Chapter 115: Answers
"What the-" Steve mutters before jumping back at the sudden appearance of the Spell Jammers.
I don't give him time to understand the situation as I teleport right in front of his group and activate my robes for added effect.
"J-John!" Steve's eyes bulge, and he readies his sword. "What's the meaning of this?" he says as he uses his blade to point at the rumbling Jammers.
"A little precaution," I say before glaring at his companions. My gaze is enough to make them take a step back, so at least I know that there isn't any hidden elite in this small group. Otherwise, it would make my interrogation more difficult.
"Steve, we both know why I'm here," I say as I stare at the armored Werewolf.
He shakes his head, "I'm afraid not. And are you responsible for this?" he says as he shows the ruins around us.
"Why does it matters?" I answer with another question as I cross my arms. "The one asking questions here is me."
"How-" a hotblooded Werewolf roar, but a hand gesture from Steve silences him.
"Silence!" the ex-Enforcer shouts. "Be more aware of the situation!"
The accused grits his teeth and lowers his head. I focus back on the presumed leader of the Freedom Movement.
"You must know why I'm here, right?" I ask.
"I have no idea, what do you want?" the Werewolf asks.
It is a bit infuriating.
"Don't play coy with me; you know exactly what I want. Tell me what really happened to Riley and your Family." I demand. The Wolfheart Family is one of the only Families who didn't fall to the Stonecrusher Empire, but internal strife. I want to know why, and what happened to the other son of their defunct leader.
"What do you want me to say?!" Steve roars in anger. "He was misguided, we fought, and he lost, so he fled. There's nothing to say about that, instead we-"
"We aren't DoInG sHiT," I say as I raise my gun. He must know something; he has to. I don't know if I have what it takes to shoot the infuriating Werewolf, but I feel like the conscience that's stopping me from pulling the trigger is slowly being replaced by pure anger.
Steve growls, and his companions try to prepare spells.
The key word here is 'try.'
Their spells are wiped out from existence almost as soon as they appear, causing the jaws of the Freedom Movement members to drop as they exchange confused glances.
"W-What was that?" Steve, who noticed the effect of my artifacts, shoots a curious glance towards me as he almost imperceptibly shifts his body and weapon into an attack stance.
"There's a lot of things you don't know," I say to the Werewolf.
"Don't bullshit me. I know what I saw!" Steve responds, "Their spells were canceled before they were finished, it must mean that-"
"I wouldn't say anything else if I were you," I say as I readjust my aim.
"You would threaten a friend? I thought that what we went through together would at least count for-"
"DON'T BULLSHIT ME!" I roar as I take a step towards the frightened members of the Freedom Movement. "Don't play the card of friendship when you killed your damn mother!"
"I didn't have a choice!" Steve swings his sword in rage, and I endure the flaming arc produced by the weapon without flinching. "Someone like you wouldn't understand! We aren't hiding behind some powerful organization to-"
Oh, this is too funny.
"I'm the one hiding behind my organization?! That's rich coming from someone who was more than happy to oppress, destroy and kill anything that threatened the monopoly of his Family! The only reason you even started this Freedom Movement is that you started to feel the consequences of your actions!" I roar as I shoot near Steve to calm him. "I won't miss next time."
But my action seems to have the opposite effect.
"You bastard, Who do you think you are?" the Werewolf roars as he lunges towards me. His companions unsheathe their weapons and follow their leader. I crack my neck; the encounter wasn't supposed to go that badly, but I'll be damned if I don't enjoy the opportunity to let out some of my pent up frustration.
I freeze the timeline and memorize the exact position of each of Steve's companions before letting time resume its course.
Seven shots echo, and Steve's seven companions all explode into a fine crimson mist. I barely react as the Werewolf's sword strikes my shield. At least twenty casings are ejected from my Glove in rapid succession, but it doesn't matter thanks to our new spatial magazines.
"Are you finished?" I ask as I shield-punch the massive furry creature in the guts. His own barrier flares up and groans heavily as the Werewolf skids back.
"H-How?" Steve, who just noticed his dead companions, looks at me with a new expression.
Complete fear is painted on his face.
"W-What have you done!" the Werewolf roars as arcs of red energy cover his body. He dashes towards me so fast that I can't even see an after-image, the sudden impact feels like I was hit by a train. I am sent flying and groan as a bolder behind me explode from the impact.
Steve powered-up, how frightening.
I switch to my shotgun and fire an MH Shell towards my opponent, thus stopping him mid-charge. The beam of magic melted half of his body, and from the way he's whimpering he isn't going to survive longer than a minute. I click my tongue; the shotgun was too much for him it seems. I Rewind and don't switch to my shotgun. Instead, I keep firing with my trusty Filed Pistol. The hyper-fast bullets tear through his damaged shield and into his body like a hot knife through butter. The sudden shock causes the Werewolf to miss me by a wide margin, and he howls in pain as something ripples under his skin.
"A-Again with those vile weapons!" Steve rips off the damaged arm that explodes a second later.
"We Werewolves can heal from any wounds in matters of hours, do you think that you'll-"
I tune out his rambling and crack my wrist as I grab my Portal Gun. My fingers expertly move on the touchscreen of the device as I keep Rewinding until I get the perfect timing and coordinates. I let time rerun its course as I appear in front of Steve and shield-punch one of his knees, thus turning the limb into dust.
Steve growls as he falls onto his intact leg and he glares at me. "I'll have to admit, you've gotten stronger than I thought possible. I knew you were strong before, but it seems that you've exceeded my expectations. Congratulations, you won." The Werewolf spits on the ground. "Do you feel better? Do you feel like you've accomplished something? Killing me won't stop the Freedom Movement; it will only make us even more ineffective at stopping the Stonecrushers."
I stop in my tracks as the Werewolf continues his monologue, "Do you really think that you can stop them? You don't stand a chance. That much is obvious; I've seen people like you before. People who are warped by the thrill of battle, who only live for carnage and destruction."
I grit my teeth as I aim my gun towards the Werewolf. I don't need anyone else to tell me that I am a nutcase, I figured it out myself.
"Go on, shoot me. Is that why you want to find Riley, to kill him too?" Steve smirks.
"Contrary to your expectations, I am not a complete maniac. I fight for real freedom, not to instate the same regime as before but with a new coat of paint. Contrary to you, I've explored other worlds, worlds where something similar to your ideals was a reality." My revelation seems to stun Steve.
"You are expecting a utopia, but I saw the consequences of your actions. What I saw wasn't a better society, but an oppressive dystopia where everyone was at the mercy of a select few. You aren't that different from the Empire in that regard; you're just more deluded than the Stonecrushers." I continue.
"A-and what does it has to do with anything? Others failed before; it doesn't mean that we'll repeat the same mistakes." Steve mutters.
It looks like doubt is starting to take root, but it's too late to realize that he's misguided.
"I'll ask once again, where's Riley?" I say to the wounded Werewolf.
"How should I know?" Steve snaps back, "If I had to guess then he's either hiding in one of our abandoned safehouses, or he just fled the planet. Why don't you call him?"
"Riley is not an idiot; he probably ditched his phone when he fled," I answer.
"You're right, that brother of mine always had a good head on his shoulders..." Steve whispers as he lowers his head in utter defeat.
Now, what should I do? It looks like Steve is telling the truth, but I have to be sure. I check on the Spell Jammer one last time before ordering Sarah to be dispatched here. The mind reader arrives less than a minute later; she recoils a bit when she sees the carnage around me but quickly snaps back to reality.
"Why did you call me here?" she asks.
I point towards Steve, "Tell me if he knows the location of his brother; his name is Riley."
The Werewolf stares at the new arrival as she closes her eyes for a brief moment before turning towards me.
"Nothing of the sort, I only found older memories, the last memory he has of Riley is how they fought against each other." Sarah, who looks to be slightly shaken by what she saw, replies.
I nod, at least I tried.
This intervention was a complete disaster. I learned nothing other than Steve has no idea where his brother is. Finding him would be an excellent addition to my Order, I'm sure he would accept after I explain the situation to him. Not to mention that he needs the protection, I bet that the Stonecrushers would pay a large sum of Credits to get the location of the other heir to the Wolfheart name.
That potential bounty means that Riley is bound to be betrayed at some point, so I should save him if I can.
Of course, our resources are focused on the war against the Empire, but if we happen to find him, then I will try my best to get him on our side. I hope that Steve knew more than he let on, but that wasn't the case.
A sigh escapes my mouth as I pull out my phone. This waste of time has no reason to exist anymore. I enter the moment just before I assaulted the Freedom Movement soldiers into the familiar device and press the button. The world shifts around me once again, and I'm back into the command room.
I glance at the massive,wall-sized screen in front of me and watch as Steve and his cohort explore the ruins before teleporting away.
The confrontation taught me that all was not lost and that Steve could be convinced given enough time. I will try to change his opinion, but it's not my main objective. And, if they oppose us, we might have to resort to more persuasive means.
I don't want to, but I won't hesitate if the Freedom Movement stops me from achieving my goals.
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Onch
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