Yeah forgot that some might not have put all single digits to alphabet but it's fine. Didn't clarify that. Well anyways it's EMLIA, that's what it's meant to be but well… Single digits amirite? Also, Vuella is back. Yay?

Chapter 10: Dominance

Andratas

A flash of light sparkled from the dark, widening my eyes. What the…

Flames shot out as a projectile was launched from the dark figure, a drilling missile slamming into Emilia.

"Emilia!" I cried out, Schion and Melody joining me from behind.

From within the dust clouds of the missile strike, a blue sphere enveloped. A hexagonal shield of sorts made from perhaps electricity? A force field?

Emilia trembled from inside, her head tilted down, concentrating on keeping the protective barrier up. Her paws shook and her eyes darted from side to side the fear deep in her irises. Her back stood raised, fur standing up. Her pelt was rustled by the force of the missile. And her eyes stared at the figure blinking, tears beginning to form as it padded out from the shadows.

The dust cleared, the veil of darkness faded as a hole opened in the prison wall, the strength of the projectile causing debris to fly off in every direction. Then I saw her…

"Are you perhaps betraying our cause might I ask? You certainly never were the ordinary," A mechanical, yet somewhat feminine voice remarked.

A glint in the dark, a flash of a smile. Enthusiasm lingered on her face. Flames of fury stretched across her mechanicals eyes.

"Were you?" A bittersweet voice piped from her.

She dashed out from the dark in a flash of silver striking her ziene claws on Emilia's force field causing it to flicker. Emilia, despite her fear, struck back, pushing the she-cat backwards. But we all knew it was no ordinary she-cat…

"Ne-neon…" Emilia trembled her voice cracking, stress, fear and pressure engulfing her, causing her to choke on her words, "I…"

"I don't need words from you traitor!" The supposed Neon snarled, her claws flick from sheathed to unsheathed to back again, "I should have suspected this would happen after Vuella tampered with you!"

Vuella?

Behind me, Schion had his claws unsheathed, paws raised, ready to rush the Perfected. Melody hid behind him, shaking with terror. My own eyes were widened, a mixture of horror and anger sneaking across my body. I was ready to leap at her myself, ready to join the fight. Emilia however, glanced at me, signalling us to stay back. This was not our fight to fight. We would die. We knew that…

Neon growled, her claws flicking back to extend. But she smiled. Her eyes betraying something different. Something she had in her mind. A secret plan tucked in her mechanical paws…

Emilia was on the defence. She didn't attack despite the aggression she was faced with. Perhaps she knew she wouldn't win, perhaps she didn't want it. Although that didn't mean she didn't have her guard raised, ready to fight back if need be. Her shoulder opened displaying the missiles attached to them, locked and loaded, ready to fire. Her back slowly unlatched itself, charging the large artillery she flaunted before. Her flanks detached a compartment, sides opening to show two guns by the side, ready to rapid fire. She was equipped and ready to handle a fight. But could she win a fight?

My mind was rolling, my head trembled. Neon was slowly crawling forward, her own weapons raised. Creeping out from the dust of crossfire, I could see her perfectly clear now. She was striking silver, yellow stripes spiralling down and around her pelt. Her sides were equipped with the drilling missiles she used to pummel Emilia. She was clad in a protective coating of ziene and her shoulders held the same explosive missiles Emilia used. But, the one thing that caught my eye the most, was her tail. Flicking from side to side, a scorpion-like stinger was attached to it. I did not know what it was used for, but I shuddered even thinking about it.

She smirked, dashing from side to side, she was ecstatic, hyped for a fight, "You're weak, like normal, I didn't expect as much. You don't have the will to fight me. Could it be that? Is it because I'm your sister?"

My heart stopped. What?!

Sister?

Looking back at Schion and Melody, they looked as confused as me, unsure what to make of this development.

Emilia's eyes dropped her claws sheathing, sadness littered in her eyes as tears welled.

Neon's eyes widened and she laughed, "Oh! She must never have mentioned her own family!"

Her glee of evil spiked through the intense atmosphere, her eyes flickered sadistically, "Why yes! I am Emilia's big sister! More than just that! I…"

She broke off, dashing onto Emilia, tackling her down, staring back up at us as she struggled below her, "I am Neon, captain of the Neon Class of Perfected! The strongest of our family!" She presented herself quite glamorously.

She glared back down at her younger sister below her, "Of course she would know better than to strike me, she is much weaker. Perhaps the reason why she would align herself to these fools, don't worry dear sister, I will bring you back to be repaired…"

The hissing threat, the mention of us as fools. At that moment my emotions broke, my anger tipped over engulfing my fears. Emilia shouldn't cower and kowtow to this monster of a sister and the Sirens. I growled, a snarl forming around my lips as I leapt. I didn't care if I died or not, I couldn't stand by and watch Emilia suffer under her claws…

Unfortunately, my anger caused me to underestimate her, a Perfected. Her eyes flicked towards me, lazily even. Her paws slammed against my chest, knocking my breath out. I flew back across tumbling into Melody and Schion, knocking them over as he cursed under me. My eyes rolled, lulled by the dizziness brought upon by the force.

Neon glared hard at me, obviously annoyed at my interruption, "Well that's quite rude don't you think. You don't just come tumbling in to intervene in a family scuffle!"

A smirk tugged at her lips, her eyes flashing crimson with vengeance, "I ought to teach you a lesson!"

Her elbow swivelled and detached a claw attached to a two sticks kept in place by a stretchy, elastic string. It compounded, sticking in place on her shoulder down to the elbow where it bent off towards her paw forming a long melee weapon, ready to strike me down with.

A Clawextent!

"Now die!"

She leapt at me her weapon flicking up before pressing down, directed right at my throat. I had no time to react and I knew I could not stop her impalement. My claws covered my eyes, bracing myself for her strike. Melody screamed from behind me, her eyes tearing from the terror and out of the corner of my eye I saw an Emilia, struggling to stand up, glance at me, her eyes widening, her paws reaching out to me.

"No!"

She dashed towards me at sub-light speed, her body taking the blow instead of mine. She tumbled away, rolling across the floor, a hole straight through her body, sparks flying from within.

"Emilia!"

My yowl rang in my ears, reverberating through my body. I was vaguely aware of a Neon standing above me, irritated at her sister's actions.

"You raised your paws against me. I'm impressed," Her ears flicked.

"Nevertheless…"

She paused, cutting off her own speech as she snarled, releasing a barrage of missiles at Emilia. My mouth lay agape anxiety rippled through my pelt. I didn't know what to do. I saw in slow motion as she lifted her head with effort only to be met with a storm of missiles ready to rain down upon her. In an act of willpower, she forced herself to form a shield, blocking the imminent rain.

Another growl from Neon, "You can't stop this! No matter how much you try you'll never be able to best me!"

She continued to fire, her missiles quickly reloading from within her replacing each round of missiles with another as Emilia's shield started to fade, the blue energy rippling against the force. We just stood there, anxious, afraid. Anger coursed through me, I wanted to do something, stop this! But I knew that any action I tried, I would only end up dead…

"You're right…"

I gasped, Emilia was stood up, her shield almost obliterated, her exhaustion present, energy fading from her body. She glanced up at her older sister, however she did not look defeated. Her face was resigned, a slight smile tugged at her face, she had a resolve that strengthened her, something that Neon would not know. Emilia looked back at us, a silent gesture in her eyes, a hint from her. She was signalling us to go.

"I can't beat you…" She stared at her, affirming Neon's point, her artillery on her back siphoning energy from the surrounding, "But that was never my objective!"

Neon's eyes widened, for the first time a hint of terror present on her face. The laser escaped Emilia's back a massive blast of pure blue energy struck against Neon, her own shield raised, dyed in ruby. The laser diverged firing off in twin directions but the damage was done… Neon's shield flickered with the dust settling, obscuring her vision.

Emilia dashed back to us, pulling us down into the tunnel. Despite how tired she must be, she ushered us forward through the darkness into the safety of within the tunnel.

I paused in my pawsteps, looking back from the shadows, peering towards Neon. Schion and Melody had went on ahead and Emilia looked towards me, panting. She nodded her head at me and I blinked, insisting she went on.

Through the veil I saw the smoke finally blow away, Neon's glare piercing towards where I was. She squinted, glaring red at me. I did not know if she thought she could not catch up to us or whether she just wanted some excitement in her life and give us a head start, but whatever the case, she shook her head, and padded back through the shadows, giving one last glance towards me, a snarl present on her muzzle.

Damp, old and warm. The stone surrounding us cracked with mould and moss hanging against its walls hid by the darkness. It reminded me of the memories of the underground tunnels to the market, now lay as just waste, a reminder of who was in power. Even the scent was on par, a noxious odour lay low, choking many. My heart thumped against my chest, relief but also anxiety filled the void in my heart. We had successfully gotten out, with the prisoners in our tow. Now we just needed a way out of the city. It was at this point our plan grew fuzzy edges. We had somewhat of an idea what to do, but it was debatable whether it would succeed or fail horribly.

I ran through the tunnel, light beginning to pierce the shadows of the walls as I crept up closer to the group. The prisoners had all amassed by the exit awaiting further instructions. They were all geared and ready to break loose. But even at their high morale and preparedness, I couldn't help but feel downhearted, dispirited. I knew that no matter what we did, lives were lost, bodies lay rotting on the prison floor, and soon, on the city grounds. I closed my eyes and sighed, praying to the Stars that the dead find peace.

I brushed by Emilia, her pants slowing down, the gears in her clogging up, sparks lighting within the darkness. I glanced at her body, a hole pierced right through her while scrapes and dents lay across her, showing the scars of battle.

"Ok everybody! Here's the plan!" Schion yowled, his voice reverberating off the compact walls causing a slight tremor and dust to fall from the tunnel roof, "We know it's not the most refined but if we go in small groups out towards the hole where the market was blown up in, we could get out relatively safely and without drawing attention. We have to do it fast, there isn't much time. News will get to the Sirens fast, so run if you must!"

It wasn't a good plan, to say the least, but it was the only plan with a mild chance of succeeding. The first group ran past the hole, the Sirens still had no idea where the hole was, we were safe for now…

I pass through the mass of grouped cats, slowly dwindling from the rush to move towards the hole. Melody was in the front organising others, apparently sending others to just walk out of the city, that way more could escape without being limited to one exit. As I pushed past the crowd towards the front I saw it. A flash of silver grey, a tearful and terrified curled ball. My heart both sank and rose at that moment. Shelly was in a state of terror at what she had witnessed, what was going on. I felt relieved that I had finally found her as I made my way over there as fast as I could. But the look on her face broke me. She had suffered too much in there. Yet she seemed a lot better than what I expected…

To the side of her, a familiar red tortoiseshell. I smiled, a breath of comfort passing out through me. Mink…

She stood there, protective of her niece. Comforting her when she was down. In her pool of tears, she stood, making sure she was safe. All previous doubts of her flowed out of me. I knew she cared, she was family after all. She would still be with us till the end…

An explosion sounded overhead cutting my thoughts off. I tumbled to the floor as the ground overhead started to rumble. I knew the Sirens had come, the Dynamics would be onto us soon. Luckily for us, the majority of the prisoners had already left leaving few to be quickly ushered out by Schion. I stared around, Emilia, Schion, Melody, Shelly, Mink and I were all that was left.

"I hope they make it…" Melody whispered, she looked at me, "How do we get out of this now?"

I shook my head, my ears ringing from the constant barrage of explosives, "Not the same way they went out."

The constant tremor of the tunnel walls and roof shaking throughout was felt by all of us, fear present on our faces. It wouldn't be long before the tunnel collapsed burying all of us under the deep, stone rubble, forgotten and left there. Lost. We had to find a way out and fast…

"Come on!" I called, throwing my head towards the direction back to the prison as a mass of stone tumbled down blocking the way the prisoner's escaped from, "This way!"

We ran through the shadowed veil as pebbles and droplets pelted from above us. With a tearing Shelly on Mink's back and a limping Emilia, we made our way with difficulty back through the depths of the Dark Forest we came from…

Vuella

I re-watched the footage continuously from the headquarter office. It was everywhere. The rebel prison break, the rogue Perfected who went A.W.O.L. It was all a fantasy to me. It didn't matter to the Sirens. This little incident would only increase their support. It would be their gate to attacking the rebel. The news, just their propaganda. But it worked both ways. We were gearing up, news of this attack reaching us. It sparked life and vigour within us. It gave us hope, it gave us courage. It told of the changing times. We would start with this, we would end with a victory.

I saw the fight, recorded from above, staring down towards the two Perfected through a hole within the prison wall. It was quite the feat, to say the least. The Perfected… It was controversial between us. It was a divide that only I could solve. Was she to be hailed a hero of the catkin? Or still labelled a symbol of our everlasting oppression? I was conflicted. But I saw the faces…

The news cat told of the Perfected being missing in action only to be found assisting the rebels. According to them, she was a hacked and brainwashed warrior for the rebels, she was in need of being fixed. I trembled, not in fear, but in anger. I could not let it be.

Emilia…

It's finally time for you to be free…

You can't stay as just a tool of the state…

I looked at her. Golden fur being torn from her pelt, sparks bursting against the wind.

They didn't know about me and Emilia…

I sighed, the footage on replaying yet again, the news cat stating what they were allowed to speak about. All of it controlled…

My mind was made, my heart ached.

"Caitlyn…" I whispered out to the dark, the reddish-black spotted she-cat padded out, head tilted in a bow. A paw placed on her chest, a symbol of respect.

"Yes ma'am!" Her solemn voice, filled with respect… She would carry out any order I asked of her. She was devoted, her past filled with pain, too much anger pent up against the Sirens… As all of us were…

I stared at the figures flanked by dust and smoke in the complex, a group of them staring down the other Perfected…

Neon.

I remembered her fondly, she was nice back then. I had just replaced her with the chip. She was just like Emilia, full of vigour ready to play, have fun. I thought of them as children. The whole family…

I sighed, the memories fading back into the dark, foreboding depth of my minds, locked away, reserved for my nightmares.

"Bring them…"

"But…" Caitlyn protested, her paw trembling on her chest. She was fondly against the Perfected yet she bowed her head and retreated back to the shadows at my glance. I felt weird, I didn't want this power. Wasn't this what I was fighting to remove?

"Yes ma'am…" She silently acceded, padding away to her.

My eyes darted to my left paw shaking violently. I placed my right on it. It was too much. I was afraid of all this. I was scared. But most importantly, I was tired.

How can I protect anyone if I can't even protect her…

Droplets of salty tears pooled at my paws. My wails sounded across the room, pain aching at my heart. All of them lost to me, never to know love. They were double-downed, torn and replaced memories. Their attitudes all changed after the fiasco. My eyes welled.

Luckily nobody was here…

A/N: Well well well. Still a bit sorry for my mess up last chapter, shoulda specified better. But it's all in past so… Anyways a cut from the prison break, you'll hear about how they escape but it won't be specifically described. Anyways Vuella is back! And It's coming up fast! I've only touched on the city itself this whole time, but soon you'll see the rest of the land, maybe even a bit of backstory! Well that's it for now! Submit OCs and cya!