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

[ProtoChimp]

"Not whatever the hell you are, man!"

Aesop clenched his fists and looked away frustrated, loudly forcing out air. "That is so fucking racist!" His voice even squeaked in mock anger, "and I'll have you know there some hot 'second class' Asians grease monkey!" Aesop then realised the massive mishap of words he just made. "...wait not that kind of monk- FUCK YOU YOU STARTED IT!" He kept pointing an accusatory finger at Ruffles when Whiskey spoke.

"Talk later, boys."

"Sure thing," he turned to leave before adding, "one sec, did ass hat give a reason why security sucked dick. Parker died cos his help sucks, and I'm not sure I trust him to take down Austin if some frost fuckers with axes could wipe 'em out like that."
=======================================
Alex was fast approaching the ship on the ground as it lay waste to the financial district. Leaning up out of the sunroof, many cops were aiming their damaged weapons up at the ship. It was unlikely they would do much damage since these very same weapons couldn't bring it down earlier, but they had to try.

Rolling up a winding street that went up a hill, the small convoy stopped and took aim at the Iron Maiden. They arched their shots, the advantage of free holding these weapons rather than being mounted increased mobility at least, even if it was a ***** to carry around. Balancing them atop their vehicles it was extremely difficult to control recoil as many shots flew right past the ship. Gritting her teeth, Alex yelled, "Aim for fuck sake! You're doing his job for him!" their shots crashing onto the street below.
======================================
A few of the shots hit their mark, however just like when the weapons were in the hands of the nobles, surface damage was the maximum amount of damage that could be achieved. Turning their attention towards the fire the snipers took aim.

"Hang on!" Austin commanded as the cruisers came into view. 'Not a great plan, but one born out of desperation...'
"Hold your fire!" He commanded as he was lost in thought. Grabbing a set of binoculars he looked out through the deck to see who was daring to attack the saviour of the world. And he saw, the father at long last had seen the one he had dreamed of for eight long years, the only one who could live alongside him not just below him. The only person, the only woman in the whole world, nay the whole universe who was not a daughter, yet not a pretender.

The father had at long last, found the mother. "Lower the ship." He spoke with much less enthusiasm than before. "We approach them on the ground."

"But father they have rocke-"

"Its your mother."

His daughter gasped as the cogs began to turn in her head. A nervous chill spilling through her body, she nodded and lowered down the ship. Austin meanwhile sped off down the ship to the hangar, ordering a contigent of sons and daughters to follow him. They filed into various crawlers as the doors opened up, a huge portion of the ship now in vehicles and combating the police head on while the ship raised back up into the sky. "Oliver, command your sister at the wheel," Austin spoke through a handheld radio, "I'm putting you in charge. Do not disappoint me once more Oliver."

"Yes my father," he answered shamefully, "I wouldn't dare." The ship ascended as it headed off to another district of the city as the family engaged the police.

"This is a rescue mission!" The father boomed out. "We kill the rest, but your mother we save. If she is hurt then you have revealed yourself as a pretender, understand!"

"Yes father!"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"He's waiting for you."

"Where'd you think I'm headin'?" Lilith chuckled as she glanced at the old man. Something was odd about his expression.

"The apartment's been compromised. Someone attacked it. They're fine, don't worry, but we need to rendezvous with them at the brothel. We're leaving Feroxi. Tonight."

"What?! What happened?" Lilith demanded, holding her cigarette between her fingers. "Why the hell are we bailing tonight?" She clasped a hand to her mouth. "It wasn't Gorgon was it?"


"No," Cranston shook his head. "We don't know who it was, the Gentleman's men didn't think it was important enough to say. That, or they weren't sure themselves. In any case, we've made too big of a mess tonight. If we don't leave now we won't be leaving at all."

Lilith's eyes shifted slightly. 'The Gentlemen? Of course he'd have men stationed here, he was the bloody Gentleman, probably doing it as a favour for Pixie.'

Placing the cigarette between her lips, she nodded her head, a small smirk curling her mouth. "Okay, let's blow this scene. Tired of this damn city anyway."

"Follow me," He ordered as he turned and dashed down the street. Thirty minutes later, after navigating the winding alleyways of Feroxi, they'd reached their destination. Standing by the side of the building, Cranston turned to Lilith. "We wait here."


"Hah, back here again?" Lilith looked up at the familiar brothel as she leaned against the opposite alley wall. Her expression hardening, she glanced at Cranston. "So, where are we headin'?"

"Carlos' hideout. I have the coordinates. If we can get out of here we'll be there before dawn." Glancing up and down the street, he muttered under his breath. "Where are you?"

Lilith grinned, "We're gonna go see the others!" The girl almost started bouncing. "Sprout must be pissing his pants, seeing Bennie after all this time!" She managed to compose herself, coughing slightly before leaning back against the wall.

"Not me though. Nope. Still haven't forgiven him." She frowned mockingly.


"Lilith," Cranston stated plainly as turned back to face her. He sighed. "We're not out of this yet, okay? For all we know they have all of Feroxi riding their ass. Focus on the now. We can't afford to make any mistakes."


He was right, as excited as she was to be going back to Pixie, she couldn't rest on her laurels, not yet. "Yeah, okay, sorry." She muttered as she reached into he pocket. Lighting a cigarette, she shook her head slightly. "I don't get it, why are we leaving the city in such a hurry?" She furrowed her brow. "Is this about Liz?"


"Everything has been about her," Cranston rubbed the back of his head in frustration. "With our safehouse gone and Gorgon dead, it's only a matter of time before they put the pieces together and sniff us out." He sighed. "Assuming they haven't already."


"Okay then, so we clear out tonight, get her to Carlos' place, they wouldn't have put the pieces together yet, surely? And even if they did, they'd have to lockdown the entire city." She narrowed her eyes, Cranston looked worried.

"They're totally gonna lock down the bloody city aren't they."

"That's what I'd do." Cranston muttered. Glancing down at the cigarette in Lilith's hand, the old assassin groaned. "I need a fuckin' smoke."

Lilith raised an eyebrow. Cranston didn't smoke. Cranston never smoked. "Oh shit, this is serious isn't it?" Reaching into her pocket, she handed the man the pack of smokes and matchbook. "Just how much trouble are we in?"


Like an old pro, Cranston lit the match, the cigarette and then took a long, deep drag before exhaling, "Not sure. Could be a lot. Could be a little. I tend to avoid taking unnecessary risks. Leaving the city comes with its own risk, of course, but with things they way they are now..."

He took another drag, "Damned if we do, damned if we don't. You know?" Noticing the growing concern on her face he patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Lily, I've got your back. I'm glad. You know that?"


Lilith pursed her lips, keeping the girl was a massive risk, but it wasn't one she doubted for a second. If they had to leave the city to keep her safe, then so be it. Smiling weakly as Cranston grabbed her shoulder, she tilted her head, resting her cheek on the back of his hand.

"Glad about what?"

"How you handled yourself back there. Yeah, you fucked up more than a few times, but you..." He broke eye contact for but a moment as he searched for the right words. "You didn't lose sight of yourself. I won't lie to you, Lilith. I was very hesitant about bringing you with me. I thought I'd just being creating another Pixie."

Staring past her, he shook his head and took another drag.


Lilith diverted her eyes as she blushed slightly. "I don't know about that..." She laughed nervously. "I didn't... want it, as much as I thought I did, you know?" She locked eyes with the man. "I just needed to find that out." She leaned forward, kissing the old man on the forehead. "Thanks for having faith in me, sentimental old bastard"


"Yeah, yeah," Cranston chuckled. "Faith's all we've got left, kid."

 

[Dogmatic99]

The world was going mad all around him and all Florian could think to do was to keep running. The roads were packed and the streets were going haywire as people tried to make up their minds between fleeing, barricading themselves inside or gawping at the light show. Get there, just get to the tower.

The closer they got the more intense the looting got as people took advantage of the chaos. How many of them were lesser members of the Bejic family? Street level thugs who joined up once they saw which way the tide was going just to get a quick slice of security and gain. Fire's had been set all over the place and smaller skirmishes were breaking out in spots unseen, but Florian felt like he could hear them all.

Frostfall was being smothered in mist and dark smoke, with only flickering streetlights and blazing flames to light the way. Flashes of gun muzzles pierced through the darkening shroud and the weight of a city crying out dragged down on Florian with every step he took.

Not like this. This wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to be like this!

He had to pause at a crossroads, having been turned around in all the chaos. Florian turned and turned again trying to find his way, anything short of a star to guide him by but the sky was being choked half to death and the tower was so shrouded it looked no different from any other tall building at this point.

Florian ran his hands through his hair in sheer frustration. Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK! what do I do? What do I do?

And all of a sudden he was a little boy again, battered and bruised among the ash. His mind racing with fear and anger and praying for help that wasn't coming.

 

[ProtoChimp]

"Its coming down!" Yelled an officer as they peppered the ship with a light drizzle of fire, their weapons damn near falling apart. Alex was confused, why would they come to ground so easily? There was no way they would...

"Its him..." she whispered. "ITS HIM!" She shouted.

Austin sat in the back of his crawler, his .500 Smith & Wesson resting in his giant hand. He wasn't the only person who could obviously, but he personally only knew one other who could carry such a cannon with one hand.

"Fire everything you got!" Yelled Alex as she launched a barrage of fire against the oncoming family, her officers following suit. It would have been a massacre were it not for the faulty weaponry.

"Cannon jammed!"

"Fucking thing's fallin' apart!"

Shouts like these echoed among her squadron, only a few were able to attack with consistent explosive fire. Alex cursed her luck, and her evil husband as he was approaching fast. As they got closer the quakes of shells against the ground was getting louder, throwing the police off balance and knocked off their improvised mounted weaponry. A few crawler's managed to get blown apart by the police, but it was not enough as they were now too close to fire without danger.

"Go time." Austin spoke eerily calmly to his children as he exited his crawler.

"GO TIME!" Boomed Alex as she leapt out of her vehicle, .500 S&W in hand.

Spoiler: Family reunion

Alex rushed forwards against the oncoming family, firing her pistol ahead of her as she did. One shot, and the head of the driver of Austin's personal vehicle exploded in a mist of crimson mass.

Hopping out, Austin fired twice at two officers covering his wife, their chests being burrowed through by the massive cartridges. The police pushed up along with Alex, firing their primitive weapons. They may have been extremely well maintained, but against the might of the Iron Maiden's armoury they were no match. That said, the disciplined officers stood strong against the horde of ravenous children. Even in a situation like this, controlled breathing and well aimed shots proved to be a better match rather and angrily spraying high powered machine guns.

Alex pushed up against one of the crawlers, a young teenage girl coming up on her right with a shotgun in hand, she wasn't even twice her son's age. The luxury of hesitation was not hers to be had however, as she blew the young girl away.

"Candice!" yelled another grunt as he vaulted over to face Alex.

'And now she has a name. God damn you Peter.'

The older boy shot wide with an SMG, hoping to just hit something, as she dodged past him and severed his spine with a powerful close ranged blast.

Austin meanwhile was already among the officers, his children covering him as he barged his way through the supposed authority. Kicking his gargantuan boot against the chest of an officer, crushing the air out of his lungs, Austin shot him in the forehead, which now was no longer even there. A cop ran up to Austin's right, flanking him. He didn't even turn to address him as the man was shot down by the loyal sons and daughters. Marching like an angry soldier, Austin walked with his children as they surrounded a smaller group that had split off. They were riddled with so many bullets it would be impossible to identify to their families, if their families would survive Austin's wrath.

Alex kicked the side of the head of a, thankfully, older looking woman before destroying her stomach with her destructive ammo. However, a much younger boy came up behind her brandishing a large knife. Seeing him at just the last second, the Sheriff kicked back against the boy's face. Turning to engage her enemy she finally gave in and hesitated. This boy looked the same age, hell maybe even younger than her son.

But those eyes, those eyes were rabid and wrong. Sick and twisted, just like Peter would do to their son, the real Austin. Regretfully Alex raised her pistol and sent herself to hell as she ended the life of the child. She could blame Austin all she wanted, and true he had pushed her, but her conscience would always remember how many children she had killed today.

Austin meanwhile had a vicious smile on his face as he shoulder barged a man into a wall, shooting his foot and destroying it before elbowing the man and finishing him off on the ground, his wails of pain like an opera of justice to the great father.

Alex heard these screams and realised to her shock, she was the only one left. Her blood boiling, her skin shaking in wrath, her voice brought up a battlecry she never wanted to scream again in her life.

[HEADING=1]"PETER!!![/HEADING]

His head snapped back as he heard, for the first time in so long, his wife's beautiful voice. But she was saying the wrong name. Austin ran atop a crawler and boomed as he saw her finally, "Alex... my beloved." His voice was soft, as if they were on a romantic date long overdue.

"SCUM!" Was the last word her mouth formed before she raised her magnum and fired at her once loved boyfriend. Austin chuckled as she was out of ammo. He was too however, and he re sheathed his weapon as he jumped down to approach his wife.

"My love, lets not fight in front of the children." He managed to get just that sentence out before she was on him, jumping up and kicking him in the chest. Austin recoiled back before blocking her punches with one tree trunk like arm. She slammed a few kicks into his hips before he slipped to the side to punch her in the face. She dodged, and followed up with two quick hits to his arm pit. Austin flinched as she got a weakpoint, before she leapt into the air and punched him in the back of the head. She had the upper hand, she could do this. She could finish this!

She kicked the back of his leg, before he swung his bad arm behind himself, crushing against the side of her head. Alex fell down, a ringing in her ears before she used her magnum to whip his knee. He flinched once more before she upper cutted him with the hilt of her weapon.

"Enough!" He boomed before suddenly and swiftly punching her gut with incredible force. The wind was knocked out of her but she had to continue, she had to fight. Flinging the weapon at his face, he dodge it before she super man punched him in the face. He rushed his knee and crushed her against the car, before she clapped his ears. He walked back a few steps, this couldn't work. He didn't want to hurt her but she could hurt him, it needed to end. She pulled out her baton when suddenly every single child jumped on her, grabbing her arms and legs, her torso held as she tried to escape.

She bit and kicked and scratched, breaking out of their grip before they had to crack her over the head with various weapon hilts. It seemed like forever until she went down, but she did.

Panting, his nose bleeding again and pain rushing through his face he commanded. "Take care of her, tie her up, make sure she can't escape." He leaned in close and kissed his unconscious love on the forehead. "There now my love, you've worked so hard. Time to rest."

 

[Fappy]

"I'll go and take a look while you fetch the little lady."

Severa giggled like a schoolgirl before leaping across the room. Her mind already set on the excitement outside, she'd completely forgotten about the half-dead fat man she'd left behind. Grabbing her case, she followed Owain outside the bar.

Spoiler: CHAOS!

It was magnificent.

Balls of fire streaking across the sky. Bodies, burned to a crisp, littering the streets. The howls of men and woman dying by the sword in every direction.

Armageddon had found its way to Frostfall and Severa couldn't be happier.

Looking to Owain, she grinned, "Looks like we picked the right time to come here, Brother! Whoever finds the Gentleman first gets unreciprocated pleasure for the rest of the night!" She squealed, before literally skipping down the street, towards the war-torn tower in the center of the city.

Turning around a street corner, Severa came face-to-face with a large group of Bejic men in the midst of a skirmish with their milk-drinking counterparts. Holding it out in front of her, Severa caressed the metal case and began singing a tune,

"~My dear, Mir-an-da,
for how long must I wait?
My girl, Mir-an-da,
I'm filled with seething hate!~"

She unhinged the latches on the case.

"~My darling, Mir-an-da,
do not resent me for my rage.
Won't you be the light that guides me,
As I release you from your cage!~"

Dropping the case to the ground as it opened up, Severa now had within her hands an massive weapon. Her deranged laughter caught the attention of a few Bejic soldiers, prompting them to turn around, "Ho-holy shit! Is that!?"

"GET THE FUCK DOWN!"

It was too late.

Severa laid into Vasa's troops, her LMG, Miranda, singing a heavenly chorus of mechanical death as its 5.56mm rounds tore through their flesh. Severa swayed her hips back and forth, sweeping the area with a blanked of hot metal. As the bodies fell, one-by-one, her toothy, dark grin grew ever wider.

This is what she lived for.

Once the dust had settled, she began searching for greener pastures.

Thank you, Dear Aunty.

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

After the preparations had been completed, it was time now to see their old friend off. Standing in the center of the main room, Pixie called out to her fellow Maidens, "Listen up! It's time, people! Grab yer breathin' masks and head up to the surface. It's time we return ar' brother to the ash."

She and Bennie exchanged awkward glances as she walked over to his side and helped him lift Parker's body. He'd been wrapped head-to-toe in linen. Though she'd usually leave heavy lifting of this sort to someone like Brock or Warren, dealing with a dead comrade was a completely different story. He died under her watch. She was his captain. It was her responsibility to see him off.

To ensure he made it across the river okay.

Once they'd marched up to the surface, Parker's linens were taken apart with care and he was laid out, prostrate on the ashlands. In his hands, he held his favorite weapon, an old hunting rifle his father had given him. Everyone stood gathered around the corpse of their old friend. After a long period of silence, Pixie spoke, "I don' reckon anyone 'as anythin' ta' say 'bout 'im before we light 'im up?"

Bennie shook his head in amusement. That was Pixie's way of saying, "Does anyone have any last words for Parker?"

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

Samsara wasted no time as they ran down the pristine halls of Basilio tower, en route to the main hanger. They'd collect a crawler and head to whichever gate they were needed at. Though there was no way to know where they'd try to leave the city from, Tsubaki had a good guess: wherever they'd have the slowest response. The furthest gate from the tower.

Just as they were entering the hanger, a booming voice echoed down the hall from behind. Looking over her shoulder, her eyes grew wide in surprise, "Colonel Ortega!" She called out. Turning around to face him, she saluted. "I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure."

"Save it!" Oretga snapped. "What's going on!?"

"We have reason to believe the Iron Maidens present in the city are trying to escape with Lady Maribel. We were about to head to the South Gate and---"

"No, we need to cover them all. We can't leave it to the gate guards to handle the rest. They're in league with Sandringham, one of the Gentelman's top agents. They'd cut down a legion common soldiers without breaking a sweat." He glanced around the hall. Including himself and Samsara, there were eleven of them. There were six gates. Mila was babysitting Viola and the boy. "One of us will have to cover one of the gates alone."

"I will," Tsubaki announced, without missing a beat. "Harel, you're with the Colonel. O'Lafferty and Moon, stay together."

Ortega cocked an eyebrow, "Are you sure about this?"

Tsubaki nodded, "I've never made an order I didn't mean."

"Sure," Ortega smiled. "I've heard a lot of nasty rumors about you, Commander." He shrugged. "Glad to see they don't mean shit."

"Let's not waste anymore time, Colonel."

"Agreed."

As they filed into the hanger, Tsubaki looked to her squad, "O'Lafferty and Moon, you two are heading to the South-East gate. Harel, you and Ortega are hitting the South Gate. Any questions?"

 

[The Funslinger]

"one sec, did ass hat give a reason why security sucked dick. Parker died cos his help sucks, and I'm not sure I trust him to take down Austin if some frost fuckers with axes could wipe 'em out like that."

Whiskey chewed her lip for a moment in contemplation. Then she took a breath, her expression leaden and said, "look, Aesop, let me give you a piece of advice. This goes for you, your crew mates, your Captain, everyone, 'cause you seem like good people. Never, ever assume incompetence or ignorance with that man, or you'll get yourselves killed. Payton is a god damn snake, and he plays the long game so much, even his morning piss is a move in a chess match."

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

"Looks like we picked the right time to come here, Brother! Whoever finds the Gentleman first gets unreciprocated pleasure for the rest of the night!"

"You still owe me for our previous interruption," called back Owain as he headed off in the other direction. A few Bejics called out at him, advancing with guns and knives in hand, but their threats were cut off by the staccato pops of Owain's silenced pistol. Each man went down with blood erupting from his head, excepting the last, who took his in the throat.

As he lay there gargling, Owain stopped briefly to observe the dead. "Oh my god," he said, "DON'T JUST SAY YOU'RE GOING TO SHOOT ME! ACTUALLY FUCKING SHOOT ME!" he yelled, a manic grin on his face. His raised voice attracted an investigator, who came around the corner holding a pair of pistols. Owain flipped a knife at him, and watched him go down with the blade through his eye. Clapping a hand to the side of his head, Owain raked his fingers through his hair, laughing. Incompetent bastards, the lot of them.

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

Bryan shrugged. "Alright, Jun. Let's get going. Maybe we'll actually get this feckin' thing sorted."

 

[Daystar Clarion]

"Harel, you and Ortega are hitting the South Gate. Any questions?"

Asad nodded his head firmly. "Aye commander." Turning on his heel, he started towards Ortega. Approaching the colonel, Asad made a hasty salute before crossing his arms over his chest. "Rules of engagement, sir?"

The Cook, he had no problem with, but he really didn't like the prospect of killing the younger bandits, especially the Monroe kid.

 

[Terratina.]

Of course Jun didn't have any questions, there wasn't any time for questions.

"Alright, Jun. Let's get going. Maybe we'll actually get this feckin' thing sorted."

"Right." Was his reply. Bryan didn't have to tell him twice, he was more than ready to finally end this. Though, annoyingly enough, it seemed like it was going to last a little longer.

No matter, they would fulfil their orders, or at least Jun would to the best of his ability.

 

[Dogmatic99]

With any visual point of guidance covered up Florian was left to go by sound and the closest thing he could think of was to do what he'd done all his life and headed towards the sound of gunfire (or at least where it sounded thickest). With any kind of sick luck he'd manage to find the Bejic family host and... and... well he'd try and find them anyway. The streets were swarming with possible combatants though, forcing Florian to weave in and out of fights, pushing his tired and rusty skills back into their waking state.

When was the last time you got this kind of exercise? Blood pulsing like a flood and the air feeling clearer than it had in a long time. Every quiet little feeling of satisfaction that the past few years had given him paled in comparison to the high of the life. Florian could hardly see ten yards in front of his face and yet the clouds were rolling away as if he was waking up after a long slumber. Was this what it felt like to truly come home?

But before he could take off even a little Florian was brought crashing back down as a nearby storefront exploded into a shower of broken glass and blazing shrapnel, knocking Florian clean off his feet. The priest staggered to his feet, coughing up a lung and trying to blink the world back into focus. A searing pain was flaring up in his left side as Florian was given an angry reminder of the young bullet wound in his shoulder, the same shoulder that had just taken all his weight.

"[Goddammit!]" Florian cursed through gritted teeth, holding his wound tight and trying to ignore the familiar feeling of blood trickling down his face.

Forward. he just had to keep moving forward and to hell with the rest.

 

[The Funslinger]

"I don' reckon anyone 'as anythin' ta' say 'bout 'im before we light 'im up?"

There was a silence. A group of skilled public speakers, the Maidens were not. After a pause, Ruffles stepped forward, immediately feeling all eyes on him.

"Um..." he cleared his throat. Taking a breath, he spoke. "I've been here about as near to the beginning as you could be. After Pix and Cranston, I guess I'm pretty fucken senior... that always seems weird. Anyway, give or take a couple people, Parker was pretty much one of the first to join up after yours truly. And he was a real good guy... I know there's not much otherwise you can say about someone at their funeral, but he was. Always had a corny joke on his lips, and he was always happy to keep an eye on Sprout if the rest of us were busy, or help me degrease the engine even though it wasn't his job and he came out needing six showers after 'cause he didn't have a jumpsuit." Ruffles sighed, looking at where Parker's body was lain.

"Eight fucking years, man. It ain't gonna be the same. I only wish I'd talked to you more, buddy. Save me a seat and we'll light one up when I get over there."

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

Bang. Dead. Bang. Dead. A Bejic with a large hunting knife charged Owain. Seizing the bandit's arm, Owain moved with him, redirecting his momentum. The Bejic cart-wheeled through the air and landed sprawling on his back. Owain took possession of the knife and buried it hilt deep between the man's ribs.

Straightening up, he slotted in a fresh clip and headed around the corner. Various innocents were trying to run, trying to avoid the carnage of the Bejics. Owain didn't particularly cared if the people escaped or were slaughtered, but the Bejics were his particular target for now. Two shots. Two dead bandits. Then he turned to find more, and was confronted with an alternative source of amusement. A rather disheveled looking man in a priest's collar. Owain leveled his pistol.

"Forgive me, father, for I have sinned," he said, his grin expanding until he thought it might split his head. "Ohhh, I've sinned a lot. And I'll probably sin some more tonight."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

A second maintenance van pulled up in front of the brothel, tires squealing slightly as it turned in a braked. The back door opened, and black-suited figures leaned out, silently beckoning Cranston and Lilith inside. As soon as they were on board, the van sped away.

"Put these on." One of the men inside said, handing them each a set of Dome-Maintenance coveralls, complete with full-face breathing apparatus. Beyond that, no words were spoken, as the rest proceeded to slip the same outfits on over their gear. It wasn't long before they were pulling into a parking lot, occupied already by Sandringham's van. When the occupant's of both piled out, everyone was in disguise, and The Gentleman's men were holstering suppressed machine-pistols beneath their suits.

"Any sign of trouble?" Sandringham asked one of the men who had picked up Cranston and Lilith.

"Negative. Have you been able to contact the Boss?"

"We can't risk it, They could be listening on the frequencies by now. It doesn't matter. We follow the orders we're given until such time as they change."

From there, Sandringham beckoned everyone in.

"Listen up. It's radio-silence from here-on out, so everybody needs to be clear on the plan. We're leaving by the South Gate. We're following a scheduled maintenance time-table, so we should have no problem getting through unless lock down's already in place when we get there. If it is, then we won't have time for finesse. We take no chances. We kill everyone on the gate, and then we bust out before backup arrives. We can change vehicles once we're beyond the dome, and then it's straight on to the objective."

Sandringham handed a spare SMG to Cranston.

"If we'd had more warning, I would have liked to find out who was on gate duty, and work out some leverage." he muttered under his breath. "But we've got to play the hand we've been dealt. If things turn ugly, you stick on the NC's like glue while the bulk of my men try and draw fire away from you. Though, I don't reckon you need telling twice on that count."

He turned, his eyes darting between Lilith and Sprout, standing on opposite sides of the group about 20 yards apart, while everyone else checked their gear.

"Make it quick." He said, as he walked past the boy and back towards the truck. "We don't have a lot of time."

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

"I really am sorry about this!" The Gentleman exclaimed, as he shot dead his sixth man for the day, as he made his way through the dust and smoke. Bejic's, Loyalists, he had no quarrel with any of them right at this moment, but they both insisted on shooting at him whenever he tried to ask a simple question. He let out an exasperated sigh. Pitched battles really weren't The Gentleman's scene. All he wanted was to grab Florian and get out of this accursed dome while they could still get away clean. In fact, if Florian persisted in being a fool he may well have to be content with just the second part. He could always make up an appropriate story for Meredith later, though really, why had the man even bothered to come back here?

As he was in the middle of that thought, he was bull-rushed by another Bejic. Whether this man was just a street thug joining the fray, or had lost any more advanced weaponry he had been given was hard to say. All that could be discerned was that the man was taking part in the battle around them armed with nothing more than a length of lead pipe, which nevertheless he appeared to wield with gusto.

"Excuse me!" The Gentleman began, before he was forced to duck a savage slice aimed for his head. The conversation continued in this manner, as the man continued to advance, swinging wildly.

"You wouldn't..." *dodge* "happen to have seen..." *dodge* "a priest around here would you?" *dodge* "Young man, local..." *dodge* "somewhat on the gruff side?" *dodge* "Oh, for pity's sake!"

As the man tried to bring in a lethal down-cut, The Gentleman side-stepped, and caught the man's wrist before he could raise it again. Twisting, his fore an middle fingers digging into the Bejic's pressure-point, The Gentleman sent the pipe tumbling out of his foe's grasp. A kick to the back of the knee brought the man down, before he was finished off with the bullet through the back of the head.

Shaking his head in dismay, The Gentleman was about to move on, when a sliver of white caught his eye. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing that did.

"Fancy meeting such an... esteemed, member of the Lombardi household all the way out in the Sticks like this." The Gentleman announced, His gun trained at the back of Owain's head, at just far enough of a distance to be out of arm's reach. "I seem to recall you come as part of a matched set, Owain. Am I to assume that dear Severa is close by?"

 

[Fappy]

"I seem to recall you come as part of a matched set, Owain. Am I to assume that dear Severa is close by?"

"'I'll spin a great web',
the spider did claim,
'To catch the unwitting',
'The fools and the lame',"

Severa chirped as she strode in from around a corner, her LMG pointed squarely at the Gentleman's back.

"In his hubris,
the spider believed,
he could best all his foes,
and all they conceived,"

Severa's eyes wandered to the priest. He returned the gaze like a deer caught in headlights. She licked her chops.

"Too bad for the spider then,
when he figured it out,
he'd been entrapped by his own web,
like a dim-witted lout,"

Her eyes found their way back to the Gentleman as a toothy grin spread across her face.

"As he lay helpless,
sprawled out on his back,
the vermin came crawling,
poised for the final attack,"

Her finger twitched on the trigger.

"The spider did scream,
and the spider did cry,
but not single soul cared,
that the spider... would die."

Brushing her hair over her shoulder, Severa giggled, "I spent the entire train ride over here looking for an apt tale to tell. Did you like it?"

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

"Happy hunting, everyone." Tsubaki said to her men before turning towards her crawler. The streets would be crawling with soldiers within the hour.

Sitting down in the driver's seat, Tsubaki sighed as she watched her squad spread out across the hanger. She didn't like splitting them up like this, but she didn't see any other option. Hopefully, Asad would get some insight into the Colonel while under his command. He seemed like a good enough soldier, but there was something... off about him.

Focus on the mission, Tsu.

Seconds later, Tsubaki was out of the hanger and flying down the streets of Feroxi. Hopefully they weren't too late.

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

"Rules of engagement, sir?"

Ortega turned to look at him as he approached, "Shoot to kill all but the young Lady. If he is present, we'll try to take the assassin alive. Our main objectives, however, are to apprehend Lady Maribel and wipe out Sandringham's cell. Is that clear?" He asked as he plopped down into the driver's seat.

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

Cranston nodded in agreement and went about preparing himself in silence.

A smile came to her face when Elizabeth saw Sprout hobble over to Lilith, falling into her embrace. She was really glad to see her friend alive.

After the frantic, emotional hug, Sprout looked up at Lilith and gasped, "LILY! YER EYE!" He furrowed his brow. "What happened!?"

 

[Daystar Clarion]

An affectionate smile curled Lilith's lips as the boy approached. Nothing needed to be said. Wrapping her arms around him, she gently head butted him before tussling his hair.

"LILY! YER EYE! What happened!?"

Locking eyes with the boy, she searched his face, it was dotted with the tell tale signs of someone who had just been crying. Lilith's eyes softened, graced with a calmness that hadn't seen them in a long time. "You like it? I decided the left side was getting too much attention." She placed her hands on the boy's shoulders, straightening his posture. As she she continued to search his face.

Furrowing her brow, her expression hardened slightly. "Hmmmmm." Grabbing the boy's chin, she angled his face slightly as she tilted her head to look at him. "That's weird, I don't remember you being a little ***** when I left." Her face lit up as she pulled him into another embrace. "Forgive me." She whispered into his ear as she stroked the back of his head.

Pulling away from the boy, her eyes lingered on his as she turned to face the two women. Coughing slightly, she placed her hands behind her head.

"Doctor." She nodded at Maria, her expression and tone were formal. "Lady Tigerman The Third." another head nod. She couldn't keep up the act for long, before a warm smile crept to her eyes.

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

"Shoot to kill"
A pang of apprehension shot through Asad.

"Our main objectives, however, are to apprehend Lady Maribel and wipe out Sandringham's cell. Is that clear?"

"Crystal." Asad replied as he sat in the passenger seat. A small part of him hoped it would never come to that, that the South Gate wouldn't be the exit they chose. A even smaller part hoped they got away all together.

Looking straight ahead, Asad furrowed his brow as he crossed his arms over his chest. "We have reason to suspect that Maribel isn't being held against her will." He turned his head to look at the man. "She's with them willingly, Colonel."

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

"Did you like it?"

'30 seconds'

"Oh, I'm charmed my dear." The Gentleman replied, not turning around and keeping his gun steadily trained on Owain. "It's clear you have a talent for performance art. However, if you would allow me just a few constructive criticisms..."

'25'

"I'm afraid I take issue with the last stanza. You see, and no offence, I only mean this professionally, if Lady Contessa truly wanted me dead, she'd have sent someone a deal more... reliable, than the two of you."

'20'

"And I imagine you dearest Aunt would care a great deal about my demise. If I die, any chance of recovering her losses dies with me. You don't think I took all of that Carbon without anticipating something like this, do you?"

'15'

"But anyway, I must confess myself a little disappointed with the imagery. I would have thought you, an expert of matters occurring while lying face up, would recognise when a man is still very much righted."

'10'

"Your motif of the web is more appropriate than you know. For you see, a web rarely has one focus. It's strands stretch out all around, enticing the unwary."

'5'

"But, I suppose you're the one with superior firepower. I would settle the debt right now, only I appear to have lost my chequebook. You wouldn't happen to have seen it lying around here, would you?"

Right on cue, the little pile of paper, fluttering in the breeze at Severa's feet, ignited, the chemical compound inside the pages releasing a bright flare, and a heavy plume of thick, noxious gas. At once, Severa's forward vision was obscured, meaning she could not open fire without fear of hitting her beloved brother.

The Gentleman, at this time, was already moving. The most straight-forward course of action would have been to grab Owain. However, The Gentleman was aware of his uniquely... 'prickly', reputation. Too risky. Instead, he lunged forward to strike the back of Owain's knee, followed quickly by a sharp jab with his pistol to the back of the man's head, momentarily stunning him, allowing the Gentleman just enough time to slip inside his reach, wrest the pistol from his hand, and withdraw.

With the putrid cloud quickly clearing, the Lombardi siblings found The Gentleman standing side off from them, arms akimbo, each holding a gun pointed steadily at their heads.

"I have no interest with a quarrel with the Lombadi family." The Gentleman announced firmly to his newly captive audience. "I am quite prepared to negotiate with Lady Contessa herself if she will grant me an audience, but I warn you that I will not come to her in chains, nor in a body-bag. If you both persist in this foolishness, I will be forced to incapacitate you through varying degrees of harm, which benefits no-one. Do I make myself clear?"

 

[Fappy]

"You like it? I decided the left side was getting too much attention."

Why was she joking at a time like this?! Couldn't she see how scared he was?

"That's weird, I don't remember you being a little *****."

It wasn't fair! She leaves without telling him after promising not to, and then comes back like THIS? Who did she think she was?!

Lily...

"Forgive me."

And like that, all of Sprout's anxiety faded away. He was so caught up in feeling betrayed that he'd failed to consider what Lilith was going through right now. Of course she was joking around! That's how she deals with tough shit! He should have known! He shouldn't have been so selfish!

"Lady Tigerman The Third."

Elizabeth offered her a concerned smile, "I'm glad you're well, Lilith. You should let Maria take a look at that once we're safely away from the city."

Stepping forward, Sprout reached out and grabbed Lilith's hand from behind, slipping the poker chip into her palm, "I'm glad ya' came back ta' me, Lily. Next time, I'm goin' with you."

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

"We have reason to suspect that Maribel isn't being held against her will... She's with them willingly, Colonel."

Ortega shook his head as he started the crawler, "Irrelevant. She has no experience in combat. Her allegiance not withstanding, she'll go to where the shooting's thinnest. She'll be easy enough to collect if we can separate her from the others. Sandringham's squad we know. These Iron Maidens however," Peeling out of the hanger, he road his crawler directly up behind Tsubaki's. "Brief me on what you know about them."

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

Severa covered her mouth, fearful of the gas' contents and skipped out of the cloud. Once she'd gotten her sights on the Gentleman once more, he too had his weapon trained on her.

"... If you both persist in this foolishness, I will be forced to incapacitate you through varying degrees of harm, which benefits no-one. Do I make myself clear?"

"Irritatingly so," Severa pouted. "We could have had so much fun, Mr. Gentleman. Why must you make this such a dull affair?" Glancing around the battlefield, she set her eyes on the priest but for a moment before looking back to the Gentleman. "This battlefield was the last place we had expected to find you. In fact, Brother and I were just heading over to see if Vasa knew where you were. If I may ask, why are you out here?"

 

[Dogmatic99]

"This battlefield was the last place we had expected to find you. In fact, Brother and I were just heading over to see if Vasa knew where you were. If I may ask, why are you out here?"

Of course they knew him. Heaven forbid the company Florian had to keep attract anyone of a sound state of mind! No, madness was in the air now and the only ones who would survive the coming days were the animals that could adapt to the jungle and swim through the blood. Florian could have withstood it all, he could have grinned a forced smiled and walked through all the bullets and blades like a suffering man should have, shoulders squared and upper lip stiff as starch.

But why... why... WHY DID THEY ALL HAVE TO ACT LIKE C-RATE THEATRE PEOPLE?!

It had taken all Florian had to stop his eyes rolling into the back of his head and painting the sidewalk with puke. Well the narcissistic penguin he'd been forced to play shadow to had found his kindred spirits and the three could rot and burn with the rest. He had more important things to do.

Banter be damned Florian was leaving.

 

[The Funslinger]

Brought down on one knee, Owain shook himself to clear his vision. What a frustrating situation. As he looked around, he noticed the Priest beginning to step away from them. Owain doubted it was a coincidence their target had interfered to keep this one out of danger.

Knelt as he was, it was convenient enough to grab the small holdout pistol strapped above his boot. Ignoring the gun the Gentleman was aiming at him, while he and his sister were chatting, Owain straightened in a fluid motion, pointing his pistol at the fleeing Priest.

"No," he said simply. He contemplated a warning shot to the ground, but that would likely get him killed. Glancing at Severa out of the corner of his eye, Owain grinned. "I believe that technically, I win our bet," he said.

 

[Terratina.]

"I'm glad you're well, Lilith. You should let Maria take a look at that once we're safely away from the city."

"Took the words right outta my mouth." Maria said, allowing herself a little chuckle as the wave of relief washed over her. That bastard and the goddamn suits had spooked her somewhat, however, wasn't it best to cling to the good things in life? Nevertheless, the whole ordeal wasn't quite over yet. There was still the matter of getting out of Feroxi but the suits could worry about getting them safety out, leave to the professionals was the appropriate saying here. Like Goldilocks, there was no point in looking back at the bears. Looking ahead, Maria leaned into slightly to get a look at the latest scar in Lilith's collection and muttered, "That's gonna need some stitches but I guess that itty bitty band-aid will just about cover it for now."

She drew back, "...Still, it's good to see ya, Miss Valentine."

 

[ProtoChimp]

Never, ever assume incompetence or ignorance with that man, or you'll get yourselves killed. Payton is a god damn snake, and he plays the long game so much, even his morning piss is a move in a chess match."

As always, everyone had plans within plans within more fucking plans. He hoped Pixie was as deceitful as people like Payton and The Gentleman were. Not to say his confidence was waning, he just wasn't sure if she needed the advice that Whiskey had just told him. 'Just focus on Peter, Sillah, fuck all these guys, fuck 'em.'

Again he had called himself Sillah, why? He shook his head as he left. 'Don't do this Aesop, now is NOT the time ******. We're burying Parker now.' Aesop kept making racist banter with Ruffles before the maidens had a point to sit down and think, just think in silence about Parker. All jokes had died, the black humour the maidens were known for paused for a moment as they remembered their fallen comrade. Some, like Aesop and Warren, didn't know him as well as the older members. Yet, Aesop at least had some good memories of him, thankfully, they were all pretty damn funny, at least he thought so.

"Eight fucking years, man. It ain't gonna be the same. I only wish I'd talked to you more, buddy. Save me a seat and we'll light one up when I get over there."

Aesop stepped forwards and patted Ruffles on the back before commenting, "First time I ever saw Parker, Pixie was dragging my drunk ass into the maiden, she said something probably like 'Watch the hairy guy', I dunno. I guess it was that, cos the second time I ever saw Parker was when he caught me with some Boomhower Original in one of the store rooms." He chuckled a little. "He broke everything in that room over my fucking head that day," he rubbed the side of his head, "Florian had to shave this part of my head to get to the cut to stop the bleeding. There was nothing in that storeroom that was useful anymore, so Parker and Pixie shoved me in there to make it my own personal detox room. Now its filled with all sorts'a..." he looked down at the waistcoat he had lent from Carlos and compared it to his own clothing, "some really gay lookin' clothes.

I'm not good at... well speaking so sorry if this is awkward. And I didn't know you so well, but thanks for helping me off the juice man. As corny as this sounds, temptation's gonna get harder with you gone." He then added quickly as not to seem like some attention seeker, "but Pixie still has a more than mean right hook so I'll be fine." He shuffled awkwardly back into the conglomeration of maidens as they stared upon his body. Despite all the shit everyone had gone through this past week, all the pain, the death, the past catching up to everybody in all sorts of ways, hell everyone was going nuts.

Yet, even if he had doubts he was part of this family of outlaws, Aesop knew there was no other place he wanted to be. What other bandits in the world would treat their departed like this? They might have ceremony, but they didn't truly care. None of this was for show, these people cared. So god damn much, maybe too much.

'No such thing' he thought.
====================================================
With the sheriff of Yuteni tied up damn near to the point of suffocation and the meanest guards Austin had watching her as she was brought back into the Iron Maiden, the soldiers torn apart like a child ripping the legs off a spider, and the police having already being spread way too thin across the city in a normal day; now having to compete with escorting everyone in the city to safety, criminals running rampant, rioting, stealing and violent infighting among the populace, and the vicious, uncaring, unfeeling, brutality of an airship with such overpowered weapons against their opponents decimating the city, with legions of mad men and women calling themselves children blocking off exits into the city as well as filling the city causing havoc and death in their wake, even snatching children out of their beds like real life, modern day boogymen...

It was safe to say, Yuteni was lost. The battle waged on for hours, lasting all through the night. Until by dawn, the police were either completely scattered into hidden pockets of deprivation, or wiped out. Even the criminal element of the city had been torn down. Yuteni may have been kept in check just barely by the police, and organised crime was pretty much non-existent, but that didn't stop the rackets of Wilkes Vines from existing sparsely through the city, or the heavy presence of prostitution (only kept alive through heavy noble enforcement). Nevertheless, these people had been torn to shreds-that was unless they were young and willing enough to become part of Austin's sick charade. Hell many didn't even believe they were just grateful to keep living.

Civilians were being slaughtered by death squads, the young being taken in by 'their real family'. Some had tried to escape underground in the sewers like young Austin had. The little boy had found his way into a room full of various valves and steam pipes. It was the hottest he had ever been, even in the scorching heat of the surface, but such presurised heat was making him feel faint. He would have never have stayed there for so many hours had it not been such an excellent hiding place from the family. But at some point during the night, when he had no idea what time it was, or even where he was anymore, he became dizzy, hungry, restless yet exhausted. He couldn't hold up his arms or hands anymore nor his head as his eyes slowly glazed over.

He awoke lying on a bed in an unknown place, a teenage girl looking over him with a canteen in her hand. She fed the young boy and explained to him his situation.

"You were so dehydrated we thought you were dead."

"Thank you," he said weakly, barely even awake. "Where's... I'm... is my Mom-"

"Shh ssshhh sshhh rest easy brother, Mom is perfectly okay. She hit her head, but she's gonna be fine."

"Th... tha..." he wanted to thank her again when even in his exhausted state, something puzzled him very much, "wait why, why did you... say mom?"

"Ssshhh" spoke the girl as she kissed his forehead, "its okay baby brother just rest. Father will be here soon."

"I don't... what do you..." his breathing was slow, as he took long breaths, pausing momentarily to allow the canteen to pass water through his mask and into his mouth. But sleep had to take him once more, the child far too tired to speak.
==================================
"How many new brothers and sisters do we have on the ship?" Spoke Isabel as she was taking a registry, the duty she had been assigned while Franklin was with Troy in a small old looking store room turned bedroom. It did't look clean enough for the baby, but it was the only place for privacy among the Iron Maiden.

"Only a small number. Most are in checkpoints across the city, we have a little less than a dozen young ones on deck, remember to only bring on the youngest. We don't want anyone strong up here, got that." Replied Oliver to the fearful sister as she desperately tried to gain favour among her captors. One of her best qualities was now on show, her incredible acting ability. She may be able to fool Oliver, but if she needed to speak to someone with an Eagle eye such as Austin...

"Yes brother... is this victory?" She asked, not even a hint of fear in her voice.

"In all but name. Until he says we stop, we keep going." Answered the second in command to the all powerful Father Austin.

"Yes brother." she nodded before moving on, damning herself for assisting these bastards.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Carrying his tray to the table, Hannibal sat across from Viola. The food wasn't great, it was a damn barracks what did he expect, but it all looked so... clean. He'd been spoiled the past few days. None of food he had eaten still had soil from the ground in them, the water was clear, and the meat was fresh. Fresh for god sake! What kind of madness was this.

Setting his tray down he asked. "So... this is all complicated isn't it?"

Viola was already at a table when she saw Hannibal arriving with a tray of food, his eyes looked positively a glimmer when he saw the quality of it all. She almost chocked on the apple she was eating upon noticing this when trying to smile. Their guard Mila was seated at the table next to them, keeping a steady watch on the bounty hunter and the kid.

"What do you mean by complicated?" She asked back after Hannibal posed a question.

"Well," he spoke with his mouthful as he grabbed a strip of glorious bacon, "you were asked by the Sandriggim guy to kill Dr Pym, who works for Lord Basilio, who is after Sandraggam and a 'Gentleman', who works with Basilio who..." he paused for a while as the gears slowly turned in his brain, "who works with, Basililo, who wants to find Lady Maribel, but they both do, but the Maidens want... Maribel?" he squinted his face as he was trying to remember all the details of this intricate play.

There was a look of confusion on Viola's face as she tried to process the explanation that Hannibal gave of the more recent events that had happened; no offence to the lad, but he could have done a better job of it. She eventually managed to make sense of it, she hoped, after thinking about it for a few minutes.

"I think you may have gotten yourself muddled up Hannibal. The reason that Sandringham wanted Pym killed was that he is an important part of a plan that Lord Basilio is cooking up, which makes sense given that Pym is Lord Basilio's chief researcher. Lord Basilio wants Lady Elizabeth Maribel found as he intends to marry her, no doubt as part of some political alliance between the two families. Meanwhile, The Maidens kidnapped Lady Maribel during the train heist they pulled off a week back. However, it seems as though that the young Noble hasn't made any attempts to escape so far.

Perhaps she has changed allegiances because of something that has happened. But that is just speculation at the moment. Whatever Colonel Ortega was called away for, it must have been important, could be related to our current situation. Also, a small correction regarding The Gentleman, he's worked alongside for both Lord Basilio and The Maidens; though I reckon he's got more to gain by siding with The Maidens currently." Viola remarked after taking another bite of the apple.

Hannibal blinked several times in a row as she explained the situation. "Thats uh... thats a very um... there's such um... wow." He finished before gulping down the last of his bacon.

"You'd need to write this all down just to keep track. Dios." He sighed out what small bit of spanish he knew.

"I guess it can be a little disorientating for someone. I'll be sure to make a note of it for future reference." Viola remarked with a smirk as she drank some of the coffee that she had made, despite it being not the greatest, it was fairly decent, not as good as the stuff back at the hotel.

It was at this point he really wished he could read. "Good idea." He said, pretending he would be capable of such a thing.

"So what do we do now? Will anyone be mad we spoke to Dio's men? What about-" he cut himself off, realising he was just about to mention how much he liked the bald man Cranston. Hannibal coughed and tried to subtly flatten his hair and stroke his chin as a sort of badly done symbol for Cranston, thinking he'd get in trouble if they heard him talking about a wanted maiden. Especially considering his immature fantasy of the maidens.

"Aside from waiting for Colonel Ortega to return, not exactly a whole lot we can do at the moment, in short we're kind of confined to the canteen, given that I'd doubt anyone would like us to be snooping around here. As for that, we'll cross that bridge should we ever happen to come across it."