Part 1
As part of the distraction plan to keep Neo Arcadia as busy as possible so they would not detect Zero's party entering the shrine, Colbar, Dande and Hirondelle would hit one of Neo Arcadia's Munitions Factories on the outskirts of the city, which would get the army's attention and force them to respond.
"We need every possible distraction we can get." said Faucon as they were driving through the old tunnel system leading into the industrial sector.
"They'll be fine though right?" Hirondelle asked. "I mean that cyber Elf of X can get them in the shrine unnoticed."
"Yeah but we don't know how long it'll last before Neo Arcadia realizes someone accessed the Shrine." said Moineau. "So we need to cause a lot of commotion in the city to draw their attention."
"Leave it to us!" said Colbar. "We'll give them a reason to come to us."
"We're counting on you guys." said Faucon.
"Hey don't forget us." came a female voice. "We're going to help too."
They all turned, looking in the back of the truck to see Beefeater E. Catty sitting there with a grin, alongside her was Nikolashka, and Mamina. "Oh come on, I wasn't about to just sit back and let you guys have all the fun."
"So why am I here then?" Nikolashka asked, a little nervously.
"You need to get out more Niko." Beefeater said jokingly.
"She's very persistent." said Colbar with a grin adjusting his goggles. "Plus she was a big help with pushing Neo Arcadia back and securing the main street."
"You didn't have to come as well you know Mamina." said Faucon.
"Neo Arcadia hurt Delilah, they hurt all of Italica." said Mamina. "I won't just stand by and let them get away with it."
And here they all were, right outside the factory and hiding behind an old wall.
"Two sentries on the front gate." said Hirondelle, observing them through binoculars. "Security cameras monitoring the walls."
"So how do we get in then?" Nikolashka asked.
"Well we could go in guns blazing." said Hirondelle. "After all tripping the alarm would be one way of getting noticed by Neo Arcadia."
"What about Sir Dande's marksmanship?" Beefeater asked.
"No clear vantage point." said Dande. "And this area is too open to start with, I'd be spotted before I get the first shot off."
"Well, we can always use this." Colbar said, pulling out a grenade.
"God I hate guard duty." said the one of the two Pantheons on guard.
"Hey be lucky you're here alright." said the second. "We could have ended up with the Italica detachment."
The first one shuddered. "Christ I heard stories from the survivors. 3 mutos dead and hundreds of pantheons brutalized and murdered by that goth loli freak."
"And don't forget that Vile guy." said the second one. "Heard he used a Ride Armor like it was a pro wrestler."
"That's not the scary part." said first.
"It's not?"
"No, according to a few that got out of there alive, there was some crazy bunny mutos tearing up Pantheon that were on the retreat, kept shouting "Tyuule, Tyuule."
"What you mean General Inaba?"
"No, no not her, another one." said the first. "Apparently it was hallucinating or something."
"Man shit's just been weird since that gate showed up." said the second one.
"At least we're safe here." said the first one. "I mean, who would be crazy enough to directly attack Neo Arcadia anyways?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right." said the second. "Still doesn't change the fact I'm bored as-" He stopped hearing the clanking sound at his feet. "What the hell?" They looked down.
"Uh, is that a-" before the first guard could finish it's sentence, the grenade detonated, taking both of them out at once. The head of one of them flew, bouncing past the group as the alarm sounded.
Mamina and Nikolashka just stared for a moment, before Beefeater just grinned. "Well that got their attention!" she said, drawing her beam sabers and igniting it as she watched Pantheons pour out the front gate. Mamina drew the Beam Daggers supplied to her by the resistance while Nikolashka pulled out a Halberd, causing Hirondelle to raise an eyebrow.
"What?" she asked looking at Hirondelle.
"Nothing." said Hirondelle as he racked the slide on his Beam Rifle, popped up from behind their cover and started taking shots at the Pantheons. "Just use to seeing only Rory swinging Halberds around."
"I happen to like the Halberd okay!" said Nikolashka.
"Should have seen her back when we were younger and in training." said Beefeater. "Norma made some crack at her and she started chasing him around like a demon possessed swinging that very Halberd." That made Nikolashka blush.
"So what exactly is the plan now?" Mamina asked.
"We make their life hell." said Colbar blasting an incoming Pantheon. "Blowing up the factory is a bonus."
"Right." said Beefeater. "Cover me!" She came out from behind cover and rushed the Pantheons, a grin on her face as she started to cut through a few Guardians.
"I think I'm in love." Colbar said.
"Stay focused Colbar." said Dande, taking out a buster gun and firing on the Pantheons. "Plenty of time to admire her form later."
Mamina and Nikolashka also leapt into the fray with Mamina landing on a Hunter and stabbing it in the eye as Nikolashka spun herself with the halberd out decapitating a few guardians. "What I'd like more than anything." said Mamina. "Is to get my hands on the one that hurt Delilah! That fake Warrior Bunny."
"One step at a time." said Beefeater. "And if Zero and his team succeeds that may not be necessary."
" 'NOT NECESSARY'?" Mamina asked, kicking a hopper that leapt at her, which would get shot down by Hirondelle. "That phony turn Delilah into a Monster who tried to hurt Count Formal!"
"Worry about that later!" Said Dande, he'd blast another Pantheon in the chest. "Let's focus on clearing these guys out and getting inside that factory! It won't be long before they start sending reinforcements."
"If they take the bait." said Hirondelle.
"They will." said Colbar. "X isn't going to ignore something like the resistance attacking a factory within city limits. Let's not forget when we attacked the forests."
"That was a ballsy move you guys did!" said Beefeater slashing a pantheon's leg off.
"Considering he sent the Shittenou after us yeah." said Dande.
"Ah well, that party was getting boring anyways." said Beefeater.
"I enjoyed it." said Nikolashka. "Especially talking with Senator Blaise."
"Yeah that woman is something." said Beefeater, she looked up and blinked. "Big boys incoming!" she said, watching two Warriors coming out the front gates.
"Push forward!" said Colbar as he Dande and Hirondelle leapt over their cover and rushed the two warriors. Colbar ducked low under the one of the Warrior's wide haymakers blasting upward into its face, as Hirondelle lay down suppressing fire on the second, forcing it to block his shots, as Beefeater came in from behind, leaping onto its shoulders and shoving her beam Sabers into its head. The warrior staggered before falling down, Beefeater jumping off and kicking a Guardian coming up on Nikolashka.
"We better make our way inside!" said Hirondelle. "Before those reinforcements show up!"
"I concur!" said Mamina, stabbing another Pantheon in the chest. "We're too vulnerable out in the open."
Colbar moved back toward the gate, firing on the security camera's for added measure. "That should turn some heads." he said with a grin.
In X's office, Master X stood at the window, staring out at the city, he rubbed his head, which currently throbbed with pain.
'Where are you Zero?' he asked himself. 'I have Ciel in my custody, and yet there is no sign of you or the resistance. Are you hiding in Italica with your ponytail between your legs with everyone else?' he rubbed his forehead again and turned hearing his door open. "What is it Anita."
"Apologies Master X." The voice wasn't Anita, it was Luna Inaba.
"Ah, Inaba. How are our guests?" X asked.
"That is not why I am here. There is...a development." Inaba said, her head canted.
"Development?" said X.
"There is...a crowd gathering outside the Tower Complex." said Inaba. "Protestors it looks like."
That made X raise an eyebrow. "Protestors?"
Inaba nodded. "And more are pouring in by the minute." said Inaba. "We don't know who stirred them up, but it would seem the people are no longer afraid of you."
X twitched. "Afraid of me? What do you mean by that Inaba?"
"The last time the citizens protested, you had the reploids among their ranks declared maverick and executed." said Inaba. "I doubt it will work a second time."
X rubbed his forehead again. "That...that was beyond my control."
"It...gets worse." said Inaba.
"What?"
"We just got word that a munitions factory outside the city limits is being attacked. It's been confirmed that the resistance is behind the attack."
X gritted his teeth. "Zero..."
"He is not among the ones attacking the factory." said Inaba.
"What?" said X, turning around and looking at Inaba. "Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Protestors on my doorstep, Resistance attacking a munitions factory. Something doesn't add up." said X. "What else can go wrong?"
"Um..." Inaba said nervously. "We are also getting reports of outposts beyond the dome being attacked by Mavericks."
"What?" X turned looking at Inaba. "Which ones?"
"All of them, sir." said Inaba.
Again X twitched. "Inaba, Take a squad of Pantheons, get down to that factory and deal with the resistance, send out reinforcements to our outposts and deals with those Mavericks, and then you find out where Zero is do you understand?"
"What makes you think Zero is in the city?" Inaba asked.
"Don't question me!" X said, nearly yelling. "Just do it!"
Inaba stepped back, a little shocked, but she bowed. "Yes Master X."
"Do not fail me Inaba! I've lost enough Mutos as it is! If you come back empty handed I will have you reprogrammed to be Prince Zorzal's personal servant is that understood?"
"Y..Yes Master X! I will bring the resistance to you so you can question them yourself personally." She bowed and quickly left.
X turned back to the window, staring out at the city. "What are you planning Zero?" he said. "Where are you?"
Part 2
Inside the factory, the fighting continued as Colbar and his team found themselves hiding behind several large crates of weapons, Colbar, Hirondelle and Dande laying down gunfire on the Pantheons.
"Are there no workers?" Beefeater asked, looking around. "Were they all evacuated?"
"The factory is automated." said Hirondelle. "All they really need are some Pantheons to guard the place and overlook the transports, nothing more."
Colbar would blind fire over a crate before ducking back down. "Lot of security inside that for sure."
"You think?" said Dande as he popped up and shot down a Hopper that was coming at them."
"At least we made it inside." said Nikolashka.
"Yeah but if we don't get in further and actually cause some damage before those reinforcements show up that's not going to mean much." said Colbar.
"We could keep them busy while you three go on ahead." said Beefeater, she was carefully watching the Pantheons that were approaching.
"We can't leave you guys behind." said Dande. "What if you get hurt?"
"We're the order of Rose Knights!" said Beefeater. "We had to fight through Neo Arcadia forces in the capital just to reach Italica, and we did that on our own."
"If anything to happens to you guys the Princess will kill us!" said Dande, ducking to avoid gunfire.
"Yeah and Count Formal will skin whats left of us for letting Mamina get hurt." added Hirondelle who blind fired at some Pantheons.
"You worry too much." said Mamina.
"We have every right to worry!" said Colbar.
"If we keep arguing about this." said Nikolashka. "We're going to be pinned down when the reinforcements get here."
"Niko is right!" said Beefeater. "Let us deal with these guys and you go on ahead and we'll join you once we've cleaned up here."
"I'll stay and keep them covered." said Hirondelle. "You two start blowing this place up."
"Alright that I can work with!" said Colbar. "Come on Dande lets go!"
"Right!, Hirondelle lay down cover fire!"
"You got it!" said Hirondelle. "Beefeater get ready!" He'd pop up, firing quickly on some approaching Pantheons as Beefeater quickly hopped their cover, drawing her beam sabers and stabbing them into the chests of two Hunters as Colbar and Dande broke away from the group and dashed for the stairway leading up to a catwalk, taking shots at the pantheons themselves as they raced up the stairs.
"Will they be okay?" Nikolashka asked as she watched Colbar and Dande head across the catwalk.
"Yeah they'll be fine. Those two have survived a lot." said Hirondelle. He popped up, firing on a few guardians as Beefeater and Mamina were tangling with another Warrior. "Head into the fray, don't worry I'll take down anyone who gets close." said Hirondelle. Nikolashka nodded and ran out , gripping her Halberd and slashing a hunter in half.
"It's scary how they can keep producing these golems." said Mamina. "Especially when you hear so much about their 'energy crisis' and the like."
"It's all about management." said Beefeater. She block a warrior's fist and kicked it back slashing at it. "Sir Fafnir explained it once when he was training us." she scratched her head for a moment, casually dodging a guardian's stun baton. "Wasn't paying attention though." she duck another swipe from the guardian, sheathing her sabers and grabbing it by the arm and flipping it to the ground before pulling out one of her sabers again and stabbing it, the motion was quick and fluid without any delays as she quick spun around and kicked an approaching hopper with the heel of her boot, sending it crashing into some crates.
"Whoa." said Hirondelle watching Beefeater tear through the Pantheons. A grin formed on his face as he holstered his buster gun and quickly tied off his hair in a pony tail before rushing in and body checking a hunter before going back to back with Beefeater.
"Thanks." said Beefeater.
"You're welcome." said Hirondelle as he drew his buster gun, grabbed a pantheon, pulled its head back and blasted out its eye before throwing it aside.
"You two done flirting?" Mamina asked, stabbing the warrior in the chest and kicking it down. "There is more coming in."
"I see them!" said Hirondelle, pushing Beefeater to the side and firing on the incoming Hunters. "Safe to say it looks like we got Neo Arcadia's attention."
"So now what?" Nikolashka asked as she cleaved a hopper jumping at her, before dodging gunfire from some flyers that we're above them and taking advantage of the wide open space of the room they were in.
Hirondelle looked up, firing on the flyers before turning and taking another shot at an incoming hunter. "Now we hold the line and wait for Colbar and Dande to work their magic."
Colbar and Dande were now up in the ventilation system, crawling through an air duct.
"You sure this is the right way?" Dande asked.
"Positive!" said Colbar. "I traced the path of the air duct with me keen eyes, we're almost on top of that control room."
"Keen eyes?" Dande asked sarcastically. "I thought I was the sniper."
"Dande, Dande." Colbar said, casually waving his hand back at him. "A team leader has to have a good idea for little details in order to make good calls."
"Is that why you bungled the convoy mission Ciel gave you and needed Zero to bail you out?" Dande asked.
"I didn't bungle anything!" said Colbar. "I got ambushed by Harpuria!"
"I do believe that counts as bungling." said Dande.
"No it doesn't!" said Colbar.
"Uh, yes, it does." said Dande. "Call it whatever you will, it doesn't change the fact you screwed up."
Colbar twitched for a second and Dande grinned, the two stopping at a grate.
"Here it is!" said Colbar.
"You sure?" Dande asked.
"Positive!" said Colbar. "I'll remove the grate off, we'll drop down, beat up the guard and secure the control room."
"I have a bad feeling about this." said Dande.
"Oh come on! Be a little more positive!" said Colbar.
"Okay, I'm positive I have a bad feeling about this." said Dande.
Colbar sighed. "Thats not what I meant." he looked back to the grate. "Okay here we go!" Colbar rattled the grate for a second before managing to pop it off and slide it back, allowing the two of them to drop down, weapons drawn.
"This isn't the control room." Dande said as the two looked around. They were in a storage area of the factory, boxes and crates filled mostly with scrap iron meant to be recycled and refurbished. "Next time I take the lead, your sense of direction sucks."
"It does not!" said Colbar.
"Why do you think they paired you with Zero and Ms. Leilei during the Forest raids." asked Dande, who started to sift through the scrap for anything valuable. "If you were the team leader your team would have been lost for days!"
"Oh come on that's hitting below the belt!" said Colbar, who was also looking through the boxes.
"Nothing but junk and scrap here." said Dande. "Probably just keeping this stored until it can melted down and refurbished into weapons and ammunition."
"Speaking of which where is the ammunition kept?" Colbar asked. "If we can find that and rig some explosives."
"We can cause some serious damage to this place." said Dande. "One problem though."
"What's that?" Colbar asked.
"Not sure if we have enough explosives for that." said Dande.
"We don't have to blow this place to kingdom come like the girls did to that supply depot." said Colbar. "Can't believe I missed that though."
"What exactly did you have against Fafnir anyways?" Dande asked as they headed to the door, Dande cracking it open and peering down the hallway. "Every other mission you and your team did you always went after Jin'en targets."
"Hey what can I say?" Colbar asked with a grin. "Army is an easy target compared to Air Force, Navy or a black ops unit."
Dande cocked his head at Colbar, before shrugging. "Eh, I guess you have a point there."
"Besides, Fafnir is fun to mess with." said Colbar. "Especially when we get word on new toys he blew his budget on."
"Damn that's evil." said Dande.
"Yeah." said Colbar.
"Looks like the coast is clear though." said Dande. "I don't see anyone out here."
"Then let's go." said Colbar. "who knows when those reinforcements will show up. I want to make sure we have a nice surprise for them when they get here."
Nikolashka slumped against a crate panting, trying to catch her breath. "I think, I think that's all of them." she said, exhausted at this point. Mamina leaned against a stair railing while Beefeater was down on one knee, wiping sweat from her brow.
Hirondelle was keeping an eye open as the girls rested, watching the entrance of the factory. "Rest up, who knows when those reinforcements will show up."
"How can you be sure?" Mamina asked.
"Oh trust me." said Hirondelle. "Soon as X finds out the resistance is attacking, he'll send out reinforcements."
"So what do we do?" Nikolashka asked.
"Best thing to do is meet up with Colbar and Dande and help them with whatever crazy plan Colbar has probably cooked up at this point." said Hirondelle. "And then we get the hell out of here. I guarantee you, whatever Colbar thinks up, will no doubt involve the ammunition storeroom and a lot of explosives."
"That sounds fun." said Beefeater.
"Believe me." said Hirondelle. "Those are the kind of fireworks best viewed from afar."
"Just...just a few more minutes." said Nikolashka panting. "I'm still exhausted from fighting all those Pantheons."
Hirondelle turned, hearing footsteps and cursing under his breath. "You may not have a few minutes."
"Resistance, come on out, we know you are here." The voice was female. "The factory is surrounded you have nowhere to escape too." Quickly Hirondelle and the girls got behind cover, watching the shiloulette approach.
Mamina blinked. "That shadow, it looks like, a warrior bunny."
"Warrior Bunny?" Hirondelle asked watching. "Could it be Tyuule?"
"No, that's not her voice, plus that sounds like she's speaking your language, I doubt Tyuule knows it." She blinked and her eyes widen. "It has to be her."
"Who?" Beefeater asked.
"That Mutos that harmed Delilah." said Mamina. "She said she encountered one that looked like a Warrior Bunny."
General Inaba now stood in the room, her head canted to the side for a moment as she looked around. "Quite the mess." she said. "To think others besides Zero are capable of such a feat. I had thought the Resistance was made up of nothing more than civilians."
Mamina gritted her teeth, and gripped her dagger, listening to her.
"Mamina calm down." whispered Hirondelle. "Nothing good will come out of attacking her right now."
"Whatever you are up to, it won't work, you know that?" Inaba asked. "You've practically painted a target on your back with this attack."
Hirondelle looked over to Beefeater, nodding to her and motioning toward another stack of crates, out of Inaba's field of vision, Beefeater nodded in response, and quietly moved, staying behind crates and such to keep herself hidden.
"Master X is actually feeling generous at the moment." said Inaba. "He is willing to pardon the resistance of their crimes and remove their Maverick labeling. We only ask that you hand over Zero. A fair trade wouldn't you agree?"
"Sounds a little one sided if you ask me." Hirondelle responded. "Plus there is no guarantee you won't kill us all off anyways."
"Do you not believe then that this conflict has gone on for too long?" Inaba asked. "Whose fault is it that Italica was attacked? Ours? You were the ones who hid in that city, endangering the people."
"How deluded can you get?" Hirondelle called out. "You had no right attacking Italica no matter what justifications you had."
"We were perusing known and dangerous mavericks." said Inaba.
"With a whole army?" said Hirondelle.
"Again, we are not the ones who hid themselves in a human city." said Inaba. "And considering the various dangerous elements you possess, Namely Zero, Vile, the Demi Goddess, and the magician who can cyber fuse, to go in with anything less than a full army would be folly." She canted her head to the side. "Are you going to continue to hide, or will you give yourself up? As I said before, the factory is currently surrounded, any chance of escape is futile."
"Who said anything about escaping?" Hirondelle asked as he popped up from behind the crates drawing his buster. "We still have one last problem with you."
"We?" Inaba blinked, and suddenly turned, igniting her wrist blades and blocking Beefeater's sudden surprise attack, pushing her aside and dodging gunfire from Hirondelle as Mamina leapt at her from above daggers draw and Nikolashka attacked from the side. Inaba growled, setting off a pillar of flame to stop the two and jumping back, dodging another bullet from Hirondelle who had his gun aimed at her.
"You hurt Delilah." said Hirondelle. "And for that, we're going to kill you."
Part 3
The four of them had Inaba surrounded on four sides, with Hirondelle front and center and gun aimed at her.
"Any last words?" Hirondelle asked.
"Last words? Me?" Inaba chuckled slightly. "You make it sound like you will actually win. Have you forgotten I am a Mutos? Far superior to the Pantheons you just destroyed."
"At this point in the game, I really don't think that argument will work." said Hirondelle. "we already killed several of you Mutos, some more than once."
Inaba went silent, and her posture slumped as her blades turned red with flame, she looked almost bored.
"Whats wrong? Lost your confidence?" Hirondelle asked.
"Merely wondering who I will kill first." said Inaba. "Perhaps you first, you're starting to annoy me." Inaba kicked off the ground, dashing right for Hirondelle and slashing at him. Hirondelle jumped to the side, narrowly dodging Inaba's blades as he took a few shots at her, Inaba was quick however, easily dodging as she skidded to a stop and turned, lunging for Hirondelle again, only for Beefeater and Nikolashka to rush in from either side in a pincer attack.
"Don't forget us!" said Beefeater, swinging her beam sabers at Inaba. Inaba stopped, blocking both attacks with her blades in the process.
"Annoying." said Inaba, pushing the two back and sending a fiery kick at Nikolashka. She yelped, raising her Halberd and blocking the attack, getting pushed back in the process, franticly blocking kick after kick, mixed in with swipes from her wrist blades. "You knights are a disappointment. Master X gave you everything and you threw it away by siding with Mavericks."
"We didn't throw anything away!" said Beefeater. "We are grateful for Master X's support, all of us all! The Princess most of all. But if you think we're going to forgive him for attacking Italica you are mistaken. It doesn't matter what his reason or justification is. What he did was wrong." Beefeater lunged for Inaba, bringing her beam sabers down on her in an overhead swing, Inaba brought her blades up to block, giving Nikolashka an opening as she swung her Halberd at Inaba's legs. The Rabbit Mutos, however, merely pushed herself up with a jump, throwing Beefeater off balance as she dashed into the air, before spinning and coming down at the two with a kick wreathe in flames. The two knights jumped back, avoiding the impact as Inaba's kick caused a torrent of flames to expand around her. Slowly she rose to her feet, her body wrapped in flames like a boquet of flowers almost as she looked around her. "I am done playing games." she said. "If need be, I will burn this place to the ground, and everyone in it."
Hirondelle narrowed his eyes as he leveled his buster at her. "Not while I still breathe."
Inaba canted her head, staring at Hirondelle, if she had a mouth she would probably be smiling. "I can arrange that." she said.
"God damn it Colbar!" is what Dande said as the two of them were pinned down at the end of a hallway, taking cover as gunfire came down from the other end. "I knew this was a bad idea!"
"How was I suppose to know there would still be Pantheons lurking about?" Colbar asked as he blind fired down the hall.
"It's called common sense!" said Dande. "Only an idiot would think everyone Pantheon stationed at a facility would come out of the woodwork to try and kill us."
"They would if it was Zero attacking!" said Colbar as he took a shot at a hunter
"We aren't Zero!" said Dande irritatingly.
"Hey look at the bright side though." Colbar said as he hit a hunter in the head, causing it to jerk back, his buster firing wildly and hitting two other Pantheons.
"What bright side?" Dande asked. "How is this a bright side?"
"It means we're close to that ammunition storeroom." said Colbar.
Dande stared at Colbar for a moment, sighed and fired down the hall. "You really are an idiot aren't you Colbar?"
"What it's a perfectly valid and logical conclusion!" said Colbar. "These guys obviously stayed behind to protect something."
"Okay I'll give you that much." said Dande as he took a grenade and tossed it down the hall, the two hunkered back as the grenade explode and send Pantheon parts everywhere.
"Did that get them all?" Dande asked as the two peered down the hall. Colbar's eyes widen as the smoke cleared and a Warrior stepped out of the debris and charged for them.
"Oh crap!" said Colbar as he and Dande unloaded on the warrior. The Warrior blocked the gunfire with its arm as it tackled the two into the wall.
"Okay this is not going as planned!" said Colbar.
"You think?" Dande asked as the two got up, leveled their buster guns and capped the Warrior in the knee, causing it to fall in surprise and leaving it open to be blasted in the head. The two quickly ran down the hall, not wanting any more surprises as they reached the end and rounded the corner.
"Let's see the Pantheons we're coming from this way." said Colbar. So that's where we should go."
"What kind of logic is that?" Dande asked looking at Colbar.
"Perfectly valid logic that's what." said Colbar.
"Just because the pantheons came from that direction." Dande said, pointing down the hall. "Doesn't mean that's where we should go! We could end up running into even more! We should go in the opposite direction."
"But wouldn't that just take us back the way we came?" Colbar asked.
"You don't even know which way we came!" said Dande. "We've been crawling around in the air duct most of the time!"
"We've gotten this far haven't we?" Colbar asked.
"Only by blind luck!" retorted Dande.
Colbar sighed. "Look just trust me on this okay? I know this way goes deeper into the place."
"Fine, come on let's go!" said Dande. "The longer we stay here, the more danger Hirondelle and the others are in."
Colbar nodded as the two raced down the hall.
Hirondelle panted, and shook the cobwebs out of his head. If there's one thing he hated, it's when Mutos decide to get serious.
'Damn rabbit.' Hirondelle thought. 'I feel like that hunter from those old cartoons Andrew has.'
"So is the resistance nothing but big talk and words?" Inaba asked, her head canted as she stood over Hirondelle's body. "I thought you took down Mutos in the past, 'some more than once' so why am I still alive?"
"Well I do admit to being slightly rusty." said Hirondelle. "But aren't you forgetting something?"
"And what is that?" Inaba asked.
"There's four of us here remember?" Hirondelle said with a smirk.
Inaba blinked, her eyes widen and she turned bringing her blades up to block a double attack from Beefeater and Mamina. Inaba growled as she pushed them back and threw a kick wreathed in flames, before slamming the foot down and sending a pillar of fire screaming at the two. Beefeater and Mamina quickly dodged the pillar as Nikolashka came in from the side swinging her Halberd at Inaba, aiming for her head. Inaba ducked low, sweeping Nikolashka's feet and sending her to the floor, pinning her down and raising her blade.
"Oh no you don't!" said Hirondelle, taking aim and firing his gun, nailing Inaba square in the shoulder and sending her spinning, throwing her off Nikolashka in the process. Nikolashka rolled to the side and back onto her feet, putting distance between her and Inaba.
Inaba growled, clearly agitated as she pushed herself up, but stopped when she found Hirondelle's gun at her face, she turned her head to one side finding Beefeater's Beam saber, and Mamina's dagger when she turned the other way.
"Give up and walk away." said Hirondelle. "You've lost."
"You think I'd surrender to a bunch of Mavericks?" Inaba asked. "I'd rather die."
"I can arrange that." Mamina said growling. "You hurt my friend, turned her into a monster with those Cyber Elves."
"Your friend?" she canted her head to the side. "Ah yes, the Warrior Bunny who attacked the command center trying to kill Ms. Tyuule. I do apologize for that, but I am sure you understand."
"Understand what?" Mamina asked. "That you're a cold heartless machine who doesn't care about others?"
"That we are at war." said Tyuule. "War is never pretty, it never has, and it never will be. Look around you, look at the land beyond the dome. That is the end result of the Maverick Wars from 100 years ago, and even to this day the damages and destruction have not been healed yet, factor in mavericks roaming the wastelands, impeding restoration efforts, well, you get the idea. As for your friend? She attacked us and attempted to assassinate an ally of Neo Arcadia. Do you expect me, a General of Neo Arcadia to just sit back and let that happen? My orders from Master X were to protect Prince Zorzal and Ms. Tyuule during the Italica siege, and I did my job."
"If you knew what kind of monster those two were." said Mamina. "You'd have let Delilah kill them."
"No, I wouldnt." said Inaba. "Just because I look like one of you, doesn't mean I am you. I am fully aware of Prince Zorzal's reputation and his atrocities committed on your people, but that did not matter. My job was to protect them and that is what I did, and that includes using your friend as a distraction to cover our retreat."
Mamina growled, her eyes burning red from anger.
"If it is any consolation." said Inaba. "I do believe Master X planned to throw Zorzal under the bus, and pin the blame on him for the human casualties."
"You think that will make anyone feel better with the way he's been acting?" Hirondelle. "It doesn't change the fact that X attacked a human city. Something he wouldn't do if he was in his right mind."
"Again, you are to blame just as much for taking refuge there." said Inaba. She canted her head to the side, looking at Hirondelle. "Well? Are you going to kill me?"
Hirondelle looked at Inaba, then up at Mamina, ultimately it would be her call, no one wanted Inaba dead more than her.
Mamina glared down at Inaba, teeth gritted and her beam dagger at Inaba's throat. She contemplated, thought for a moment, but lowered the dagger and put it away.
"No more." said Mamina. "Ciel was right, there's been enough killing in this god forsaken war of yours."
Inaba lowered her head. "You are too naive." she said, igniting her wrist blades and suddenly lunging for Hirondelle.
"HIRONDELLE!" The girls didn't have enough time to react, and Hirondelle barely had a chance to bring his gun back up, however it was the sound of the gunshot that made everyone stop dead in their tracks, Inaba more so than anyone. her body trembled and her eyes wide with shock and surprise, her blade an inch from Hirondelle's neck and giving him a nice view of the bullet hole in her forehead.
"H...How...?" she said, her hand going limp and her body crumpling to the floor, the light fading from her eyes.
Hirondelle looked up at the catwalk and sighed. "What took you two so long?" he asked.
"We got lost." said Dande, standing there with Colbar and holding his Sniper Rifle.
"We did not." said Colbar, as the two raced down the stairs and over to the group.
"Nice shot by the way." Hirondelle said rubbing his throat. "Cutting it a little close there."
"Are you all okay?" Colbar asked.
"Yeah we're fine." said Mamina, looking down at Inaba.
"Good." said Dande. "Cause we need to get out of here. We found the Ammo storage and set some charges. They'll go off any second now we need to be far away as possible."
"Then what are we doing?" said Beefeater. "Let's run!"
They all nodded, and quickly made for the exit as the first of the charges went off, engulfing the factory in an explosion that also consumed Lunar Inaba's lifeless corpse.
