never forget, and I most certainly do hold a grudge.”
Viper smiled cruelly. “That’s a shame, I was hoping we could be good friends.”
Mercy drew her swords. There was no talking her way out of this, and that’s how she liked it. Viper had made it personal from the very moment she got the upper hand. But that’s not what was important. This wasn’t a case of redeeming her honour, or proving a point. It was life and death, not just for her but everyone on the planet. If the gang could take down Magnum, it would take all three of them. Toss Viper into the fray as well and they didn’t stand a chance.
“Glad to see you got them back,” Viper said, “they’re fine blades, must be very valuable to you.”
“Oh they are, worth risking life and limb for.”
“In that case, how about a consolation prize. If I kill you, I’m gonna take you’re swords for myself.”
“Well your reward is that if you don’t kill me, then I’m gonna shove these swords up your….”
“Yes, well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Her hands fell to the side and she pulled out her own katanas. They were thinner that Mercy’s, more like needles than Mercy’s thicker blades. But it was sturdy enough and wouldn’t break upon any impact. They were also faster and more lightweight. Mercy could remember well, the way that Viper had swung the swords with such an intense speed that it was like a blur, her human eyes could hardly follow them.
“Why don’t we make this more interesting,” said Viper. Her tongue reached out from her mouth to an alarming length, then she held the blade up and ran the tip across the surface. Almost immediately, it began to glow a sickly green as though it was full of infection. Poison.
They began to circle each other, though none made a move. Mercy could tell Viper was enjoying it, like a predator stalking its helpless prey just to instil a sense of fear.
“Who are you?” asked Mercy, “I can tell in your face that you know all about me. When we first met you said you knew who I was. But you… just seemed to pop out of nowhere. Every part of you seems fake, constructed, even your hair.”
“What’s wrong with my hair?”
“Well it’s not actually red. Are you going for ginger rights or something? It’s not natural”
Viper scowled. “You know you’re only making me want to kill you more.” Mercy stared back. But she wasn’t looking at the outer layer, she was concentrating. Invading Viper’s mind, weaving between the maze of nerves that lead to her memories. Then she was there.
Images flashed in her head, recent ones. But other than that everything was empty.
“You suffered from amnesia,” said Mercy, her voice was flat and hollow, “you don’t have any memories.”
“Get out of my head.”
“Why do you know so much about me? More than you even know about yourself. Don’t you think that strange?”
Viper rushed forwards roaring with anger. Mercy had delayed reactions as she came back to reality, shrugging away from the swing with relative ease. The anger wasn’t helping Viper at all.
Mercy parried all her blows, specks of green gas propelling upwards with each impact. She blocked, jumped towards the wall and onto a stall. Viper cut the material under her feet, she hopped across and dove back to the floor with a graceful roll. She held her sword diagonal across her body, having to think twice as fast as she defended against Viper’s multiple blades at once.
More images flashed into her head, a blonde woman with a pretty blue dress and her hair cut short to her ears.
“Why do you have this memory? I can see, the occasional moment floods back to you. They were my family, why are they in your head?” Viper didn’t answer. It was almost as though she didn’t know the answer herself.
They fought on, Viper got pushed further back towards the wall. Mercy spun her swords widdershins but Viper was able to intercept them. But it was followed up by her pouncing into the air, swinging downwards. A cut appeared across Viper’s leg and on her shoulder, beginning to gush blood out onto the floor. As a puddle formed beneath her, she grimaced in pain. The green glow of her swords dyed down until eventually they appeared as the plain metal blades that they truly were.
“Maybe I was wrong about you,” said Viper, “your skills serve you well. But I think history betrays you, I’ve proven I’m better.”
“At least I have a history.” She scurried to the side out of range. It seemed that the predictable techniques were the ones that Viper didn’t expect.
Viper was analysing her move set and working out ways to counter her, which was why she was so confident that the past would repeat itself. So, Mercy just had to be crazy and unpredictable.
She blocked a swing, dropped underneath the second sword and kicked upwards. Viper brushed her swords across Mercy’s arm, she dropped one of her swords and wasn’t presented with a chance to retrieve it.
Her hands tightened around the single sword. It felt out of place only having one, like something was missing – which it was. Mercy panted heavily, ignoring the cold sensation as blood dripped down her arm.
“So, we’re even,” she said, “this is where it really gets exciting.”
Viper glared. “You’ve managed to channel your emotions into a positive impact in your fighting.”
“While you just stumble around in fits of rage. You’re a broken woman, your memory has gone and you don’t even know what you stand for. You were liberated by Magnum because he can be persuasive. Yet, it never occurred to you that it’s not who you are.”
“Are you expecting some kind of happy ending where I give up this little crusade, and together we skip off into the sunset and deal with Magnum together?”
Mercy faked a laugh. “I would have offered that, but you cut me. Remember, I hold grudges.” The fighting sped up, each blow coming one after another. It was only a matter of time before one of them failed to defend, before a killing blow was dealt.
Mercy saw the blade coming even before it was swung. It picked up to a terrifying speed, straight towards her neck. For a moment she thought she had been too slow, but it brushed above her head skimming through the rogue hairs that pointed upwards.
She spun backwards away. Her head went cold as she felt beads of sweat slither past her eye. Then the realisation hit her. It wasn’t sweat…. It was BLOOD.
Her heart beat faster. It was now or never.
Mercy turned on her heels and ran, straight up a wall for a few metres before bending her legs and pushing herself away from it like a cannon. She was upside down, pointing the sword out in front of her.
She readjusted her position so that she was upright. And then there was the impact. Her sword severed through Viper’s stomach as she landed painfully on the ground.
The world seemed to spin as she lay there, then she heard a weak cough. Mercy crawled onto her front and lay over Viper, her face wasn’t as she had expected. The calmness had escaped her. She looked sad.
“I win,” said Mercy, feeling guilt enthral her as the crimson blood seeped through Viper’s jacket. There was something pitiful about watching her die like this. “Let me help you,” She placed each of her hands on either side of Viper’s face, brushing the red hair away. For a moment nothing happened, then Viper went rigid and images projected into both of their minds, her memory was returning.
A tear dripped down Viper’s cheek, her eyes widening in shock. “My sister,” she said, her voice only coming out as a coarse whisper.
Mercy dropped her head and stumbled backwards, lost in her thoughts and in the situation. She eyed up the blade which still rested in Viper’s stomach, her sister’s blood covered her hand like a glove.
Viper was her sister. But how was that possible, she couldn’t remember ever meeting her since a few days ago. Could it be that her memory was wiped as well? It was only then that Mercy realised the striking similarities, such as the swords, it can’t be a coincidence.
“I’m sorry,” she ma
naged to mutter, although she was only sorry that she hadn’t helped her sooner. She promised herself that she would find out the truth of it all, no matter what. Viper’s head rocked to the side as blood hung like thin threads from her open mouth.
Mercy left the body lying there drowning in puddles of blood. She wanted to give her sister the burial she deserved, even if her only experience with her was trying to kill each other. First, she had to help her friends, which meant assessing the damage to her own body.
She stumbled into the bathroom that lay just to the side, standing in front of the mirror and looking into her own eyes. She examined the cut on her head, pulling her hair back to look underneath. Her hair had been dyed red from the blood, reminding her of Viper once again, but the bleeding seemed to have stopped and it didn’t look that deep. She then checked her arm, which also seemed more like a paper cut than anything. There was no sign of infection or poison that might have been left over even after the sword returned back, so it seemed like she was safe.
It was as she stared at herself that she thought about the amnesia her sister had experienced compared to her own. Maybe she had been the one to make her forget, and then done the same to herself.
Her memory had still been returning. Mercy explored her lost memories, attaching it all back to her mind. She remembered reading through the journal at Bernard’s house, finding the location of the Lamina, and then…. There was something else. She got