.
Adagio stared at the girl that she and her sisters had gone out in search for when they entered the portal under the ruined statue, though she had to sweat for a few seconds as she felt the immense magical power that was emitting from her, a power that didn't seem like it was everything that she could use if she had to battle someone, and felt both powerful and terrifying at the same time.
"I see that you are at a loss for words," Sunset continued, clearly giving Adagio a few moments to stare at her body, because that was what everyone that had seen her in this form had done when she made contact with them again, before she walked over to the balcony door and walked outside after opening the doors, "It feels good to be home, doesn't it?"
"Wait... you mean..." Adagio started to say, though the thought that she and her sisters had actually made it back to their home world, after so many years of banishment for what they did before Starswirl punished them, seemed so impossible that she couldn't even accept it at the moment.
"Yes, this is Equus," Sunset replied, to which she smiled for a moment as she looked out over the town that rested out in front of her at the moment, along with the familiar city that was resting on the side of the nearby mountain, before she turned back towards Adagio, "or, more specifically, the continent of Equestria, in the town of Ponyville."
"Are... are you really Sunset Shimmer?" Adagio asked, because she and her sisters had gone out in search of this very person, leading them to the world that Cole and his friends lived in, but to find out that Sunset Shimmer was here, in the world that she and her sisters had been born in, instead of another world, almost made her think that their adventure had been for nothing, other than to teach them how to be heroes, "You can't be Sunset Shimmer, not with the intense power that I feel coming from you, and that's counting the terrifying feeling that's accompanying your power."
"What you are feeling is the power that I acquired during my own adventures," Sunset said, knowing that Adagio could feel her power and had limited the amount of destruction energy that was in what others could feel, before she sighed and further restricted her power, so she didn't crush Adagio or do something like that with her power, "I'd prefer to wait for Aria and Sonata to wake up... but with Spike making breakfast, and there's more than enough for everyone, I have the feeling that you'll find them downstairs. Allow me to take you to them."
Adagio stared at Sunset as she walked towards the door that connected this room to the hallway and followed her outside, where she watched as the door was closed and sealed with a locking spell, before they headed down the rest of the hallway and walked towards the dining area of the palace that they were in. As they walked down the hallway Adagio noticed some runes on the walls and realized that they were directions to the various areas of the palace, something that only those well versed in magic could understand, and at the bottom of the stairs they had come to was some labels in the more common language that did the same thing. At the same time Adagio noticed that Sunset had been correct, someone was making breakfast and it actually smelled really good, though she wasn't sure if that was because she and her sisters didn't eat anything before fighting the Beast or if it was because they were back in Equus. She was surprised that they were actually home, the place that they were banished from all those years ago, and yet, instead of feeling annoyed by such a thing, she felt happy to be in the one place that she and her sisters had tried to return to, even though they couldn't have done so if Starswirl's spell was still in place... meaning that someone must have revoked the old unicorn's spell and allowed them to return, something that she would have to ask about later.
It didn't take the two of them long to reach the dining area that Sunset was taking them to, though when the door opened Adagio smiled as she found both Aria, who was drinking a cup of coffee by what she was smelling, and Sonata, who was actually reading a book, sitting at the table, waiting for her to return, only for them to look up and smile at her as they walked into the room.
"Adagio!" Sonata said, her happy tone having returned in full force, even though it was clear that she had looked around the area that they were in and was trying to figure out what had happened to them, "I'm glad that you're up. I was wondering if you were going to spend the entire morning sleeping."
"I might have, if I hadn't noticed that the room I was in wasn't like the ones we had in Cole's world," Adagio replied, to which all three of them sighed for a moment, as they all knew that they weren't in their friend's world anymore, before she took a seat near her sisters as she glanced at Sunset, who took the seat at the head of the table, "Besides, I went exploring for a few minutes and found the person that we went searching for when we entered the portal."
"Yeah, we know." Aria stated, showing Adagio that both she and Sonata had been visited by Sunset at some point, but the looks on their faces also told her that neither of them were sure about the situation that they were in, especially since all of them had been in a middle of a fight before Discord showed up and abducted them, "That still raises the question; are you really Sunset Shimmer?"
"Yes, I am the person that you went searching for when you stepped into the portal beneath the broken statue," Sunset replied, though at the same time she picked up a cup of tea that happened to be sitting in front of her and took a sip from it, allowing the three of them to stare at her for a few seconds, before she set the cup down and gave them her full attention, "The power that you are feeling at the moment is the power that I gained from the adventures I went on after stepping through the portal, because I went from being an ordinary unicorn and ascended to being an alicorn, and then I ascended even further and became a god... a God of Destruction. The terrifying aspect of my power, that Adagio felt earlier and both of you are likely feeling right now, is the power that I unlocked by ascending to this position, a power that allows me to erase those that challenge or annoy me, purge massive objects from existence, and destroy planets whenever I desire, and that includes an entire galaxy. However, that doesn't mean there aren't rules that I have to follow, as both Twilight Sparkle, my counterpart god, and I have to keep the entire universe in balance and make sure that life prospers, though while Twilight encourages new life to start I actually take care of things that threaten that balance."
"Princess Twilight's a god now?" Sonata asked, though at the same time that exact thought was going through both Adagio and Aria's minds as well, because it seemed like something had happened since Sunset stepped through the portal, especially since she had ascended to a level that was far above what they were capable of.
"She's a Kaioshin, or a God of Creation," Sunset explained, though as she spoke Spike walked out of the kitchen area and showed that he was ready to dish out the morning meal, as he started placing a few plates on the table in front of them, while at the same time the Dazzlings stared at him, as they had no idea that he was actually a dragon, "Hey Spike, when are Twilight and Celestia coming downstairs?"
"Last I checked they said it would be in a couple of minutes," Spike replied, once more confirming to the Dazzlings that the dog they had known about, back in the world that they and Sunset had been in some time ago, was actually a dragon that was currently maturing, as he had wings on his back despite his small size, before he walked into the kitchen to collect more of the plates he had been gathering.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata were expecting something light, since it was breakfast, and soon they were assaulted by a sea of flavors that only came from the food that was made in Equus, something that they hadn't eaten when they were first here, since they were used to feeding on emotions and what not, but now they were eager to dig in and Sunset simply let them do that. As the three of them dug into the food that was in front of them, however, Sunset explained that she wasn't the only pony that had gone through what they were referring to as the 'Awakening Process', as pretty much every pony in Equestria, save for some that still clung to their pony lives, had taken a leap of faith and acquired a form just like what they and Sunset had. Sunset further explained that those who went through the process ended up awakening their own powers, which hadn't caused a panic because those that would clearly misuse them somehow ended up with either nothing or a power that was worthless in their eyes, all while a school had been built between Ponyville and Canterlot to train those that developed powers, or Elemental Affinities as they became known as. When Sonata asked about that Sunset told them that they weren't the only ponies to go through the crystal mirror, or the statue portal, and end up in an entirely new world, as the ones that did that ended up going through an adventure that gave them powers that they could only dream of achieving if they never went through the gateway they walked through... and, as an example, she revealed that Rainbow had gained the power to control lightning, making her a force to be reckoned with.
As the minutes ticked by the sisters, Sunset, and Spike were eventually joined by Princesses Twilight Sparkle and Celestia, who they discovered were wearing clothing that they weren't expecting them to be wearing, despite the fact that they were now apparently gods as well. Celestia, not going by her title of Princess anymore when she told them that as she sat down, wore a golden colored robe that had an amber colored sash above her waist, in addition to a black cuirass with golden trim that had the same diamond design that was on Sunset's sash. Twilight, on the other hand, was wearing a fiery orange colored jacket of some sort, one that rested over her chest area like a shirt, purple colored pants, an amber colored sash, and a pair of earrings, both ending in a small lavender colored sphere, that hung from her ears. From what the Dazzlings could tell the three gods were impressive, even if they weren't oozing out all of their power in an instant, and they also determine that unicorns must have the potential to keep their horns after going through the Awakening Process, since all three of them still had their horns, while the pegasi must have lost their wings, but from the sounds of things it appeared that the loss was well worth it since they had better control over the weather... or at least that was what Twilight said when she spoke about the process, though her tone suggested that she was one of the ponies that had helped move the others through the change.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata also learned a little about what happened to Sunset, as Celestia explained that she had been called to a part of a world that was at war with each other, two factions fighting to dominate a place called Skyrim, but they were shocked to hear that it wasn't that very war she had been called to stop, rather it was to stop the end of the world as they knew it. Celestia then revealed that the real reason Sunset had been called to Nirn, the planet they were talking about, was because Tirek, the magic stealing centaur, was there and his plan was to absorb the power of Nirn so he could return to Equus and conquer it. None of them wanted to bore the Dazzlings with the exact details of the adventure, but it did include Sunset finally overcoming her demons, gathering together an army to defend the world, and, when all hope seemed lost, she gained the power necessary to battle Tirek and defeat him, allowing her to ascend to the level of an alicorn, which they then discovered was only the tip of the iceberg that was Sunset's power. Then were then told that Discord, in his wisdom, shattered the anchor between Equus and the parallel world that they had been sent to, a real world that just so happened to mimic Equus in some ways, all because he found out that Sunset was predestined to become a God of Destruction, where the act of ascending to that level involved the destruction of the planet that it happened on... so, without wasting time, he caused Twilight's student, Starlight Glimmer, to enter the mirror after he gave Sunset a very special golden bracelet, and she followed Starlight to another part of the universe.
Celestia then told them that, at some point during her second adventure, Sunset reached the level that Discord had been dreading and finally ascended to the level that he had foreseen her reaching, blowing the planet the ascension happened on to pieces, before she eventually returned home a few years later... which caused them, and that included forcing Discord, to find all the ponies that had been displaced while the mirror and portal were open, which were currently shutdown without a hope of coming back on.
"You mean to tell me that we weren't the only ones that had to go through something like that?" Adagio asked, though she wasn't sure if she was happy that they weren't the only ones displaced by Discord's actions or annoyed, but by the looks on the faces of those around them she could tell that Sunset, at the very least, was annoyed.
"There are eight other ponies, besides you three, Rainbow, Applejack, Starlight, and myself that went on their own adventures," Sunset replied, noticing that the Dazzlings were a little surprised by the fact that they weren't the only ones that had been displaced, though she was happy that they were safe and sound, despite the fact that they had been fighting a powerful enemy in the world they went to, "and, for the most part, the majority of them have returned, save for Gilda, Derpy, and King Sombra."
"So, what are you going to do with so many powerful fighters?" Aria inquired, because something told her that there was a reason behind that many ponies gaining the various powers that they hadn't been told about, and she was sure that one of the gods would have an answer.
"Nothing." Sunset answered, as she wasn't planning on conquering the rest of the planet or anything, not when some of the other ponies were building relationships with the other nations, "I'm going to do my job and keep watch over the numerous planets that rest throughout the entire universe, kill those that threaten the stability of said universe, and maybe help the ponies that are still out there, if they need help."
"What about the friends you left behind?" Sonata asked, bringing them to the subject that she and her sisters had been planning on asking Sunset about the next time they saw her, if they ever saw her, though that was before Sunset raised an eyebrow for a moment, "You know, the Rainbooms? The band that you helped to defeat us when we tried to take over the town, only to join after that event and then leave behind when you stepped through the portal?"
"Canterlot High School." Sunset said, remembering what Sonata was talking about, as she had spent a number of years and months in that very town and knew all the ins and outs, allowing her to do hide herself and get into the school that she had tormented, only to later rebuild and help prosper after her own defeat, before she sighed, "How long has it been since I left?"
"A month had passed for us, before we entered the portal and appeared in the world Discord took us from," Adagio replied, though at the same time she scratched the back of her head, because she had no idea if there had been any time displacement because they walked into Discord's portal, and she was calling it that since the Spirit of Chaos controlled the passage between the two worlds, "but I honestly don't know how much more time has gone by since we left. Summer break might be over by now and the new school year might have started."
Sunset stared at the Dazzlings for a moment, her memories of the time she spent in Canterlot High School coming back to her, before she got out of her seat and walked over to the window that allowed her to stare at the mountain that Canterlot, the city that Celestia and Lune ruled from, or just Luna these days. Twilight and Celestia glanced at each other for a moment, as they knew that something was going through her mind at the moment, but neither of them said anything as they waited to see what she eventually decided, while at the same time the Dazzlings wondered if they had done wrong by mentioning the girls that had been worried about Sunset's disappearance. The sisters knew that the Rainbooms had been devastated by Sunset's disappearance and the fact that the book that was supposed to connect to one in this world had stopped working, so they could only imagine what was going through Sunset's mind at the moment, especially given the connections she had made with them. A few moments later Sunset sighed once more and turned back towards the table, but this time around she seemed ready for a whole new adventure, one that was shorter than the one she had gone on before becoming a god, and this time the Dazzlings were curious as to what she had to tell them.
"Celestia, can you locate the world that the mirror used to connect to?" Sunset asked, though at the same time she stepped away from the window and started moving towards the door that connected to the hallway, indicating that she had to be setting something in motion.
"It should take me only a few minutes to find it." Celestia replied, to which she waved her hand and a scepter, with an orb at the top that had a ring around it, phased into existence and she peered into the crystal orb, which seemed to have an image appear in it that showed the planets that she was staring at, only to move when she flicked one of her fingers or waved her other hand.
"Um, what's going on?" Aria asked, because she wanted to know what was going on and knew that Sunset would have an answer for them, as Sonata had done something to her and she felt that they needed to be aware of what the god had in mind for all of them.
"We're going to head out for the planet that Canterlot High School is located on." Sunset replied, to which Twilight smiled and got up immediately, indicating that she needed to get a few things in order before they departed, before she gave the Dazzlings her full attention, "Once I've wrapped up some unfinished business that I left behind, and figured out what I'm going to do with what I left behind, we'll come back home and discuss what the three of you want to do with your new lives, now that the banishment that Starswirl put on you has been broken."
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata stared at Sunset as she moved out of the dining room and went off to get what she needed for the coming adventure, something that they clearly weren't expecting when they woke up in the palace that they had found themselves in... and yet the thought of helping Sunset settle the past fueled them to move once more, because the next few hours promised to be interesting, and they intended to be there every step of the way.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata waited outside the palace, Twilight's palace since Spike was so kind enough to tell them where they had been staying the entire time they had been out, which was only a few hours, though that gave them some time to stare at the transformed ponies that were walking around. Many of them were going about their days, as if their lives had never changed, and others were actually practicing their fighting skills with each other, since four little kids could be seen off in the distance doing just that, but so far it appeared that nothing terrible had happened. Despite the changes in their bodies, and the fact that they had to wear clothes all the time now, none of the ponies they saw seemed to mind the sudden change, even though Spike also informed them that each of them had willingly gone through the change when it was first introduced to Equestria. One thing that surprised them was that many of the ponies, whose human counterparts they knew from Canterlot High School or the shops around the city, actually said hi to them and treated them like friends, even though they had no idea who they were or what they had done in the past, something that many didn't seem to care about, since Spike informed them that Chrysalis, the Changeling Queen, had been reformed during her adventure as well.
As shocking as that was, however, there was one person that they encountered for a few seconds before she hurried off to join Applejack and some of the other in their training session, as that was Rainbow Dash and she told them that she was interested in seeing what sort of powers they had unlocked during their adventure.
"Don't mind Rainbow," Sunset said, to which she, Celestia, and Twilight stepped out of the castle and joined the sisters, even though they had a chance to spot Rainbow before she went on her way, "She and Applejack can be a bit different at times, at least in terms of what happened to everyone else, though once you hear what they had to deal with you'll understand what I mean."
"Is there something terrible about their story?" Adagio asked, though at the same time she and her sisters gathered around Celestia, who was standing in the middle of the group, before a perfect sphere formed around them and they started to ascend towards the atmosphere, "What's going on here?"
"This is just how we travel through the space between planets," Celestia replied, to which she moved them up into the space above Equus' atmosphere, where the Dazzlings glanced around at the stars in shock for a few seconds, before she locked onto their destination and sped off towards the planet Sunset wanted to visit, all while leaving a slight rainbow colored trail behind, "And no, they're story isn't all that horrible. In fact, if you were to ask them what happened, one of them will eventually tell you that they both died during their adventure, only for them to recover from their ordeals and gain even greater strength from their deaths."
"How's something like that possible?" Aria inquired, because that wasn't something that could be found in Equus, and she knew that since she and her sisters had looked into a way to cheat death in case it turned into a battle between them and Starswirl and they were mortally wounded, only for their banishment to happen.
"Well, they were sent to a place that had seven spheres that were called the Dragon Balls," Twilight explained, recalling what she knew about the magical wish granting orbs that Rainbow and Applejack had told her about, including the couple of variations that they had discovered along the way, "From what I was told they are numbered with a star, ranging from one to seven, and all seven of them are of the same size, though when they're gathered together you're supposed to speak some sort of chant or incantation to awaken the magical wish granting dragon that it summons. That dragon, from what I have been told, has the power to resurrect the dead, erase the memories of whoever the speaker wishes, can crown anyone ruler of some location, and even bring back an entire planet, if the dragon in question is powerful enough to do that when the wish is made."
"Wait, did you say they were called the Dragon Balls?" Sonata asked, though she wasn't the only one that had caught onto that fact, as both Adagio and Aria had noticed the terminology as well, but when Twilight nodded her head Sonata had to chuckle for a moment, "Oh man, if Zeke was here he'd be throwing a fit or something."
"I take it this Zeke was a friend of yours?" Sunset inquired, where she found all three of the Dazzlings nodding their heads, which was a good sign considering what Discord had told her about them during their adventures, "Why would he care about the Dragon Balls?"
"Because he watches a show called 'Dragon Ball Z' and the Dragon Balls are a major part of the story," Adagio replied, to which she remembered something else that had happened when Zeke talked about the shows he had seen on the television, before the Blast took them out and likely ruined his collection, "He also talked about a show that seemed to be a version of what happened on Equus... though we're not sure how accurate it is, seeing how he only knew of it's existence and he, as well as our friends Cole and Trish, were shocked when we told them where we were from."
Sunset thought about that as Celestia moved them through the space between planets, as it was odd, in her opinion, for there to be another civilization that had knowledge of events that happened in Universe 7, from her own universe, and the only reason she knew that was because of the mention of the 'Cell Games', something that both Rainbow and Applejack had told her about in great detail, or at least their version of it. As the Dazzlings continued to talk with both Twilight and Celestia, answering questions and asking their own in return, she found that, in the end, it honestly didn't matter how they found out about the Cell Games, as it sounded like someone had made it up and had no idea that the world they wrote about was actually real. It reminded her of the Codex, something that she and Starlight had found fragments of during their adventure together, as it also detailed the same events that the Dazzlings had mentioned, yet it was possible that the civilization that created the device had 'seen' the events in some manner before their planet had been destroyed... but there were too many unanswered questions revolving around that device and she knew that it wasn't all that important, not when what they were going to do was even more important to all of them.
She sighed as she glanced at the stars they were passing, knowing that she had screwed up by not returning to this one planet when she first returned to Equus, though she had to wonder how the others were doing without her and the Dazzlings in their lives... and if they managed to keep the planet intact with the magic that had leaked into their world, before Discord fiddled with the portal anyway.
It took them a few hours to get near the planet that Sunset and the Dazzlings had called home for many years, even though the Dazzlings spent a thousand years, at the very least, on the planet while Sunset had only called it home for a few years, before her own departure. When Celestia reached the space above the planet she stopped the sphere they were in and started the descent towards the ground below them, allowing them to breach the atmosphere before any of them could see what was happening below them, where the Dazzlings spotted the city of Canterlot, not the Equus one, directly below them. Despite the fact that Celestia actually had no idea which building they were heading towards, since she had never been here before, both Sunset and Twilight pointed out the high school that was their first destination, to which she angled them towards it as they descended. The Dazzlings, on the other hand, stared down at the high school as they drew closer to it, because they had no idea how the students were going to react to them returning with Sunset and telling them that they managed to turn over a new leaf and become good.
Sure enough, when they drew closer to the high school, the group found that students were stopping in their tracks to stare up at them as they descended from the clouds, moved down until they came to a stop near the broken statue that used to house a stable portal between worlds, before Celestia tapped her staff and the sphere came undone, allowing them to touch the ground once more.
"Canterlot High School..." Sunset commented, staring at the building that was sitting in front of them, her memories of what happened here coming back to her for a few seconds, before she sighed as she wondered if the girls were still around, or if they had given up on her, "I should have come back here after I regained who I was."
"It's okay, Sunset." Twilight said, though at the same time she was feeling the same way, as both of them had left behind friends when they were last here, especially since Sunset was sent to a whole new world and she was trying to make sense of what Discord did while balancing her job as the Kaioshin, "I'm sure that the girls aren't too upset over the fact that it's been some time since they've seen either one of us."
"I did leave them my book, so they could communicate with me," Sunset pointed out, to which she glanced at the students that were staring at them, as some of them were pointing at her, mostly because they knew that it had been some time since she had been here and that the Rainbooms likely missed her, "Oh well, we're here now. Come on, let's head inside and find the..."
"SUNSET!!!!!" a familiar voice called out, one that all of them recognized, because there was only one overly excited person that the voice could belong to, even if her opposite was one of the transformed ponies, to which Pinkie appeared behind them and attempted to hug Sunset, only for Sunset to move out of the way, let her pass by her, and then smiled as she hugged the shocked girl.
"How are you doing, Pinkie?" Sunset asked, though at the same time she pulled away from the party girl, knowing that the others were on their way if she was already here, while also noticing that the Dazzlings seemed surprised by the speed she used to avoid the hug that they had barely noticed until it was too late.
"Now that you're back, I feel even better than ever!" Pinkie replied, to which she stepped away from Sunset for a moment and stared at the group, where she nodded her head a few times as she thought about something, "I'd say let me guess what happened, but I think I'll wait for the others to show up... oh, and here you go."
Sunset, recalling what she had asked Pinkie, as the was the only one out of the group that had time to do what she had asked her, held her hand out as her friend withdrew the bronze key that would allow her to get inside her apartment, as she didn't want to lose it when she went to Equus, which was a good thing considering what happened to her.
"Thanks for holding onto this, Pinkie." Sunset said, as she was glad to have the key back in her possession, since there were a few items she wanted to collect from her apartment while they were here, before letting the girls sell off whatever she didn't want to take with her, "I could have used the spare one to get into the apartment, but having the actual key makes things much easier for me in the long run. Did anything happen to my place while I was gone, or to the city and it's people for that matter?"
"Save for Midnight coming up every now and then, nothing exciting has happened," another voice said, to which Sunset and the others turned their heads and found Science Twilight, or Sci Twi as Starlight jokingly called her one time, standing nearby with the rest of the Rainbooms, though she noticed that all of them were shocked by what they were seeing at the moment, "though it seems that you had more excitement than we did... Sunset, what happened to you?"
"Plenty happened to me." Sunset replied, to which the Rainbooms looked at her for a few seconds, studying her new attire and her new demeanor, and she was certain that Rarity was trying to create a new dress or something for her in her mind, before she got to the matter at hand, "Suffice to say that I went through a number of adventures to restore my mind and body to what it had been after my first adventure, along with coming to an understanding of the power that I was able to gain at the same time."
"Power?" Sci Twi asked, though at the same time she raised her hand a little and it seemed like Midnight agreed with her in some manner, as the familiar arcane glasses appeared over her face for only a few seconds, because the moment she looked at Sunset and the others through them she had to force them to disappear as sweat rolled down the side of her face for a moment, "What... what was that? All three of your powers were so strong that it was like I was looking at three suns or something, and that I had to take the glasses off to avoid going blind."
"That's easy to answer, we're gods." Celestia answered, to which the group of girls in front of them stared at them with a look of pure shock on their faces, as if they didn't believe what she was saying, before she glanced at Sunset and Twilight for a few seconds, "Twilight, Sunset, I think we might need to show them what I'm talking about."
Twilight nodded and noticed a rock that was laying near the base of the statue, where she pulled it out of the ground and wove a little of her power over it, where some green vines started to grow all over the stone, much to the shock of the girls in front of them. Celestia followed that up with waving her hand and a weighted training suit, one that their version of Rainbow and Applejack told them about, materialized in front of them, causing the group to raise their eyebrows when they realized that she had created something from nothing, even though her creation powers paled to the overall power that their Twilight commanded. It was in the following moment that Sunset's dark purple aura wrapped around her for a few seconds as she raised her hand towards the suit, where she uttered the one word that activated her power, 'Hakai', and the suit broke apart before their eyes as she erased it's existence.
"Allow me to explain, Twilight is the Kaioshin for our universe," Sunset stated, to which her aura died down and she returned her hands to her side, as she felt that behind the back wasn't the best choice at the moment, while noticing that Sci Twi was already taking notes on what she had discovered, "That means that she's my counterpart god, as it's her duty as the God of Creation to watch over the many planets that exist throughout the universe, help nurture planets that are still developing, and even create the spark that will bring new planets to life in the future. Celestia is my Angel, meaning that it's her duty to watch over me, make sure that I don't go overboard when I'm doing my job, assist us when we're trying to communicate with some special individuals, and a few other things that we're still figuring out."
"And you, darling?" Rarity asked, though at the same time she had a good idea of what she could do for Sunset while she was still here, as she knew that she could easily replace whatever she was wearing with something that was even better, "What sort of god are you supposed to be?"
"The Hakaishin, or the God of Destruction," Sunset replied, where she noticed that the others were shocked, and she knew that their shock was only going to grow when she told them exactly what she did for the universe, "It's my duty to destroy individuals that threaten the balance of the universe and even destroy entire planets, and, to further prove my point, Celestia will show you what I did about a week ago."
Celestia nodded and tapped her staff on the ground, where the image of the galaxy that Chrysalis had been sent to appeared before them, even if the Rainbooms had no idea that such a thing happened, though that was shortly before the entire galaxy started to break apart, just like the suit did... though that did nothing to reduce the shock that the Rainbooms were showing them.
"Sunset had no choice but to destroy that galaxy." Twilight said, as she had thought about it long and hard when she heard what her friend had been planning on doing when she discovered the state of that galaxy, and she had to say that their universe was better off not having to worry about it anymore, "It was almost entirely dead, with massive constructs made of flesh threatening to devour the rest of humanity... so we rescued the survivors and purged the galaxy from the face of our universe."
"But we didn't come here to talk about all that," Adagio spoke up, as she and her sisters had been quiet the entire time since their arrival, and it was only now that the Rainbooms noticed that they were standing there, along with the fact that their bodies matched Sunset's body and that they had their pendants back.
"No way, you have your pendants again?" Rainbow asked, as she couldn't believe that after all the hard work they went through to defeat the Sirens and destroy their pendants had been undone, while at the same time ignoring the different color that the three gemstones possessed.
"In a manner of speaking," Sonata said, lifting up the blue gemstone and took a moment to stare at it, something that her sisters did when she looked at hers, before glancing back at the Rainbooms, "The world we went to allowed us to unlock our own unique powers, over the elements and not over something like what Sunset and Twilight gained, and, after some time, we gathered together and attempted to use our singing abilities to break the mind-control that someone was placing on the people of the city we were trying to save. Our plan worked and our innate magic realized that we were finally turning over a new leaf, so it restored our old powers to us and gave us some new pendants, along with giving us a more powerful form that we've only used against enemies that were worthy of its power."
"Th... that's good to hear." Fluttershy commented, as she was one of the few students that had felt that the Dazzlings had been misunderstood and that they might actually be heroes, though that was if they were given the chance to prove that they were capable of change, which was why she was happy to hear that they had become heroes to an entirely new planet that they didn't know about.
"I... I have so many questions!" Sci Twi stated, because this opened the door to an entirely new frontier that she knew nothing about, and she could feel Midnight stirring with a similar excitement for a few moments, and she turned towards Sunset as she considered what she was going to say, "Is... is it possible for me to come along and see what else the universe has to offer us? In terms of knowledge and technology."
"Well, it shouldn't be too hard to ask Ratchet and Starlight if they were willing to take on another person that wanted to live on the Starship Hyperion and learn more about the universe," Twilight commented, as she was used to Starlight telling her all the details about what happened and what she needed to do at any given moment, before she glanced at her counterpart, "though before you do anything, I'd suggest running it by your parents... and maybe Celestia and I should be there to help explain what it is that you want to do. There's also the fact that we might want to show you how to gain more control over your powers and see Midnight not as an enemy that you need to push away, but an ally whose powers can be a benefit to you and those that are around you, and we'd be able to do that in a controlled environment."
"I'll let the two of you do that," Sunset said, to which she glanced down at her hand for a moment, where the key to her apartment was resting, and knew what she had to do before they left this planet, since it was possible that this might be the last time she visited this place, "The girls and I will head back to my place for a moment... there's a few things I need to gather before we head back to Equus, and some things that I need to set straight while we're here."
Celestia nodded and together, with both versions of Twilight, set off for the house that Sci Twi lived in, so they could see what her parents said about what their daughter wanted to do, leaving Sunset with the rest of the Rainbooms for a moment, who smiled at her as she focused on the students that were around them for a few seconds... though even as she did that she found a familiar young adult approaching them, one that was hard to mistake for anyone else considering his two toned sapphire blue hair.
"Flash Sentry, it's been a while since we last saw each other." Sunset commented, though at the same time she smiled at him, because she easily remembered what the two of them had done when they were boyfriend and girlfriend, which was yet another time she had gotten over when she was regaining who she was, "How are you doing?"
"Good... considering that it's not everyday that I find out that one of the girls that I had a crush on just so happens to be a god, while my ex-girlfriend is also a god." Flash Sentry replied, though at the same time he rubbed the back of his head, because it had been slightly embarrassing when he discovered that both Sunset and Twilight were ponies from another world, which had hurt his reputation, though now he had no idea what to think, "So, you're a God of Destruction? I guess that makes you the most dangerous person in the entire universe, and the one that you don't want to piss off, regardless of whats going on around you."
"Technically, I'm the most powerful individual in the universe, not the most dangerous." Sunset stated, though at the same time that same saying would be correct for some of the other universes, as some of the other Gods of Destruction were more dangerous than she was, "Besides, I haven't destroyed a planet because I was bored or angry, I've only done that to ensure the safety of the universe and the remaining planets that exist around us."
"That's... good to hear." Flash said, though at the same time he stepped forward and placed a hand on Sunset's shoulder for a moment, while at the same time she could see that something about this meeting was incredibly awkward for him, "It was good to see you again, Sunset. And who knows, maybe you'll find someone better than me out there."
Sunset barely had time to say anything before Flash withdrew his hand and headed back into the high school, his movements telling her that he must have held some feelings for her still, despite the fact that she had used him when she first came to this world and had only recently seen him like a friend, before she sighed and turned to the Rainbooms, who were eager to get underway to her apartment. She'd come back later on and tell Principle Celestia that she wouldn't be returning for the final year, not like the majority of her friends were going to do, but for now she headed to the front of the group and started to walk in the direction of her apartment. While the group followed after her, however, she had to answer several questions that they wanted to ask her, though for the most part it was just Rainbow asking her how she gained her powers, if she had to beat up the previous God of Destruction to gain them, and how many planets she had to destroy since she became what she was. She had to explain that she was predestined to become a God of Destruction, even having to explain that ascending to an alicorn was just a step in the road for her, and stated that she had only destroyed a few planets, as she felt that mentioning the loss of a galaxy would freak them all out... and then she had to explain her new body to Rarity, just so she knew how she acquired it.
The Dazzlings, not knowing what else to do in this situation, followed after Sunset and also answered several questions, though they all pertained to their own adventure and how they managed to turn good, but eventually that came to a stop when they reached the building that Sunset was bringing them to.
What they found on the other side of the door that Sunset unlocked was a decent sized apartment, as the size looked like it could be two of them combined thanks to the height of the room they entered, though one thing they all noticed was the decent sized television near the back of the room. As Sunset closed the door behind them, however, she glanced at the area around her and let her memories come back to her, as it had been a long time since she had been here, before sighing as she glanced at the pile of mail that would have to be taken care of before she left this world behind. After that she spotted her equipment that allowed her to use some of her guitars, which was when she glanced at the wall that the stairs to her 'bedroom' rested against and looked at the two electric guitars and the one acoustic one that she owned, all treasures from her past life before she walked through the portal and went to Nirn.
"Nice place you got here." Adagio commented, though she and her sisters stayed down on the lower level, as they felt that it would be inappropriate to head up to what was essentially Sunset's bedroom, while at the same time taking a moment to look at the guitars that their god was staring at, "And those are some nice guitars as well."
"You know, this just makes me want to ask another question," Applejack said, because she, as well as a number of the other girls, had been wondering something since they found out that Sunset was from another world, though they had never bothered to ask her until now, "How did you get the money to pay for a place like this? I know the prices here are cheaper than everywhere else, even though the buildings are well maintained and the grounds are clean, but I've never been able to figure out where you got the money to pay for everything."
Sunset sighed and headed up to the bedroom area, where she found two shelves with books, pictures, and other items that she liked, before she approached the stand that her alarm clock was resting on top of, which Pinkie seemed to have unplugged so the sound of it continuously going off didn't annoy her neighbors. She opened the drawer almost all the way and reached into the back part of it, where she grabbed onto the pouch that was back there and pulled it out, before closing the drawer and walking back down the stairs, where the others gathered around a small table as she poured out the contents. The others were shocked to find a number of golden coins, called Bits in Equus, and gemstones, a few rubies, sapphires, and the occasional emerald, that had been stored inside the pouch, before they glanced at Sunset for a few seconds, telling her that they had never considered her having all this.
"Back when I was leaving Canterlot, to come here, I snuck into the royal treasury and swiped a few odds and ends for my stay in this world," Sunset replied, looking down at the Bits and gemstones for a few seconds, because while they had allowed her to pay for a place she still felt a little ashamed for taking them in the first place, "Every now and then I'd sell a few Bits or a gemstone and be set for a few weeks to a month, since the purity of the gemstones was better than what the people I was selling them to had ever seen in their lives. Honestly, after I turned over a new leaf, I planned on finishing high school and getting an actual job to pay for everything else, but now, since that plan has been dashed, I guess I actually don't need these anymore... why don't you guys take them and distribute them among yourselves."
"Really? That's quite generous of you." Rarity commented, as she never expected someone with such beautiful gems to part with them, but at the very least the group would be able to put them towards improving their own lives, which might have been why she was letting them take them like she was.
"I don't actually need them anymore, so I might as well hand them over to someone that can use them," Sunset said, since she was technically living in Twilight's castle until she determined a better place to live and create her own palace, but for now she focused on what was happening at the moment, "Though, since I'm no longer going to be living in this apartment anymore, there are a few things that I should collect and take back with me..."
"We can have a party helping you pack up!" Pinkie declared, though that was when she headed out through the door they had walked through and went out to Sugercube Corner, while at the same time Sunset and the others stared at each other for a few seconds as the Rainbooms started to discuss how much stuff, in addition to her guitars, that Sunset should take back to Equus when it was time for her and her fellow gods to leave.
Sunset chuckled for a moment as she joined the others, because for now it felt like nothing had happened to her since she stepped through the portal, and she was planning on savoring the time she had with the Rainbooms, before she, Twilight, and Celestia headed back to Equus to get the Dazzlings settled into their new lives as residents of the planet they had previously been banished from... and then they could look forward to the return of the remaining missing ponies that were still out there, among the many planets that rested throughout their universe.
Adagio, Aria, and Sonata found that Pinkie's party for Sunset, which somehow evolved to include the entirety of Canterlot High School and they didn't bother to even ask how she managed that, lasted pretty much the rest of the day and they enjoyed themselves to the best of their ability. Students stared at them throughout the party, clearly not forgetting what they had done before their own disappearance, but when they heard that the three of them had assisted in saving an entire world from a disaster, the details not known to anyone outside the Rainbooms, their moods changed and the Dazzlings discovered that the students received them with open arms. It was an experience that they would never forget, because people they had wronged in the past were now accepting them for what they had become and what they had done in the other world, as if all the negative feelings that the students had towards them had disappeared, and all three of them were happy to have them feeling like that. As such it allowed them to actually enjoy the party itself and take part in the dance that eventually broke out in the middle of the stage, where all of them smiled, surprising some of them since they weren't used to genuine smiles coming from Adagio and Aria, and simply enjoyed themselves.
While all of that happened, however, they noticed that Sunset spent a good portion of her time talking to the rest of the Rainbooms, no doubt telling them that she'd be returning to Equus once the party was over and that it would be some time before she was able to come back, though that didn't stop their God of Destruction, something they were still coming to terms with, from relaxing for a few hours and having fun, which told them that she likely didn't have time to do things like this thanks to her new profession.
When the party eventually reached it's end, and both the teachers and the students went home before they came back the following day to help Pinkie clean the area, the Rainbooms said goodbye to Sunset, or now anyway, as she rejoined the Dazzlings, Celestia, and both Twilights. The Dazzlings were actually surprised that Sci Twi's, or Sparkle as she preferred to be called so she didn't get confused with Twilight, parents were more than willing to allow their daughter to explore other worlds, though from what they heard that night she was planning on building a more stable portal that wasn't like the one that Sunset and Twilight used to get to Canterlot High in the first place. That would allow her to return to this world and continue her schooling, not that she needed it, and keep up to date with her friends, who were going to miss her while she confronted her inner demon and conquered it, and whatever else Sparkle was going to do while she was visiting Equus. The Dazzlings really didn't pay that much attention to what she was planning on doing, since they were eager to set up their own lives and continue living without fear of Starswirl's banishment looming over their heads, though the first thing they would need to do was figure out what they were good at, besides singing, and get a job like everyone else in whatever town or city they decided to live in... and then, once that was said and done, find a place to live, so they didn't mooch off of Twilight and Sunset all the time.
Once all of the goodbyes were said, and the Rainbooms stood back for a moment, Celestia tapped her staff on the ground and the sphere from before formed around them once more, allowing them to ascend towards the atmosphere and head off into space once more, causing Sparkle to smile with excitement as she left her home behind and started to travel to a whole new world.
Of course, like any good researcher, Sparkle wasted little time in asking all of them, excluding Celestia since she feared that breaking her concentration would destroy the sphere and that some of the group would die to the nature of the space around them, questions about the other worlds and whatever else came into her head. One thing that came to mind was the planet that the Dazzlings had gone to when they were trying to find Sunset, where the three of them took turns answering her questions with the information that they remembered from the world that had been around them when they were helping Cole. From what they remembered the technology was around the same level as the planet they had just left, if not a level or two behind them, and all of them were sure that the plague had been taken care of, causing a whole new set of questions to be asked, since Sparkle was interested in what they were talking about, even if she didn't like what she heard when one of them answered them.
"You know, I just realized something," Sonata commented, as when she thought about what Kessler showed them she noticed that something didn't add up with the reality that had come to Cole's world after the Ray Sphere was created and used several times, "Kessler was concerned about the future repeating in the past, which was why he was tormenting Cole and testing him in the manner that he did, but one thing he never told us about, and sure didn't show us, was any information about the plague. I think his tampering with the Ray Sphere caused the plague to erupt in both Empire City and New Marais, along with the areas they spread to, meaning that it was his fault that the world might have perished in an entirely different manner than what he was anticipating."
"In the end, the plague didn't even matter," Adagio said, to which she glanced out at the planets that they were passing by and knew that one of them had to be the world that they had been sent to, "Cole made the decision to activate the RFI and sacrifice all the Conduits in the world to stop the Beast from his rampage, though something tells me that a few of them might have survived the activation of the device... and that both Zeke and Trish will tell the world about what he did, to make sure that people understood what he did for everyone."
"He sounds like a true hero." Sparkle said, as she had been making notes about everything that they were saying in response to her questions, because she found everything fascinating, before another question about the world the three of them had gone to came to mind and she couldn't resist asking it.
The Dazzlings were more than happy to answer her questions, since it allowed them to remember why they had enjoyed their time with Cole and his friends, though at the same time they focused on what they were going to do when they returned to Equus.
When they neared Equus a few hours later, however, the first thing that the Dazzlings noticed was the large spaceship, one that seemed to be oval shaped if someone were to look at it from above it, and they were worried that someone had found the planet and was coming to attack it. Sunset, on the other hand, revealed that the ship in question was the Starship Hyperion, the ship that she had helped her brother, the Lombax called Ratchet, and her sister, Starlight, build after their second adventure in the Bogon Galaxy, one that held the technology to help someone with their inner demons, since a room had been built to deal with her own inner evil. Sparkle had to ask about that, if she was referring to the She-Demon that she had heard about from the Rainbooms, and Sunset told her that she had renamed the demon, calling her Searing for some time, and that a shattering of her body and mind had resulted in the two of them forming two separate ponies that had been sisters, before she became who she was at the moment. Sparkle stared at her for a few seconds, clearly shocked by the information like the Dazzlings were, before she stated that she would like to hear the full story behind all of that one day, which Sunset agreed to... once they set up an entire day to tell her exactly what happened during that adventure, since it was a long tale that would require a whole day to tell her everything.
It didn't take them long to reach the palace that they had been in earlier that morning, which they found was now nighttime, though when they entered the building the Dazzlings found a portal nearby with two ascended ponies standing nearby, one that Sunset had revealed was Starlight, as she was wearing some interesting metallic armor, and Chrysalis, the former Queen of the Changelings, who looked like she didn't want to be here at all, even though she was wearing the same armor that Starlight was wearing.
"Sunset, it's good to see you again." Starlight said, to which she stepped forward and embraced Sunset for a moment, as she was one of the few people in the entire universe that could do such a thing without upsetting their God of Destruction, before stepping backwards, "Ratchet told me that you found someone that was like you, with an inner demon that needs to be taken care of?"
"More like they'll come to an understanding in some manner." Sunset replied, though her tone revealed that Starlight was correct, before she glanced back at Sparkle for a moment, who stepped forward and rubbed the back of her head as they focused on her, "Allow me to introduce Sci Twi, Twilight's human counterpart, who prefers to go by 'Sparkle' when she's near our Twilight so we don't get the two of them confused. One thing she wanted from us is some help with her inner demon, Midnight, along with the vastness of the information that we have regarding everything about the universe and the planets that we have discovered so far."
"That sounds like her." Starlight commented, with a smile on her face, though not a few seconds later she beckoned to Sparkle and lead her into the portal, to which Sparkle took a deep breath and followed after her, where Chrysalis sighed and headed into the portal as well, leaving the group to their own devices.
"So, what are the three of you going to do?" Twilight asked, turning away from the portal so she could glance at the Dazzlings, as while she was more than willing to let them stay in the castle she was curious as to what their plans were for the future, since they were free to do whatever they wanted now.
"We're planning on finding a place to live and somewhere to work." Adagio replied, because she figured that there was no reason to lie to the Kaioshin of their universe, but at the same time she sighed as she considered what she and her sisters were actually planning on doing, "It'll take some time and effort on our part, but we should be able to find a place to live in and someplace that's willing to hire ascended ponies, even if they're former villains that one threatened the safety of this world."
"You know, you could always try out for some of the position in Twilight's new school." Celestia commented, causing the three of them to turn towards her for a moment, while at the same time something dawned in Twilight's mind, as she was smiling as well, "Ever since the Ascension Process took place, and ponies have changed forms and gained their own powers, we've set aside some land and built a school between here, Canterlot, and the Crystal Empire for ponies and other creatures to come and learn about their new powers. Some of the other displaced ponies have taken up a position as an instructor from time to time, teaching others about their own powers and showing them how to control the new abilities that they have unlocked, but, last I checked, we didn't have someone who could teach fire, water, and wind based control, much less sound based since it appears that your singing abilities have returned to you as well."
"Are you... asking us to become... teachers?" Aria asked, as when she and her sisters considered finding jobs, or something to occupy their time now that they've returned to their home world, none of them had even considered what Celestia was suggesting, though at the same time these were ascended ponies that they were being asked to teach, as they had control over their powers while the newly ascended didn't have such a thing.
"There are many out there that still haven't discovered what type of affinity they have, and there are many that have figured it out, but don't have much control over their powers," Celestia replied, though at the same time she walked over to the window and stared off into the distance, where she focused on the area that the school in question had been built in, before smiling as she continued speaking, "Despite Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity having jobs, for example, they come by every now and then and hold a special class to demonstrate the powers they gained, as well as to teach the others control over their own powers... even Trixie, whose currently in the Dragon Lands speaking with the Dragon Lord, makes an occasional stop to help out those that are following in her footsteps. Most of the displaced ponies either give an hour or two of their time to helping others master their skills, though with the three of you I think the arrangement would be a little different, maybe half a day of teaching, thus allowing you to spend time getting to know the new Equus and make some new friends along the way."
"Okay, that would solve where we could work," Sonata said, though there was something else that was missing from the arrangement, and she knew that her sisters knew about it as well, since they weren't saying anything else while she spoke her mind, "but we still need to find someplace where we could live and not be a burden on Twilight."
"That's easy to take care of as well." Twilight spoke up, as she thought of something that had happened recently and knew that she might have the perfect fit for the three sisters, before waving a hand and the image of the two story house materialized in front of them, "There's actually a two story house, with at least four beds and two baths, that recently went on the market, because the owners decided that they're moving to Canterlot to see what the city has to offer, so it should be easy to acquire the deed and then get you guys settled in. Besides, if you did choose to work as teachers at the new school, you'd be able to get enough Bits to pay the bills and have enough left over to do whatever you wanted, unless you have something else in mind for your futures."
Adagio glanced at her sisters for a moment, as this was all interesting for them and it actually made things much easier for them, since they had no leads on other jobs and places to live, so they would be fools to turn down the offer that the gods were offering them. She never considered the fact that they might be teachers to the other ascended ponies, just like her sisters had never taken a moment to consider the option either, but she had to admit that showing others her skills and helping them actually sounded like fun. Besides, with the other displaced ponies being there for a few hours every day it was only a matter of time until they figured out what sort of powers the others had, especially since Rainbow had wanted to fight them at some point in time, just to see how strong they were. She could see that Aria and Sonata were thinking the same thing that she was thinking at the moment, that this would be fun and enlightening for all of them, both them and those they taught, and she knew the answer that they were going to give Celestia and Twilight before either of them said anything else in an attempt to persuade them into taking up the positions.
A few seconds later Adagio and her sisters turned towards the gods that were in front of them, as Sunset was sitting in a chair off on their left while Celestia and Twilight stood near the window, and they could tell that the two of them were eager to hear their decision.
"Sure. I guess being teachers for a while might be the best course of action for us at the moment." Adagio said, though at the same time she was sure that there was a specific set of rules and regulations that they would have to follow, since it was Twilight's school that they were talking about, but as she said that she noticed that the gods seemed happy to have someone for their three elements at long last.
Adagio was sure that over the next week or two the three of them would have finally settled into their new lives as if they hadn't been doing anything else, though at the same time Sunset had brought her guitars with her and maybe they could get some of their own to have a session with her, or at the very least assist her if she needed help with something, and maybe check in with Sparkle when she was done with whatever she and the others were doing... but for now she focused on what she, Aria, and Sonata were doing next with a smile on her face, as their future was brighter than ever before, and she wouldn't trade it for anything else.
A week had gone by since Adagio, Aria, and Sonata had returned to Equus with Sunset, Twilight, Celestia, and Sparkle, where they had been given enough time to settle into the house that they had been given, and would pay for on their own in the future, while they also adapted to being teachers in Twilight's new school. The house in question, as they had been told, had more than enough room for all three of them, allowing each of them to start planning out how they were going to personalize their own rooms and where they were going to put the furniture, once they had enough bits to get some more modern pieces, instead of what was left behind. Despite that fact they actually liked their place, not just for the space they could put between them if there was an argument or disagreement between two of them, but even then they weren't eager to get into a fight with each other, not after the adventure that they had been through and the friends that had been left behind in the wake of the Beast's defeat. All three of them considered using their magical talents to immortalize Cole and his deeds, at least for themselves and their more immediate associates, but between figuring out where everything would go in their house and their jobs there wasn't a lot of time to do that.
Speaking of their jobs Adagio found that being a teacher was more interesting than what she originally thought it would be, as the ascended ponies that were her students actually paid attention to what she had to tell them and, unless she was hallucinating it, they were also taking notes on how she controlled the water around her and the moisture in the air. Many of her own students happened to be former pegasi, as they were hoping to learn new techniques to better control the weather, and there were even a few normal ponies, more like a unicorn and two pegasi, hoping to learn some pointers for whatever they were actually trying to learn. Her students were surprised when she demonstrated that she could draw in the moisture in the air around her and form her techniques, even forming solid ice with a simple thought, and she could see that a good number of them were trying to figure it out on their own, just like she did when she was first learning what sort of elemental affinity she had unlocked. She even noticed that some of the students had no idea what affinity they were connected to, meaning that they were here to test their skills and see if they could figure it out through sitting through a class... though generally those ones ended up heading to a different class the following day and trying something else out, until they saw what fit.
Aria, as she discovered, had to spend a good deal of time dealing with the ascended unicorns that liked to burn things and inform them of the dangers to wielding fire, something that she had picked up during their time in Cole's world, and while some of those dangers didn't exist in this world she actually adapted them to fit the lessons that she had planned for her own students. From what Adagio could tell most of Aria's students were almost entirely ascended unicorns, with some ascended pegasi and earth ponies thrown in because they wanted to combat the flames in a different manner than what they had been doing before hand, which Aria actually seemed fine with teaching as well, even if they didn't have the affinity that would require them to stay in her class. At the same time Aria also made sure that her students were paying attention to her lessons, as by the end of the third day she actually tested them on the material she had covered the last two days and, just like in Adagio's class, the students started taking more notes so they didn't get caught off guard on the subjects that they were talking about... which made Aria happy that they were falling in line and that the school, and by extension Twilight, would be happy that the students were doing well.
Sonata, on the other hand, seemed to have a friendlier class that mainly consisted of ascended pegasi and unicorns, including some normal members of those races, but the interesting fact was that there were a few griffins that had gone through the Ascension Process and had taken up residence somewhere in Ponyville before coming to school. From what Adagio could gather Sonata's class loved her, which made sense considering that she was the easygoing sister and wasn't always serious like she and Aria were all the time, but she was impressed when she heard that Sonata's classes were run in the same manner that both her and Aria ran their own classes. Her students also seemed to enjoy when she showed them what she was talking about by demonstrating her power to the class, giving them an idea of what she wanted them to do, and she smiled whenever they replicated what she was doing, along with making sure that those that struggled had some help so they didn't fall behind the others.
The really interesting part of all this was when they found out that the Cutie Mark Crusaders were students in the school, along with Rainbow and Applejack's younger sister Gale Wind, and that included both Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon being students as well. The reason that was interesting was that the majority of them had different elemental affinities and were placed in different rooms, because Sweetie Belle had unlocked the power to command fire, both Gale and Scootaloo controlled the wind, Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara had different levels of control over the earth, and Silver Spoon seemed to be able to manipulate the light around her, though her skill wasn't that great. When they learned that someone was able to manipulate the light, however, they discovered that the teacher for that class actually taught two different elements, as Lyra Heartstrings, who had some interesting tattoos and an interesting choice of attire, seemed to command the powers of the Light and Shadow, as that was her terms for her elements, and taught her students the basics to see what they were capable of. There was even an 'Arcane' class that Trixie Lulamoon was the instructor, though they found that sometimes the class didn't happen because Trixie was talking to the Dragon Lord and, somehow, reaching an agreement with her to have more dragons added to their school... though the Dazzlings weren't sure they wanted to know how such a thing was possible in the first place.
According to Twilight, however, Trixie was actually the Aspect of Magic now, a powerful dragon from a world called Azeroth, but at the same time the three of them determined that they'd rather hear the story from Trixie, whenever she returned from her latest venture into the Dragon Lands.
Adagio stretched as the school day, for her and her sisters anyway, was over at last, because while she enjoyed doing this, more than she originally thought when the offer was first made, the only thing she found that she didn't like was some of the paperwork, but that was easily taken care of thanks to how Twilight set the system up. She packed up what meager supplies she had brought for the day and headed outside the room that was her classroom, though as she walked down the hallway she was joined by both Aria and Sonata, as their rooms had been put near each other by coincidence when Twilight build the school. From what she had heard both Gale and Scootaloo were a little chaotic in the classroom, as their powers were more mature than what everyone else had and sometimes one of Scootaloo's practices would explode and knock everything around, though she wasn't sure if that was intentional or if she needed more practice, but that was something for Sonata to worry about.
"Hey, did you guys hear that Vinyl Scratch has an affinity for sound based attacks?" Sonata asked, deciding to talk as they walked down the hallway, because one of the things that was impossible to ignore was the fact that each teacher had some sort of affinity, especially Rarity, who only came in as a part time teacher and seemed to have four different elements she could use whenever she desired.
"I heard that our first day here." Aria replied, though at the same time she was impressed that someone who wasn't a Siren could develop sound based attacks, especially when the ascended unicorn in question was actually a DJ a good portion of the time, "You know, by now I've figured out who all of the other displaced ponies that we weren't told about where, as it appears that the majority of them are part time teachers and are extremely powerful in their own right, just like we are. Besides, there are some interesting affinities in this school."
"Like light, darkness, lightning, and arcane?" Adagio remarked, as those were the four strangest ones she could name off the top of her head, though she had to mentally add the strange 'soul' affinity that Rarity possessed, before she smiled as they exited the building and headed towards Ponyville, "Speaking of lightning, I heard from Rarity yesterday that we were lucky to be offered the positions that we were given, because if we hadn't been busy Rainbow Dash would have insisted that we spar with her for a few minutes so she could see how strong we are. Considering that she and Applejack went to the same world as Zeke's Dragon Ball Z show, and what we know about that world, I guess it's safe to say that she might have learned some interesting habits from one of it's inhabitants... and that man's friends as well, now that I think about what else is on that planet."
"Equus has become a strange place since we were last here," Sonata added, as one of the first things that they had discovered was the history of the planet they used to call home, mostly to see how history remembered them and the other villains that had been defeated after them, before glancing at the crystal palace that they had stayed in for a few days before their house had been secured, "It seems that Discord's tampering with the portal has changed this world in a good way, with both technical and magical advances becoming known to everyone, along with ways to keep the planet as pristine as it has been without the pollution that would normally ruin a place like this. Something tells me that Starlight was involved with coming up with that achievement, or at the very least helped Twilight come up with something... unless that's something that our planet usually does and we've never noticed it before time point in time."
"Well, in the end it honestly doesn't matter," Adagio said, though that was followed by the three of them taking to the air once more and headed for their house on the edge of Ponyville, which had been more than enough for the three of them to call home after everything they had been through before Discord called them home.
When they arrived at their house, however, Adagio chuckled as she spotted the reminder that was on the door, as Pinkie was planning on throwing a party to celebrate their first full week back on Equus and everyone, as in those that were also displaced, were invited to have a good evening with each other and chat about whatever came to mind. After seeing that she unlocked the door, the three of them headed inside, and she closed the door behind her, though not a few minutes later they all emerged wearing more casual clothing, gifts from Rarity, and headed to Sugercube Corner after making sure to lock the door behind them. As they walked through the street, and took in what was slowly becoming a familiar place to them, ascended ponies and normal ponies waved at them, though the normal ponies were visitors to the town, as they were told that everyone in Ponyville had gone through the process that Discord had created, but that didn't stop the three of them from waving back as they continued on their path.
It didn't take them long to reach the building that they were heading towards, even with the people and ponies that were around them, and when they opened the doors the three of them discovered that Rainbow and Applejack, including Gale, were already there, and so was Pinkie, which made sense seeing how her abilities were akin to Discord's, and that wasn't counting the powers she gained from her own adventure. Shortly after they arrived, and took a seat at one of the tables that Pinkie had prepared ahead of time, Rarity and Lyra arrived as well, though oddly enough Trixie, whose form was identical to their own, only instead of pony parts her feet and legs resembled that of a dragon, she had scales on her arms and legs, and she had a blue curved unicorn's horn that looked like it was made out of crystal. The only ones that couldn't make it were Starlight and Chrysalis, who were in another part of the universe at the moment, and Sunset, who happened to be off dealing with something that came to her attention yesterday... which meant it was either a threat to the universe or someone that needed to be destroyed immediately.
Pinkie, sensing that everyone was present, turned to a table and grabbed one of the treats that she had prepared before this party started, where she raised her plate into the air and smiled at the others as they did the same thing, and then dug into the cake she had made... though at the same time the Dazzlings smiled as well, because they had done what they set out to do, figure out what happened to Sunset and somehow find their way home, and now they had friends that would help them settle into their new lives. They were sure that something important would happen in the future, they were pretty sure of that, but for now they planned on focusing on what was happening at the moment and leave worrying about the future for when the party was over, so they could help their new friends with whatever happened next.