Orion slid into a crouch beside her as the bullets whizzed by overhead. "You okay?" He asked not sparing her a look as he worked to reload his pistol.

Stella grunted and scanned her body for any further damage. "I got grazed pretty good," she ran her fingers over the bleeding gash over her ribs and smiled wryly, "but it's but a flesh wound." She assured him. "I shall live to fight another day."

Orion paused for a moment and gave her an askance look. "You are such a nerd," he muttered shaking his head. "You've got a real twisted sense a humor, you know that Stel?"

"No point in taking any of this too seriously," she replied as she attempted to staunch the bleeding gash on her side with a piece of fabric she had torn off the bottom of her t-shirt a few seconds before. "Things are looking fucking bleak and if I have to go I'd rather go out with a sense of humor and a smile on my face rather than miserable and depressed."

"Hey we got this," he assured her just as an explosion rocked the surrounding area showering them with bits of rubble. "Mother fuckers," he swore while covering his head with his arm, "so that's how you wanna play this?" He muttered mostly to himself before pulling out a small canister from the pack on his back, pulling its tab, and launching it towards the source of the continued gunfire. The resultant boom shook the area around them even more violently and larger chunks of cement came crashing down into the water around them splattering them with dirty water and covering them with a new layer of dust.

"We've gotta get outta here before this whole place comes down on us. Any sign of the others?" Stella asked as she finished tying off her bandage and picked her newly acquired firearm up from its resting place by her feet. It felt wrong to have a gun in her hands but she couldn't afford to be picky at a time like this.

Orion shook his head, white and grey dust shaking loose from the parts of his dark brown hair not yet soaked in blood or sweat. "Last I saw them they were heading down the other tunnel. Good news is I think we've drawn the majority of the fire. Janie wants them but not nearly as bad as she wants you and whatever is in that file," he nodded toward the small bag slung over her shoulder, "meanin' Janie is throwin' everythin' she's got our way. They should be able to make it to the rendezvous point alright so long as they just keep moving."

Stella nodded her head in understanding. "Good to hear. Like fuck am I going to let her get a hold of them while I'm still alive. It's my fault they're in this mess in the first place."

"You've got some kind of fucking guilt complex going on you know that Stel," he remarked as he took aim and squeezed off a rapid number of shots towards one of the gunman before ducking back behind the concrete barrier they had taken refuge behind in the dark sewer.

Stella snorted as she took up his position and fired off her own round of ammunition, catching one of their pursuers square in the forehead and knocking his body back into a throng of his comrades. "I have a fucking guilt complex? Seriously Rian?"

Rather than answer Orion gave her an unamused glare and flipped her the bird to which she responded by sticking out her tongue like a mature adult a mere second before she was knocked forward by another blast.

"Alright this shit is getting fucking bananas," Orion shouted over the din as he pulled her back up and fired off a few more shots. "We've gotta move an' we gotta do it quick before they get any more reinforcements down here. Any ideas babe?"

Stella squinted through the dust swirling madly around them, wiped the blood from her eye, and pointed towards a dark alcove to their left. "If we can make it over there I think we can slip down to the next level and lose them in the water treatment plant. There's no way to defend it well but they'll only be able to follow one at a time so if we're fast we should be able to make it out of there and towards the spillway before they even realize we've gone but we're going to need a diversion. Oh and don't call me babe."

"Whatever ya say," her companion replied as he pulled out another small canister. "You ready babe?"

She shifted forward into a crouch and nodded. Once again Orion pulled the small tab and launched the small canister towards the gunfire but this time instead of hunkering back down as the area around them erupted in screams and crashes as chunks of cement came crashing down, he stayed low and sprinted as best as he could after the small woman toward the dark alcove.

Weighted down by the guns and ammunition as well as her growing number of injuries, Stella was moving slower than usual but still she pumped her legs as hard as she could. Getting caught wasn't an option.

Reaching the alcove she found a ladder leading down into even more pressing darkness than their current location but without a second thought she hooked her feet on the outside of the slick metal and slid into the darkness. Above her she heard Orion let out a pained grunt before she heard him also mount the ladder and follow her down into the depths.

As soon as her feet hit cement she moved out of the way just in time to avoid colliding with Orion who landed more heavily than normal. "You okay?" She asked with concern.

"Ugh," he groaned. "Fucker got in a lucky shot but I'll be fine. Just a flesh wound right," he chuckled humorlessly before giving a groan of pain and moaning slightly.

"Fuck," Stella cursed wishing she had some sort of flashlight to survey the damage. "Are you going to be able to move?"

"Don't worry about me," he assured her while reaching out and putting his hand on her shoulder. "I'm fucking steel remember? I've got this."

Stella didn't believe a word of it but had no choice but to let it go. "Alright just keep a hand on my shoulder and try to stay quiet," she directed him. "We're close to the rendezvous point but we've got to shake these fuckers. It's a good thing this dimension isn't that different from mine. You know you're fucking lucky I was such a juvenile delinquent," she quipped trying to keep things light. "If I had followed my father's orders like a good girl I would never have purposely wandered off and explored this shit just to get the drop on my brothers during hide and seek when we were kids."

"Thank god for rule breakin' and you know, livin' in a sewer as a kid," Orion whispered halfheartedly as he stumbled along after her. Behind them they could hear the sounds of boots on the metal rungs leading toward the area they had just left.

Picking up the pace as much as she was able, Stella navigated the winding walkways slick with moisture, always mindful of Orion's continued presence behind her. Leading the way down a cement staircase and around a narrow corner she grabbed Orion's hand from off her shoulder and tugged him down, letting him know that he needed to crawl under the pipes blocking their way before pulling him forward again.

Rather than placing his hand back on her shoulder, she chose to keep a firm hold of his hand. His breathing was getting more and more labored as time passed and she worried about him falling off of the narrow walkways and being unable to grab him in time.

"It's just a little further," she assured him as they traveled past the spillway, all sounds of pursuit long since lost in the pounding of the water rushing by below them. "Alright duck your head here, she instructed just as the tunnel around them lit up as a flare surged to life and the first shots began to ring out around them. "God dammit!" She shouted as she crouched lower and half guided half dragged Orion behind her as she maneuvered them towards cover. "How the hell did they catch up to us so quickly?"

Now that there was some light, Stella could see Orion's face and she really wished she couldn't. The gash on his head was still freely streaming blood making it impossible for him to see out of his right eye. What skin she could see was looking pallid and she knew he had already lost a good deal more blood than was acceptable.

Dropping her gaze she could see that he his left shoulder appeared to slump and his arm appeared to be completely useless. She couldn't tell for sure but she was fairly certain that the dark stains rapidly discoloring his sweatshirt weren't from the grime they had been crawling through for the past few hours. It was amazing he was still standing.

"What the hell are you lookin' at?" He growled grabbing her attention and forcing her to refocus on the firefight taking place around them.

"We gotta get outta here," was her only reply as she reached past the cement pillar they were hiding behind and fired off a few shots. As if things weren't bleak enough she was nearly out of ammunition and she realized with a start that Orion was no longer carrying his backpack full of supplies. Somehow it must have gotten left behind along the way. "Look we're only two hundred yards from the rendezvous. If we can make it past that set of pipes over there," she pointed, "and through that door than we're home free. The door seals from inside and it will take them a hell of a lot of explosives to make it through but we need to go now. If I cover you can you get there?"

He opened his mouth to protest, probably to complain about her sacrificing herself or something but Stella wasn't having any of it. "Look I need you to go first to get started on that door. It's not going to be easy to get moving at first and honestly I'm not big enough or strong enough to do it by myself but you should be able to get it moving so that once I make it through we can just slam it closed and secure it. So I need to know, can you do it?"

Silently Orion nodded his head. "Alright wait for my signal then go."

Stella crouched down and took up a new position that would allow her to cover him as he ran. Taking aim she took down two of Agent Bishop's men before shouting for Orion to go. "Go! Go! Go!" She screamed as she began raining bullets down on Bishop's men.

Out of the corner of her eye she watched as Orion stumbled and almost fall before managing to right himself and dash madly through the open doorway. Choosing not to waste any more time she too got to her feet and began to run while shooting wildly from her hip at anything that moved. By the time she leapt through the doorway she was completely out of bullets.

She threw her back against the giant stone door and began pushing its enormous weight with all her might. At first the door moved only inch by inch but as the sound of pounding boots got closer it began to move more easily. It was nearly shut when they felt the first of the soldiers hit the other side and began pushing against them.

"Push!" Orion shouted as they dug in their heels and tried to create as much leverage as possible. The floor below their feet was unfortunately slick with mud and they found little purchase. Stella let out a guttural scream as she began to slide backwards as yet another body hit the other side of the door and began to push against them. Unable to support his own weight any longer, Orion collapsed into the sludge and struggled to rise to his feet.

Stella felt the door beginning to open even further when suddenly a large green back crashed into the door next to her and slammed the cement entryway shut. "Hurry and turn the handle now Stella," the giant female alligator instructed as she pressed her enormous weight against the door.

As quickly as she was able, Stella complied with the mutant alligator's command and turned the giant metal wheel attached to the center of the door sealing their pursuers outside the large chamber. Once the door was secure she allowed herself to release a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright?" Stella asked casting her eyes around in the sudden darkness that once again pressed around them. "What about the others are they alright?" She demanded all while crouching in the muck beside Orion as she felt around for his weakening pulse.

"We are all well," the large reptile assured her also crouching down beside Orion, "but it is only a matter of time before we are once again in danger. We must act quickly before Agent Bishop and her soldiers breach the doorway. I think it would be best if I carry Orion as I believe him to no longer be conscious."

"That would be best," Stella agreed as she gritted her teeth against the pain tearing at her side and used the door to help levy herself to her feet. "He seems to have lost quite a bit of blood and I honestly have no idea exactly what his injuries are."

With a small grunt, the female gator gathered Orion's deadweight into her arms and rose to her feet. "I regret that I did not think to bring a light source when I heard your approach but the others are waiting in the chamber nearby and the electric lighting is working just fine. We should be able to assess his injuries in just a moment."

Quickly the pair strode down the tunnel toward a faint glow that grew ever brighter until they were outside the entryway of a large cement chamber. Ducking her head, the large reptile led the way through the entrance.

"Thank you Larissa," Stella panted as she limped along behind her friend. "I'm never going to be able to thank you enough for everything the two of you've-."

"Hush child," a kind, elderly voice commanded her from deeper inside the room. "It is we who should be thanking you and Master Orion. Without you we would never have stood a chance of reuniting with our loved ones."

Stella bowed respectfully to the elderly female rat currently seated in the lotus position in the center of the room. "Don't thank us just yet," Stella replied straightening up. "If this thing," she reached out a hand and patted the large piece of machinery beside her, "doesn't work, we're all in trouble."

She looked over toward where Larissa had Orion laid out flat on his back. "How is he?" She asked truly worried about the answer.

Larissa was silent for a moment before she replied. "He is in serious condition," she replied bluntly. "It appears he was shot at least twice and has lost far too much blood. He also has a number of contusions and several broken ribs from what I can tell though none of those injuries are life threatening. I've done what I can to staunch the bleeding but he needs a transfusion urgently. If we don't treat him quickly he will bleed out."

Stella ran a filthy hand tiredly down her face as she stared down into the unconscious face of her partner in crime. "We don't have the time or equipment for anything like that," she sighed heavily. "Our only choice is to open the portal and hope he survives the trip." She bit her lip as she gazed down on his pallid face. If she had though he looked bad back in the tunnels he looked a million times worse now. His breathing was far shallower than it had been and he was closer to the color of oatmeal than his usually olive skin tone.

She felt the gentle press of Mistress Sliver's furry hand rest briefly against her back as she came to stand beside her. Stella shut her eyes against the image of Orion's beaten and bloodied body and turned away. "Is it ready?" She asked determined not to stand around and watch him slip away.

Larissa nodded her head. "Yes. I was able to decipher Dr. Stockman's old calculations and I have already set our destination. The transporter is fully operational and ready for use though I fear it is not calibrated for the extra weight we will be carrying through. If I had just a little more time—" she was interrupted by a large explosion shaking the chamber.

"Time is a luxury we just don't have," Stella said. "They'll be through that door in a matter of minutes if not sooner. We've gotta go, now."

Larissa inhaled deeply but nodded her head in understanding. She began typing furiously away at the computer panel while Stella turned her attention to Mistress Sliver. "Please, move into position. It is most important that you bring the others through first. Now that Orion is out of commission and Larissa will have to carry him it will be up to me to set the charges so that Agent Bishop never gets her hands on this technology." Mistress Sliver regarded her seriously for a few moments before nodding her head in ascent and moving away to prepare.

"Larissa," Stella yelled just as another explosion shook them, "are we ready to go?"

"Yes, yes," the gator assured her as she hurried over and gingerly gathered Orion into her arms, trying to jostle him as little as possible while Stella limped toward the now unoccupied controls.

"Crap they're through," Stella muttered as she heard the sound of boots moving through the tunnel. "What do I have to do?" She called from her station by the control panel.

"Everything is ready," Larissa replied as she came to stand next to Mistress Silver whose arms were also full, "you just need to select the destination and hit enter. I've set it to give us a twenty second window before closing."

"Got it," Stella called back as she clicked on the desired destination and hit enter. Immediately the large machine whirred to life and a large blast of heat and light lit up the chamber engulfing Mistress Sliver and the others. Counting down in her head from ten, Stella reached over and hit the detonator on the fuse Orion had set days before. It was set to go off the moment the portal closed, completely destroying everything within the vicinity. There would be no way Bishop would ever be able to salvage anything useful from the wreckage with how much explosives he had set around the chamber.

She was down to fifteen seconds when she began hobbling toward the spot she had last seen the others. Stella stepped into the light and could almost make out Leatherhead's laboratory beyond the haze when she felt herself wrenched backwards into the chamber and found herself face to face with Agent Bishop herself.

"Oh fuck no," Stella spat as she gathered her strength and broke Bishop's hold on her with a well-placed fist. "I don't have the fucking time for this," she grunted as she blocked Bishop's hit and struck back with as much force as she could muster all the while conscious of the ticking clocks. Bishop's next hit missed but Stella was slow in blocking and took a glancing blow to the ribs, directly over the wound she had bound earlier. With a gasp her face crumpled in pain and she had to fight to remain standing straight.

Bishop gave her a satisfied smirk and moved forward sensing weakness. No matter what Stella knew she had to keep Agent Bishop here, in this dimension. There was no telling what could happen if she were to make it through the portal.

With an air of glum determination, Stella pushed back, looking for an opening needing only to keep Bishop away from the portal for a few seconds more. Once it closed there would be no time to reopen it before the explosives went off.

There were five seconds left on the clock when something silver shot out of the portal behind her and embedded itself in the center of Agent Bishop's throat. Wide eyed, Bishop staggered backwards before falling to her knees as warm red blood spilled freely down her front.

Shocked, Stella made no move until a pair of arms looped themselves around her middle and dragged her forcefully backwards just as the timer went off and Orion's explosives detonated.