Chapter 43: PartnershipsFall Apart

You have been wrong before, and have been surprised many times. You're almost spoiled at this point from everything you've seen. You've been in an underwater base, fought a man who destroyed an entire forest with little effort, a room that enhanced gravity, people who can use elements whenever they want, and so much more. It's insane how many experiences you've participated in. Now, most people would be amazed in your current situation, but to you it's not so amazing.

When Hunter first said to head out from the airstrip, you thought he meant walking to wherever you had to go. You did not expect riding the giant robot you fought no more than ten minutes ago. The one you now know as Hiro, which is the smallest, and youngest, one who rides on the robot called Baymax, seems to be almost attached to his back. Go Go, Honey Lemon, Wasabi, and Fred are all hanging off of Baymax's hands. You and Hunter, on the other hand, are simply standing on Baymax's back as he soars through San Fransokyo. Hunter seems to be having a little more trouble keeping his balance than you, but after all the gravity training you did this really seems like nothing.

Still, the flight is amazing. Not because you're flying, per se, but because you can see everything in San Fransokyo. It's truly a beautiful and diverse city, and most certainly a bright one. The various lights blaring from almost every store, corner, and sign is overwhelming, but in a good way.

"It's... amazing," you chuckle.

Hunter looks over at you, then to the city.

"It is. Perhaps we can explore it after our job is done."

"Yeah... I guess we... wait," a thought pops into your mind. "Where's Alis-"

"Later," Hunter sharply whispers.

You furrow your brow, but it returns to a relaxed manner. You'll ask him later. Riding on the back of a robot with so much wind smashing against you isn't really the best time to have a chat. Wherever you're going will do fine. In fact, you have no idea where you're going. Probably to some base or another like in Corona. Then again, Corona's "base" was just Gaia's shop. Your face drops a bit when you think on your green haired friend. She's one of the last elementals, and one of the most damaged. You can still remember what she told you about Hunter, about his obsession. In truth, you have noticed a change in him over the course of your knowing him. But things are getting tense, and even you're doing things you wouldn't normally do.

"Are we almost there?" You shout to Hiro.

"Yeah, just under a minute. You two better brace yourselves for landing," he informs.

"Are we jumping?" You ask, leaning over to Hunter.

Hunter snickers.

"We're jumping."

Baymax passes by a few more buildings before approaching the backyard of a large mansion.

"Get ready!" Hiro shouts.

Baymax loops around the back courtyard, lowering his altitude. You uncross your arms, bend your legs, and then jump off of him. Baymax and the others leave you in the dust while you flip through the air and land with an impressive amount of grace and fluidity. You drop down, bending your legs and allowing your arms to flow to the side. Once you know the impact has been taken and nothing is damaged, you stand up and look for the flying robot. Soon enough you notice Hunter landing a few feet away from you. He brushes himself off and approaches you while Baymax slowly descends, allowing the others to hop off of him.

"Whoa! That was amazing! Do you have super jump too?" Fred asks as he takes off his mask and approaches you.

"Oh, that's what you look like," you speedily say before responding to him. "No, no super jump," you chuckle. "Just, uh... really dense bones," you shrug.

You eye the others all surrounding Baymax. Hunter is talking to Hiro while the others are walking inside. Baymax looks over at you and his eyes seem to watch you. You raise your brow, then stroll towards the small group, throwing your hands into your pockets.

"-tify what this is then we might get a clue," Hunter speaks, handing Hiro a small chip.

Hiro nods at Hunter, then notices you in his peripheral vision. He, Baymax, and Hunter turn to you.

"So you're (Y/N). Sorry for attacking you. But... I gotta ask... what is that sword made of? Can I examine it? Scan it? Break it down to its very core to see what could create such a weapon?" He asks with excitement, completely dismissing the sorrow from earlier.

"Oh... what, the Dragon Sword? Why?" You inquire.

"Whatever it's made of stood against pure plasma that can literally cut anything to tiny slices. I've never seen anything go up against it before."

You activate your holowatch and unsheathe your sword, inspecting it for yourself. There's no evident wear and tear on it.

"I mean... I guess. Just don't do anything weird to it," you say, flipping the sword so you catch the blade and hand the hilt to Hiro.

Hiro grabs the hilt with both hands, but the sword is too heavy and he drops it. You kick your foot out, catching the blade with your foot.

"Don't drop it either," you say, helping Hiro lift it.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't think it'd be so heavy."

You shrug, then slide your hands into your pockets.

"It takes some getting used to, I suppose. So, Hunter, may I ask why we're here?"

"Well, Hiro here is going to take a look at some tech I've gathered from Hierarchy facilities. Besides that, Fred has graciously allowed us to stay with him during our time here."

"Wait, how is Hiro supposed to do anything in some mansion?"

"Oh, it's not just some mansion. Come on, I'll show you!"

Hiro and Baymax walk into the building, Hiro still having trouble holding your weapon which makes you a little nervous, admittedly. Hunter takes a few steps towards the building.

"Come on, I'll have time to explain later."

"Seems you're always saying that," you mumble under your breath.

But with no other choice, you follow Hunter into the building. The inside seems to be even more impressive than the outside. It certainly seems to be a higher class house than most, with pictures of family along the walls, expensive, somewhat useless art as décor, and even a butler who you only caught a glimpse of. Hunter leads you to a room which is filled with comic books and figures. Hiro, along with the others are already there.

"Lots gets done here, hm?" You speak.

"Nah, it's just a front. Mom and dad might be super mad if they knew I had a secret room. Though they have one too... so I guess we're even!" Fred explains.

Hiro walks up to a poster with some hero extending his hand forward. Hiro rests his hand against that one, and soon enough the entire wall slides to the side, making way for another, bigger room.

"This is where they'll be working," Hunter says to you.

"Oh... well, I stand corrected then."

Your group enters the room which is massive, but... somewhat divided. It seems like some parts of the room are completely different from others both in look and technology. Your thought is quickly given merit when everyone splits off into their own space, working on whatever they may need to. Most of it is repairs and diagnostics for their current equipment, since you just gave them a thrashing.

Hiro leads you and Hunter to his own space which holds the largest computer. Hiro takes a seat in his chair, sets your sword beside him, and cracks his knuckles.

"Alright, so everything should be here, right?" Hiro asks Hunter, though his eyes are glued to the screen.

"Yes. The chip I gave you should have everything on their project, I hope."

Hiro grabs the chip out of his sweater pocket and inserts it into a port. New windows pop up with information that you can't begin to process.

"Encrypted, no surprise. It's going to take me some time to break it and gather relevant information. I'll let you know the moment I have something."

"Right, thanks Hiro. (Y/N), you... go do something."

Your face drops.

"Wow... fine, whatever. I'll just go BLOW UP A FOREST OR SOMETHING," you shout, spinning on your heel and heading for the door.

You exit the room which makes the door slide closed. Everyone watches as you leave, then turns to Hunter.

"You're seriously going to let him go on his own?" Gogo asks, slightly irritated.

"He can't do any harm to-"

"Any harm?" She questions. "We've never seen anyone like that. YOU'VE never seen anyone like that."

"Not true," Hunter retorts. "Alistair is quite like him. But that's not the point. You know all the shit I went through that made me who I am. He probably went through the-"

"His mental condition is... strained," Baymax starts. "Also I couldn't identify his blood type."

Hunter shrugs.

"As I said, we both had stuff done to us. I doubt you could determine my blood t-"

"B+," Baymax answers.

Hunter sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"It doesn't matter. He's our strongest ally. Whatever they did to him can be figured out once Alistair is stopped. In the meantime..." Hunter grabs your sword, bringing it over to Hiro's bench. "I'm interested in what this thing is made of too."

Baymax tilts his head, curious as to why nobody is concerned with your health.

"What medication has been given to (Y/N)? Would it change anything mentally?" He asks Hiro.

Hiro shrugs.

"I don't know. Maybe."

"That is a shame. It seems like there are two different thoughts in his brain. Perhaps an evaluation is best!" Baymax claims, lifting one finger,

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Alistair approaches a security door with a small keypad beside it. He inputs the code then waits a moment for the door to open. Once it does, he walks in. The room has three things in it: nearly a hundred boxes, some sort of device, and Duke Weselton working on the aforementioned device. Weselton turns away to see who's entering.

"Oh, Monarch, I-I-I wasn't expecting to see you," he spews, getting out of his seat and approaching Alistair.

Alistair raises his hand, making Weselton stop in his tracks.

"Sit back down. Is the device ready?"

Weselton steps backwards, assuring to keep eye contact with the menacing Monarch.

"Y-Yes, sir. I mean, it won't work unless we-"

"Juno has that covered. So I assume you fixed the problems?"

Weselton nods.

"Yes, sir. Without a doubt if we have our final ingredient then it'll work."

A sadistic smirk creeps onto Alistair's face.

"Perfect. Have a chopper pick up the device and have these boxes sent to the airport. We need all of this in Arendelle ASAP."

"Of course, sir. I'll get in contact with Alec and make the arrangements."

Alistair pleasantly nods at Weselton.

"You've done a good job, Weselton. Stay here. Some people will be by to talk to you within a few days."

Weselton's face drops.

"S-Sir... who?" He asks, voice laced with fear to such an extent that Alistair can hear the fear.

"Some associates. You won't be harmed, Weselton, I assure you. But you still have one more role in this plan. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to speak with Duke Krei."

"Of course."

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You saunter around the massive, lively city of San Fransokyo. This is definitely a different from what you're used to. Corona was different from Arendelle, but this is a whole different ball game. There's so much here, so many people walking past you or attempting to sell things from their stores, or outdoor restaurants. It's amazing, yet intimidating. Funny to think of someone as capable as you being intimidated by a large crowd of people which, realistically, couldn't do anything to you.

Every other step you seem to have to avoid someone's shoulder, scoot out of the way of an oncoming individual, or actually nick someone's shoulder. It's quite uncomfortable, and it makes you wish you could just fly outta there or something. Then again, that would require you activating you're enhanced state, and you still have no idea how to do that naturally. If you knew, perhaps Rain wouldn't have died.

You shake your head to rid yourself of those thoughts. You can't dwell on it. He sacrificed himself so you could live, thus you must succeed no matter what. As if someone was peering into your thoughts, other than your handy friend, you pass by a café with the TV going. Images on the screen show ambulances in Corona parked around the lake's edge, along with bodies lying along the coast.

"Seems the bodies have finally been found," Shadow chimes in.

"Yeah... Whatever."

You turn away from TV and continue on your way, looking for that forest to burn down. Though you doubt you'll find one when there's practically no end to this city. You look up at the tall buildings, tempted to just climb up and jump from building to building as a faster means of transportation. It'd kill the boredom, at least. You just want this to get moving. You want to end all this and get back to Elsa, back to your normal life. Granted, your life hasn't been normal for a long time. Perhaps your wish is not to return to a normal life, but to finally experience one.

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Krei inputs some new data into the hologram, refreshing the entire city. He's been able to narrow down Hans' signal somewhat, but there's not enough reliable data to report. Though Krei has no need of contacting Alistair.

"Found anything?" Alistair questions.

Krei slightly jumps out of terror.

"M-Monarch. I didn't hear you come in," he nervously chuckles. "You won't, unless I want you to. Have you made any progress?"

Before Krei can respond Alistair's holowatch lights up, grabbing the attention of both men. Though Krei is unsure what that means, Alistair knows what the teal flash symbolizes: a call. Alistair taps the holowatch and a hologram of Hans appears. Instantly the layout of San Fransokyo spikes in activity, the signal Krei was hunting for shining prominently. Krei looks back and forth between Alistair and the model, but quickly gets to work on locking down the signal.

"Hans... what do you want?" Alistair coldly asks.

"Just checking in, Alistair. I realize you're now in San Fransokyo. It's an honour to be hunted by someone as esteemed as you," Hans recites, acting extremely confident.

"No matter how small the bug, I'll be sure to squash it."

"Then why do your sons still draw breath? Do you have a soft spot for them?"

"Possibly. I see their use, and they might see reason. You, however, are simply a thorn in my side. Besides, your resemblance to your father disgusts me."

Hans' face twitches, but enough for Alistair to notice even through a hologram.

"There is one difference between my father and I."

"And that is?"

"I will live."

Hans cuts off the connection, dissipating in a flash. Alistair eyes Krei.

"I got it sir. He's underneath San Fransokyo in our base, though the signal is originating from somewhere that's... not on my map."

Alistair sighs.

"That's because I erased it. Very well, good work Duke Krei. Carry on with whatever you were doing before I arrived."

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Hunter watches as Wasabi, Lemon, and Gogo analyze your sword. He'd help but... well this isn't his field of expertise. By no means is Hunter an idiot, he's nowhere close to the IQ of these people. Well, at least with Fred in the room he's not the least intelligent in the room; however he's likely the most useless at the moment.

Hunter crosses his arms and steps away from the group, aimlessly wondering around the confines. Suddenly his holowatch lights up. He opens it up and reads the message from Alistair. He quickly closes it so none of his allies can see. If they knew he was working with Alistair they may no longer trust him. Not that Hunter is pleased about it, but between you and him, he's fairly sure that you can handle him if he gets out of hand.

"Hiro, I have some things to do. Let me know when your research on the Dragon Sword is done, and if you find anything on that chip."

"Yeah, I got it," Hiro waves off, completely focused on his work.

"Now, I have to find (Y/N). If only he could sit still and not be such a pain."

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You let your hands dangle as you watch office workers go about their daily grind.

Sheesh, working at an office like that would kill me. Just sitting in a cubicle all day typing pointless email after email would drain my soul into nothingness. Then again, that's kinda what Elsa does. Though she has her own office... at her own company... where she gets a lot of money- man, I never realized that I'm actually pretty rich. How did I go from scraping by in the back room of Oaken's to living in a mansion where I don't have to do anything. Man... why am I so high?

You look down, past your arms, and see all the people who appear to be tiny ants from so high up. You honestly can't remember how you climbed up the building and hung yourself upside down from a flag pole. You start swinging your body to gain momentum, then, once having enough, you swing yourself all the way around so you're now sitting on the metal beam. However now there's a difference. You're staring at a man in a suit, arms crossed, staring at you with disappointment.

"Why are you up here?" Alistair asks with a hint of confusion.

"Thought I could find a forest from this angle."

"What?"

"Nothing, nevermind," you wave. "What're you doing here? How are you..." You look down to see what Alistair is standing on... but of course he's using air to keep himself afloat. "Oh... right."

"Come on, I have Hans' location. Where's your brother?"

You hesitate answering his question. You don't think its wise to start telling Alistair of all Hunter's allies. Though I tiny part of you assumes he already knows.

"Doing... stuff. I'm sure we'll find him."

"It's no problem. I just assumed he was with you. I did tell him to meet me at this building, though I didn't mean from this altitude. I take it you're feeling better?"

You nod, getting a tighter grip on the pole.

"Yeah, better than ever, in fact. Whatever you put me in worked wonders."

"As it should. Come, Hunter should be here soon, if he isn't already." Alistair extends his hand to you. "Grab my hand. I'll bring you down gently."

"I could survive this fall," you defend, looking down to the ground.

"True, but you'd make a lot more noise and attract unwanted attention."

"That's... fair. Fine."

You grab Alistair's hand, getting a firm grip.

"Good grip. At least my son can give a good handshake."

"I could crush a normal person's hand, dad. Same with you."

"That's not incorrect," Alistair snickers.

He flies forward, dragging you gently along by your hand. He makes his way above a nearby alley, then, once making sure it's clear, descends. Once you two hit the ground Alistair fixes his suit, you brush yourself off, and you both look at each other.

"What?" You exclaim.

"Nothing."

He leads the way out of the alley with you close behind. You merge into the massive pedestrian traffic jam that's flooding the sidewalk. Luckily you don't have to endure it for long, as Alistair steps inside the very same building you were hanging off of. It's a hotel, a very expensive looking one at that. Alistair takes a seat in the closest chair. You saunter over, avoiding everyone you can, and take a seat across from him.

"Does nobody care we're just sitting here?"

"Why would they? The Hierarchy owns this building, thus I own it," Alistair casually states, keeping his eyes out for Hunter.

"How much does the Hierarchy own?"

Alistair closes his eyes and smirks.

"Anything that's worth owning."

"So you're basically the illuminati," you flat out say.

"Psh, that's for tinfoil wearing idiots," Alistair remarks. "But we can get into this later. Your brother's here."

You look to where Alistair's staring, and he was correct. Hunter marches in, scanning the room and quickly finding you two. He makes a b-line towards you.

"What're you doing with Alistair?" Hunter questions.

"He found me," you answer, casually pointing to Alistair. "I was high."

"You... what?"

"Stop babbling. We're taking down Hans, now. Follow me."

Alistair gets out of his chair and walks towards the elevator.

"Where are you going? Is he here?" You ask, chasing after him.

"Tsk, of course not. We're going to head underground. Now come on."

Hunter crosses his arms and follows Alistair, passing by you as you remain stationary. You sigh, giving up on asking questions. You lazily follow Hunter and Alistair a few feet behind them. Alistair approaches the elevator and makes sure nobody is watching him. He clicks the elevator button and leads the three of you into the elevator. Once the three of you are there, he closes the elevator door, grabs a key card from his holowatch, and swipes it across the elevator buttons. The panel opens, revealing a secondary, lone button.

"Whoa... what's that?" You ask in awe.

"Every Hierarch facility has a path to the catacombs, a place that connects them all."

"Really? Why would you have so many? Couldn't people just attack you?"

Alistair snickers.

"I'm sure your friend could come up with the same answer that I have."

"Wha-"

"Think logically. A hotel? This is a civilian building. If someone launched an attack on a neutral building it would look like terrorism. The entire country would be after them. It's likely why Hunter has such a difficult time," Shadow assumes.

"Oh... that's actually clever," you say aloud.

"That's why it's reality," Alistair adds.

Hunter rolls his eyes.

"Hiding behind civilians. How impressive," he spitefully spews.

"A good defense can be the best offense, Hunter. Have we been attacked?" Alistair retorts.

Finally, Alistair presses the button. The elevator rumbles to life and follows the instruction it was given. The elevator descends down... and down... and down. The floor reader has completely shut down, thus you have indication of how far you really are other than estimating the speed and time. Though that's a lot of work that you don't really want to do. Alistair has no real reason to betray you now, so you put your faith in your father that he knows what he's doing. Besides, Hunter isn't acting out of the ordinary, so you suspect he knows exactly where this is taking you.

The elevator finally grinds to a halt. Everything remains eerily silent for some time before the doors slide open. Before you is a very dark, very uninviting hallway.

"What section is this?" Hunter questions, stepping out of the elevator.

"An abandoned section. Luckily the route was safe, thus the journey was very smooth."

"Didn't we just go down?" You ask, following Alistair as he leaves the elevator.

Alistair chuckles.

"No, not at all. We went down, forward, and right. As I said, the journey was smooth."

"Huh..."

You three traverse the hallway, keeping within a foot of each other. Alistair leads while you and Hunter are behind him on either side, forming a tight triangle.

"So where exactly are we?" You pipe up, your voice echoing through the abandoned hallways.

"We're approaching a section of our base that was severely damaged many years ago. Nobody ever bothered to fix it up, but it was still operational, to an extent."

"So Hans has been using the old systems?" Hunter guesses.

"You're correct. Though be on your guard. He contacted me knowing that I would find him."

"Sooooo, we're walking into a trap?" You state the obvious.

"Indeed. Though I doubt anything he has will be able to stop me, let alone all three of us," Alistair casually says, keeping his eyes attune to his surroundings. "Come, down this hallway. The entrance should be a minute away."

This area is... odd. You imagined a Hierarchy base to be much like what you saw in Corona – lots of labs, scientists and engineers, and projects going on in every room. This... this is dead, empty. You can smell fear and anger in these halls. Something happened in this hallway, and the closer you get to this section of the base, the stronger this knot in your stomach becomes. You may not be the smartest person in the world, but your gut feeling has gotten you through a lot. This situation, this place, is no difference.

Alistair stops in front of a large, impenetrable looking door. It's similar to a blast door that you might not even be able to open. You walk past Alistair and Hunter, approaching the door. You tap it with your knuckles.

"What are you doing?" Alistair inquires.

"Just checking. So, we have a way past this? Are we ripping it open... or?"

"No," he sighs, evidently disappointed. "I have a code."

Alistair approaches a small keypad to the right of the door. He inputs a rather lengthy code while Hunter moves beside you. Once Alistair is finished the large door begins to rumble, echoing through the entire hallway on both sides. You can hear the rust peeling away as the door finally starts moving after so long.

"Are you sure Hans is here? This door looks like it hasn't been opened in decades," Hunter points out.

"There are multiple ways into this section. It's probable that he used a different one," Alistair answers as he steps away from the keypad.

Once the door opens itself enough, Alistair walks through. You and Hunter follow suit, keeping up with your father. This hallway is even worse than the previous one. Rust is everywhere, along with some sort of tried liquid. From the colour you can only assume it's blood. This assumption is fueled when you eye bones laying around.

"What... happened here?" You whisper.

"They got in my way," Alistair coldly states.

You don't pursue the topic any further. You just want to get to Hans and leave this place. No matter how strong you are, this place just gives you a continuous chill down your spine and tingles on your skin. Alistair activates his holowatch and pulls up a hologram of the base. Within this hologram are three squares, representing the three of you. Not far away from those squares is a signal that's pulsing throughout the base, but the origin point is clear. It's conveniently down the hall in the main testing lab. There are various other rooms in this section, but the main testing lab is the only place worth noting here. Alistair remembers this place too well.

"Hans should be at the end of this hall. Get ready, we don't know what he's planning."

You nod, Hunter does nothing. After a short amount of walking the three of you reach another door, far smaller than the previous bulkhead. Alistair stops in front of the door, thinking on how he should go about this. He slides his foot as he turns to face you.

"The door over there," he says, pointing at a nearby door on the right. "There's a hole in the wall that will lead you into another room inside this main one. You two go that way while I get his attention."

You both acknowledge Alistair's orders and head for the door. Alistair waits until you both enter the room, then he opens the door. The main testing lab isn't large at all, but it's of a decent size.

The first thing he notices is the intentional focal point Hans has set up. Hans is standing in the middle of the room behind a chair. In the chair is a person with some sort of material over their head to hide their identity. The person in the chair is... small... whimpering. Why he has a hostage is unknown. He doubts that Hans could have anyone Alistair truly cares about, so why would he have them here?

"Ah, you came!" Hans greets, stepping around the chair with his hands to the side. "Alone, I see. Hm... interesting."

"I fail to see your plan right now, Hans. Do you really think you can kill me here?" Alistair doubtfully asks, looking around.

Alistair notes the darker corners around the room. From what he remembers, turrets were once set up there. He destroyed them a long time ago, but it's still something to note. Other than that possibility, nothing is out of the ordinary. Broken lab equipment, degrading walls... nothing out of the ordinary.

"Because I'm smarter than you, Alistair. I know how to beat you... I know how to beat anyone. For instance..." Hans turns around, grabs the mask on his hostage, and rips it off.

From the sidelines you and Hunter have reached the room and are watching from the darkness. There's no door to this room, but lack of any lights keeps you hidden. You watch as Hans rips some material off his hostage and... you can't believe it. Sniffling, scared, and beaten, Olaf is sitting on that chair, tied up. Instantly your heart beats faster, your judgement is clouded and you run into the room.

"Hans!" You shout, stepping out of the darkness.

"Damnit, (Y/N)," Alistair sneers.

"(Y/N)?" Olaf hopefully says, looking towards you.

Hans backhands him, forcing him to look away.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" You shout, your fist clenching tighter.

"Why wouldn't I? It's not like anyone was looking after him. Pretending to be a brother of his friend was all it took. How embarrassing for the Anderson family. Well, it's not like he's really part of it anyway."

Hans grabs the back of Olaf's neck and lifts him into the air.

"Now, here's the deal. You're going to kill Alistair, or I'll kill Olaf," Hans smiles, slipping a knife out of his pocket and holding it against Olaf's throat.

You grind your teeth as you watch Hans maniacally smile. He'll do it. He'll kill Olaf. You turn your gaze to Alistair as he stares at Hans.

"You're just like your father..." He whispers. "(Y/N)... come on," he says, raising his fists.

Hunter steps out from the room, seeing no need to be hiding anymore. Hans gives him a glance, but isn't worried about what the weakest son will do. He's focused on the two powerhouses in front of him. He can't help but enjoy it even more when he sees your reluctance to fight Alistair. You're torn at what to do. Fighting Alistair... is very difficult, and you don't necessarily want to. There's no reason, no desire, and no time. You have to find a way to beat Hans without fighting Alistair.

"Well, come on now. Or do you want me to gut him?" Hans taunts, pushing the blade against Olaf's skin.

You clench your fists, close your eyes, and dash towards Alistair. Hans watches eagerly... like he's waiting. Without either of you seeing, he slips his hand into his pocket, putting away the knife. Alistair can tell by your form that you don't want to do this. When he fought you at the temple, you threw a punch with the intent to kill. Now all that's behind the punch is sorrow. Alistair easily catches the punch, the sound of it hitting his palm echoes through the room.

But something's wrong. Alistair doesn't feel right. Something else made a sound when you connected. Alistair grabs your fist and twirls around, throwing you across the room but also moving himself. He barely manages to evade a bullet from the corner of the room. He slides to a stop, facing the corner, and fires a ball of fire at it. But that's not all that's wrong. The moment the fire leaves Alistair's hand a pain flourishes from his stomach. Alistair pauses, looking down at his stomach. His suit is slowly absorbing a red liquid. His legs slightly buckle as he grabs his wound. He turns around to see Hans aiming at him with a pistol.

"You were distracted. Too many noises, even for the great Alistair Knight to hear," Hans proudly says, feeling triumphant.

Hunter's eyes widen at the sight of Alistair's wounds. This... he's weak. This is a chance to take him down! Hunter looks around the room, attempting to find some sort of computer. If some of the lights still work, then power is still in this section thanks to Hans. His eyes lock onto a computer on the far side of the room. A smile slowly grows on his face.

You tumble across the ground but manage to grind yourself to a halt. You look to your father only to be shocked by the blood trickling down his clothes.

"Now that you're out of the way, (Y/N) won't be a challenge."

"He.. heh... you can't beat (Y/N)," Olaf states.

Hans looks down at the child.

"What?"

"He... he's too strong for you! He can't be beat!"

Alistair's eyes widen. He remembers this scene. This... Balthier once...

Hans' smile dissipates.

"But he won't save you," Hans shouts, shoving the gun against Olaf's chest.

"NO! HANS!" You howl.

But your words do nothing. Hans pulls the trigger. The gun shoots. The bullet blows through Olaf's chest, forcing blood out of the young child's mouth. His eyes go dim. His spirit breaks. Hans lets Olaf fall on the floor, bleeding. The sight of this, of Olaf, dying right in front of you... your body begins to swirl with power. Lightining starts to surround your body, appearing for brief moments before leaving existence. Your muscles grow, your eyes go pure white. You leap off your back foot, flying at Hans with inhuman speed.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Your fist fills with power as you slam all your anger into Hans' cheek. His bones nearly collapse at the pressure. If not for his augmentations, he'd be dead from that punch. Even with them, however, he's not in great shape. You push him forward with everything you have, sending him flying through the air, across the room, and crashing through the far wall into the next room. You slide to a stop, a foot away from Olaf. You're breathing heavily, releasing frustration with each exhale. Your form slowly seeps away, letting your eyes return to normal.

You ignore Hans completely, instead turning to Olaf.

"Olaf! Come on, keep your eyes open!"

You get to your knees, taking Olaf into your arms. He's breathing, barely. You need to stop the bleeding. Frantically you grab Olaf's shirt, ripping it off him, then tie it around the bullet hole to stop any bleeding.

Meanwhile, Alistair leaves you behind and follows Hans. He steps through the crack that Hans' body made, leading him to the room where Hans lies defeated on the ground. Hans rubs his cheek as blood drips out of his mouth. He feels a presence in the room and looks up, seeing Alistair approaching him, still holding his side.

"You know Hans... you remind me too much of your father. It's the reason I'm going to get so much satisfaction from ending your life."

"You... you think you're so powerful! Taking over the Hierarchy and making my family submit to you! You murdered my father in cold blood when he did nothing to you! He was a noble man! A kind man! A-"

"YOUR FATHER WAS PATHETIC!" Alistair screams, losing his cool. He takes a moment to breath before continuing. "Do you know why I killed your father?" Hans hesitantly shakes his head. "Your father... just like you... used innocents to win. He killed those who could not fight back, and forced me to attack him. I killed him in the name of vengeance. Everything I do is in the name of justice. I will correct what your scum of a father created. And I'll kill you," Alistair opens his free palm and faces it at Hans. "The same way I ended your father."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

You frantically push on his wound, providing as much pressure as you can to stop the bleeding. Hunter watches you for a moment, then sees Alistair step out from the hole. He's still wounded, badly. Even with all his power, he's still human. A bullet can kill him, as it's slowly doing right now. It's his chance.

"Hunter, help me! Do you have anything in your holowatch for injuries? We have to save Olaf!" You shout, shaken from what's happening.

Hunter looks down at you, then back to Alistair. He lifts his holowatch and inputs a few codes.

"Yeah... I have the solution," he smiles.

Suddenly an alarm starts going off, red lights flash, and a broken voice attempts to speak only to come out as garbled nonsense. Hunter clenches his fists and dashes towards Alistair.

"Hunter!" You scream, watching your brother attack.

Alistair looks towards you as you scream and sees Hunter coming towards him. Hunter jumps off his heel and throws a punch. Alistair pivots his body so Hunter passes by. He quickly shoots his knee into Hunter's stomach, knocking the wind out of him, then drives his elbow into the back of his neck, sending Hunter to the ground with no consciousness. Alistair then turns his eyes to you.

"Our partnership is over. Hans is dead, Hunter hasn't changed, and you... I'm sorry. Hunter has set this place to explode, crumble the foundation of San Fransokyo."

"Wait, you mean-"

"Everyone in San Fransokyo is going to die because of Hunter."

You stare at Alistair in shock. You can't believe Hunter would do something like this, all to try and kill Alistair.

"But... how do we..."

"I can activate security doors, containing the blast to this area. Some of the city will still crumble, however..." Alistair sighs, then grunts in pain. "Ah... I'm leaving. Take Hunter and Olaf, leave through that corridor. Hurry, the bulkheads will be closing in thirty seconds. If you're trapped here... well..." He exhales, looking around the room. "I hope you'll see things my way, (Y/N). I don't want to kill you, but if you get in my way I won't hesitate. Good bye, my son."

Alistair turns and leaves the way you all came in. With no time to waste, you carry Olaf in one arm, still holding his wound, to Hunter. You pick him up in the other arm, not struggling thanks to all your training, then run for the door Alistair pointed to. You sprint as fast as you can with the extra weight, but you know the bulkheads are closing. You can hear them behind you, closing rather quickly. You assume you're fine until you nearly trip over the floor. You regain balance, but you hear the door close very close behind you.

You sprint as fast as you can, but you don't know what to think when you see a door closing ahead of you. You jump forward, twirling like a bullet so you can pass by. You land gracefully, taking a second to readjust, then burst forward again. The doors are starting to surpass you, but thankfully you see a light at the end of the tunnel. You jump forward, using all your might to throw Olaf forward, then spin and throw Hunter. They soar through the air, out of the tunnel. With them out of the way, you can run as fast as you can.

To make matters worse, you hear an explosion behind you, you hear fire and death coming your way. You sprint as fast as you can, looking down at the ground as you gain up speed. You hop forward, then use all power in your legs to jump forward.

"HYAAAAAAAA!"

You pass through the bulkhead as it almost closes on your foot. You roll across ground to follow through with your momentum. You pass by Hunter and Olaf but manage to stop yourself. You quickly get to your feet and collect your environment. Somehow you're in a more grassy land just outside of San Fransokyo. But everything is outside of San Fransokyo now. You watch as buildings fall, people scream, and destruction fills the air. You watch in awe as all this happens.

And it just so happens that Hunter wakes up as you watch a section of San Fransokyo crumble. Hunter rubs the back of his head as he stands up.

"Where... where is Alis-"

You cut Hunter off with a punch. Hunter falls back to the ground.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" You holler. "YOU FUCKING DESTROYED SAN FRANSOKYO!"

Hunter rubs his cheek and stands up.

"We have to kill him! How dare you question this."

"How dare I... HOW DARE I? You are fucking insane Hunter. You no longer are the person I knew. Gaia was right. You and me... we're done." You seriously say.

"What? You're just going to give up?"

You shake your head.

"No. But I will not work with someone who sacrifices people. You're lucky I don't fucking kill you right now. You have killed more people there than I have ever seen Alistair kill."

"DON'T COMPARE ME TO HIM!"

"Who do I compare you to then? You didn't even kill him! You only killed thousands of innocent people. Fuck you, Hunter. I'm done. I'll beat Alistair on my own without compromising who I am. I should have seen this before."

"You... how-"

"Shut up, Hunter," you coldly say, turning away from him. "I have to get Olaf to a hospital, then do what I can to fix YOUR mess. Now, Hunter... never speak to me again."

You grab Olaf, holding him with care. You don't even give Hunter another look. You start running towards Corona to get Olaf to a hospital. Hunter watches you go, teeth and fists clenched.

"You... idiot..." He says, though who he's saying it to... not even he knows.

So, yeah, chapter done! I hope you... well, I think this was built up. I know some people have a dislike of Hunter for various reasons, and it's fair to say you might hate him now. Well, Knight you hates him now, so, at least one version of you does. But at least you found Olaf! Kinda... he's alive! Maybe...

Anyway, anyway, I'm going to give you guys a rundown on what's happening for this story. As you may have noticed I was working on my other story, Crimson Shadow, for the entire month of September. But I didn't forget Project's Past! November will Project's Past month, which means I'm going to attempt to pump out as many, quality chapters as I can. My goal is one a week, but we'll have to see how it goes. If I managed to do it with Crimson Shadow, I should be able to get it done with this. Also, Act 2 is coming to a close soon. Yes, I aim to finish it off in November. In fact, I'll give you a quick sneak peek of what the chapters to come will be called!

Chapter 44: Catching a Flight

Chapter 45: Alistair Knight

Act 2 Finale – Chapter 46: Knightfall

This means that Act 2 will be thirty chapters, which is SO much. Honestly I could have split it into two, but whatever. Act 3 will only be about ten to twenty chapters. I know I said I wanted to finish it by the end of this year, but that's not possible. I may give Project's Past another month of its own later down the line to get as much of it done as possible. It's about time I finish it. I don't want this to be going on for three years. I'm going to get this done, and I hope you all like what I have planned. In fact, there's a scene in a chapter (not telling which one) that will absolutely crack open what I have planned. Surprisingly, nobody has found it yet, despite that chapter being out for a while. But, whatever. You'll figure it all out soon enough.

Anyway, I'm adding this last second before I post it. So, November will be Project's Past month, but I don't think all the chapters will actually come out in November due to editing. Know that I will keep working on Project's Past through all of November and after, but it's a high chance that I'll be ahead of the chapters that are coming out. Just letting you in on what's going on.

Want to keep up with me? Know what chapter's coming out next and the progress of them? Follow me on Twitter! Twitter . com (slash) Chinsangan

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