G.H.O.S.T.: The Vaknar War

The Vaknar War

Xavier stood still as all the agents around him rushed about preparing defenses and configuring whatever appliance and weapons still worked in their headquarters. Everyone around him seemingly going about while he was just supposed to act like everything was sweet. Looking down at his gauntlets, he felt nothing but rage and confusion. He felt a sharp tap on his shoulder, turning around to see Toya, her suit was torn at the shoulder, and her hair was more of a mess than it usually was. "I know this has to be the worst year of your life right now." She said as she handed him his cybernetic pistol, he wasn't even aware he dropped it. "Thank you."
"Listen, not everyday do you find out your father was hanging with the big boys and had to wipe his memories in order to protect the world."
"Reassuring words."
"I'm not a seasoned therapist my bad, but listen he had good reason and you know it, or else we all would've been screwed by now."
Xavier laughed, startling Toya a little.
"I don't know about my future me, but I'm lucky as hell to have someone like you to be there for me."
"Don't start crying under that mask, we still have work to do."
"My mask..."
Unclamping the holds of the helmet from his suit, Xavier withdrew the steel mask from his face, stopping some agents from their tasks and whispering among each other.
Xavier Bridger.
A keen resemblance to his fathers features in more ways than one, except for some gray highlights in dreads and the piercings in his ear.
"Sooner or later I have to face my demons right?"
"About time you did." Toya said as she turned around heading to Hunter and the rest of the Elites.
Xavier caught a glimpse of a smile on her face, making him smile a little as well.
Stashing his pistol in his suit chamber, he joined Toya.
All of them were either reloading their weapons or drawing on the walls of the building organizing a plan as the two walked in.
Everyone stopped all their movements as Xavier came in.
"Jesus, you're just a kid." Kane said.
"It's about time!" Hunter said.
"No way...wait what about your identity?" Oliver asked.
"Can't keep hiding from my own team when they are the ones who put their trust and faith in me." Xavier said.
"We'll say." Frost said.
"If you're all done, we've got to help Atlas, an Elite his age can only hold on for so long." Said Amadeus as he reemerged from a portal with Malcolm.
Malcolm walked up to Xavier, staring at his son as tears emerged but his face remained straight.
"Son."
"Dad."
The two hugged each other for a moment before breaking off.
"You really have grown."
"All right Malcolm, time is ticking, spend time with the boy after this."
"How come your not surprised Amadeus?" Toya asked.
"As good as you think you are young Xavier, I've been watching over you as long as I can remember Malcolm losing his memories."
"That's creepy as hell dude."
"Someone had to, you could've walked any path with your father being oblivious to his son's existence, fortunately Grim entered your life."
"...Did he know too?"
"Yes."
Of course he did, Xavier thought.
Before Xavier could ask more a loud *BOOM* occurred throughout the facility.
"Dammit the Knights healed, Malcolm we need to set the pieces together to contain the building from the public, and agents...put those frackers in the grave." With that Amadeus teleported all the Elites and remaining agents onto the battlefield above.
It was chaos up on the floor above, bullets rained in the air as a fury of fists echoed throughout the noise. The Vaknar were cutting down each and everyone in their sights.
"Everybody listen up!" Hunter said.
"We are going to use this floor as our base of operations, we can set it up to look like we are still here and lure the Vaknar soldiers into a trap. We will have to take out their forces before we can contain the building."
"Agreed." Frost said.
"I want to make sure we understand what is happening here. There is a change in the future timeline and we are trying to prevent it from happening. This war isn't going to be fought here; we are going to need to head off to another location." Hunter said.
"Where?" Frost asked.
"Anywhere but here. We will need a new base of operations, this facility is compromised, and we are low on supplies. We can take Vaknar down by taking down Shane. We need to focus on what we need to do to win this war, not on how we are going to live afterwards."
"You are right, let's take care of business first." Frost said.
Hunter nodded his approval as Frost turned to the agents around her.
"Alright Agents, we are going to follow the map and converge at the top floor where the most Vaknar are gathered. From there we are going to spread out and eliminate them. Make sure you keep your distance from each other and fire in bursts if you have to. Remember to conserve ammo."
"What about the prisoners?" Xavier asked.
Frost looked at him. "They are our priority, once they are free we can worry about the rest."
"Understood Agent Frost." Xavier replied.
With that everyone split up into groups, with Xav and Toya leading their group to the top floor. A few minutes later they reached the level where the majority of the Vaknar were held. Xavier furrowed his eyebrows as he entered a one on one with a Vaknar. He didn't have time for any of these little pebbles. He wanted Shane upfront, so with a sidestep and swing of his blade, Xavier ran down on 3 soldiers before leaping off on one of the forehead of the last one struck down. As he flew midway he tapped the temple of his helmet, igniting the suit, and flying above the chaos. On the ground the New Elites proved why they were chosen for the legacy of the team, maneuvering swiftly through the remaining soldiers as each met a gruesome ending. Hunter teleported sloppily but effectively through three points of contact as he brought the chamber of his pistol on the dome of his prey, all safety switches were off in this incursion, the fight at the prison made it clear the Vaknar could put lives at risk. With a bang to each assailant he pushed forward. Frost and Kane found themselves covering each other's back as the onslaught of soldiers ran away from Oliver's arrows. Using the gatling gun, Kane let loose of the bullets as they pierced through each one on his side. Frost closed her eyes, summoning ice around her eyes and an ice spear forming around her hand before she threw it towards the Vaknar soldiers. Across the field Ravager was in the middle of doing what she did best. Mowing down line after line of the weakened soldiers from Kanes assault. The assault on the prison made Toya realize if they were going to go against these hybrids, she'd have to advance the weapons she was utilizing. The Helox infused claws she dawned were created with the research Maven was working on for his own suit. Maven never finished the research for his own, but with Toya's done it gave them an edge in the upcoming missions they had. Putting the last one 6 feet into the ground, Toya looked up towards the others and heard a familiar pair of thrusters above her.
Maven.
She thought.
Her face darkened with the thought of him. She could feel her heart swell, but she shook them off as she looked towards the sky.
He was always there for us, for me, taking a burden all the damn time. For what?
Her thoughts interrupted as the ground shook.
Xavier scanned the area from above, looking for the source of the earthquake.
"There!" Xavier pointed towards it, Toya and several other agents followed his direction as they searched the area.
"The Knights and the guards."
All of their helmets except for the Knight weren't on though, making it hard for Xavier to recognize who was who.
The Tiger soldier he could spot as her suit still had the stripe patterns, the crazy ginger headed soldier still had the burn marks on his suit, and at the center glowing purple within his shiny armor stood the Vaknar Knight.
As soon as the words left his mouth he felt a sharp pain in his back, Xavier quickly spun around seeing the Knight and the guards all firing and throwing their weapons his way.
His first instinct was to shoot them away,  although he knew he wasn't going to avoid them all. Xavier still attempted to retaliate but before he could pull the trigger he was knocked backwards by a massive blow to his body. He fell on the ground with a thud, feeling his body twist in ways it shouldn't. He tried to get up but couldn't move, he was paralyzed. Xavier could only watch as a portal closed in front of him.
Xavier screamed in agony as he watched Hunter's face appear over him, the same brown eyes, the same smile painted on his face , even the piercing in the right eyebrow, just the same.
"You gotta fight Shane." His voice was so soft as he stared down at him.
"How?"
"Hunter..." Xavier said, tears streaming down his face.
"NO!" Kane yelled.
The guards fired their guns, hitting Hunter square in the chest. He fell to the ground, his body lifeless.
"NOOO!" Xavier screamed.
The Knight and the guards continued firing until all that was left was dust.
Xavier screamed in anguish as he struggled to stand up.
"BASTARD!!"
He charged towards the closest soldier, slashing his blade across his face causing him to fall to the ground in excruciating pain.
"Get out of my way!" Xavier yelled.
The soldiers began to scatter as he advanced towards the last one standing in his way.
"Maven!" Frost shouted.
"STOP HIM!"
This time it was the Vaknar soldiers who formed a circle around Xavier.
"I'll kill all of you!" Toya yelled.
She swung her  blades down, slicing through the chest of the soldiers before she dived into one of the platforms the assailants were on. She grabbed the Vaknar Tiger by the throat, squeezing the life out of her as she was fending off the others attacks.
The soldiers opened fire, shooting her from all angles.
Her body was riddled with bullets, blood poured from her chest as he collapsed to the ground.
"Rav!" Frost said again.
She could barely hear her as she lay there.
"Stop Shane." Toya said.
Frost looked at her with sadness in her eyes.
"Why?" Frost asked.
"Because...I don't want to lose...." Toya said.
"No, you won't." Xavier uttered as he continued his rampage.
Xavier activated his armor once more. He landed a kick on the neck of the ginger. He then held up his arms as he summoned a shield in front of himself.
"Die you vermin." The ginger said as he raised his hammer.
Frost didn't say anything, she just watched as Xavier went for the kill.
"Xavier!" Kane's voice rang out.
A blue beam shot forth from the helmet of the Knight and hit Frost in the chest. Frost fell to the ground, and Kane couldn't help but scream.
"NO!"
He crawled towards her, clutching her face as tears streamed down his cheeks.
"It's okay..." Frost said.
"NO! You're not supposed to leave us!" Kane cried.
"It's okay..." Frost said again.
"IT ISN'T!!!."
Kane started to fight his tears as he held her tight.
***
"We have to end this now..." Frost said weakly.
Kane stood up and saw the remaining soldiers running towards them.
"We have to finish the mission..." Frost said.
"We are not leaving you behind." Kane said.
"Don't be stupid, I'm dying."
"Then do it after we bring Shane down."
Frost nodded.
"Good luck my friend." Frost said.
"I don't need luck, not when I've got the fallen behind my back." Kane said.
Frost smiled.
A gunshot rang out.
Kane turned around, seeing a bloodied Vaknar ginger with a smoking gun in his hands.
"I'll see you in heaven." Kane said.
"Go save the world..." Frost said.
Kane rushed forward and cut the guard down once and for all.
"I'll be with you again, when this war is finally over." Frost said.
Kane simply nodded and pressed forward.
***
The agent and soldiers were still fighting, Xavier noticed that they were getting closer to the top floor. He checked his HUD, seeing the remaining soldiers were in the upper levels.
He had no idea how close they were, but they were definitely close enough he could see the tops of the walls.
"Mav! Get ready!" Kane shouted.
Xavier turned around and saw several men heading their way.
"Hang on Atlas..." Xavier said as he ran towards them.
Xavier used his armor to deflect an axe, using the momentum to spin around and strike the assailant in the face. A second later the soldiers attacked and Xavier defended himself as best as he could.
"Shit..." Xavier said.
He knew he wasn't good enough to take on a room full of soldiers, especially with his suit's current power. They needed to get to the top floor as fast as possible and take Shane before the Vaknar could resurrect Marsa.
"Kane! Let's move!" Xavier said.
Kane nodded as he ran towards the next group of soldiers.
***
"Find Atlas!"
The soldiers had surrounded Oliver who was reloading his arrows.
"GET DOWN!" Kane shouted, shooting his pistol.
Oliver rolled away from the shots as he looked for the perfect opportunity to attack.
"Come on you son of a bitch!" Oliver yelled.
Kane shot another group of soldiers. As he turned around, he saw the Vaknar Tiger run towards him with her fists raised high above his head.
"RUN!" Kane shouted.
"I'm not going anywhere!" Oliver yelled.
Oliver pulled out a grenade and threw it at the soldiers.
"Dammit Oliver, RUNNN!" Kane said.
Oliver turned back and saw Kane fighting the Vaknar tiger
Kane used his weapons to knock the Tiger off balance. He ran towards the wall where the soldiers were on the other side and Oliver fired another grenade arrow at them before they both vaulted over a nearby wall. Kane landed on the other side and fired a special helox grenade at the Tiger Vaknar.
He took cover as he waited for the explosion.
When it came, it blew up the entire room.
Kane stood up and looked around, finding himself and Oliver alone as the soldiers were blown to bits.
A piece of the Tiger Vaknar's arm brushing against his boot. Kane reloaded his pistols once more. He looked at the others and saw them lying in their respective positions. Frost was still alive but barely breathing.
"Frost, Toya, can you hear me?" Kane asked.
Frost barely opened her eyes as she tried to speak.
Toya moved with minimal movement
"Just hold on, I'm gonna get you two to the medics."
Kane turned around and saw Maven landing next to him.
"Are you alright?" Kane asked.
Maven nodded.
"That was impressive." Maven said.
"Thank you. Now get going I'll stay here with them. You and the rest gotta finish this." Kane said.
Maven nodded.
"I know you will." Maven said.
"Thanks, for everything." Kane said.
Maven nodded.
"Let us take care of business then we'll meet up later." Maven said as he walked towards the bright clashes towards the cliff of the floor.
Kane watched as he disappeared over the edge.
"Hold on guys, I'm coming..." Kane said.
He made his way up to his teammates and sighed, taking a cigar out his pocket before lighting it.
"For the Fallen." Kane said.
***
The Vaknar soldiers were all dead, and Xavier was the only one left standing.
The top floor was filled with blood and bodies, some still moving while some were already dead.
Xavier saw a figure in the corner of the room, he was holding a book. He slowly approached him.
"Silas?" Xavier said.
No response.
"Who are you?" Xavier asked.
Still no reply. Xavier walked to the figure and grabbed him by the shoulders.
"I said who are-!"
Xavier halted.
It was Hunter...but he looked strange.
"I'm sorry, you should have run." Hunter said.
Xavier looked at Hunter, tears streaming down his face.
Looking at him, it wasn't his Hunter.
He wore a bloodied suit and his head...it looked as if it was chopped off before.
"Please tell me you know how this ends." Xavier pleaded.
"I do." Hunter said.
Xavier shook his head, this had to breaking multiple universal laws.
"But why? Why did you jump for me?" Xavier asked.
"You are the only one who can stop him." Hunter said.
"Who?" Xavier asked.
"Silas." Hunter said.
"What does he want?" Xavier asked.
"To destroy the universe, remake it his own." Hunter said.
"And, me, I'm the one who can stop him? Powerless me?" Xavier asked once again.
"Yes." Hunter said.
Xavier rubbed his temples.
"I don't understand..." Xavier said.
"You are the only one who can defeat him with the intellect and prowess you have. After he is defeated, your world will be safe momentarily."
"Momentarily?" Xavier said.
"He's but a fragment of the puzzle, all theVaknar are. Silas is a concoction like no other."
"So we have no hope ?" Xavier asked.
"No, you must stop him."
"How am I supposed to do that?" Xavier asked.
Hunter sighed.
"Find Grim."
Xavier looked at Hunter.
"I've been looking for years, you know that." Xavier asked.
"Grim is the being who first got entangled with Silas. He can give you the power to defeat him." Hunter said.
"What?" Xavier said.
"Why do you think they want Marsa, who do you think set up all the precautions for this day?" Hunter asked.
Xavier looked at Hunter. He could see the pain in his eyes, and he was clearly distraught.
"But why would Grim of all people keep this from us?"
Hunter's body suddenly flickered.
"Alright look, I don't have much time. I just discovered I could do this. The Elites, G.H.O.S.T., all of you are the only ones who can go toe to toe with whatever that bastard is about to dish. Shane is a pebble to this. When you find him, ask him what the Axel forge is."
"The Axel forge? WAIT!"
Hunter then flickered out of existence, leaving Xavier alone in the midst of the bodies around him.
Xavier proceeded to head towards Atlas.
None of this made sense, Silas? Marsa? Shane? What were they after? Why did the Knight always come for him only? Why would Grim create someone who could kill them all?
It was all frustrating and he had no time to process the information slapped in his face as he found Atlas and Shane still going at it. He ran to the two warriors and watched as they fought.
"Atlas!" Xavier shouted.
Both fighters continued fighting, the sound around them numb as they traded blows at light speed.
Out the corner of the rubble, he saw his father come out a hole as he unshouldered a rifle.
He's gonna get himself killed, he thought.

"Hey!" Xavier shouted as he jumped into the air and fired a shot at Shane.
Shane blocked the shot with his sword, missing the tip as it hit him, causing it to stick out of his chest.
"Fuck!" Shane exclaimed.
"Shane!" Xavier shouted.
Shane ignored Xavier and kept fighting Atlas.
Shane moved faster than Xavier could follow, he used his sword like a spear and jabbed towards Atlas in the stomach. The old timer weaved the attack to return a blow to Shane. Xavier noticed his flames were withering.
Malcolm then jumped from the corner and fired at Shane.
Shane blocked them with ease as he ran up to Malcolm and grabbed him by the throat.
"I tire of these games."
"Dad!" Xavier shouted.
Atlas knocked the blade out Shane's hand and pushed him back with a sharp jab to his stomach. Shane fell to the ground, releasing Malcolm.
Gasoline like blood leaking out of his wound.
"Get up!" Atlas shouted.
Shane crawled towards Atlas as he slowly rose to his feet.
"Don't make me kill you." Shane said.
Atlas glared at Shane.
"I've lost enough friends to your kind." Atlas said.
"Then kill me now," Shane said.
"I won't break our code, not even for you." Atlas said.
"I know." Shane said.
Shane started to laugh.
He stretched his hand out and his blade returned to his hand.
Before anyone could react, Shane threw it at Malcolm.
"Frack!" Xavier yelled.
Tapping his suit's ear, ripples erupted from the vibrations it emitted, knocking the sword off balance and hitting the wall.
Shane used it as an opportunity to spear Macolm to the ground as he uncovered a hidden gun in his suit's vest.
"None of you can stop the new beginning."
"He has a point. I can't even fight him right now." Atlas said.
Shane picked up Malcolm by the collar as he struggled against him.
"Weak impudent powerless creatures. I'll give you a choice boy, you have talent, talent we need. I know of your fathers bewitchment he cast upon himself. Kill this worm right now and we'll ensure your mother comes to no harm."
"This- entire time? Unghh-" Malcolmed cried.
"Yes, Amadeus isn't the only one who can learn mystic arts, or rather we're the last ones since I burned our teachers alive."
Atlas glanced at the young agent.
"Xavier..."
"This is the point of time I know. " Xavier said.
"Whatever grievance you have upon him. Cast it aside. The fate of reality hangs in the balance."
Watching his father squirm, Xavier felt nothing but anger.
Looking back at Atlas, he knew he was right. He had a job to do.
Xavier jettisoned towards Shane and swung his fist, catching the man in the jaw.
Xavier then saw Shane's fist coming from the corner of his eye. He turned just in time to block the punch. He then struck Shane in the side of the head with a powerful uppercut. Shane collapsed to the ground.
"Nicely done." Shane said as he got back up.
"Not bad kid, but you're going to need a lot more than that to beat me." Shane said.
"I may be powerless, but this suit and my training make up for it." Xavier said.
Xavier rushed Shane and punched him hard in the stomach, which Shane weaved.
"You really think you can beat me with brute force? I thought you were smarter than that." Shane said.
"I'm not letting anyone else die because of you." Xavier said.
Shane smiled and shook his head.
"There's no one left to save, nothing to save for that matter. If I wanted to, I could end this right now." Shane said.
Atlas raised his eyebrow at Shane's words as he was healing, he was toying with him.
"Then why haven't you!" Xavier said as he took a few steps towards Shane.
Shane smirked and pointed his index finger at Xavier. A black circle formed around Xavier.
"This is fun." Shane said.
Shane released the orb and it flew at Xavier.
He closed his eyes and dove out of the way. The orb hit a wall and exploded into fragments.
"Damn it!" Shane said.
Shane looked around the room and picked up some of the shards.
"Come back here you little shit!" Shane shouted.
He threw the shard at Xavier, it narrowly missed him.
Xavier looked around the room and saw his pistol on the ground. He somersaulted over and grabbed it.
"Now that's something I've never seen before." Shane said.
Xavier aimed the weapon at Shane and pulled the trigger.
A blue beam launched from the barrel, hitting Shane square in the chest.
"Are you fucking serious?!" Shane yelled.
Shane fell to the ground, coughing up blood.
"Now...what is a damn Axel Forge." Xavier said.
Xavier walked over to Shane and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"Got you.", Shane said as he looked up with a smile.
Shane unsheathed a hidden blade as he struck Xavier's suit at its core. The armor shattered under the pressure, and Xavier fell to the ground.
"Fuck, I'm out of practice." Shane said.
Shane walked towards Xavier and gripped his neck with his thumb and forefinger.
"You've caused me far too many problems over the months. The Axel...you really are going to be a pain in my masters plan." Shane said.
"I know." Xavier whispered.
"I'll make sure it never gets to that point." Shane said.
With a twist of his wrist, Shane cut through Xavier's neck.