Crystalline Universe: Team Fortress 2 Overwatch - Volume 3: Crystalline Universe: Bloodline's Curse Chapter 70 The Hunted On The Run
The patient room was silent with Azur still asleep in her recovery bed. The long white blanket covered her all the way up until her neck while the rest of her body was enveloped in its warmth. Her surroundings smelled fresh and new, almost like the start of a bright new day. The chant of the birds outside the window announced the nice sunlit morning of Spring.
The room door suddenly opened as currents of cold air filled the room’s warm interior.
Paxton quietly moved toward Azur and checked up on her wounds only for her to grab his hand before he could touch her.
[Azur] (in an annoyed tone) – “My body isn’t something you could sneak up on, dude. ”
[Paxton] – “Don’t think of anything weird, I’m just checking your injuries. ”
Paxton didn’t have any sign of a good mood or a friendly facial expression but instead, he showed a deranged and unstable face as if he didn’t sleep for the night or got into an intense argument with someone. In the end, Azur didn’t pay much attention to the details.
As she got out of bed, she reached her fingers toward her legs where she felt not even a single remain of her previous injuries.
[Azur] – “Seems the sun has come out of the West today… What did you do to me, Paxton Frankenstein? ”
[Paxton] – “I borrowed my friend Bernardt’s medigun to heal you up. ”
[Azur] – “Medi- gun? Wow… sounds like a weapon but I definitely need one of those. ”
Azur sat up from her bed and headed toward the shower room with her usual clothes on her arms.
[Paxton] – “Aren’t you going to help your friends? Or weren’t they worth your time? ”
[Azur] – “They got money and adventure and me, boredom; let’s cut a deal about it. ”
[Paxton] – “On top of that, I came to your rescue yesterday. Won’t I get thanks of some sort? ”
Azur, after having fully changed her outfit to her usual set of clothes, stepped out of the bathroom and approached Paxton.
[Azur, with a smirk] – “As much of a friend you are to me, I own you one then! When you need me, I will be there, how about it? ”
[Paxton] (in a slightly disappointed tone) – “Oh… right… thanks, I guess… ”
[Azur] – “Hey, with that out of the way, I can go back to kicking bad guys’ ass into the abyss. ”
Azur walked backward into the empty hallways before her sapphires deployed from her belt and carried her by the back into the distance.
*Later that day
Azur and the rest marched toward the train station near the Overwatch military base. The inside of the station was filled with refugees trying to flee the city due to its proximity to the Talon/Overwatch battleground near the Black Sea.
As the Passion Knights team moved toward one of the train heading for France, the news broadcast announced the emergency evacuation of the local population. The approach of the 31st army of the Liberaforza and XX 23th and 71st divisions terrified the city as Overwatch lost its influence on the Black Sea. The ensuing battle would soon take place on the lands of Romania where devastation would ensue.
[Azur] – “Huh! Why should we travel by train when we can use aircraft? ”
[Darlynn] – “Well, Mergiann came across a new breakthrough of Talon technology: the Locadar mark-3. It can even detect sh.i.p.s equipped with the latest mark-7 invisibility and stealth system so it would be unwise for us to fly by ship at a crucial time like this. ”
[Azur] – “Fine! But I still have a bad feeling about this. ”
[Darlynn] – “Naturally! I mean, after all the adventures we been through, unexpected situations are plenty. ”
[Azur] – “Stay alert for any suspicious men around here, I don’t want us to get ambushed by another executioner again. ”
[Darlynn] – “It would be pretty unlikely. There are so many refugees around here so if he wants to find us, it would be trying to find a needle in a haystack. ”
[Azur, with a laugh of irony] – “Oh sure, they wouldn’t notice us, the only ones dressed in expensive and flashy clothing. ”
[Darlynn] – “I say your clothes reveal too much skin. ”
[Azur] – “And I say your layers of winter clothes make you look like that one paranoid woman in the middle of the street. ”
[Darlynn] – “Oh, quit it! I wear this because I have to somehow hide my armour, you know! ”
[Azur] – “What can I say, you are not much of a fashion person anyways. ”
As the four of them advanced toward the dock, the train rushed through the station like a speeding bullet before abruptly came to a stop right in front of them. The crowd pushing them around while everyone was trying to get on the docked train.
Meanwhile, the radio in the station started another broadcast: “Due to a minor problem on the railway system, the train’s departure will be delayed by 10 minutes. ”
During this time, two men in dark coats walked though the busy mob in search of their prey like two bloodthirsty predators. As they made their way around the station, one of the men pulled the mask off his mouth and reach out to the other man.
[Sepoltura] (in an anxious voice) – “Brother, it’s improbable for them to be here! What if they managed to get away and we were just wasting our time? ”
[Toro Sfacciato] (in a calm voice) – “No, our Locadar system didn’t capture any of their traces. It’s impossible for them to escape in such a short amount of time. ”
[Sepoltura] – “But, brother, what if Mike was with them? ”
[Toro] – “No, if Mike with them, they wouldn’t have to run. Mike could easily deal with the two of us, we would be the hunted instead. ”
Toro stopped in his tracks and stared at the stationary train by the dock for a second before turning his attention elsewhere.
[Toro] – “Those people must executioner from the association… maybe even the infamous mystery team that took down the whole Squadra di arresto. ”
[Sepoltura] (in a frustrated tone) – “Who they are doesn’t matter to me! I just want justice on our friend IDD who they massacred in cold blood. Those monsters, I will get them. ”
[Toro] – “Calm down, Sepoltura, what would revenge and anger give you? Nothing! The goal of meeting those opponents is to learn from their skills, to acknowledge what you don’t know and for you to become stronger. ”
[Spoltura] – “I’m sorry for losing my cool, brother… I just can’t control my emotions. ”
Toro put his hand onto Spoltura’s should and stared deeply into his eyes.
[Toro] – “Brother, you have to trust yourself, there is no can’t if you have the resolve to do it. ”
The station’s radios started once more to announce: “Train direction Lyon, France, departure in approximatively 2 minutes. ”
Toro quickly observed the cloudy skies to see waves of birds flying on top of the train toward its destined direction. Pigeons flew and landed on the train’s c.o.c.kpit before the wind blew Toro’s hat off his head.
[Sepoltura] – “What’s wrong brother? ”
[Toro] – “They could be on this train, the great spirits of the wind and animals are trying to tell me something. I can almost feel it. ”
[Sepoltura] – “Humm… But we could completely lose their tracks if we hooped on that train without knowing if they are there. ”
The station’s radio suddenly made another call: “Imminent departure of Train E-341 direction Lyon, France. ”
[Toro] – “I will pay the local executioner Squad: La Squadra di guardiani to investigate this place. We, on the other hand, will get on this train. ”
[Sepoltura] – “Are you sure about this, brother? ”
[Toro] – “I’m eager to find out. ”
Just before the train’s doors closed, the two brothers stepped into one of the compartments and started to look for their targets.
Meanwhile, Azur and the rest of her team sat in a private room isolated from other passengers.
On a small table, Darlynn scattered a set of photo archives taken during the past year of the XX.
[Azur] – “What are they for? ”
[Darlynn] – “My gathered evidence about the XX’s war crimes, especially the blitz troopers. ”
[Azur] – “Admit it, all of us are criminals one way or another. ”
Darlynn raised up her head and stared into Azur in anger toward her ignorance of the situation.
[Darlynn] – “Criminal one way or another? Have you ever committed a massacre, mass raid, mass **** or even mass genocide? ”
Azur extended her arms through the seat and put herself in a comfortable position by leaning her legs on the table.
[Azur] – “Then go ahead, make me conscious of the facts. ”
Darlynn carefully selected one of the hologram pictures and approached the device toward Azur.
[Azur] (in a slight shock) – “Oh my, get that off my face already! ”
The picture showed a pit of massacred civilians that included children and elders with XX soldiers threw more victims into it.
[Darlynn] – “The world needs to know what’s been happening behind its back! These monstrous men need to be punished! ”
[Azur] – “How anyone could believe you? Do you think Sniper and the XX would allow you to get away with it? ”
[Darlynn] – “That’s why I need the help of powerful men like Mike. I only kept on helping in finding Kadyn because I need his support. ”
Azur suddenly remembered the last conversation she ever had with Mike after his fight with Lapidazione. How Mike lost hope in finding Kadyn, how broken beyond repair he was, how his heart died a long and painful death. How she met him a year and half later disguised as a man by the name of Segreto.
During this time, Azur also remembered Mike’s promise to find her sister.
[Darlynn] – “I need to talk to him someday, do you know where I can find him? ”
[Azur] (in a slightly mournful tone) – “We all need him… you and me… yes, I know where we can find him. ”
[Darlynn] – “How ironic, Mike is considered as a villain who’s, in reality, is a true hero compared to his ultimate rival, Sniper, who is considered a hero but is, in reality, a true villain. ”
[Azur] – “The poor man, subjugated by the world’s rules, beaten by injustice, Mike sure deserves better than this. ”
Darlynn grabbed another picture and approached the hologram toward Azur’s eyes.
[Darlynn] – “See this? Maybe the XX is bad but the Liberaforza is another story. ”
The picture showed the picture of a Liberaforza soldier standing up to a XX soldier abusing a POW.
[Azur] – “Why can’t the world have more people like him. ”
[Darlynn] – “Because they are killed by those who believe in hate. This heroic soldier was killed by the XX soldier with a pistol after a short fight between the two. ”
Azur silently removed her hat in a gesture of respect toward the fallen soldier while Darlynn put the picture away.
Beside them, Karson and Mergiann sat quietly by the window where the young girl with her wizard hat in her hands, observed the beautiful landscape outside the train.
Karson, with a small cup of ice tea, calmly enjoyed the same view as Mergiann.
[Mergiann] – “Hey, Karson, fancy dress Englishman. ”
[Karson] – “Yeah? Mergiann, little German nuke. ”
Mergiann let out a laugh to the exchange of words the two just had and stared out into the distance through the window. The green of the trees flashed through her iris while the sunlight slowly appeared once more from the clouds like a giant bright smile in the sky.
[Mergiann] – “When this train will stop in Germany, I will get off. ”
[Karson] – “To see your family? ”
[Mergiann] – “Yes… and maybe to stay. ”
[Karson] – “To stay? ”
[Mergiann] – “And I wish you would stay too. ”
[Karson] – “Me? But we still have a mission. ”
[Mergiann] – “I just think it’s unworthy to sacrifice our lives for Mike, a man I barely know, for money. I don’t want my friends to die like this. ”
The words suddenly hit Karson’s mind as he remembered a personal secret that was kept from everyone.
[Karson] (in a worried voice) – “Maybe… Maybe… ”
Mergiann smiled and covered her eyes with her hat before falling asleep on her seat. Meanwhile, Karson stared out at the window with a livid face thinking about that secret worry of his.
To be continued… Next Chapter: [Sepoltura Prematura and Toro Sfacciato] (part 1)
