Chapter 13: Raine

Crowds of people alll head to the exit, with some heads looking up at the abnormal sight.

"Alecia!" A familiar voice is heard from the crowd.

Alecia turns her attention to the source of the call to see Booker guiding Renata and his mother.

Booker whispers to the both of them and lets them go with the others.

He jogs towards her and stops.

"Aren't you coming with?" he said, and looks over his shoulder at the crowd and turns his gaze to her.

"I can't ." Alecia said, shaking her head, and turns away from him.

"I have to be with my sister."

She continues on, only for Booker to pull her back by her hand.

"Your sister?" Booker said, with a curious look.

"Where is she?" he looks around himself.

"It doesn't matter!" Alecia said, pulling her hand from his grip.

"You have to get off this ship, now." She turns away and carries on walking.

"Alecia!" He shouted out with a worrisome look on his face.

"What is the matter with you?!" She said turning to him with a frownful look on her face.

"Just do what I sa-" She pauses, and notices him looking up at the sky.

"Is that a...?"

"That's why I tol-" Alecia pauses as she looks up at the sky, only to see a large black ship sprouting out from the swirling clouds.

"That's a space ship isn't it?" he said, his face filled with panic.

"Just go back, please." She said looking at him with a calm gaze.

"You need to take both your mother and your sister home, it's too dangerous for you. You'll just be in the way."

Booker sighs with a downcast look.

"Alright." He said, looking up at her with a saddened gaze, and turns aside with his gaze fixed on her.

"Alright, if you wish." his lips twist into a slight smirk.

"It's been nice getting to know you... Take care." He turns away and walks with the remaining crowd.

Alecia stares at him as he walks towards the crowd. As she continues to watch, Booker slowly goes out of view within the horde of people.

She slowly looks up at the evening sky once more. Her eyes widen, as she watches the ship slowly descending, with the belly of it in full view.

The ship's engines begin to roar as it draws closer, the floor beneath her, start to shake with a loud vibration echoing throughout the area around her.

Alecia slowly steps back, her arms gestured out. Still looking up with a wide-eyed expression.

After a moment, the ship ignites a large pulse of energy, which shuts down the energy field. The ship opens up, and a bunch of figures leap out, and lands on the floor, only for them to run towards the few guards that are firing their weapons at the them.

Several more individuals leaps out from the ship and lands on the floor, surrounding Alecia in the process.

Each of them are dressed in colors of dark-blue, ash-blue and gray, with armor around parts of their body that need protected, some male, and some female.

Slowly stepping back, eyeing each of them. Alecia has faced enemies like this before in the past, it has been so long since then.

"Surrounding me?" She whispered, and stands still. She eyes the one in front of her.

"What's your business here?" She asked.

Nothing but silence.

"Fine, you don't need to answer." She said with a slight frown.

The men and women surrounding her, has blades form out from the handles within their hands. Electricity surges throughout each of their weapons as they get into a stance.

The one male one looks at the others, only to recieve a nod from them.

He ready's his weapon and runs in to attack her. He swings the blade, and misses, he swings a few more times, only for him to be slicing at the air itself.

Alecia catches the one strike, holding both sides of the blade with her palms, only for it to surge with electricity, causing her to moan in pain as she still clings to the blade.

Alecia opens her eyes and glares at the soldier.

She pulls him in and knees him in the gut, disarming him in the process and holds the blade.

She impales him, and pulls the blade out, only for the soldier to drop to the floor. She raises the weapon near her face, only to see her reflection through the black colored blade.

Holding the blade on her side, she focuses her attention on the group around her. The weapon surges with electricity, a signal for the others to approach her.

Alecia, blocks and dodges their attacks. She dodges one woman's attack and stabs her through her chest, only to pull the blade out, forcing her to fall on her back, next, she blocks an attack from one of the men and kicks him back, only to slice his neck which sends him to the floor as he bleeds to death.

Now down in numbers, the group slowly side steps with their gaze fixed upon her. Alecia stands still. Her eyes quickly darts from one individual to another.

Her grip around the handle of the blade, tightens. Her one foot moves back into an angle. She narrows her gaze with a frown.

Few more of them go in to attack, only for her to quickly block their weapons at every angle they approach. For a moment she holds them off and manages to strike another down and continues to guard their attacks. After a moment she starts dodging each of their attacks only for her to block them off once more.

She let's out a small cough while continuing to guard, only her to cough out more while taking quick breathes, she begins to struggle against their attacks, one of them strikes her arm, leaving behind a deep wound, only for one of them to swing a hard strike, she gasps, and sways out before it could connect, only her to be kicked back, forcing her tumbling to the floor, dropping her weapon in the process.

The group begin to slowly close in on her as she lays on the ground while panting. They don't strike, only watch as she struggles to pick herself up. She stays on her hands and knees for a moment, only for her continue to cough out in an uncontrollable manner.

Opening her eyes, Alecia sees her own drops of blood on the floor. She brings her fingers to her mouth, only to see blood along her finger tips. Her eyes widen at the sight. She moves herself up, however, one from the group slams their boot on her back, hitting the air from her lungs, only to to forced back down.

She continues to cough a few more times until her breathing becomes dry. Her lungs feeling like it has inhaled needles.

"Look at you," an older man's voice echoes in her mind, words she remembers so clearly. "Now, how does it feel to be helpless and without hope?"

All of this seems so familiar. One of them ready's their blade and arches towards Alecia's back.

"Enough!!" A woman's voice is heard ahead of them.

Alecia opens her eyes with a gasp as the pressure on her back subsides.

The group watches a violet skinned woman walking towards them, now wearing a long black sleeveless top, with a gray pattern in the middle of the torso, and black pants, tightly fitted around her legs.

She slowly walks towards them with a calm collected look on her face, she stops and picks up a blade from the floor.

"So you want to finish her off instead?" a man's voice said from the group as one of them steps out.

The woman remains silent. Stepping forward, runs towards them with her blade up and ready.

Before they could react, she slashes her way through every one of them in a brutal fashion and leaves them lying dead on the floor.

The woman kneels down before resting her hand on the one woman's body. Transparent blue flames appear from it as well. The surrounding bodies emit blue flames. Multiple spheres ascend into the air.

Standing straight with her hand raised up, the spheres swirl around the woman. The spheres condense, and obsorbs into her body.

The woman holds the blade beside herself, only for her to raise her head up, and stands in silence.

The lifeless men, and women lay still around her. Along the floor, a pool of blood starts flowing out from under them, and creeps around her feet.

Alecia slowly gets up, with her hand over her bloodied arm. Her breathing now becomes normal. With a nervous look on her face, she turns her attention to the woman. What did she just do? Obsorb their essence?

Not wanting to start trouble. Alecia takes in a breathe.

"T-thank you... for the help." She said with a shaken tone.

"After so long..." the woman whispered, still looking up.

"The time has finally arrived."

Alecia narrows her eyes.

"What?"

"After watching you from a distance," she said, turning to her with a blank gaze.

"It was obvious that it was you."

"What are you on about?" Alecia said with a puzzling look on her face.

"I recognised you even with that new hair color." The woman forms a slight smile.

"After decades of searching." She slowly steps towards her.

"I knew it, I knew that finally, my search was over."

Alecia slowly steps back with a nervous look on her face as she watches the woman moving her blade up to attack.

Just then, she slashes an energy sphere which quickly disappears into strings of energy. With her back now facing Alecia. The woman's eyes widen, only for her to glare at the person ahead of her.

"There's another one," she said, staring at the woman ahead of her. The woman is wearing a grey armor with the chest plate having carvings of wings that stretches towards her shoulders. Around her waist, a red fabric is embedded with it hanging past her one knee.

"Alecia, are you alright over there?" She said with a worrisome look on her face as she lowers her hand.

"Leah." Alecia said.

"I'm okay."

"Who is she?" Leah said, with a frownful stare.

"Who me?" The woman said, slightly tilting her head with a narrowed look.

"My mother named me, Raine."

"Raine." Leah said with a calm look on her face.

"What are you doing here?"

"You can see the bodies here, can't you?" Raine said stepping aside and looks at Alecia for a moment, which urges Alecia to frown as she meets her gaze.

"You saved her life." Leah said, with a frownful gaze. Which urges Raine to face her.

"I would believe that, if I didn't see you going for her life next."

"My crew." She said, turning around and looks down at their bodies.

"They stood in my way."

"So they're yours then?" Alecia said, looking around at the dead bodies with a sickened look on her face.

"Yes." Raine said, and looks ahead at Leah.

"Why kill your own crew members?" Leah said, with a curious look on her face.

"They were going to die by her anyway." She said.

"It was either they die by her hand or by mine, there's no difference. No crew is worth having if they can't hold their own. Although..." Raine looks over her shoulder at Alecia.

"But it didn't look like you could. It looks like you were having trouble." her eyes narrow.

"Oh my, you're weak."

Alecia frowns with a glare.

"Earlier today I saw you." She said, with a narrowed look.

"You were the one on that stage at the festival, weren't you?"

"Yes, I even spotted you then."Raine said, turning to her.

"That coward had it coming to him."

She slightly frowns as her orange eye-pupils start to ignite with a dark-blue glow.

"Just like you."

Alecia widens her eyes while slowly stepping back as she keeps her gaze on Raine's cold eyes. Confusing thoughts circle her mind, why would she want her dead, she has not met her before. No, not that she can recall.