To all those who actually read these little disclaimers, this is a work of fanfiction. I do not own Rosario + Vampire or any of the trademarked characters and locations from the respected creator. I am only placing this disclaimer here for the sake of stating the obvious, as it should be plain to see for everybody with common sense that of course I didn't create Rosario + Vampire. Seriously, do we really need these disclaimers here? Who the hell is going to try to say they created R+V? Who could really be that stupid?
Rosario Vampire: Brightest Darkness
Act VI
Inside a break room three figures were seated at a table drinking coffee, the men all clothed in tactical gear with the letters HDA written on the shoulders with red ink. They had their pistols holstered at their hips and their assault rifles set down on a table near the door into the room, the three men having dull expressions as they were on their break. One of them was watching a television that was mounted on the wall while another was reading a magazine. The third one was just looking at his drink with a blank expression as they waited for their next shift to begin.
"Why don't we just execute all these things now instead of keeping them under lock and guard? Seriously, just put a bullet in all their heads and be done with it," the one looking at his drink muttered.
"I hear you, seems like a waste of our efforts keeping them alive like this. Should just kill them all while we can," the other said as he casually flipped the page in his magazine.
"Maybe they're wanted for experiments or research, who knows. Doesn't matter, they'll all be dead soon," the third said as he flipped through the channels on the TV with the remote. He cycled through a news report of the crowds outside the HDA command center cheering on the public execution of a group of monsters later that night, another news report covering the destruction of a high school and neighboring area of a busy city from a recent monster attack, another report showing the human governments talking about the recent turn of events and declaring war on the monster world, another report on how Gonzo still hasn't revived a beloved anime series even after the critical success of an upcoming fanfiction spreading across the internet, and another report about a recent monster encounter that involved a carjacking in a tunnel.
"Just a waste of time if you ask me," the one looking at his drink said with a grunt.
"They'll all get what's coming to them for what they did, every last one of them," the second man said simply.
"Can't wait to see that execution tonight, I hear it's going to be on all the networks," the third said glancing to his comrades.
"Yep, and those monsters they're executing are the same ones that supposedly saved us all before. About time they'll get what's coming to them like the rats they are," the second said in agreement.
"I wish I could be part of that firing squad myself, I'd love to be the one to send the message to all their kind, that we're the big fish in this world," the first said with a smirk. The third man chuckled and nodded.
"I'd just love the chance to kill those damned things myself. I'm sick of just guarding them like this, what I wouldn't give for the chance to actually take down one of those goddamned-"
Suddenly the side wall of the room blasted apart violently, with concrete chunks and plaster flying off as the men were thrown off to the side by the force. The table was annihilated as a strange wave of torn space sliced down through the wall and ripped it to pieces. Dust and debris flew about as the men scrambled back to their feet and looked with wide eyes at the sight.
"What the hell was that?" one of the men asked with surprise.
From the dust cloud a small girl ran into the room. She was a young girl dressed in white tennis shoes, white jeans, and a blue t-shirt. She had short blue hair and green eyes, and wore a white headband as well. She was holding a baseball bat that had a smiley face on it as the dust billowed around, her eyes looking over to the men as they just stared at her.
"What… a kid?" one of them said cautiously. The dust then cleared a bit behind the girl, revealing butterfly wings that fluttered gently. They were brightly colored pink wings with green trimmings and light blue spots.
"Wings! She has wings! She's a monster!" one of the men called out grabbing his sidearm. Suddenly an ice shard flew through the dust cloud and struck him in the shoulder, the man stumbling back into the table with the rifles on them and falling to the ground as the table was knocked over. The man yelled out as he grabbed the shard and tried to pull it out as the other men looked to the cloud of dust and saw another young girl walking into the room. She was a younger girl as well, only slightly older than the butterfly girl. She had white shoes, short black pants that went down to her knees, a black t-shirt with a gray button-down shirt left undone over it, long purple hair that went down past her shoulders and clear blue eyes, having a stern expression on her face as she rolled her lollipop around in her mouth slightly. Behind her she had feathered wings that appeared to be made of ice, the angelic looking wings shimmering frost behind them while the girl had her hand outstretched towards the men still.
"It's another one! It's a monster attack!" one of the men yelled out as they both reached for their sidearms. The snow angel growled and waved her arm, in doing so creating a chilled blast of air that flew over the soldiers. Frost formed on their uniforms as they shielded their eyes from the flurries. One of the men grabbed his gun and aimed at them before the butterfly girl vanished and instantly appeared in front of him, with her bat finishing her swing as the man's gun and hand were annihilated by a searing rift through time. She swung her bat back around and struck the man against his head, the soldier tumbling to the ground screaming in pain as the snow angel raced forward with her hand formed into an ice claw, the girl then slicing the other man's hand along with his gun apart with a yell. The soldier screamed in pain before the snow angel swung her arm and launched out an ice shard at his throat. The blade struck through the neck with a crunch, the man coughing out blood and dropping down next to his comrade that just pulled the ice shard out from his shoulder. The other soldier screamed in pain as his hand was missing, reaching for his rifle on the ground with frustration. The butterfly girl growled and raced up to him, then swung her bat down and crushed his other hand. He screamed as she swung her bat back down on his head with a loud crack, the man dropping down as blood dripped from his ears. The remaining soldier yelled as he grabbed a rifle on the ground and aimed it at the snow angel, the girl looking with a glare at him as the butterfly girl glanced to him with frustration.
"Goddamn monsters!" the man yelled as he aimed at the snow girl. He pulled the trigger just as the butterfly girl gripped her bat tightly. The gun fired a round out with a bang, at the same time the butterfly girl instantly appeared next to the man with her bat held down to the side. At the same time the bullet that was traveling towards the snow angel and the gun were destroyed by the girl's swings through time. The shattered weapon flew off to the side as the man stared with shock at the two monster children while falling back onto his rear. The snow angel growled and walked towards him as the butterfly girl glared at him with discontent.
"What… what the hell are you?" he asked shakily. The snow girl raised her claw as the man stared with wide eyes.
"A pissed off wife," Arial said before she sliced down, striking her frozen claw down the man's face and through the skull. He let out a hoarse cry as he dropped down while Complica looked around at the room.
"Well… we're in. Now what do we do?" she asked looking back to her friend. Arial glanced behind them and nodded.
"We find my Dark, and free him," she said as another figure walked into the room from the receding dust cloud. It was an older teenager, one who had blue eyes and blue hair that went down to her shoulders with a polka-dotted ribbon tied in the back. She wore a long sleeved, knee-length white dress with red polka-dots and a red ribbon on her chest along with white dress shoes. She had a small sketchpad clipped to her hip as she walked in with a curious glance around the room. Behind her feathered wings were extended out, the siren looking around at the destroyed break room with the three dead humans then to the two monster children.
"What? They were in our way," Arial scoffed.
"They were going to kill us. We had to defend ourselves, right?" Complica reasoned worriedly. Sun nodded a bit and shrugged, then glanced to the door out of the room.
"C'mon, we need to get Dark and his friends out of here," Arial urged, running towards the door. Sun nodded then glanced to Complica, the chronofly angel gripping her bat worriedly. She looked to the silent siren as her new friend smiled gently at her.
"Are we going to get in trouble for hurting the humans like this? I don't want to be a murderer," Complica asked worriedly. Sun grabbed her sketchpad and wrote something down, choosing not to use her voice in fear that she might harm the chronofly angel. She then showed the pad to her with a calm expression.
We'll do what we must to save the innocent monsters here, and then we'll do the same to save your sister.
Complica looked at the pad worriedly and nodded with a quiet whimper.
"Luna…" she said looking down, fearful what may have become of her sister in the darker world. Sun wrote down something else as Arial popped her head back into the room.
"Let's go you guys! C'mon!" she yelled out. Sun glanced to her then showed Complica the pad again.
You won't be a murderer for saving the innocent Complica, remember that.
Complica nodded and looked down with a troubled expression.
"I'll try," she said softly.
"Hey!" Arial yelled out with frost forming around the ground below her. Sun and Complica looked to her then ran over to join the impatient snow angel.
"Let's get going, if we don't bust them out of here nobody will," Arial said as the three girls ran down the hall in search of the imprisoned monsters that were somewhere inside the building.
Gunfire echoed out into the air as HDA soldiers open fired on an incoming truck, the vehicle being one of theirs as it was speeding down the street toward the HDA command center. The crowds of human spectators and supporters ran away from the scene as several soldiers fired their rifles at the truck, the bullets striking the paneling and glass of the reinforced transport yet not slowing it down. The truck raced by the soldiers and crashed through the metal gate into the compound, running through the area towards a lowering ramp into an underground parking garage that had the large doors lowered still. Guards on the inside of the concrete barrier surrounding the compound fired on the truck before it raced down the ramp and crashed through the doors into the building. The truck raced into the parking area of the structure, the large garage having several other parked HDA trucks and SUVs off to one side and multiple support pillars around the area. There was a check-in office to the side, and a few more rows of HDA vehicles parked around the structure. Several HDA soldiers and personal watched with surprise as the vehicle drove quickly through the garage towards the end of the large area, then crashing into another truck which was about to pull out. The two collided and the intruding vehicle flipped onto its side as it tore through the front engine of the other vehicle, with two surprised humans watching as the other vehicle tumbled onto its side and careened through the garage with sparks flying from the ground behind it. The vehicle spun around a bit and slammed into another truck parked down by the end of the garage, the downed vehicle facing the group of soldiers as it lay in front of a row of parked HDA armored trucks. The humans stared at it with surprise as soldiers were running in from the outside entrance ramp.
"Intruders! Stop them!" one of them yelled out. Other HDA soldiers in the area armed their rifles and ran towards the downed truck while other personal ran into the adjacent check-in office and sounded the alarm. Sirens started going off as red flashing lights lit up around the large garage.
"Open fire!" one of them called out, with the group of soldiers then firing their rifles at the downed vehicle. Bullets riddled the roof of the vehicle as it lay on its side while the hood of the engine started smoking with bullet holes piercing through it with sparks. Gunfire echoed out with the sirens as the HDA soldiers fired at the truck with focused expressions. After a while the soldiers stopped and kept their aim on the truck with a careful eye, the sounds of metal casings dropping all around the men while the sirens continued to go off. Two of the men ran towards the vehicle with their weapons kept at the ready, both examining the truck while other soldiers kept on guard. The sirens echoed out inside the concrete parking area as the two soldiers looked into the front of the vehicle, both of them seeing nothing but cracked glass from the windshield. One of them kicked in the glass and shattered it to reveal nobody in the front seats. They then ran towards the back of the truck, keeping close to the roof of the vehicle as they readied themselves. One quickly leaned around the corner with a careful eye, seeing the back door to the truck open and hanging off its hinges. The two soldiers slowly crept around the truck as the others nearby approached the vehicle. One of them grabbed the door and swung it up, the two looking inside to seeing the back part of the truck empty.
"It's empty, nobody's inside," one of them called out to the others.
"It didn't drive here on its own, search the area right now," another called out as the soldiers looked around carefully.
"Who the hell would be stupid enough to try to break into here?" one scoffed while looking around as he kept his gun ready to fire.
The two soldiers near the back of the truck looked around carefully, then down as black tentacles whipped out from the ground below from dark rifts. One of them grabbed a soldier by the leg while the other was grabbed around the waist.
"What the HELL?" one yelled as he was whipped around wildly by the leg, screaming as the others watched with wide eyes. The other soldier was swung around as he screamed, right before he was slammed into the ground and splattered into a bloody mess. The other man screamed as he was swung around, then was whipped back and slammed into the roof of the downed truck. His body crushed in the metal slightly with a crunching sound as his leg was ripped off by the tentacle and thrown away.
"What the fuck is that?" another soldier yelled looking to the two dead men, with one a bloody mess on the ground as the other slowly dropped down from the truck and collapsed dead from sheer impact to the metal chassis.
Suddenly the truck rumbled a bit then tumbled into a roll towards the soldiers. The men jumped aside as two were crushed by the rolling vehicle, the truck crashing to a halt as the men looked to it with wide eyes.
"How… what is going on here?" one called out, looking back to where the truck just was. From the row of parked trucks a figure walked out from between the vehicles. Ruby was holding her wand out still from having used her telekinesis magic to throw the truck into a tumble, and then fired out a blast of magical energy from the stick. The bolt of purplish energy shot through one of the soldiers and struck into the downed truck's engine, the vehicle blasting apart behind the group of humans as one of their comrades dropped back dead.
"Monsters! Kill them!" one of the men yelled out as they fired their rifles at the witch. The bullets struck a flickering wall of light before the woman as she smirked at the humans. The men watched with surprise as two girls walked out from behind her. They were both dressed in Yokai Academy uniforms and were the same height. One had short black hair and yellow eyes, while the other had long blonde hair and black eyes.
"Nice throw Ms. Ruby," Apoch said as had her hand held out, focusing her magic to keep the barrier she erected before them in place still.
"And nice shot too," Astreal said as she aimed her hand at the soldiers. Her arm lit up slightly as she focused her magic, a trail of red light circling around towards her palm then firing out as a red bolt of energy that struck through the skull of one of the soldiers and threw him back into a tumble.
"Magical casters, switch to explosive rounds!" a soldier yelled out. The men switched their rifles to grenade launcher mode and fired out four rounds towards the witches. Apoch held out her hand along with Astreal, the sisters focusing their magic as Ruby held out her wand. The explosives struck the overlapping magical barriers and exploded into a powerful blast, with the concrete above and below them cracking severely. The three witches stumbled back from the shockwaves as Apoch tried to keep her barrier standing, the witch's shield the only one that remained after that forceful attack. The ceiling above started to rumble as the girls looked up with surprise. A large chunk of concrete broke free then dropped down towards them as they screamed. It neared them then slammed into another barrier above the girls, the three staring at the chunk of the ceiling as it was suspended above them. The soldiers stared at it with wide eyes then looked to see another figure walking up to the girls.
"Mind if I lend a hand?" Leon asked, the mimic mage using Apoch's barrier to hold up the debris. He was dressed in worn tennis shoes, frayed ended blue jean shorts, a white t-shirt with a Hawaii flower style short sleeve button-down shirt over it that was left undone. His light brown hair was set in poofy spikes while his brown eyes watched the human soldiers carefully. Astreal smiled at her boyfriend as he walked up to them, the boy having his hand held up as he copied Apoch's shield from witnessing it in action.
"Nice catch Leon," she said softly. Apoch looked at her own barrier being cast above them with wonder then to the mage with a smile. A soldier grabbed his radio as the men watched the monsters with caution.
"This is the parking garage; we've got monsters down here. I repeat, we've got monsters breaking into the building!" he shouted out.
From behind the monsters another figure walked out to them from between two parked trucks. He had a bit less of a physical build than the previous boy, this one having pale blue hair that was spiked up and trimmed roughly around his neck along with his front bangs being slightly longer. He had black steel tipped leather boots, black jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black and red checkered jacket over it that was zipped up halfway. His deep blue eyes looked up at the large chunk of debris as the flickering wall of light kept it up, then smiled amusingly at his friend.
"See, now you're just showing off. I mean seriously, lifting heavy weights in front of your girlfriend, c'mon man," Render said with a laugh. Leon smirked and shrugged as Astreal giggled a bit. Apoch smiled at her new boyfriend as he walked up to the group.
"What's this, is that another one?" a soldier called out as they aimed their guns at them still. The boy glanced to Leon then back to the soldiers with a playful smile.
"Well, no reason why you get to have all the fun man," he said holding his hands together. A blue light flashed between them then swirled around him quickly, the group of monsters looking at their friend as a bright light engulfed him. It flashed brightly then vanished, revealing the boy standing there with three times the muscle mass as before. Apoch blushed at seeing her boyfriend's fighting form as he held his hands behind him to his sides. A bright glow came from them then he slowly moved them forward. As he did blades seemed to form from the light out of thin air, the boy bringing his hands all the way forward and then grabbing the hilts of his two summoned weapons. The blade in his left hand was a long sword that was a metallic blue and green, the sword's tip pointed while the handle had a few small red gems in it. The one in his right hand was the same length as the other, this one being angular with a metallic red finish to it. The sword's tip was pointed as well while the handle had a few small blue gems in it. Render spun the blades around casually then smirked at the soldiers.
"He's one of them too! Fire!" a soldier yelled out as they took aim. Suddenly a bolt of lightning shot out from the side between two other parked trucks, zapping through the soldiers and causing them to jerk about before dropping to their knees. From the side a man walked out with his hand outstretched towards them. He was the same age and height as Ruby, wearing gray boots, dark pants, a red belt, and a black shirt with a black cape flowing behind him. He had dark hair and black eyes as he watched the soldiers cough and waver a bit.
"No you don't, just stand down and we'll- …holy shit, what the hell?" he cried out looking around at seeing the dead soldiers nearby. The others walked over towards him as Leon let his magic drop, and in doing so let the concrete debris slam into the ground behind them.
"What is this? We're not here to kill them, just to detain them!" Razico yelled out looking to the group with surprise.
"Really? I thought we were ok with killing them, I mean Ceal took out the first two pretty brutally," Ruby said looking back to the splattered remains of the first two fatalities. Razico looked to them and growled.
"What the hell? We're not here to make monsters look like murderers! I thought before we jumped out of the truck we all agreed not to kill anyone!" he yelled out.
"I never agreed to such a thing hunter," a voice said from nearby. The group looked over to seeing two boys walking towards them from between two other trucks. One was dressed in black tennis shoes, black jeans, and a simple black t-shirt. He had short black hair and cold blue eyes, the catalyst mage glancing to the soldiers that were trying to stand again. He held out his left hand, which was reptilian and covered in black scales, and dark rifts opened up around the human soldiers. Black tentacles whipped out and ensnared the humans, then ripped them to pieces with screams and bloody crunches as the boy showed no expression at all. Next to him another boy was staring at the sight with shock. He was about the same age and height as his merciless friend, having short messy red hair with brown eyes. He was wearing white tennis shoes, blue jeans with holes ripped open at the knees, a white t-shirt, and the green Yokai Academy jacket which was left undone.
"Why did you do that?" Gabriel cried out gripping his hair. Ceal rolled his eyes as they walked up to the group.
"They shot at your witch, yet you still wish to spare them? In case you haven't noticed they're going to try to kill us, the humans already despise monsters. There's no need to hold back while we're here," he reasoned calmly.
From nearby two other figures ran out from between two other trucks. Kokoa was dressed in her usual outfit from school while her pet bat flew near her, the familiar following her mistress on her mission to rescue her sister and friends. Next to her Gin was wearing his usual outfit from the academy as well, looking back from where they came then over to the group with a smirk.
"Hey, we found a way in- what the hell?" he said looking around at the dead humans.
"I thought we weren't killing anybody, what's all this?" Kokoa cried out looking around at everything.
"Hey, don't yell at me, I never got a chance to do anything yet. I just brought out my toys to play with, I'm innocent here," Render said shaking his head while holding his large swords up.
"You still look very handsome and daring Render," Apoch said softly with a smile, the battlemage glancing to her with a smirk from that.
"I… only fired because Ms. Ruby did," Astreal defended while looking to the elder witch.
"I told you I thought we were ok with doing that, Ceal smeared two humans all over the pavement and the side of our truck," Ruby said looking to Ceal.
"Have you lost it? We look bad enough as it is, we don't need to add anything else against us!" Razico yelled out at the boy. The catalyst mage glanced to him with a raised eyebrow.
"You wanted me to help save your friends did you not? That's what I'm doing. Did you honestly believe we could get them out of here without having to spill blood?" he asked accusingly.
"Yes! That's what I was sincerely hoping for!" Gabriel cried out. He looked to the slain humans with frustration and shook his head.
"Dammit, I'm supposed to be watching over mankind, not aiding in their slaughter," he said looking back to the group.
"Times change angel," Ceal said glancing to the boy.
"Holy shit, you tore them to bloody pieces," Kokoa said looking at the humans that Ceal ravaged with his necro magic. Kou landed on her shoulder and stared at the remains of the humans with wide eyes.
"We're supposed to be the good guys here!" Gin shouted out at the mage. Ceal glanced to him then around.
"Don't tell me that wolf, tell them," he said as soldiers ran in from all around them and aimed their rifles. Ruby held up her wand and formed a purplish dome around the group as bullets started flying wildly. The rounds struck the shield repeatedly as the group looked around at the soldiers trying to kill them.
"Um, I don't think they're up for listening to us," Render pointed out while glancing to the group.
"We can't kill them, they're just misguided humans," Gabriel pleaded worriedly.
"Misguided and trying to turn us into bloody bullet bags. I hate to admit it, but Ceal's right; we're not getting through here trying to be pacifists," Leon said shaking his head.
"I can't get human blood on my hands, I'm supposed to be their guardian," Gabriel argued with concern. Ceal held out his hand before the angel grabbed it.
"You can't hurt them!" Gabriel cried out. The mage glanced to him with narrowed eyes.
"Two choices angel…" he said as the group glanced to him.
"One, we kill those that stand in our way and save your friends. Or two, I kill you and then we kill those that stand in our way and save your friends," he said coldly. The angel looked at him worriedly then around as the humans kept firing at the group, the bullets bouncing off the shield as Ruby held her wand up. A few grenade rounds flew over and blasted the shield, the witch holding the flickering barrier up as she strained her magic.
"Either way, blood will be spilled here today angel. It's either ours, or theirs. What's it going to be?" Ceal demanded with discontent. Gabriel slowly let go of his hand and looked around.
"Is there really no other way of getting them out of here?" he asked worriedly. Razico looked around with frustration then to Ruby, the witch looking at him with concern.
"Dammit…" Kokoa said looking down.
"Is it right?" Gin asked unsurely.
Razico looked around at the soldiers with frustration as his clenched his fists.
"Dammit… we're not bad monsters," he said shaking his head.
"Whoever said we were bad?" Ceal asked plainly. The group looked to him as he waved his reptilian hand, and in doing so several dark tentacles came forth from the ground through small rifts. The limbs whipped around and grabbed several soldiers around the waists and shoulders, the men watching with surprise as they tried firing at the dark appendages from below. A few shots got a tentacle to recede back into the ground with a ghostly groan before more came from the ground.
"We're just monsters hunter, monsters who aren't ready to die yet," Ceal said before he snapped his fingers. The limbs then ripped apart the soldiers violently, with the remains being thrown around in bloody pieces. The humans screamed and cried out in agony as their comrades watched with shock at the sight, the soldiers then resuming their efforts to gun down the intruding monsters. The catalyst mage glanced to the others as they looked from the massacred soldiers to him.
"You want to save your friends? Well it's their lives or these humans', plain and simple. What's it going to be?" he asked firmly. The group looked to each other then to the surrounding soldiers.
"I can't… I just can't go against my job as their guardian," Gabriel said worriedly.
"You already did angel," Ceal said glancing to him. Gabriel looked to him with surprise as Ceal shrugged.
"You didn't stop me from killing them," he reasoned. Gabriel looked at him with frustration then to the humans that Ceal tore apart with his magic. Ceal glanced to Razico with a raised eyebrow, the warlock looking from him to the soldiers that were firing at the magical barrier. The caster breathed out then looked to Ruby, the witch nodding slowly with concern.
"This isn't like it was with Fairy Tale; they're not trying to destroy the world. They're only doing what they think is right," she said softly. She then looked to the humans with a careful eye.
"However, if we don't act now then our friends will be put to death. Given that's our situation…" she said glancing to Astreal. The girl nodded then held out her hand towards the soldiers, a bright glow building her wrist as she narrowed her eyes.
"We have no choice," the girl said before firing a shot out towards them, the blast of magical energy shooting through the chest of one of the soldiers. Leon mimicked the attack and fired out another shot, striking through another soldier and sending him tumbling back dead. Razico growled then held out his hand, in doing so black chains shot out from dark rifts in the ground, the links swinging around and ensnaring two soldiers. The men looked around with surprise before they were thrown over against a truck, then tossed back into two more soldiers, all of them then dropping down to the ground with a thud. The links appeared across the air leading over to the warlock's hand, the man looking at the soldiers with narrowed eyes as he gripped the chain-link whip tightly. Fire flared around his hand as he shook his head.
"Fine. So be it," he said as fire raced along the links, the flames searing across the air before igniting the soldiers. They screamed as they flailed about before dark tentacles whipped around and ensnared a nearby SUV, the limbs then tossing the truck into a tumble and rolling over the men with a loud crunch. Razico dissolved his chains and looked to Ceal as the boy glanced to him.
"If it makes you feel better hunter, I killed those humans," he mused with a smirk.
"You don't care about killing anyone, do you?" the warlock asked with discontent. Ceal chuckled and shook his head.
"I'll kill anyone that gets in my way hunter, just as I've always said. I suggest you follow that philosophy while we're here, if you want your friends to walk out of here in one piece," he declared casually. Razico growled a bit and looked down. He didn't want to show the world that monsters were murderers; however he didn't have a choice. The HDA wouldn't be negotiating or be willing to reason with them anymore, they were going to kill any monster they saw approaching them. If the group wanted to save their friends, then they would have to fight back, even if it meant making their own kind look worse in the eyes of the humans.
"Razico?" Ruby asked as she lowered her barrier. The warlock nodded and glanced to her.
"Let's find our friends, and get them out of here," he said, and then looked back to the catalyst mage.
"No matter what," he finished assertively. Ceal smirked at that while the others looked to each other in silent approval. Gabriel showed a worried expression and looked down.
"I can't use force here, and I can't be seen with my wings either," he said with concern.
"Then leave the force to us. It's what I'm here for after all," Render said as he gripped his swords tightly. He glanced to his girlfriend and winked at her. Apoch giggled softly and nodded as she formed her barrier sword, ready to follow her battlemage into the fray. Leon walked over to a dead soldier and picked up the assault rifle, examining it before looking back to the group.
"We've spilled blood before hunting treasure, saving your friends seems like a much nobler cause. I think we'll sleep ok at night after doing this," he reasoned as he armed the gun and looked around cautiously. Astreal smiled softly at the boy, watching her boyfriend standing there holding a rifle while fires were flaring up behind him.
'Wow… I think I see what Apoch likes about rough boys…'
"I need to save big sister and the others, no matter what. I won't let anybody, especially some humans, get in the way of that," Kokoa said with determination. Gin nodded and stretched out his arms, then shifted into his werewolf form.
"Well then, we'll do just that. We're monsters after all, nobody's going to stop us from doing what's right," he agreed with. Kokoa nodded and held up her hand.
"Let's go Kou," she called out. The bat squeaked and flew up into the air, then formed into a giant morning star that dropped into her hands. She gripped the massive weapon as the group just looked at her.
"Huh, interesting… pet," Render commented with a raised eyebrow.
"How… does he do that?" Leon asked.
"That's a very good question," Gabriel said examining the giant weapon that had a smiley face on it.
"We'll explain later, right now we have a job to do," Ruby said looking to Razico. The warlock nodded and flexed his hand, causing lightning to arc around his arm briefly.
"We've already spilled blood, no reason to hold back any longer," he said looking to Ceal. The boy chuckled and glanced towards the side of the area as sirens continued to sound off.
"Then if you're all finally ready to act, let's go find your friends," he said simply. The group then ran off from the ravaged parking area towards the entrance into the building that Kokoa and Gin had spotted, ready to find and rescue their friends no matter what. They didn't want to harm any of the humans that were going to be in their way, well actually Ceal didn't really give a damn about that little detail, but they were left with no other choice. There was only one way they were going to break their friends out of imprisonment, and that was with brute force.
Inside the large HDA command center were the holding areas for monsters that were captured or arrested, with the large building structured like a prison with an atrium. There were cells lined along the sides of each floor with secure chain link fences that enclosed the walkways from the middle opening. Armed guards were patrolling around the sectors as they kept their weapons held at the ready, the walkways circling around the floors large enough for four soldiers to walk side by side easily. The cells had industrial strength bars and walls inside, each only having a simple cot and no window. There were roughly a dozen floors to the holding areas as the atrium showed a long way down to the ground below. Sirens were going off as red lights were flashing around the area, the echoing sounds of the alarms along with some faint crashing sounds being heard as well. Inside many of the cells monsters in human form were looking around outside cautiously from their cells as they wondered what was going on. More HDA soldiers were beginning to run around on all the floors as radio chatter was scarcely heard among them.
Towards the top level of the large atrium a group of soldiers were still keeping their weapons aimed at a select group of prisoners despite the recent commotion. They were under strict orders to keep the monsters scheduled for public execution under close watch no matter what, and were keeping their rifles aimed at the monsters with a keen eye.
In one of the holding cells two girls were against the wall looking at the soldiers worriedly. Yukari was dressed in her usual witches outfit; however her wand was clipped to the belt of one of her guards outside. She had a fearful expression as she wasn't able to cast any spells in this state or even use her tarot cards. Next to her Ran was looking at the soldiers with fearful eyes from behind her rounded glasses, the siren dressed in the Yokai Academy girls' uniform still. She had short blue hair that went down to her shoulders that shifted to a teal color at the bottom, having one strand of hair curled up on the right side while she wore a small green ribbon in her hair on the other side. Both girls were also wondering about the alarms going off, but knew if they even said one word they might be gunned down before they could get an answer.
Inside the cell to their right two other girls were watching the soldiers outside with a careful eye. Kurumu was dressed in her usual outfit from the academy along with her golden cross she wore in the purple bow holding her blue hair up in a ponytail, the succubus watching the guns being aimed at them with nervous eyes. She could feel the pull of the bond with her Destined One still as he was in the cell next to her, yet was still struggling to remain calm as she watched the humans aim their guns at her while she was behind bars. Next to her Mizore was leaning against the wall while eyeing the soldiers with a cold glare, having her arms crossed before her as she remained quiet. She was dressed in the same outfit as usual, along with two other accessories she had started wearing since her recent adventures. One was a choker around her neck that had a white pendant with a unique insignia written in black. Another was a crystal ring on her wedding finger, the band having a dark hue flowing around inside of it while it had the same insignia etched onto the top part of it.
In the cell next to them two boys were watching the armed soldiers carefully as alarms continued to go off inside the atrium. Rason was leaning against the wall watching the soldiers with discontent still after how they wrongfully arrested him and his friends earlier that day. He was dressed in his usual outfit of black tennis shoes, blue jeans, white t-shirt with a golden button-down shirt over it that was left undone, and a golden crescent moon necklace that he wore around his neck. His short blonde hair was still neatly combed while his brown eyes were glaring at the soldiers outside his cell. Sitting on the cot in the cell Dark was glaring at the men with his dark brown eyes as well, dressed as usual with black tennis shoes, blue jeans, black t-shirt with a gray button-down shirt over it that was left undone, and a bandage over his leg from a bullet wound he received earlier. His dark hair was still messy and he wasn't wearing his trademark headphones as they were taken from him upon his arrest when the group was blamed for the attack on a human city that day.
And in the cell next to them two more monsters were watching the soldiers with caution while other HDA officials were running around the floors in a hurry. Moka was dressed in her usual academy uniform, the pink haired vampire trying to comprehend what happened with her friends that were originally sent to live in the human world and how that turned into ground zero for a monster attack. Next to her Ahakon was showing fear at seeing the guns being aimed at them, the young mage dressed in his usual attire of brown boots, black pants, and a brown sweater with a red cape. His red hair was still messy while his blue eyes watched the soldiers, the mage worried about the safety of his girlfriend and his friends as well.
As the soldiers kept their aim on the monsters one of their radios sounded off.
"Attention, this is the parking garage on the east side, we have intruders. All units be advised, we have intruders who have breached the outer perimeter. Radio reports claim they were monsters. I repeat, we have monsters that have broken into the building," a man's voice called out. The soldiers glanced to each other then back to the group. A moment later the radio sounded off again.
"This is the west side perimeter, we have a breach. A hole was blown clean open in the side of the center, three dead inside. We are sending a search party to the surrounding blocks, all units in the vicinity keep on guard," another man's voice called out.
"This is Unit 12, west side entranceway compromised. Reports of gunfire inside ground level blocks, dispatch heavy level reinforcements immediately. Take no chances, this may be a monster attack," another voice called out.
"This is Unit 3, encountering three intruders in the east wing. Preparing to engage- AHHH!" another voice cried out before cutting to static. The group of monsters all glanced to their cellmates then back to their guards who were glancing to each other as well.
"You're making a mistake holding us here," Moka warned.
"Shut up monster, the time for you to talk is over," a guard snapped as he aimed his gun at her.
"She's right, we have friends, family. They're not going to allow this, neither will the dark lords," Mizore said coldly.
"They're all going to join you as well. And as for your dark lords they've already fled back into their world after your attack failed, they're just as despicable as you are for attacking us after we tried to make peace with your kind," a guard said with discontent.
"But we didn't attack you! Why are you blaming us for this, we're on your side!" Kurumu cried out.
BANG!
"Kurumu!" Rason shouted running to his cells bars and looking out them worriedly. In the cell next to his Kurumu was trembling with fear as a bullet mark was etched into the wall next to her head, the girl staring with wide eyes as the soldier's rifle was smoking slightly.
"One more word out of you and the next one is going through your head," the man said with narrowed eyes. Rason growled and grabbed onto the bars.
"Dammit, we're not the ones that did that to your city. We're not your enemies," he said with frustration.
"Get back against the wall or I will shoot to kill," a soldier ordered aiming at him. Rason growled and slowly backed up from the bars. Dark narrowed his eyes and slowly stood up, then walked towards the bars as the men aimed at him.
"Sit back down right now, or else we'll shoot more lead into you," a soldier said with a grunt.
"You're making enemies with the wrong monsters here," Dark said with discontent. Mizore glanced to the side worriedly as she heard her demon's voice.
"I said shut up and get back!" a soldier shouted out.
"C'mon Dark, they're not going to listen to reason," Rason said shaking his head. Dark growled then glanced to him with a glare.
"Shut up Rason, I'm not about to just sit back and do nothing as these idiots threaten us," he said sternly. Moka and Ahakon glanced to each other as Yukari and Ran did, the group then glancing to the side as they heard the boy's voice.
"It's not like I want to sit here and do nothing, but we're not exactly in a good spot here, and you're wounded," Rason reasoned gently. Dark grunted then walked up to him with a glare.
"At least I tried out there; at least I tried to stand up to them. You did nothing back there, you let them take you and your girl without so much as a fight," he snapped. The angel looked at him with surprise as the soldiers watched them carefully.
"Hey c'mon, they had us surrounded, what was I supposed to do?" Rason asked shaking his head. Dark grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the wall with a thud.
"Do something, anything! Are all you angels so damned peace minded that you won't even stand up to a few humans?" the demon shouted out. Mizore and Kurumu glanced to each other cautiously then looked towards the wall where their boyfriends' voices were coming from. The soldiers were watching them with dull expressions as Rason narrowed his eyes and pushed Dark away.
"Hey, I didn't want my girlfriend being shot. Maybe you're fine with soldiers shooting at your girl but that doesn't sit well with me," he said sternly.
"Hey, pipe down in there you two," a soldier called out.
"My Mizore can handle herself just fine in a fight. What's wrong angel, think your succubus is so weak that she can't do shit without you?" Dark shot back with anger. Kurumu and Mizore looked to each other curiously then to the wall, both puzzled by the sudden dispute between their boyfriends.
"What's Dark talking about?" Kurumu asked quietly. Mizore merely shook her head as she listened to the boys talking.
"My girlfriend's a stronger demon than both you and your snow girl buddy; this has nothing to do with strength. It's all about common sense, which you seem to be lacking," Rason quipped as he clenched his fists.
"I said shut up in there, hey!" a soldier yelled out as he aimed his rifle at the boys.
"Yet you both did nothing to try to stop them from wrongfully taking us in. I was the only one that did anything back there," Dark said waving his arm to the side.
"Yeah, and you got shot because of it. Way to go, I see that worked out well for you," Rason scoffed.
"What's gotten into those two?" Moka asked worriedly.
"They're fighting now? Of all times, they're doing this now?" Ahakon said quietly in disbelief.
"I can handle a bullet just fine, I'm not so soft and cowardly like you are," Dark said sternly.
"Who are you calling cowardly demon?" Rason shouted out.
"Hey! Knock it off in there, both of you!" a soldier shouted out. Dark growled then sent a right hook to Rason, the angel being hit and slamming into the bars. The boy growled then swung back at Dark, the demon blocking the hit and punching the angel in the gut causing him to cough out.
"Hey! Break it up!" a soldier yelled out.
"Dark? What are you doing?" Mizore said shaking her head.
"Stop it you guys, please!" Kurumu cried out.
"You goddamned demon!" Rason shouted as he punched Dark in the gut, the demon growling then shoving the angel into the bars with a tackle.
"Hey, hey knock it off!" a soldier said as the men glanced to each other.
"What are you guys doing? Stop fighting," Moka pleaded, running to the bars and trying to look to the side.
"We're all friends, knock it off," Ahakon said running over as well. Mizore and Kurumu ran up to their bars as Yukari and Ran did the same, the girls looking towards the commotion as all the soldiers were gathering in front of the boys' cell.
"If you had at least tried to do anything I wouldn't have been alone out there, we might have been able to do something about this! But no, you all just chose to be taken without putting up a fight!" Dark yelled out as he threw Rason to the ground. The angel scrambled back to his feet then charged Dark back into the bars with a tackle. The demon growled then shoved the angel to the side and punched him against the wall, the angel then kicking back and knocking Dark into a tumble onto the ground.
"Dammit I said break it up!" a soldier ordered as he grabbed a key from his belt. Other soldiers aimed their guns into the cell as the others watched with worried eyes.
"Stop it you guys, this isn't helping our cause!" Moka shouted out.
"He's right," Mizore said softly. Kurumu looked to see the snow girl growling then turning to glare at her.
"If you all would have done something rather than just giving up we wouldn't be in this mess. My Dark's the only one that tried to help," she said with anger. She pushed Kurumu back as the succubus looked at her with disbelief.
"What are you saying? Are you crazy? We were surrounded, we couldn't have done anything then," Kurumu argued shaking her head.
"You're just as cowardly as your angel," Mizore hissed. Kurumu jumped at that then glared at the snow girl.
"Hey, what the hell! Rason's no coward, and neither am I. Just because your demon got shot doesn't mean we all had to share that fate. We couldn't have done anything then and you know it, at least we all had enough common sense to see that," she barked back. Mizore growled then rushed at her and tackled her against the wall. Kurumu tried pushing back as Mizore held her against the wall with a glare.
"For the Lord of Hell's daughter you're pretty weak being taken by simple humans like this," Mizore hissed. Kurumu gasped then growled loudly at her.
"What the hell you bitch, who are you calling weak? And you're one to talk, you didn't do anything either. You just let them take you while your stupid demon tried to disappear and run away!" she shouted before she tackled the girl to the ground.
"Goddammit, knock it off, all of you!" a soldier yelled out as the two girls rolled around on the ground yelling at each other.
"Have you all lost it?" Yukari cried out.
"Stop fighting, this isn't helping us at all," Ran said shaking her head.
"Dammit, we said stop!" a guard ordered grabbing his key. The two soldiers ran over and unlocked the cell doors as the others aimed their rifles at the fighting monsters. The key holders and another guard each ran into the cells and tried to wrestle the two fighting parties apart while the other four men aimed their guns at them.
"Break it up you two, right now!" a soldier yelled out grabbing Dark and trying to pull him away from Rason while another soldier grabbed the angel by the shoulders and dragged him away.
"One more outburst and we'll execute you right now!" a soldier yelled grabbing Mizore and pulling her off of Kurumu as another soldier grabbed the succubus and brought her to her feet then shoved her against the wall.
Dark growled then quickly grabbed the soldier's pistol, the demon spinning around the man and twisting his head around with his other hand. The boy fired out a few shots to the guards outside his cell as Rason grabbed the other solider and tossed him down, the angel rolling onto top of him and sending a powerful punch to the head. As the skull shattered from the impact a guard outside the cell was shot repeatedly in the chest as the other took a shot to the head.
In the adjacent cell Mizore formed her ice claw and struck into the soldier holding her, digging into his gut as she grabbed him and charged out towards the others with him in front. They fired at the girl and struck into the man repeatedly before the snow maiden shoved the guard into another soldier and pinned him to the chain fence, the snow girl then flinging out an ice kunai and striking the other soldier in the head. The snow girl turned back and threw out another, the small frozen blade flying between the bars and striking into the skull of the other soldier. Kurumu watched the man fall then looked to Mizore with wide eyes, the snow girl smiling at her friend before looking back to see the other soldier pushing his dead comrade away and aiming his gun at her. In a flash a bolt of lightning flew out from Ahakon's hand and struck the fence, the chain link wall electrifying and causing the soldier pushed against it to jerk about. Mizore fashioned her ice katana with her other hand and swung around at the man, slicing the head off as the blade sparked through the chain links behind him. Rason got up and quickly ran out of the cell holding the dead soldier's rifle as Dark did the same, the two boys looking around to seeing other soldiers looking over towards the commotion.
"They're escaping! Open fire!" a soldier on the floor below them across from the breakout shouted. He and his comrade fired a few rounds before more shot past them, the two men running in opposite directions as Dark and Rason fired at them. Dark looked up and fired some more rounds into the level above them, pelting a soldier in the chest as another fired down at him. Dark darted to the side as Rason fired up at the human, the angel then jumping back as gunfire struck the edge of the floor in front of him from below.
"Dammit, we're surrounded still!" the angel yelled out.
"Tell me something I don't know," Dark said as he reloaded his gun. He glanced to Mizore as the girl was holding the dead soldier against the fence as a shield, the body being struck with bullets as the snow girl looked around with frustration.
"Mizore, grab the keys and get the others out now," Dark called out, then grabbed a soldier from the ground and shoved it against the fence as more bullet shot by. Rason did the same and the two boys fired around while using their human shields, literally, to stay alive. They fired up at the one upper level above them as soldiers were running to the opposite side to shoot down at them.
"Right," Mizore said glancing back into the cell. Kurumu looked to the body of the soldier then quickly ran over and grabbed the keys from the belt.
"You were just faking with what you said?" she asked looking to her friend. Mizore smiled and winked at her.
"Just following my demon's lead, he knows best after all," she said coolly. Kurumu blinked then looked at her with a dull expression, then ran over next to her friend as the others backed away from the cells. Gunfire sparked around the ground as guards from all floors were starting to fire up at them, the bullets striking the edge of the floor and around the cells as soldiers fired from the lower floors. The three bodies the monsters were using as shields started to get shot and torn apart quickly as more bullets were flying by at high speed.
"This is crazy, we can't hold them all off like this," Rason said shaking his head. Dark growled then fired a few more shots up at the soldiers above them, striking two down while more showed up.
"Shoot for the ones above us, we can use the ground as cover from the lower ones," Dark called out as he fired a few more rounds. Mizore glanced down to a rifle and picked it up, pushing Kurumu over to hold the body up.
"What are you doing?" the succubus asked franticly as she held the dead soldier against the fence for protection.
"Helping," Mizore said as she aimed down the sight at the soldier in the upper floor. She fired a few rounds, surprised by the kickback of the gun at first, and struck the ground around the HDA soldiers. They looked over to her and started firing down again as Dark and Rason kept shooting from behind cover.
"How the hell do you handle using these anyway? I can't hit anything with this thing," Rason said as he tried to use the rifle with one hand. He fired a few rounds and missed them all as the bullets struck the ground of the upper level and the ceiling. A soldier's cry of agony echoed out as Mizore smiled brightly.
"Got one!" she cheered out.
"Mizore one, Rason zero," Dark said dryly as he kept firing, striking the enemy soldiers with precision. Kurumu watched with wide eyes then looked down to seeing Yukari's wand on the belt of the soldier that was missing its head. She grabbed it then slid it into Yukari's cell.
"Yukari!" she called out. The witch smiled and ran towards it, then jumped back as bullets struck around the floor in front of her. She screamed and ran back to the siren, both girls pressing against the wall with fear. Kurumu looked at the wand with frustration then to the upper level as more soldiers were still firing from up there.
"Clear those upper level ones out, we can't stay here like this," she called out.
"I'm trying to, I've never used this thing before," Rason said as he franticly tried to shoot the soldiers, missing every shot.
"Working on it," Dark said simply. Another soldier's cry of agony echoed out as Mizore smiled coolly.
"Got another one," she said softly. Dark glanced to her and smirked, the girl smiling at him then trying to fire up at more of the enemies. After a few more kills Dark looked around carefully to not seeing any more soldiers above them. Mizore looked around then kept low to the ground as she made her way towards Moka and Ahakon's cell. Kurumu kept low as she went over to Yukari and Ran's while Rason and Dark started firing down at the floors below them as more soldiers were firing up at them. The two boys dropped down low to the ground as the bodies they were using were shot to shreds against the fence.
"Ok, now what?" Rason called out.
"I came up with the idea of a fake fight; do I have to think of everything?" Dark said dryly. Mizore unlocked Moka and Ahakon's cell door as Kurumu unlocked Yukari and Ran's, the group then rushing out to the two boys while keeping low to the ground.
"That was a pretty slick idea, we thought you were really at each other's throats there," Ahakon said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, you were really convincing," Moka added with a smile.
"I thought you were serious too," Kurumu said looking to Mizore. The snow girl giggled and shook her head.
"I figured that would be the only reason our boys would be arguing like that, I knew Dark was up to something. So I thought we should help them as well," she reasoned. Dark glanced to her with a quick smile then resumed firing his gun while keeping low to the ground. Rason dropped his since he wasn't doing any good with it and looked around quickly.
"We need to get the hell out of here, fast," he said urgently.
"Really? Why do you say that?" Dark said dryly as he fired a few more rounds before ducking back. He shook his head and looked around carefully.
"Going to run out of ammo at this rate, head for the stairs," he ordered looking to the side. There were stairwells at two opposite sides of each level on opposite corners while the other corners had large elevators. Other monsters in the atrium were yelling and shouting as more HDA soldiers were running into the complex. Several squads were rushing into the stairs as the two elevators were already traveling up, the carrying cars having large doors as they were used to move equipment and monsters with heavy escorts.
"Not taking the elevators, good idea," Rason said with a quick nod, remembering how that was ill-advised during their Fairy Tale assault.
"C'mon, let's get the hell out of here," Moka said looking to the stairwell down the walkway from them. They started to move when gunfire riddled the edge nearby as well as the ceiling, the group ducking back against the wall from the incoming fire. The chain link fence next to them at this point was tearing apart and falling away as the HDA soldiers kept up their suppressing fire. Dark looked ahead and fired a few rounds as a few soldiers ran up from the stairwell. He took them down as more showed up from the other side of the floor across the atrium. Yukari aimed her wand towards them and fired out a powerful blast of magic, the ball searing through the fence, flying across the atrium, and striking into the soldiers with a powerful explosion.
"We're too exposed here, we need to get out of the open," Mizore said looking around. She blinked then glanced behind them as the elevator down the walkway opened its large doors. From the walkway an engine sound was heard as the group looked back to it.
"What is that?" Rason asked worriedly. From the elevator stepped out a large metal suit, the black painted armored walker having metal plates covering the arms and legs as it carried a mini-gun in its hands. It was heavily armored on all sides as it had articulating limbs to assist the pilot with carrying heavy weaponry such as the large one it had at the moment. The suit had a dark blue visor as a human pilot was inside driving the mechanized walker, the back of it having a small compartment sticking out holding the engine for the powered suit. The walker slowly stepped out with a clomping sound and aimed the gun towards the group, the barrel spinning up as they watched with wide eyes.
"Oh my god," Kurumu said with fright.
"Move!" Dark yelled as he grabbed Mizore and darted into Moka and Ahakon's cell. Rason grabbed Kurumu and did the same as Ran grabbed both Ahakon and Yukari and leapt in as well. Moka screamed and jumped in as the mini-gun spun quickly and fired lightning fast rounds down the walkway, with the ground and walls being torn up as the high velocity rounds flew by as streaks of white light.
"Holy fuck, what is that thing?" Rason cried out.
The outside walkway was torn apart as the concrete walls and floors chipped away from the deadly rounds being shot out at insane speeds. The walker fired around as the gun made a high pitched whirring sound while more HDA soldiers gathered behind it.
"What do we do now?" Kurumu cried out as the group watched the outside of the cell get torn up.
"Well we're not taking the stairs now, that's for sure," Ahakon said shaking his head quickly.
"We need to get off this floor though," Yukari said with fear.
"We need to get the hell out of here, that's what we need to do!" Kurumu shouted out.
"Any ideas?" Moka asked worriedly.
The bullets stopped firing as the mini gun slowly spun down, the barrel red hot from the heat as smoke and debris billowed around the walkway from the onslaught. The walker then started moving forward with a loud clomping sound as a few HDA soldiers walked behind with their guns at the ready.
"Now what?" Ran asked worriedly. Dark growled then vanished into a black wisp. The group looked to where he just was then over to the cell doors as the walker stepped in front of it, the suit then aiming the large mini-gun towards the group of monsters as soldiers stood on both sides of it and did the same.
"Take no chances, kill them all!" a soldier yelled out as the group of men aimed their guns. The group of monsters watched with frustration before a few pins to the soldiers' grenades snapped off and were thrown away. The men looked to their belts with surprise as the mini-gun started to spin up. One of the soldiers had his gun yanked away before he was bashed in the head with it, the man stumbling back as the men looked around quickly.
"What the hell?" a soldier shouted before looking to seeing Dark reappearing down the walkway from a black wisp, the boy glaring at them while holding the stolen rifle.
"Bye," Mizore said coldly before the grenades detonated, the walkway being destroyed by a large explosion from the grenades as dust and debris flew about. The armored suit took aim at the monsters before the ground below it cracked and gave away slightly, the walker then falling through the floor and crashing down onto the lower level with concrete falling around it. The suit slowly started to get back up as the metal was banged up and damaged, then looked up to see Dark aiming a rifle down at it. The group walked over and looked down as the man in the suit stared with wide eyes before Dark fired the gun, the bullets striking the visor and cracking it. After a few rounds the demon stopped firing and tossed the gun away. The armored suit slowly began to aim the mini-gun up at them as the barrel started to spin.
"Bulletproof?" Rason asked glancing to his friend. Dark nodded then glanced to Yukari. The witch aimed her wand down as it started to spark and glow. The mini-gun aimed up at them as the witch fired a blast down at it, the large ball of magical energy striking down on the suit and exploding into a powerful explosion. The ground shook a bit as the group braced themselves, then watched as the destroyed remains of the walker fell down to a lower floor in flaming pieces and debris.
"But not Yukari-proof," Ahakon said glancing to his girlfriend. The witch smiled proudly and nodded while the group smiled at her.
"Nice job Yukari," Moka said.
"Yeah, not bad pipsque- look out!" Kurumu yelled out looking to the side. The group looked to see a rocket fired from a soldier a floor below them from across the atrium, the projectile racing towards them with a whistling sound. The group scattered as the rocket flew over and struck against the edge of the walkway, the explosion blasting apart more of the floor as a dust cloud flew around with flames flying about. Moka and Ahakon coughed and looked back to it, the two having jumped back into the cell along with Yukari and Ran. Mizore and Kurumu coughed then ducked back down as gunfire riddled the ground and ceiling around them.
"Is everyone ok? You guys?" Moka called out.
"Hey, are you ok?" Yukari called out as she coughed a bit. Mizore and Kurumu shook off the hit then looked to see Rason against the ground and wall on the other side of the large gap in the walkway, the angel coughing and looking around.
"Dark? Dark?" he called out. Mizore and Kurumu looked around for the demon then saw him reappear down the walkway further. He slumped against the wall and coughed out, then looked to the others. Rason looked back to his friend as the demon kept low from the bullets that were shooting up the edge of the floor and ceiling above him.
"Dark! You ok man?" he called out. Dark coughed a bit and nodded. Moka, Ahakon, Yukari, and Ran slowly stood up as Rason looked around quickly.
"We need to get out of here now!" he called out.
"No shit," Dark said as he brushed the dust and debris off his shoulder.
"Dark," Mizore said softly with relief as she saw her demon was still alive. Kurumu looked around quickly then back to Rason.
"Hey, we should go-" she started before two more high pitched whistling sounds were heard. They looked to see two more rockets flying at them quickly.
"Not again!" Rason yelled as he ducked down on the ground. Dark watched with frustration then leapt away as the rocket flew up and blasted the ceiling above him. The other projectile raced over and detonated in the floor beneath Mizore and Kurumu, the girls bracing from the impact as the ground cracked below them. Rason looked to seeing Dark struggling to get up as the concrete ceiling above him started cracking apart.
"Dark!" he yelled out as he scrambled over and pushed the demon out of the way before the upper walkway gave away and crashed down, the two boys stumbling forward as the walkway behind them was blocked off by twisted steel and chunks of concrete.
"Dark!" Mizore cried out.
"Rason!" Kurumu screamed before the ground below them gave away, the girls falling down into the lower walkway and tumbling into a cell that had its bars destroyed from the previous explosions. There wasn't any other monster in there as the two girls rolled into it while the concrete walkway fell down behind them and crashed into a pile outside their cell against the fence. The girls coughed as dust flew about and looked to it with wide eyes, both stumbling to their feet then running over to it. Concrete slabs with twisted metal were piled up alongside the chain-link fence, the remains of the upper walkway blocking gunfire from the other side of the atrium while there was a large gap above the two girls and next to them where the powered suit crashed down from before. They ducked behind the rubble as gunfire started to pelt the other side, the girls pinned there as there was no other cover blocking the HDA soldiers from across the atrium.
"Dammit, we're trapped here," Kurumu said with frustration. Mizore looked around worriedly then up, worried about her demon that was still above.
Rason and Dark coughed a bit and looked back to seeing they were blocked off from the rest of the group while Moka and the others ducked back into the cell they were in as gunfire riddled through the open gap and cell door.
"AH! Now what do we do?" Yukari cried out.
"There's no way out of here," Ran said looking around in a panic.
"We could try to jump down below, couldn't we?" Ahakon asked.
"They'll shoot us to pieces!" Yukari cried out.
"Well we can't stay here," Moka said shielding herself from debris that was being chipped away from the gunfire.
Rason and Dark slowly got up then stumbled hastily out of the walkway into the nearby stairwell as more gunfire echoed out behind them. They ran into the opening for the stairs that went up and down between floors then looked back to the firefight in the atrium with frustration. They were separated from the group, which was now divided onto two different floors while being kept down by suppressing fire by the HDA soldiers. More reinforcements were on the way, all aiming to shoot to kill on sight.
"Well, what's our plan now?" Rason asked cautiously. Dark growled as his eyes turned pitch black.
"We show these humans that they made enemies with the wrong monsters."