The sounds of the Twin’s uncontrolble snickering brought most back from their shock at Zac’s sharp words. He and Léonie weren’t the friendliest with each other, but their verbal sparring rarely got so aggressive,

  “There’s no need to get nasty,” Léonie spoke

  “Shut up, bitch!” Roisin shouted with a smile as she and Zidane continued to ugh with each other. Franky and the others looked towards the twins with a curious expression on their faces,

  “They’re The Twins?” Franky asked.

  “They're just kids.” Helena smiled as she tilted her head.

  “We’re 20, we ain’t kids. And we've been at this a lot longer than you clowns.” Zidane frowned. Franky was barely 3 years older than The Twins, and they have been involved with Chasers for at least 2 more years than Franky, Helena, and Hachiman.

  Franky and Helena instinctively took a step back. The winter wind blew The Twins long curls over their eyes, that were gring death at them. At that moment, the two felt like they were looking at Devin or Zac. An unspeakable pressure overcame them.

  “...” Devin stood there in silence as he looked at The Twins. It was no surprise that they had fully taken Zac’s side. They had an unhealthy attachment to him from the moment they found the two of them in that blood-filled basement. Zac was the first on the scene, and they imprinted on him like ducklings.

  There was no point trying to reason with them. Devin could only try to reason with Zac. Ume and Kenji had also made their loyalties clear. It was something he would have to think about ter. Because none of that would matter if he could just reason with,

  “Zac…” Before Devin could finish his statement, the shadow of a palm darkened his face. Léonie was the first to respond but was still a bit slow. Zac’s speed was something she had never experienced before. She reached out to grab Zac’s wrist, but only air greeted her. Zac was already several meters away, dragging Devin away by the head,

  “My friend and I need to have a talk. Watch the kids.” Zac commanded as he disappeared with the helpless Devin.

  “We got it!” Both the Twins and Ume and Trigger responded to Zac’s words.

  “What do you mean, YOU got it? You’re clearly the kids; we’re watching you!!” Roisin said as she pointed at Ume and Trigger.

  “You may be older, but you hardly act your age… and can you even fight? I get your tech nerds, but…” Trigger started to speak but was cut off by Zidane,

  “Don’t finish that thought, or I’ll bend you over my knee, brat!”

  “Honestly, I think he was just talking to me… all of you are far too immature,” Ume said as she looked exhausted. Léonie, who was still in shock that Devin was snatched away from her, came to her senses to hear those chattering children,

  “Subdue them… I’m going to help Devin.” She then turned to chase after them.

  “You children should focus on the task in front of you.” Hachiman, making his move first, appeared in their midst like the wind, preparing to unsheathe his sword. He thought he would be greeted by shocked expressions, but instead, there were dull smiles on the four “children's” faces,

  “And you shouldn’t be so predictable,” Ume said,

  “Yeah, stupid!” The Twins added.

  The images of the four vanished like an illusion. They were repced by four rge roots that took their pces that immediately went to bind Hachiman.

  “Shit Kenji…” Franky mumbled as he realized the four arguing were just an illusion crafted using several programs in complete harmony. There was only one Chaser who could pull that off,

  “He prefers Trigger these days!!!” Zidane’s voice shouted from the side of Franky and Hena, some 40 meters away. He was in a firing position, holding a massive elongated barrel pulse rifle,

  “Where the hell did he pull that from?!” Helena yelped.

  “Targets locked… you are free to fire.” Roisin, fiddling away on a pad, pointed over Zidan’s shoulder.

  “Sweet.” Zidane pulled the trigger, and energy shot out of the rifle and split into multiple streams that locked in on Franky’s and Helena’s location. The beams of light crashed down on the two of them.

  Léonie, unaware of what was happening behind her, charged ahead at full speed. She soon felt herself crashing into an invisible wall and bouncing back. That was a wall of bent space, and she knew Devin wasn’t in any actual condition to be doing such a thing while fighting Zac,

  “Kenji… you’re becoming more annoying by the day.”

  “Thanks, I guess? And I prefer Trigger…”

  “Who asked?!” Léonie snapped.

  “Wow, everyone seems to be on edge.” Trigger chuckled.

  “You think you’re cute? That stunt you pulled with Ume has left Devin in a precarious state; he cannot defend himself against an unstable Zac.”

  “Zac’s not nearly as unstable as you would want us to believe.”

  “Forgive me if I don’t take your expert opinion.” Léonie mocked.

  “Well, the expert is dead, thanks to your dumbass boyfriend!!” Trigger snapped.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Léonie reasoned.

  “I know enough. Heka, Theronites… Devin. What do these things have in common?”

  Léonie’s eyes showed apparent shock at Trigger’s words. But that look was instantly repced with a look of pity. She started to chuckle and then said,

  “So you know a little… but that might be even more dangerous, than knowing nothing at all.” Léonie frowned.

  “Shut up…” Trigger barked as the Nano-armor started to cover his body, and that faceless mask enveloped his face.

  “You won’t listen to reason, and I don’t have time for this. I’ll just have to handle you like I did your father.”

  “What did you do to my dad?!” Trigger shouted.

  “Let me show you. Boot Up: Spoilers.” Léonie’s eyes glowed instantly, and then Trigger vanished from sight. He appeared behind and above her, sending a kick to the back of her head. She casually blocked the blow without looking in his direction.

  Trigger vanished again and, in quick succession, sent blinding fast attacks from all angles, using a combination of his ability to manipute momentum and Devin's control over space to deliver attacks from impossible angles at speeds even Chasers couldn’t keep up with.

  However, Léonie, aka Gdiolus, evaded and deflected each attack like nothing. She turned her body completely to avoid his st attack and countered with a roundhouse kick to Trigger’s gut. She increased the weight of her blow upon impact, using her control over gravity. She sent Trigger tumbling across the snow, smashing through multiple trees before he came to a stop.

  The power of that kick could have ripped anyone else in two, but Trigger was saved by the sturdiness of the Nano-armor. He gathered himself, not understanding what had just happened. It was the same with everyone who experienced Gdiolus’ “Spoilers” for the first time.

  Using scanning and predictive algorithms that momentarily far surpassed any technology currently avaible. In an instant, she could peek at the next 30 seconds, see and comprehend countless actions and scenarios, and pick the best-predicted outcome. Most individuals never lived past those first 30 seconds.

  “Are you surprised?” Gdiolus mocked.

  She motioned her finger, and Trigger was snatched off the ground and vertically into the air. She flicked her finger back toward the earth, and Trigger was smmed with such force the ground shook,

  “Did you think I was just decoration?!” Léonie shouted as she made a grabbing motion that pulled Trigger towards her. She lifted her heeled boot, smmed it into Trigger’s chest, and stomped him into the snow below.

  “What?! You think because you caught Devin off guard while he can’t think straight, that you were ready to py with the big boys and girls?!”

  She smmed her heel down again, the gravity increased, and a crater formed. She swung her foot and kicked the Nano-mask off Trigger’s face. She saw the blood dripping from his lips and his wounds healing,

  “Wearing that stupid mask and this armor. Do you think you’re Zac?! You are what you were 7 months ago. Just like this armor, you are a cheap imitation!! And that’s all you ever will be!” Gdiolus shouted at Trigger, clearly trying to demoralize him.

  “Well, somebody’s angry… hehe.” Trigger started to ugh.

  At that moment, the ground beneath him exploded and forced her off of him. Trigger floated out of the crater, and his smiling face greeted the annoyed Gdiolus.

  “Maybe you’re right. All I’ll ever be is a cheap Zac imitation. But you know, that’s more than enough for guys. After all, you’re only human.” Trigger ughed as the Nano-mask reappeared over his face.

  “Do that thing again.” Trigger taunted.

  “Re-Boot: Spoilers.” Gdiolus acquiesced to his request. She didn’t have a choice; if she wanted to subdue Trigger as quickly as possible, Gdiolus would have to use it as often as possible. After her Boot Up activated, her eyes widened.

  “You saw it, right? You can’t stop what’s coming. Overclock.” Trigger made a hand motion, and Gdiolus was rocketed towards him; she then was teleported right in front of Trigger, maintaining her momentum. Trigger punched her face with his right hand, increasing the momentum and weight of his punch. Gdiolus went to shield herself with her hands but noticed a pulling on her bones.

  “Dammit!!!” She thought to herself as she initiated her own Overclock at that moment. Before Trigger's punch could pop her head like a melon, an intense gravitational push fought against Trigger’s blow. The opposing forces caused an explosive shockwave that knocked them away. They both managed to gather themselves and nd on their feet. However, Gdiolus was worse for wear from that exchange. She frowned as the various wounds on her body slowly faded away. Spoilers did not give her an advantage in this exchange but may have saved her life.

  Trigger had discovered something when they received their Overclock upgrades. He didn’t experience nearly the same strain as the other Chasers. So, while many were hesitant to Overclock, Trigger saw no reason not to do it at any opportune time. The second thing he discovered was that while Overclocked, he could freely use any and all abilities he had copied, so there was no longer a need to swap.

  “Seems like the big kids aren’t all that impressive.” Trigger smirked.

  “Little shit…” Gdiolus barked back.

  “Are they dead?” Zidane asked.

  “Unfortunately, no…” Roisin sighed as she scanned the area.

  “Unfortunately?! You little bastards are actually trying to kill us?” Franky shouted from the upheaved snow and debris.

  “We’re fighting, so yeah.”

  “Duh…” The Twins responded.

  “Screw this…” Franky bellowed several rge bsts of bioenergy, split the smoke, and headed toward the twins. Roisin fiddled on her tablet and threw a device in front of them that turned into an energy wall that quickly blocked the incoming assault.

  “Riiight… He’s that Arsenal Program guy. He’s always asking for crazy weapons from us.” Zidane said as he looked over at Franky to see several powerful guns that they had designed floating around Franky.

  “Well, sucks to be him,” Roisin remarked.

  “I know, right?” Zidane chuckled as he waved his hand in front of him, and every one of Franky's weapons came apart at the seams, turning into scrap metal on the ground. Franky panicked for just a moment before he summoned more weapons, but as soon as he summoned more weapons, Zidane fluttered his fingers, and the new weapons were reduced to scrap.

  “Franky, what’s going on? I can’t close in on them without some cover fire.” Helena compined as the two of them were forced to dodge out of another volley of energy beams coming their way.

  “They are destroying my weapons as soon as they form!”

  “His Program is Creator, right? So, if he can create those weapons, I’d assume he could destroy them. There’s gotta be a limit to that.” Helena offered as she dove behind a tree.

  “Yeah, he's basically a technopath. If there is a limit, he'll have to know how the device is constructed to control and/or disable it.” Franky groaned as the unending rain of energy beams fell on them.

  “So what’s the pn?” Helena asked.

  “I’ll have to get a little creative myself. Overclock…” Franky held his hand out in front of him. He summoned two pistols that incorporated principles from several weapons of choice and compacted them to fit into this small frame.

  “Let’s go…” Franky said with a smile; Helena nodded.

  They both burst from behind cover and charged forward. Franky looked up at the new volley of energy beams heading their way and skillfully shot them down. He then trained his gun on the Twin's location and fired off several shots of his own.

  Those bsts of bioenergy split into several threads and rained down on the Twin's energy barrier.

  “Oh, that’s cool; he can control the bioenergy when he Overclocks,” Roisin said,

  “Yeah, and instantly make custom builds of previous weapons he’s absorbed. I don’t know whether to be impressed or pissed that he’s defiling my creations.” Zidane groaned.

  “It’s fine… I already scanned those guns. Sending the schematics…” Roisin tossed what looked like a bead Zidane’s way.

  The bead opened into a green screen that revealed in great detail the inner workings of those pistols; in an instant, Zidane memorized the schematic presented by Roisin and looked in Franky’s direction. Franky looked on in shock as his pistols fell apart once again.

  “Helena, close the gap now… you have to distract the girl!” Franky instantly picked up what was happening.

  Program Blueprint and Creator. Blueprint allowed Roisin to conceptualize any technology imagined or presented to her. Creator, as long as Zisane understood the functions of a device and had the materials avaible, he could create any technology. Working together, there was no technology they could not understand and create; they were only limited by their imagination.

  “They’re impossibly talented tech nerds, but tech nerds nonetheless. Overclock.” Helena Overclocked and burst forward with a powerful concussive wave as Twins lowered the barrier for Zidane to fire again. Helena was on them before Zidane could pull the trigger.

  “Looks like the fun’s starting.”

  “Yep!” The Twins chuckled and jumped out of the way of the attack.

  “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re light on your feet. A Chaser is still a Chaser.” Helena jokes. She felt that she and Franky had the upper hand now that she had closed the gap.

  “Imagine,” Zidane said as the rge rifle in his hand transformed into an energy bow and the spare pieces wrapped around his hands and feet as a pair of gloves and boots. He jetted away, using the boots to give him an extra boost in speed while pulling back on the string composed of energy, and a beam of energy emitted from his glove, creating an arrow that he fired at Helena.

  Helena put up her guard as that beam of light was too fast, and she was too close to dodge. Luckily, a bst of bioenergy collided with the arrow, causing both to burst.

  “Subdue the girl… I got you covered.” Franky shouted.

  Helena smiled and charged towards Roisin,

  “Let’s py, little girl!”

  Both Twins smiled sinisterly as Helena’s fist bared down on Roisin.

  “You wanna py, you daffy bitch?” Roisin smiled as she brought up her palm covered in a bck substance. Roisin caught Helena’s fist, which was empowered by a concussive shockwave that was powerful enough to quake the ground. However, none of that seemed to have any effect on Roisin. Hena felt the power in Roisin’s tiny frame as Roisin twisted Hena’s fist out of her face,

  “Then let’s py!!” Roisin had a manic smile as she pulled Helena towards her and sent a head butt towards the bridge of her nose.

  Helena yelped as she bounced across the snow. She immediately gathered herself and charged towards her. As Helena charged towards Roisin, nanites started to cover the twins' bodies and formed into the Dragon Scales Nano-amor. The only difference was their masks had menacing, fanged smiles.

  “You gotta be shitting me!” Franky groaned. He then immediately found himself dodging out of the way of an arrow of light that nearly pierced his heart.

  “You think we wouldn’t py with our own toys?” Franky heard a husky voice behind him. Zidane had already covered the distance and pointed his arrow directly at Franky’s head. He quickly formed a new pistol and fired a shot to defend himself from the incoming arrow.

  Roisin looked at Franky's new pistol, and Helena quickly sent a barrage of attacks to distract her. Roisin gracefully weaved and dodged out of the way, paying next to no attention to her, Roisin’s right fingers fluttered across her left wrist. Helena was irritated; the Twins’ movements were too precise and fluid for it just to be the result of the Nano-armor. Everyone believed that Ume was Zac’s first pupil, but it became evident with every action Roisin took that his first students were the Twins.

  “Sending.” Roisin chimed as she kicked Helena out of the way and made a swiping motion across her wrist in Zidane’s location. The eyes of Zidane’s mask shined,

  “Got it,” Zidane responded, spinning through the air to avoid Franky’s shots. Then, he trained his arrow on Franky once again.

  Franky was fbbergasted. The grace of Zidane’s movements did not match his rge frame. Franky looked on as Zidane’s arrow came his way, but as he lifted his pistol to fire, it crumbled to pieces,

  “Shit!”

  “Sage, this fight of ours is at a standstill, it would seem.” Hachiman frowned as he sheathed his bde. Flower petals fell around him, mingling with the snow. The ground at his feet was littered with cut roots and vines.

  He had spent several minutes cutting down Sage’s pnts but could not find her, as she did an excellent job hiding within them. Using Overclock would not change the outcome of the situation.

  “Is that what you think?” Sage said cryptically

  “Hm, I see… your goal isn’t to win, but to keep me contained. That is wise but disappointing for someone who is Anomaly's pupil. I thought you would be a worthy rival for Akiko to hone her sharpness on. Seems I’ve overestimated your abilities.”

  “I liked you more when you didn’t talk so much.” Sage voices echoed through the area as many roots shot toward Hachiman. He unsheathed his bde, and with a single zy swipe razor, sharp winds shredded those roots to dust.

  “The wind grinds even mountains to sand. There is nothing that can run from it and nothing that can hide, at least not forever.” Hachiman turned his head towards his left and, with a kick of wind, appeared in front of a tree.

  Sage jumped out of the tree, rolling into the snow. She didn’t need to know how he found her. Eventually, she would have to take a breath; it was clear that was the moment he was waiting for. She jumped away from him as petals flooded from the sleeves of her winter coat, blocking Hachiman’s vision. A sharp wind blew those petals away, and Hachiman shot forward to Chase Sage.

  Surprisingly, he stumbled and quickly stopped to gather himself; he shook his head as the world around him became burly.

  “The wind turns mountains into sand, it makes the seas quake with its might, it churns the clouds with its majesty. And yet to the gentle flower, it’s nothing more than a pything used to propagate.” Sage’s chuckled.

  Hachiman was correct; her goal was never to defeat but to contain him. The easiest way would be to poison him. However, she had gotten lucky with Devin, but this time, she would need to be more deliberate, and this poison wasn’t nearly as concentrated. Otherwise, it would be too obvious. Every petal she sent Hachiman’s way was sharpened with the intent to harm; however, what was more important was the pollen that ced them.

  Every petal sent his way to everyone that he blew away with the wind or cut down with his sword, left a little pollen behind to ride that wind so subtly and filled the area. That poisonous pollen had accumuted throughout their fight, and now Sage had finally gotten results. Because of their Nano, Chasers weren’t used to any type of poison being a threat. They had no idea how to watch or pn for it.

  “You’re far too straight-ced… far too predictable. Akiko has already surpassed you in at least this aspect. Hopefully not too much of you will rub off on her.” Sage mocked while standing atop a tree branch but knew this was only the beginning. Hachiman was the only Chaser who's fighting skill Zac respected. Sage was sure this would not be enough.

  “Very good…” Hachiman regained his bance. With a snort, wind exploded from his nostrils and mouth, and a purple substance burst out. He had instantly expelled the pollen from his lungs.

  “Come…” Hachiman beckoned as Sage smirked and melted into the tree canopy once again.

  “Enough of these games.” Hachiman swiped his sword, and a sharp maelstrom shredded every standing tree within a 2-kilometer radius. Sage came stumbling out, one of them covered in wounds. This dispy even caught the attention of the Twins.

  “We need to hurry up with these two and help Sage with that battle-crazed lunatic.”

  “Right.” Roisin agreed. They knew that Sage had something up her sleeve, but they knew they’d never hear the end of it from Zac, if something serious happened to her. Hachiman was a bad matchup for her, and she was so stubborn about revealing her whole hand, in case she may need to use it ter. It was already annoying that Helena and Franky were still holding on after all this time. They were team Renegade for a reason, as annoying as it was to admit.

  The sound of the wind destroying the forest of trees, the repeated sounds of rumbling and explosions, reached the ears of Zac and Devin, who was now picking himself off of the snowy ground, blood dripping from his mouth.

  “Sounds like they're having fun. Wish I could say the same. You’re so out of it it’s not even worth it.” Zac grumbled.

  “You can thank Ume for that. She really caught me off guard with that poison of hers.” Devin forced himself to ugh.

  “Get up… since kicking your ass won’t give me any satisfaction. Let's actually talk.”

  “What do you want to know?” Devin asked sheepishly.

  “Are you a Persequion?”

  Devin’s heart dropped.