Stacy rushed to her car, putting Ella into the back seat hastily, ensuring her daughter was buckled before she left, and then sped as fast as she could to the city hall, where she leapt from her car, retrieving her daughter quickly before rushing into the building.
She ran through the building, hand-in-hand with her daughter, until she found what she was looking for. The Mayor's office.
"Honey, can you stand over there?" She says, pointing before shaking her head. "Actually, look, there's a little playroom, why don't you go play for a little?" She smiled innocently at Ella, who already appeared to be a little on edge, however she nervously obeyed and walked into the room with the other kids playing.
Stacy twisted the knob, only to see that it was locked, she wasted no time ramming her shoulder into the door, and after a few attempts, shards of wood flew to the ground as the door flung open. She quickly entered the room and up to The Mayor's desk, who stood there in shock.
"Stacy? What are you doing here?!"
Stacy climbed over the desk and grabbed The Mayor by the collar of her shirt and held a knife up to her throat.
"Recall it. Now."
"I don't know what you're-"
"I said recall it! The lookout for Amora, the shoot-to-kill orders. Recall them now! She's done nothing wrong!"
"I can't-"
"Why?! Are you too fucking scared?! Once this is found out, you'll be removed from office, so if you wish for this to remain quiet, I'd recommend you do as I said!"
"Stacy. I'm... sorry."
A brush of air blew the back of Stacy's hair and she quickly turned, stabbing her knife into the neck of the man behind her. It was the man Amora had described. He didn't react to the wound whatsoever, and instead sliced at her with his blade. She stepped backward, leaving his blade stuck in the desk that was behind her, she rushed up and kneed him in the stomach, getting in a good punch before she pulled the knife out of his neck and pushing in back into his shoulder.
"Pathetic."
Blood dripped to the ground from three wounds.
Shogeki's neck and stomach.
And the stump of Stacy's neck.
Amora quietly made her way through alleyways, preparing for any kind of surprise attack from Shogeki at any moment.
But it wasn't until she walked past a couple of civilians on their phones murmuring that she stopped to listen.
"Someone attacked The Mayor. The Mayor escaped but they're saying it's Amora. They say Amora killed a civilian there too. What a psycho... how could she be an Akermota?"
"Did you see the pictures?" Another asks.
"Pictures? I don't want to see any pictures, are you serious?"
"No, not of a dead body, of what she wrote on the wall: Groveland Graveyard."
Groveland Graveyard, the place where Leon and Reyon were laid to rest. Amora rushed past the civilians, who all turned to look at her and point, raising their phones to get a picture, but being a moment too late.
She didn't care if this was a trap, or if perhaps the whole thing had nothing to do with Shogeki and was just some way to accuse her.
She knew where Groveland Graveyard was, but it was roughly an hour away on foot, however she could get there in much less time if she used her energy and elements to efficiently travel through the streets.
"I'll fucking kill him." She growled to herself, her anger was the only thing carrying her forward.
It was now or never. If she won, she could possibly get everyone back, but if she lost... she'd die, but perhaps that wouldn't be the worst thing either anymore.
Amora rushed through the rainy streets of Groveland, a small town in Salvador. Each footstep echoed the sound of splashing water through the empty streets, she stuck to shadows to avoid any unnecessary detection.
It didn't take long before she found what she was looking for, the graveyard, and most importantly, Shogeki, standing next to Leon and Reyon's gravestones, covered in blood and holding someone to his side, a weapon to their throat.
Amora leapt over the fences, and her heart raced like a predator pursing it's prey. Shogeki's eyes were glowing a faint purple through the dense fog. Next to him was Ella, crying and covered in blood, but seemingly not her own. Shogeki was also covered in blood, and Amora finally understood who was killed at the Town Hall.
"Stacy." She whispered, her expression becoming slightly emotionless. She could once again feel her mind tearing apart and something within her wanting to come out, and for once... she didn't stop it.
In the blink of an eye, Ella is torn away from Shogeki and pulled behind a gravestone. And within another second, Amora stands in the dense fog, her eyes glowing red.
"I'll fucking kill you."
"Then let's do this. Shall we?" He smirked, revealing an almost excited expression as he spread his arms out.
The two, in a flash, flung themselves at each other, clashing blades, shooting sparks in all directions as they clashed and parried each other's attacks. Amora leapt backward before sliding toward him quickly, slicing at his leg before pulling off a back handspring, where mid-way through she pushed off the ground, and mid-air aimed the blade down to fall on top of Shogeki, but he quickly moved out of the way, leaving Amora's blade stuck in the mud.
Shogeki took this as an opportunity and rushed up, kneeing Amora in the chin, lifting her into the air, he then upper-cutted her in the stomach, following through by jabbing his blade forward, pushing it through her stomach. He then pulled the blade out and roundhouse kicked her, sending her flying backward into a nearby grave.
"I can't wait to slit your throat." She growled, quickly pulling herself back up, her stomach wound healing over as she did.
She held out her hand, and her blade came flying back to her with a gust of wind. She then flung her blade at Shogeki, pinning his hand to Leon's headstone. Amora leapt off the gravestone she crashed into and flew toward Shogeki, fire surrounding her hand.
She swung it toward him, but he dodged it, his hand still pinned down. He moved his head out of the way as she wildly swung at him, until she finally landed a powerful strike against his head, resulting in an explosion of flames that burnt him. He yanked his hand away, tearing his hand wide open as he moved further away from Amora.
Rushing up, she sliced at his head, but with a swift movement, he ducked, leaving her blade once again lodged in a gravestone. As she tugged at it, he pulled her blade from her hand and stabbed it into her shoulder, the blade poked through her back, a slab of her shoulder flesh dangled off, spewing blood everywhere.
"Got you!" Shogeki yelled, a wild smile covering his face.
Amora grasped the sharp blade in her shoulder and pulled it up and out in a single painful tug, pulling it out of Shogeki's hand. Blood spurted from the open wound onto her neck and side of her face.
Shogeki flipped backward, landing atop a grave.
"Don't worry, I'll finish this now," Shogeki exclaimed, stepping down and walking toward Amora slowly, his blade igniting into purple flames.
Amora held her loose shoulder flesh together as it healed, and prepared herself for his next attack, however she could tell she had the disadvantage.
"Enough!" A voice called out from behind Shogeki, who turned his head quickly, but not quick enough, as a powerful punch sent him to the ground, where he bounced for a moment against the mud.
"Amora! Run!" The voice called out once more.
As the fog cleared briefly, Darkness stepped forward, aiming his dark blades down upon Shogeki, who was still smiling, clearly having something up his sleeve.
"No." She removed her hand from her shoulder as it finished healing, unsheathing her other blade. "This fight is mine, and I won't run away from it or him any longer. This ends now."
"Amora!" Kori yelled, running up from behind Darkness as well. "I brought help! I'm sorry, but you can't do this alone!"
"Whatever," Amora mumbled, her gaze cold and unforgiving. "Just don't get in my fucking way."
Kori knew that this wasn't the Amora she knew, but she could understand why Amora had to become someone else. She pulled out a small knife and raised it in a fighting stance, but a man stepped out from the fog, an axe in hand.
"Do not intervene with his fight. This is his." Xol said, readying his axe against Kori and Darkness.
"We'll take him, Amora, focus on Shogeki." Kori flipped her knife in her hand, and ran toward Xol. Amora could tell Kori was more than human now, but she couldn't care as to find out how.
"If you die, that's on you, I will not mourn you. You're here for nothing." Amora said, the sweet girl she once was now gone.
"I've saved you before, I'll do it again." Darkness spoke, his words seeming kind and innocent.
"You took me from my family. And now, they are dead. Do not play me for a fool. You are no better than this monster."
"I... can explain it all to you later." Darkness replied, looking down at where Shogeki once was.
He had vanished beneath Darkness' nose, but not Amora's, who stands ready, staring into the fog, where Shogeki's eyes glow widely. Civilians from nearby began watching through the fence of the graveyard, some were even filming.
"Save it. I don't care for anything you have to say." She spoke, her grip on her blade tightening.
Darkness looked over at Amora, her eyes still glowing red. That's when he seemed to realize what Amora had done.
"Amora... you've... consumed blood, haven't you?" His hands shook lightly. "Please tell me you haven't..."
"I have. And of the innocent at that. Perhaps I'll atone for that in hell. I suppose we're both fucked up monsters."
As she finished speaking, she lunged forward, clashing blades with Shogeki before kicking her blade, sending it into the air. As it spun mid-air, she dual slashed Shogeki's arms and chest, leaving various slashes upon his body, and while some healed quickly, his healing appeared to be slowing down, meaning his energy was running low.
She smiled, leaping backward to avoid retaliation from Shogeki, who caught his blade and began swinging it around wildly, laughing manically.
"This will hurt. A lot, trust me. Don't even think about running." Amora said, a wide grin crossing her face, her eyes flash red as fire shoots from her hands and knock Shogeki back, wind lifts him up into the air, where she meets him, kicking him back to the ground before landing and jabbing at him furiously, he writhes around but it's of no use, Amora has the upper hand.
THWACK!
Amora goes flying to the ground and turns to defend herself from an axe swing from Xol by parrying with her two blades. He pressed down heavily, trying to push her blade toward her with his axe. She turns her head to look at where Darkness and Kori were, only to find the two of them injured and unable to move.
With a burst of energy, she shoved her blade forward, knocking Xol back, where he seemingly loses balance. She pushes herself up, jabbing into his chest before he backhands her. She steps back and then slices off his arm with a quick slice from one blade, and cutting off some fingers of his other hand with the other blade.
Even still, he remained standing strong, his axe tight in his grip, not an ounce of pain on his face despite his arm now being on the ground.
She kicked off of Xol, jabbing him a couple more times.
"He's making this too easy. He's barely even resisting." She thought to herself, not holding back as his arm regrew rapidly, and he grabbed her by the neck with it, lifting her in the air above him. She wriggled free and toward him, biting into his face with her teeth and pulling away, tearing off flesh from the side of his face. She pushed off of his body with her legs, giving her some distance as she spat out the man's ear and cheek.
His face gushed blood, but still no reaction from him. She licked the blood off of her lips, but noticed no element being given to her, and the blood itself was bitter, yet full of energy, refueling Amora's body, which shivered from the sudden gain of power.
Her fingers twitched and twisted as she laughed and her elements flared up.
"You've slain innocents and now you've become the very thing you deemed evil, and worse than that, you consume more and more energy from Elementals and their blood and it's transforming your elements and only giving you more awakening forms, of which only fuck up your mind even more." Xol spoke, his face blank, his words dull.
Amora laughed as the darkness on her arm spread further up her body, a thin line moving up her body and touching her eye, turning the pupil white and the sclera black, much like Darkness. Fire burst from her hands, no longer red, but a deep blue, the heat of which created blisters on her hands, her eyes rolled back, only showing her scleras.
Darkness could only lay there as he witnessed this horrific transformation, knowing that no matter what he did, he couldn't stop this.
Amora, who appeared out of control of her own body lunged forward like a hungry dog, punching at Xol with her flaming hands, who dodged a few of the punches, only to get struck by one in the stomach, bursting a hole through him, but with no reaction from him once more.
Amora's smile didn't fade, not even when Xol retaliated with a kick to push her away, and a punch across her face. She continued pushing forward, using her now flaming sword to cut into Xol, who now just seemed to be accepting the injuries.
The citizens murmured to each other, the whispers echoed in Amora's head, which was filled with screaming and memories that flashed by, her head throbbed, her thoughts raced, as did her heart.
She used both blades to once again attack Xol, but this time he didn't dodge or run.
"Take all my blood if you want it, but once you get what you want, you'll only see yourself for the monster you've become." He whispered, which were his final words as Amora sliced his head clean off.
She stood in the shower of blood from his neck and began drinking as much as she could before tearing into his body with her burning hands and pulling out his Elemental Crystal, shoving it into her mouth and devouring it, crushing it into powder in her teeth, and swallowing down the Elemental Essence inside.
Her body coursed with energy and she screamed, her scream distorted as her elements flared up once more, with wind surging all around her and she slammed herself to the ground, slamming her fists down on a grave until the surge ended and her eyes rolled back down and the fire stopped.
She breathed heavily as her heartrate returned to normal and her racing thoughts began to slow. She stood up and looked at the graves she had destroyed. On the ground were broken fragments of the grave. The name "Leon" and a small fragment reading "Ale-" were scattered around. Amora's heart sank and she fell backward, her mind was split in two, one part of her didn't care, and looked up to find Shogeki, while the other felt immense guilt and shame.
Shogeki was no longer there, he had run away.
Amora held her head as the two personalities inside her began to swirl, she tried to maintain herself, but it was too much. She screamed and collapsed, landing in the mud and falling unconscious.
A peaceful dream fell upon her.
She was laying in a field, staring up at the clouds and partial stars as the sun set in the horizon. On her left were her kids, older, and sleeping peacefully, and her husband, Adrian. On her right were here parents, Aya and Shirley, all sleeping as well.
She reached up to the clouds, closing her hand and feeling a tightness in her grasp, as if something were there.
She opened her eyes to see Kori looking frightened as Amora was gripping her neck. Amora released her grasp and sat up. She looked around, slightly annoyed.
"He got away, again." She said, eyeing Kori and then looking over to Darkness, who sat nearby, but wouldn't look at her. Ella lay sleeping nearby, clutching the pillow tightly. They appeared to be in an apartment room, most likely Kori's.
"Amora..." Darkness began, but Amora furrowed her brows, and he closed his eyes.
"Amora, please... listen to what he has to say. It's... the reason he took you from Leon and Reyon... and it's important you understand before continuing with this hunt you're on." Kori spoke quietly.
Amora took a moment before asking: "What do you have to say?"
"Where I'm from... you died pretty early on." He spoke, and Amora sat silently. "I'm not as powerful as I used to be, because I had to use a lot of power to go back and change things, but... all it did was create another timeline, and even here it's... horrible."
For once, Darkness shed tears, he held the silence for a moment before continuing.
"Where I came from, you were strangled to death by Shogeki's father as a young kid, and instead of allowing that, I used my power and the person within me to change things, an action that has forever stunted my power and abilities, but it allowed me to save you from that fate." He continued crying, letting his tears fall. "So... I took you away, and just as I thought... you survived, but unexpectedly, Shogeki's father perished. I never expected Shogeki to become an obstacle, not once did I think he'd follow after his father's plans to harm you... If I'd known... I'd have done more from the start."
"Then make yourself useful and help me kill him, only then will I forgive you." She said, her face serious, yet in one of her eyes, a small tear sat. She moved her hand up and wiped it. Inside, this version didn't understand where the tear came from, but the kindness she once had within her... that version of her was showing herself.
She knew now that things would soon come to a close. This was it. No more people in the way. The next fight would be the last, either for her, or for Shogeki. It was a risk she was willing to take.
She went to leave the room, but she was suddenly stuck in place. Looking down, she found Kori clinging to her with tears in her eyes. She buried her head into Amora's chest.
"Amora... please don't die... the world- no... I need you to survive..." She sobbed into Amora's chest, and despite feeling nothing inside, Amora stood there and let her.
A little while later, Amora stood outside watching the night clouds flow gently overhead, an almost full moon shined down and a gentle breeze blew her hair with it. Months ago, she may have run around and enjoyed the weather and beauty of the moon, but now she could only exist within this weather. Her thoughts were quiet, and all she could think about was the final battle to come.
She had memorized his tricks, his movements and style, and she knew it wouldn't be long until he had her's memorized as well.
She played the whole fight in her head on repeat, recalling every moment she could, trying to piece together what she had to to Xol, as she couldn't remember it fully. She only knew the bloodlust had overcome her, and the Elemental Energy she gained was too much for her body to handle in the end.
She looked down at her hands, which had fully healed by now. She gently rubbed her right palm with her fingers, feeling the new skin on it, how smooth it was. She no longer felt like a person, instead, she felt like an empty husk, a shell where someone once existed, but no longer resides.
She couldn't tell whether or not there were ever anyone there to begin with anymore. Her husband was gone, as were her parents and friends, and yet she couldn't feel any sadness or grieve for them. Her kids could become orphaned if she died, and yet she could feel no pity for them.
Amora turned to face the apartment building once more, before setting off on her own, resting her hand on her sheathed blade. Deep within her, she felt a weak presence, and a memory of Adrian smiling and holding her hands came to mind, his sharp nose and piercing brown eyes, as well as his stubbled beard.
She could picture him fully, yet no feelings came from it, so she pushed the memory aside as she turned down the road, taking the sidewalk back toward Salvador City.
Inside the apartment, Darkness instructed Kori to watch over Ella.
"But... I'm an Elemental now because of you, I should help!" She said, looking from Darkness to Ella, ensuring she didn't wake her.
"I understand, but the crystal I gave you... it'll take some time to fully accept your body. Plus, it's best if someone stays here with this young girl. What would happen if we were all to die, and she had no one to take care of her?" Darkness asked, looking at Ella. Kori sighed, but yielded.
"Fine, I'll stay... but please ensure Amora stays safe, no matter what."
Darkness nods before leaving the room and taking the elevator down, leaving the apartment, and going in the same direction Amora had left in, heading for Salvador City.
Kori watched out the window as Darkness faded in the distance, the moon illuminated the street below as Kori gently brushed her fingers through Ella's hair as she slept.
Amora entered the town hall, slowly walking past people, all while paying no mind to their whispers. Some even ran out of the building. She entered the Mayor's Office, barely noting the broken door. She closed the door behind her.
The Mayor was on the phone, staring at the wall behind her as she spoke, barking orders at people.
"I want her found and taken down as soon as possible so that fucking monster stops paying me visits. He promised he'd leave, and this is the only way to save innocent lives-" She stops to listen for a moment as someone on the other end argues with her. "I don't fucking care! I just had one of my citizens die in my office the other day, and he's clearly a threat! So find that girl and give him what he wants!"
She slammed the phone down and turned to face the door.
"Yes?" She asked not looking up yet. Amora stood silently, and when The Mayor finally looked up, a look of shock and fear covered her face. "A-Amora..."
Amora approached The Mayor's desk and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her in the air above herself. Amora pulled one of her blades from her sheath and placed it against The Mayor's throat.
"You are the reason Stacy is dead, and why Ella no longer has parents. You have allowed him to kill an innocent woman, and you have implicated me, making me out to be the villain when I've lost everything and everyone I've held dear to me. I have many reasons to kill you, and then him, but I'm not who you claim me to be."
She put her blade back in it's sheath and dropped The Mayor to the ground. She landed with a large crash and lay there, staring up at Amora with pure fear in her eyes.
"It should've been you instead of her. A wonderful woman died because of how shitty you are. You're the fucking monster."
The Mayor's lips quivered in fear and she lay in place, stiff as a board as Amora turned around and left her office. Outside the door she could see the body guards she had placed in front of the door were unconscious, yet still breathing. She slowly pulled herself up, and looked at her hands before slowly stumbling over to her computer and phone.
Amora walked through the streets with her head covered by her hood. She could hear people nearby talking about her fight with Shogeki yesterday, and knew it only made her look more monstrous. That was, until the civilians conversations began to change to something else. Something Amora hadn't expected.
"Did you hear? Apparently The Mayor put out a notice saying Amora wasn't the real threat." One said.
"Huh? Why'd her story switch so fast? Didn't Amora kill that lady in her office and attack her yesterday?" Another asked.
"Well apparently The Mayor said she was being threatened to put that out there, and Amora never truly did it." The first person answered.
"Wouldn't that make her a target for the person who threatened her?" A woman asked.
"I suppose, but it seems like she decided to do it anyway. Still makes me question how Amora could be some any better when she was acting all crazy in that one video. She literally tore that man to pieces... is that who our heroes are nowadays?" Another said.
Amora did not expect this outcome from her visit to The Mayor, nor did she care. She only had one goal left, and that was to kill Shogeki and end this once and for all. Even if she couldn't bring anyone back, even if it were for nothing... she decided it would be worth it, and that it would allow her to protect what was left of her family. Her children. She was determined to ensure their safety, and to make Shogeki pay for what he's done once and for all.
Amora stopped at a park and sat down on a bench, once again feeling the breeze. In the distance should see a woman playing with her kids. Amora just stared at her, occasionally looking at the kids before moving her eyes back to the mother. She wore a beautiful dress and always seemed to be smiling. Amora pictured herself in the woman, and her kids, Elizabeth and Echo in the place of the little kids. Perhaps in another universe, that's what she'd be doing, instead of hunting down someone who murdered her friends and parents.
She stared up at the sky for a moment, watching the clouds gently flow by, some darker than others.
Droplets of rain began to hit the ground and the mother brought her kids close to her as the three of them ran off toward the parking lot, trying to use the trees as cover from the rain that was now speeding up.
Amora sat in the rain and just let it touch her, the cold sensation on her face helped her feel something, but it only helped for a moment, as she was back to that same empty feeling after looking away.
She felt anger, but besides that, there was nothing in her heart and she despised both herself and Shogeki for it. She wondered to herself if killing Shogeki would truly make her feel better, and she quickly decided that it would, whether it be because she came this far, or because she knew he'd hunt her down if she didn't confront him again, she didn't know, but she did know it had to be done, and she had to fight, even if she were to die.
For a moment, the kind part of her emerged and she began to sob profusely, wishing for it all to end, for her parents to come back, and how she missed them and her friends so dearly, how it wasn't fair and how alone it all felt. How Adrian was gone, as was Clover, Shirley, Aya, Andrew, Jackson... all of them were just gone, and she felt powerless.
Her other side took hold of that thought, telling herself they were not powerless, and in fact had the power to take down her enemy, but the kind side inside her didn't want to. She felt grief that her mind had split to process and deal with the trauma she was given. She didn't want to kill Shogeki, yet the part of her, the person who was cold and angry, who now controlled her every action didn't care. She wanted to kill Shogeki and believed it were the only thing that could make her feel better about herself.
This internal struggle was too much for Amora, who continued sobbing until eventually the cold and empty side of her took over again, wiping the tears away and staring into the distance emotionlessly.