Jason and Melanie walked out of the haunted house together and the latter was smirking while the former ignored her. Inside the attraction, Melanie used every frightening moment to stick to Jason while playfully screaming to draw the two stalkers attention. Then Melanie, while sending flirtatious looks to Jason, easily dispatched them, using her limber body to flexibly kill them in manners that would embarrass even the best gymnast and contortionist.

Several times Jason ended up imagining how lithe her body was and he had to remind himself to remain calm while Melanie exchanged a knowing look at him, knowing her efforts were paying off. Her holo-lens were active, causing her eyes to glow hazel yellow like a cat’s eyes, enhancing her seductiveness to another level.

“So? How was it?” Melanie asked as she lightly stroked Jason’s chest.

“Too flashy,” he replied seriously. “There's no need to kill your enemies so ... artistically.”

“It isn’t only about killing,” Melanie rolled her eyes. “Notice the second guy hesitated? It’s because he was distracted by my ass.”

More like he was wondering about your chest, Jason thought as he glanced at them. Melanie caught him and smiled while pushing them closer to him.

“Wanna peek?” she asked coquettishly.

“Actually, I’ve been wanting to ask … are those pads? Or implants?” Jason paused for a moment before finally asking. Her breasts were disproportionate to her figure and Jason assumed that it was because she was making her bust bigger artificially. Melanie was startled and she froze with a stunned jolt before trying to cover her shock.

“They’re real,” she insisted in a higher pitched voice. “Touch them if you don’t believe me.”

“No, it’s ok. I’d be disappointed either way-” -cause I wouldn’t be able to hold back, Jason finished in his mind, allowing Melanie to misunderstand.

“What do you mean?!” Melanie grabbed him by his jacket and started shaking him while speaking in a louder voice, catching the attention of nearby onlookers. “They’re real, ok! They’re not pads or fake, they’re enhanced, that’s all! They’re real!”

Melanie’s shouting caused a ripple amongst the crowd that overheard her. Girls shot Jason a dirty look, feeling as though he was slighting women based on their bodies while their boyfriends gave him a sympathetic look for even mentioning such a topic. Families ushered their children away while giving them both a reproachful stare. In response to these reactions, Jason turned his face away and pretended not to know Melanie, his approach angering her further.

Suddenly Jason narrowed his eyes as time around him slowed down, his perception and brain process working twice as fast as a normal human being. A shudder passed through his neck as the killing intent locked on him revealed itself as a man.

He was wearing a loose white outfit similar to those seen in the middle-east, with a brown leather vest that reached his knees and had a weathered hood that was drawn to cover his face. Over the vest was a baldric that crisscrossed around the right side of his chest and was further supported by a studded leather pauldron that protected his left shoulder. The leather bracers kept his loose sleeves from interfering with his hands, one of which held a curved Khanjar that was close to stabbing Melanie.

Jason pulled Melanie away and stepped forward, allowing the blade to stab into his left shoulder. He growled in pain and anger as he grabbed the man's wrist that was holding the dagger and twisted it, dislocating the assailant’s wrist. At the same time, he tugged the wrist backwards, forcing the assailant closer to which Jason then proceeded to headbutt him directly in the face, breaking the man’s nose. Both used the force of the blow to retreat, giving themselves some distance as they focused on each other.

“You ok?” he asked Melanie who nodded as the crowd screamed and backed further away. The holo-lens in Jason’s eyes turned a brilliant bright blue color as the HUD appeared and A.V.A began assisting him. While he activated his lenses, his eyes did not leave the assailant as he pulled the dagger out and took his jacket off. He then pulled a pair of assault gloves from his back pockets and put them on. The gloves were reinforced with graphene fiber and were completely blade resistant, but Jason felt that this wasn’t enough to handle the assassin in front of him.

“Asāsiyyūn?” Jason casually asked the opponent in Arabic after reading the info A.V.A sent him. He was attempting to buy time as he used his telekinesis to draw his sword that was hidden in the Baron towards him. “Gotta say, you don’t quite live up to your reputation.”

The Asāsiyyūn was an order of assassins that recently emerged near the end of WWIII. Fashioned after the famous order that fought both the Selijuqs and Crusaders during the middle ages, their leader who had claimed to be reviving the old order even named himself after the famous Grandmaster Hassan. However, unlike Morta Services, the Asāsiyyūn did not usually travel to complete assassinations and preferred to operate only in the middle-east which was in their jurisdiction so the appearance of this assassin baffled Jason.

“I mean you did well on getting close,” Jason continued while walking back and forth and the assassin fixed his dislocated wrist. “But you need to work on your killing intent, it was too obvious.”

Regardless of what Jason said, their order’s reputation was well founded and he was impressed at the fact that he couldn’t even sense the assassin until the latter had pulled his blade out. This kind of camouflage was incredible, considering that it even fooled Jason’s superhuman senses.

“Well, it doesn't matter,” Jason said as he lifted an arm. A black sword flew from the skies and into his outstretched hand. “Cause you won't be leaving here alive.”

The sword Jason was welding was a modern black Tang sword with a straight single-edged blade that only had a string wrapped around it as a grip. Jason smiled ferally as he positioned himself into an unknown sword position. [1]

He faced his opponent sideways from his left side while placing his left foot forward and his right foot back. His leg stance allowed him to lunge forward or retreat backward effortlessly while also enabling him to sidestep in any direction he pleased. His sword was held by his right hand and was aimed at the assailant while resting on his left forearm. This way, he can easily slash in a forward stance with one hand or switch to a two-handed defensive stance that will improve his parry abilities.

The man unsheathed the scimitar that was strapped to his back and moved into a lower sword stance with one hand raised for balance. Jason and the man slowly approached themselves while circling each other, each looking for the other's weakness in their movements. Nearby, an explosion occurred and Jason narrowed his eyes as he realized that it came from the carousel was, but he focused his attention to the opponent in front of him.

As soon as the two reached the edges of their Maai, they closed in at fast speed and began exchanging blows. Jason used single-handed techniques to attack and only changed to two-handed tactics when parrying the assailant’s blows. The latter only used his right hand to slash and would dodge Jason's attack by jumping or sidestepping away at the last moment. [2]

Jason quickly slashes three times, each stronger as he leapt into the air and flipped before delivering his third slash. The assassin parried the first blow, tilted his body as the second slash came, and jumped backwards when he saw Jason launching himself upwards, leaving the reach of Jason's third blow. Almost immediately, the assassin jumped forward and stabbed towards Jason's eyes while the latter ducked and rolled to safety and the assassin pursued him without hesitation.

After a blocking a few blows, Jason backhanded the assailant and moved sideways while spinning once to generate more force before appearing at the assailant's seven o'clock and slashing at the legs with a two-handed swing. The blade connected and Jason easily cut through the knee, cutting the leg cleanly. The assailant fell face first into the ground after losing balance and before he could cry out in pain, Jason side flipped and focused the gravity and weight of his fall into his arm while landing next to the assassin and stabbed his sword through the assailant's left shoulder, pinning him to the ground.

“I'll deal with you later,” Jason snarled as he grabbed the man's head and slammed it into the ground, knocking him unconscious. Without taking his sword, Jason jumped onto the nearby attractions roof and began running towards the direction of the explosion.

***

Alina sighed with boredom as she sat and watched Asami and Ken argue. The awkward silence since the time that they were alone had pervaded until recently, and the group wasn't able to decide on a ride. Asami insisted on going through the Bullet Battle, a maglev roller coaster that had its riders stand while it sped over the park's grounds. The riders would also be engaged in a VR game where they would be fighting on top a speeding train and the game was made more realistic by the roller coaster.

Ken adamantly refused, stating that it was unsafe but Asami correctly guessed it was because he had jitters over height. The former suggested that they start with bumper hovers before slowly moving to more intense rides. The two continued bickering even as the three sat down and had refreshments at a cafe.

Alina watched them argue as she contently sipped some iced coffee that she brought. The flavor of roasted beans melded perfectly with the bitter aftertaste and the syrupy sweetness of sugar mixed with crushed ice cooled her as it ran down her throat. Originally, iced coffee without cream was something Alina hated but Jason would occasionally make some and refrigerate it, and that lead to her eventual downfall as she began enjoying the drink.

“What are you, eight??” Asami scoffed at Ken. “Who goes for bumper rides? Kids!”

“Yeah? And only adrenaline junkies run for crazy rides like that from the start!” Ken pointed at the Bullet Battle that was flying overhead them as he spoke sardonically.

“How dare you?” Asami gasped exaggeratingly as she pointed at him. “That's the only way to live, Ken doll!”

“Argh,” Ken looked as though he was shot in the chest when he heard Asami teasing his name. “Look, I'm not saying don't go for it, just start off easy.”

“What do you think, Alle?” Asami asked and Ken turned to look at her too.

“Haunted house,” answered Alina, surprising both. “What? It's fun when they run away screaming after you punch them.”

“Yeah, that's … uh … yeah,” Ken replied.

“You were definitely raised by that guy,” Asami shuddered as she recalled Jason's combat class.

Alina was about to reply when she saw a blonde woman walking through the crowds. Her startling blue eyes connected with Alina's and the latter froze as shock ran through her face.

“... Katie?” Alina let out a stunned whisper before getting up and running after the woman. By the time Ken and Asami stood up, Alina had disappeared into the crowd.

The two exchanged glances before deciding to run after her when an explosion rocked the area. Screams rang out around them as a stampede of people threatened to run them over as they both turned to look behind them. A fire was burning at a distance as crying and panic drowned all noise. Ken's eyes widened as he realized that the explosion occurred near the merry-go-round.

“Nikki!” Ken bellowed as he ran away from Alina's direction and towards the explosion. Asami hesitated for a moment before running after him, thinking that Alina could handle anything but that the others might be in danger.

***

Alina jumped backward as a dagger missed her throat and cut her cheek instead. Her eyes widened in surprise before she gritted her teeth in rage and she punched the assassin with most of her strength, sending him flying into a stall that shattered from the impact.

Alina touched the cut on her cheek as she narrowed her eyes. Soon after following the woman, she lost sight of her and realized too late that there was killing intent targeting her. The assassin was similar to the one that attacked Jason, however, this one was slightly weaker.

“Alright, now I'm pissed,” Alina muttered as electricity crackled all around her and her eyes changed into a bright purple color as her holo-lens activated. She tried connecting to the others when an explosion caused her to stumble as the ground trembled.

“Shit!” Alina hissed as she began running towards the carousel. A well-aimed dagger whizzed past her, stopping her and she turned to face the assassin who managed to pull himself out of the wreckage. “But first, I gotta make this idiot breakdance.”

As Alina muttered the electricity surrounding her began arching towards the assassin. Soon, the poor man was twitching and performing a ‘breakdance’ as a large current of electricity flowed through him.

***

Michelle watched as Emily was forced to join Alice into riding the merry-go-round. Unlike the old carousel, this one was using robotic horses that had artificial skin and hair implanted in it, its appearance to real horses was uncanny with only the glowing green eyes signifying that they were machines.

Nikki, who was clamoring about the merry-go-round previously, was now munching on an ice cream bar next to Michelle.

“I thought you wanted to ride le carrousel?” Michelle asked while watching Alice laugh as she leaned on a railing.

“Yeah, no,” Nikki sheepishly replied while leaning back on the railing and watching the crowd. “I just wanted to give my bro a push. Speaking of which …”

Nikki turned to look at Michelle, studying her blue eyes while her own sparkled.

“Are you from France? Your accent is so cool!” Nikki exclaimed.

“Vraiment? You think so?” Michelle asked with some surprise. She rather disliked her accent, preferring Alina's or Emily's American accent.

“Yeah, and I'm not the only one,” Nikki giggled. “Jason stares at you whenever you speak … I bet he thinks your accent is hot.”

“I … non. That can't be,” Michelle shook her head as her cheeks were tinged with a slight blush.

“Uh, yeah it is,” Nikki rolled her eyes. “When he was chatting with uncle and auntie, he turned to look at you when you were speaking to Asami. And he'd tilt his head in your direction whenever you were speaking. Without looking!”

“Absurdité. He is not like that,” Michelle protested.

“Oh alright, he was paying attention to everyone,” Nikki acquiesced before grinning. “But what about you?”

“Moi? What about me,” Michelle asked.

“You were the first to wanna follow him,” Nikki's eyes gleamed as she spoke. “Is that cuz you like him?”

Nikki stretched out the syllables for ‘like’ and Michelle panicked for a moment when she heard her before calming down.

“Non, the one who likes him is Emily,” Michelle answered perfunctorily. “I only admire him, he is a capable fighter.”

“Oh?” Nikki looked at Michelle with a stare that was wiser than her age. Her parents’ deaths and the life she lived before her brother was detected as being a Psych had matured her immensely.

Nikki was about to speak again when Michelle raised her arm and signaled her to be silent. Michelle narrowed her eyes before unholstering her gun and spinning backward while firing. An assassin that was trying to sneak on them was hit multiple times by her stun bullets as two more sped up and charged at her from different directions.

“ALLER!” Michelle shouted to Nikki before preparing to fight the assailants while Nikki ran to Emily and Alice.

As one came to stab her, Michelle agilely dodged his attack while pushing the arm that was wielding the dagger away and aimed at his stomach. She fired two shots and another at the assailant's head for good measure.

As the third assassin closed in, Michelle locked her gun and held it by the barrel, using the handle of the gun to block the continuous attacks the assassin delivered. As they fought, Michelle saw three more assassins enter her view from the corner of her eyes. The leader was strangely a female and she gestured at the two near her to aid the assailant fighting Michelle.

The two joined in, Michelle was pushed back by the combined assault from three assailants. Michelle used her left arm to block an attack from her left smashed her gun into another attack at her right when the two used this opportunity to knee her at the same time. The third ran forward and performed a dropkick that sent Michelle flying backwards.

Pain coursed through Michelle's body as she flew through the merry-go-round, smashing through several horses before landing on the ground. Emily who had grabbed Alice during the chaos and Nikki tried to run and check on Michelle but stopped when the female assassin started to approach her.

The assassins walked to where Michelle laid as the latter reloaded her gun with live rounds. An assassin pulled out a scimitar and slashed it at her with all his force while Michelle raised her left arm to fend off the attack. A clang rang out before the blade shattered shocking everyone that was watching.

Michelle's left arm flickered before the hologram surrounding it collapsed, revealing a robotic left hand that was completely unscathed.

“Oui,” Michelle agreed with her stunned opponent before slamming her mechanical fist into him. The assassin's chest caved in from the blow as his body flew back. Michelle then shot and wounded the two other assassins near her before targeting the female assassin.

“Ne bouge pas!” Michelle shouted and the assassin stopped near Emily and Alice. “Bouge et je tire!”

The assassin slowly turned to face Michelle, her face obscured with a hoodie and a face mask. She then pulled out two Kukri knives and took a step towards her. Michelle hesitated, knowing that she might kill the assassin if she pulled the trigger. Despite being trained, a trace of humanity prevented her from pulling the trigger until the assassin increased her speed as she neared Michelle. [3]

Michelle retreated and fired a shot which was deflected by the assassin. The reflected bullet hit a combustible container and the explosion that followed after it threw everyone backwards. A thin piece of shrapnel hit Michelle's prosthetic arm causing it to malfunction. Emily shielded Alice with her body as the blast hit them as well.

Once the explosion subsided, the unmoving bodies of Michelle, Emily, Nikki, and Alice lay along the debris while the female assassin slowly climbed out of the wreckage unharmed.

[1] Yeeash I know, it’s sword like Raiden’s from MGS. (https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZjWBwCVQc2s/maxresdefault.jpg)

[2] Maai: The reach and distance between two melee fighters. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maai)

[3] Kukri: Curved blade. Info: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kukri) Pic: (http://www.cutlerycorner.net/images/products/x_CCN-59281.jpg)