Dante's Ballad

Chapter 2

The women immediately gave chase. They were fast but they lacked my maneuverability, as I could dodge in and out of crowds while they had to bump into others.

I made a mistake, though. Instead of running through crowds of multiple people, I ran towards a less crowded district. Looking behind me, I could see the two girls out of the crowds of people, and after me with a clear line of sight.

I turned the corner, again, making a terrible mistake. This time the street was vacant for everyone except for a few people, my pursuers, and I. I looked back but only saw one girl running after me this time, the one with the clipboard. I didn’t know where the other one had gone and didn’t have time to think about it before all the air in my lungs was ripped out and I came to a sudden stop.

I was stopped by a person, a man by the looks of it. I couldn’t really tell with the lights flashing in front of my eyes. When I fell to the ground in agony, the lady behind me stopped and said a name that send a freezing fear down my spine.

“Justin Caesar,” the name of my brother, the name of the life I was trying to run away from. all in just two words. What’s more is that he’d stopped my escape. I had no idea where he came from or what his objective was, and that ignorance was definitely not bliss.

“I see I’m a name around here,” he said nonchalantly. “Don’t mind me. Just picking up my ‘charming’ little brother” He grabbed me by the neck and hauled me to my feet, then up into the air.

“Justin Caesar! I hereby place you under arrest for the murder of several political figures and disrupt of police investigation.” this time, the one in a scarf drew her pistol and aimed at him. “I recommend you unhand the child immediately.”

She didn’t do me any favors, as Justin threw me behind him like a simple ragdoll. He cracked his knuckles and smiled at the two.

“So what do you have for me?” the one in front unraveled a long leather whip, cracking it a few times in an attempt of intimidation. The one with the scarf stood in a poised position and kept the barrel of the gun pointed at him.

He unsheathed his own pair of swords. Unlike mine, his were made by an actual blacksmith. Made for blocking bullets and swift kills. I made mine myself, after countless hours of learning and smithing work to make the simple steel samurai swords. I’ve always admired the way that samurai swords were made, so I made myself a pair.

Anyway, in my family, your swordsmanship was what set you out from the rest of the riff raff of criminals. “Any idiot could aim and pull a trigger,” is what my dad used to say. “You’re not a real part of the family until you’ve blocked your first bullet,” was what my mom would say in return.

Justin’s blades were thick so they had enough surface area to block the bullets, but still were light enough to run with without any extra problems. The hilt was standard, but what really set him out as a fighter, were his eyes.

Being 2036, mechanical implants were all the rage. My family didn’t pass up a chance to make their son more of a super soldier than he already was, and got his eyes and brain upgraded so that he could process information faster and block bullets with more efficiency. I, of course, got no upgrade and have yet to block a single bullet with a pair of swords. If I ever meet the guy who came up with these rules, I want to punch them in the face.

Justin, finishing up his flashy introduction, completely withdrew the swords from their sheaths. The reaction from the two girls did not change, but a smile crept on Justin’s face.

"I resist arrest. I dare you to-" his blade met with a bullet, sending it ricocheting to a building on the street opposite of mine. "-try to take me in."

The first woman's whip was set ablaze, and the second woman placed her pistol back into it's holster, and took her rapier from its sheath. The girl with the whip flicked it once more, sending embers to the ground to form ash.

“Gladly,” she replied. The rapier user spent no time messing around and ran straight towards him. At first, I though she stood no chance, but as she started to counter both blades with ease, Justin’s eyebrow raised. While fighting, he looked up to his opponent's eyes.

“Maybe you’re not as reckless as you seem,” with that, one of his swords was forcefully batted away and  sent clattering to the side. The woman back off and took a leap into the  air, a pair of beautiful, jet black wings spread open. Apparently, as entranced as I was, Justin allowed his other blade to be taken from his grasp by the whip the grounded woman held. The situation seemed to be stuck for a few seconds before a loud bang sound was made, a lot of dust and dirt kicking up and blocking my view.

I thought Justin was done for, that he’d finally been bested at something, but I should’ve known it’d be too good to be true. Suddenly, all the dust and dirt was cleared by a powerful gust of wind. When the street was clear again, I saw the flying woman down on the floor next to her companion, whose whip now looked as if it were rippling. They seemed to be searching for what was right behind them. I knew nothing about these women, or if they’d let me off the hook if I said this, but I screamed it anyway.

“Behind you!” The women with the whip reacted first, turning quickly and trying to escape the blade at the same time, but failing as it ripped through part of her back, as it was designed to. I’d say she wasn’t getting back up.

“Damn you!” exclaimed the other officer. She’d extended her arm to his head, but he grabbed her forearm, yanked her closer and smashed his head into hers, sending her stumbling back a few feet. He then kicked her feet, sending her falling to the floor, her gun skidding a few feet away. Justin shook his head.

“I thought you’d be more entertaining than this.” my gaze was stuck on the woman beneath him now. “It’s been a fun game, I assure you, but it’s time for it to end.”

“Justin!” I yelled without thinking. Under his eyes, it took all the willpower I had to keep my voice from shaking. “Stop hurting these people!” At first, he didn’t budge, but then ,he sheathed his swords and looked towards me.

“And why should I do that?” his eyes bore into me, searching for an answer.

“Because neither of them are your targets.” One of his eyebrows were raised. “A professional shouldn’t kill unnecessarily.” I’d apparently talked some sense into him, for he turned away and took his hand off of the hilt of his blade.

“I’ll tell dad that you’ve successfully evaded me.” his voice full of pride. “But I’ll probably be coming back for you later, so don’t get too cocky.” he started to walk off, eventually leaving my sight without another word.

I was shocked. He just left. I'd just talked to him about being a good assassin, but he left his objective and even showed mercy. I don't know what he was thinking, but I did know that he meant what he said. He was going to come for me soon, and I'd better be prepared.

The more important matter rose to my mind. There was a woman on the ground who could die if she didn't get medical attention. I looked over at her partner, who saw the danger as well and rushed over.

"We need to get her to a hospital, or call a paramedic!" she yelled. Her gaze shifted on me. "Do you have a phone!?"

"N-no, but I'll go get help," I said, my voice shaking.

"That won't be necessary," someone spoke, but none of us. A person emerged from one of the dark alleys that lined this street. "I can help her."

The only feature I could see was her long, auburn hair, and pale, almost ghostly white hands. I didn't want to trust her, but she claimed she could help someone we weren't guaranteed to be able to heal ourselves.

"Who are you?" was the first question that arose in the mind of the rapier wielder. A good thing to know, had it been answered. She just strode over to the fallen body, and hovered her hand over the wound.

"God's Hand: Restoration."  The body was surrounded by a faint golden glow. The wound stopped bleeding and the cut flesh seemed to bind itself together, almost causing me to lose my non-existent lunch.

The fallen girl sat up pretty quickly, looked around with crazy eyes. She finally stopped on her partner, her eyes plastered with confusion.

"What happened? Where is he?"

"Calm down, will you?" she said with hidden happiness in her voice. “You were injured pretty bad but this person helped you.” She looked up to see that the person in question was no longer there. I questioned how she slipped away without making a hint of a sound but I let it pass me anyway. Next, the woman who’d been injured turned to me.

“We’re going to have to take you into custody, alright?” That caught me off guard.

"Why? I did get Justin off your backs, so I think I deserve a little leeway."

"Sorry kid, but that's not how the law works," she said as she picked her friend up. "You resisted arrest, plain and simple."

"Don't get us wrong," said the fallen woman. "We're grateful for your actions, but they don't condone the fact that you ran from our inspection."

"Ah, I see," I said extended my hands out. "Okay. But before you take me to jail, can you tell me your names?" The one with the clipboard from earlier took a pair of glasses out of her pocket, and the woman wearing a scarf straightened it out.

"My name's Rose. Rose Thorn," she introduced herself with a slight bow. "And this is my, for lack of a better word, gloomy assistant, Cosmic Swift." I retracted my hands and took a bow myself.

"Dante Caesar, 14 year old not-so prodigy."” I stood up straight and extended my hands again. “I guess I’m as ready as I’ll ever be for prison.”

“Prison?” asked Rose. “No no, we’ll be taking you back to headquarters.”

“Are you sure that’s such a good idea, Rose?” Cosmic asked confusedly. My confusion was akin to hers.

“Why, exactly, are you taking me back to headquarters?” I had my own theory that they’d subject me to unspeakable torture, leading a chill down my spine.

“Oh come on. You’re a part of the Caesar family. I know someone who will be ecstatic to meet you.” Cosmic’s gaze told me that this person wasn’t as ecstatic as I’d thought she was. Rose noticed our gazes and apparently thought nothing of them, as she led the way to the headquarters humming a lighthearted tune.

“Just… roll with it. She’s weird at times,” said Cosmic, following behind me. “Don’t put us through any more trouble than you have already.” I shrugged and moved on, not too eager to reach our destination.

After about 15 minutes of walking, we walked into a large, building, easily able to stick out among the others. The lobby was almost vacant, only occupied by a man at the desk playing with his pencils. After seeing us enter, his eyes fell upon me.

“Who’s the kid?” said the man, putting down his pencils. “New recruit?”

“More like special guest,” said Cosmic. “He’s here to see Velvet.”

“Ah. Guess he is special,” he said pointing to the elevators. “She’s downstairs practicing.”

“Thanks.” they ushered me to the elevators. After pressing the button to the basement and the doors closing, Cosmic sighed. “Great. She’s already in murder mode.”

“Um, couple of questions,” I said to her as the elevator descended. “ Who is Velvet, and why is she in ‘murder mode’?” At this point, even Rose looked a bit worried.

“Velvet Blaze is the leader and founder of the DAOC at age 19. That was 3 years ago. Ever since then, she’s been basically obsessed with taking down every single large crime organization known to us,” Cosmic took another sigh. “And as for murder mode… I don’t want to say but you’ll see.”

The elevator door opened to a very large arena. So large, in fact, that it seemed as if two elephants could thrash around in it. In front of us was a railing looking down on the arena, a set of stairs heading down in two directions. As we approached the railing, I saw two women about 10 meters from each other. One had blondish and light orange colored skin. He clothes were tattered and she was breathing heavily.  The other looked completely composed. She had vibrant red hair, light red skin, and her clothes completely intact.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, the one sporting red looked up in our direction. She said something to the other and started to approach. As she reached the top of the stairs, I could see her eyes were also red, confirming my suspicions that this was Velvet Blaze.

“What is it?” her eyes fell upon me, that alone making a chill vibrate down my back. “Who is this child?”

“This is… Dante. Dante… Caesar,” said Rose slowly. “We found him by the buses-”

“You,” her gaze made me turn away. “Are you truly a Caesar?”

“Against my better judgement, yes… I am.” I looked up to meet her gaze. “Son of Clyde Caesar, brother of Justin Caesar.”

“Good to know,” she said walking back down to the arena. “Follow me.”

“My better judgement sure is getting the cold shoulder today…” I said, slowly following after her. At the bottom of the stairs, the one who'd apparently been "practicing" with her glanced in our direction from her sitting position. Then Velvet turned towards me.

"Fight her," she said, finger extended to the girl on the ground. If you can beat her, I won't kill you." At that, a horrendous chill went down my spine.

"And I'm sure to lose, right?" I said looking at the other girl. She looked rugged and tired. Her eyes were a blondish color and just as intimidating as Velvet's.

"Depends. Are you good?” I didn’t know how to respond or even if I should. At that time, my biggest thought was how I got myself into the mess I did. All I wanted was a vacation.

"I guess," I responded. "But I'm sure that 'I guess' isn't going to cut it here." The girl rose from her spot and stretched.

"Get ready. I'll call from up there," she said pointing to Rose and Cosmic. "I expect a good performance." Without another word, she walked up the stairs and waited at the top.

The girl got into position and I unsheathed my blades. When she didn’t reveal a weapon of her own, I got skeptical, but as the match started, I saw why she needed no such thing.

“The fight begins now!” called Velvet from the top of the arena. Instantly, I recognized that I’d walked into the wrong neighbourhood. She put her hands up to the sky and said a few words under her breath. Suddenly, clones of herself, all exactly like, came flowing out of her body. In a few seconds, I was completely surrounded by said clones.

“Well this is unfair,” I said looking around the circle of people surrounding me. “ I’m going to need to even out the playing field.”

They all rushed to the center of their circle, aiming to take me out at different angles. I slashed at a few and saw them become small circles of light, the others absorbing them as they closed in. The fewer the clones, the higher their dispatch difficulty was. A clever strategy, but ultimately useless if the person you're fighting is adaptable.

After slicing the last one to a few balls of light, they all reconfigured themselves into the body it was before. The girl looked no different from the first time we fought, telling me what I did was just to waste some energy. In my strategizing, she put one hand up again and uttered a few words, no doubt to start a spell. A few seconds later, a long staff appeared in her hand. She grabbed it with her left hand and got into a stance.

Now that she was armed, I had no need to hold back. I ran forward, swords crossed in front of me just in case she thought to attack. As I closed in, I saw her disappear into smoke, out of sight. I stopped, contemplating what this might be, before getting struck swiftly in the back of the neck. As I turned to attack, the staff pushed itself into my gut, forcing me backwards and making me drop my swords.

“Unfair times 2…” I said to myself, trying to find out where the next hit would come from. Out of sheer luck, I heard the whistle of the wind as the staff moved through the air. “Okay, time to turn the tables. I grabbed the staff and yanked it from her hand, jutting it back in her direction.

The resistance I felt and the breaking of her concentration causing her to break her spell guaranteed I’d hit something. She stumbled back, clutching her shoulder in pain. I threw her back her staff.

“Sorry,” I said, not knowing what else to do. I picked up my swords and got back into my stance. “Back to the fight.” In response, she picked up her staff and smiled.

“It looks like this is going to get interesting.”