RP: ISC Phoenix [Mission 10] - Lock Up The Wolves

"Dagnabbit, Luke, them dang folks I know ain't nowhere to be seen." Enzo belted into his communicator on the streets. His shuffling brought him past the suggested hotel and he peered into the lobby for a second before walking on, "An' I tell ya, The hawspitality arount hurr ain't like they called it up to be back on Prahm. You gawt any idears, Luke?"

Zeta was making sure everything on her was fitted, and weapons were easy to draw. She made sure her suit was sealed too. Finally she took a rubber band and pulled her hair backwards into short pony-tail. She needed to get a haircut soon. Maybe someone on the ship knew how to do it.

John drew her attention while she was preparing herself. He seemed buzzed by something, a little nervous too. Probably pre-mission fear, Zeta felt it too, somewhere in the back of her mind. This won't be like any other mission Phoenix had after all.

Zeta walked into the cockpit, where John and Echelon were. "Hey John, you okay?" She asked and walked towards pilot's chair. She noticed the hand-drawn picture on the console. Flaming bird with insects all around it. How peculiar. "I did not know you could draw Johnny, this is pretty good." She said picking up the piece of paper and studying the picture from up close.

"Alright, I'll get on that imm - " Smith stopped mid-sentence as he watched John's expression of shock, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. Luca's reply to the abject horror only confirmed it - this, all of this, Smith didn't want to have even a single stock share of it. Whatever it was, he was going to stay out of it; there were too many weird, twisted happenings in the Kikyo Sector in the first place, and he had enough of his share at this age already. No need to pile more onto his long list.

" -ediately," He spoke, finishing his sentence. With that, he turned on his heel.

*****

The Ori-Rep messaged Seirin ahead of time, detailing just what he was planning to do. The lack of resistance so far didn't seem to be an outright denial, so therefore, it had to be permission. Regardless of the truth of the matter, the Black Business Suit climbed into the machine-shop modified mech and turned on it's display, quickly going into the diagnostics systems of the LEAF.

"This isn't quite right - the balance is thrown off by the extra plate," He muttered under his breath. And it wasn't just that either. There was a slew of other, minor problems that all together would throw the mini-frame out of synch, but otherwise, the work Seirin had done was rock solid. He set the system to begin detailed diagnostics, self-compensation and optimization. It wouldn't be as good as the work someone who actually knew the ins and outs of the thing would have been able to do, but this was the best Smith could do.

"Mr. Pavone?" he called Luca over the comms. "Seirin's LEAF is running some diagnostics for the time being - it might not be ready when we need it, but I'll bring it anyways just in case we're lucky." Hopping out of the cockpit and sealing it behind him, Smith strode towards the ramp across the hangar, his leather shoes gently tapping against the floor with mysterious suitcase in hand. "Walk."

At that, frame rumbled to life, it's heavy footsteps soon falling into rhythm as it kept pace alongside Smith, the two of them ascending into the ship side by side.

"Oh, uh," John replied to Zeta, "Nah. Ech drew that. What do you think it means?" He inquired as he sat at his seat, looking behind him and looking at Luca, Sebastian and the others assembled in the holding area of the Big Bird.

Echelon had sat down with the others in the crew with her 'suitcase of hurt'. It had a very poorly concealed Fingale's Revenge rifle - barrel visible out one side and the stock and handle sticking out the other, and a duct-taped Paragon IAW. There was also a few large knives sticking out of the side pockets. They looked balanced for throwing rather than for stabbing.

Allison gave Echelon a nod, who nodded back, before trading a glance with Luca and giving her attention back to Echelon. All she seemed to have on her was a refurbished Zen Arms 10mm SMG with a solid stock and an extended, compensated barrel - turning it into a carbine. She had a handful of spare magazines in a spare pocket, and an energy pistol, Xaser. She was also wearing Styrling Muur armour and a helmet for protection.

Melissa seemed to be wearing a combat helmet, with her ponytail poking out of the back of the helmet. Her beloved rail-revolver-rifle was resting against her shoulder. Bulges could be seen in her load bearing equipment for each of the massive bullets that went inside it, and their massive speed-loaders too.

All John had was that GP-12a Energy Rifle, and a Zen Arms .45 that belonged to his dad. He was feeling fairly under-dressed compared to his companions, but he knew that Luca would keep him away from the front line, and that his more heavily armoured and armed crewmembers would keep him out of harm. Plus, he was flying the ship, so it was highly unlikely that he'd encounter a gunfight.

-

"Impressive!" Luca nodded towards Smith manoeuvring the LEAF mini-Frame into the body of the Big Bird, "Hopefully it'll all be sorted out once we get to the ground. Speaking of which..."

He looked over to Sebastian, who'd strapped himself in and put his armaments in a duffel bag in front of him. Luca could see the barrels of the old-style GP-1 and the GP-12b sticking out of the bag, and a magazine of ammunition poking out of a side pocket. His giant calibre revolver was still by his side.

"So, dad," Luca asked as he tried to lean back, accounting for the weight on his shoulders. His ears felt very warm. "What's the plan when we touch down?"
Sebastian interlaced his fingers and looked at his Son, "It'll have to be a drop-and-go. I think that Yuki will have air support once she realises we're going in."

"She already knows that we're coming, she just doesn't know where." Luca corrected,

"We need to find somewhere either too public for her to make a move without retaliation from the locals, or too far out to be logical."

Sebastian rested his head on his fingers and nodded, he then looked over to the ship-board intercom and asked, "John, can you think of anywhere public enough to land?"

"Why?" He inquired as he started to get the engines warmed up, "Are we making a grand entrance for the crowd?"

"Not quite. We're going to hide in the crowd." Luca replied over the same intercom. John nodded and smiled. He considered that Luca would be the one to think of a plan like that, and not Naoko. As far as he knew, she was just a ghastly killer.

John smiled, "I think I know somewhere we could land," He said as he got a picture of the Maharombi area, and looked at the land where the battle was stipulated to play out, and then looked at the Duneway with a devious grin.

After the LEAF was loaded inside and Luca made a quick headcheck, he realised that it was time for the team to leave. Everyone was present and in their place. John, Sebastian, Allison, Echelon, Melissa, Enzo down below, Uriel, Mr. Smith, Zeta, Naoko on his head, Ernie, and finally: Luca himself, the biggest star of all in this mission.

As Luca looked around the room, to all those assembled and strapped in, and the noise in his comm-lines of Enzo down planetside, he reflected on all that'd come and gone in the past few years of his life. Friends, foes, opportunities, items, people. He began to wonder whether this charmed life was all of his own doing, or an elaborate set up for a fall.

He tapped his foot against the ground in thought, concluding that the elaborate set up was simply too much of a contrivance and too expensive, costly and time consuming to be the case. After all, nothing is as it seems until you reach into the lion's mouth take control of the situation, no matter how many teeth separate you from that goal.

And Luca could've qualified to be the lion's dentist with his track record. "Okay everybody, we're moving. John, seal the doors, pressurise the interior, de-pressurise the hangar, and let's go. We've only got five and a half hours until the glass rain falls. If I don't have to fight my brother, that'll be good - if I can have him fight alongside me, that'll be great. If Yuki surrenders, we'll be unstoppable."

"Let's go!" Melissa hollered as she shook her rifle.
"Yeah!" Allison raised a fist in support.
"Onwards!" Echelon's bandsaw-voice yelled, stamping her robotic feet against the floor.

"You got it." John replied before activating the remote controls and sealing the Big Bird. He opened the hangar's doors and put the engines into motion. It only took moments for him to breach the atmosphere and find the Maharombi Duneway. Out in space, he was getting warnings for heavy debris in the atmosphere, and he could see the Delsaurian moon's volcanic activity from space, and he could see it getting closer and closer to the planet.

"This is Delsauria control tower, state your business!" A control tower frantically requested, "You're moving into public airspace!"
"I'm making a quick drop. I'll be just a moment!" John replied, ignoring all protocol.
The control tower was not impressed, "That is a negative. Use a vector we can track and make your drop the normal way, or we will be forced to fire!"

"You'd shoot Luca Pavone? He's in the middle of something very important, and it involves keeping you safe." John asked and bluffed, using his employer as leverage.
"...c-carry on." The tower said with a stammer, before the sound of a bump could be heard, "Unlock aim, do not fire on the vessel. Flag it Friendly. Anyone who does gets court-marshalled, and possibly swarmed by fangirls who want to kill you."

-

The line then went silent as John piloted the Big Bird just over the Maharombi Duneway, close to the Spaceport and near the Industrial area. The Maharombi Duneway itself was fallow land that was excluded from terraforming due to its uselessness and high volcanic activity - it was re-purposed into the most dangerous Airbiking track devised to Nepleslian, and is large enough to be visible from space. Out in the desert area, John's ship came close to the sand dunes, but didn't touch down.

"Alright everybody!" He yelled as the loading began to open, "I'm going to head back out to keep an eye out for any spacebound resistance. Echelon and I will try to hold 'em off with the Kestrel if they get too shooty." The loading ramp was now fully open, and the sound of wind and the waves of heat could be felt throughout, "Now jump! Jump! JUMP!"

Luca was the first to stand up with the invisible weight on his shoulders. He simply walked towards the loading ramp and looked down. The Big Bird was only a few metres off the ground, tops. Luca hopped down first and kicked up a cloud of loose sand, followed by Sebastian landing next to him, then Melissa landing without grace and taking a small tumble before regaining her composure, with Echelon and Allison coming down together.

"Ugh," Echelon snorted, "All of this sand is not going to be good for my servos."
"Don't worry. The graphite lubricants I used should hold up in the heat and sand. If we were anywhere else, they wouldn't work at all," Allison said as she picked herself up off of the sand dune.

Up ahead in the distance and under the shade of the cliff in which Maharombi had carved itself, Luca could see the patch of industrial land that Sebastian was referring to and where his Brother was alleged to be in need of assistance. Sandwiched between the Duneway and the cliffside city, this area was a go-between area for racers and property grounds for other, low-income industrial operations. He looked up and he saw the moon of Morasett, getting closer and closer. He checked the time, and realised that there were five hours left until the glass hailstorm was coming.

His gaze levelled with the horizon, and he saw only his goal ahead. "Alright everyone, get moving quick! Follow our lead!" Luca yelled as he started making footsteps along the low dunes, and kicked up sand with every step. Sebastian was keeping pace, even without an armour. Luca knew he couldn't just fly away because he knew some of the others without armours would be left behind.

"Enzo, pull in and let's go!" His comm line sounded as a beacon appeared on the Rogue's communicator. It would lead him to Luca, and he could see that he was moving towards the agreed-upon location.

Zeta looked at the picture more closely. Bird in ring of fire and insects flying towards it as if they were lured by the heat. Lured to their own destruction. Thinking about it now, she did not like that picture at all. She set it down, where it was. "Ah just some artistic gobbledegook," she said and looked away. John might've seen the uneasiness appearing in her face.

_____
_____

As the ship was heading down, Zeta looked at Luca. He was seemingly fine. Calm. As usual. Zeta was using this time to think. Her eyes wandered around the group. All sorts of various people who got themselves up and joined Luca on his travels. Mercenaries, thieves, sales representatives, bodyguards, mechanic, rogue AIs. He got them all and they were all willing to just join him and go against anything possible.

Zeta wondered how that was the case: How did he charm her, and make her fall in love with him with his way of doing things? She was amazed by it and she knew that she was never happier. This was good, she felt good. Zeta took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second. She was remembering all the good times with Luca and all the good they did together.

She wanted to remember it and finally enjoy thinking about it. This might be the last time after all. Every time they head out like this, they might get too close to the flames and get their wings caught in the fire as the little moths they were.

______

Ramp opened up and Luca was out. Zeta jumped closely after him. Cloud of sand flew in the air as she landed, kneeling down on one of her knees. Standing up, she prepared her Fatboy.

"Let's go." Was all she said. As she stood next to Luca, she knew she was ready for anything.

Ernie peered out the back of the moving space craft hesitantly for a second or two before following the others. It landed in a tumble and skidded to a stop face down in the sand.

Without fuss it stood up again, looked around and trotted to join the others silently.

"Right, Cap'n Pavone." Enzo's voice called back to the captain. Enzo himself was situated in the Lady's cargo-bay, atop a nearby sand dune. He was tinkering with his air bike between changing clothes and readying his weapons. He didn't head out just yet, still deciding whether to even show up for the fireworks. 'Still', he thought, 'Maybe I can vulture some nice shit offa these guys we're kickin' down the door of.'

The heavy sound of boots and shoes hitting the ground below them was washed out by the ship's thrusters as it came in hovering low to drop them off. Smith himself had landed, rolling right back up onto his feet in a single fluid motion before dusting himself off. It was almost as though it were business as usual. Oddly enough, that really was the case here. "Mr. Pavone, the unit is finishing diagnostics," he spoke over the comms, readjusting his earbud as he did so. "I recommend you try shoving it out of the hangar in another pass when needed," Smith suggested to both Pavone Junior and Senior, checking the suitcase's outer cover while he was at it.

"The altitude shouldn't matter too much," the Ori-Rep added, pushing his glasses up with the base of his palm. As curious as this...'family matter' had become, he knew this was not going to be a cakewalk.

Especially if even Luca Pavone was unsettled himself.

"No worries," John replied to Smith over radio as he looked behind himself and realised that he was by himself in the Big Bird. He'd gotten so used to flying and keeping an eye out on bigger ships that he'd no longer thought of the ship as a ship, but more of an extension of himself. He looked down at the others using ship-board cameras to watch their progress across the dunes and towards the light industrial area that resided between the shadow of the cliffside city and the untamed Maharombi Duneway.

It took a good few minutes of uneventful trekking before the sand gave way to concrete barriers that kept the dunes mostly contained. Another short trek down and they found themselves in a honeycomb of warehouses that were separated by wide areas of tarmac dotted with arrows, lines and cautionary signals, not unlike the main roads of a city.

However, since the Glass Hail was drawing closer to the planet by the minute, no activity could be seen out in this warehouse industrial district. People had fled for want of not being chopped to pieces by volcanic glass. Boxes and movement equipment had been left out since it was easy to replace stock and machines, but not people.

The Big Bird, meanwhile, had started making a lazy circle above the the perimeter, and he eventually found himself greeted by another message.
"I thought you were making a stop and go. You aren't going." Said the control tower to the ship."
"Change of plans, dear." John replied as he kept an eye out for the Phoenix, "Besides, it's my ass on the line since the Glass Hail is coming."

The person at the Control tower could be heard tapping a pen against the desk, "Alright then, your funeral. Tell me. What's it like working for Luca? Is he some sort of irresponsible rockstar?"
John made a slow sigh, "Not always. He's a person just like you and me, with real problems. However, let's just say his problems require a slightly less... ah, elegant solution most of the time."

-

"Well, we're here." Luca said, looking around left and right and shrugging his shoulders. He had the GP-1 in his hands and seemed concerned with the lack of activity in the immediate vicinity, "The fun's usually supposed to start once I'm here." Sebastian groaned.

"I still wonder why you call being shot at fun," Allison chipped in as she stuck close to Echelon and watched her flanks as the robot moved ahead. Echelon then paused, causing Allison to bump into her/it.

"I'm detecting an elevated heat signature in that building." Echelon observed using her robotic body's inbuilt sensor suite. Sebastian looked at where she was pointing and squinted, putting his hand over his eyes to get a better view. He made a joyous gasp of recognition.

Luca gave Sebastian a puzzled look as the old man started making his way towards the building slowly and cautiously. He was still awash with nostalgia, but he wasn't going to drop his guard.

"Mind if I go in first?" Luca inquired once he reached the roller shutters that were guarding the way in. Sebastian gave him a shrug and stood to one side. Luca then raised his foot and put it through the roller shutters, cursing as he realised that his leg was stuck, then pulling it back out and trying again with a little more success.

"Why didn't you blow it up?" Melissa shook her head at Luca, who had simply opted to tear the shutters open using his power-armour assisted strength and walking through the hole he'd produced. He was greeted by the sight of running metal fabrication machinery, and, standing in the middle of the room with an uncharacteristically large sword resting against his right shoulder was none other than the Power Armour Ninja, or, Joe Pavone.

He turned around to face the first person into the room. The sword over his shoulder looked to be as big as a person, and looked more like a large chunk of Nerimium or Yamataium with a slightly sharp edge, using its momentum and mass to cut through just about anything. He put it point first into the ground as a gesture of respect and said, smiling underneath his helmet: "You've grown."

Luca didn't have any words for his brother as his face lit up into a smile. A tear of joy rolled down his face as memories came flooding back, but he had to dam them since there was still a mission to be done. He walked over with his rifle lowered and gave the Ninja a handshake, "So've you," He replied succinctly before he cracked up laughing, realising that Joe was probably in his early thirties at this point.

Sebastian was peering into the exchange. He looked over to the others without so much as a word, giving them the gesture to head in as the coast seemed clear. He was the first to move in and came to stop behind his younger son, and looking at his elder son with a cold reservation. Allison, Melissa and Echelon moved inside, looking around the room and finding it to be clear of threats.

"So," Luca inquired, having put his emotions aside for more immediate concerns, "What's the gig?" He kept his rifle by his side as he looked at the immensely large sword.

"We're taking care of a mole," Joe replied. Luca and Sebastian exchanged a glance. In that glance, the information following was communicated between the two men in a moment's silence:

Think he's talking about Yuki?
I doubt he'd strike against his own master.
Hrm. Seems about right. Still think this is a trap?
Its always a trap.

Joe did not seem perturbed by the exchange. "Her name is Sh-"
Luca's radio crackled to life with a start: "Ship inbound, Lukes, looks like a personnel carrier. They don't seem to be following regulation!" John's voice could be heard on the other side as the oppressive of a Starship's manoeuvring thrusters could be heard above the compound, "I can see it circling around your area, hatches opening and goons dropping out on long ropes, jetpacks or arm-FUCK!" The sound of firing missiles could be heard above, followed by explosions, "...Damn! They've got an armament! There's another ship coming, looks like a cruiser, its too hot for me to stay here!"

"Status?" Luca ordered.
"No hits, got the missile mid flight with zero-point defences." He replied, "I'll try and lead some of the bastards on a merry chase!" The sounds of the Pulse Cannons could be heard firing over the radio, followed by an explosion above, then followed by another explosion on the ground, which shook the entire industrial area and rocked the foundations of the building the team was hiding inside, "Stitch that you arseholes!"

"Godspeed." Luca replied before looking to Joe with a raised eyebrow and a frown, "Some mole, huh?"

Joe mouthed a curse word under his helmet, "Guess they thought they could smoke me out and kill me in the open."
Luca grinned, "Two bucks says they thought you were alone." He raised his rifle and nodded.
"You're on." Joe replied, keeping his sense of humour intact for tense moments like these.

Luca then looked at the ginormous sword on Joe's shoulder and asked, "With that?" He just nodded. Allison, Melissa and Echelon sprung into action, watching the doors. "Alright everyone, look sharp!" He ordered as he released the safety on the GP-1.
"Its the Encore show tonight everyone! Let's not disappoint our regular customers!"

"Nice." Joe replied. Luca just smiled.

Enzo rode into the warehouse complex slowy, passing by the open shutter once after Luca and the gang had already gone in. His eyes were on the sky, watching the enemies coming in over the distant dunes wit some interest. Eventually, he rode into the warehouse with the others.

"Afternoon, gang." The conman ducked his head under the doorway on the airbike and swooped around to Luca's side. He barely batted an eye at Joe or his massive sword. "You knows there's guys out theres, right? Wif guns and whatnots, see?"

"It's showtime I guess," Zeta said as she stood next to Luca in the warehouse. She had her Fatboy ready and had already decided she won't leave Luca's side, unless some real trouble made her. Like another crew-member in trouble or her being dead. This was going to be one hell of the battle and she was ready for it.

"Well, time to have some jolly-time!" She then said and looked at the others. "Mel, get up and check if you can use any windows for what you do best. Allison, keep in the back. Nice of you to join us Enzo, you do whatever you want, since you won't listen to anyone anyway. Smith if you have any toys to help us out, make sure to use them. Ernie be ready to give first aid if needed. Echelon I bet they are going to have some armour so be ready to use that cannon of yours." This time she wanted them to be ready and work together.

Zeta looked at Luca and smiled, hoping he would not mind her stepping in like that. "Shit, I hope I did butt in on your gig too much." She apologised and looked at Joe. "I am Zeta, nice to meet you. Nice sword you got there, what do you call it? The Compensator?" She joked and turned towards the doors to the warehouse ready to follow Luca out, since it was something she expected him to do.

Smith's eyes narrowed.

What he had with him was best suited for a business deal or meeting that had gone beyond sour - a homemade design leftover from the days he worked as an Agent for certain groups and with a certain someone. With this? It was sounding like all out war with the ship taking fire! But he'd improvise. He always did, then and now. There was always a way to make something like this of all things work.

"Where are they coming in from? I need a place to set up an ambush," Smith spoke with utter seriousness, tapping his suitcase.

"They seem to be getting dropped off everywhere!" John yelled over radio to Mr. Smith as he could be heard pushing buttons and pulling levers, taking command of the zippy little vessel, "The closest cluster of them is about 400 yards to the north eaaaAAGH!" He could be be heard buckling the controls. Then panting and growling, pressing more buttons. The sounds of HEX beams could be heard flying through atmosphere, and not connecting with their intended targets.

Melissa was the first to climb up the catwalks and stairwells of the building they were holed up in, and looking out a window. She was greeted by the sight of a cluster of men about fifty strong marching towards the building wearing personnel armour. She could notice a single, large power armour of some sort lagging in the back, it looked like an old design. She then saw it blink out of view.

"I see 'em, I reckon they're-" She reported before realising that some of their number had noticed her. Bullets flew in her direction and she ducked down and started looking for a more discrete location to snipe from. "Smith, they're coming in from this way, but they've spotted me! They've got something big with them, and its gone invisible!"

The sounds of rifle rounds could be heard hitting the walls of the building, the metal of which was about an inch thick. Indents could be seen on the walls, with the occasional hole where the rifle bullets had managed to penetrate.
"How big?" Luca asked. Joe seemed to be responsive to the question too.

"Big big!" Melissa said, "Looked like a metal shithouse with claws."
"I'll keep an eye out for it," Echelon said as she and Allison marched towards the opposite side of the warehouse, "Did you see where it was going before it turned invisible?"
"Dunno!" She yelled.

"It could be trying to flank us. I recommend that the man with the big fucking sword handle it." Echelon had reached the catwalks that Melissa was on, and looked outside, scanning fervently for something, anything that would ding her sensors.

"I call it Dragon Slayer." Joe replied, somewhat ticked at Echelon's terminology.

Suddenly, one of the walls crumpled open into a two metre long gash just below Melissa's catwalk, and that large power armour shimmered into view, its claws tearing itself an entrance and stepping through. Melissa made a run for it, realising that she was heavily outclassed against this, and she'd be more help against soldiers. Joe and his massive sword had disappeared reflexively. Sebastian jumped and fired at it reflexively, but the bullets bounced off of its shields.

"I see soldiers circling the building from the back entrance. Engaging!" Echelon yelled as her Fingale's Revenge an Allison's taped-up assault rifle could be heard barking at the soldiers. Sebastian stayed close to the centre, with his back to his sons, crouching down and firing at the soldiers as they tried to get in through the back entrance.

"Whatever the crikey that is, it isn't a dragon." Luca observed calmly as his right hand went towards his M'Cel while his left still had the GP-1. Suddenly, he saw a cluster of mercenaries step through the hole Luca had made to enter the building, and he levelled his GP-1 at them, whipped his M'Cel into gear, fired it at the hulking armour and fired the GP-1 on full auto at the soldiers, who crumpled under the acute lead poisoning.

Unfortunately, the conventional explosive that Luca had loaded in his M'Cel didn't do much against the monstrous armour physically. What it did do was disrupt its shields and make them blink out for a moment. It stood up to about ten feet tall from its seven-foot tall squatting position, pointed a clawed hand at Luca and asked through a heavily distorted loudspeaker: "Is that all you've got, lightning boy?"

He twirled the M'cel and deposited the spent shell, seamlessly pushing another explosive in without looking and snapping it shut, all with one hand and one action. "I might not be able to turn invisible, but I guess we're both full of surprises, eh?" He looked over and realised that his brother had disappeared, but he was sure he'd see him in a moment.

Luca's Brain said:

Hey. Naoko. Wakey wakey. I think it's beehive kicking time.
Nice one liner.
Thanks brah. Anyway, Nao, Soldiers. They seem to dislike me. Joe and I can handle the brick shithouse.

Click to expand...

An explosion could be heard close to where Luca had mowed down the soldiers, and that hole in the wall had gotten bigger to accommodate more soldiers. Similarly, Echelon and Allison had to be sent running back after another explosion blew the back entrance open, giving the opposing force more room to move and negating the benefits of the funnel. Melissa found her first lease by dropping the first guy to come in through the hole.

On the massive armour's shoulders was a cannon of some sort, and it swivelled in Luca's direction. Whatever it was, Luca saw fit to make a dive to one side, and a split second later, a barrage of white beams struck where Luca was standing. He landed on his stomach and bounced back onto his feet in a hurry, "That thing has fucking AETHER! No fair!" The armour replied by giving him the finger before moving further inside to attack.

-

Scattered around the facility away from the 'cross' that formed the central pathways for trucks and vehicles in the facility where Luca and Sebastian could be seen was all sorts of machinery, intended for fabricating parts for airbikes. The machinery was still, but with enough skill and time it wouldn't be difficult to activate it. Otherwise, it was ample solid cover thanks to the industrial-grade metal used to create it all.

"There's more coming!" John cautioned over radio. "I see another group forming and moving out about a kilometre southwards-" Swerve. Pew pew pew, "Give 'em hell!"

Zeta did not like what she was seeing. There was not even time to say proper hello and they have been surrounded already. Joey dissappeared, Mell was under fire, Luca started fighting a PA and other scattered into their own fights. There was Zeta stuck with several possibilities. Either she could stand here and fight PA, where she would be mostly useless with her set of weaponry. South-east corner was covered by Echelon, Ally and Sebastian. No one covered Wes thought.

West where the big bloody hole was and goons started moving throught. "They are all around us," Zeta said to Luca and smirked. "Now they have nowhere to run." She raised her Fatbox and started running towards the hole in the western wall of the building. As she ran she pushed the trigger and started firing from her FatBoy. One hunder round in one battery was more then enough and it made the attackers to stop and look who started shooting.

By that time Zeta already jumped and flew through the air, catching the railing of the bridge above. The Wind suit she borrowed enhanced her strength so jumping the distance was not such a trouble in the end. Up there she fired few more bursts and jumped again straight at the enemy, hopping off the railing of the bridge. She fired her gun as she flew into the enemy soldiers as cannon ball, causing a human domino effect.

Naoko uncoiled.

Standing on Luca, one bare foot to each of his shoulders, she balanced for a few moments - nothing more than a heat shimmer among the smoke, and the chaos of battle joined.

She sniffed. Just to smell it. Stuck out her tongue to taste the violence.

Luca was shoved forward by the force when she lept - but she didn't look back to him. Instead, she killed her first man simply by landing on him. Gravity manipulation crushed his skull into pavement, bursting it inside the helmet like a melon inside of a shell. It splashed her feet with blood, enough to disrupt her holographic imagery, which had been working in overtime anyway. Red roses bloomed suddenly up from the ground, encircling perfect calves and thighs. The ash from the destroyed building rained like pollen; the bullets zipping around were like the buzzing of insects.

And she savoured.

But the attention wasn't on the dead man - the attention was on the dervish firing wildly into the fray, bumping and clattering inexpertly like some sort of drunk in the middle of Naoko's new garden patch. Naoko grabbed one of the exposed rebars from the concrete rubble, and impaled the nearest combatant almost casually. The man's screaming bought her some attention, as was proper.

When the next soldier pointed some energy weapon she did not recognize at her, she backhanded it away. It spun off with a clatter.

"Pretty toy," she said from her bed of flowers. Then, she swiped him on the return stroke. More flowers bloomed, and his head struck a fourth, apparently dazing him. The look of surprise was delicious, and the undercurrent of fear was moreso. Seconds had passed, but Naoko was just stretching her wings - taking her time playing with the lives of mortal men. Her next victim started firing wildly while Naoko stepped off of her perch, out of the pool of blood that was forming at her feet.

Pat, pat.

One of those stray, horrible things struck her on the shoulder - the recoil was enough to cause her to stumble, but she had her feet again.

Buzz buzz.

She let out a squeal of joy and violently thrust her hand and arm up fully through his brittle collar, grabbed his spine, and twisted.

A few more rounds impacted her side from the more veteran soldiers, who had not engaged with Zeta, and who perhaps now understood that the gardener had come to trim the hedges. She heard the grenade before she saw it - and judging on the sound alone, she lazily discarded the body over it. The explosion utterly destroyed the unfortunate corpse. Naoko felt the draft as a kiss of fire, fanning her hair, caressing her. Just a faint breeze on a midsummers day.

And then she began to laugh.

It wasn't the carnage that distracted him. Enzo was used to carnage randomly emerging from various crevices around the Phoenix crew. One morning, he almost ate a dead assassin for breakfast in a drunken stupor before being restrained by another crewmember.

Instead, Enzo was distracted by the distinct laughter of his long-lost (Four hours lost) creepy-daughterly-interest, Naoko. Although he'd drawn his weapon and prepared to dart his airbike through a throng of soldiers in a trail of firey glory; the vagabond found himself desperately scanning the room for Naoko's form.

"N-Naoko!?" He shouted over the din, "Where are yous?"

It wasn't like everything of this Neko, or everything she did, reminded him of the other.

As Smith ran in the opposite direction of the biggest brawl, suitcase in one hand and datapad in the other, he admitted to himself that much. The well dressed man skidded to a halt behind a large collection of crates full of parts and bits ready to be assembled - rather, it was near everything of her, and near everything she did that reminded him of the other. Nearly. Smith sliced through the side of his suitcase carefully, undoing the trigger safely. Opening up the shaped charge IED he had made, the Ori-Rep eyed it over quickly.

This, all of this, had that odd sense of Deja Vu to it, but he knew it was anything but. He hadn't come to this planet, hadn't had company like this then, and he hadn't needed to do something as desperate as this before. The businessman hooked up the PDA as the shooting and the all to familiar screams of terror echoed through the factory. It was quickly set up inside, camera facing forward. No, this was all new, every single bit of it.

But how couldn't it remind him of the past he reasoned, feet quickly, quietly bringing him doubling back before taking him up and up and up over ladders and stairs that felt as familiar as they were then. He'd done all this with Ai too. He'd done everything with her; not literally of course, but far too close. Up on the catwalks, he drew out his larger pistol, loading it with exotic rounds that were recalled shortly after their first use and a call to Aerin. Seven. Lucky Number 7. That was all he had left of them.

Down below the catwalks and maintenance ways, a red light and a beep went off as the datapad's camera snapped a shot. The look of surprise as a group of mercenaries turned to behold a suitcase full of explosives was captured and made timeless. Unforgettable, never to be lost. Memories, they were all timeless. Through the smoke and clamor, Smith dropped down and slipped out, just like old times. But would he only stumble across more trouble, just like old times? And would she bail him out, just like old times? No.

She wasn't Ai, he finally admitted.

Being with the Phoenix and Mr. Pavone - it was a constant, never ceasing trip down memory lane, and this time, he could see the differences between the then and the now. Why hadn't he realized sooner? Or, was it all this that had made him realize? The motley crew, the Pavones, a guy with a giant sword...It was perhaps safe to say the present day was more distinctly different than the past than any similarities held.

"John, if you're going to drop that package, I'd appreciate you telling me where - I'm outside the cordon!" Smith messaged Pavone Senior. Now that he thought of it, had he every called anyone of this crew by first name before?

If not, this may have been a first.

Summary said:

Luca hit the Crooked Demon!
A Challenger Appears! She is a badass!
The Soldiers Flee in terror!
John drops off the LEAF off on the Roof!
John and the Big Bird get hurt by an incoming ship!
The Challenger is in cahoots with the Crooked Demon, and together they are BOSS! Her name is ...
Joe's Sword Shatters, and he's injured!
Luca is shocked!
Naoko is a convenient device with which to dispose of goons!
The crew has bigger fish to fry!

Click to expand...

Melissa blinked as she watched Naoko shimmer into view and tear that group of soldiers a new backside. She eased her head away from the scope to get a better view of what was going on. She shrugged and saw that Luca seemed to be okay with it, and thought it was all part of the plan, "Ace in the hole indeed..." She mumbled as she kept her back to the wall and watched the Crooked Demon below her.

As Luca was walking towards the Crooked Demon, he put his GP-1 back over his shoulder and focussed his attention on keeping the M'Cel in both hands. He knew that if he ever stayed still for a moment, he would be dead. Stop to pause? Dead. Trip over? Dead. Grabbed? Very much dead. To him, to move was to be alive, and he never felt more lively as another streak of Aether went in his direction, prompting him to drop and slide along the ground to avoid it. He fired another shot, this time he'd loaded the grenades with the plasma capacitors in them that exploded upon detonation.

The Crooked Demon took a step back to absorb the blow as Luca kipped up from his slide and resumed momentum. Once the cloud cleared he saw a lot of structural damage, but it was still moving, and that meant that the pilot was still alive, or it simply wasn't hit hard enough. Then he saw something strange behind the Crooked Demon, and between its legs, a humanoid figure standing out in the distance about a hundred or so yards away with something long and slender in its hands.

It then shifted its stance and moved towards Luca at an alarming sixty miles an hour - sliding along the ground as though propelled by an unseen force. He did not recognise the face at all: Orange hair, boyish haircut, dark blue eyes, nekovalkyrja ears and a stern face that once held trappings of youth, now twisted into an aged malice. All Luca could recognise was the katana in her hands that was heading towards his head.

The Ripper turned around and found itself taking another plasma grenade to the face from Yuki, handling the M'Cel with only one hand and her Katana in the other, she then lunged forward and made several strikes, punctuated with what appeared to be plasma adorning the blade.

The armour could not stand the harrying assault for long, as Luca watched the Ripper get dealt a final stab, killing the parasite pilot. The Zesuaium and Plasma-coasted katana was being handled like a surgeon's knife.

Click to expand...

Luca leapt out of the way to one side and rolled, able to avoid the flaming hot katana. Whoever this was, was not Yuki. "Do I know you?" He asked as he stowed the M'Cel and pulled out his HHG, loaded with RED rounds.

She didn't reply. Instead, she simply flicked her Katana to one side, and sparks flew as she parried a hit from Joe effortlessly, who jumped back and shimmered into view with his sword back over his shoulder, having avoided the riposte. The two brothers stood at opposite ends of the room, but kept their focus on the new arrival, and its Crooked Demon servant.

"Kill them. No survivors." She commanded, voice clear and loud, flicking Yuki's Katana to one side. She maintained a calm and cool swagger as she looked at the two brothers, "Shame I couldn't nip you in the bud." She snorted derisively at either of them.

Luca decided that he'd had enough of this and fired a RED round at her, wishing to end the confusion. However, something impossible happened. After the hammer fell and the gun fired, the mystery nekovalkyrja had her hands up, and between her index and middle fingers was the bullet. She flicked her wrist and sent it back the way it came, causing Luca to duck to avoid it.

The bullet exploded in the melee with Naoko and Zeta, taking out a few of the soldiers she'd probably hired. Luca just blinked, and then grinned.

"I like you." He said, licking his lips as he saw a challenge before him, the likes of which he had never seen before. There was now -two- of them. A dual boss. Fortunately, the brothers Pavone seemed confident enough as they exchanged a nod.

-

The RED bullet had caused a pause in the action across the field. Naoko stopped killing people to glance towards where it came from - and what she saw gave her enough of a pause that the next couple of soldiers got a free shot or two with their solid ammunition before Naoko could bother with them.

Taskette onigashimasu, ne, an-chan? she mused, mentally.
Iie. Boku ga badass da. Came a reply, Demo, onee-san, er... nevermind. I think Joe and I have this under wraps. Did you see that?
Yes. I believe, probably, you are going to die now.
But who is this person? Where are the wheelbarrows for her balls? I don't recognise her at all.
You expect me to? An-chan, I've been dead for years.
And I've been alive for about as long. That's -Yuki's- Katana she's got. I have the feeling-

Another shot impacted Naoko. This one she didn't ignore - an energy weapon had burned a hole in her chest. It took only a few seconds for her to cross the distance, and the body armour of the unfortunate soldier was no match for the bloody metal claws that Naoko had formed out of all those absorbed zesu-plated bullets.

Meanwhile, Luca levelled the HHG at the mystery woman and fired again. She caught it again, but Luca fired another shot. Realising this, she leaned to one side to avoid the bullet, "And you can dodge bullets!" He cried out joyously before firing at the ground while she recovered from her dodge, causing an upwards explosion. Luca, however, misjudged the distance that the mystery woman had closed in, and was thrown back a few steps by the blast. The mystery woman was still standing there, on fire, and appearing somewhat annoyed.
"...I guess we're both full of surprises." He mumbled, realising that this Nekovalkyrja as probably a cut above the rest, similar to Naoko.

Meanwhile, Joe and the Crooked Demon were trading blows, parrying and rolling under each of its claws and strikes with deft ease and surprising mobility with that huge sword.

Following the sickening crunch of another dead, Naoko cast the unfortunate aside and turned her attention back to Luca's fight. She had cleared an empty space for several meters around her; all the incoming soldiers, even the ones in abbreviated powered armour, were spreading out and reluctant. Naoko was naked, and shot, and burnt - but the bladed claws her hands had become were at least a dozen inches long, and looked like business. Her long hair was moving in hanks, of its own accord, bloodied and iron-tipped. It was the stuff of Yamataian horror fiction, realised in life.

I won't steal your thunder, An-chan. Just scream when you're about to die.
I don't think I'll be able to scream with my head cut off.
You're taking all the fun, though. These teme are all scared, already.
I think we've made our point abundantly clear.
Tell her that.

"Hey, Lady, can you pull your troops back, I think we're getting sick of dealing with the chaff, we want wheat." She made her reply known by making a slash at Luca from a distance, and sending a wave of burning material at him in a crescent arc. He sidestepped and watched it eat away the machinery behind him.

In that case, I'm going to advance.

The bullets had begun to bounce off of Naoko instead of penetrating.

I can't help but feel sorry sometimes. Luca added. Not all the time but sometimes.

-

Allison and Echelon had been assisted by Mr. Smith's IED. It gave them enough respite to make a tactical retreat, backpedalling and firing through the catwalk's grating as the elevated position started to become a liability against numbers. The small briefcase explosive had managed to send shards of reclaimed metal and high quality leather at almost supersonic speeds through the air, causing the less armoured soldiers to fall over, covered in shrapnel.

Allison eventually got down to ground level with Smith and Sebastian. Echelon had taken a few hits, and was moving a little slower, but still firing her Fingale's Revenge like there was no tomorrow, "How many of them are they?!"'

"I have no idea!" Sebastian yelled as he pulled the pin out of a grenade and hurled it into the crowd, "They just keep coming!" Echelon finally managed to meet them, one of her legs had sustained heavy damage from a grenade from the soldiers. Echelon pointed something out, tugging on the older Nepleslian's jacket, "What?"

"They are clones. All of them. Haven't you noticed?" She pointed out the corpses that had their helmets torn off, or no helmets at all. "Same facial structure and features. Only differences lie in the hairstyles."

"Maker be damned, how many did they bring?!" It was almost like being in a cheap Nepleslian arcade game with a limited budget, forcing all of the enemies to share animations, movesets and bodies, meanwhile Bosses were not subject to these limitations since they were infinitely more badass than the goons they commanded - and they were unique too. However, not many Nepleslian Arcade games allowed ten players to play at once, and the ISC Phoenix were happy to pump quarters in for continued play for this deadly game.

-

Hear that? Hah! You know how I said I feel sorry? If telepathy had fluctuation, then Luca's mental voice as he used a nearby pipe wrench as a timely distraction seemed a bit sinister.

Yes. Naoko was already out of Luca's line of sight; she had passed on, and left Zeta to fill the gap of her presence. Though, arguably, there were markedly fewer soldiers making their way through to the gap itself, now. Distant screaming could be heard before the tinkle of melodic, if slightly deranged laughter cut it short.
Naoko had left the field almost entirely and had apparently found a more pure killing field nearer to the spawn point.

Zeta was also beginning to notice the horde thin out after firing more and more into her half of the melee, although the cloned wetworkers in general were more afraid of Naoko's unhinged rampage. Allison, Echelon, Sebastian and Mr. Smith had also started to notice the soldiers start to retreat.

"Now the real battle begins," The woman announced, "But I seriously doubt the nine of you could handle me alone."

"Can we at least get a name?" Luca asked, shrugging, taking an opportunity to get some more background in the lull of the combat. Another scream punctuated the lull; this time it was from somewhere more distant. The explosions were muffled. Luca rolled his eyes, Pack it in. The real fun's about to start.

They have a ship, Naoko whined. The Big Bird seemed to have disappeared from the skyline, but there was no explosion outside signalling an untimely demise. The singular dropship seemed to have been scared off by the Big Bird, or maybe there was more in store. You already said you would kill her yourself, ne? Can't I please destroy this? Onegai onegai onegai yo!

John's radio crackled to life, "Smith, I'll see if I can drop your package. I think I scared the dropship off." The Vampire Class cruiser hovered over the complex where the fighting was happening, "Are you prepared to have a leaf dropped on you?" He touched down on the roof, ramp open and deposited the package on the roof. As he was getting back up, something big came in from without. Something very big.

A corvette came in from space and started firing HEX beams without warning at the Big Bird Its shields took a thumping and the interior shook as John tried to make his way back towards the pilot's controls and get out of there. Another volley made his shields fizzle, but he moved away. The roof of the warehouse was starting to crumple from the previous weight of the Big Bird, and from the missed shots of the new ship that'd joined the fray up in the sky. The LEAF could not be seen where he was standing, but Smith was certain that it was still on the roof.

Smith's radio could be heard awash with John swearing loudly as he tried to keep the ship together and get out of dodge. The sounds of warning bells and alarms were also coming through, and interlacings of static meant that the communications were starting to fail.
Fun or not, we need to end this here and now. John can't take much more.

"I am Turtleback. Shimada Chisato, and you will have some respect for your superior, hei." The woman responded over the wanton destruction.
Where had he heard that name before? Where? It was so long ago...

"One life, she was Shimada Chisato-Chusa, instrumental member of the 3rd XF's logistics division. She had a soldier ID, paid for her meals, and she ... helped our young Shoi here." The image divided -- now Shimada's uniform was all in black, her scowl now an ugly, spiteful grin. "The other life was lived through SAINT, where she went by the alias 'Turtleback' and was guilty of breaking virtually every code of conduct we have. One of those lives had a future ... the other one did not. A pity."

Click to expand...

"I'm a free man, I bow to nobody, much less the likes of you. You know my name, you're going to learn to fear it if we spare you." He looked around to the other crew members, "And you can't learn if you're dead, can you?"

The Crooked Demon's shoulder mounted aether gun made a shot towards Joe, and he held up the massive flat of his blade in reflexive defence, but it shattered under the impact. All Joe had remaining was the hilt and a foot or two of blunt blade that wasn't heavy enough to hurt anything. He looked down and realised that one of the bolts of Aether had struck him in the midsection. His reflexive response was to disappear to lick his wounds. "An excellent observation!" Chisato replied, eerily chirpy and chipper.

Luca's eyes widened, and he looked back at Naoko appearing through the gap she'd left from, then to where his Brother was standing, then back at Chisato, who was suddenly up in his face. She kicked him in the chest and sent him across the room and out, landing in a heap by Naoko's feet. The Crooked Demon's loudspeaker produced a warped laughing noise.

"You said you had it, an-chan." Luca just blinked up in her direction in reply, clearly upset.

Naoko frowned down at him, an expression that was both petulant and terrible from the blood. Either she had been biting people, or someone had managed to sock her on the jaw. Judging from the rather fanglike qualities of her teeth when she smiled, tt was more likely the first option.

"Well, now you'll pay for it," Naoko stated, hooking a bare foot beneath Luca and kicking him back forward with ridiculous strength. "Handle this; the rest of the field is mine."

Behind him the reinforcements discovered why it was better to show up early. Very shortly the screaming and gunfire started all over again.

It seemed now the only thing for the crew to worry about was the final boss.

Luca stood up uneasily, staggering for a moment before steadying and reaching behind himself to unmount his shotgun, then picking up his HHG and holstering it before moving forwards in a run to reunite with his team , "Have fun!" He yelled, trying to ignore the feeling in his ribs and focussing on the battle ahead of him and his team.

Sebastian stayed with his back to the wall, close to Smith, Allison and Echelon, "...maker help us." He mumbled as he saw the smashed, but worryingly functional Crooked Demon. Melissa was afraid to shoot at her, much less incur Shimada's wrath. Allison and Echelon were staying close together. Allison's rifle was shaking in her hands as she tried to comprehend what had happened.

After Luca was knocked back, the up 'til then unseen Ernie stepped in front the newly identified Shimada Chisato. Its pistol in one hand as a small sword flipped out the bottom of its forearm and was caught by the handle with the other hand as it matched up to her.

The droid seemed incomparably puny compared to the battle ready nekovalkyrja as it stared up at her with its single eye, strangely unmoving now. Slowly it raised its sword in readiness, the blade held nearly horizontal in an unusual style of Yamataian technique.

"As the only available Second, Ernie will now be your designated opponent." the robot said in its monotone voice.

As Smith took cover, letting some of the approaching clones pass him by - it was the smart thing to do - he mentally swore, again and again. Nostalgia shaken and reverie interrupted, it was then that he noticed something else. Several other somethings in fact. The over-over-the-top banter, screams of pain and ecstatic bloodlust along with what sounded like a psychotically nursed grudge. As Smith climbed the external fire escape the moment the area outside looked clear, he realized something. Something very important.

This was perhaps - just perhaps - far, far worse than any mess he had ever got into back when.

At least back when, it was just the two of them versus the underworld. Here, it was several stories, several fates, all colliding into what would quite possibly end up as a critical mass known as a ClusterF***. And there was nothing he could do about it. Save for climb into the hodgepodge mecha sitting there on a rooftop that happened to be slowly caving in under its weight. Yes, that was a smart thing to do!

As Smith made to dash towards the LEAF, a staccato crackling peppered the air - his whole world tumbled as something passed through his leg. In a desperate move, the Ori-Rep brought his pistol to bear and simply blind-fired it in the general direction of the enemy. Glasses turning black as they polarized from the brilliant flashes of heat, light and force, he realized something else.

"#$@%! No wonder Aerin took these off the shelf!"

Fastening his belt around the bleeding leg, Smith desperately, laboriously clambered into the LEAF, leaving behind burnt giblets for Echelon and Melissa to combat in addition to what they already were fighting hard against.

*****

A massive figure came falling through the roof, its single mono-eye lighting up through the dust to cast a yellowish glow upon the scene - hull mounted lasers and a palm gun quickly cut down the clones accosting the others before it sped off. The sound of screeching tires brought the mech rapidly retreating backwards, affording everyone a brief glimpse of it's purple-bluish painted hull as it broke out of the dark cloud.

The Itasha-Mecha, covered in Yami NekoNeko decals, opened up with the Plasma Rifle in its right hand and shoulder mounted Electrolaser. The pilot had brought these weapons to bear quickly, snap shooting inaccurately at the Crooked Demon in an attempt to lure it away from Luca and Co as it sped out of the factory doors.

Inside, Smith swore at his bad luck at landing so close to the Crooked Demon.