The high-pitched whine of Chemtech engines echoed through the abandoned building before they flew in. Immediately, the ground erupted with fire, trying to kill them, but their zig-zagging and superior mobility made them nearly impossible to hit. Ekko was first to act, swooping in and slamming his pipe into one of their skulls, knocking him unconscious.
Sevika, however, seeing Scar flying toward her, faked him out by starting to sidestep one way and then switching directions. She stuck out her mechanical arm and clotheslined him clean off his board. His head bounced off the solid stone and he immediately went unconscious.
Two more Firelights then swooped in from the ceiling and one by one each of the thugs was picked off except for Sevika. Ekko made sure to signal through hand signs to keep clear of her as they made short work of the others.
Their most common tactic was one would swoop in and a thug would swing, their gaze following, only for another Firelight to follow up immediately while they're distracted and strike them in the back of the head.
The Firelight next to Atlas flew in while he hovered near the ceiling entrance holding the flare. He was wearing loose Firelight garbs over his regular clothes and the owl-mask, and his bag with emergency ChemFlashes rattling.
Of the over half a dozen thugs only three, including Sevika, remained standing.
"Get the fuck over here," Sevika shouted, grabbing Scar's unconscious body and dragging him over as the remaining two created a tight circle, back to back.
She ducked as the red-haired girl swung her pipe and kicked her board. Unfortunately for her, the Firelight was too skilled and recovered through erratic movements in the air.
Looks like a clean wrap, Atlas thought, relaxing a little. Being the last ones in, they didn't see any thugs hiding on the rooftop or around the building during their circular sweep.
Didn't see any sign of an ambush. Were we overly cautious?
His gaze rested on Sevika. Didn't expect to see you so soon either.
It was really only her at this point. She was constantly pulling saves by dragging the remaining two backward just enough to avoid getting hit or pushing them down under a swing. Her mechanical arm would brush or barely nick the riders, not enough to bring them down and he could see her growing more frustrated and desperate.
Bit by bit, Sevika and her remaining thugs fought their way closer to the exit which made it harder for the Firelights to maneuver around for blows. The dark-haired one that moved with Atlas became a little too bold, diving in close and getting caught by a mean cross-hook from Sevika and sent tumbling into the ground.
Where is the yellow crystal they had at the beginning of Act 2, Atlas suddenly thought, remembering how it immobilized Sevika and the thugs on the airship during the Firelight raid.
Carefully shifting his hoverboard, he floated out and along the rooftop toward the front of the building where they would exit.
They didn't use it again after the raid. Was the inventor one of the ones Jinx killed?
Immediately his mind went to the red-haired girl currently in the fight against Sevika. The same one Jinx shot on the airship when her appearance reminded her of her traumatic past and Vi.
Maybe...?
Atlas was just about to clear the roof's edge when a bright light in the mist at roof-height level blinked, followed by a concussive blast that slammed into his chest. His hoverboard flew off and crashed in the distance while he was thrown back several meters, tumbling along the rooftop with pained shouts.
Down below, the door crashed open as Sevika and the thugs rushed outside but not before she delivered a deep gash to Scar's body. She left him just inside and slammed the door accompanied by the faint, distorted shout of Ekko's "No!"
"What do we do?" A thug panicked as the door swung open behind them.
"Run! I bought us some time," Sevika shouted as she began to sprint.
"Why didn't you just kill him?!" the other hissed angrily after they gained over fifty meters of distance.
"Then they'd have no reason to stop," Sevika snapped. "This way they have to if they want to save him! Now run!"
Meanwhile inside, Ekko applied pressure to Scar's chest wound as the red-haired girl and man swooped in and landed.
"Leave them! Eve, help!"
"On it!" Eve took off her mask and reached into her bag, pulling out a small kit of medical supplies as the red-haired man lifted Scar's feet and pushed his bag under his head.
"Where's Atlas?" Ekko demanded, looking around and seeing his partner unconscious. "Shit."
"Did that fucker bail on us?" the young man shouted angrily, running over to their unconscious partner and his damaged hoverboard.
"Knock it off Ray," Ekko snapped, standing up to look at the damage and the thugs they managed to knock out before rushing back to untie their fellow Firelights. "He was with us until we engaged."
"Exactly!" Ray said, slowly lifting their unconscious member over his back while carefully picking up the damaged board. "He ran when shit got real!"
Eve looked up, her eyes tearing up and hands trembling. "I-I can't do it here. We can't treat him here. I-if they come back while I'm working..."
Ekko's expression darkened. His gaze shifted to the wounded Firelights that were held up, the unconscious one Ray was holding, and Eve trembling over seriously injured Scar.
"We need to move."
"Fuck!" Ray shouted angrily into the air.
"We'll pay them back," Ekko said confidently, his voice tight with anger as he and Eve wrapped Scar's arms around their shoulders. With Scar's size, he was almost too heavy for them both. "As for Atlas... we'll know soon if he bailed. Let's move!"
After they filtered out with pained groans and cries, most of them supporting each other in some way, Atlas remained laid out on that very roof twitching in agony. There wasn't a hole in his chest but he felt like two speeding objects that collided head on.
Like two rugby or football players sprinting into each other, the impact was still reverberating through his ribs and lungs leaving him dazed and in pain while a humming, familiar shadow fell over him.
"That's gotta hurt! Say, where did yah get that bag mister?"