X22: Arisen from the Ashes

Kazuki's body moved once more as he twisted around. He raised his own dagger just in time to parry an attack. Pain seared. Their unmarked steel combat knife struck his Trasian Black Tanto. An armoured individual pressed against him, black hair, dark eyes. He was forced on the retreat. Adrenaline was slowly fading. Yet their attacks continued, each parry and block was forceful and frantic as he used up any strength left in him.

Throwing his chest backwards, he narrowly avoided a jab as the Loyalist raised a gun to him, firing point blank before Kazuki could activate his shield. The shot sent a shockwave into him as he was sent backwards, the shot penetrating into his arm. Blood splattered outwards.

"Who… are you…" Kazuki's eyes quickly locked onto his target.

He fired his pistol sporadically. A white blur emerged from their forearm, a shield blocked the bullets, as they charged at Kazuki. His emergency WRIST-SHOT activated as he held his left arm outwards, a nanobot construct formed out from his wrist. Twisting his wrist and slide, he sent a blast of plasma into their armour - stopping them in their tracks - knocked back as Kazuki lunged in for a killing blow.

In response, the Loyalist twisted upwards, grappling with Kazuki as he tried to stasis-lock him. The two struggled, Kazuki kicked at his leg, before firing another WRIST-SHOT at them, this time knocking them into the wall.

As he aimed to finish his opponent, more figures approached from behind, firing away. Pain seethe through his unarmoured joints. He started to run, ignoring his pain. He ignored it all, and ran. At an intersection, he turned left to see a group of Loyalists chasing down towards him. With no choice, he ignited another thermobaric grenade and lobbed it towards them. He turned right. Heat filled the tunnels; vibrations shook the maintenance shaft.

He kept running, twisting and turning to avoid patrols as his body was on the brink of death. The steam's heat started to rise in temperature; he tried to fight back with a healing inhaler. His mechanical lungs didn't help.

Even if he survives, the damage would be irreparable. But as he turned, he was met with a dead end. A sheer drop from a large pipe into a massive waste tunnel leading down to the depths of underpolis Anagora. Large numbers lined the walls of the hyper-tunnel lane, with abodes and apartments dug into the very foundation and walls of each pillar and surface. It was a makeshift cliffside village in the heart of the under city.

Drones and vehicles passed up and down as the blaring neon adverts stung his eyes, violently stabbing at the monotonous circuit-walls. His medinetics and exospine started to fail as he turned around. This was it.

And right behind him, was another Loyalist. White hair. One of his father's veterans? With but a single move, the Loyalist rushed forward. Kazuki was barely able to avoid the first attack as he lunged into another attack, firing his pistol as the Loyalist sliced his barrel in two. Sparks of orange came off the their knife as Kazuki went in for a jab.

The man laughed. "Let's… do this!"

With a swipe, he was able to parry away Kazuki's attack with his own blade, before gripping onto Kazuki's wrist, slowly squeezing. The pain continued as his body was shutting down.

His body heat regulation system started to malfunction. He felt cold… and warm. Using all his might, he grabbed onto his WRIST-SHOT and fired a peppershot at point blank range, smashing into the individual's mask and armour. They flung back.

The man slowly staggered back up as Kazuki swayed. They took out a corrosive hand-blaster from their holster, firing a blast of acid that collided into Kazuki's armour with a thud, aiming faster than Kazuki could react.

He was sent backwards, reeling in pain as the acid scorched his armour and the skin underneath. His old burn marks ached once again, resonating. He stood on the edge of the large pipe, drenched in blood, dust and neutralising acid. He exhaled another batch of steam as the man took off his dented mask. And a face that Kazuki remembers emerged.