Uni's Assault
(insert: Stir the Darkness - rebirth MK2)
The Citadel hung in the air high above the National Game complex. It had risen by nearly two miles and was now 14,000 feet above everything. Troops had formed a ring around the citadel nearly ten miles wide. Only Lastation did not have troops present. Generals from across Gamindustri were also present, coordinating the troops and evacuating nearby communities. The Citadel could apparently move, though no one could figure out the mechanism of its drives or engines. News crews were also present. Everyone gathered on the ground around it. It would be a Leanbox news station that would notice the first rocket.
The Citadel itself shone in the new night sky. There was a flat ring around the center while the general structure resembled a massive diamond, though the angles were closer to that of a pyramid. There were several outside walkways and doors. Windows were also noticeable. From her height, Black Sister saw the one she would use as her entrance.
"Only determination," Black Sister said as she hoisted a rocket launcher off her back.
She aimed the behemoth at the Citadel. The tracking systems showed the points of impact. She tensed, and fired.
A rocket careened out of the launcher straight at the Citadel. Black Sister didn't wait and fired the second rocket. Both missiles headed straight for the massive floating fortress. Black Sister let the rocket fall towards earth as she took out a sniper rifle. She expected defenses. Some kind of reaction. But nothing happened. The two missiles split apart into a spray of explosives. The armor-piercing mini-missiles struck the doors and windows and walls Black Sister had aimed at. Pieces of the Citadel exploded off into the night sky.
Black Sister rushed forward. All or nothing now, no turning back. She saw movement and quickly brought her rifle back around. Out of two of the new holes she had made were several soldiers arriving. She aimed and fired. Five quick shots and five quick deaths as bullets struck through helmet and skull. She flew forward when gunfire sounded as more soldiers arrived. The sound of heavy mechanics sounded and she saw two large turrets pop out of the citadel. Energy pulsated around them. Black Sister paused, then shot forward. She was too close now, she would have to go in.
The two turrets began a volley of energy blasts. Any one would shoot her out of the sky. Black Sister threw the rifle away, her coat flapping in the wind. She dodged each incoming blast and then flew straight into one of the holes she had just made. Rolling on the ground she retrieved two large pistols from the coat and turned to face the soldiers in the hall. The pistols let out sharp noises, the flash was blinding in the dark. The smell reached her nose. The soldiers fell one after another, not even realizing what was happening. Once down she quickly ran down the hall to a corner and put her back to a wall.
Holstering the pistols she swung her last weapon over her shoulder and turned the corner. Two soldiers stopped and aimed and she fired the shotgun. One shot and both were torn in halve from the explosive rounds. Black Sister didn't look at the corpses as she stepped over them. She always knew she might have to do something like this one day but she took no joy in the killing. Plus, she only had one thing to do.
A door opened up ahead and another soldier stepped out. She fired once and the headless body dropped to the floor. Black Sister ran down the hall and peered around the corner. No one was in sight. The hallway was dark, nearly as dark as outside. The soldiers all had face-covering helmets on and she guessed it was to assist them in the near total darkness. She ran down the hall when two doors opened, one ahead of her and one behind her. She leapt up into the air as four soldiers came out, guns ready. They didn't fire at once, avoiding friendly fire, and she took advantage of their pause. One shot dropped one soldier. They returned fire. She felt a bullet skin her knee. Another went through her hair.
Another shot, and the two in front of her spun to the floor, one dead, one screaming. The last soldier, behind her, continued firing. For Black Sister it was like slow motion. Each shot came closer. She would have one chance without risking her torso getting shot. She aimed. And fired.
The shot struck the soldier in the arm, spinning her as she screamed out. Black Sister fired again and finished her. The other soldier on the ground next to her was still screaming and she kicked him.
"Where is Corisonde!"
The man mumbled something in his helmet.
"Where is she?"
The man pointed down the hall and it suddenly lit up blood-red. He raised his hands in the act of surrender and Black Sister let him go. She rounded the hall and saw the lights led to a door. Running up to the door she paused and listened.
This easy? She took out an explosive tape and set it across the door in a large X. She retreated around the corner and detonated the plastic bomb. The explosion shook the hall, the door imploded inward. Black Sister ran in, her cannon now summoned. Jumping through the smoke she found herself in a dimly lit large room. It stretched maybe two hundred feet in every direction, a large cube. She was in midair and saw the door on the floor below her. Ahead of her was Corisonde. Patiently waiting. Black Sister didn't wait. She fired.
"MX multiblaster!"
Corisonde barely dodged. The blast melted the plating on the wall. Black Sister fired again and again but Corisonde was too quick. She silently moved around each blast. The room grew brighter and brighter as Black Sister slowly turned the walls into magma. Finally Corisonde closed the distance. She had no weapon, no fire around her knuckles. Black Sister tried to turn in time but Corisonde grabbed the end of her cannon and ripped it from her hand. Black Sister watched as Corisonde tossed her cannon to the floor.
"What the hell is this?" Corisonde yelled at her.
"This is your death," Black Sister replied.
Corisonde raised an eyebrow and smirked. Her fiery pink eyes glowed in the dim light. "How so?"
Black Sister tossed off the coat revealing a vest filled with explosives. A wire went down her wrist to a button tied to her glove.
Corisonde looked at the vest then into Black Sister's eyes.
"Suicide mission?" then she laughed. "Ha! You goddesses always like your seemingly suicide missions you go on, but Uni, hahaha. You are quite literally fulfilling your suicidal tendencies."
"Don't laugh," Black Sister responded and set a hand on the button.
"Is that enough to kill me?" Corisonde smirked.
"It is more than enough to blow the Citadel up," Black Sister responded. "This will shoot your beloved fortress to the ground."
"Are you so sure?"
Black Sister paused.
"You think you haven't done something like this before?" Corisonde said. "Let me see the back of that bomb you believe is so original."
Black Sister turned slightly. Her hand quivered over the button. Corisonde looked over the vest.
"And when you press that button you have what, five seconds before we meet our maker?"
"Three seconds," Black Sister responded. "Not enough time for you to make a portal and escape in time.
"Hmm, oh Uni," Corisonde was smiling at her. "You know the way right into my heart and pants."
"You did this to yourself," Black Sister said. "I won't let you kill Nepgear. I won't let you harm any of us."
Corisonde merely kept her smile. Black Sister shook in anticipation. Finally, regretfully, she pushed the button.
It all happened in an instant. Corisonde closed the distance right as a portal opened. Grabbing a hold of Black Sister she pulled the detonator off the bomb. The timer would stop and pause but the fail-safe would activate. Black Sister's eyes widened. That was another five seconds.
How could she know?
Corisonde pulled Black Sister over the portal by the neck, and they looked down into the stadium. Corisonde would throw her throw her through and close the portal in time. Black Sister shut her eyes. She had messed up. She hadn't said goodbye to everyone. She hadn't told Nepgear.
Suddenly a flash of light and Corisonde cut the vest at just the right spot and let it drop. She held on to Black Sister as the portal closed. They hung in the air in silence till finally the whole Citadel shook from the explosion far below. Black Sister looked into Corisonde's eyes. The smile was gone.
"Asshole," Corisonde yelled as she threw Black Sister into the wall. "What the hell was that all about you little shit?"
Black Sister fell to the floor and Corisonde landed right in front of her. She took a punch to the face and Corisonde lifted her back up by the neck.
"Killing my men and women? Invading my home? Trying to kill me and yourself all in one stupendous explosion?" Corisonde was shouting. "The nerve!"
Black Sister swung but Corisonde grabbed her by the wrist. Black Sister winced and Corisonde stopped. She tore off Black Sister's glove and looked at the bandages on her wrist and forearm. Tearing off the bandages she looked at the fresh cuts.
Black Sister watched as Corisonde's expression turned from rage to confusion to curiosity.
"Fascinating," she whispered.
She let go and stepped back.
"Get out of HDD and I let you live."
"What?"
"DO IT!"
Uni lowered her HDD and fell to her knees, cradling her arm.
"Interesting," Corisonde was pacing now. "This dimension is quite different you know. Well, you wouldn't know."
"Why are you doing this?" Uni cried. "Why can't you leave us alone?"
"I'm not some comic-book villain that will lay out my whole plan for you to take advantage of," Corisonde knelt down in front of her. "So let it go."
Uni sobbed and sniffed.
"Ah, there there Uni," Corisonde put her arms around her and pulled her close. "And here," she unholstered the two pistols and tossed them away, "lets get rid of these. You know, there's been times where you and I have been close. Really close. But this Uni, so badass and so broken … I've gotta admit, you're making me want to rework the game I put you in."
"What?"
Corisonde held Uni up then kissed her on the lips. Uni's eyes widened and she pushed Corisonde off of her.
"Are you crazy? What are you doing?"
Corisonde laughed, "I thought that had been established."
Uni stood up, "I demand that you release me. You said you would."
"I could have been lying," Corisonde stood up slowly.
Uni thought about what she could say, how she could get herself out of this situation. Corisonde stepped closer and then grabbed her by the neck and cut wrist, pressing her against the wall.
"You know," Corisonde said, brushing her cheek on Uni's neck. "In one dimension I decided to take a break from all the killing. You were my favorite then. We dated for like, five months or something. You act all tough but you are actually really soft inside. And I mean that figuratively … oh, and literally I guess." She kissed Uni's scarred and cut wrist.
"I would never love you," Uni said.
"Oh you did, and you were really good once you gained some confidence," Corisonde whispered in her ear. "Me, I'm so clumsy all the time. But you have real skill. Always so determined." She pulled back, "Or are you saying you love someone else right now? Maybe Nepgear? What if I just kill her right now?" She jumped back and Uni pulled her arms in, sheltering herself. "Yes, that's it," Corisonde's eyes literally flashed in the dark room. "I'll kill Nepgear and then leave this world alone. Sounds fair right? I kill her, and you save the world. Would you love me then?" She bobbed her head and shrugged, "Maybe after some mourning. Okay, here's the deal; I kill Nepgear, and me and you leave this dimension forever?"
Uni shook her head, "...N-no."
"You could save alllll thooose peeooople."
"No," Uni shouted. "I won't let you kill Nepgear!"
"Ugh, Uni, you wound me," Corisonde said stepping away. "But fine. Just make sure to let someone know you could have saved the world. Don't let it weigh only you down."
"This world, you mean."
Corisonde turned back to her, "I don't know why Noire doesn't see your brilliance." She shrugged again. "Fine, go back to them. Don't let this double-failure eat you up."
Corisonde snapped her fingers and a portal opened beneath Uni. She fell out over the complex which was now a smoldering ruin. Her gun fell out of another portal and she grabbed it, going HDD, and then flew off into the night.