X23: Deadmen do walk

There was no mistaken in who the man was. Svenn Janstein. Brother of James Janstein; one of his mentors. His unnatural white hair glistened in the low hues as his eyes twitched. He looked older, and more frail.

How was he here? He watched Freyja Beamont, third of the seven mercs, drop a flaming building on top of him. No… this… couldn't be him. Kazuki silently deliberated for a moment, he looked exactly like Svenn… But how? The war is over. He's dead. HE KNOWS THIS FOR A FACT. BUT HOW? How?! Kazuki's mind raced, but found no answer. Codename Afterlife… Svenn Janstein. He ignored the signs…

"Long time… no see… Kazu." said Svenn, Loyalists slowly catching up to them. The black haired one stepped forward.

"The other AGENTs have escaped, Afterlife," said Marshall. "We've sustained acceptable casualties."

"Footnotes on a page of blood, Marshall. Burn our men with honour; but… let the AGENTs rot. All of them…" Svenn kept his twitching eyes trained on Kazuki.

"If you say so, sir," said Marshall. "But are you sure this is the right option?"

Svenn trailed off, "Yes…"

"Svenn," said Kazuki, wiping away blood from his cheek. He taught him many survival tactics. If there was anyone outside the seven that could match him, it'd be him… He can't win this. No: He must win this. But it's Svenn, how the fuck can he beat him?!

"Enjoying that Contract of yours… Contract-Breaker?" Svenn's voice was filled with an untapped sense of rage. Primordial, even. Only if Svenn knew of what James would have wanted… "Your moves are just as predictable, no matter how complex you make them…"

Kazuki remained still. His armoured vest-plates fizzled with corrosion as Svenn continued onwards, slowly stepping towards him.

"You stole that… from us. All of us… burnt it all to the ground… we had peace… status quo - you took it. And burnt what we built to the ground. And for what?" Svenn pointed the muzzle at Kazuki. His eyes tingled.

"For justice." lied Kazuki. It was a blatant lie. He wasn't just like his father. All he cared for was vengeance, it just happens that they coincide.

Svenn cracked up. Now that he thinks about it, Kazuki never uncovered Svenn's Contractor Specialisation. The BCA labels contractors by their expertise, something to help with employment. But he never knew Svenn's. He wasn't a juggernaut, that was for sure. He wasn't a marksman, nor a sapper. He was an enigma.

If he had to deal with anyone that could even fight a tenth as good as a member of the seven, he'd prefer to know their specialisation beforehand. But Svenn? He had no idea.

"You killed James. You killed them all. I knew them all. Those directors had dreams…"

"Like what?" snapped Kazuki, "Jessica would enslave Anagora given the chance. Wu, that coward, fled the moment he could, with an army to back him. Such noble dreams."

His mind was going numb as he felt his voice slowly slip away with each passing word. His systems were finally crumbling as he felt blood drip out from the gaps between his exospine and skin, previous reinforcements failing. He placed one finger on his exospine, at the switch for his overclock… he might have to do it. It'll probably kill him, but he'll have to gamble with his life - not the first time as well.

"Silence… Fourth of the seven, what a joke… I'll burn it all to the ground." His eyes stared blindly at Kazuki as his uplink lit up. "What was that woman you were with? You killed Matt for her, didn't you? After I'm done with you… maybe we'll go pay her a nice visit…"

"Over my dead body."

"That is to the point, Kazu…" said Svenn. "You burnt it all down for us… now we return the favour."

'Test of faith, Kaz! Go take a plunge for us,' said Archius.

He could do it… Kill Svenn, kill them all. But he might come out the other side less of a human than before. What the fuck should he do? His exospine might not survive; and that was enough to answer his question. He can't take them, not without sacrifice.

He took one glance out into the endless abyss below and the bright light above. Turning back, he uttered one word, "Try."

With that, he let his balance fail, leaning backwards. He closed his eyes. His body went into freefall. For a moment, he felt all his stresses evaporate as the responsibility of all his contracts were wiped away. The grave was cleaned of blood. But a jab stuck at him as Kazuki forced his eyes open.

"Pull up! Ya fool!" shouted Quinn. He had one arm on Kazuki as he was leaning over the edge of the shuttle door, his other gripping onto the shuttle. A few more operatives helped him, tugging on backwards. Bullets whizzed down at the shuttle as Amyé fired back up. Lilly and Claire joined in, each holding one of Quinn's legs as Kazuki pulled himself up.

"You lived!" shouted Karl, as Kazuki was brought into the shuttle interior. Quinn closed the doors as it started to speed away. "Good… your daddy would've had me skinned if you died."

Kazuki lay flat on the shuttle floor - staring up at the red, interior lights. Svenn was alive. He's a Loyalist… He mulled over it as his body slowly died. Claire immediately started operating on his medinetics, injecting stimulant after stimulant to keep him alive - to prolong his mission. The answer was clear… revenge. He can't die. He can't die now. If there's a threat to his first contract, he must eliminate it.

"Svenn…" Kazuki muttered under his breath. "Why are you alive…"