Relearning

Chapter 4: To The Pulse Vestige

*Bang, bang!*

"Gaah!"

The silver-haired teen flinched at the dying soldier's scream. Obviously, he wasn't used to all of this fighting. If anything, Ace was sure the silver-haired teen would hide for safety. Luckily, Ace didn't give him the moment to hide as he quickly eliminated the threats.

"Over there!" Vanille warned as Ace pulled a lever back and aimed once again. His eyes quickly caught the new enemy and he didn't even pause as he pulled the trigger. It hit its mark, efficiently killing the soldier. His accuracy was so precise that it nearly scared him. But then, why should he care? As long as he could get out of here with Vanille and the silver-haired teen, he would be fine.

For a moment, he thought he was done until he heard another rush of footsteps.

"Over there!"

Without even thinking, his body moved and aimed. He pulled the trigger once more, only to hear an empty click. Ace felt his eyes widened and cursed underneath his breath.

"Hide!" Vanille jumped into action as she grabbed the silver-haired teen and hid behind a chunk of debris. Ace leapt out out of range just as the newly arrived group started firing at them. He hissed as dropped the gun at his feet, trying to endure the throbbing pain his hand. Just why did he have to cut his dominate hand in the first place anyway?

He gritted his teeth and searched for another weapon. To his surprise, he couldn't even find another gun near him. Ace forced himself to stay put and wait until the gun shots slowed. Without thinking, he drew a card and held it up, aiming for one of their guns.

For a split moment, he was wondering what the heck he was doing. Throwing a card? How would that help?!

A slight bit of frustration flared in him, causing him to narrow his eyes and grip the card a little tighter. Now was not the time to be thinking about this!

Shoving all doubts out of his head, he gritted his teeth and leapt out of his cover. To his amazement, several bullets just passed him, only a millimeter away from grazing his clothes. Ace did the next thing he felt what was right, he threw his card before he reached the other side. Vanille only held the white haired teen closer as Ace appeared at her side.

A cry of pain pierce the air as Ace caught sight of his card cut the back of a soldier's hand and create a gash in their armored shoulder. Ace took the distraction as an opportunity, jumping over his cover and kicking the closest soldier. The gun flew out of his hands and Ace grabbed it in midair with a flip of his body. Time seemed to slow as he took aim. Bullets shot past him and they had all missed him. How? He didn't know. He just narrowed his eyes and pulled the trigger.

Five shots was all it took. Ace landed gracefully on his feet as the mortally wounded soldiers fell to the ground. Well, at least he hoped they were unconscious. He dropped the gun and picked up his card, turning it over. Faint lines of blue were fading and the Three of Spades stood out to him. Never once did it actually occur to him that he was able to take on so many enemies on his own. Nor did he feel a bit of regret of hurting others. In fact, he only felt relief that the worst seemed to be over at the moment.

"I-is it over...?" the silver-haired teen asked peeking out of the cover. Ace took a glance at him and nodded, looking down at the bloodied card in his hand. He felt a strange sense of faint satisfaction, but it wasn't very much. In fact, he felt off. This wasn't his style of fighting. Pulling that trigger just felt...wrong. He felt that it was someone else's job. But then again...he had no choice but to actually use a gun for lack of a better weapon.

Ace kept the card out of sight as he rubbed it clean against his pants and discreetly slipping it back into his pouch. "For now."

"What...who are you?" the white haired teen asked, coming out of his hiding place. Vanille had the same question from the look on her face as she looked at Ace.