Bakari exhaled, a cloud of icy breath forming in the air. "Seems like Snowflake isn't out for the count."
They looked ahead, drawn by the sound of shifting rubble.
The red-eyed agent crawled out of the hole Yuri had made in the wall, covered in dust and debris.
Snowflake emerged from around the corner, standing beside his katana-wielding companion, frost visibly flowing from his outstretched palm.
"Look, fellas," Bakari said, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. "I didn't come here looking for a fight.
We just came here for our people, and then we'll be out of your hair."
Snowflake's voice was icy, matching his power. "You do realize this is private property, right?
And besides," he added with a chilling smile, "you've already attacked us, so I'm afraid we can't just let you waltz out of here."
Bakari lowered his hands, whispering to Yuri, "Are we fighting them, or what?"
Yuri formed a bone blade on the back of his right hand, the sharpened edge catching the stark fluorescent light of the hallway.
"Yes. We came here for one thing, and making friends isn't on the agenda."
With a resolve that matched the tense air, Bakari unhooked a rod-like handle from his waist belt.
As he gripped it, a plasma blade ignited with an electric hiss, its blue glow illuminating the scene.
"Alright, then. I'll take care of Snowflake."
A voice crackled over the comms, loud and clear. "All units, this is a breakout! Make sure the subjects don't leave! Eliminate the hostiles! Give them hell!"
Snowflake's icy smile widened. "Sounds like we're out of options," he said, his voice laced with amusement.
Bakari didn't hesitate. He lunged forward, slashing at Snowflake with the plasma blade. Snowflake reacted instantly, conjuring an ice blade that met Bakari's attack with a resounding clash of energy and ice.
Yuri, meanwhile, moved with deadly efficiency. He launched himself at the red-eyed swordsman, his bone blade a blur of motion.
He feinted high, forcing the swordsman to raise his katanas in defense, then dropped low, aiming a vicious kick at the swordsman's knee.
The swordsman, caught off guard, stumbled back, his stance faltering.
Yuri pressed his advantage, his bone blade flashing, aiming to disarm and incapacitate the swordsman with a series of precise strikes.
Snowflake parried Bakari's plasma blade, a chilling smirk twisting his features.
"So, you're one of them, huh? An alien? Come to conquer our planet, steal our women?" He blocked another slash. "Or are you just lost?"
Bakari, with a hint of uncertainty, said, "Maybe I'm just lost," before thrusting his blade toward Snowflake. The ice blade blocked it, sending sparks flying as Snowflake swiftly maneuvered behind him. Bakari dodged an ice slash that erupted in spikes against the elevator doors.
Both paused, catching their breath. Snowflake, panting, asked, "What's your plan, man? Why'd you come here?"
Bakari straightened. "It's obvious—you have our people. We're just coming for them."
Snowflake dismissed this with a wave. "No, no, I'm talking about why you came to Earth."
Bakari smiled knowingly. "If I told you, you would never believe me."
Snowflake twirled a small ice shard between his fingers, a mocking glint in his eyes. "He said I wouldn't believe him," he chuckled, facing Bakari. "Try me, Prince. I can conjure glaciers from thin air. What's one little alien invasion compared to that?"
Bakari sighed, a weariness creeping into his voice. "No. The better question is, what are you doing to my people? Tell us where they are before my patience… thaws."
Snowflake's smile widened, but it didn't reach his eyes. "You think I'm joking? You think this is some kind of game?"
Bakari dashed forward, his plasma blade singing through the air.
The clash of blades – ice and plasma – created shockwaves that tore through the massive hallway, ripping apart the reinforced walls.
Snowflake, despite his earlier taunts, was a formidable opponent. He overwhelmed Bakari with a relentless barrage of ice attacks, each one more potent than the last.
"Expected a zombie apocalypse, maybe a supervillain uprising. But an alien invasion? Who could have guessed?"
Bakari, struggling to keep up with the onslaught, felt the pressure mounting. An ice blast slammed into him, sending him hurtling backward.
He jammed his blade into the ground, halting his descent just before he crashed into a support beam.
"Humanity," Snowflake declared, conjuring a massive ice golem that lumbered forward, "is the apex predator of all creatures ever created.
We adapt, we overcome, we conquer."
Bakari, dodging a swipe from the golem's massive fist, retorted, "If you knew what I know, you wouldn't believe that.
I understand why you'd be cautious, but we mean no harm. Experimenting on them? That's just wrong."
Snowflake scoffed. "You're one to talk , like you didnt come here for the same thing or even worst ?"
Bakari didn't respond, knowing he couldn't reveal the truth without sounding like the villain in his own story.
How could he explain the celestial horror that was coming.
Snowflake pressed the attack, his ice powers growing in intensity.
"Fine. But let me ask you this: how would you feel if someone just came into your house uninvited, hiding in your basement, eating your food, taking your stuff?"
Bakari, parrying a flurry of ice shards, said, "I live in a palace. You can't get in so easily."
Snowflake laughed, a cold, hollow sound. "You're a lost cause, alien." He fired rapid-fire ice blasts, each one larger and more powerful than the last.
Bakari slashed through the blasts with his plasma blade, but the force of the impacts was taking its toll.
The plasma blade sizzled against the ice, creating plumes of superheated steam. He could feel the cold seeping into his bones, slowing him down.
Snowflake was relentless, his attacks growing more and more overwhelming.
Snowflake's power was amplified by the environment, the cold seeping into every corner of the hallway, fueling his abilities.
He moved with impossible speed, his ice constructs growing larger and more elaborate. Bakari, for all his speed and skill, was being pushed to his limit.
Finally, Snowflake saw his opening. Bakari, exhausted and battered, stumbled slightly.
In that instant, Snowflake unleashed a devastating attack – a massive ice fist hurtling towards Bakari's chest.
Bakari, too slow to react, could only brace for the impact.
He felt a searing pain as the ice fist slammed into him, shattering his ribs and puncturing his lungs.
He was impaled on a jagged spear of ice that erupted from Snowflake's hand.
Purple blood gurgled in his throat as he looked down at the ice spear protruding from his chest.
His vision blurred, and he felt his strength ebbing away.
I'm sorry, he thought, a wave of regret washing over him. Mother… Father… I did my best.
His body went limp, and he slumped against the ice spear, his lifeless eyes staring blankly ahead.