Kitt wasn't able to drive any further in his black automobile, and as the streets got more crowded, he, Vylet, and Alphonso eventually had to stop and make their way to the Node on hurried foot.
"We don't have much time!" Kitt huffed as he ran ahead. "The Node needs to be deactivated, like, yesterday!"
"I'm hurryin' as fast as I can, kid!" Alphonso yelled from the back.
"Let's still tread carefully," Vylet said. "We don't know what lies in wait for us there."
The three sifted through the nameless crowds of the market district.
"These people..." Vylet said, almost to herself.
"...they have no clue," Alphonso finished for her.
Suddenly, Kitt stopped, causing Vylet to bump into him and Alphonso to skid into her.
"Hey!" Alphonso groaned. "Why'dja stop?!"
Kitt pointed forward. Vylet suddenly grabbed her bow.
Before them, in the center of the square, a woman screamed as a tall, muscular man held her child by the throat.
"Stupid brat!" he exclaimed as he dropped the little child, who buckled upon the dirty stone ground, coughing and retching. "Don't you know who I am?! I'm Helbe Dergate, the Copy Fist!"
The Copy Fist stood over the child. He was definitely tall, a soldier by the looks of his uniform, or what he had of it. The man stood looming, his shirt unbuttoned to reveal his hard muscles.
"Next time you look at me," the man said as he raised an armored boot to stomp the boy's head.
Vylet felt a gust of wind rush by her.
"Die!" the soldier said as he brought his foot down hard.
Suddenly, the Copy Fist jolted as a huge fist slammed into the side of his face. He blinked, and quickly he was on the dusty ground.
"I don't know what yer deal is, pal," Alphonso said, "but it's beginnin' to piss me off!"
"Alphonso!" Kitt called out.
Alphonso turned. "Sorry guys. Can't be helped. Go on without me." He pulled out his comb and swiped it through his stylish brown hair. "I gotta show this guy what's up!"
Kitt turned to Vylet, and Vylet smiled a reassuring smile.
"We should go," she said. He'll be alright. There's really no helping him when he gets like this." She turned to Alphonso. "Don't die, okay, Fonzie?"
Alphonso put up his comb and cracked his knuckles. "Ha! As if!"
Uri, riding upon Krista's goat form, rushed down the alleyways of Talvory City, a slew of soldiers on their heels.
"What now?!" Uri's voice was panicked.
"We need to find Captain Gilliam!" Krista bleated. "If we can find him, we might have a chance against their numbers."
Uri held on tight to Krista as her hooves galloped, carrying them at an incredible speed. But the soldiers were keeping pace as more and more joined their ranks.
"The captain?" Uri said, holding his spectacles so they wouldn't fall off of his face. "How do you know where he is?"
Krista skidded as she whipped around a corner.
"A goat always knows the hand that feeds it!" She burst forward even faster. "Hold on, Glasses!"
Alphonso and the Copy Fist stood in front of each other, a crowd of civilians surrounding them, mixed expressions of horror, hope, and fear upon their faces.
"You got some nerve trying to curb-stomp a kid, buddy." Alphonso said.
Tears began to well in the child's eyes as he wailed and ran to his mother, who embraced him protectively.
"You think you're some saint or savior, huh, guy?" the Copy Fist said.
"Nah," Alphonso said, smirking as he dropped to a fighting stance, "I'm just not garbage, like you."
"Well." The Copy Fist dropped into an identical stance, his eyes locked with his opponent's. "We'll see about that. Let's go!"
Suddenly, Alphonso burst forward. In a blink, he was upon his enemy, their eyes meeting as his large hand sped toward the Copy Fist's face.
There was an impact, the force of which caused the dust upon the dirty streets to gust upward.
"You—!" Alphonso exclaimed.
"What?" the man said, his eyes suddenly glowing a bright blue.
Alphonso froze. He looked forward. Their fists had met. Did he...?
"Don't like me using your punch against you?" the Copy Fist asked.
"You bastard!" Alphonso's leg arced upward in a great roundhouse.
"Nope!" the Copy Fist laughed, their eyes meeting once more, meeting Alphonso with an identical kick. "Not gonna work, buddy!"
He's using my attacks against me!
"Now try this!" the Copy Fist roared.
Alphonso felt pain surge through his head as the other's foot spun around, slamming into Alphonso's face, and sending him flying backward.
"Where's that gusto from before?!" the Copy Fist laughed. "Bet you wish you would've stayed home now, huh?"
Gotta be magic! But how's he doin' it?
"You aren't even worth my time!" the Copy Fist said as he approached.
Alphonso pulled himself to a kneeling position, wiping the blood from his face. He looked up at his opponent, and their eyes met.
His eyes! They're all glowy! Alphonso thought in surprise.
"Time to end this," the Copy Fist said as he stood over Alphonso.
Got it!
"Yes!" Alphonso said as he hit the dirt on the ground with a great fist, the force blowing a gust of dust upward.
The Copy Fist stepped back, his eyes returning to normal as he closed them to avoid the dust.
"It is over!" Alphonso stood tall, facing his opponent. "Try and copy this!" he reared back one powerful fist. "Second Commandment!"
Alphonso's fist rocketed forward, colliding with the blinded Copy Fist's abdomen. The man gasped, doubling over and gagging as he tried to regain his breath.
"Bury the Lotus!" Alphonso shouted.
Everyone watching grew silent, their cheers and roars stalling in anticipation.
"You only fight by stealin' other peoples' moves," Alphonso said as he stood over his kneeling opponent. "That makes you not only garbage..." The young man brought his leg up straight up in the air. "But a thief, too!"
Suddenly, and with a great burst of power, Alphonso's heel came down like a giant axe upon the Copy Fist's head, slamming him face-first into the street, causing the stones to crack under the pressure.
Dust exploded into the air. When it settled, Alphonso stood victoriously. "Scum," he said.
There was silence, then, the crowd burst into cheers.
The Juggernaut was placed upon the roof of the Adonai's Government Tower, high above the city. It was like a giant wheel, a circular arch that held Astrid in place by clasps around her outstretched arms.
The Adonai stood before her, towering over her, his eyes staring at her intently.
"You got a staring problem?" Astrid growled, her strange black-and-white eyes like daggers sharp enough to pierce his heart.
"Doctor Laveau," the Adonai said, his words stony and curt. "Is the Juggernaut prepared?"
"Y-yes, Your Honor," the weaselly doctor stuttered, "but one of the Nodes has been destroyed, I wouldn't advise using the machine—"
"Start it." The Adonai wasn't bothered by the scientist's anxieties.
"But, sir," the doctor said once more, "if I do it now, it—"
Suddenly, the Adonai grabbed the wiry doctor by the face with a wide hand. "I don't remember asking for your expertise, Doctor," he said, his voice a cold rumble. "But I see I now have to do things myself."
Astrid watched, wide-eyed, as smoke began to seep from the large man's fingers, his palm glowing red with heat against Doctor Laveau's face. The doctor screamed for a moment, his cries muffled by the Adonai's massive hand. The doctor's arm flailed against the Adonai, trying his best to extricate himself from the searing pain.
Then, there was silence; the doctor fell limp.
"You should have followed orders, Doctor," the Adonai said in a grim tone.
"Y-you killed him! But he was on your side!" Astrid shrieked. The doctor was evil, sadistic, but this made the Adonai worse. "You monster!"
"Monster?" The large man's voice was calm, sturdy. "Trust me, woman, you don't know the meaning of the word."
The Adonai walked to the control panel and pressed a button.
Suddenly, the machine began to howl. The end had begun.