The martyr

part 1: high rise.

"ATLAS, get the hell up. we have a job." mary kicked the sleeping figure a few times trying to wake him up "Okay okay I'm getting up," Atlas replied, yawning between words. "always such a bitch aren't you Mary?" He said as he opened his blood shot eyes groaning "You look like shit" she lit a cigarette and took a deep inhale, the smoke filling her lungs. "You sure you smoking that is alright? Mori would probably beat ur ass if he catches you, " Atlas calmly stated."mori? Yeah, like he's gonna show up." she let out a slow exhale, the smoke filling the room when suddenly a feminine mechanical voice spoke

"Welcome, Mr. Mori to the cradle, please enjoy your stay. "

As the door began to open, mary rushed towards the sink, trying to snuff out the cigarette as a tall figure stepped in, his heels clacking against the metal floor. The stench of alcohol fills the room with his every step. "WELL, HELLO THERE. MISS ME?" He began to cackle to his hearts content "yea no one did mori. Should've stayed wherever the hell you were. We got a job to do." mary said, each word dripping with disdain against her brother and fear.

"Oh..? A job?" His heels quickly cracked against the floor as he hovered over me, forcefully grabbing his face in his gloved hand and staring into his bloodshot eyes from behind the dark sunglasses "with him of all people? And in this state? Are you sure you don't have a crush, sis? Hmmm?" He grinned ear to ear."He's higher than a kite with Eyes that look like they've seen God himself. You really have good taste, don't you~" he smiled slyly, releasing Atlas from his grip."Shut the hell up, mori. I'm not interested in a conversation about my type in men. We have a job to do. so piss. off." She stared daggers at mori, which made him back go off of Atlas, "well I'm joining the job, " he stated calmly "wait what?" Atlas looked dumbfounded, turning to mary seeing a face that could've melted a hole through the steel wall. "It's actually for another job nearby, and it's a solo mission, but hey, better with friends, ain't it?". "So you're just accompanying us?" Atlas asked."Yep. Plus, it's been a while since I've seen you both in action. Think of it as a test, and I'm the overseer. simple, yes? Don't worry, I won't disturb you both. " he took a small bottle of booze from his coat pocket and took a few sips before offering it to Atlas, which was refused. Mori shrugged and threw his head back, emptying the flask of booze and tossing it aside once every drop was complete

"So what are we going to take? High-rise or the road?" Mori asked as he leaned against the wall, adjusting his glasses."What's faster?" Mary questioned "well it's the high-rise, but it's more dangerous since the winds up there are quite da-". "Alright, high-rise, it is. ATLAS GET YOUR GEAR ON." mary cut off mori's sentence."What the hell do you mean, HIGH-RISE? ARE YOU INSANE ?? IT'S A GOD DAMN DEATH SENTE-" Atlas tried to protest, which was met with a disturbingly calm smile from mori sending a shiver down his spine. "Okay.. okay.. I'll get on my gear." He slowly got up,to which the two responded by getting in their respective gear.

Atlas slowly peeks over the roof and sees the sudden drop. "Holy shit.. how high are we?" He asked as his hands got clammy, the soles of his feet beginning to ache. "720.483 meters above sea level," mary responded casually. "Seven hundred.." He quietly spoke under his breath, absolutely terrified yet filled with slight excitement. He slowly looked up to see some of the buildings keep rising up into the sky, stretching farther than the eye could see. "You both are fucking insane you know that right?" He said as he kept staring up only stopping once the cold jetstream of air hit him in the face "yes we are Atlas." Mori replied with a wicked smile holding a cigarette in between his fingers with mary standing aside in a corner staring blankly at the cityscape,as he paced back and forth his heels clacking with every step.

After a few moments, mori finally took a long inhale of the cigarette, tossing it to the ground, snuffing out the embers and letting out a smoke filled exhale from his nostrils "Alright, listen up. We're taking the jetstream, and you better be right on my tail or else.." mori slowly whistled and brought his hands together and suddenly clapped."Squish. You're gonna die".
"How fast are the winds?" I asked a bit nervous. But before mori could utter a word, mary spoke up, "At this particular height, 50 mph. The higher we go, the faster it gets. When we get to the lost city, it's gonna clock in at 200 mph." her words beginning to faulter with each passing second. "Thank you, Mary. Now, does anyone have any last words?". Mori asked as he took in another lungful of the cigarette, exhaling it slowly "Okay good no last words. Follow." Mori turned around and leapt off the rooftop, barreling towards the ground. Before I could react, mary jumped behind him immediately sprouting wings from her back, following his lead. "SHIT. WAIT UP FOR ME" I yelled as I made one final prayer before jumping off just the same, deploying my glide suit and pursuing them at break neck speeds the only other thing audible was moris manic laughter from the ear piece.