Baron laughed at the irony. "Oh Honor, I was inspired by your father to create Retribution. None of this would have happened if I hadn't spent time in his Harmony Corps' camp," said Baron.
Hunter remained indifferent at the revelation. "Surrender now and I may spare your life," he repeated.
"I'm surprised you haven't asked me how I know your father," said the hybrid.
"I couldn't care less," the sprite declared.
Baron nods. "I see." "Come here, Sasha," he called.
"Not going to happen," said the sprite.
"Sasha, I. Said. Come. Here!" He repeated, his voice louder and more authoritative.
"And like I said earlier, it's not going to hap -- huh?"
Sasha walked past the sprite headed for her father, a move that shocked the dark-haired boy, his eyebrows rocket into his hairline.
Once she reached the dark-skinned man, the ecru-haired girl turned her back to him so that she was now facing the sprite. "See Hunter, this is why you shouldn't make an enemy out of me." He placed his hand on the ecru-haired girl's shoulder before taking out her dagger and stabbing her with it.
"No!" Hunter's eyes turn iridescent and Sasha suddenly disappears from the front of the hybrid and appears behind the sprite.
The gleaming purple-eyed girl fell to her knees and her hands clutched the wound in one side of her stomach that had blood gushing out like it was water from an open tap.
"You --" In the blink of an eye, Hunter covered the distance between himself and the dark-skinned man grabbing the hybrid by his collar.
[Hunter!]
'I noticed.'
Hunter swiftly kicks Baron in the chest and jumps out of harm's way.
BANG!
The teal-green eyed boy then turned to where the gunshot was coming from.
A clone of the hybrid was standing above holding a sniper and aiming at the sprite. 'That's two!'
[There's more.]
'I wonder how many clones he can form at once.'
[Not more than seven, I'm certain. The more the clones, the weaker their energy.]
'Because of the distribution of energy?'
[Exactly.]
'I spot number three.'
[There are two more behind the burning building, he's using the energy from the fire to mask their presence.]
'So there are five of them.'
[There should be a sixth. Unless the fairy he bonded to is weak, the energy of the clones is too low for there to be only five.]
"I'm surprised you're still trying to shoot at me; I thought you'll learn by now."
The Baron on the top of the roof attempts to shoot at Hunter but before he can, Hunter kicks up a small stone, catches it, transfers some energy to it, and throws it at the long-range rifle.
The stone hits the gun and causes it to shatter into pieces.
The third clone jumped out of hiding and threw several small, pointed missile weapons at the sprite. The first clone did the same. Hunter tried to punch the long-range weapons away but couldn't because of their large number.
Four of the pointed missiles catch him on the left arm, turning his limb a deep shade of blue.
'Again with the red neem.'
The dark-haired boy clenches his feet and flexes his muscles, causing the red neem poisoned weapons to fly out of his arm. However, the sprite's arm remains dark blue and devoid of energy.
Hunter uses his right fist to punch his left arm at three different points, unlocking the locked energy and turning his skin to its regular tanned color.
[Hm.]
Hunter then rushed forward to strike the hybrid but he managed to duck out of the way before the sprite got to him.
"You're an interesting fellow, Honor Heffernan. Hans would be proud of the man you've become and the power you possess. He managed to turn a sprite into an extremely powerful mystic. It seems his camp was much more successful than my dojo ..."
[I've spotted the sixth.]
'Thanks!'
<•> <•>
Activating the technique he picked up from training with Zoe, Hunter was able to see, sense, hear, and feel everything in his domain. The sprite zips through it all, faster than lightning as he puts all the force behind his punches and takes down every single one of the clones.
The sprite broke out of the move just as he started to feel light-headed. Once he did, all the clones disappeared except for one. 'The real Baron,' he deduced.
He looked knocked out so Hunter rushed to Sasha's side. The ecru-haired girl was losing blood quickly and taking in ragged breaths.
The sprite took off his shirt and placed it over the wound before applying pressure in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
[Don't worry too much, Hunter. Her soul resides with you; she won't die.]
"Hunter ..." Sasha said, almost silently.
"Sasha," the sprite called, moving his head closer to hear what she had to say.
"H -- He's," she struggled to make up the words but tried to communicate with the dark-haired boy using her eyes. She widened them and blinked repeatedly but the sprite did not understand the signal and his request that Waleed temporarily break their mind link made it impossible for him to hear her thoughts.
Despite every fiber in her being keeping her down, Sasha forces herself up, pushing Hunter aside and standing up to her feet.
'Huh?'
Hunter turned back to see Baron, the hybrid had procured a blade and had crept up on the sprite to stab him.
Sasha slapped her father's arm away before plunging her dagger deep into his guts.
The dark-skinned man's eyes widened as he staggered backward before falling to the ground.
Sasha falls to the ground too, the sprite holds her hand as she slowly loses consciousness.
"Mom ..." She mumbled. "Don't go ... I've missed you."
Hunter's eyes widened as he picked up on what the ecru-haired girl said. He searched within himself and took out the purpled-eyed girl's soul, passing it back to her.
Sasha exhaled when the sprite did that. She looked up at the teal green-eyed boy with teary eyes, tightening her grip on his hand.
Sasha hands her dagger to Hunter, a wide smile on her face as she opens her mouth to speak. "Thank you, Hunter."
.
.
.
Hunter closes up the last grave and sighs. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
[It wasn't your fault.]
'It is my fault. When I found them in the underground prison, I made the decision to keep the magic-negating necklaces around their neck. Their ability may have included rapid regeneration or something that would have helped them when Baron struck.'
[It is also possible that they did not have such ability. Don't blame yourself, Hunter.]
'Don't do that. It's my fault, let me live with that.'
[Earlier you mentioned that you didn't care how Baron knows your father, does that extend to all your memories when you were younger or did you say that because you thought he was baiting you?]
'The former. I don't know if I'm ready for what I might see in those memories. Besides, I have enough to worry about already.'
[Understandable. If you ever feel like you're ready, I know how to unlock them.]
The sprite heard some footsteps and turned to the direction they were coming from. Sophia, Aislinn, and Hachimura emerged from the dense forest.
Hunter's eyebrows furrowed. "Aren't you guys supposed to be on your way to the bottom of the ocean?" The sprite asked.
"Yes ... But this is where I want to be," said Sophia. "... With my best friend."
Hunter smiled before turning to the other two. "You saved me and the girls from Baron ... I owe you my life," Hachimura said.
"You don't have to --"
"I do," Ai insisted. "I'll be by your side until I, someday, repay that debt."
Hunter shoots her a small nod and turns to Aislinn. "Oh, we were taking turns?" She asked. "Well, it's not as cool or heartwarming as theirs ... I just wanted to be part of your adventure."
The teal green-eyed boy laughs. "Four graves?" Hachimura asked stepping forward.
"I couldn't save the two girls, Michaela and Karena ... Sasha too."
"And the fourth one holds Baron?"
"He deserves a proper burial, no matter how terrible a person he was," Hunter argued.
"I understand." Ai turned back to face the trio. "Can you give me a moment with my sisters?"
Hunter nods before he and the other two girls move further away from Hachimura and the graves.
They remained quiet until they were far enough that they couldn't hear what Hachimura was saying or the other way around.
"Sof," Hunter started, breaking the spell. "You mentioned that you were captured by the Archaeons while trying to find out what happened to me. How did you know what happened to me?" The sprite asked.
"I was with Chelsea when she suddenly faded away," said the blue-skinned girl. "I tried to call you but it wasn't going through so I called Jade, she said it was because the two of you were connected."
"Chelsea faded away?"
'That explains why I couldn't hear her thoughts or feel her emotions. It wasn't because of the curacion pod, it was because of whatever happened at River Pot."
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