Kane

If there's one thing Kane would never admit to himself, it's that he loves chaos.

He grew up with it. Sometimes, usually at the worst time, it finds him. And other times he chases it with a passion.

And now he's in the center of it, partially basking in its glory. The moment he jumped down from a helicopter and landed in the center of the Hunter's base he could feel the excitement stir in him, buried under all of the worry and apprehension.

Now he was cutting through droves of Hunters, moving at lightning speed towards the building where the captives were. Kane moved like a puff of smoke, and his comrades could barely keep up. This is why they asked for him, because when Kane wanted he could be a weapon of mass destruction. Dozens of men and women fell around him as he made sure none of them could get in his way. He had one objective, and anyone who tried to get in his way would pay for it.

Before anyone else Kane reached the gates and vaulted over them, not bothering to wait for the others. He knew that it would be better to wait but he didn't mind doing this on his own.

"You've got to stop doing that." Tove materialized out of thin air beside him, tucking a stray lock of hair back into her hood.

"The others were taking too long. And besides, you know we're the only ones who truly know how this works." Asa jumped down on the other side of Kane, relishing in the fact that his swords were stained with blood.

"If we don't hurry, they could be killed." Kane said, trying to hide his concern with a tone of finality. Tove nodded while Asa pressed his lips into a thin line, not having anything helpful to say. Kane sheathed his sword, kicking open a backdoor, not prepared to see a lone guard, standing there with a gun, most likely loaded with wolfsbane bullets, trembling.

"W-what are you doing here?"

Kane dashed forward faster than the human could see, grabbing the gun and knocking the guard out in one blow. As he crumpled to the ground Kane saw Asa hold back a laugh. Even in the most dire situations, Asa could never take anything seriously. Kane tossed Asa the gun, trying to ignore the grin that spread out on his friend's face as Tove made a small gesture to shush him.

The base was basically empty, the majority of the guards had left their original stations to deal with the hundreds of trained Capital soldiers laying siege to the base. But if they were smart their best soldiers would be guarding the hostages.

"Tove can you-" She held up her hands and whispered a spell under breath, sending a wave of magical energy over the entire building.

"There aren't any more people on this floor, there's a few on the second, but-" she held up a gloved hand, remnants of the spell still swirling around it. "I sense a lot more in the basement. I can't grasp where the hostages are, it seems like there's a barrier around their presence."

Kane's suspicions were going off the charts, and he knew that it would be best to go check out the basement first but he had a feeling the princesses weren't there.

"Let's split up, you two go to the basement and I'll go to the second floor."

"You're sure you're just not avoiding a fight?" Asa smirked as his friend stared at him, Kane's eyes were shining the way they usually do whenever he gets an idea.

"Go, hopefully the next time we meet we'll have the daughters with us." Tove brought out a knife to slice her hand, letting her blood drip onto the ground as she summoned a golem made of the earth that towered over them. When Kane hesitated she waved him away, urging him to go. If their guesses were right the hostages weren't in the basement, and they knew Kane could handle it.

"Kane, we'll be fine. We can take care of ourselves." Tove gestured again for him to leave, not allowing him to be any more hesitant , Kane nodded his head in farewell before taking off to the stairs, making sure his footsteps were quiet once he reached the floor.

The floor barely had any doors, it was made up of a straight hallway that occasionally made him turn a corner. Once he started to hear sounds from afar he unsheathed his swords, trying to make out any whispers. He turned another corner, and saw nothing but another hallway. This floor seemed like an endless maze and he knew it was done on purpose. It was a common layout of the Hunter's bases to keep important prisoners from escaping. The councilman's daughters had to be on this floor.

Once he turned the last corner he was faced with four heavily armed guards. Their eyes sharpened as they took in the sight that was Kane. His light armor glinted even though he was covered in blood, his swords glowing as he radiated power.

At first it was just tense silence, and then two of the guards rushed him as the others started shooting with expert precision. Kane could feel the tattoo on his shoulder burn as he saw the bullets coming towards him in slow motion. He brought up his swords, deflecting the bullets as he dodged the downward swing of an ax attempting to chop off his head.

Kane huffed, kicking down the other guard as he rolled to the side, throwing one of his swords at the guard armed with the gun. The guard crumpled to the ground, the weapon lodged into his neck and Kane grabbed a knife from its sheath in his thigh, impaling into the guard trying to shoot at him.

He was blur, and the remaining guards were barely standing, unable to land a hit on him. Kane gripped his sword tighter before he rushed the guards, no longer on the defensive. He met their weapons with his own, pushing one of them to the side as he swiftly stabbed the man closest to him in the heart. The last guard roared with anger as Kane disarmed them, kicking their axe away just before he beheaded them, their severed head falling to the floor with a sickening thump.

Kane was now the only person alive in the hallway.

He picked up his other sword that was lodged in one of the guards bodies and calmly walked to the door they were protecting. He noticed a gigantic padlock and chain on the door and he felt relief as he knew who would be behind the door. Kane crushed the padlock in his hand, breaking the door open to see two girls in a small, dimly lit room. The room squalor, a thick layer of dirt and filth covering the floor.

One of the girls was obviously passed out, barely breathing as she laid on the floor. Once Kane stepped through the door he heard a small whimper come from the farthest corner of the room. The sound came from a little girl, who was huddled in the corner, shivering from the cold.

"Stay away from me!" The girl flinched and held out her hands, closing her eyes as Kane stepped closer to her. Kane immediately sheathed his swords, trying not to scare the girl.

"I'm here to free you and your sister. I'm not going to hurt you." He kept his distance until the girl opened her eyes again. He could tell that she was scared but he was so relieved that they were both alive.

"I don't believe you." The girl's eyes shined with tears as she looked at Kane, not wanting to be hopeful. It could just be a trick.

Kane kneeled down in front of her, taking off the mask that covered the lower-half of his face. "My name is Kane, I was sent here by your father to free you Salma. No matter what, I'll keep you and your sister safe."

"C-Can you help my sister?" Salma sniffled, pulling away from him as she wiped her eyes with her hands that were covered in dirt from the floor.

"What happened to her?" Kane gently put his hands on her shoulders, not wanting to stress her out.

"T-they never gave us food. My sister gave me food but then she went to sleep and she's not waking up. Can you help her? Please?" Salma whispered under her breath, as if she was afraid the people who captured her would hear. Kane carefully examined the girl's face, noticing how her fangs were extended, she's still at the age where she can't control her powers.

Her sister must have given her own blood to help her.

"Your sister will be fine, I promise." He stood up, noticing how Salma gripped his pant leg, afraid he'll leave. "But first we need to get you out of here." His hand glowed as he sent a message to Tove and Asa, he had found the daughters. It was time to leave.

Kane stepped toward the unconscious teenage girl, kneeling next to her as he activated a healing spell, biting back a sigh of relief when her breathing became less shallow. Her eyes opened slightly but Kane held up a hand to stop her. "Niesha, I'm here to help you. Don't strain yourself, go back to sleep."

"B-but my sister. I need to-" Niesha tried to sit up but Kane stopped her, knowing she was too drained to stay awake, let alone walk. "I'll take care of your sister, just sleep. You'll be safe." By the time Kane finished his sentence Niesha had fallen back asleep, unable to stay awake. He turned toward Salma and used the same healing spell on her, but not to the same extent. He couldn't expend his energy when they were this close to the end goal.

Kane put his mask back on and lifted Niesha in the air using magic, keeping her suspended in the as a force field covered every inch of her body. Salma stared at him with wide eyes, amazed by just how powerful her rescuer was. Kane gestured for her to get on his back and she did as he told, happy to know that she'd finally be going home.

As they left the room where the daughter's were held captive he could feel Salma bury her face in his shoulder to avoid the sight of the dead bodies littered in the hallway. He couldn't help but wish that he had enough time to dispose of the bodies sooner, this poor girl shouldn't be exposed to things like this.

Once they turned a corner Kane tightened his hold on the girl, knowing they would need to run now. Salma wrapped her arms around his neck as Kane sped through the hallways, still managing to maintain his tether to Niesha's body. After a few minutes Kane reached the main floor, heading towards the back exit he had come in. Where he told Tove and Asa to meet him. When he got to the spot he saw Tove and Asa covered in blood, the golem still intact, holding an unconscious man in its grip.

"We've contacted Adora already, most of the people in charge of this base are dead. She made sure of that. She's sending a helicopter our way now." Kane nodded, not wanting to discuss anything else in front of Salma, who was still shaking with fear.

"We need to go." Asa said, kicking open the door as they heard footsteps in the distance.

Tove shouted an order and the golem duplicated, one still holding their prisoner while the other took off in the direction of the footsteps, ready to kill. The group ran out of the door, as Niesha still floated in the air above them, sound asleep. If this was any other situation Kane may have found the image comical, seeing someone sound asleep in the middle of a battlefield was rare.

He could hear screams as bombs were dropped and Kane knew that Adora must be having a field day with the amount of carnage she was causing.

Once they were a considerable distance away a helicopter touched down and a man gestured for them to come inside. Tove snapped her fingers and the golem disintegrated, dropping the unconscious man to ground harshly. Asa smirked and dragged the old man into the helicopter, with Tove and Kane following behind. They took off immediately and Kane set Niesha down on one of the cots in the helicopter, still maintaining the force field. Salma sat in between her sister and Kane, reaching for his hand for reassurance.

The silence in the helicopter was palpable, no one wanted to disturb the peace, especially since the mission wasn't technically over yet. The hard part was over, the girls were safe.

"Are we going home now?" Salma looks at Kane with wide eyes, still admiring the teenage boy in front of her. He nodded, taking off his mask so she could see his face. "Not yet, we need to heal your wounds but your parents are waiting for you."

Her eyes brightened even more once her father and mother were mentioned, unable to contain her happiness.

"Thank you!" She hugged his leg, not paying attention to everyone staring at Kane and the girl with slight amusement. Kane felt awkward, he wasn't a physical touch type of person. Of course there were exceptions but he couldn't just push the little girl away, she's a child who just experienced one of the most traumatic things that could ever happen to a person. He softly patted her head with the hand that wasn't covered in blood, smoothing the hairs that were out of place.

"There's no need to thank me, Salma." He smiled down at her, silently activating another healing spell so she would feel more comfortable. In the corner  of his eye he saw Asa snicker as Tove smiled softly at Kane.

When they finally touched down Kane saw Councilman Hussein and his wife, a prominent Doctor in the capital, waiting for them. Once they saw Salma they were relieved, gasping once they saw Niesha who was still unconscious. The woman gestured for a gurney as Kane set Niesha down on it, finally breaking the tether he created, causing the magical barrier to disappear.

"Mom! Dad!" Salma stumbled into her parents arms, crying as her father picked her up, kissing her forehead. "It's okay, you're safe now."

Kane stepped towards them, adrenaline fading as he started to feel the effects of the mission. "They both need to be checked on by a doctor, both of them were starved, they haven't eaten in days. Niesha is worse off but the healing spells I performed haven't worn off yet." The parents nodded, signaling to the guards to rush Niesha to their medical facilities. Both girls disappeared out of their line of sight on gurneys, Salma waved away one last time before she took her mom's hand, finally feeling safe.

Once everyone else rushed inside Kane leaned against a wall, his breathing slightly labored. "Okay, we did it." He laughed to himself as Tove and Asa stood beside him, also exuberant.

"They took my prisoner." Tove crossed her arms, grumbling as the man she had captured was dragged away, still unconscious.

Asa laughed, "That guy is screwed, I hope for his sake he never wakes up." Kane hadn't been paying too much attention to the man before, too focused on rescuing the daughters but he had definitely recognized him. He was a prominent ass-kisser in the Hunter organization. Greedy for power but never having the guts to get his hands dirty, they must have put him in charge of that base as a test. And he failed miserably, he should've killed himself, at least then the death would be quick.

Kane stood up straight, wincing as he noticed a wound streaking down his arm. It was definitely from a bullet.

"We should head inside. You definitely need to get that checked." Tove pulled him along with his good arm, leading them inside the building.

"I'm fine, it's a slight bullet wound." Asa rolled his eyes, practically pushing Kane along.

"Only in Kane's world could 'slight' and 'bullet wound' belong in the same sentence." They all laughed at Tove's admonishing statement as Kane stumbled along, just letting his friends drag him to get his wounds healed. Sooner or later he'd have to debrief the Director but that's a later problem.

For now, he's content with just living in the moment. For the first time in a long time. He wasn't worried.