Bab 5: Chapter 5: Chaotic Sleep
The three children were standing near an alley, their eyes wide as they watched the distant destruction of Hajinnu Tower. The massive building groaned, its upper floors tilting unnaturally as debris rained down. The air filled with the terrifying screech of tearing metal and the crumbling of concrete.
"RUN!" Rook screamed, grabbing Mim's hand. Tanner, eyes wide with a mixture of awe and terror, was frozen for a moment before Mim yanked him by his collar, snapping him out of his daze.
The ground shook beneath their feet as massive chunks of the building began to fall, smashing into the streets below with thunderous crashes. They darted down the narrow road, weaving between abandoned vehicles and piles of debris, but the falling rubble was closing in fast.
One particularly large chunk of the building came hurtling toward them, casting a long shadow as it blotted out the sun. The kids screamed, their legs pumping furiously as they tried to outrun the catastrophe. Just as the heavy debris was about to crush them, a metallic blur zipped through the air.
Gridd landed in front of them with a heavy thud, his body fully encased in sleek, silver cyberpunk armor. His armor gleamed with faint blue lights running along the joints, and intricate neon green circuits pulsed underneath the polished metal plating. His helmet had a smooth, reflective visor that gave him a faceless, almost otherworldly appearance, but the faint glow of violet from his eyes gave him an air of sharp awareness. His arms were massive, with multiple compartments built into them, and his legs were enhanced with mechanical servos, allowing him to move with lightning speed. The plates of his armor were jagged and sharp, a mix of brutal design and elegance, with accents of black and electric blue running down his sides. The entire suit radiated power, and the kids stared at him in awe.
Gridd looked over his shoulder, his voice playful but commanding. "You kids like explosions, huh?"
"W-We didn't do this!" Mim answered nervously.
"Haha! I know that. We did."
Before they could respond, Gridd leaped into action. He grabbed Tanner and Mim by the waist, tucking them under his arms as if they weighed nothing. Rook barely had time to process what was happening before Gridd scooped him up with one hand, throwing him effortlessly onto his shoulder.
"Hold on tight!" Gridd shouted as he kicked off the ground, darting through the falling rubble with inhuman agility. "Because if you fall off, you're all fucked."
Mim asked, "What does fuck mean?"
"Shhhh! Bad word. Kids don't say bad words."
Rook rolled his eyes, "You'd be surprised."
A massive chunk of concrete smashed into the ground just inches behind them, sending dust and debris flying. Gridd vaulted over a falling beam, twisting his body in mid-air to avoid another piece of debris that crashed down in front of them. The kids screamed, half in terror, half in exhilaration.
"This is awesome!" Tanner shouted, his eyes wide with excitement despite the chaos around them. "Are you a Red Knight?! T-Those cyber-assassin people?!"
"No, it's not awesome!" Mim screamed, her arms clinging tightly to Gridd's massive armored torso.
Rook, trying to look brave, gasped as another wall of rubble collapsed to their right. "You're insane, man!"
Gridd laughed as he sprinted through the crumbling streets, dodging falling debris with effortless grace. "Insane? Nah, I'm just having a good time!" He winked beneath his visor, though the kids couldn't see it. "Besides, you guys might not know it, but I'm the best at this. Really. Look me up."
Rook, Tanner, and Mim all asked at the same time, "Who even are you?"
"Shit. Forget it."
A chunk of the building collapsed directly in front of them, blocking their path. Gridd didn't even hesitate. He flexed his arms, and with a low hum, a plasma blade extended from his forearm, glowing with a fierce orange light. With a single, smooth swipe, he slashed through the debris, the blade cutting through the concrete like butter. The severed chunks fell away, and Gridd dashed through the opening, never breaking his stride.
From the corner of his eye, Gridd spotted a group of WCA patrol officers closing in on them, their chrome faces gleaming in the dim light. They raised their weapons, but Gridd was faster. He twisted his arm, and the plasma blade retracted, transforming into a high-powered blaster.
"Hey kids, close your eyes if you don't like up close executions!" Gridd smiled under his helmet.
Tanner raised his hand, "I do!"
Mim forced his hand down, "You're making him think we're just messed up!"
With a flick of his wrist, he fired off several shots, each one hitting its mark with deadly precision. The first officer's chest exploded in a spray of blood and metal, his body collapsing in a heap. The others barely had time to react before Gridd fired again, cutting them down with brutal efficiency. Blood splattered across the pavement as their bodies fell, dismembered and smoking.
"Oops," Gridd said with a grin, "guess I'll have to clean that up later. Or not."
As they darted through the streets, Gridd's comm crackled to life in his ear. "Hey, Gridd!" came a lazy, nonchalant voice.
"Shiryu?!" Gridd shouted back, his tone suddenly irritated. "Where the hell are you? I'm getting swarmed down here!"
The voice on the other end yawned. "I'm telling you, you're going the wrong way. You should've taken the alley three blocks back."
Gridd ducked under a collapsing sign, his voice strained. "Alley? There was no alley! It was blocked!"
"Tsk," Shiryu's voice responded, clearly chewing on something. "Nope, you just weren't looking. Classic Gridd, all armor, no brains."
Gridd rolled his eyes as he blasted through a pile of rubble with his plasma cannon. "I don't have time for this! What's the best route out of here?"
"Take a left, then a right, then another left—"
"No! That's not—"
"Or maybe it was straight… wait, let me check."
Gridd groaned. "Shiryu, I swear, if we die because you're playing with your comms—"
The signal crackled again, cutting off Shiryu's voice. "Awww," her voice returned, though now filled with irritation. "Those Jett's are trying to fuck with us. How annoying. Hey, Xyley, wake up, will you? You're the closest one near the damn tower that's being tampered with. Jetts are trying to jam it, so annoying. That oaf Gridd can't understand my directions."
---
Meanwhile, in a grimy, narrow alleyway not far from Hajinnu Tower, Xyley stood slouched, his eyes closed, his breathing slow and steady. He was young, barely twenty, with short blonde hair that curled slightly at the tips. His light blue overalls were loose-fitting, dirty from days of wear, and he wore a wide-brimmed straw hat that had seen better days. His white sneakers were scuffed and stained with mud. Despite his seemingly relaxed posture,
Suddenly, the sound of clanking metal boots echoed down the alley. Patrol officers, at least forty of them, were closing in. Their chrome faces gleamed under the flickering streetlights, and their arms were bristling with weaponry—guns, blades, and mechanical enhancements designed for close-quarters combat.
One of the officers, his voice distorted by a mechanical filter, barked, "We've tracked the high heat signature over here! This is it! Surround him!"
"He doesn't look like no threat.."
"Watch out, he's just a kid."
"Kids are the worst."
"Doesn't matter. Anyone who defied the WCA and Lyra.."
"They die, we know this."
The officers moved as one, forming a tight circle around Xyley, their weapons raised. The alley buzzed with the hum of their augments, the air thick with tension.
Xyley didn't flinch. He remained slouched as he stood, supposedly sleeping, his eyes still half-closed, his straw hat casting a shadow over his face. The patrol officers hesitated for a moment, unsure if he was even awake.
Then, with a roar, they rushed him.
Xyley was fully aware of his surroundings. His augments—complex nanotech enhancements embedded into his muscles and nervous system—allowed him to stay in a constant state of hyper-awareness, even as his body fought against the fatigue that came with using such advanced tech. His enhancements drained his energy quickly, pushing him into these periods of fatigue, though his mind remained sharp.
The moment the patrol officers rushed, Xyley's body snapped into motion. He moved so fast it was as if he blinked out of existence, his form a blur of speed and precision. One second, he was slouched against the wall sleeping with his arms folded, and the next, he was behind the first officer, his hand already reaching out. His fingers touched the officer's arm, and in an instant, the nanotechnology embedded in Xyley's body activated.
"Watch out!"
"He's one of them!"
"Kill that brat!"
Tiny, invisible nanobots—no larger than a grain of sand—swarmed from Xyley's fingertips, infiltrating the officer's cybernetic arm through microscopic gaps in the plating. The nanites immediately began to manipulate the molecular structure of the metal, disassembling it at the atomic level. Within a heartbeat, the arm was torn apart, the metal flowing like liquid into Xyley's hand, reshaping itself into a razor-sharp blade. The officer didn't even have time to scream before Xyley spun on his heels, slashing the newly-formed weapon across the man's throat. Blood sprayed in an arc, and the officer collapsed, his chrome face frozen in shock as his body hit the ground.
Xyley didn't stop. He darted forward, his movements fluid and impossibly fast, dodging gunfire with ease as if he could predict the trajectory of every bullet. The alley was filled with the crack of gunfire and the metallic hum of augmented limbs powering up for strikes, but none of it touched him. His body bent and twisted unnaturally, his enhanced reflexes allowing him to weave through the chaos like a ghost. Another officer lunged at him, a blade extending from his forearm, but Xyley was already behind him, his hand grabbing the back of the officer's neck.
"Shit! Shit!"
"It's just one brat! Kill him!"
"Call those Klems! Let's see if this bastard can handle real Chaos!"
"It'll take 2 minutes for them to arrive, can we hold off that long? Besides, what the hell kind of tech is that?! He couldn't get that anywhere here in Sector Theta!"
"What about Nine? Lura's lapdog? He's only a call away!"
"This isn't worth his time, we can handle this! We don't need to call anyone. If we're gonna prove ourselves to the WCA, Lyra, and all the other leaders of the WCA, we gotta handle the heat!"
With a quick twist, Xyley ripped the augmentation out of the man's spine, the wires and metal tearing away with a sickening crunch. The augmentation dissolved in Xyley's hands, the nanites rapidly reconstructing the stolen tech into a pair of jagged, serrated knives. He spun, slashing both knives across the officer's body, carving deep, bloody gashes into his chest before kicking the dying man into a nearby wall.
The rest of the patrol hesitated for a split second, but Xyley didn't give them time to regroup. He launched himself into the air, his body twisting in a graceful arc as two officers fired up at him. He landed on the shoulders of one of them, using the man's augmented exoskeleton as a springboard to flip over his head. As he soared over the officer, Xyley's nanites surged out again, disassembling the exoskeleton mid-jump. By the time Xyley landed, the exoskeleton had transformed into a long, shimmering blade. He swung it in a wide arc, severing the officer's head from his body in one clean strike.
Blood splattered across the alley as Xyley danced through the battlefield, his movements so fast they were almost impossible to follow. He ducked under a punch from one officer, only to rise up and slam his knee into the man's chin, shattering his jaw. With a flick of his wrist, Xyley sent a swarm of nanites into the officer's chest, ripping his heart out through his ribcage. The organ disintegrated in Xyley's hand, the nanites reforming into a curved blade that he used to slice through the next officer's legs, sending him crashing to the ground in a pool of blood and oil.
"Flank him! Hit him from all sides!"
The patrol tried to flank him, but Xyley was already gone, teleporting—almost too fast to see—across the alley. He grabbed one officer by the wrist, his fingers digging into the man's cybernetic arm. The nanites surged again, tearing the arm apart in seconds and reconstructing it into a massive hammer. Xyley swung the weapon with brutal force, crushing the officer's skull with one devastating blow. Bone, blood, and brain matter splattered across the alley as Xyley advanced, his face expressionless, his movements precise and deadly.
Above, the sound of rotor blades cut through the chaos as a black and red WCA helicopter hovered into view. The sleek craft, marked with the WCA's corporate logo, circled the area, its cameras zooming in on the carnage below. Inside the helicopter, two reporters sat with wide, gleeful smiles plastered across their faces. The male reporter, Carson Redd, was a tall, slender man with sharp features and slicked-back black hair. His blue eyes glinted with excitement as he spoke into the camera. He was the same reporter who introduced everyone to Neo Aegis, the same one with those weird cheerleader women on national television.
"Looks like we've got a real show here, folks!" Carson said, his voice practically dripping with amusement. "Some rogue augmented freak, is causing quite the scene down there. But don't worry, this won't last long. The WCA patrol will have him dealt with in no time. Isn't that right, Clara?"
Next to him, Clara Voss, a petite woman with bright blonde hair and unnervingly white teeth, giggled. Her green eyes, red lipstick was perfect, even as she spoke with a venomous sweetness. "Oh, absolutely, Carson! This is what happens when you go against the WCA. You get what's coming to you. And from the looks of it, Xyley won't be causing any more trouble once the patrol gets their hands on him."
The camera zoomed in on Xyley, who was now crouched low, his eyes scanning the patrol officers surrounding him. Clara's voice echoed through the helicopter. "Just look at him! So desperate, so alone. It's only a matter of time before the WCA cuts him down like the animal he is."
Xyley's eyes flicked upward, locking onto the helicopter. His nanites surged through his body, enhancing his vision, calculating distances, angles, and trajectories in an instant. He didn't hesitate. Using the disassembled remains of the patrol officers' weapons and augmentations, he crafted a long, shining lance, its surface glowing with a faint blue light as the nanites hardened the metal to its maximum density.
With a swift, fluid motion, Xyley spun the lance around his body before launching it upward with incredible force. The lance streaked through the air, cutting through the sky like a missile. Carson and Clara barely had time to register what was happening before the lance pierced through the helicopter's cockpit, shattering the glass and impaling Clara through the chest.
Her eyes went wide, blood spraying from her mouth as the lance skewered her, the force of the impact knocking her out of the helicopter entirely. Her body tumbled through the air, lifeless, before crashing into the alley below with a sickening thud. Carson's scream echoed through the helicopter as he scrambled away from the blood-soaked cockpit, his face pale with horror.
"Let's bail! Let's bail! Fuck this!" Carson exclaimed.
Xyley didn't even look back. He was already on the move, his body a blur as he finished off the remaining patrol officers with ruthless efficiency. He grabbed one by the shoulder, his nanites tearing through the man's armor and augmentations, disassembling them into a series of jagged spikes. Xyley spun, driving the spikes into another officer's chest, pinning him against the alley wall as blood poured from his wounds.
The helicopter above spun out of control, smoke billowing from its cockpit as it veered off course, crashing into the side of a nearby building with a deafening explosion. But Carson still lived.
The shockwave sent debris raining down, but Xyley moved through it all without breaking a sweat, dodging chunks of concrete and twisted metal with ease. The last officer standing raised his weapon, trembling, but Xyley was already behind him. With a swift, brutal motion, Xyley drove his hand through the man's back, ripping out his spine in one smooth pull. Blood sprayed across the alley as the officer dropped to the ground, his body twitching in its final moments.
Xyley stood amidst the carnage, his chest rising and falling slowly as he scanned the now-dead patrol. His nanites hummed quietly, absorbing the remaining tech from the fallen officers, the glowing remnants of their augmentations dissolving into nothingness as Xyley reabsorbed the energy.
Xyley turned and walked away, his expression as calm and detached as ever.
*static*
*static*
"Yo. Xyley. Done over there? Shit was badass, man."
Xyley yawned, "Mikael is gonna be mad."
"Why? Because we went ahead and raided Marcus Stryker behind his back?"
"Mhm.."
"Remember Ness forced us. We'll use that story. She's hellbent on killing Marcus."
"Bad friend you are.."
— Bab baru akan segera rilis — Tulis ulasan
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone