Sam Dalton's body lay still, in a pool of blood spreading beneath him as the final echoes of Raven's shot faded into the broken silence of the library. The two women remained in place, surrounded by the crumbling ruins of a building that once symbolized knowledge, now overrun with death. Alara did not let go of Raven. Now holding her wrapped tightly in her arms, as if to shield Raven from a world that has done nothing but scar her.
Raven didn't look away from the corpse. Her voice came out low, saying. "That's right, Alara... Sam is the one. The men who carved his name into my back with that fucking Bowie knife. Over and over again. He called my skin his canvas. Using that knife like it was his paintbrush to make me his masterpiece of art."
Alara held her tighter but said nothing in quiet support.
Raven continued saying. "Sam wasn't just cruel he enjoyed it. He laughed when I cried out in pain. It wasn't until my plant manipulation powers awakened later, When the lab was experimenting on my body that. Every wound, every cut... healed. But I have never forgotten the pain. The humiliation. The rage of his torment."
Her hand twitched at her side.
"Eventually, I escaped from the lab. And I went back to the Red Blood Raiders. Then, using my technomancer powers and my rage, I burned the Red Blood Raiders to the ground, killing them all."
Alara's response was immediate. She pulled Raven into an even tighter hug, one hand holding the back of her head, fingers moving gently through Raven's midnight blue hair.
"You'll never face that kind of torture again Raven," she whispered in a determined tone of voice. "I swear it. I will protect you with my life, Raven. No one, and I mean no one, will ever get that close to hurt you again. All your enemies... are my enemies now. And together, we'll erase them."
Raven let out a low laugh as she said. "Are you sure about that, Alara? My enemy list is not short. I've got the teammates who betrayed me. The Yellow Fish Raider gang that shot at you. My entire family. Adam Carter. The fucking lab. I've only just begun my revenge."
Alara pulled back just enough to look Raven in the eyes. Then she leaned in and kissed her softly, but with a power behind it that didn't need explanation.
"Then we'll go through that list, one name at a time Raven. Until we wipe them out. We will grow stronger. Becoming individuals no one can stop. And while we're at it... maybe we'll figure out why I was in that mall the day you found me. Why my name tag only said 'Alara.' I don't even know my last name or my past."
Alara paused, brows tightening in thought.
"Raven, I don't think meeting you was an accident. It feels almost... inevitable. Like it was going to happen eventually, system or no system. Maybe the Apocalypse Ascendancy System just accelerated it. Either way, we'll figure it out together."
Raven finally exhaled, her lips forming into a smile.
Raven stored her rose quartz-plated Desert Eagle back into the system space and retrieved her pink AK-203. Alara followed suit, tucking away her bat encrusted with emeralds and summoning her matching pink AK-203.
They moved on together, walking into the center of the ruined atrium, boots stepping over debri, bullet casings, and discarded books. An enormous staircase laid ahead, its banisters cracked, but still stable enough for use.
Raven paused mid-step.
She blinked as feedback flashed into her mind a projection from her drones. They have already scouted out the second floor, picking up a group of voices talking.
Raven's eyes narrowed as she said to Alara.
"My drones just picked up a conversation from the second floor," she said. "Looks like Adam Carter's hiding out in the head librarian's office on the third floor. He's got five men guarding him. We just need to get through this next floor of trash, and he's ours."
Alara's mouth tightened as she responded. "Then let's make sure no one gets between us and that door."
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