Will didn’t move. Even though Togai had finished speaking and the sound of his voice was gone from the air, it reverberated through Will’s mind, echoing in his ears. The blank shock was all he felt for several long seconds. Had Togai just named him? Why him? Why name someone who was virtually unknown to the Nexuses, and not one of the Alphas, particularly one who was known to have a violent past?

Then, to his surprise as much as anyone else’s, he let out a snort of laughter. Charlisa, Edward, and Noratuk looked at him in some concern. Will tried to rein in the reaction, but he couldn’t stop himself. The first snort turned into another laugh, and then another. Before he knew it, he was fairly cackling and had to put his hands on his knees to steady himself. He expected fear to wash over him at any minute. But all he felt was anger at Togai, and, strangely, relief. He wouldn’t make anyone else a target after all.

“Fine then,” he said, still laughing. He sheathed the sword and stuck it into his belt, where he’d have easy access to it. “That’s much better.”

Out of all of them, only Edward seemed to understand what was going through his mind. Once he was over his surprise at Will’s initial reaction, he took several steps forward, putting a hand on Charlisa’s shoulder. His daughter was still too stunned by Togai’s announcement to do much, which meant that now was Will’s only chance to move. Will gave his Alpha a brief nod of gratitude, then, not caring that everyone was watching, stepped forward to kiss Charlisa lightly on the lips. Then he stepped away.

“Get on with it,” Edward said. “See you when you get back.”

“Yes sir,” Will said. “Be right back.”

He saw Charlisa starting to catch on, but was gone before he could hear her speak. She’d try to stop him, of course, but he was too fast. Before the words could even leave her mouth, he was out of sight of the Nexus as a whole. He ran down the streets in a light sprint, aided by the electricity pumping through his body. He almost immediately ran into a group of Nexians, who were all wearing jade green robes. The quickest among them tried to trap him by breaking the cement apart, but he veered to the side, flashing past them. He made no move to attack, knowing that they couldn’t catch him.

He past two other groups, another from the Earth Nexus and one from the Air Nexus, but avoided each of them with ease. He could see a few Air Nexians following him from high up but didn’t spare them much more thought. He continued to change streets, running at an easy speed as he made his way towards the center of the city. He knew where the message was being broadcast from and therefore knew where Togai was. It was just a matter of getting there fast enough to catch him. 

As he made a sharp turn onto the main street leading towards the city center, he saw the news building that connected to all the speakers. He could also make out the helicopter that was on top of the building, its blades already beginning to spin. In a few seconds, they’d be up to speed, and Togai, who was doubtlessly inside, would be out of Will’s reach. He picked up the pace, now moving at top speed. Just as the helicopter began to lift into the air, Will slid to a stop, one arm drawn back.

The fireball struck the helicopter’s tail and exploded, sending the rear of the aircraft into an uncontrolled spin. The helicopter dropped back onto the roof with a loud crashing noise but continued to move until one of the metal pieces that jutted out from the bottom caught the railing around the edge of the roof. The entire vehicle flipped over and slammed into the side of the building. Another massive explosion. Will watched closely, seeing the silhouette of a figure jumping clear at the last second, dropping nearly eight stories to the ground.

“You’re not getting away from me that easily, Togai!” He yelled. “I’m not finished with you!”

“It would appear not,” Togai replied, lazily brushing a piece of the burning helicopter from his sleeve. He was quite uninjured from the fall, a faint white light surrounding his body. “But don’t you worry, Will-san. “I’ll soon be finished with you.”

They both drew their swords and ran at each other. Will was faster, but Togai intercepted his first stroke with ease, dashing it to the side before counter-attacking. His reflexes were lightning-fast, even fast enough to keep up with his opponent. Will was saved by his speed, leaping back out of reach. He darted to the left, coming back with a powerful back-handed cut. But at the last second, he changed direction, pivoting in a full spin to the right and thrusting from the opposite side.

His sword rammed into Togai’s forearm, punching right through and staggering the man. Will twisted the blade, wrenching it to the side as it came free. It wasn’t strong enough to cut through the bone, but it did plenty of damage as he stepped back, hearing Togai howl in pain. But in seconds, the wound was gone. The only evidence of its existence was the tattered, bloody sleeve of his robe. He slashed at Will, who ducked back out of range again.

“Come on!” Will shouted. “Keep up, you murderous bastard! Don’t make this too easy for me!”

Togai lunged forward once more, his sword stabbing out in a high downward arc. Will swayed to the side, letting the blade pass harmlessly by him. Almost casually, he cut upward. This time his sword had proper force behind it, and he cut right through the arm holding his opponent’s sword. Togai’s weapon hit the pavement with a loud clang, and Togai himself let out a screech of agony. Before he could retaliate, Will brought his knee up, slamming it into the man’s stomach with enough force to knock the wind out of him.

Will cut backhand, but Togai managed to just barely avoid it, leaping back. Will paced casually after him, his sword still raised. “Grow it back!”

And sure enough, a few seconds later, he had. Togai ducked under Will’s next attack, and lashed out with his newly regenerated arm, striking him in the chest. A feeling of cold rocked his body, and he staggered back, gasping for air. It was as if his energy had just been leeched out of his body with that hit. A second later, feeling returned to his limbs, and his brain caught up to what had just happened. He realized that’s exactly what Togai had done, as the white aura was shining more brightly now. He gritted his teeth and raised the sword again.

“Nasty little trick,” he snarled. “Is that how you beat Hitori, then? Drained the life right out of him?”

“It’s just like your lightning,” Togai said, his teeth also bared, but in a grin. “Did you think you and Felix were the only ones? Each Nexus has a special property for their power.”

He lunged forward again, but Will knocked him away with a kick. “Oh yeah? So what’s yours?”

Togai staggered slightly as he regained his feet, and reached up to wipe the blood away from his mouth. “Death.”

He reached into the wide sleeve of his robe, pulling something from inside them. It was small enough to fit into his palm, but there was no mistaking what it was. A gun. He leveled the weapon at Will and squeezed the trigger. Will darted to the side, avoiding the bullet with a laugh. “Come on, you think that will work?”

“Maybe not,” Togai said, still grinning. “But it distracted you.”

A solid stream of air slammed into Will’s back, knocking him from his feet and slamming him down onto the pavement. He looked up to see Togai backing off instead of advancing. The Soul Nexian stooped to retrieve his fallen sword and gave Will a fierce grin. “You won’t get away with what you’ve done to Hitori, you murderer!”

Will rolled back to his feet at once and charged forward. Togai made to cut at him, but he parried it with his blade, flicking the other up. Then he pivoted, striking Togai in the chest with a powerful punch. Then another blast of air, from the opposite direction this time, knocked him away, sending him sprawling. As he got back to his feet, he saw six people in the air. All Air Nexians, all determinedly glaring at him. Togai turned to survey them as well as he regained his feet, his grin still firmly in place.

“You may as well give it up now, William,” he said. “You’re surrounded and overpowered. Just surrender, and you can live your days in a prison cell. There’s no need for any more death today.”

Will snorted derisively. “If you can believe that, you’re even more deluded than I thought.”

Two of the Air Nexians shot blasts of solid air at him, and he jumped back out of range. He heard a shout of surprise from one of them at his speed, then darted to the left to dodge yet another attack. This last maneuver took him closer to Togai, but as he tried to advance, a solid barrier of air blocked his path. He growled his frustration and backed away. He should have been faster about it all, and not spent so much time toying with Togai. As it stood now, he had little to no chance of killing him before the others acted.

Togai was coming to the exact resolution. He lifted his sword again, at the same time taking a step back. “Just give it up, William. Your killing spree ends now, one way or another.”

Will jumped back to avoid two more attacks from the Air Nexians, letting out a long, angry sigh. It was clear to him now that he’d have to deal with them if he wanted to fight Togai. But would he even have the ability to do that? His ranged options were limited, slow in comparison to the agility of the Air Nexus, and draining. He was reasonably certain he could beat them. But doing so would take his attention off of Togai, and let him escape. That was the worst possible outcome.

“You sneaky fuck,” he growled, just quiet enough that only Togai could hear him. “You don’t give a shit about your honor, do you?”

“There are more important things in the world than honor,” Togai replied, hefting his sword. “I’d love to explain the finer points of my ideology, but I’m afraid you won’t be alive to see the end of all this.”

After glancing up at the Air Nexians, Togai lifted the sword to point at Will. In a louder voice, he added, “I see there is no way to end this peacefully. Very well.”

He was in Will’s face in a heartbeat, his sword swinging down. Will flicked his blade up just in time, knocking Togai’s to the side. Then, relying on his speed rather than any skill with the weapon, he leaned back, lashing out with one high kick to Togai’s chest. Just after making an impact, he created another explosion. His form was perfect after the constant practice, and he didn’t stagger even slightly. Togai was sent flying back into the broadcast center, straight through its wall to the room inside.

He prepared to stop the Air Nexus’ attacks, his sword raised defensively and his stance strong. But it seemed that he needn’t have bothered. With a great rushing sound, someone appeared from the opposite side of the building, thrown high into the air on the impetus of his wave. The white hair and dark skin were instantly recognizable. The Air Nexians stood no chance at defense as Felix struck, releasing a shockwave that hit all four of them, knocking them out of the air.

Will grinned as Felix came down on a new wave, sweeping past him in a broad half-circle. He gave his friend a high-five as he circled once more, sending a small tidal wave into the building after Togai. “Took you long enough to get here.”

“Cut me some slack,” Felix said, coming to a halt beside him, his fists raised, ready for a true fight. “I was on the other end of the city when I heard the news. Mom and Olivia are coming too.”

“Makes sense that Rachel would turn traitor, too,” A voice said. Togai was clambering out of the building to face them. His robes were almost completely shredded with the attacks he’d taken, and he was even now tearing the garment off, leaving him bare-chested. “She never had proper pride as a Nexian.”

“We’re the traitors?” Felix asked, looking at Will in minor confusion. “What makes you think that? You’re the one who killed Hitori.”

“He was a traitor too,” Togai said, stretching his arms. He looked as though he was preparing himself for a fight as if what they’d done so far had just been a warmup. “If he had his way, we’d all be the pets of humans. Humans are weak.”

“Oh, goody,” Will said sarcastically. “You’re one of those types.”

“A visionary?” Togai asked, grinning broadly. He stepped forward, the aura around his body shifting from a gentle flowing white to a cold, hardly moving dark gray. “Hardly. I’m just the messenger. The real tide is coming, and I’m the one who will get it moving.”