"Being a bounty hunter does have its perks," I said, raising my gun. "Look, either I killed everyone, including your sister Tala and mom, that are both still very much alive. Your choice, really. I don't have to give any of you a chance. You are all criminals with a shoot first and ask questions later, bounty."
"Then what are you not shooting?" Brax asked, and I tossed my free hand up.
"Because your brother is a cock sucker that I have been chasing as my last mark. I just want to kill the son of a bitch, but I have walked in the path of his carnage. I want that son of a bitch to feel every bit of pain I can squeeze into him before I leave this life!" I nearly hissed. I had those memories, so I was not acting, but I put my hand down and turned my head to look at Brax. "What do you want to do with the rest of your life? Your next word will decide that."
Brax hesitated for a long moment, his eyes filled with conflict. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh and lowered his gaze. "I want to save my family," he said quietly.
"Then help us," I urged him. "Help me bring Drexel down so that the rest of you can live without fear."
It took Brax another moment to make up his mind, but eventually, he nodded in agreement. With his support secured, our plan was finally set into motion.
One by one, we carried out each stage of our elaborate scheme, making sure to cover our tracks and stay one step ahead of Drexel's suspicions. The tension among us grew by the day, but we held firm, determined to see this through to the end.
The final piece of our plan involved staging an all-out betrayal, with each sibling confronting Drexel simultaneously – or at least appearing to do so. As they each played their part, cornering Drexel in a dimly lit room in their bunker, I watched from the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.
As Drexel realized what was happening, his face contorted with rage and disbelief, and then Aquaria put her hand on my shoulder. "It's time," she whispered softly.
Steeling myself for what was about to come, I stepped forward, my weapon leveled at Drexel. His icy blue eyes met mine, and I could see the fury boiling beneath the surface.
"You did this," he snarled, glaring at me. "You turned them against me!"
"No, well, I mean, yeah, mostly," I replied calmly. "But you have to admit, you did that all by yourself. This is the outcome of your actions – the path you chose to walk."
And with that, Drones spun up around me as I kept my eyes locked with his. I didn't actually kill your mother or sisters. Fucked them all, yup, that was me," I said, and the room suddenly lit up with movie projections of me making a mess out of each one of the girls and his mother, with them loving every second of it.
To say that this might have slightly affected him would be a gross understatement. I don't think I have ever seen someone's face get so red or burst all the blood vessels in his eyes. This job really lets you see new things, but it was time to end this.
I went to pull the trigger, but Drexel suddenly whipped his head back. I tried to lower my gun, but then he snaked away faster than should have been possible.
I cursed under my breath and took off after him, but he was moving in an unnatural way, like a snake. I wasn't sure what was going on.
"Impact in then seconds Halberd! A big drop pod is coming from your location! It is Ziri'ak, but her shape is much too big. Prepare for a fight with a mechanized armor suit of some kind. I am also getting strange readings coming from Drexel. There is something different about his body.
"She told me that they would all betray me!" Drexel hissed and even started to sound like a snake. "I thought she was lying, but it seems I was the one lying to myself!"
Cursing again, I focused on trying to catch Drexel while also preparing for a fight with Ziri'aK. It seemed like everything was going wrong at once, and the odds were stacked against us.
As Drexel slithered through the corridors of the bunker, he began transforming before my eyes – his limbs elongating and contorting in unnatural ways. He now resembled some sort of mutated snake-human hybrid, which made me realize that Ziri'aK had experimented on him as well.
At the same moment, an enormous drop pod crashed into the ground nearby, shaking the entire area. The mechanized armor suit Aquaria had warned about emerged from the wreckage, its metal frame gleaming menacingly as it locked onto my position.
"Well, shit," I muttered, realizing that not only did I have to deal with a snake-monster Drexel, but also a giant mech hell-bent on taking me down.
With time running out and everything on the line, I engaged my suit's full combat mode and charged toward Drexel with grim determination. We fought back and forth, trading blows and narrowly dodging each other's strikes. It felt like we were dancing on the razor's edge between life and death.
Meanwhile, Aquaria scrambled to remotely control drones and provide backup, doing her best to keep the mech off my tail. In the chaos of battle, she managed to land a few successful hits, but it wasn't enough to slow it down completely.
I could feel exhaustion creeping up on me, even as adrenaline surged through my veins. My body ached from the relentless onslaught, but I couldn't afford to let up – not when so much depended on our success.
"The traitor within you betrayed you too!" I yelled at Drexel during the heat of the battle. "Ziri'aK used you! If they hadn't, you might have stood a chance against me!"
Drexel hissed furiously and lunged at me, but I dodged his attack just in time. Yet, even as we fought, I couldn't help but notice a flicker of doubt in his eyes.