Ryker presses his leathered palm against the stone of an alleyway while limping toward the street, only a few blocks from his next destination. He steps out into the light of a streetlamp, his blood staining his dark clothes, and checks both sides of the street to find barely anyone passing through. The population remains more toward the downtown of the city, and the streets have begun to shut down any traffic wishing to come through. Azura wanted to make room for the people to watch the fireworks at the end of the countdown, but it's now likely to assist the search for him after his own display was showcased earlier.
He steps out onto the middle of the street to get a better glance at the shorter, less valued buildings of the city. He strides carefully along the smooth glaze of the glass, hoping not to bring the same fate as the streets he stepped upon before. The gleaming neon tries to disorient Ryker's vision, and pieces of his awareness drop in a trail behind him.
As he nears his next stop in Nero's plan, he hears a faint whine that climbs down from the sky. Turning to find another purple meteor with its trajectory straight for him, Ryker gives out a plea with a sigh. A new winged Reaper soars to roll onto the street, pressing their hand in front of them and looking up at their target after landing. Enclosing their wings behind them with a series of clicks, they stand frozen in place as if waiting for command.
Ryker stares and throws his arms up.
"Why can't you leave me alone, huh?"
The elite grabs two handles from the back of its uniform and pulls two katanas as a response. They spin them twice, the middle of the blades getting brighter with each swing. The pressure of the wind and the gravity of the swings force energy to build within the sleek metal.
Ryker curses.
The Reaper starts to walk toward him, balancing both katanas out to hang the edges above their reflections below. Ryker takes a good glance at their uniform as they walk closer, drawing the weapon he had stolen earlier. He finds the letters SFTY imprinted in gray on their chest, unsure of what it means.
Regardless, he didn't have time to think.
The elite was already storming toward him.
He raises his weapon to fire at their face as they come close. The bullet flies to be sliced as the elite swings their katana to its side. The elite spins both blades and swings at Ryker, and their target jumps back and grips one of their blades in response.
Surprised about Ryker's action, the Reaper pulls the blade toward his grasp. Ryker releases his grip and hits the other side of the blade, disorienting the soldier's precision. As the katana waves over, Ryker kicks at the elite and attempts to disarm them.
The Reaper swings again, barely missing Ryker's chest, and spins to swing another time. The two attacks are countered with Ryker's careful dodges, and the elite spins the katanas another time to throw more. After multiple failed attempts to slice Ryker apart, the elite takes a moment to watch his actions. Unexpectedly, as the Reaper takes time to recharge their swings, Ryker throws his body into the Reaper, beating at their stomach. The elite quickly swings out of panic, and Ryker throws his forearms at the sides of the blades to counter them as they slice the air.
Ryker smashes the glass of the elite's helm after another swing of his own. With the Reaper's vision impaired, Ryker kicks the elite down and slams his knee into the soldier's stomach. With a thud, the soldier hits the ground and sends a blade to slide a few feet away from their body.
With a growl, the Reaper swings a blade at Ryker and slices a wound into his forearm. Ryker bashes at the helm again, shattering it more, and the Reaper twirls the edge of the blade over to swing toward his shoulder. In an instant, the side of Ryker's arm is trailing in blood, soaking the fabric that tatters over it.
Ryker flinches and tries to hit the helm again, but the Reaper throws Ryker over their body and sends him to roll back onto the street. The Reaper spins their body up and marks a white line into the street as they raise their katana again.
Ryker quickly climbs up to rise with the Reaper. The two give each other an intimidating stare as they watch every movement their enemy makes. The elite spins their blade up to their cheek, the edge pointing outward, and spins their body with the blade to send it flying toward Ryker.
The Ikari leader watches as the blade twirls toward him at a lethal speed and skims his neck, watching as it inevitably falls to the ground. Ryker turns back to laugh at the disarmed elite and pulls the pistol he returned to the holster under his trenchcoat.
The Reaper stares through white cracks, their deep void gifted with bright streaks of mistakes. They raise their wrist, three neon dots lining along their wrist, and Ryker's laugh dies when the blade quickly slides off the ground and reverses its actions. The katana returns to its loyal owner within a blink, giving the elite another chance to cut Ryker open.
The soldier's target rushes toward them, the weight of his boots slick against the glaze, and throws fists the best he can. The Reaper slices his arm again, but doesn't get much further to cut it off as Ryker slams into the chest in front of him.
The two throw and counter fists with little to escape from. They keep close and connected at all times, ignoring the surroundings with the black aura they emit, attempting to bury each other under glass. The elite kicks Ryker down after a heavy amount of defending, finally able to watch their enemy slide against the street again.
As the elite spins the katana again and reaches out for the other to return to their open hand, they walk up to Ryker with a scowl through a messy white canvas. They run the edges of their blades together, slicing the wind as it pushes the neon of their uniform to fade with puddles of rain.
As Ryker lies in pain, the Reaper kicks him again and raises their blades, preparing to puncture their target with ease. A soft slice to cut through a strong war. Ryker watches through his tattered reflection as it cuts itself with the shattered helm, hoping for another chance for redemption. As the stars above continue to brighten with the absence of the storm, a greater shine speeds through the street like a comet from the earth.
Blood spatters out to the ground with the Reaper's body trailing behind, and Ryker rolls out from under the falling soldier. He watches as the helm slams into the ground, a crimson wound at the neck, and turns to find the culprit of the bullet that killed the Reaper.
Ryker gives a smile of relief when finding Nero with the barrel of his gun pumping out smoke. He's never been happier to see the brown eyes of his closest friend below the rim of an ancient cowboy hat.