POV: 3rd Person
Ryan’s legs, feet, and hands all began trembling as he understood the kind of position he was currently in; it was almost as if his body understood what his mind was only now catching up to.
’Searching for someone…no…he knows…he knows where I am and who I am…’ the stray thoughts all collided into one frightening realization, causing Ryan to accidentally knock one of the many textbooks off the table onto the floor, creating a small commotion.
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’He knows, he knows about Rowing, he’s here to kill her, and me, fuck, FUCK!’ Falling into the throws of pure panic, Ryan didn’t bother grabbing any of his stuff apart from the walkie-talkie, got up, and bolted for the back door of the café.
Although he wished for nothing more than to protect Rowing, his own survival took precedence. Idol or not, if he died, it didn’t matter.
One word was practically screaming through his mind as he pushed himself to the limit of his Alpha-Ranked stats…RUN!
Someone strong enough to take down Two High-Alpha-Rankers without causing a stir was clearly someone he couldn’t dream of defeating, at least not him of now.
In the Origin Timeline, he had been a Gamma-Ranker, so while he still had the combat experience of being in a Second Class Faction, he couldn’t wield even a fraction of his future strength.
Fighting what was no doubt a Villain in his present state was nothing but a joke; all he could do was run and pray…pray that the guy’s Talent wasn’t something physical that would allow him to catch up.
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POV: 1st Person Taylor.
As I spoke in my Xipher persona, my perception was extended as far as it would go, feeling for the particle emission radiating off Overwatch Low, watching, waiting for what type of reaction the young man would have to my taunt, and much to my chagrin, he acted as I expected.
’Welp, it looks like the game of cat and mouse has begun,’ without hesitation, I spun on my heel, ignoring the corpse of Overwatch Mid, and briskly walked out of the small office down the hall until I eventually found myself streetside and on the sidewalk.
Once outside, I pulled my hood down to cover my mask and bolted across the busy street under the cover of rain and the cloudy day.
Making my way to a nearby alley, I kicked off the ground, a nearby wall, and glided to the top of a nearby roof, where I began my chase.
Running parallel to the street leading to the Mammoth Café, jumping from one rooftop to another with ease thanks to my capped-out physical stats, I easily kept tabs on Overwatch Low as he made his way through the winding back alleys while running at what I assumed to be his full speed.
’Hm, based on how he’s already using particles to push his stats up slightly, I can assume he’s not a physical offense build; that’s a bit disappointing; I wanted to have a real fight, heh, maybe I really am a battle junkie like those guys used to say.’
Thinking back to a specific group of people I associated with in the Origin Timeline, a small smirk graced my lips under my mask.
’I wonder how many of them made it back to the past; there was never a dull moment around those crazy bastards, so if any of them made it, I should at least be able to cure some of my boredom while hanging around fucking with the timeline.’
With around 21 years until I needed to complete the Q2-D quest, I had all the time in the world, and although I had plenty of things to curb my boredom and keep my mind occupied, I couldn’t help but look forward to the chaos the group of ruffians I used to know could kick up.
For the next twenty minutes, I stayed hot on Overwatch Low’s heels, wellhead; from above, many times I could see him with my eyes, but since I wanted to keep him off his game, I hung back enough to be out of eyeshot, but within the range of my tracking technique.
Along the way, we passed some famous landmarks, mainly Edinburgh Castle, something I had always wanted to see, and running along the rooftops, I got a grade-A view of the impressive structure.
The contrast between Overwatch Low and me couldn’t be more different; he was running for his life, whereas I was moving as if on a casual stroll, taking in the impressive and old architecture.
Moving through the city, we eventually passed by some farmland and then entered a suburban area before continuing to the northwest.
My eyes narrowed as I noticed something odd and was quick to bring up the mental map of the town of Edinburgh…that was when I understood what was on this guy’s mind.
’What a clever little fuck; he either has a talent that utilizes water and wants to fight, or he plans on losing me by disappearing into the harbor…hm…’
’Either way, it looks like he isn’t THAT big of a coward, here I thought he would continue to flee, hoping that I would get bored, but now, he’s luring me to a secluded area, away from people…what was that place called again, ah…Cramond Island.’
At Alpha-Rank, and with increased stats, covering a small distance of 6.4 miles took almost no time at all, and as we crossed over a golf course, I kept low to the ground while staying out of sight from my target.
Passing through and beyond the golf course, the little sunlight that had spread across the city dwindled as dark storm clouds accompanied by low rumbling thunder set over the area.
It was after the golf course that our direction shifted slightly, and I began preparing myself for a fight. In the distance, I could see the faint outline of a small body of land resting out in the open water, and since we were heading that way, I couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle.
’It looks like we will have a stormy showdown on Cramond Island; it sounds pretty fun to me. Don’t let me down, Overwatch Low…’