The Ashlanders - Chapter 6: The Blind Man's Last Gambit (Closed, Started)

[ProtoChimp]

Aesop had dreamed about this moment a thousand times in his mind and it was even sweeter than he thought. Slamming his foot down on the pedal he was like a man possessed, learning over the steering wheel as he floored it across the ash before finally returning to the city he had abandoned long ago.

It was all so wrong. Everything Austin had wanted, it wasn't this! It wasn't a destroyed city that he wanted, it wasn't buildings torn apart, he never wanted to tear apart the old world and rebuild a new one. No he just wanted to steal what was already there with his group of nutbags! Was he not thinking it through? Did he even care about the children he so desperately claimed to protect? Did he claim it wasn't his responsibility, or did he pretend that it just wasn't happening, so wilfully ignoring the destruction he had caused?

And that was it. Aesop hadn't seen him in years but he knew the man, and that was the answer. He literally did not think anything bad had happened. Aesop wondered if he even saw the buildings he destroyed, or if his eyes pictured them as pristine and in shape. It wasn't stupidity, he was too good at planning and brainwashing people to be that stupid. This was literal insanity, the purest definition of insanity. Austin would be brought up in classrooms as a classic example of insanity, instead of the Godlike figure he wanted the world to know him as. Well he wasn't going to get that! The maidens weren't going to let him take that crazy fucking goal! Not one more child was gonna fall under his spell!

Spoiler: REVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENGE

Following Pixie's lead Aesop drove with one hand while snatching the SMG from his companion in the passenger seat. He was not in a state of mind to make smart decisions, and chose to elbow his driver's side window like an idiot instead of lowering it down. He stuck his hand out of the window and fired randomly at any hostiles dumb enough to get in the way of them. Pixie's crawler had turned ahead and it was as if every maiden was on wavelengths. "Fuck yeah I love you you crazy *****!" Aesop punched his horn excitedly. Following the bends and curves up the multi story car park Aesop could hear the screams as he got some lucky shots, blind firing out of his window at some 'children' stationed within the complex, shouting variations on the phrase, "YOU CHOSE TO DIE!" He wasn't paying attention to them, and thus couldn't see their ages. At this point he didn't care. He had a one track mind and wanted to sink his knife into Austin's face. He was getting cocky, first Rodrigo Santiago and now Father Austin. His bandit ego was kicking in harder than it ever had before and god dammit he was liking the blood lust!

"HA HAAAAAAA! FUCK YEAH!" An explosion, and soon Pixie was in the air. Aesop grunted and roared like an animal as his crawler followed suit, soaring across the sky before crash landing into the Iron Maiden. He was knocked about in his seat but nothing too bad. "Y'all alright?" He was getting weird now with an incredibly satisfied smile on his face, Warren and Brock nodded to him. Aesop handed the SMG back to Brock and continued, "Sorry brother." He then rushed out of the crawler, pistols in each hand and blasting at the oncoming children who were flooding the hangar.

"YOU WANNA DIE **** BOYS!" It was mostly older men and women, delirious enough to think that they were indeed children. Aesop sent them down like dogs before speeding over to one of the vehicles already parked in the crawler for cover. Bullets were flying everywhere and Brock and Warren had rushed over to Aesop. Warren didn't stay for long, just long enough to reload before running off in a berserker. Aesop cackled in excitement as Brock gave him shady looks. "C'mon man, cut me some slack." He winked to the freaked out man before leaping over the hood of the crawler, emptying his pistols into those who were too distracted by Warren before dropping them on the ground, pulling out two extras as he rushed over to the cover of the children.

Aesop was screaming like a violent animal tearing apart his prey with no remorse as they fell to the ground. He didn't see who they were until they were already on the ground. They must have been standing behind the adults. They must have been quiet. They must have been scared. They mustn't have been any older than 10.

He froze, arms outstretched and eyes stuck in place at the fresh corpses. Their expressions were still clear on their faces despite being completely impaled by the many bullets of the guns he was holding. The smoke from his pistols still held in the air as his arms finally dropped to his sides, his weapons slipping out of his hands. His jaw shook as he took in the sight before him, the sight he had caused. The last thing they heard must have been his rage filled screeches, his laughter as their skulls were torn apart by lead. Tears were forming in his eyes and Aesop began to pant but he didn't have the time. More were coming and Brock had to pull him into cover as a maelstrom of fire swarmed their position. Brock needed to fight for the both of them as Aesop couldn't even bring himself to stand.

Children, literal children had been massacred by him and for the first time since Silo, no infinitely worse than Silo, Aesop was feeling guilt about killing. More than guilt, a soul crushing weight that made his head boiling hot, his stomach feel like it was about to explode, sending shivers down across his skin, and shaking uncontrollably. Brock was saying something but Aesop couldn't hear him. Sillah couldn't hear him.

 

[The Funslinger]

The drive into Yuteni wasn't difficult. The dome had been thoroughly wrecked. The gate on their side had been blown clear of its port and they just drove right on through. Once they got in though, Ruffles had to steer in between gargantuan shards of glass that littered the road.

"Jesus Christ," murmured Whiskey, pushing up her aviators to take in the destruction. "You know these domes always feel so fucking impenetrable. But one ship did this? Fuck..."

Ruffles grunted. "Plasma superheats the glass... well it's not exactly glass but yeah. Super heats it, wrecks its structural integrity. Then the ship's like a giant battering ram. It probably wouldn't work on the larger domes. They're cast much thicker. But..." he noticed he was ranting. "Uh, never mind."

As they crossed into the dome, the distant, muffled sounds of gunfire could vaguely be heard. Ruffles drew to a halt behind a gutted building and killed the engine. "We'll go on foot from here," he said. Don't want the engines to scare anyone off... or draw anyone in."

=================================================================

Spoiler: Appropriate tune

Owain walked quickly down the small corridor to the building's lobby. He would get the wine quickly, and then perhaps see if there was any more fun to be squeezed out of Frostfall. Likely not. The women here seemed hard and homely. Tabby had been a rare treat.

Opening the door to the lobby he stepped out, coming to a halt in surprise. Peering down into the basement stood the Gentleman. For a moment, Owain was too shocked to act. Then he reached for his balisong and stepped forward.

The Gentleman's eyes flitted to the side for just a second. For once, he didn't crack a smile.

"No need for that, Owain." he said, as Owain was in the middle of drawing his weapon. "I'd like to avoid hurting you if at all possible. I'm only here to reclaim what's mine. In return, I have something that belongs to you."

Taking the length of bloody rope out from the folds of his coat, the gentleman dropped it at Owain's feet.

"I have no doubt my disgust means little to you, but just for the record... I trust I'll find Florian in a significantly better condition than I found her in, or this might just have to get unpleasant."

Owain shrugged. "I'd say he's so-so. Though it's Severa's fault that what blood he has left hasn't been getting where it needs to be, really. I don't suppose I can convince you to come back with me quietly?"

"I have no intention of being brought before Lady Contessa bound and gagged, if that's what you mean." The Gentleman replied. "The two of us will be meeting, very soon, but when we do it will be on my terms. We will each be given the chance to say our peace, we will negotiate terms, and then we will both depart amicably, having put this little spat behind us. In short, I intend to re-introduce an air of... nobility, into our relationship; which, in case the implication escapes you, will involve you and your sister staying very quiet and cooperative, lest you cause either of us further embarrassment."

Owain took his hand away from the knife handle. "That's all very well and good, except that if my dear aunt wanted to meet on anyone's terms but her own, you and I wouldn't be having this conversation right now, would we? My sister and I have been given a job to do, you see, so I intend to see it through. I'm sure you understand that."

"Now that, I can respect." The Gentleman answered, calmly. "Today still isn't your day, I'm afraid, but it's nice to know that we have some common ground after all."

The Gentleman's hand went to his pocket watch, and he pressed down on the dial. With three ear-splitting cracks, the blasting caps that he had placed underneath the loose, rickety floorboards detonated just in front of Owain's feet, spraying a cloud of splinters up in front of his face. His body suddenly coming alive, The Gentleman closed the gap between them, twisting Owain's arm behind him, and kicking out the back of his knees. With his free hand, The Gentleman drew his pistol, and pressed in lightly into the small of Owain's back.

"Tell me where to find Florian, and I'll seriously consider not severing your spine."

"I'm sure you can take a wild guess," replied Owain, grinning up at him. "If not, then I'm afraid I'm going to be investing in ramps."

"Tell me..." The Gentleman continued, each syllable a shard of ice. "Your sister has quite the predilection for pain, am I right? More so than yourself? If I were to drag you to her now, and subject her beloved brother to every torture my years consorting with the underbelly of this world have taught me, would she scream, would she curse me, or would she enjoy watching you suffer?"

Owain shrugged as best he could in the awkward position. "A little of each, I suppose. But to be fair, if you can take me to her, there's no need to ask where her and the Priest are, is there? So if you're going to shoot me, just do it."

"Ah, but you see..." The Gentleman answered. "I think that with the racket we just caused, she will soon be on her way to us. Still," he aimed his pistol down, and shot Owain in the foot, before stepping on the fresh wound, and leaning his weight onto it. Owain felt his little toe vanish in a wave of white hot pain. "I don't think there's any harm in calling for her a little louder."

Owain yelled through gritted teeth at the flare of burning pain on the end of his foot. He could feel a hot wetness trickling around his shoe as he stirred against the discomfort.

The agony was hellish, but he made it seem worse than it was. With the gentleman leaning over him, Owain used his free hand to rip the pistol from his grip before throwing his weight at him, knocking him off and giving his foot some mercy.

The Gentleman had to hand it to him, Owain had spirit. Disarmed, he was forced to duck and weave as Owain sprung to his feet, and pressed the advantage with a flurry of blows. Pushing him back towards the wall, Owain drew his balisong again, and lunged for The Gentleman's throat. Jerking his head to the side, The Gentleman dodged the blade, which went right through the plaster behind him, followed by Owain's fist. Seizing the opportunity, The Gentleman hit the pressure point in Owain's wrist with a rapid double strike, stunning his arm, before ducking under the other side and grabbing the younger man round the throat from behind.

With his injured foot, Owain was off balance, and heavily compromised on the defensive. Still, he struggled mightily, swinging his elbow round to strike the Gentleman in the side a couple of times. Nevertheless, he was being dragged back, inch by inch, towards the stairs to the basement.

"You have my sincere apologies." The Gentleman said, his teeth gritted, as he hooked Owain's good leg out from underneath him, spun round out of the way, and gave one last strike to the centre of his torso. Unable to fight the inevitability of physics, Owain was sent tumbling, head over heels, twice over, before eventually smashing though the thin basement door onto the concrete floor beyond, where he lay still.

Not wasting any time, The Gentleman picked up his weapon, and descended also. Keeping his pistol trained on him, he knelt down checked Owain over. He was alive, but out cold. Good. He'd do just fine here for now. Rifling through his outfit and removing any more weapons, just in case, The Gentleman made his way back up the stairs.

'One down, as the saying goes.'

 

[Fappy]

Spoiler: A Choir of Angels

The rest of their strike force took up positions behind crawlers and cargo as more of Austin's cultists poured into the hanger, brandishing weapons from Pixie's own armory. What followed was a confusing clusterfuck of carnage. The smell of gunpowder and copper found its way into Pixie's nostrils, shaking loose memories of battles past. It got her heart thumping. Her blood boiling. She felt alive. She felt in control.

She felt invincible.

After emptying two magazines, Pixie slapped in her third just in time to see Brock and Aesop stumble back into cover. Throwing her back up against a stack of iron crates, Pixie looked to Bennie and signaled towards the door, "I'M GONNA CLEAR OUT THE DOORWAY, YOU GO ON'IN TAKE POINT ONCE I CLEAR THE WAY!"

Despite the ringing in his ears, Bennie understood, "ROGER!" Firing fifty bullets per second in a steel box never did anyone's ears any good. Grabbing a grenade out of her satchel, Pixie lobbed one over the crates, through the door and out into the hallway.

Both she and Bennie remained in cover until they heard the blast, "MOVE!" She shouted as she and Bennie broke out of cover. Charging forward, Bennie caught two adult males in the chest with his shotgun before throwing his back up against the door frame. The grenade had made short work of the next wave.

That's a bottleneck for you.

Pixie covered her companion, laying down several bursts from her rifle at a group of teenagers nearby before throwing herself up against the crawler Brock and Aesop were hiding behind, "THE FUCK'S GOIN' ON, BROCK!? TALK TO ME!"

Brock grit his teeth and shook Aesop. He didn't respond, "HE CHARGED AHEAD AND RAN INTO SOME YOUNG KIDS! HE TOOK THEM OUT! I---"

She caught a glimpse of what he had been referring to. The haunting gaze of a dead eleven-year-old bore into her, "FUCK, GET IT TOGETHER, AESOP!"

Bennie peeked his head around the corner. Another group was headed down the hall from the port side of the ship. "PIXIE, WE GOT MORE COMING!" The hangar was clear for now, but that wouldn't last. There was no telling how many Austin had aboard.

"FUCK!" Pixie cursed and glanced around the hangar to get a handle on their status. They had suffered maybe two casualties total. At least twenty cultists lay dead or dying around them. They needed to take the bridge. The hangar could get fucked for all she cared. She ran up alongside Bennie as he switched to his submachine gun and began suppressing the new arrivals at the end of the adjoining hall. Looking to Bradly, she shouted over the gunfire. "YOU TAKE YER MEN 'ROUND PORT SIDE AN' ME, BENNIE AN' WARREN'LL GO 'ROUND THE STARBOARD. THE BRIDGE IS 'AR PRIORITY! WE SECURE IT AN' WE SECURE THE SHIP! GOT IT!?"

"WHAT ABOUT THOSE TWO!?" Bradly pointed towards Brock and Aesop.

"AESOP'S GONE GREEN ON US! FUCK 'IM, WE GOT MORE IMPORTANT SHIT TO WORRY ABOUT!" Two of Bradly's men took up positions by Bennie to suppress the cultists as he reloaded. Pixie looked to Brock. "IF HE GROWS SOME BALLS Y'ALL CAN FOLLOW US! ALRIGHT!?"

"ROGER!" Brock barked back.

Just as Bennie had finished reloading, Pixie came up beside him and tapped him on the shoulder, "YOU READY, CARMINE?"

"FUCK YEAH!"

"WARREN!?"

"YUP!"

"MOVE OUT MAIDENS! WE'VE GOT A GOD TO SLAY!" Both squads filed out into the hall, laying down fire towards their designated destinations. A small group of cultists had just rounded the corner on time to eat a barrage of Maiden lead, tearing them to ribbons before they hit the floor. Stepping over their corpses as they came around the bend, Pixie deliberately diverted her gaze. They were small, but she didn't get a good look at the beyond that.

The three of the Maiden's best fighters charged through the hollow halls of their home like a force of nature, gunning down anything that moved. Austin's cultists popped out of ever crevasse the main deck of the starboard had to offer. They may have thought themselves clever, but Pixie knew her ship better than her own son. She knew ever crack in every rusted plate. There was no getting the jump on her on her home turf.

These kids never had a chance.

It took them twenty minutes and five-hundred rounds to finally make it to the mess hall. Bennie and Warren took point, charging in and finding cover behind the steel tables they'd kicked over. Not an ideal battlefield, especially given Austin's superior numbers, but they'd manage. Just as Pixie was about to join them, she heard a stampede of footsteps heading in her direction from the long hall that joined the port and starboard sides of the main deck. From the looks of it, Bradly was fighting a war of attrition; one Austin's soldiers were losing.

With naught but improvised weapons and spent firearms in their hands, Pixie turn on her heel and emptied her clip into the oncoming force. Four men went down before they were upon her. Eight of them in total.

Her rifle exhausted, she dropped it and her satchel on the ground and drew her bowie knife right on time to duck under a lead pipe and stab her attacker under the his right arm, "COME ON! GET FUCKED YOU PUSSIES!" She taunted as she threw her leg back, kicking him against the wall. A split second later the next three were in front of her, all of them men in their early twenties.

At least I get real men ta' fight.

The first one lashed out with a crowbar while the other swung the butt of his empty shotgun. Pixie caught the crowbar with her off-hand and ducked under the arc of the shotgun, letting the man bash his ally in the teeth with its wooden stock. Wresting the crow bar out of his hand as he dropped to the floor, she thrust it forward, catching the man who had yet to attack her directly in the crotch. As the the man with the shotgun was still in the midst of his back swing, she rose up from her low stance and stabbed him in the side of the neck, her knife held backwards.

As the man before her knelt down, holding his crippled manhood in agony, Pixie swung the crowbar into the side of his face. Embedded it into his skull, she let it and his body fall to the floor in a heap. She flipped her blade into her other hand and stared down the four remaining cultists; a sinister grin shining through the fresh blood that caked her cheeks.

Seeing her take apart their allies so easily...

They hesitated.

Poor decision.

In a flash, Pixie had drawn her sidearm, blowing away two of their allies before they could even blink. The remaining two, one teenage boy wielding a knife and an adult woman with another pipe, fell upon her. The woman came in first, getting in close and swinging her pipe in a wide arc. Pixie threw her arm up and over, taking the brunt of the blow in her kevlar as she caught the pipe under her arm. Unfortunately for her attacker, the woman wasn't quick enough in withdrawing. Still gripping the pipe, Pixie stabbed down twice into her forearm, forcing her to drop her weapon and stagger backwards against the wall.

Before Pixie could take a breath the boy had crossed the gap between them, his knife coming right for her throat. Ducking down at the last moment, she flipped her blade around in her hand and stabbed him in the gut. Stunned, the boy was helpless as Pixie rose to his level and delivered a swift pistol whip to his jaw, sending him falling head-first onto the floor. Moments later she put a bullet between his eyes and followed through with finishing off the older woman before she could get back to her feet.

After coup de gracing those that still clung to life, she holstered her pistol, retrieved her satchel and reloaded Mr. Monroe. Caked in the blood of her enemies, she had a wild look about her as she entered the hall. Bennie and Warren had managed to hold the fort in her absence, but more were pouring in from the bridge. Many of them children, no older than eight, nine, and ten-years-old.

She didn't say a word as she waltzed into the ruined mess hall, her rifle held at her hip. She simply clenched her jaw, pulled the trigger and swayed her hips. With each bullet casing that was ejected from her rifle, another young soul passed on.

She was their deliverance. Her gun was their redemption. This living hell. This endless nightmare. It would be over for them shortly. It would be over for all of them.

Austin would pay for this. Oh, he would pay so dearly. For every young body she was made to cut through to get to him, she'd make him scream in agony. She wouldn't be finished until every inch of skin was flayed from his body. She'd keep him alive just long enough for him to realize that he was living a lie. A blissful fantasy. And that in reality, he was nothing like God.

No. Before his life was over, he'd see the true face of God. And she'd be giggling in delight as she tore his flesh asunder. And devoured his very soul.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Amy did join in with all the whooping and hollering, as Pixie made her battle speech, but she did grip her machine gun a little tighter, as their swarm of crawlers rushed through the breach and into Yuteni. Looking up, she saw the Iron Maiden descending from the skies. It may have been a trick of the light, but Amy could have sworn she saw, for a split second, a smaller craft jettison from the ships hull.

'Please, keep each-other safe.'

She couldn't afford to worry about her sisters now. The best thing she could do for them was finish this, as fast as possible.

"We'll go on foot from here," Ruffles said, as their Crawler screeched to a halt. Amy simply nodded, popping open her door before they'd even stopped moving, stepping out and scanning the street ahead with her weapon for any movement.

"Let's just get this over with." she replied, gritting her teeth.

 

[Dogmatic99]

To say that the priest was ravishing his capture wouldn't be too far from the truth. After having their lips locked for about a solid minute, Severa was unable to continue. Instead, she rested the back of her head against the wall and started breathing heavily. Her eyes closed, she began moaning more audibly, so much so that it was all Florian could hear in his head as he continued his work. That was until a blast shook the building, followed soon after by the sound of a gunshot.

Severa's eyes shot open, "OWAIN!?"

For once in days she'd lost the use of her words, the closest thing he'd had to quiet. He could settle for moaning, right now it sounded like music as she leaned her head back and Florian made his way down to her neck. For once he could just let his mind fade away and enjoy something purely for what it was. But nothing was ever that easy.

'Find yourself in the place of ash. You ever heard what that means?' He'd been saying those words so long now, the old memory was beginning to claw its way to the surface. Echos of Erik's voice in his head and the old pains of scars that should have faded.

'Men are much like animals, they must be taught the same lessons over again if they're ever to remember. Let them forget and they bare their teeth quick enough.' And some animals needed to be collared tighter than others.

But he wasn't an animal. He wasn't! 'Every day we should ask ourselves why we do what we do. And remember who it is you're justifying these choices to.' How did the abbot always sound so infuriatingly calm?!

'Which is this for you, a show of devotion or a punishment?'

Why couldn't they all just shut up?! They always wanted something from him. Nothing was unconditional, nothing came easily. Never a man, always the servant, the tool, the weapon! Here at least he could claim something as his own. To hell with the rest. Here at least the price was plain to see.

'Kill your heart or kill your victory.'

'Just be a friend to them...'

'You'll never need to justify yourself to me Florian.'

What? No... no this wasn't right. What was he doing? The smell of cigarettes had faded away, replaced by the stale smell of cheap booze. This was all wrong! He drew away, the sound of gunfire came closer now. This wasn't right. She was the enemy.

She clutched Florian's shoulders, her eyes wild as the reality of the situation sunk in "I-I have to---" She caught an odd shine in Florian's eye, freezing her in place. "Florian?"

The old commands kicked in. Florian's head snapped down, colliding with Severa's nose with a muffled crunch. There was far more recoil than normal and the lights were everywhere. He couldn't stop though. As grabbed out at her face and pushed back slamming her head back towards the wall with what little strength he had left.

His eyes. They weren't right at all.

Severa furrowed her brow, "FLO----"

Stars. Stars everywhere. And pain.

She fumbled backwards and collapsed against the wall.

Wha-ahh, where?

Now was Florian's chance.

And he was off! Something between a stagger and a run. It felt like Florian crashed into everything possible as he stormed through the room. He'd been in here for an eternity, how could he not find the fucking door?! In seconds or minutes he was out, it all felt the same right now.

Florian stumbled out into the hall, colliding with the far wall, a victim of his own momentum. Was he up or down right now, top floor or basement? The whole world was spinning. Light. He just needed to find the light and go that way.

By the time Florian had managed to stumble halfway down the hall, Severa had regained her senses. She clutched her head, squealing in agony as the pain from her broken nose set in. He struck out at her. He'd hurt her. Her face was flushed with anger as she pushed the pain aside and scrambled for her steel case on the other side of the room.

"He did it... I-I... He did it..." She mumbled to herself as she struggled to undo the latches on the case. Her whole body was seething with rage, causing her fingers to tremble uncontrollably. Eventually, she had it open. She got to her feet and swung Miranda around, holding it steady at her side. Her eyes narrowed. "I can't believe... he did it..."

Slowly, she started for the door, "I-I-I....I..." Suddenly, an enormous grin split her face from ear-to-ear. "YOU DID IT, FATHER! I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU! THAT FIRE! THAT WILL TO LIVE! I HUNGER FOR IT!" She kicked down the door, Miranda swaying violently at her side as she stepped through the threshold. "RUN FATHER, FOR TODAY WE DANCE THE SONG OF DEATH! I WANT TO SEE HOW FAR YOU CAN CRAWL BEFORE YOU'RE FINISHED!"

The laughter that followed would haunt Florian's dreams for years to come.

 

[Terratina.]

"Sorry, it won't happen again."

"Yeah, no problem," Bryan replied, drumming his fingers on the table and considering whether to sample the disgusting coffee.

"Workplace jealousy just gets under my fucken skin is all. Bitches need to learn to stop shit stirring and do their jobs better if ya ask me."

Mila shrugged, "If it helps at all, Chimera's mostly just a bunch of straight-faced hardcore types. The only gossip I hear is when I am on base, which... well, we don't come back here all that often." She laughed. "Fuck, Ortega would kick my ass if he heard me smack talking a superior officer.?

Bryan grinned. "Tsubaki's the same. Although replace 'smack talking' with 'everything I do' and you have a good idea of my day to day."

"She's that hard on you guys, eh?" She tilted her head and grinned. "I don't mean any disrespect, but maybe your CO just needs a turn on the pogo-stick, if ya' know what I am saying."

He laughed at this. "Maybe, but you'd never hear it from her." Getting up, he crossed the room and poured some coffee. Heading back, he slid one of the cups across to Mila.

"I dunno. She's a real married to the job type."

Mila took a sip of her coffee, fighting back the urge to cringe at the taste, "Y-yeah, I used to be like that too. I don't know what chanced. I guess I got comfortable and just got tired of the 'perfect soldier' routine. I don't fraternize with anyone in my unit or another, don't get the wrong idea. Though, I would say I have a talent for picking up good lays when out on the field. You know 'em when you see 'em, am I right?" She nudged him, chuckling.

"Oh yeah," Bryan said. "O' course I was never any kinda perfect soldier. I just got picked up after some guards found me nickin' a painting from the sixth floor o' this gallery way back when. Dealt with the guards and two days later I get this missive saying they liked the cut o' my gib and would I like a job?"

Mila nodded along and spotted Asad waving off Tsubaki as she left into the hall. Nodding in his direction, Mila smirked, "What's his story?"

"Ah, you know," said Bryan, a shit eating grin spreading across his face. "We needed a friend for Jun so I found some brown clay, made it vaguely man shaped, stuck some broom bristles in and wished really hard."

"He is like one o' them plastic soldiers though, I'm afraid," he added.
"You two close?" She cocked an eyebrow.

He shrugged. "He's a good lad. I'd be a bit fucked off if anything happened to him." He pointed at Mila sternly. "So keep an eye on him, yeah?"

"Sure thing. Ever been under his command before? I know Ortega's technically in-charge of the Op, but Saburo put him in charge of our crew."

"Nah, we've mainly been on a level," Bryan replied. "I reckon Tsubaki knows we'd be too busy ripping the shit outta each other for one of us to give the other any orders."

"Well, at least we know who to blame then if this all goes to shit, eh?"

"Jun, obviously."

"SIR!"

Ortega looked up from the documents he was flipping through when an Intel officer stepped into the room, "What is it?"

"We've got activity."

Fifteen Minutes Later

Asad was driving with Mila riding shotgun and the other two members of Samsara were sitting in the back of the crawler, "Ballsy fucking play if I've ever seen one!" Mila shouted over the sound of the roaring engine. "I can't believe they sent their top guys to run interferance. These Maidens are gonna be fucked for sure!"

They couldn't have been more than a minute away from the South Gate now.

Asad clenched his jaw, focusing on the road ahead. "Don't underestimate them." The man muttered, a somber expression on his face.

"How do you think our commander got wounded in the first place?"

"She was shot by a world renowned assassin with nothing to lose. Guess who ain't with them at the moment?"

"Fine then." Asad smirked, glancing at the woman as he raised an eyebrow.


"You can go first if you're so confident." He moved his eyes back to the road. "You weren't there when we were chasing them, this isn't about just about escaping the city." He furrowed his brow. "They're defending a frightened girl who doesn't want the fate she's been given."

"And we're getting a paycheck. In the end, as long as you're willing to die for your cause you're going to fight like hell to make sure they go down with you." She sighed, looking over her weapon. "The hard part's going to be in the whole 'prisoner' caveat. Parameters like that are what gets soldiers killed."

"Oh no." Asad grumbled sarcastically. "I don't get to shoot some kids."

Mila glared at him but chose not to say anything. Now was not the time.

Meanwhile, Jun simply watched the scenery go by as the two in the front bickered. He rubbed his temples, just how were they going to capture Elizabeth Maribel and every Maiden they came across while under fire from at least one of them. It just wasn't practical; soldiers killed, not captured.

Asad frowned. He thought the caveat would make things easier, make this whole situation seem less wrong somehow, but it didn't. All it did was make him feel sick to his stomach.

A short time later, their crawler came flying over the last hill, bringing a familiar site into view. From the looks of it, they'd already taken the gate and were in the process of opening it.

They'd have to move fast.

Mila pointed ahead, "THERE THEY ARE!"

 

[The Funslinger]

"Let's just get this over with."

"Oh, definitely," agreed Ruffles. Their group started to move forward, each member scanning about the streets and peering down the alleys. The tension was palpable.

"So how do you think we're meant to differentiate Austin's goons from any surviving young people? And for that matter, if you were a Yutenite... Yuteni... Yutenian?" Whiskey asked. "If you were a local caught in this freaky invasion, where would you hide?"

"Not sure," said Ruffles. "I've never been here before. But the dome's been breached a while now. So definitely somewhere they could replace the filters on their masks, or somewhere that was sealed so they wouldn't need them."

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Elizabeth squealed as she stumbled against the concrete barrier next to Maria. Before she'd opened her eyes she could hear the sound of Sprout's pistol firing away. The plasma felt so warm as it passed overhead. Peaking her eyes just above that of the barrier she got her first look at their attackers: a lone crawler with four soldiers within. Moments later, Sprout's weapon found its mark.

"SHIT!" Mila shouted as a barrage of plasma burned straight through the hood of the vehicle, killing the engine. "They have plasma!?"

Bryan flattened himself against the side of the Crawler as plasma arced over head. "Shit!"

"Well fucking this again," he said as the crawler ground to a halt. He shouldered his swords and jumped out. Hefting his plasma pistol, he barrelled off the street, behind the cover of a building.

"Yeah, we couldn't find Tsubaki's plasma pistol after she got capped. Guess we know why."

Jun just got out of the crawler and started to run, eyes darting around to find a suitable cover, something that might protect the soldier from a plasma blast. He quickly found some and got into position.

"I fucking hate plasma!" Asad called out as he exited the crawler, following Bryan into cover. "How the fuck are we going to pacify this shit, Jesus." He ran a hand through his hair as he clenched his jaw.


Lilith hopped over the barricade, crouching next to the others, she holstered her revolver, she grabbed her rifle. Getting to one knee, she rested the rifle over the top of her cover, looking down the scope.

"These are the guys from the other day!" She muttered angrily.

Sprout kept his eyes on the street. They were out of sight, but that would likely change sooner rather than later, "Notice 'ow they ran all quick like ta' cover without a single one of 'em supressin' us? Reckon they're worried 'bout taggin' Liz?"

"It'd be nice," called out Bryan, "if we had some tranq guns. Knock 'em the fuck out and stick 'em in sacks."

"Those things have next to zero range, I don't think they'd let us just walk up to them and tag their asses." Asad chuckled. Motioning to Mila, he nodded at her weapon. "I don't care how much they provoke us, you are not to shoot them." He knew Bryan, and Jun wouldn't shoot without orders, but he knew nothing of this Mila girl. "Understand?"


Lilith breathed in sharply through gritted teeth as she failed to get a bead on any of the incoming soldiers. "If we stall them long enough for the gate to open, we can jump in a crawler and bloody get outta her." She glanced at Sprout. "They won't risk hurting Liz, so don't make yourself a stand out target."

"Just hide and wait. Brilliant." Maria muttered.

Lilith chuckled. "Better than dying, surely?"

"This isn't stuff outta the Art of War, but I'll take it, sure." The doctor replied.

Sprout scanned the area around them. There were no crawlers on the street around the gate. There only option was to try for one of the Basilio crawlers in the small building on the eastside of the gate. At least, that was the original plan. Best stick to the plan if possible. Yup.

Ma's better'n me at improvisin'. Hope we can avoid that...

"Lily," Sprout interrupted the two women. "The garage." He nodded to his right. "None'a the cars out on the street here are ash-worthy. Let's hope these guys left behind some hardware."

"Of course," Mila shot back without missing a beat. "You forget where I come from." Peering around the corner she spotted the boy staying low, talking to the older Maiden. "What's the plan, boss?"

"This is why I didn't want to be in charge." Asad muttered under his breath. "We need to close the gap, then maybe we can reason with them."

'Reason with them?'

The words came from his own mouth and he still thought they were stupid.

"Do you reckon we could get Jun up on one of those buildings?" Bryan asked. "I know that's usually my job, but getting the drop on 'em with a sniper might be what we need."

"Jun! What do you think?" Asad called out to the man. "Think you can at least give us some cover?"

"Yes." Jun called out to the others.

"What good will a sniper do if we can't hit them!?" Mila questioned.

Asad raised an eyebrow as he looked at the woman. "They don't know that."

Mila just rolled her eyes.

Bryan straightened up. "I'll help Jun get up the buildings if you two give us some cover fire to leg it."



Lilith kept her eye on her scope, panning slowly across the street, just waiting for one of the soldiers to make a move. "I'll cover the street, you go check, if there's nothing there, then we're gonna have to bail on this whole thing, I ain't hanging around."

Sprout looked back down the street. Still nothing, "Roger that, Lily. If I get a hole in my other lung you owe me a fuckin' handy!"

Asad furrowed his brow. "I'll throw down smoke, that should be enough to cover you." He couldn't risk spraying bullets everywhere.


Lilith smirked. "It's just us now, ladies, think they'll go easy on us?"

"I don't think they could go any easier." Maria quipped. The silence was strange, alien even in this situation. It was a stark contrast to previous gunfights.

Elizabeth sighed, "They were a lot more aggressive last time." She turned her head just on time to see Sprout vault over the barrier and fly towards the garage. "Be careful Alex!" She half-whispered before covering her mouth.

What did I just call him!?

Sprout didn't hear her, not really. He had barely registered she'd said anything at all. No, he was focused solely on his objective. His pistol at the ready, he threw himself against the side of the building and peered in.

There was a crawler!

"JACKPOT!" He shouted before looking back down the street. Still nothing. Strange. "I'll pull 'er around!"

Lilith furrowed her brow slightly.

'Alex, huh?'

As the boy left the barricade, Lilith chuckled. "Trust Merry to Boomhower something like that." She shook her head gently. She still preferred Axel.


"Okay, get ready to move on my signal. Keep in radio contact, and make sure you keep your heads down." Pulling a grenade off his belt, Asad quickly pulled the pin, throwing the smoke grenade around the corner of the building.

"Haul ass!" He called as thick smoke quickly began to fill the street.

Wordlessly, Mila followed behind Asad.

"They're coming!" Elizabeth barked. Without a second thought she lifted her arms above the barricade and began firing her 9mm into the smoke.

Sprout figured he should probably speed things along once the gunfire started. It had been a good long while since he'd hotwired a car and military crawlers were on a whole different level. He could do it though. He knew he could.

'Reckon hotwirin' crawlers an' sewin' ar' the only delicate thin's Ma' ever taught me. Now, connect this bit ta' the lil' blue one over here an'...

Stealing a glance out of the garage, he could see shadows moving through the smoke cloud.

Fuck. Should 'ave given Maria my plasma.

Maria coughed as the area was filled with smoke, she shrunk behind the barricade even further as Elizabeth shot at shadows. The doctor managed to say,"Of course... now they try something."

Lilith swore under her breath as the smoke erupted through the street. "Something isn't right here." she muttered under her breath. There really should have been an exchange of fire by now.

"Alright, Jun," said Bryan. "Let's go. Down that alley." He set off at a sprint.

Jun nodded and followed, matching Bryan's pace.

As they headed towards the alley, Bryan spoke.

"Right, I saw a fire escape as we were driving by. I'll get up the wall, get the ladder down for you and you go up, yeah?"


"Got it." The sniper replied.

As the two wayward members of Samsara made their way down the alley the old assassin laid in wait in a conjoining street. Tightening his grip around his pistol, he took one last deep breath and closed his eyes as the footsteps got closer. Then, just before they passed him by, he stepped out of the alley shooting Bryan in the chest at close range before kicking forward, taking Bryan's feet off the ground as his momentum was reversed. Before the Irishman landed, Cranston was already on his ally. Too close to shoot, he planted his foot down in front of Jun's and elbowed him in the side of the neck.

Bryan bounced off of the ground and went sprawling. He was vaguely aware the mercenary's shot had split the strap of his sheath. The swords lay feet away. Much closer to the bald bastard than they were to him.

He got to his feet, taking deep, controlled breaths. He thought his ribs were fine.

Jun was knocked back, the side of his neck dully throbbed with pain. The soldier responded by charging at the annoyance, hands reaching for the old man's neck.

Dropping his pistol, Cranston caught Jun's hands in his own, pulled down and twisted. Both of Jun's hands broke within seconds as he was brought down low just on time to take a knee to the face. Unconscious, Jun flopped over on top his back, "I heard one of you was a close combat specialist. I take it he wasn't it." Though he teased the man before him, Cranston's expression remained cold and rigid.

Taking a step back into the middle of the alley, he placed his boot down on Bryan's sword. Both their weapons lay at his feet, "Your move."

 

[Daystar Clarion]

As Asad and Mila moved from cover to cover through the smoke, moving closer to the Maidens, Asad clenched his jaw.

They wouldn't surrender, there's no way they were going to surrender, and now they were cornering them again.

'Never corner a fox.'

Lilith gripped her rifle tighter as she tried her best to follow the shadows in the smoke, but it was far too thick to get a good bead on any of them.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" The girl muttered to herself as she narrowed her eyes.

"Geez, when is this stuff going to clear away?" Maria remarked. She found out all too quickly that shooing the smoke away wouldn't work and half-expected to be grabbed from behind by some sneaky soldier. Maybe that just a bit of paranoia.

Elizabeth had spent an entire magazine with nothing to show for it.

Damned smoke!

As she crouched down to reload she noticed the gate was nearly open, "Lilith, look!"

Mila put a finger to her earpiece as an order came in. Asad could hear it too. Reinforcements were on the way. Looking to Asad she furrowed her brow, "How do you want to play this? Wait for backup or move in now?"

If they waited for backup, they could easily surround the Maidens and that would be that, all they had to do was delay them long enough so they wouldn't escape.

"We move in, keep 'em talking, maybe we can buy enough time for that backup to get into position."

As the pair reached the final safe building for cover, he looked to the woman, smirking slightly. "So, do we ask them about the weather, or...?"

Mila cocked an eyebrow, "You think they'll talk to us? You're kidding, right? The moment we stick our heads out their going to pop us both in the face."

Meanwhile, Sprout was still hard at work hijacking the crawler nearby. It was proving more difficult than he'd first thought.

They really make these fuckin' thin's thief-proof. Hold out Lily... jus' a lil' longer, now...

"Why not?" Asad let out a sigh as he leaned his head back, resting it on the brickwork.

"So!" He called out, a light tone to his voice. "Great weather we're having, huh?"

Lilith raised an eyebrow as the call echoed out across the street. "What."

"Don't listen to anything he says!" Elizabeth pointed her pistol in the direction of the voice.

"Really Liz? Really?! Because I didn't know that!" Lilith replied sarcastically.

Maria shrugged, "Well, at least they aren't shooting us. I guess."

"WE DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!" Elizabeth barked across the street. "JUST LET US GO!"

"Yeah! You tell 'em, Tigerman!" Maria said as she patted the noble on her back. This clearly was the most bizarre firefight Maria had ever been in.

"What the actual fuck is happening right now?" Lilith muttered, shaking her head in disbelief.

"See?" Asad chuckled, a smug look on his face. He turned his head back towards the street. "Sure! Just put down your weapons and we'll let you go!" He shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Mila. "What? It might work."

Mila scowled, "You're just going to piss them off."

Elizabeth looked to Lilith, "They're trying to buy time. They probably have friends on the way and they're just trying to stall."

"Astute observation, Tigerman." Lilith nodded her head sagely. Lilith had already figured that out, but why not let the girl have her moment?

"Nice try wankers!" Lilith called out as she tilted her head to look down the scope of her rifle.

"What now?" Mila questioned.

"Shit." Asad chuckled. "How much time did that buy us? Thirty seconds?

Lilith narrowed her eyes. "Nobody has to die today!" She called out, pausing for a moment as she glanced towards the guard post. "The guards are just sleeping!"

"Why are they humoring us?" Mila cocked an eyebrow. "What are they waiting for?"

"That's a good question." Asad furrowed his brow. Holding a hand to his radio, he spoke into his ear piece. "O'Lafferty, do you read me?"

Nothing


Lilith glanced over to the garage. "Come on kid, I know you can do it."

"Bryan, Jun, both of you, respond." Asad furrowed his brow as nothing but silence followed. "Shit." He looked at Mila, a concerned look in his eyes.

"Do you think..." Mila cursed under her breath. "They have backup. Fuck. We need leverage, now!"

Nodding in agreement, Asad scratched under his chin. "Okay, here's the situation, Maidens!" He called out, his tone deepening.

"We have back up coming, it'll be here in five minutes." He thought for a second. "We have orders to take you all in, alive." He clenched his jaw for a second. "But we're a special squad, orders from the man himself. The backup? They're just regular guards, like the ones you just killed." He glanced up at Mila before returning his attention to the street. "How do you reckon they're gonna respond to that mess over there?"

Spoiler: Awww sheeeet

Elizabeth gritted her teeth, "Y-you should tell them to 'go to hell'." She whispered.

Lilith furrowed her brow as she locked eyes with the girl.

She thought it was all her fault, it was obvious to everyone. Smiling slightly, her eyes softened.

"Why don't you tell them?" She nodded her head towards the soldiers. "Better coming from you than me, right? Use that noble authority."

Elizabeth swallowed nervously and nodded, "Y-you're right. I---"

They've been a friend to me. They've helped me all this time and... I've been nothing but a burden on them. So many have died already to ensure I make it out of this city. No more. I can't let anyone else die because of me.

Without warning, Elizabeth vaulted over the barricade, pulled the hammer back on her pistol and pointed it squarely at her temple, "LISTEN TO ME, DOGS OF BASILIO! I AM ELIZABETH VERONICA MARIBEL, THIRD IN THE LINE OF THE BOOMHOWER NOBLE FAMILY! BETROTHED TO YOUR LORD! IF YOU DO NOT LAY DOWN YOUR ARMS I AM PREPARED TO TAKE MY OWN LIFE! NOW, COME OUT WHERE WE CAN SEE YOU!"

After that little show, Maria couldn't help but silently smile.

"The fuck's goin' on out there!?!" Sprout muttered to himself as he continued to work.

I didn't mean like that!" Lilith hissed as she beckoned the girl to come back over the barrier. "Get your fucking arse back here!"

Asad's eyes widened as the Maribel girl made her demands. Looking back to Mila, he shook his head. "I would!" He called out to the girl. "But I reckon Ms. Valentine will put a bullet in me as soon as step from behind this wall!"

Elizabeth was trembling, but she stood firm. In fact, she had even allowed a self satisfied smirk to creep onto her face as a clever thought occurred to her, "THE IRON MAIDENS ARE UNDER MY AUTHORITY! MS. VALENTINE WILL NOT FIRE UNLESS I GIVE THE ORDER! AS A NOBLE OF THE GREAT ALLIANCE, I AM BOUND TO MY WORD. AND SO, I SAY THIS: LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND COME OUT WHERE WE CAN SEE YOU AND I PROMISE YOU WILL BE UNHARMED!"

"Elizabeth! Get the fuck back here you stupid girl!" Panic began to rise in the girl's throat. She locked eyes with Maria. "What the hell is she doing?!"

"Trying to be assertive?" Maria replied, "I dunno, some parts just come across as cheesy to me."

She sighed, "This is taking longer than I'd hoped..."

Mila took a flashbang off of her vest, "She won't do it."

Asad grabbed Mila's wrist, a stern look in his eyes as he shook his head slowly. "We need time? I'll give you time." Propping his rifle against the wall, he met eyes with the woman once more. "Don't do anything stupid, that's an order."

Raising his hands above his head, Asad took a breath as he stepped from behind the building and onto the street. Taking a few steps forward, he tried to keep his expression relaxed.

As his eyes fell on the girl, her own weapon to her head, he furrowed his brow slightly.

"My lady." He bowed his head slowly.

Forgive me.

"Lilith," Elizabeth said, softly. "I'm sorry." In a flash she'd leveled her weapon and fired at the soldier.

"STUPID SON OF A *****!" Mila shouted as she dashed out of the cover, shoulder checking Asad in the process. The noble would have found her mark for sure. As Asad rolled across the ground, Mila scurried to cover, anticipating Lilith to jump in at an moment. "GOD DAMMIT! LYING ****!" She barked as she lobbed a flashbang overhead over the stoop she hid herself behind. The canister landed at Elizabeth's feet as she emptied her clip on Asad's position. Moments later she was on her knees, blinded and deafened.

Lilith barely had time to react to the shot as she aimed down her scope, something catching her eye just before she began aiming. A grenade, landing by the girl's feet.

"Oh god no." Lilith muttered as her eyes widened. "ELIZABETH MOVE!" She just managed to shield her own eyes before the flashbang exploded, deafening her.

After a few disorientating moments, Lilith moved her arm, her vision slightly blurred as her eyes locked on the hunched form of Elizabeth. Leaping over the barrier, Lilith pulled out her revolver as she quickly covered the ground between Elizabeth and the barricade.

"GET UP NOW!" Lilith shouted at the girl, grabbing her arm, but she was almost like a dead weight, almost completely incapacitated. "SHIT!"

Stepping over the girl, Lilith placed herself between Elizabeth and the soldiers as she tried to get the girl to her feet.

"I am going to fucking kick your arse when we get out of here, you stupid girl." She muttered.


Asad acted quickly as he fell to the ground, hitting the concrete he quickly scurried to his feet, swearing as he took cover next to Mila. "Thanks!" He chuckled breathlessly. "Didn't think she'd do that!"

Maria swiftly followed Lilith, "We gotta get her behind the barrier!"

"You can buy me a beer," She quipped, readying her conventional rifle. She could hear them struggling to get the noble on her feet. Now was her chance. Jumping out of cover, Mila aimed her weapon at Lilith as she held Elizabeth in her arms. "DON'T MOVE A GODDAMN MUSCLE OR I WILL SHOOT!"

Lilith's right shoulder was completely exposed as she was dragging Elizabeth to her feet. At that range, Mila had a decent enough shot of taking her out without killing her.

Lilith had managed to get the girl to her feet, with Maria opposite her, if they hurried, both of them could get the girl to the barrier.

As the female soldier's voice echoed behind them, Lilith froze in place, her eyes meeting Maria's. Pausing for a moment, she let go of Elizabeth's arm as she raised her hands above her head. "Take her and go." Lilith's expression hardened. "They won't risk hitting the girl, keep her between you and them and you'll be fine."


"Goddamnit, Lilith." Maria cursed. It was shitty, but there was hardly any time to argue, or room for that matter. The doctor picked up one of the knocked out noble's arms and slung it over her shoulder. As fast as she was able, Maria advanced towards the barrier, clambered over the it and then more or less dropped over the other side. Afterwards, she left go of the noble and caught her breath. Maria never expected that she would ever needed to use an unconscious Elizabeth as a human shield.

"Getting KOed is not a good way to end a dramatic speech, Tigerman." She muttered to the noble.

"Asad!" Mila barked. "Keep your weapon on them." As she said this she slowly approached Lilith, ready to fire at a moment's notice. "Easy does it, Ms. Valentine."

"Gotcha" Asad grunted as he grabbed his rifle, quickly bringing it to aim. "Be careful."

Lilith smiled, nodding at Maria as she backed away with the girl. As the female soldier approached from behind, Lilith slowly turned around, her eyes meeting the woman's.

Lilith's eyes hardened as they met the woman's, a small smirk curling the corner of her mouth. "Dumb girl, huh?"

"And brave." She replied without a hint of emotion. "Keep your hands on your head and approach me."

Lilith paused for a moment, the smile fading as her expression grew sombre.

"No." She replied simply.

Mila?s eyes darted around the street, "Where's the boy?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Lilith replied simply.

Mila took a few more steps forward and grit her teeth, "One more time: approach me, slowly or I will shoot you."

Lilith tilted her head slightly, narrowing her eyes. "She doesn't want to go with you, why are you doing this?"

"Orders. Now move!" Mila was losing patience.

"I SAID NO!" Lilith snapped, her eyes widening as she glared at the woman. The woman didn't know what had come over her, but she was pissed off, angry, furious that these people didn't realise what they were doing. Or worse, that they did.


"Tell me." She spoke loudly, her words echoing across the empty street. "Do you two remember what happened to the last Maribel that bastard got his hands on?" Lilith clenched her jaw, "BECAUSE I DO! And if you think, for one second, that I'm going to let that monster be responsible for another drop of Maribel blood, then you brainless morons better shoot me now."

Lilith's eyes didn't waver in the slightest as they bored into the soldier's. The image of Pixie's dead eye flashing in her mind. "Because I will kill you all, a thousand times over, before I let him touch anyone else I care for."

Whatever Elizabeth had caught was infectious, it seemed. Maria could only watch with gritted teeth as the Maiden made her stand.

'You're going to get shot, saying things like that.'

Maria looked down and lightly slapped Elizabeth?s cheek, "Any chance of you waking up, huh?"

Elizabeth groaned, "My head... ow." Slowly, she opened her eyes. She was dazed, but conscious.

Mila was taken aback. Just what in the hell was this girl on about?

Fuck this!

Just as Mila was getting ready to smack Lilith across the face with the stock of her rifle she heard the sound of a plasma weapon warming up some distance behind her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Cranston warned, holding two plasma pistols in his hands. He was in rough shape. "Drop it."

The sound of a crawler's engine roared to life in the distance. Mila turned her head to face the old man and furrowed her brow, "I like hell, I will. Asad, I---" Mila's words died in her throat when she heard the rumbling of an engine coming for her. Her gaze darted to the left.

It was the kid.

"ASAD!" She shouted as the two of them jumped out of the way.

"Sorry I'm late!" Sprout jeered as he shifted into the passenger seat and started firing his weapon at the two soldiers. "GET IN!"

Maria grabbed Elizabeth's hand and began to drag the dazed noble to the crawler, "Time to go, c'mon!"

The doctor just bolted, not caring about the soldiers' presence - or poor Elizabeth for that matter.

Asad grabbed Mila, pulling her into cover. "No, leave them!" Asad gritted his teeth, as he shook his head. "We don't have enough men to deal with the Cook." His face dropped as the realisation washed over him.

"Oh no..." His gaze wavered. "I think I know what happened to Bryan and Jun."

Lilith hopped into the driver's seat as everyone else got in the back. "Everyone ready?! Let's get the fuck out of this dump!" Pounding her foot on the gas, the crawler took off, Sprout still firing his pistol at the hidden soldiers.

Running and getting herself and the noble into the crawler felt better than a thousand home runs. Especially as the fielders didn't seem to put up any opposition once the star player made his entrance.

"Yeah." Maria sighed, "I don't think I wanna come back here for a while."

 

[ProtoChimp]

Austin ran full pelt to the bow of the ship as his children were scrambling around him. They were under attack. He had left his wife in the room by herself while he attended to business. The children held hostage were shaking in their boots as the ship was rocked, while Alex and Isabel knew this was their moment to escape, if they weren't locked up so god damn tight.

Austin reached the girl who had been piloting the Maiden. "Fire on all approaching targets! We just took my home back I am not! WE ARE NOT! LOSING OUR HOMESTEAD AGAIN!"

"Father, we're spent on high calibre ammunition-"

"Then use whatever we have!" He roared. "I'm counting on you!"

"Yes father." She replied as she fired everything she had at the incoming crawlers down below. Austin sped back to the captain's cabin where Oliver had been sitting with Troy.

"Father what do we-"

"You. Quiet." Austin ordered as he grabbed for the intercom. "CHILDREN! OUR HOUR OF FIRE IS UPON US! We've held our home for a mere FIVE DAYS AND ALREADY THE PRETENDERS COME FOR US! This is not our first trial but it will NOT BE OUR LAST! WE WILL HOLD THIS CITY, AND THIS SHIP EVEN AFTER TIME HAS TIRED OF OUR BODIES! AND OUR SPIRITS SHALL LIVE AS ONE AND REIGN ALLMIGHTY FIRE DOWN UPON THOSE PATHETIC LIARS DOWN THERE! THOSE WHO DO NOT LIVE! WHO FAKE LIFE AND PRETEND TO LIVE!

We won't lose our home to them BECAUSE IT IS LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE! WE CANNOT LOSE TO THOSE WHO DO NOT EXIST! WE CANNOT BE KILLED BY THOSE WHO DO NOT LIVE! WE CANNOT FALL AFTER HAVING RISEN SO HIGH! SO BEAR ARMS! FIGHT WITH YOUR VERY SOUL AND KNOW THAT AS YOU PROTECT EACH OTHER-I SHALL PROTECT YOU TOO! I FIGHT WITH YOU! FATHER WILL NOT ABANDON YOU! OUR FAMILY RISES EVEN HIGHER AFTER THE DAWN OF A NEW WAR!"

Austin smashed the microphone down onto the table before charging out of the cabin, revolver in hand. "Stay here Oliver! Troy is your charge!"

"Y-yyes father." Oliver replied, snivelling.
==================================================
Aesop couldn't hear a word Brock said as shame washed over him, filling him up and devouring him. So many kids who hadn't even hit puberty yet, still waiting for their balls to drop, and he'd made their last few seconds in this life terrifying. He was shaking, boiling hot as Brock screamed at him to get up, to just get up and help him fight as another group fell into the hanger after Pixie and the others had left.

Aesop sat there, feeling like the worst human being to have ever existed and clutched his beard, tears pouring down his cheeks while Brock worked to protect them both.

"You gonna just let him do all the work?"

Spoiler: Creepy music a go go

Aesop looked up, colour fading from the room, near gunshots sounding thousands of miles away as he stared up at the figure in front of him.

"He's probably gonna die if you don't get off your ass."

Aesop gulped as he looked upon his face. Cheeks smeared with blood, beard hanging with bits of gore, a chipper smile on his face and speaking like a schoolboy. "And if you don't fight now, you'll never get to Peter." The shaking was getting worse as he saw the deranged face. "C'mon you weren't this much of a pussy back at Boomhower. Well, you were but at least Rodrigo got fucking got."

'Yeah... but that was you, not me.' He finally answered the phantom before him.

"HA! Yeah it was wasn't it," it laughed, "I forget sometimes I'm the useful one."

'How could you?' Aesop asked so weakly. 'Its so obvious'

"I know. And you can't do shit, you can't even fucking help Brock! That's fucking shameful!" It was getting aggressive now, the blood falling down its face and slipping onto Aesop's hands.

'Just like Silo.' Aesop sniffed pathetically.

"Just like Silo." It snarled at him. "But this time can be different. I'm here now Aesop. I'm here for you." Aesop felt soft, warm hands on his. "I'll take care of you."

His jaw chattering, Aesop answered, 'Will you? Will you please?'

"Of course I will. I always will." It embraced him. Aesop hugged it tightly, holding on for dear life. It was going to protect him. It was going to save him. It was going to become him. Aesop would finally rest and let the beast take hold once again, feeling all his anxiety, fear and most of all shame slip away. Being replaced by hunger, the hunger that had charged him when he murdered Rodrigo, carved out his chest cavity and spat on his worthless black heart, as he laughed at his horrific pained screams and taunted him as he died, and just like that, he was hungry once more.

Brock had been holding fine cover from the influx of teenagers who had swarmed in. He ducked down into cover to reload, yet by the time he was back up to fire upon his enemy two had already gone down while the third had a knife buried in her throat. Aesop kicked the girl at her comrades before unloading two more pistols into the group. Brock swiftly eliminated the rest of the group, now flanked by Aesop.

Not taking a second to think, Aesop pulled his knife out of the throat of the girl before nodding to Brock. "He'll be in the bow."

Brock was dumbfounded. Aesop had gone from a screaming messy killer, to a distant child, to a silent psycho in the space of about ten minutes. "Uhm, you mean Austin?"

"Yep." Aesop answered quickly before picking up a strapped AK one of the children had dropped, resting the strap over his shoulders.

"Man shouldn't we catch up to the rest of 'em-"

"Austin's mine, and you can join if you want." Aesop strode on ahead while Brock gripped his gun tight in frustration.

"God dammit Aesop, God fucking dammit Aesop." He muttered under his breath as he caught up to the disturbed man.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"If you were a local caught in this freaky invasion, where would you hide?"

"I might know a few places." Amy said "Oh, and let's start by differentiating between people who are shooting at us, and people who aren't, and then work from there."

They had only been walking a few minutes before they first encountered the enemy. Coming out the end of a street into a now wrecked market square, the groups was forced to dive into cover behind a concrete fountain, as two Crawlers came screaming down the street to the North, skidding to a halt as they burst out into the square, the young men inside disembarking and fanning out, rifles scanning the landscape. Luckily, they hand't been spotted yet.

"There's five of them." Amy whispered, after peeking over the top of there cover. "Should we engage, or sneak past them?"

 

[The Funslinger]

Spoiler: Music

"I heard one of you was a close combat specialist. I take it he wasn't it."

Bryan shrugged. "I always told him he's only effective half a mile away from his target."

"Your move."

"Alright," he said, lowering his stance, swaying on the balls of his feet. "Step away from the autistic sniper."

Cranston allowed himself a tiny smirk before he suddenly closed the gap between them. Sliding his leg between Bryan's, he delivered an open palm blow to his abdomen.

He didn't have time to trade one-liners.

Bryan skipped back to avoid the old man's attempt at a trip. Then he brought his foot down on Cranston's, hard, following up with a body blow.

The old man grit his teeth as Bryan's heel dug into his foot and rolled with the follow up blow. Swaying to the side, Cranston trapped Bryan's wrist under his armpit and grabbed the opposite shoulder with his freehand before delivering a savage headbutt to Bryan's nose. He could feel the cartilage in the Irishman's nose splinter before he withdrew his head.

Bryan reeled at the blow, before slugging Cranston hard in his exposed armpit.

He needed to do the last thing he would expect...

He grabbed the back of the old man's head and responded in kind. There was another crunch. His trapped wrist slipped free.

The two men staggered away from one another, Cranston still on the side where the weapons lay. His face hurt like hell, but he'd shake it off. It was not as if he hadn't had it broken a half-dozen times already, anyway.

Bracing himself against the brick wall, he wiped the blood from his nose and chuckled, "Now I am beginning to hope you are the expert. I don't imagine many of Dio's soldiers can keep up with me like this."

"Technically I am," Bryan said, grinning through the blood. "And I'm even better when I have my fucking swords. But I still tell anyone who asks I'm deadly afraid o' Tsubaki." His smile dropped. "Speaking o' which: you'd be the fucken **** money that shot her, wouldn't ya?"

He nodded, "The Yakuza's girl? Yeah, I shot her. Did she live?"

"Oh aye," said Bryan. No more talk.

Sprinting at Cranston, Bryan ducked under his arm at the last second, passing by him and and whirling round in a savage round house kick.

Cranston spun around just in time to catch Bryan's leg mid-kick. Using his own momentum against him, the old assassin swung his body around, slamming Bryan's chest against the brick wall of the alley.

Bryan staggered back, winded. He saw his swords out of the corner of his eye. They were close. He considered going for them.

The look in his opponent's eye told him Cranston wouldn't exactly allow that.

When Cranston came at him again, Bryan backpedaled, swatting the blows aside. When he had the room, he pumped his arms down like bellows and brought his leg up in a savage kick, catching the bandit hard in the gut.

Good hit, but his swords were once again far away...

"I don't smoke. Karmically speaking, my chest don't deserve this abuse," Bryan muttered.

Cranston stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over the unconscious sniper before catching himself on the wall. Looking down at the sword and pistol on the ground, he clenched his jaw. No doubt his opponent still had his own sidearm available and the space between them was far enough that he may have the time to draw on him.

He stared into the soldier's eyes. Despite his CO's survival, he was pissed. He wanted the old man to suffer. Though it would have been nice, both of them knew this couldn't be a fair fight. If there was a clear chance of victory, they'd both take it, "How fast is your draw, son?"

"I'm CQC," Bryan spat. "But on this distance? Reasonable." His hand crept towards the gun. "Shame, though. I kinda wanted to see if I could take The Cook in a fist fight."

The chit chat may have made him seem distracted, but Bryan was focused like a laser, waiting for Cranston's move.

He was going to do it. Cranston had two choices: dive for his own weapon or charge him. Both came with their own risks. Considering Bryan's hand-to-hand expertise, chraging him likely wasn't the way to go, "It was a good fight, for whatever it's worth."

Diving forward, Cranston scooped up his pistol, rolled and fired.

Bryan hadn't been lying. He was quick on the draw. But the old man was just fucking quick in general.

His first shot hit air as Cranston moved. Then the bandit had his gun and their shots rang in unison. Bryan felt an explosion of pain that he was acutely aware was just above the top of his Kevlar vest. He was sailing backwards now, the ground rising up to meet him. As his back met concrete and the wind flew out of him for the fourth or fifth time that day, he was at least glad to note a blossom of red on Cranston's leg.

He grinned and raised the gun again. But the movement caused him to light up with agony. A groan emerged from his lips and the gun spilled out of his hand.

The pain was incredible. So immense, his vision was blurring. He slumped back.

"Story to tell m'grand kids," he muttered. Bryan noted vaguely through the pain that warm wetness was seeping down his chest and pooling around his back.

Cranston clutched his thigh and grit his teeth. Despite the pain, he kept his weapon trained on his enemy until he was certain he'd stay down. Drawing his knife, he cut a large piece of fabric out of his pants leg and wrapped it around the other to stop the bleeding as best he could.

It would have to do for now.

After looting the sniper's plasma pistol, he got to his feet slowly. Wincing through the pain, he caught Bryan's eyes a mere moment before the irishman had lost consciousness. He motioned towards Bryan's crippled form, "Tell the Yakuza girl, 'This is my apology.'"

Getting too fucking soft, old man.

With that, he turned and headed back down alley. He could hear Lilith shouting in the distance. As he turned out onto the street he ran into a small group of guards rushing towards the South gate. Before they even knew he was there, the crippled senior blew the three of them away with Jun's plasma pistol.

After taking a second weapon in his hand, he started for the gate.

 

[Fappy]

Spoiler: I kill Ashley everytime

Bennie couldn't help but wince when he took in Pixie's demeanor. Never before had he been shaken by her behavior in combat, no matter how seemingly unhinged she'd appeared. No, she was acting anything but "unhinged", and that' what had him concerned. Just what was going on in her head right now?

Fuck, Bennie, you know you don't want to go there. Just focus on keeping her alive.

Well, whatever was going through her head, it was effective. The suppressing fire keeping Bennie and Warren hunkered down had letup in the wake of Pixie's onslaught, allowing them to move deeper into the mess hall and find better cover. So many cultists had already been cut down and for every one they killed two more took their place. Where were they all coming from? After a few minutes of consistent fire, they were beginning to lose ground. That was of course, until backup arrived.

Aesop and Brock had finally decided to join the party and brought with them a grand entrance. As Aesop flew into the room, guns-blazing, Brock knelt down in the doorway and fired his last RPG across the room, taking out a small group of cultists and scattering many others nearby, "FUCK YEAH!" Pixie jeered. "WELCOME BACK, KIDS! WE SAVED Y'ALL A SEAT!" She shouted over the gunfire as she waved them over.

Seconds later, Bradly's voice came up over the radio, "--zzzzttt----P-Pixie, this is Bradly! Do you copy!?----zzzztttt-----"

"LIL' BUSY RIGHT NOW!" She barked back before leaning out of cover and lighting up a fifteen-year old across the room.

"---zzzzttttt-----We got pushed down below deck! We're pinned!----zzzttt----

Fuckin' useless piece of shit...

"I'M SENDIN' SOMEONE DOWN! OVER!" Ducking low in her cover as bullets continued to whiz by, she looked over at Bennie. "THAT MAFIA FUCK OPENED UP AR' FLANK! YOU IN' BROCK HEAD DOWN THERE AN' GIVE 'EM A HAND!"

Bennie furrowed his brow, "BUT---"

"DO IT, CARMINE!" She shot back before grabbing the key-chain off of her belt and tossing it over to him. "MASTER KEY'S ON THERE! LET'S HOPE THEY DIDN' CHANGE NONE'A THE LOCKS! NOW GO!"

"ROGER!" Bennie replied before signaling for the Brock to follow.

Stay safe, Pixie.

The remaining three Maidens laid down coverfire for Bennie and Brock as they slipped out of the cafeteria and into the hallway Bradly's men had been fighting their way through. As Pixie had predicted, there were more of Austin's followers headed their way. Not expecting enemies to be coming for them, Bennie and Brock made quick work of the small group before making their way down the stairs bellow deck.

And there they were, six cultists gathered around a door at the end of the hall, likely the ones keeping Bradly and his men pinned down in the conjoining hall. Brock pulled a flashbang from his vest and hurled it down the hall. Before the cultists could react, the canister burst, incapacitating them just long enough for Bennie and Brock to shred them to pieces. The two Maidens ran down the hall and stood over the corpses of Austin's "children" as they took up positions by the door, "Bradly, is that you!?" Bennie shouted.

"No, we got split up!"

It was a gruff, older voice, but he had to be sure, "'Austin likes it...'"

"In the ass!" The voice replied.

They were Wilkes-Vines, alright. Bennie nodded to Brock before the two of them filed into the conjoining hall. There was two of them, "What's your status?"

A man in his 40's began reloading his rifle as he looked to Bennie, "We got pushed down here. Austin's got a lot of soldiers on this ship, but I reckon we've cut through the bulk of them at this rate. Bradly made it back up on to the main deck and should be securing the port-side. We've been ordered to clear out any stragglers down here so they can't sneak up on us later. It's a big ship."

"Yeah," Bennie muttered. "Tell me about it."

"Check this out," The other man waved him and Brock over, "A bunch of 'em are hiding out in holding cells down here. You have a way to get in?" Bennie handed the man Pixie's keychain. "Thanks. Get ready."

As he began working the lock, Bennie peeked through the slit of the door. It was hard to make out, but it looked like a bunch of younger children were huddled up together in the back of the small room. Were these actually combatants? "Wait!" Bennie shouted. Unfortunately, the man had already gotten the door opened and had leveled his rifle. "SHIT!" Bennie barked as shoved the man aside and slammed the door shut before he could fire. He didn't get a very good look in that brief instant, but the children inside certainly didn't look threatening.

Or armed.

"What the fuck are you doing!?" The man shouted as he shoved Bennie. "We have our orders! They feign innocence so that they can get the jump on their victims! You know that! Now step the fuck off and let me do my job!"

Bennie planted his hand against the door, "Absolutely not. Stand down before I put you down!" Brock kept his rifle ready, just in case shit went down. Bennie was pissed. "Those kids could be from Yuteni! They could be prisoners!"

The Wilkes-Vines soldier wasn't having it, "Listen, I know it's fucked up, but we have our orders! Okay!? I don't like it either, but we have to neutralize all potential threats before we can safely secure the ship! Now step back!"

Bennie was fuming. After staring down the man for a good long while, he released the door and stepped back, "Good boy." The older man said as he got ready to shoot as soon as his partner opened the door. Brock shot a look at Bennie. What was he going to do? Surely he wouldn't---

Two gunshots later and Bennie was standing over the fresh corpses of the mercenaries, the barrel of his revolver still smoking, "Wilkes Vines," He spat on the younger man's body. "Fucking animals."

"B-Bennie..." Brock was stunned.

"Tell these kids to stay hidden and stay quite until the shooting stops," He sighed, sharply. "I am going to release more prisoners."

********************************************************************************************************************************************************

The briefing room was empty by the time Tsubaki had made it back from Dio's penthouse. Either she had taken longer than she thought or something was going down. Right now.

Dashing down the hall, she found her way to Mission Control. One of the officers recognized her instantly and waved her over, "What's going on?" Tsubaki questioned as she was brought over to the officer's station.

"Chimera squad intercepted Sandringham's crew and neutralized them. But..." He trailed off a moment and broke eye contact momentarily. "'The Cook' is MIA and Samsara is not responding."

Oh, God...

 

[The Funslinger]

"Should we engage, or sneak past them?"

Ruffles peered over at the people in question. None of them were actual children. He was glad of that much. "I don't see refugees riding around in Crawlers. And one of 'em looks like it's off the Maiden. Guess they're hostiles."

He turned to Whiskey. "You're the best fighter, I guess. We can take 'em, right?"

Whiskey shrugged. "I reckon so. I hear you been with Pixie awhile, so you can't be useless. And I've seen what this one does first hand." She jerked a thumb at Amy. "Reckon we might wanna even the odds and get the jump on 'em first."

"Oh, I've got that covered," said Ruffles, opening his bag and producing a flash-bang grenade.

"Sweet. Chuck that sucker and let's mow some bitches down." Whiskey slung The Persuader around into her grip as she spoke.

Ruffles pulled the tab, stepped out and threw the grenade. Fingers in ears, eyes closed. Bang. They stepped out, firing.

Whiskey fired. Pumped and fired again. Two went down. The first was practically decapitated by the cloud of buckshot that caught him in the throat. The second man's chest was minced by the blast. Ruffles had drawn his glock and started firing. The first shot went wide, but four more found their way to one of the 'children,' riddling him up the side.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

When the flash-bang detonated, Amy wasted no time. She broke cover, took aim at one of the men staggering about in the open, paused one breath, and then calmly squeezed the trigger. Her short burst painted a tight group of bullet holes on his back, tearing through his rib cage and sending him down sprawling. She was about to repeat the process for the last man standing, only that one had the quick thinking (or the luck) to turn and spray fire from his AK-47 down range as he scrambled for cover behind one of the crawlers, forcing Amy to duck backing into cover as chunks of concrete exploded into dust around her. The man's barrage stopped, and Amy was on the move. Vaulting over the rim of the fountain, Amy advanced on the crawler the ma had hidden behind for cover, suppressing him with bursts from her machine gun all the way. A tyre burst, ad by the time she reached it, one corner of the crawler was severely scarred and pock-marked with bullet holes.

With his awareness slowly returning to him, Austin's soldier fumbled a fresh magazine into his assault rifle, and hurriedly fed a fresh round into the chamber. He was still a dazed, but when he heard the tell-tale clack of the Pretender's gun running empty, he knew he had a window of opportunity. He stepped out, ready to pour lead into the girl from point blank range. However, as he brought his rifle up, she was already on him, and the cold metal of the silencer on her side-arm, pressing right under his chin, was the last thing he ever felt. The bullet exited the top of his skull in a puff of red mist, and his body dropped like a sack of flour.

Their small skirmish over, Amy took a second to study the corpse she'd just made, as she holstered her pistol again, and reloaded the MP5. Judging by the peach fuzz on his cheeks, he could have been around her age, maybe even slightly younger.

It felt... anti-climactic.

"Help me shift this." she said to the others as she moved over to a man-hole cover, and began lifting it off. "If anyone friendly has managed to last this long without being killed or captured, chances are they're down here. The cops in Yuteni could never keep track of all the movement down in the sewers, after a few days I doubt Austin's troops have fared much better."

Amy paused, staring down the gaping hole, her face hard to read.

"I did a lot of my first business down there, away from prying eyes. It's been a few years, but I reckon I still know my way around."

 

[Fappy]

Spoiler: Severa Has Snapped!

"RUN FATHER, FOR TODAY WE DANCE THE SONG OF DEATH! I WANT TO SEE HOW FAR YOU CAN CRAWL BEFORE YOU'RE FINISHED!"

'Fuck, shit, shit, fuck!'

Think escape, serpentine it, dodge and weave. They were upstairs, that was clear now. The adrenaline was kicking in and his poor excuse for vision at the moment was clearing up and the neglected hotel halls came into focus.

'Stairs!' He found stairs! No idea where they lead but anywhere was better than a bottleneck. Florian practically threw himself down them as he went down two or three steps at a time, keeping a frantic eye out for Severa's shadow across the cracked walls.

The Gentleman was making his way brusquely through the hallways, following the sound of Severa's demented cackling, when Florian's emaciated, semi-clothed form almost bowled him over, coming down the stairs. Shifting his weight, The Gentleman swung Florian against the wall behind him, keeping a firm grip on the priest's shoulders, before giving him the once over.

"Good, you can still walk." he said, by way of greeting, before pointing further down the hall. "The exit's that way. If you can manage on your own for a few minutes, I'll deal with Severa."

Severa continued after Florian, quickening her pace as he turned the corner at the end of the hall. She fired a burst of high-velocity, armor piercing rounds at the floor and wall near where he had just been, "FORGIVE ME FATHER, FOR I HAVE SINNED! IN MY HUBRIS I HAVE ALLOWED YOU TO SLIP AWAY! I MUST BE PUNISHED FOR MY SINS! PUNISH ME, FATHER! PUNISH ME!" She could hear voices echoing from the stairwell nearby.

Florian hugged the wall even tighter as the unmistakable sound of high caliber bullets ravaging the world around them split his ears. At least for now he'd gotten lucky, falling into the arms of the lesser of two evils. He just had to make it to solid cover once there was an opening.

There was nothing for it, The Gentleman just had to roll his eyes.

"You know," he called out, stepping out from the stairwell and around the corner, his gun trained squarely at Severa. "It's hard to see where the machine gun exactly fits into the submissive element. I'd rather resolve this without any... punishment, as you put it. However, put Miranda away, and I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement."

Severa's manic expression wavered as a derranged scowl set in, "YOU! WHERE'S OWAIN!? WHERE'S MY BROTHER!" Despite her questioning, Severa squeezed the trigger, filling the space the Gentleman had just occupied with a hail of lead. As the illustrious spy scrambled across the hallway, Severa kept a steady stream of bullets hot on his heels. "RUN, LITTLE MAN! RUN! ONLY THE FATHER CAN PUNISH ME!"

"Is that right?" The Gentleman shot back, as clouds of dust and debris were kicked up down the hall. "And does the Father have a choice in this matter?"

Choosing his moment with care, The Gentleman broke from cover and fired two shots at the fire-extinguisher, still bolted to the wall just to Severa's right. In an instant, the space between them was filled with a thick, white cloud.

"I have your brother downstairs." The Gentleman called out through the smoke. "He may not be feeling his best, but, considering what he would have done to me had the tables been turned, I'd say he's still in remarkably good health. Your brother is mine, and Florian's gone. It's over Severa. Now, do you really want to do this the hard way, like your brother, or would you rather be returned to your aunt safe and well?"

"BROTHER IS MINE! GIVE HIM BACK!" She screeched as she staggered away from the fire extinguisher. Following the Gentleman's voice, Severa peppered the area with gunfire as she took position behind another nearby column. "HOW DARE YOU TOUCH HIM!" Wood and plaster rained down all around them as she continued to fill the room with lead.

"Oh, you'll be reunited soon enough," The Gentleman reassured her, evading Severa's wild bursts of fire easily thought the smoke. "and I don't intend on keeping either of you for any longer than I have to. If you could simply calm down, then this process would go a lot easier for both you and Owain."

Taking cover behind another pillar, The Gentleman affixed his monocle, and twisted the rim in two distinct movements. In an instant, half of his vision became monochrome, the texture of the smoke that fogged the hallway disappearing. Right at the centre of the cloud, Severa's silhouette burned a sharp white, surrounded by a haze of heat as she continued to waste more and more of Miranda's ammunition in just about every direction.

"While we're on the subject though," he continued, creeping delicately out of cover and through the smoke, "We haven't even scratched the surface of what I dare do yet." Anticipating, The Gentleman ducked and rolled as Severa let loose another barrage in a wide arc at the sound of his voice. "The pair of you, though you especially my dear, may be... extreme cases, I'm sorry to say that your story really isn't all that original or interesting. As some of my infrequent companions are fond of reminding me, I have, as you might say 'been around'. For your sake, Severa, I would implore that for once you do not let the trappings of sophistication fool you. I have been to places you will never know, experienced pains that even you would not enjoy. I have opened up the cavity of this world, pulled apart its ribs with bare, bloody hands, and seen its black heart stripped bare."

The tone of The Gentleman's voice had barely changed, and the manner of his description could have just simply been recanting his experiences of a relaxing weekend away, for all its airiness. However, there was some undercurrent, some menace that could not be fully pinned down, that creeped around its edges, giving even Severa pause for thought.

"You think you know a thing or two about revealing the true souls of men, of tapping into that nigh-infinite potential for darkness?"

He was so very close now. His breath could almost be felt brushing against Severa's neck, but no matter how much she twisted, this way and that, the barrel of Miranda would be met only with empty air. He was toying with her.

"My dear," his voice was tainted with something that might have been pity, "you have so very much to learn."

A shade appeared through the mist, and was inside Severa's reach before she could react. The Gentleman breezed past a final short burst from Miranda, locking her arm against him and delivering strikes to the pressure points in Severa's elbow joint and shoulder, following up with an open-handed strike to her abdomen, that propelled her back, slumped against the wall, as Miranda clattered to the ground at The Gentleman's feet. The smoke dissipating now, The Gentleman removed his monocle, and aimed his pistol just to the side of Severa's head, at the bare metal pipe she had fallen against.

"We're playing my game now Severa." he told her, coldly. "This is not Paradiso, and I am not inclined to indulge the Black Sheep of the Golden Family. Listen and understand; I make the rules, I hold the cards, and most importantly, I am the one who decides when the game ends. Now, stand down and come quietly, before I teach you a lesson that you will learn again and again, each time you look in a mirror."

Severa's wild eyes quivered as they bore into the Gentleman's. She had been disarmed and her foe had a weapon trained on her at close range. She had no hope of winning this fight and she knew it.

But she couldn't accept it.

"Don't you DARE talk down to me! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT! I'LL CUT YOUR EYES OUT OF YOUR SKULL, YOU MULING SWINE!" Wailing like a banshee, she sprung forward, drawing her hidden scalple from inside her garter before lashing out in a last ditch effort to take down her enemy.

'Stupid girl!

Wasting no time, The Gentleman took his shot, firing a rapid double-tap as Severa sprang to her feet. The first bullet hit just under the ball of her shoulder joint, passing though the soft tissue with ease at such close range, before going on to punch a hole though the pipe, which hissed angrily as gases from the boiler began to escape. Staggered by the first hit, but still moving forward, the second grazed under her armpit, before sparking off the metal of the pipe, turning the wavering gasses into a lance of flame in an instant.

Still, Severa lunched forward, and The Gentleman shifted out of the way just a fraction too late, her blade drawing a white-hot line across his cheek. Nothing too deep, but still a close call. Such trifles were beside the point, however, as The Gentleman, anticipating the much greater danger that was soon to follow, threw himself bodily to the side. Severa, on the other hand, either did not notice, or simply did not care, until the ignition of the pipe accelerated into an explosion, filling their portion of the hallway with flame. Were it not for her momentum, combined with the shockwave, propelling her body out from the blast, Severa could very well have been wreathed in fire in an instant. As it was, she fell unceremoniously, and face-down, the back of her clothes smouldering from where the fire had licked at them. Reacting immediately, The Gentleman got to his feet, and dragged her prone form clear of the spreading flames, before removing his jacket and using it to stifle where her clothing had ignited. Even in such extremes, he was not called The Gentleman for nothing.

She was still, as of this moment, conscious, but clearly incapacitated all the same, And so The Gentleman heaved her limp form onto his back, carrying her with haste back down the hallway to the stairwell. He'd pick up Owain too, on the way out, though he might need to enlist Florian to give him a hand. One way or another, it was time to leave.

Severa's desperate shrieks died down as she began to lose consciousness. Disoriented from the excruciating pain, she hadn't even registered she was being carried. The Gentleman ignored her unintelligable mumbling and was only able to understand her when she caught a glimpse of Florian. Though her pained expression implied otherwise, her trembling voice sounded almost... grateful, "F-f-father, I-I-I'm... I'm s-so proud of you. Y-y-ou're the only one wh-who has ever survived. I-I'm proud of y-you..."

As her mind faded into the realm of dreams, she wore a weak smile, "I-I-I love y-y-you, Florian..."

 

[The Funslinger]

"I did a lot of my first business down there, away from prying eyes. It's been a few years, but I reckon I still know my way around."

"Prostitution, sewers and morally grey espionage," said Ruffles, grinning. "There's a joke to be made outta those pieces somewhere." He glanced down the dark hole in the ground. "Ladies first."

"Oh please," said Whiskey with a snort, and began shoving Ruffles in the back. "Get your ass down there."

"Aw please don' hurt, me, massah!" replied Ruffles as he took hold of the first ladder rung. "Don' be whippin' ol' Jake. I goan do what'chu say now!"

 

[Terratina.]

With Lilith on the wheel and Sprout sitting shotgun, Cranston hopped into the back with Maria and Elizabeth. Standing up in his seat, Cranston kept the pressure on the two Basilio soldiers with his pistols and barked at Lilith, "LET'S MOVE!" Before Cranston's words had left his mouth, Lilith had already spun the wheel a propelled them in the direction of the exposed gate.

"OH SHIT! WE'VE GOT INCOMIN'!" Sprout replied as he pointed further up the street. Another crawler full of soldiers was barreling towards them.

"Keep your heads down ladies!" Lilith shouted as she took the crawler through the gate, "How are we gonna lose these guys?!" Lilith called out as they thundered past the crawler of soldiers.

Asad held himself against Mila as he pushed the both of them tighter against the wall covering them. Hot plasma seering past them.

"Cosy huh?" The man chuckled.

Mila ignored his poor attempt at humor and shouted at the crawler headed towards them, "ALIVE! TAKE THEM ALIVE!" As they sped on by Mila got up from behind the cover and started running towards the gate. "COME ON!" She shouted back at Asad.

Though they had a fair distance between them, Cranston and Sprout started firing down the tunnel towards their pursuers, "Shit." Cranston muttered. Even if they did manage to lose this crew they'd still have to contend with anyone else they sent after them. Out in the endless expanse of the ashlands, a Basilio ship could easily find them. In that case, they'd be sitting ducks.

Their chances of getting out of this were slim, at best.

Elizabeth clutched the door of the crawler as her awareness slowly returned to her, "Wh-what's going on...?"

Maria gritted her teeth, it wasn't over yet. The taste of freedom was intoxicating, however the ever lingering fear of the hunted tempted her. The doctor turned to Elizabeth, "We've picked up Baldy and have just gone through the gate. Basilio's men are still chasing us, though."

"Welcome back!" Lilith looked back at Elizabeth briefly before returning her eyes to the road. "Glad you could join us!" The woman smirked as she focused on keeping the crawler straight, her foot couldn't push the gas any harder. "Goddamn it Tigerman, you're a mad woman!"


Asad caught to Mila, jogging beside her. "We can't catch them on foot Mila!" Asad shook his head. "We need to go find O'Lafferty and Moon, they're still not answering their radios." He clenched his jaw. "We need to recover their bodies." The man muttered, his eyes softening slightly.

'Of course it happened under my command, that's just my luck.?

Mila did not slow her pace, "I AM NOT GIVING UP ON THIS OP!" She didn't so much as look back at her temporary CO.

You'll just get in the way at this point, anyway.

Cranston and Sprouts' shots kept the enemy crawler on its toes, but it didn't lose any ground. Then suddenly, the soldiers began to return fire, "STAY LOW!" Cranston ordered as he attempted to suppress them further.

We have Elizabeth with us, why are they---

It didn't take but a moment for Cranston to figure out what it was they were aiming for. Risky business, but they seemed desperate now, "Lilith! Watch out! They're shooting for the tires!"

"That's an order." Asad's expression hardened. "We're not going to catch them on foot, and I don't see any crawlers around here, do you?" He gestured to the empty road to prove his point.

"We're done here, Mila, I'm going to go get my men, and you're coming with me."

Lilith gritted her teeth as she began to swerve the crawler in an attempt to dodge the incoming barrage. "They do know Liz is on board right?!" The woman cried.

"Enough about that, how exactly do we lose these idiots?!" Maria said. Being shot at or not being shot at, the fact that they had soldiers on their trail was the primary concern. Schematics could wait for later.

"They're probably pissed off 'bout their dead friends!" Sprout replied as he continued laying down fire on the incoming crawler. His plasma pistol was about to run out of juice. "The only way I reckon we lose 'em is by taken 'em out!"

Cranston grit his teeth, "Keep her steady..."

"SCREW YOUR ORDERS! I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE THESE ROOKIES DON'T KILL OUR NOBLE!" Mila shouted as she disappeared into the tunnel.

Spoiler: DRAMAH INTENSIFIES

Elizabeth clutched the window frame and ducked her head low.

This is just like before. Oh God, it's just like before.

Looking to Maria, she furrowed her brow, "Maria, I---" Her plea was interrupted when one of the back tires of the crawler suddenly burst. Lilith fought to keep the vehicle under control, but the back end swerved to the right, slamming hard against the wall of the tunnel before correcting. The impact from the collision threw Elizabeth out of her seat and over the side of the crawler. She crashed hard on her shoulder and rolled a few times before coming to a stop.

"LIZ!" Sprout shouted as he fought not to fall out himself. "LILITH, STOP THE---"

"NO!" Cranston barked, "DON'T STOP!" The gunfire had let up and they had lost a significant amount of speed due to the collision. They weren't too far from Elizabeth yet. He could still...

I'm sorry, Meredith.

Cranston looked at Lilith and Sprout from over his shoulder. "DON"T STOP FOR ANY REASON!"

Sprout's eyes widened, "WAIT, DON'T---"

"KEEP EACH OTHER SAFE!" He stepped up onto the back of the crawler and added. "Good bye." Leaping off the back of the crawler, he dropped into a roll and started for Elizabeth's motionless form. As the enemy crawler closed in on them, Cranston lit it up with his plasma pistols. If he was lucky he could take them out and go into hiding with Elizabeth, assuming she was still alive. It was more likely, however, that he could at least hold them off long enough for the others to escape.

Sprout kicked the glove compartment in frustration, "GOD DAMMIT! FUCK!"

Asad stopped for a moment a moment, a defeated look on his face as his eyes followed the woman.

He was about to turn when Tsubaki's words echoed in his head.

Balling his hands into fists, he glanced behind him, clenching his jaw as he sprinted after the woman.

"We're stopping, Axel, get ready." Lilith panted as she began to slow the crawler.

Sprout almost didn't say anything. He wanted nothing more than to turn around and save his friends.

But he knew better.

"No," Sprout muttered, his voice weak. "You heard him, Lilith." He was staring down at his weapons. "If we go back now we won' be comin' back. We can'... fuck..." He choked up. "We can' let 'is sacrifice be in vain." He looked to his best friend. "I'm sorry, Lily. I can' let 'em take you too."

"WE ARE STOPPING!" Lilith snapped at the boy, her eyes wide with panic as she began to bring the crawler to a halt.

What did they all promise before? That they would all get out of Feroxi together. Maria punched her seat, the world had to stomp on that didn't it? And of course, Elizabeth had to say something before that whole mess happened. Cranston's sacrifice was just the icing on the cake. Maria didn't know whether to give in to anger and despair. Nevertheless, in the end, there were other choices. As much as she hated it, she took the choice and grabbed Lilith from behind, "We have to go! We have to go!"

Sprout turned his head and looked past Maria's shoulder. Cranston had gotten Elizabeth to her feet, though he couldn't tell if she was conscious or not from that distance. He'd dropped his second pistol to carry her off, but he was still firing with his main hand. The enemy crawler had stopped dead in its tracks, many of the soldiers within, already dead. Despite how formidable he was, Sprout very much doubted he'd make it out alone.

We could go back and... fuck...

No matter how he looked at it, they'd simply lost too much time. If they didn't leave now they'd be caught. Whether it was by the men in this tunnel or by a ship out in the ashlands. Cranston was giving them himself and Elizabeth. If they were lucky, that would be enough to call off any further pursuit.

What would Ma' do?

Clenching his jaw, Sprout grabbed Lilith's shoulder. There were tears in his eyes, "Lily, please! We have to go, NOW! I'm sorry, but there ain't no other way!"

"GET OFF ME!" Lilith struggled angily as she tried to pull herself from her seat, but Maria's grip was surprisngly strong. Her breathing quickened as she looked back at Cranston and Elizabeth. "WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS, WE HAVE TO GO HELP THEM NOW!" She shouted as she locked eyes with the boy, her expression more desperate than he had ever seen it.

"ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID?!" She roared at the boy as she continued to struggle against Maria's hold. "THEY ARE GOING TO KILL HIM!"

"AN' IF WE GO BACK THEY'RE GONNA KILL ME TOO, AN' MARIA AN-AN-AND YOU TOO, LILY!" Tears were pouring rolling his face. "I CAN' LET THEM TAKE YOU AWAY! I WON' LET THEM! NOW FUCKIN' GO! PLEASE, LILY! DRIVE!"

"Getting killed won't help them." Maria replied, "It's shitty - more than shitty even. I don't like it! It's fucking infuriating but we have to go."

Solemnly she added, "If you won't drive, I will."

Maybe it was just the doctor?s opinion, but a quip about her left behind moped probably wasn't appropriate.

Lilith's eyes shifted once more to the scene behind them. The second crawler was much closer now, she could see the soldier occupying it. Her eyes lost focus for a second before her eyelids fluttered slightly.

"Let me go." The woman whispered as she gently placed her hands on the wheel of the crawler. Her head hanging low, she looked up at the boy. There were no tears in her eyes, but the look in her eyes was plain to see.

Maria wordlessly released her grip, collapsed back into the back seat and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Lily." It was hard to meet her gaze. "Go."

Remaining silent, Lilith's gaze fell downwards as she began to push on the gas pedal. As the crawler began moving, Lilith whimpered slightly before clenching her jaw and forcing her eyes onto the road ahead.

Sprout fought back the tears as best he could, wiping away all that remained with his sleeve. He had to be strong for Lilith. He couldn't cry. Not now.

It would be a long drive to Yuteni. He had to focus on that now. Focus on seeing his mother again.

He knew she wasn?t not going to like the news they have to give her.

 

[ProtoChimp]

Alex writhed against her bonds, trying to wriggle her way out of the ropes that had held her for days as she heard war rage around the ship. She didn't care who it was she just needed to get the hell out of here and find her son, and if she could put a bullet in her ex too, but Peter was a secondary concern. Despite being the cause of all this chaos and misery, his death paled in comparison to saving her son and getting the hell out of here. At this point Yuteni could burn around her as long as Austin was safe.

Her son meanwhile curled up in his position inside of the closet. He was terrified. He had missed most of the fighting and yet now it was finding its way to him. He wanted his Mom, he needed her to save him from this, but she needed saving herself. The crazy man had whispered to him the past few days as if to comfort him, when it was indeed he who had put Austin in this situation. No Father would do this to his own son.

Isabel heard two gunshots near by, incredibly close by. She didn't know where she was in the ship, just that she had barely enough room to move around. She slammed on the door and screamed out for help, hoping that whoever was fighting out there would let her out of this closet, and give her a gun with enough bullets to make Austin's face impossible to identify, along with all the other lunatics who were older than her and yet were convinced they were indeed children.
=================================================
Faces were beginning to blur together and soon Aesop couldn't separate one from another. Thier screams were like the sweetest songs, but their faces didn't matter. They didn't matter. They were soon to have more holes in them than previously, did it really matter what the front of their heads looked like?

"You know his name is actually Peter Wayworth?" Aesop told Brock nonchalantly as he pulled his knife out of another victim.

"Really?" Brock asked as he checked his surroundings. "Sounds like a fucking bookworm."

"I know right!" Aesop chuckled and grinned, cleaning his knife as they ran off down the corridor, sounds of gunfire ahead catching their attention. "AWWW YEEAAAHHH HERE WE GO!" Sheathing his knife and pulling out another set of pistols, Aesop was ready to play.

'Four pistols left, AK and half a clip, and sir stabbington junior. This gon' be good.'

Aesop charged forwards firing pistols wildly as he flanked his enemy, Brock unloading a wonderful explosion upon even more. "WELCOME BACK, KIDS! WE SAVED Y'ALL A SEAT!" Aesop laughed and cackled as he brought down more 'children' on the other side of the room while he jumped atop a table. Aesop smiled ear to ear. "SORRY FOR THE HOLDUP! HAD A BIT OF A ***** MOMENT!" Hopping off the table, playtime had begun.

Spoiler: Puttin' on the ritz

Aesop had the perfect distance and the perfect timing to rush over to his enemies, botting some short ass in the face and sending him flying before turning his attention to the tall fuckers. The ones who didn't have their brains punctured by his lead were torn down by Pixie and Warren's assault, as he forced them out of cover. Brock's RPG had thankfully wittled them down but Aesop was happy to take care of the leftovers.

Those running in to fill in the gaps left by their dead brothers and sisters were met by the dangerous tactic Aesop had now adopted. Running out in the open stupidly and firing wildly. Were he fighting trained killers he would be a dead man. But he wasn't, he was fighting children. Aesop was screaming like a violent animal tearing apart his prey with no remorse as they fell to the ground. He didn't see who they were until they were already on the ground, and quite frankly he couldn't care less.

His pistols were spent after he cut down the youngsters and he decided to swing around his AK, only half a clip but it'd do the job. Some taller ones were approaching now but the stream of fire forced them into cover. Exactly what he needed, or rather just what he wanted. As a woman faced out to fire upon her aggressor, he had already slashed her throat before lunging at his next target. A kid with a shotgun who really didn't know how to handle the weapon. The knife was lunged in his throat and Aesop pulled the still standing body in front of him to bare as cover, the kid's kevlar vest thankfully stopping the bullets from ripping through his body and finding Aesop. He walked backwards and pulled the kid behind a knocked over table, his victim was gurgling and panicking too much to attack Aesop, he just wanted the bleeding to stop. Aesop didn't give him such a luxury and took out the knife just so he could sheath it once more, stealing the boy's shotgun and defending himself from the rest of the boy's group.

"ONE SHOT, TWO SHOTS, THREE SHOTS, FOUR!" Bodies fell by the bulk as buckshots ripped through them. "WHERE THE BIG KIDS AT!" Another shot. "COME ON!" Another. "I'M BORED PETER!" Another. "BRING OUT THE BIG'UNS!"

Little did Aesop know that the biggest guns on the maiden were heading their way. Austin running like a mad man to protect his childen with revolver in hand, and Heath carrying a grenade launcher he had aquired from the armoury.

 

[Fappy]

How...?

Mila's paced slowed but for a moment as the second crawler sped by her. She was close enough now to see him. The Cook.

He truly was a force of nature.

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" Mila screamed down the tunnel, but to no avail. One stray shot from one of those soldiers and their operation would be a failure. Ironically, part of Mila was glad Cranston was a literal god of war, otherwise he and Elizabeth would already have been dead. Instead, he'd killed an entire crawler full of soldiers and was already starting on his second. How long could he keep it up?

God dammit... I need to hurry...

Elizabeth was badly wounded. The old assassin was surprised she was still conscious, much less alive. It seemed she was made of sturdier stuff than he'd realized. Slung over his shoulder like a ragdoll, Cranston turned on his heel and headed down the tunnel towards a locked door that led into the structure of the dome's wall. Normally getting through such a well protected entrance would be close to impossible, but plasma had a way of eating through solid steel rather easily.

After blowing out the crawlers tire's, the second group lept out of their vehicle and took up defensive positions. If she'd been able to go for kill shots they'd have taken him down by now, but orders were orders, and despite how infuriated they must have been, they obeyed.

"Li-lilith....Wh-where...?" Elizabeth was struggling to regain her composure as she was slung around.

"They're okay, stay with me." Cranston muttered as he reached the door and fired three shots at the lock before kicking it open. It was a long shot, but if he could lose them in the wall...

As Asad caught up with Mila, she looked at the woman, his jaw clenched before he took in the Cook's handiwork.

"Jesus Christ" He muttered to himself. "This stories were true." His eyes widened slightly as he gripped his rifle.

Oh, so you decided to show up?

"Get a grip, Harel!" She picked up the pace. "We can't let them slip away now. He's wounded, he'll be moving slow! Just stay close and we can do this! We can..." She scowled. "Avenge our friends..."

"By getting yourself killed? Good plan!" Asad rolled his eyes. "We keep our distance and we tail him, if anything he's more dangerous now."

'Never corner a fox.'

"If we don't catch him now we won't get a second chance!" They continued down the tunnel until they'd reached the second crawler. The men who came in on it had already pursued their targets into the wall. She looked towards the door. "Are you ready?"

'God damn it Tsubaki, you sure can pick 'em'

"Go." Asad nodded and he brought his rifle to aim. "Stay on me and check your damn corners, whatever you do."

"Roger." She shot back without missing a beat. The two of them crossed the gap swiftly and took up positions by the door. When Mila looked in she cursed udner her breath. There were two bodies lying on the floor inside the room. She nodded to Asad and stepping inside, weapon at the ready. Examing the two corpses, she shook her head. "Follow the bodies?"

Without averting his gaze from the corridor in front of him, Asad kept moving. "What do you think, Lieutenant?" If they were going after the Cook, they were gonna do this properly. "We'll deal with the bodies later, stay focused."

Mila clenched her jaw.

You pick now of all times to man up?

"Roger." She followed Asad's lead as they made their way deeper into the outerwall of Feroxi's dome. Eventually, they happened upon another body. And then, another. What worried her more than anything else, was the silence. These men could not have been killed before she and Asad had entered the structure. They should have heard something. Anything!

What was he?

"Cranston, you're bleeding..." Elizabeth muttered as she struggled to look up at him. She couldn't stand, but she could at least turn her head. She was sitting on the ground, hidden as Cranston knelt over to hand her somthing. It was a pistol. "Wh---?"

"Use it if they corner you," He whispered. "There are a few more tailing us, but if we keep moving we'll only get cut off by another group. We need to make a stand here." He got to his feet and looked around the cramped room. "Stay hidden."

"But---"

"Listen to what I say."

"I-I-I'm so sorry... this is all my f-fault... I---" Cranston chuckled. "Wh-what is it?"

Cranston checked his weapons and shook off his stupid grin, "It's nothing. You just remind me of someone."

"Oh..."

Cranston met her gaze, "Stay alive."

"I will."

With that Cranston disappeared. Elizabeth huddled herself against the wall and out of view from the walkway. Whatever would happen to them, it would be decided here. And soon.

In all his years as a soldier, Asad had seen a lot of fucked up things, but this man, this Cook, he was a force of nature. "How does one man kill this many trained soldiers?" He muttered to himself as he kept moving.

His nerves weren't quite shot yet, but damn if they weren't close, and for the first time in a long while.

"He's not a man," Mila muttered. "It's best not to think of him that way. Underestimating something like him will surely get you killed."

No, he most certainly is NOT a man.

There was a few in this world that she knew of that fit that description. One in particular, that she was especially afraid of.

Good thing he... it, is on our side...

"Have I given you the impression that I'm underestimating him?" Asad snapped at the woman. "Now shut your damn mouth Lieutenant and stay focused."

The loss of O'Lafferty and Moon was starting to sink in.

"Goddamn son of a *****."

"Me stay focused? What about you!?" Mila couldn't keep it bottled up anymore. "What do you think you're doing bringing that shit in here? Don't bullshit me, I can see it your eyes. You go up against the Cook thinking the way you are and you're as good as dead!"

"ENOUGH!" Asad roared turning to face the woman, his eyes furious as they bore into Mila. "I said. Enough." The man whispered sharply as he regained his composure.

"Get a fucking grip," She muttered as they crossed into the next room. She saw another corpse. The last man on the squad. "He got them all..." She looked to Asad. "I bet they were arguing just like---ASAD, BEHIND YOU!"

A hail of plasma fire came their way. Apparently the old man had set up an ambush in the room they'd already crossed through. They didn't even see him. "FUCK!" She screeched as a bolt of plasma grazed against Mila's leg. She tumbled onto her chest, not quite behind the cover she'd be scrambling for.

Asad swore as he leapt into cover, quick enough to avoid the incoming hail of plasma. "Shit!" He cried as he watched Mila's leg light up.

Thinking quickly, he grabbd the woman by the back of her uniform and quickly dragged her completely into cover. "Lieutenant! Are you okay?!" He stepped over her as he placed himself between her and the corridor.

"You idiot! Leave me!" Mila barked as she was dragged against her will, plasma bolts streaking right by the two of them.

Now.

Cranston pressed the attack while they retreated, crossing the gap between his hiding place and the doorway in seconds. In a flash he was between them, his plasma pistol levelled at Asad. He fired three shots.

"ASAD!"

Without thinking, Asad knocked the Cook's arm aside, sending the shots wide. Seeing is chance to press the advantage he stepped inside the old man's reach, delivering a swift punch to his gut.

Shit... too slow...

Cranston recoiled from the blow, but brough his freehand up to deflect the next. Seeing an opening, the old assassin slammed the grip of his pistol into the side of Asad's face and before Mila could blink, Cranston had his hand around his throat and his pistol pressed against the soldier's cheek. He could feel the weapon trained on his back, "What are you waiting for?" The old man groaned.

Mila's breath was ragged and the smell of charred flesh was making her sick to her stomach. She could shoot him. She could end this. But if she did... Asad would surely die.

God dammit.

"LET HIM GO!" She grit her teeth. Should wouldn't let her CO die, even if his leadership was only temperary.

The old man ignored her and continued to stare into Asad's eyes. He was making a good show of hiding it, but the seasoned veteran was surely afraid. Not of death per say, but of "The Cook" himself. Though, frankly, there wasn't much differentiating the two ideas at the moment, "Tell me, Samsara. What does the Good Lord have in store for Maribel?"

Despite the fear quickly raising in his throat, Asad kept his eyes locked on the Cook's.

He would get nowhere fast by lying, Asad wouldn't be surprised if the old man could read his thoughts.

"He was going to have her 'assassinated' at an event. You know, hearts and minds bullshit." The man clenched his jaw as he tried to keep his breathing slow. "That's not happening anymore, he plans on keeping her alive. For what purpose, I don't know."

Mila furrowed her brow, "What are you---!"

"Quiet!" Cranston snapped, his eyes narrowing as they bore into Asad's. "What are you made of, son? What do you fight for?"

Mila cocked an eyebrow. What was this senile fool on about? All he was doing now was being she and Asad time for their backup to arrive.

Furrowing his brow, Asad averted his gaze slightly.

What did he make of it? He had voiced his disapproval of the whole situation on several occasions, the only reason he hadn't walked out of Samsara was the change to bring the girl in alive.

Asad had never been an unquestioning soldier, and up until now that had never been a problem, but now something was happening, not just with Maribrel and Basilio, but the entire ashlands, something was stirring, and he couldn't help think the girl, the Maiden, Basilio, they all had major roles to play.

Locking eyes again with the Cook, Asad pursed his lips slightly. "I don't know."

Cranston didn't say anything at first, he simply searched the wary soldier's gaze. After a time, he sighed, "There is no escaping this." He laughed. "I've cheated death one too many time it seems." His expression softened. "I no longer have a choice. I'll leave her to you." He closed his eyes. "Don't let her share the fate of her sister. Don't let that monster devour her."

Before Asad was allowed an answer, Cranston removed the gun from his face and pointed it at his own head, "NO!" Mila shouted as she shot him square in the arm, burning a hole right through his elbow. He held back a scream as his weapon dropped helplessly to the floor and he grew weak in the knees. He still had some fight in him, however, Asad could see it. "ASAD! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?"

As soon as the gun fell from the old man's hand, Asad was on top of him. "HOLD YOUR FIRE LIEUTENANT!" He cried, wrapping his arm around the old man't throat. With his free hand, Asad grabbed the Cook's uninjured arm and quickly cut off the man's airway.

As the old man's breaths grew ragged, Asad clenched his jaw.

Cranston struggled as best he could to break free, but he was too injured. Too weak. How could he have been so stupid? Why had he been so slow? He should have blown his own head off the moment he spoke his final word.

As he faded into unconsciousness he had one final, passing thought.

Don't come for me...

"Good work." Though she was still injured, Mila picked herself up and hobbled deeper into the room, "I'll look for the noble. She couldn't gone far." Just as she was approaching the opposite end of the room she heard a faint cry coming from behind a series of pipes nearby. Curious, Mila came around the corner to check it out, her weapon ready just in case.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Elizabeth screamed as she fired her pistol at the intruder.

The bullet dug in across the side of her neck, centimeters away from her vitals. Despite that, blood began pouring out of her neck, "OW--FUCK!" Clutching her wound, Mila weaved under the next two shots and fell upon the young woman, delivering a savage punch to her face, breaking her nose. "****! STAY DOWN!"

Placing the unconscious man on the ground, Asad quickly bound his hand and feet together, the smell of burning flesh making his nose twitch. They have to make sure the old man got treated for that, or he wouldn't last very long.

'I'll leave her to you'.

What did that even mean? Before Asad could think more on the matter, he heard shot rings out behind him.

"Shit!" Quickly pulling out his sidearm, the man hurried to the source of the disturbance.

Seeing Mila standing over the unconscious and bloodied Elizabeth Maribel, he let out an exasperated sigh. "Did you really have to mess up her face up?"

"She fucking shot me!" Crouching down, Mila let out an exasperated sigh before working to treat her injuries. Backup would be arriving any minute now. As Asad checked Elizabeth, Mila chuckled. "Fuck... that was a mess."

His expression unchanged, Asad looked up at the woman. Pausing for a moment before looking back down at the Maribel girl. "You did good, Lieutenant, thanks for saving my ass, I just kinda, I dunno, lost focus I guess?" After a second a swore to himself.

"Shit, should have asked him if Bryan and Jun were dead, damn it."

Reaching into his backpocket, he removed his handerchief and held it to the girl's bleeding nose.

"Yeah, well I am sure we'll find that out soon enough."

A short time later, backup arrived and the two soldiers were tended to. Cranston was secured in an armored vehicle with four guards watching him at all times while Elizabeth was taken to Basilio Tower unbound in an ambulance. Despite her protests, Mila was rushed to the tower as well to treat her severe burn and to patch up her neck.

Asad had been left alone at the south gate, awaiting Ortega's arrival. No one had told him what came of his comrads. Considering the chaotic situation they'd found themselves in, it didn't come as any surprise. He'd almost given up on Ortega's fabled arrival until he saw a crawler pull up with a familiar face behind the wheel.

It was Tsubaki.

After jumping out of the crawler she ran to his side and embraced him, "Oh, thank God!"

"Whoa there!" Asad chuckled, grabbing the woman's shoulder, he pushed her away slightly. "What's with all the touchy feely?" He smirked.

"I-I'm sorry," She braced herself on his shoulder and put her palm to her head. Thankfully no one had seen them. "I was... I was terrified, Asad. I should have been there."

"Yeah, well." Asad averted his eyes from the woman, his expression hardening. "A lot of people died. Probably a good thing you weren't there."

She furrowed her brow, "Well, despite everything you all managed to live. I can't say I could ask for much more than that."

"Wait what?!" Asad quickly looked down at the smaller woman. "You're shittin' me?!"

Tsubaki's small smile faded as she relayed what she had been told, "Jun's hands have been broken, but he should be okay. As for Bryan..." She broke eye contact. "He's in surgery right now. They said he should be okay, but he's in for a long recovery."

The man closed his eyes for a few seconds, running a hand through his hair before stopping halfway, holding his hand in place. "I thought they were dead, Tsu." His expression softened. "This is the best news."

"Shit, I can't believe no one told you." She sighed, "The situation in the city right now is FUBAR, so it isn't really a surprise. In any event, I need to get you back to base so you can debrief Lord Basilio. He'll want to hear about what happened."

"Me? Why me?" The man's relieved expression faded quickly. "He has the girl and the Cook, and the other Maidens managed to escape, there's his debrief." Clenching his jaw, he thought back to what the Cook had said.

"Don't let her share the fate of her sister. Don't let that monster devour her."

"On second thought, I will see him."

Tsubaki cocked and eyebrow and grinned, "It's not like you have a choice." That said, she led Asad to her crawler and got into the driver's seat. As they started for the tower a thought occured to Tsubaki. She glanced over to Asad. "I'll sit in on the debriefing with you. Do you want to... I don't know, come over afterwards? Have a drink? I figure you'd want to unwind after all of... this." She blushed and averted her gaze. "Uh-and, uh, if you want you can join me when I visit Jun and Bryan in the morning. After they wake up, that is."

Asad looked at the woman, an amused glint in his eye. Was it just him, or was she less... balls-busty? Crossing his arms over his chest, The man smirked slightly. "Have you replenished the liquor cabinet yet?"

Tsubaki embarrassment intensified, "We'll... figure it out..."

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

"I'm sure we will." Asad chuckled, noting the woman's embarassment.

After a few silent moments, Asad let out a long sigh, "At least I get to chew those two out now, maybe do some bragging." He looked at Tsubaki. "Although, I'm feeling a little nervous." He chuckled. "The cook takes out you, then Jun and Bryan." He put on a face of mock anxiousness "I'm next!"

Tsubaki searched his face. He had a nasty bruise on his jaw, "Looks like he got you good already."

Raising a hand to his face, he winced slightly as pain shot through his jaw."Totally counting this." He smiled weakly, before averting his eyes to the road.

"How's the girl?" he asked, after several silent moments.

Tsubaki shrugged, "I don't know. I didn't ask."

"She'll be fine, Milla gave her a good punch though." He smiled slightly.

"I did what you asked." He said after a few moments. "Although I think she took care of me more than I did her."

Tsubaki chuckled, "I don't doubt that. You did a good job, Asad. All of you did."

"Me more though, yeah?" He winked at the woman. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."