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

[Daystar Clarion]

A grin curled Lilith's mouth, narrowing her eyes as a hail of bullets zoomed overhead. Pistol in hand, the girl sprinted across the open ground leading onto the outer garden of the tower, firing several covering shots to keep some heads down until she finally found refuge behind a rather gaudy statue of a naked man. "Nice try fella." Lilith chuckled as she checked the magazine in her weapon. "Nobody has a cock that big in this weath-" The girl's eyes widened in surprise as a stray bullet cleaved the exaggerated member from its place of display. "Ouch." The girl winced, pursing her lips playfully as she bent over to pick up the stray piece of stone. "Tough luck mate." She sighed as she tossed it over her shoulder.

Taking one less drag of her cigarette, the girl spat it out, exhaling through clenched teeth as smoke mixed with her hot breath. "Freezing my goddamn tits off to save your arse, Florian." Leaning out of cover Lilith let loose three shots, "You better pay me back!" She called out, as if she thought her words would find him. Loosing several shots, three Bejic men fell dead to the ground. Using the opening she had created, Lilith moved up closer to the tower entrance, covered by some of Erik's men, gaining herself a nice little place on the right flank that was out of view from the main courtyard. "Y'all fuckers have better brought buckets!" Lilith shook her head, chuckling as she called out over her cover. "'Cos I'm gonna... er... ice... you fools?" Lilith's words trailed off as she looked up at the huge armoured behemoth of a man towering over her.

Glowering down at her, a distinct grumble could be heard echoing in his throat. "Hi." Lilith smiled nervously. "Where'd you... come from?" Lilith's eyes shifted as she had trouble figuring out just where he had come from and how he had managed to stay out of view. her words were met with rage as the huge man leapt forward in an attempt to grab her. Almost squeaking, Lilith ducked under the man's grapple, tripping him in the process. As he landed face first into the pavement, Lilith shook her head incredulously. "Why the fuck would... I don't... Fuck it." The girl rolled her eyes as she buried a round in the back of the soldier's skull. "Why does everyone here think fists are better than bullets?! Who does that?!"

 

[Fappy]

"Um... yeah, sure."

Sprout rolled his eyes. "Please," he said, "he's jus' gonna show you this dumb---" His words died in his throat when the vehicle suddenly screeched to a halt, jumbling everyone together even further. "We here already?"

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

"Please, if you are expecting newbies to be utterly fearless in their first mission, you are expecting too much."

Bennie chuckled. "Take it easy, Jesse," he advised. "I've got your back. If you aren't whole confident in yourself yet at least trust that I'll be there to pull your ass out of the fire. Every badass bandit out there started out like you an' you'll make it just like they---" As with those in the other crate, Bennie and Jesse nearly bumped heads when the truck came to a sudden stop. After a moment of silence Bennie took a deep breath.

You can do this girl.

"It's your show now, Amy," the big man mumbled to himself.

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

They were a mere thirty meters from Talbot's ship when two guards stopped their vehicle. Brock sat in the driver's seat with his elbow resting outside the window. His expression was less than inviting. "Sir, can I see some ID?" he ordered. "We're not expecting any shipments before take-off."

Brock rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket for his fake ID. "Talk to the broad," he moaned. "She's the brains behind this operation. I just do the drivin'." The guard nodded to his counterpart who walked up to the passanger-side window as Amy opened it.

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to see some identification," he told her.


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


"You should see the look on your face right now."

"I reckon I'd be lyin' if I said that was the first time I'd ever gone down on'a noble," Tallahassee said with a nervous laugh. "Whenever Pixie needed a man ta' whore out she'd pick either me 'er Bennie. She usually chose Bennie if it involved both of 'em." Tallahassee shook his head, grinning stupidly. "That kinda stuff... this kinda stuff... well, it happened few and far between back then. We usually jus' ripped people off at gunpoint."

The cowboy leaned forward and grabbed a grape from the bowl. "I really hope these kids ar' ready fer that," he remarked, tossing a grape into him mouth. "Sooner 'er later, they'll all 'ave ta' face what bein' a bandit's really about."

Just as soon as he'd finished saying that Talbot entered the room dressed in nothing but a robe. Groping the air with his fat, pudgy fingers, he smiled cheerfully at the undercover Maidens. "They say there's one final shipment to process and we will be cleared for departure," he explained. "Shall we get in one final romp before the adventure?"

Glancing to Sandra, Tallahassee barely hid his disgust. "This definitely ain't what it's about," he whispered.

 

[Dogmatic99]

Gale stifled a yelp as their sweaty quartet all got mashed together like they were a bunch of Millie's toys or something. What was this, did they hit a bump or something?

"We here already?"

"What?" Gale hissed, just managing to stop herself from saying anything more any louder. Gale's mouth suddenly felt very dry and her palms very moist. She nervously scanned the dark, looking over the metallic walls of their container, as if that might help. She hated feeling like this, that she couldn't do anything.
====================================================================
'Shitshitshit!'

Erik sprinted for cover that was big enough to actually cover him. The mag in his rifle had just run dry and he found himself caught in the open, surrounded by hostiles. The first of a long list of vanguard problems he'd be facing today no doubt. Well when in doubt switch to your side arm. Erik, having no time to be fancy, let his rifle hang limp in his left arm as he drew his pistol and fired in the general direction of anyone trying to shoot him back. He didn't bother to try and see if he hit anyone, just so long as they backed down enough let him get behind something solid. A solid enough wall high enough that all Erik had to do was get his ass cold and curse his steroid infused genetics to get properly covered.

And he did it just in time to spy a rock hard dick getting shot to splinters. "Hehehe-he-he." You had to find pleasure in the little things in such hard times. It wasn't long before Erik had reloaded and the world around him devolved into a bitter blur of ear splitting noise and violent heat of bullets. All the while Erik was left to force himself into the role of a leader and drag his mind out of the bloody moment to where he could see the bigger picture.

["Where the hell are the nobles!?"] He called out, hoping that his nearest radio guy could hear him. ["They said they'd be here!"] Erik swore if those blue blood loving bastards had sold them out there'd be hell to pay.

He got his answer soon enough though as a fresh wave of gunfire kicked up and the loose masonry around him threatened to shake up a storm. It sounded like everyone was screaming for a new reason that Erik couldn't quite make out, all he knew was that the enemy forces were getting called elsewhere. Then the motherfucking tank smashed through the wall!

["Oh shit!"] Now that was playing it fashionably late!

The tank's front mounted machine gun tore through the courtyard like a vengeance fueled beast, cutting men down in swathes and sending everything else scurrying like rats. It wasn't letting up yet either as the main cannon raised its head with a rumbling creak... paused... and fired! It was like thunder and lightening as the front entrance of the tower was shaken to it's foundation. The doors were split open with a mighty crash, sending up a mass of cheers from Erik's ragged troops. More reinforcements arrived in the form of the loyalist infantry, rushing over the ruined barricades in all their tattered azure glory.

Erik rose from his spot on the ground and pushed forward, leading by example. ["Charge!"] He shouted again and again. ["Form up and charge!"] It would be a monumental slog up from the ground floor but he knew his crews were up to the task. Erik could only hope it would be easier than last time as his shock troops stormed the entrance and sprinted into the tower proper.

 

[Terratina.]

"I've got your back. If you aren't whole confident in yourself yet at least trust that I'll be there to pull your ass out of the fire. Every badass bandit out there started out like you an' you'll make it just like they---"

"Of cour--" 'Jesse' was about to reply before the truck suddenly stopped, pushing the already squished persons together. Enough waiting, now the mission had properly started. Even though the teenager couldn't see anything, he could hear a slightly muffled exchange going on. He waited with baited breath for Amy to get them past the first hurdle. All he had to do was look after the hostage, right? And hopefully not get recognised, damn Amy's predictions. Astor let out a sigh; his heart was thumping already and they'd hardly started. A gentleman had to have more composure than this, for crying out loud. Heaven help the guards, they were about to be infiltrated by the Iron Maidens and a jumpy kid who just so happened to be their boss's son.

Still, at least he would get to stick to the old man in style.

 

[Dogmatic99]

Lilith held an arm across her eyes as concrete and dust filled the air. A fucking tank?! Why the hell did they go in first if the loyalists had a goddamn tank?! "'Bout fucking time you wankers showed up!" Lilith cried out over the courtyard as she stepped over several bodies and joined Erik's crew before entering the tower. This was it, no turning back now.

Their combined forces rushed in and fanned out, covering as many angles as made themselves available, digging in their heels and daring anyone to drive them out of their new foothold. The shock Vasa's men had been given by their heavy armored pounding had given Erik some breathing room to gather his thoughts as he piled in with the rest of them.

His unofficial guard weren't far behind as he found himself hunkered down behind a luckily placed pile of crates sandwiched between Winter and Blonde Lilith. As fiercely as they'd barged their way in they were quickly finding themselves pinned down by scattered defenders and a mounted machine gun that had claimed the high ground in the level above.

"You having fun yet girl?" He chuckled hoarsely to Lilith.

"Hmm maybe!" Lilith grinned as she sat her her ass down on the cold marble floor, keeping her head as low as she could, back propped up against the boxes. "Needs something... I dunno." The girl pursed her lips as she removed a grenade from her belt and removed the pin from her teeth before casually tossing it over her cover. After the explosion rang out, mixed with the wails and cries of those unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast, Lilith nodded her head, a satisfied look on her face. "There it is."

["Southern girls are fuckin' crazy, man!"] Winter yelled over the din as he tried to smack the ringing out of his ears.

["Don't I know it!"] Erik returned some wild blind fire of his own. "You think you can hit that one?" He jerked his thumb the way of the gunner above them who was busy tearing the lobby apart.

Lilith glared at Erik as a hail of bullets tore overhead. "You gonna draw his goddamn fire?" Lilith raised an eyebrow. "'Cos I don't feel like getting bloody perforated today."

Could Erik draw his fire? 'Can I draw his fire she asks?' Oh he'd draw fire like a damn artist! ["Keep me covered!"] He yelled at Winter, not bothering to give him time to respond.

Erik heaved himself up and vaulted over there cover in a way his knees immediately regretted. Still he forced himself on, leveling his weapon and planting a burst of rounds into some poor shlub, dropping them like a sack of bricks. If there was one thing Erik knew that guys with big guns couldn't resist it was a big fat target. For the next few seconds every sight would be aimed at him.

"Show time!" Lilith grinned as she pulled a second pistol from its holster and held them both beside her head as she quickly got to her feet and began dealing out swift Maiden justice. Making the gunner her first priority, the girl started moving parallel to Erik, taking the right path as he took the left. Unloading a few of rounds into two men as her most immediate threat, dodging a few incoming shots, the girl found cover behind a narrow pillar as several more bullets found their home there.

The fire on her quickly died down as Erik began sweeping away anyone who was stupid enough to keep their head above cover for more than a few seconds. Even the Bejic behind he armored machine gun mount saw the bear of a man as the biggest threat in the fight right now. Something she would use to her advantage. As the gunner turned his weapon to provide himself with proper cover against Erik, Lilith could make out the man's bright hair behind a small view slit in one of the side panels. Licking her lips, Lilith dropped the pistol in her left hand as she brought the one in her right to aim, closing an eye as she lined up her shot. Stilling her breath for a few moments, she adjusted her aim ever so delicately before gently squeezing the trigger.

The machine gun was still firing when its gunner went limp in his chair, send the weapon veering to its left and leaving a trail of devastation as it slowly tore up one half of the room, killing three more enemy Bejics in the process.

Now that was how you got things done! Erik grunted heavily as he slumped himself against yet another pillar, panting heavily and feeling very aware of the sweat building up under all his body armor. 'Oh god I need to stop drinking so much.'

The girl had gotten her job done in good time though, with so much space left open to them his boys moved up with fresh force and quickly started claiming the lobby as their own. If things were going to plan then other attack groups would be moving in from other directions this very moment. It was a strange day when Erik was hoping he was meeting the heaviest resistance.

Erik rose from his spot, ready to dive right back into things when he saw one of his men hit square in the chest and get thrown clean off their feet, their wound still smoking as it glowed around the edges. What the hell was this? That was when he saw it. The enemy forces rallied again as their captain made to counter them. Erik had never seen anything like the gun in his hands but the streaks of burning light it was sending out gave him a good idea. Vasa had gotten those plasma weapons up and running after all.

"Bollocks." Lilith muttered under her breath as a a ray blazed past her and into the wall, radiating scorching heat. Why was she only seeing plasma weapons now? "Yo, Erik, you guys so fucking poor you only keep the good guns for special occasions?!"

["Oh because you're so great!"] Erik snapped back.

Their people were getting cut down around them with frightening ease as plasma rained down on them like the wrath of God. Looked like he'd have to do something crazy. Again. Then a chunk of masonry near his head got blasted into chunks of slag near his head. 'Oh sweet Jesus and soon!'

Erik dashed from cover in a frantic scramble, shooting at anything that looked at him the wrong way. Unlucky for him the plasma blasting bastard was wearing armor thick enough to stand up to a bomb blast and one of Erik's scattered shots only stumbled him back a few steps. He recovered soon enough and got back to driving Erik from cover to blasted cover.

"Shit shit shit!" Lilith hunkered down behind her pillar as bolt after bolt of plasma hit her quickly disintegrating cover. Disintegrating? Or melting? She could never quite tell what it did.

"COULD USE SOME HELP HERE!" Lilith cried out, gritting her teeth as sweat matted her hair against her brow.

They couldn't puncture this guy for shit! Where were all the big guns? Erik looked around for anything that might be able to blast their one man blockade into smithereens as quickly as possible. No such luck there but that was when he noticed that he wasn't getting zapped like a bug right now.

Because plasma boy had a riot helmet on... and couldn't see shit! Now was his chance!

Erik broke from cover and charged the bulky gunman from the side. The gunman wasn't slowed for long though as he spun to face Erik, not bothering with any melee nonsense and just aiming to vaporize Erik at point blank. It felt like a miracle that Erik was fast enough to grab at one of the guys arms and wrestled for control of the plasma rifle. The two of them struggled and staggered in the middle of the firefight.

It only lasted a few hectic moments until Erik managed to catch his impractically dressed foe off balance and the two were sent staggering back. Erik forced the gun up with even more force, smacking it into a pillar with a loud crack! The inner light of the plasma rifle flickered and gas started to seep weakly from its loosened core. Erik wasn't an expert on these things but his primal instincts had a pretty good idea as to what was about to happen next.

With one final grunt Erik booted the gunman in the gut and clumsily tried to back away as fast as his meaty legs could carry him. ["Fire in the whole!"] He yelled. The two of them opened fire again and Erik sprayed whatever bullets he had left in the rifle's direction. Then in a flash, literally, blinding fire engulfed the gunman and anything too close to him. Erik was sent flying away from the blast and landed bodily on a set of crates, face down and very still.

 

[Fappy]

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to see some identification,"

Amy pushed the sun-guard of her baseball cap up off her face, and turned to look at the guard with a friendly smile. She reached into her inside pocket and drew out her fake ID, winding a lock of hair round the back of her ear as she did so.

"Here you go, officer." She said in a friendly voice.

The officer examined the ID, looked back up at her and nodded before handing it back. "What's a sweet thing like you doing in this business?" he asked as he looked past her at Brock.

Brock simply sneered in response.

"Oh, you know how it is..." Amy chatted "Bills to pay, and this pays better that being a waitress. Besides, Daddy was a hauler before he retired. I kinda developed a thing for engines, well, big ones anyway."

In case she was being a little too subtle, she winked and laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

The man returned the grin and nodded. Before he could reply to her, however, his copatriot spoke up. "There aren't supposed to be any other deliveries," he explained. "Ship is stocked and ready to go."

The other guard cocking his head and shrugging his shoulders. "What're you dropping off this morning?" he asked.

"Glad you asked." Amy took the question in her stride "The back's full of exotic pets. Way I hear it, some folks make a fortune still breeding and rearing animals from the Old World that most folks think are extinct, and selling them to nobles as curiosities. I tell ya', I don't even wanna know how much carbon Lord Talbot dropped on some of this. There's a scorpion the size of my head, a barrel full of zapping eels, and I swear one of those monkeys has a second mouth in his tail!"

She laughed in a way that made it hard to tell if she was joking. In any case, hopefully the guards would be more than willing to just take her word for it.

"Anyway, trade of such things isn't illegal or anything, but stuff this rare and valuable, nobody wants to advertise it, so we got a message down the chain from your people to keep this delivery last minute, and off the books."

The two guards exchanged a curious look. "We'll need you to follow us to the boarding ramp," the closer guard said. "You're man can unload the cargo while we process the delivery. Should make it quick too. We're supposed to be in the air in an hour."

'I really hope the plan accounted for this...

"Uh... sure thing." Amy replied, and sat back in her seat as they were let through, and Brock drove them up to the boarding ramp, flanked by the two guards. In the shadow of the airship, Amy stepped out of the truck as they pulled up.

"See, here's the thing..." she announced, tossing her hair again and unzipping her jump suit just slightly. "I'm not sure if this is what your guys had in mind when they said 'off the books'. They were very clear on that point."

One of the guards groaned. "Why weren't we told about this?" he asked the other.

"Should I get the Chief? He should be able to clear this up," the other replied. "Would love to avoid the paperwork."

"You sure you didn't get a memo?" Amy asked, curiously. "I hope your Chief's having a good day. I know how much of a hard-ass my boss can be, and he's hardly military."

Putting he hand in her inside pocket, leaning forward slightly as she did so, Amy took a couple of steps closer to the two guards. A small carbon disk then danced through her fingers a second later.

"I could get in trouble for this..." She said "but I've got five more deliveries to make today, and you seem like decent guys. I think we can help each-other out."

One of the guards cocked an eyebrow as his gaze settled on the coin. Noticing his partner's interest, the other rolled his eyes. "Fuck it, whatever," he said with a sigh. "Clear out as soon as your man's done. We gotta get moving."

"You have places to be too, sounds like," the first guard remarked as he pocketed the coin. "Don't want to keep you."

"Yeah." Amy sighed disappointedly "I guess I wouldn't mind being kept for a little while, If I could get away with it. Some other time boys..."

Turning her back with a wink and a wave, Amy sauntered over to help out Brock.

"So far so good." she whispered to him.

"You have a way with words, I'll give you that," he admitted. "I've never been a good liar. Too honest or too stupid. Not sure which. Maybe both."

"Lying's all about perspective." Amy told him "Why? Are we not delivering a shipment of dangerous and illicit creatures?"

"Sure," he said, "but I think the most interesting specimen's not in a box with the rest." He held up one hand defensively. "Don't tell Sprout I said that. I don't want to get beat up!"

"It's alright." Amy laughed "If I bite, that just means I like you."

"You're going to get me in trouble Ms. Turner," Brock warned. "And I am very good at that sort of thing, as you know."

"Do I now?" she teased. "What kind of salacious gossip do you think I've heard?"

Brock laughed. "Probably all of it by now," he pointed out. Amy helped Brock load the "cargo"-filled crates onto dollies and dropped them off in the corner of the ship's hangar; far from prying eyes. "Alright, that's that." Dropping a small dufflebag on the ground, Brock crouched down and retrieved the garments from within. He handed them to Amy. "I'll be on lookout. Make it fast."

"Sure thing." Amy took the garments and dashed behind another pile of stacked crates, before sticking her head back around the corner.

"And no peeking!"

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"Shall we get in one final romp before the adventure?"

Sandra smiled wickedly at Talahassee, before turning her attention back to their host.

"Aw, and me only just having got all dressed up again!" she pouted, before she winked and got up of the bed, shedding her clothes with each, deliberate step, before she stood naked before Lord Talbot, with a laugh and flourish of her hair.

"Hold still, my Lord." she whispered, as her fingers made short work of his robe, and she began to kiss her way down his flabby chest.

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

They caught up with each other again on the helipad. Owain was busy finishing off two freshly made corpses when The Gentleman arrived, and briefly his first thought was that he had miscalculated, and that some of the men he's been hunting had slipped the net and found their target. On closer inspection, however, he didn't recognise either of them. Could they have possibly been...

"Well," The Gentleman chuckled "This has certainly been a more interesting detour than I had planned, but one should never regret an opportunity to keep one's skills sharp." In a rare gesture, he clapped Owain on the shoulder as he made his way back towards the waiting VTOL, now ready for take-off.

"Come along!" he called back "It wouldn't do to be late to your Aunt's party."

 

[Fappy]

"And no peeking!"

Slightly flushed, Brock let out a small chuckle before getting to work. The crates were industrial-grade steel and were intended to transport volatile military hardware. Suffice it to say, it took some effort to get the damn things open. After sliding the safety bolts out of their locked positions, Brock stepped back to allow his fellow Maidens room to breath.

Bennie pressed up against the bottom of the lid, took hold of the edge with his other hand and slid it off carefully. They didn't want to make too much noise. Ruffles did the same in the second crate. Moving quietly, the rest of the Maidens shimmied their ways out of the cramped space until they were all out, huddled together in the corner of hangar.

"Good work, guys," Bennie told Amy and Brock with a swift nod.

Brock nodded in response. "Good luck, folks," he whispered before turning on his heel and jogging out of the hangar. They'd be taking off soon and they needed someone to drive the delivery truck out of the parameter. If things went well and they avoided a bloodbath Brock would have probably been bored anyway.

Once he was out of sight Bennie set his eyes on Amy. "You're up," he told her. "Once we're in the air make sure we have a clear path to security."

Sprout gave her hand a firm squeeze and grinned.

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Elizabeth sat alone in Dio's lounge, helplessly bored for what seemed like an eternity. If she failed in her escape tonight she'd probably be doing this a lot. Then again, that was assuming Dio would let her live if he caught her.

Not sure which outcome is worse.

As if on cue, someone entered the room the same moment a defeated sigh escaped her lips.

"Bored, M'Lady?" a familiar voice called out.

Fucking perfect.

"'Lieutenant'," she replied scornfully as she took in Mila's smug expression. "Shouldn't you be harassing the new recruits or something?"

Mila laughed. "Such sharp claws," she mocked. "I wouldn't expect anything less, 'Tigerman'."

"Shut the fuck up," the young noble groaned. "Dio will be back any moment and I need to practice my fake smile."

"It won't work, you know," the soldier said. "No matter how good you get at faking it, Dio will never buy it. He'll always feel it. Your disdain for him. Your pain. It will always be there, and he will never be able to ignore it." The Lieutenant approached the sofa slowly. Elizabeth could feel a chill run down her spine as Mila stepped closer and closer. "And finally, he'll get tired of fucking a husk of a woman and he'll end your miserable life."

It was a good thing Asad has taken the gun away from her earlier.

Elizabeth grinned wickedly. It was a kind of an expression anyone who knew her would be shocked to see. "That may happen," she admitted with a shrug, "but I'll be sure to bury a bullet between your eyes before it does."

Mila grit her teeth. "You smartass bi---"

"Sorry we were gone for so long," Dio suddenly announced as he and Asad entered the room. Taking in the scene before him, Dio paused for a moment and grinned nervously. "Sorry, are we intruding?"

Elizabeth's grin faded as she looked to Asad. "No M'Lord," she said. "Asad and I were actually just leaving."

"Oh?"

"Yep, come on Major," she beckoned. "I am feeling a bit lightheaded and would like to return to my quarters."

Though she didn't look at her she could feel Mila's eyes baring into her. Asad had to have noticed as well.

 

[Dogmatic99]

Gale never thought that hangar air conditioning could ever feel so cool and refreshing. Was this that real air had felt like, in the times long before? Like she would know, but right now this was pretty close to perfect after getting locked up in those crates. A claustrophobic experience even by Gale's standards. She took a moment to stretch and wipe the sweat from her brow. Good thing they were stealing this thing, like hell was she gunna make a return trip in one of those things.

"And to think I'd ever hate getting smushed up against my own harem of handsome fellas, huh?" She said to no one in particular as she made her way over to the others as they clambered out of their crates. "Speaking of which, how was your trip?" She smiled cheekily at Jesse, giving him a light punch on the arm.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Amy re-emerged just as everyone was climbing out of the crates, applying the final touches of make-up as she went. Her transformation in so short a time was astonishing.

"Once we're in the air make sure we have a clear path to security."

She nodded whilst adjusting the orchid in her hair, and smiled confidently at Bennie. When Sprout took her hand, she returned the pressure, and kissed him softly on the cheek.

"Nothing to it." she promised them.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Lilith winced, covering her eyes as debris and shrapnel from the explosion scattered everywhere. The ringing in her ears persisted for a few seconds before fading. A few alerted cries filled the air and the patter of feet before an eerie silence fell on the makeshift battlefield.

Peering from her cover, the girl's gaze wandered over the scorched remains of what was left of the defending line, before her eyes were drawn to a more concerning sight. "Erik!" Lilith called out, quickly hurrying from her cover to aid the old man. "Erik?!" She quickly holstered her weapon, dropping to her knees next to him and rolling him onto his back, albeit difficulty. "Don't die on me you Northern *****." She chuckled nervously as she went to check his pulse. Going strong, and his breathing was fine, although slightly ragged. "Oh thank god." A sigh of relief escaped Lilith's lips as she quickly leaned forward and kissed Erik on his sweaty brow.

Glancing around, Lilith caught one of the rebel's eyes. "You! Get a perimeter set up outside, I don't want anyone coming up behind us!" Turning her attention to Winter who was occupied brushing himself down, Lilith raised her head slightly. "Winter, grab a couple of men and guard the way into the tower, we need to set up here for a moment and regroup." Getting to her feet, the blonde woman rolled up her sleeves before lighting a cigarette. "Everyone else, tend to our wounded and get Mr Ablev here back on his feet." A sly smile curled the woman's lips as she blew smoke from her nostrils. "Just do it gently, and stay away from his fists if you want to keep your teeth."

A rather disgruntled loyalist stepped forward, hands resting on the rifle hanging from his shoulder as he eyed Lilith up and down. "Who put you in charge?" He sneered as he looked down his nose, his accent thicker than most "What makes you think we'd obey some skinny Southern whore? Lilith narrowed her eyes as her face hardened. Clearly this one didn't have the strongest opinion of women. Or Southerners. Or skinny people.

Placing her hands on her hips, Lilith tilted her head slightly as she slowly approached the Loyalist. "Because I'm the only thing standing between you and a broken jaw." With a neutral expression she stared at the man.

"I don't need some who-" In an instant the man sprawled backwards onto the ground, gripping his face with a look of shock.

"See?" Lilith said plainly, cracking her knuckles. After a few moments of stunned silence, Lilith glanced around the gathering of soldiers in the room. "Well?!" She shouted. "HAUL ARSE MAGGOTS!"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"I am feeling a bit light-headed and would like to return to my quarters."

Asad narrowed his eyes at Mila. The last thing he needed was someone else riling up the girl. "As you wish M'lady." Asad bowed his head slightly, his gaze lingering on the other soldier as he turned to follow after Elizabeth.

Elizabeth walked off in a huff; her hands balled into trembling fists at her sides. Mila had gotten under her skin, but that wasn't very difficult to do these days.

Was it ever?

At least she got one over on that ***** in the end. Once they were a safe distance down the hall, Elizabeth shook her head and chuckled. "I think I've given Mila the same threat twice now," she mused. "I wonder if she noticed."

Hands held behind his back, the Major looked down at the young womanly sternly. "It's not wise to antagonise anyone right now, Elizabeth. The last thing we need are more obstacles." He looked down at the girl's shaking hands. "You need to not let these things get to you."

The frazzled noble sighed. "You could at least pretend to enjoy my self deprecation," she whined. "I know. You're right." The rest of the trip to the apartment was made in silence. Neither of them were fans of speaking in code and preferred to wait until they'd returned to the safety of the Lady's quarters before they discussed the elephant in the room.

Once inside, Elizabeth plopped down lazily on the sofa. "Are you ready for tonight?" she asked the soldier.

"As I'll ever be." The man mumbled as he sat on the couch. "Don't worry about me, I'm a soldier remember." A small smile curled Asad's lips as he crossed his arms over his chest. "It'll be the easiest thing I've done since this whole thing started." He'd almost forgotten what it felt like, the thrill of combat. That fight at the wafflehouse, that wasn't a battle, it was a massacre. No, now he'd get to work off all the pent up aggression he'd been saving.

It was probably glad he didn't really know anyone who typically occupied the tower.

Made things easier.

"What about you?"

"If you said we were going right this second I'd be right behind you," she told him. "I don't think I can stomach sleeping another night in this prison."

"But...?" Asad led as he noticed the doubt in her voice.

"No 'buts'," she assured him. "I know what I am in for if I stay. I won't say I'm not afraid... I'm fucking terrified... I just know tonight's our best chance of getting out of this. I'm afraid, but I am not carrying any doubts."

"That's good." Asad closed his eyes as he nodded sagely. "I'm not expecting you to fight, not with the people we're dealing with." He paused for a moment before looking at the girl. "I'm going to need your help."

Elizabeth nodded firmly. "Give me a weapon and I won't hesitate to use it," she promised. "I won't lose my nerves. Not anymore. Not after everything that's happened."

"I'm not worried about your nerves." Asad leaned forward in his seat, hanging his arms over his knees as he gauged Elizabeth's reaction. "You've had little to no training, and we'll be dealing with soldiers. It's not that I don't think you have what it takes, you just simply aren't trained for this kind of thing. I know you ran with the Maidens, and they're good, they know their guerilla warfare." Asad's face hardened. "This won't be like that, it's going to be quick and brutal, we can't stop for breaks, we can't think about what we're doing. We have a mission, and we're going to do everything we can to accomplish it, understand me?"

Elizabeth nodded in silence. She still looked determined, but Asad's words had clearly shaken her a bit. Was she being too cocky?

"We're in a good position, we'll have the element of surprise and everyone is going to second guess firing on you until they've definitely been given the the go ahead by Basilio to engage, assuming we can keep ourselves hidden and dispatch anyone before they have time to communicate our intention, we may very well get out of here without raising a single eyebrow."

Asad sighed. "But I doubt it."

"Have you thought about what exactly we're going to do to get out?" she asked. "We don't have much information to work with here."

"Well I was thinking we'd just walk out." Asad smiled as he leaned back and spread his arms over the back of the couch. "Use the confusion to our advantage."

Elizabeth mulled it over for a bit and shrugged. "You play the part of the protective bodyguard and I'll be the terrified noble," she said. "That could work, but we're going to have to act fast. I don't know what orders you'll be given, but I doubt it will involve going to the base of the tower and walking out the front door. We're going to have to avoid running into superior officers."

"You let me worry about them." Asad's smile turned sly. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve."

"That's comforting to hear," she said. Squirming in place, Elizabeth snuggled up between the pillows on the sofa and rested her head on the armrest. "I'm going to take a nap. Get some extra energy for when shit hits the fan. Wake me up when this place starts exploding, will you?"

"Go to bed, kid." Asad's face softened as he got to his feet. "I'll keep an eye on things here." The Major made his way into the kitchen and began making coffee. "Want a hot chocolate or something?"

"I want some whiskey, actually," she joked. "Nah, hot chocolate would be nice."

"I even got you the marshmallow things." Asad chuckled as he began preparing the girl's drink. "The big ones."

 

[Dogmatic99]

The world swirled around him as Erik blinked back the flood of lights that were assaulting his vision right now. Everything sounded very far away right now, kind of like they were all underwater. Then it all went back to normal far too fast as Erik found himself being turned around and righted again like a very reluctant rag doll. Erik coughed and spluttered up half a lung as he came to his senses, belligerently shaking himself free of whoever was trying to right him.

["I'm fine! I'm fine!"] He grumbled. Struggling out of his daze, Erik ended up rolling himself down onto all fours for a second. he could do this! Just a deep breath! Never mind the smell of burning all around him, burning flesh, clothes and though he wouldn't realise it until later, burnt beard. Erik tensed his jaw and punched the stone ground with all the strength he could muster. Shaking the last of his dizziness away he slowly rose to his feet and surveyed the scene in front of him.

Blondie had pulled things together nice and sharp, what he'd give to have more captains like that around! All his boys were running around their business in good enough time. Winter was setting up a perimeter, White eye was having the wounded and the dead gathered up and seen to while Bleach... well that albino freak mostly just skulked around the place but he'd get busy later. Meanwhile each of their combined forces went about either stabilizing their fire base or scouring the outer courtyard for leftover resistance.

"You did good." Erik croaked to Lilith as he slowly made his way over to her. "Come on, day's just... day's just starting." He let out a mighty sigh at that one. Oh god it was just starting.

The two of them made their way over to the remains of the large map of the tower that adorned the centre wall behind the reception desk, no way was anyone finding their way around here without it. Erik started pointing out their various objectives to his small number of assembled captains, luckily for most of his crews this was just a repeat of lat time. He tried to ignore how sad that was when viewed objectively.

"Okay... so we want to get up here. This is where Vasa stays most days and he will keep Florian nearby." He pointed at one of the upper levels of the tower. "You see these rooms? You ignore these! These are gone!" He swept his hand over a pair of rooms over two levels on the eastern side of the tower. Although this was their first time here the others could have guessed which ones he meant. That was the part of the tower Erik had totally gutted on his first run. From the outside they looked like some giant monster had taken a bite out of the building. You couldn't miss it.

"Main force goes up there. We get horesman fire teams going down bellow, that where they were keeping Irena." He pointed out the dungeon level, it wasn't officially labeled on the public map here. "White Eye, you can get your boys on it too."

"I can do it instead." Winter chimed in. Everyone looked at him for a moment, Erik didn't seem to approve of someone trying to change his plans. "They might try and use her against us and you know I can get the drop on people better than Hansel can. No offense pal but you're better with the heavy stuff anyway, he'd be better up here in the open and holding the line." Winter quickly recovered.

"Fine." Erik conceded. None of the others seemed too bothered. Let Winter go down into the basement if he felt like it. "Bleach, you head up with me and Blondie, then you break off here and you take the security station here. Then we have cameras on our side. White Eye is covering defense down here, nobles are running separate teams to split defenders." He ran through the last few points of the plan nice and quick.

Erik turned to his small team of conspirators. "This our last chance to breath for a while I think, any questions?"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"This our last chance to breath for a while I think, any questions?"

Lilith raised a hand. "Is there like a PA system in this place? Ya know, might be good for a rousing speech about not being oppressed, or to raise morale, or I dunno..." Lilith tilted her head from side to side in thought. "Telling someone that his blonde, attractive, foreign girlfriend isn't dead?" She shrugged her shoulders. "Just off the top of my head."

The concern in her eyes betrayed her cocky smile. "We got this Erik." Lilith nudged the huge man's arm. "Reckon we can have this all sorted out before tea time."

 

[Dogmatic99]

"We just might, Girl. I remember some places you might find microphones, but I can't promise we'll have chances to stop." The big man sighed. His skull and chest were still killing him from the blast and leftover heat only served to add more stress on top of everything else. Still,Erik would do as he always did, grit his teeth and curse the house down with every step as he made his grim way forward.

He couldn't pause now. To do that would give him more time to think and dwell on what was happening. On the friends he'd let down here. On the one he was betraying. Erik wondered, how many of the people he'd already killed had he fought beside just a few weeks ago? How many might he have called friend if things had gone differently?

It didn't matter now. A man could tie himself in knots thinking like this. They had all made their choices and Erik was a man to stand by his choices. What was important now was to make sure he and those still close to him made it through to see the end of this. What they'd do when they got there, well, he still had no idea. They'd cross that bridge when they came to it he guessed. If they came to it.

'Which of course we will. I'm leading the charge!'

Damn right! Where was that world famous Ablev fighting spirit? This was no time for moping, this was a time for action. Let plans and schemes wait until he or those that stood against him were vanquished. Right now his goals and desires were clear and linked and the world was a simple place. He could let that be enough for now.

"Be ready soon. I won't keep them waiting." He ordered and the others scattered to their own preparations, leaving Erik to pat down his smouldering clothes.

"You excited?" He asked Lilith.

 

[Fappy]

Pixie wasn't sure how long the silence had lasted. She'd spent the long wait in deep meditation; keeping her mind empty. Keeping it free of all the anxiety that had been suffocating her these past few weeks. She relaxed so well in fact, she almost dozed off.

"It's time to move," Carlos suddenly whispered as he unlocked the hatch on floor of the transport. "They just radioed in. They cleared us a path to the elevator."

Spoiler: Spy Time

Pixie nodded. Her expression was impossible to gauge under to visor of the helmet. "Good," she said simply.

The two assassins dropped through the bottom of the transport and snuck by the soldiers stationed in the hangar with relative ease. They could afford to be seen, but it was best they avoid any kind of direct contact with the enemy if possible. They were on a tight schedule, after all. Assuming everything was on track, the "new recruits" should be scattered throughout the tower by now, poised to attack. Though Pixie and Carlos were ultimately responsible for putting the bullet in Dio's brain, the mercenaries Contessa had employed were just as vital to the operation. If they fucked up it was Pixie and Carlos' asses on the line.

Just as Carlos reported, the halls leading to their destination were completely vacant. Even the guards that were usually posted in front of the emergency elevator were nowhere to be seen. As Carlos went to get the door to the nearby utility closet, Pixie peered down the hall to see a single foot sticking through a doorway. The guards were being dragged out of sight and would be replaced by two of the new recruits. It was a precaution in the event that Dio managed to get to the ground floor alive. "Quickly," Pixie insisted.

Once inside the small room Carlos got down on one knee to give Pixie a boost. Sliding a power drill out of her pack effortlessly, the bandit queen removed the bolts on a nearby air vent and caught it before it hit the ground. Another moment later and the two infiltrators were inside the vent. Pixie and Carlos belly-crawled five meters and crossed through a fork in the ventilation system before reaching the elevator shaft. With the grate on the vent removed, Pixie climbed out of the shaft and slammed both boots down on the concrete floor. After helping Carlos down, the two dropped to their knees to get their gear sorted.

After ensuring their climbing equipment was good to go they began making their slow ascent to the top of the tower. Climbing up an elevator shaft was a dangerous endeavor to be sure, but thankfully this particular elevator was only ever used during emergencies. It remained on the penthouse level at all times and could only stop on two other floors: the ground floor and one other in the center of the tower. It was quite literally Dio's lifeline if the tower was ever under attack.

It was a long, arduous journey, but eventually they reached the very top of the tower. A feat only made possible by the advanced repelling gear Contessa had given them.

I bet I could'a climbed all the way...

"Could use some help over here," Carlos whispered, breaking Pixie from her daydream. Wordlessly she moved over to his side and helped him mount plastic explosives to the bottom of the elevator. If Dio managed to get past them the first thing they'd do is blow the elevator. The two soldiers guarding the door on the ground floor were also given triggers... just in case.

Once the explosives were set they climbed up and around the elevator. Carlos looked to his partner. "Get ready," he instructed. Pixie nodded and immediately went to work unscrewing the bolts of the elevator's ceiling access hatch. "We're in position." The thief said into the radio.

"Roger," a voice replied. "Cutting power in 10... 9..." As the man counted down Carlos quickly scurried over to a panel above the elevator and opened it up. Pliers in hand, he groped around for the correct wires. "8....7....6...." Pixie crouched at the edge of the open elevator hatch with her rifle at the ready. "5....4....3...."

This was it.

Finally, after twelve long years.

"...2...1..."

Dio dies tonight.

"NOW!"

The lights in the elevator flickered for a brief moment as the penthouse level diverted power from its main source to the backup generator. During that short few second window surveillance would be down. Pixie dropped down into the elevator silently, hid against the control panel and hit the "open" button. Just as soon as the elevator doors finished opening Carlos cut the power to the backup generate, covering the entire floor in darkness.

"The fuck's going on?" One of the guards on other side of the door muttered. With surgical precision the two soldiers stepped into the dark elevator with their rifles ready. To their dismay, however, only one person in that small metal box had night-vision... and it wasn't either of them. The moment they entered the elevator their fates were sealed. Pixie stepped out from behind the control panel almost casually and embedded a bullet in each of the skulls with her silent sidearm. They didn't even get a chance to scream.

"All clear," she radioed to Carlos.

Suddenly several explosions rocked the tower and gunfire could be heard echoing up the elevator shaft. The tower had turned into a war-zone in a matter of seconds.

Pixie grinned.

The hunt was on.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"You excited?"


Lilith swayed her hips to the side playfully as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I better get laid after all this effort." The girl smirked. "When we get outta here we're gonna trash Lexie's bar." The girl closed her eyes as she nodded solemnly. "Not because we're killing fools, but because we want to."

Glancing over at small army they had gathered, Lilith's face hardened slightly. "How much of a fortress is this place going to be?" She looked back up at Erik. "Are we going to end up fighting for every step we take? Do we even have enough firepower to deal with that?"

 

[Dogmatic99]

"Are we going to end up fighting for every step we take? Do we even have enough firepower to deal with that?"

Erik ran his hands through his receding hair and puffed out his cheeks as he blew out air, the universal breath of 'Oh boy that's a tough one'.

"Maybe." He conceded. Not something he'd probably say in front of his men but he wasn't this girl's commander and she seemed smart enough not to blab stuff like this to the loyalists or people Erik might hate. "We have a lot of people. They have more. But I think ours are better mostly. Some were here first time round but so were some of them."

It didn't sound like it but the language barrier was coming down for him, however slowly. Maybe it was the blast that had knocked him for six clearing some of the cobwebs away or just the rush of everything going on around him. Erik had often found that a burst of adrenaline and mad activity could rid his mind of distractions and make the world and his mind seem all the more clear and spacious. As if the fog had lifted. Or, hell, maybe it was just coming back to him after all this time. Erik was an educated man after all, once upon a time he'd conversed in two languages with all the ease that a self respecting scholar should have. It had only been in recent years, when almost all need to use the second tongue had gone had he let his skills go to rust. He'd let a lot of good old habits slide over the course of all this fighting, he realised. Erik resolved to right that wrong if he was still alive and had the chance after all this. And then he tucked that thought away where it could wait until he was done here, so couldn't bother him until he was done.

"People know which parts of the tower are worth fighting over. Most aren't. We split up, we keep them busy where they don't want to be and we can win this and only fight half of them. If... uuh" He took a moment to find the words. "We take the top. We take Vasa and Florian. They hear he is back but if they see he is back then... we can..."

"We capture their leader and rub winning in their faces until they get scared and back down and then we shoot anyone who doesn't." Winter interjected as he walked past the two of them.

"Y-yeah." Erik nodded along, happy with the phrasing. "And we get Florian out and, well things calm down a little at least." Apparently his language skills hadn't recovered enough to properly discuss battle strategy along with the ins and outs of crime syndicate internal politics. Well he just had to keep things easy and to the point for now.

The time went by quickly as their ragtag band got themselves in order. Each captain gathered their people to them and readied themselves to make their individual pushes. Lilith was tagging along with Erik and the two squads he was taking with him, their group's objective was to secure the private route to the highest level of the tower. Erik wasn't willing to make the trek up to the top on foot, once the other team had secured the main security centre they could over ride the controls for the emergency elevator and ride it up to the top and go straight for the metaphorical jugular.

Everyone was ready and moving out. His boys had all their tech and hardware ready. It was now or never. ["Okay boys, this is it! Time to move out!"] And off they went, mask donned and in proper formation. "We make history today, Girl. One way or another." He gave her one last pat on the shoulder before heading off at a jog. Erik would be leading from the front, as was the proper way to do these things. They'd given Lilith a fresh rifle and stuck her in the back, each bandit making sure to crack his share of jokes about snipers liking it in the rear while they moved up through the tower. As was proper.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

'Make history, huh?'

A small smile curled Lilith's lips. "I like the sound of that." The foreign girl with the platinum hair, who came to their downtrodden city and helped remove the heel from its neck. Lilith could see it now. She wasn't expecting a statue in her honour, but the thought was nice.

It was not time for thanks and possibly golden statues, first she had to do her job and make sure they all stayed alive long enough to reap the benefits of success. Not that liberating Frostfall wasn't its own reward of course. As Lilith followed up the rear 'He he.' She kept her eye out for trouble, the prestigious honour of being the rear guard 'He he.' was her's, and it would be a cold day in hell when someone picked her men off on her watch.

The girl was amazed Erik was up an about so quickly, the man was a juggernaut, she doubted anything could stop him once he'd made up his mind. She just hoped he could go the distance when it finally came to confronting Vasa.

But first they had to take of Sergei and his men.

Sergei.

'You're mine *****.'

 

[The Funslinger]

Once he was out of the crate, Ruffles straightened up and hefted his bag, setting it to hang at the small of his back before putting the strap of his shotgun over his shoulder.

Patting his holdall, he turned to Sprout. "For the record, what I have in here is awesome. I'mma bust this thing out when we get in that engine room, and you're gonna be all like, 'shit, Ruffles, how come you're so cool all the time?'"

Turning to speak to Bennie, he grinned. "Let's do this shit. Been a while since I got up in an antique like this. I wanna see if it has those old mark four feedback consoles."

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

Before the two now unconscious Maidens in training had hit the ground, Whiskey was skidding on her knees to get at her daughter. Her heart was pounding, and sweat was breaking out on her forehead as the put her fingers to the vein in Millie's neck.

Her pulse was fine. Her breathing was regular. There was, however, a bloody welt right on one of Millie's eyebrows that was flowing steadily. It wasn't much damage at all, really, but that wasn't how Whiskey saw it at all.

Those fucking morons! They'd given Millie a fucking gun, and the end result was that her perfect face was now marred. She was unconscious, and although she looked fine, there was a loud voice in Whiskey's head yelling that she would never wake up. That Whiskey was a terrible mother. That she could have stopped this.

Shaking herself, Whiskey gently turned Millie on her side, into the recovery position. Getting to her feet, she gave the two kids she'd beaten down a rather more cursory examination, concluding that they were fine. She was certain there'd been a girl here too, but she must have run out. Whiskey had been so shocked to see Millie lying unconscious that she hadn't even seen the Austinite girl leave.

Pacing while she thought, she noticed a can with a steady trail of smoke rising from a hole in it. Walking over, Whiskey picked it up curiously. Then she smiled, in spite of herself. Millie might have concussed herself doing it, but she'd hit the can dead center. Chip off the old block.

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

"It wouldn't do to be late to your Aunt's party."

"Oh, you know my aunt," Owain replied as he stepped up into the aircraft. "She keeps her guests spinning their wheels for a while, so she can watch them squirm before business. We have enough time to grow old and die, I'd wager."

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

Everything happened very quickly. One moment, Bryan was sat on the hood of an armoured crawler next to where Jun was stood, playing with his service pistol, and watching the recruits drill weapons protocol. Then there were explosions, and said recruits had their rifles aimed squarely at the two of them.

"Stand down, boys," one of the 'recruits' said. A particularly ugly looking woman that Bryan suspected might be able to lift the crawler he was sat on with one hand.

"Aye," he said. "No need for trouble." He looked around. The pistol was still obscured, under his hands and between his knees. None of them were telling him to drop it, so it must have fallen beneath their notice.

What could he do with it, though? A dozen bullets would find him before he managed to get more than a shot or two off.

"Me mate here couldn't do much more'n kick your shins, and I know when I'm beat," he said. "No harm, no foul, right?"

"Just take off the swords and shut up, and maybe we'll just tie you up somewhere," the woman replied. Somehow, Bryan didn't believe her.

"Long as I get 'em back," Bryan replied, before moving into action. Bringing the pistol up, he fired at a box of frag grenades still sitting on the weapons bench by the 'recruits', before throwing himself backwards over the crawler's hood in the midst of yet another explosion, substantially closer and more deafening as the box of grenades exploded.

"Jun!" he yelled. "Gimme your gun and fucking leg it!"