"Target in sights. Moving to engage."
The various murder attempts on her life in the past six hours or so considered, Angel was pretty sure the one she was currently witnessing was in her top three, if not the worst of all. Warrior let out a low growl, walking backwards until it was hiding behind Angel, courageous little pup, he was. Her hands grabbing at John's heaving and trembling figure, the siren turned her attention to the Loader Bot looming over them and forced herself to match the emotionless gaze of the robot. She inwardly cursed at the rifle in its hand and her inability to revoke her powers.
She didn't let the sob threatening to escape her chest free. She was strong, god damn it, she was a Lawrence.
"Removing bandit. Success imminent."
Looking up at the barrel of the rifle, however, the young siren could feel her eyes watering; she pursed her lips and kept silent. Dad, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I made a mistake, I couldn't-
"HEYHEYHEY URANUS WAIT!"
Angel perked up at the high pitched, robotic voice, followed by the sound of a whirring wheel she was all too familiar with. Warrior whined, nudging Angel's back with its snout.
"A CL4P-TP?" she whispered to herself as the Loader Bot's smaller companion caught up with it, the fact that she was about to be blown to pieces in a few moments forgotten. John groaned weakly, because of the chatty bot or because of pain, Angel wasn't sure. The robot in question finally stopped punching the Loader Bot's kneecaps and turned to shoot a look at Angel; how it managed to convey emotions despite just having one blue eye was beyond her.
"I go by Hermes, actually!" the smaller robot replied, moving excitedly on his wheel now that its buddy decided to cease fire. Was it… actually dancing? Angel couldn't help but smile despite herself, her life had started to feel too surreal lately. Hermes continued, pointing at the taller robot, "And this is Uranus! It's funny, 'cause he is an ass!"
"Hey. Stop it. It's Ouranos."
"Awww buddy, you know I'm just messing with ya! Plus, you're the one who's decided to go on a murdering spree in the middle of the desert! I mean, how rude is that? This is just a human girl and her very dying friend! Show some hospitality!" The chatty robot halted when John let out a painful gurgle that made Angel wince in fear. Warrior whined again, gently nudging John's head this time. Angel gave the robots a watery and strained smile, "Hi, Hermes, Oruanos. I'm Angel, this is my father, John, and this is our pet, Warrior." She braced herself for… anything, really, as she gently patted her father's chest and continued. "Can you help us?"
What she wasn't ready for was, however, the complete silence that befell the robots. "Look, I-"
"Righteous father!"
"You came back for us!"
Welp, that was an unexpected improvement. She held onto John tighter as the robots crowded around the humans and the kraggon, "You know dad?" She sounded so timid, so small. She wondered how long her father could hold on. Hermes and Ouranos stopped making excited trills and beeps to examine Angel for a moment, nearly making her wither under their scrutinizing gaze.
"Wait… So you're…"
"Dexterous sister!"
"Guys-"
"Oh my god, you've gotten so big! Way to go, sister! I'm so jealous!"
"GUYS!" Angel finally managed to stop them, actually waving her arms in front of their visual sensors. "Please, my father's dying."
"No worries! We can get you to someone who can help!" Hermes chirped happily and started wheeling away before adding apologetically, "If I sound pleased about this, it's only because I'm programmed to sound like this! I'm actually quite upset and stressed!"
Riding in a bandit technical is quite the experience, Angel would later decide, especially when your driver is a CL4P-TP. He was a great driver, make no mistakes, he just loved to boost the damn thing every 10 minutes and screaming obscenities like "Watch as we observe the rare and beautiful Clappy Bird!". It would have been pretty funny if she wasn't holding her dying father in her arms. Probably.
The bandit technical wormed its way between walls and walls of car parts and came to a stop gently, Ouranos announcing they "returned to Motherland". Hermes wheeled away without a care in the world as Ouranos helped Angel with carrying John out of the back of the technical, his stiff limbs surprisingly tender as he scooped the unconscious man in his arms.
"Oh, howdy!"
Turning to see a tall woman with short blonde hair and the cutest face ever, Angel blushed and graced the other with a timid smile. The "Greetings." coming from Ouranos confirmed the woman as friendly, much to the young siren's relief (because of her father's well-being, of course, what do you mean she has a crush on this pretty lady? Blatant. Lies.). The woman paced closer, her worried glance moving between John and Angel, "And who would you be, cutie?"
"That's Angel, Father's daughter!" Oh good, thanks Hermes, coming back along with the cute woman to save the day because Angel's in no condition to reply, what with her jaw hanging and all that. "Angel, this is Ellie! She helps us out, fixes us and even gives us missions from time to time!"
The woman's (Ellie! What a cute name, to go with the cute woman, oh my gosh) eyes narrowed slightly at the introduction, her eyes moving once more to John. "As in, Johnathan Lawrence's daughter?" Angel gave a small wave, accompanied by a nervous smile on her flushed face (it's the Pandoran sun ruining her pale skin, not that she's crushing hard on Ellie).
"U-uhm. Yeah. Can you, uh, help us?"
"That bastard broke my mama's heart real bad." Ellie replied, furrowing her brows and making Angel's heart plummet all the way to her stomach. The taller woman turned to look at the other a moment later, however, her scowl softening into a smile, "But I like you a lot, Angel! I'll help you fellas."
Jamming the third Anshin hypo right into John's eye socket and making the poor man yowl in pain yet again, Ellie turned to look at Angel, who was pacing around the woman's garage nervously and throwing worried glances at her father every so often. "Alright, he's stable and fixed, but I couldn't save his eye." Ellie slowly spoke up, "Unless you have healing powers?" Angel stopped dead in her tracks, her dual colored eyes wide. The other woman pointed at her left arm, "Your tat's showin', cutie."
Well, shit. She hadn't noticed the left sleeve of her jacket was completely blown off until this point.
"Dexterous sister is a… siren?"
"Wow! Now you're even cooler and I'm even more jealous!"
"Well, shoot. Don't look at me like that, Angel! If I didn't turn you to those Hyperion bastards 'til now, I ain't gonna do that now." Angel wrapped her arms around herself, unconsciously trying to make herself smaller, "So you know, too?" Ellie looked at her with a sad look on her soft features, "They've been broadcasting about you two going AWOL for hours, cutie. You two've got some huge bounty on your heads too."
Angel's hands tightened around her arms, her jaw clenching and her eyes filling with tears yet to be shed. She gave Ellie a genuine, small smile, however, "Thank you." The other woman got up with an "Awwww!" and walked closer to the siren, engulfing her in a tight hug. Gosh, she was so soft, and she smelled so lovely. Were people allowed to be like that in a god forsaken planet like this? She returned the hug, a deep crimson dusting her cheeks when she leaned back to look up at Ellie's face. Eyes imprisoned by the other's, arms encircling the other, they stood silently in the evening sun.
"Mrrng'l?"
And just like that, the moment was gone, broken by John's muffled question.
"Dad? I'm here! You're okay. We're okay." Afraid to hurt her father although he seemed to be doing fine, Angel ended up holding John's hand in hers.
"Wh… where're we, pum'k'n?"
"In the area known as The Dust." Ouranos helpfully supplied, making John look up at the Loader Bot who had gotten closer to the duo once he realized John was awake. The man searched the robot's unwavering red eye with a dumb smile on his face (perks of three Anshins, really), "We 'n Helios?" he mumbled happily, " 'kay." He closed his eyes for a moment, only to open them a moment later, a look of pure shock on his face as he flailed his limbs (they looked like limp noodles in reality. Again, blame the Anshins.), "WE ON HELIOS?!"
Angel couldn't help but smile at her father's confusion as she held him down easily, "Calm down, dad. We're still on Pandora." John shot her an incredulous look.
"Buh… but… Loader Bot…" he gestured weakly at Ouranos.
"Dad, meet Ouranos. He's our friend."
"Uranus?" John let out a giggle that quickly evolved into laughter, "Uranus, oh my god!" Angel rolled her eyes with a huff and a smile, "No, dad. It's Ouranos."
" 's what I said! Uranus!"
"You're still the biggest ass around here, so stop makin' fun of him." came Ellie's chiding voice, hint of entertainment hidden through the syllables. The all too familiar accent sobered John up, if only a little, as he turned his head to grace Ellie with a surprised expression, his mouth forming an "Oh.".
"Howdy, John. Broke any hearts lately?"
"M'kay. Help me up, pum'k'n." John told Angel and let her help him into a sitting position. " 'ey, Ellie. How's… how's Moxx doin'?" Had Ellie's scowl any power, John would have exploded into pieces.
Thank god she's human. "Heyyyy dad? Meet Hermes, he's a CL4P-TP unit!" Diversion. Diversion is good.
"You jackass!"
Oh crap.
Harold Tassiter lounged in his comfortable office chair fit only for Hyperion's CEO, his long, thin fingers intertwined and resting on top of his crossed legs. An emotionless smile graced his thin lips, his hawkish nose crinkling as if he smelled something nasty (the smell of betrayal, to be exact). His goatee trembled every time he ground his teeth, his eyes squinting angrily behind his glasses.
The two people standing in front of him knew all too well the signs that showed he was angry, the kind of anger that caused people to get thrown out of airlocks.
"I want them found, ladies. Not one person across the whole universe could capture a mere code monkey and a teenager in the span of twelve hours!" He huffed, disentangling his hands and putting them flat on his fancy office desk. "You're the best of the best, and you're going to get them for me. Do not return empty handed."
Bubbly laughter rang through the large office, caressing Tassiter in all the wrong places, "Don't underestimate us, Harold." The woman's plump red lips curved into a smile that was not unlike a sneer, her liquid gold eyes peaking from under her dark hoodie.
Her companion put her hands on her hips, putting her weight on one foot, "How many times do we have to tell you that, Tassiter?" She was the polar opposite to her partner's fiery look with her icy eyes and curved brows.
Tassiter closed his eyes, letting out a breath through his nose, "Yes, ladies. I know." He raised his head to look at the women standing with all the confidence in the world. "Now, Ms. Maya, Ms. Lilith… Kindly help me find these people, please?"
With affirmative giggles like bells chiming, Tassiter had his wordless reply. He waited until the women left his office to finally let his head fall onto his desk with a sigh.
Sirens. So hard to please. So hard to use.
The warm breeze blew through the green hills of the Highlands, playfully messing with Commandant Steele's braids. She straightened herself, threw the loose braid behind her shoulder with a quick move of her hand and returned to her stiff position; hands behind her back, legs spread apart at shoulder length, head held high. She watched over the group of young women training below, letting out vicious shouts every time they swung their elegantly deadly swords. It was a privilege, watching Athena move along with her pupils, her midnight blue hair dancing with every blow. At some point, Athena caught Helga's piercing stare and gave her a curt nod, leaving the pupils to train by themselves with a sharp order and went to join the siren.
"They seem to be getting better." The albino commented when the assassin reached her side.
"Half of them will be blown to pieces the first time they go on a mission." Athena replied, voice as sour as her mood.
"Good. We cannot have weaklings amongst our ranks." Helga quipped casually, watching one of the women deal a nasty blow to another. Athena hummed affirmative. For a few moments, the soft wind and the women's war cries were the only sound filling the silence between the two high ranking officers.
"What do you think about this mission they're sending us to?" Athena asked, crossing her arms and moving to stand next to the siren. Helga slightly leaned into the other woman's warmth, acting as if she didn't intend to do so.
"A siren on the loose? Sounds made-up to me."
"This side of the universe seems to believe it, though."
"Hyperion does a good job spreading lies, you know."
Athena hummed again, moving back to stand on her own with a barely hidden sigh gracing her lips. "If anything, I'll have the chance to test my new shield. If she really does exist, I can hit that siren with it."
"I'd love to watch you do that." Another set of curt nods exchanged, and Athena was on her way back to the women training on the grass below them, shouting at her pupils in her Scary Assassin voice.
The warm breeze felt nice on Helga's skin, reminding her of the exhilaration that washed over her whenever she unleashed her power.