At the base of the main staircase below, the brawl was still continuing. As drained as some of the participants were, they kept at it, determined to take down all who opposed them. They didn't even know what was going on with the rest of them. All they knew was in that moment before them.
Another gunshot, another body went down, this time clutching at their side. The barrel clicked, and Havar growled, throwing it aside. "Well, that was my last bullet!"
After snagging that second gun earlier in the battle, he'd been more of the shooter on their side. It hadn't been an easy task to adjust to using them, with such power – the most he'd ever held were airsoft rifles. The kick to these things could catch you if you were new to their handling. But he hadn't had any time to get familiar – he was in the middle of a battle, and he just had to adapt.
Nearby, Kilik and Ox were holding up with the shovels and some hand-to-hand. They were starting to show exhaustion, and had taken a couple of close calls because of it. Kilik's glasses were cracked, while Ox's were crooked. Both were sporting some blood and bruises as well, though thankfully none from spent shells. Just blows.
A few spaces from them, Kim and Jackie were doing damage as best they could with their blowtorches. Mainly, they were good for keeping their enemies away. But they'd have to strike back fast and hard in the brief opportunity they had, while their opponents were nursing fresh burns. However, they were beginning to lose power. More and more, they were being wielded as blunt objects. And that made it more difficult to avoid taking damage.
"Damn it!" As Havar scrambled to find where he'd left the shovel before he'd started firing off rounds, another grunt came around by him, catching him off-guard with a strong strike at his face. He dodged that one, but was hit from the other side instead. He stumbled back a few steps – that was no light blow. His head was spinning! His glasses had nearly been knocked askew. So this is what they mean when they say you see stars. Now he had an idea of how his pals felt earlier in the fight.
He could see his opponent sizing him up, readying to take him down with a second hook. He had to find his shovel! Think! He couldn't have traveled that far from the discard point! It was like being in a game, and searching back for something you'd left on the ground in order to make room for something else which was now useless! A long analogy, but fitting!
Crap! Havar is in trouble...the shovel, where's the shovel? Ox had picked up on his friend's predicament, and was already on his way over to help. As he scanned over the area, he suddenly caught sight of a handle nearby the body of an unconscious – he couldn't be sure – guard. There! He reached Havar just as the grunt began to charge, and pushed him aside. Havar stared at him. "Ox, what - "
"That way!" He pointed with one hand towards the discarded item, while with the other he held his own up, ready to attack or defend on this current move. "Go! I'll handle him! Get your weapon back!"
He'd seen what Havar had done for him before, when the group had been looking above. Nobody had noticed. His friend was pushing himself to protect him and everyone else. It was only fair that he paid him back for some of that effort. He knew it wasn't easy.
Havar didn't have time to hesitate. He was already rushing off to seize the opportunity Ox had given him. Although he didn't say it aloud, the words echoed in his head. Thank you. Yanking up his weapon from the ground, he took an offensive stance, and headed into the thick of things once more.
His face was throbbing, his shades were cracked, too. He was bleeding from somewhere, he could taste it. But there was no stepping down now. They didn't get the luxury of just running off and hiding.
What good would that have done, anyway?
Blair was still managing to take out her opponents, though she had built up quite a sweat by this point, and was panting. It was getting far too hot for her!
With a flourish, she threw off her coat, and it smacked right into the face of an approaching guard. Another kick, and he flew back, crashing into and sprawling out over the stairs. "Nyaaa, Blair's getting a good workout!" She'd looked over towards the crawling Eruka then, and giggled. "Ne Eruka, why don't you use some of my fighting techniques?"
"Shut up! I don't want to use anything devised by you!" Blair pouted, then brought a finger to her lips with a new smile. "Then, why don't you flash them? That might help. Those panties are cute." Eruka's face heated up profusely, and she had screamed back "SHUT UP! Geko!" The cry had brought unnecessary attention to herself. Damn that cat-girl!
It was only made worse remembering that her own comrades weren't even looking out for her here, no one but that feline fatale had taken any interest in her wellbeing...even if it was just to crack wise in her cutesy manner. Yes, this battle wasn't just limited to her representing – miserably – Medusa's team. Oh, no.
Earlier, as Eruka was scrambling to escape, a familiar voice had reached her ears. "Eruka? What are you doing on the floor?"
She'd looked up, to find herself face-to-face with her teammate, Free. She didn't know why he was there, and obviously, neither did any of the other participants in the fight. At least, the ones who had noticed him in the frenzy. But right now, no one was able to question it. There was no time. Grabbing a hold of the hulking male as she'd darted behind him, Eruka had cried out.
"These crazy people! I don't know what they're here for, but they took me prisoner, and forced me into this melee! All I wanna do is get outta here already! I don't even know where Medusa is! I haven't gotten a chance to contact her!" Free had remembered then about the communicator in his ear. Or was it still in his ear? It was hard to tell. He'd checked then, and been relieved to find it attached.
After that, he'd turned to grab Eruka's hand, which had earned him a look of red-faced surprise from the woman. "W-Where are we going?!"
"Well, you don't wanna be in this fight, right? Help me find the kitchen. Then we can go look for Medusa. We've already set up our bombs, right?" Eruka had gaped at him. In the middle of all this, he wanted to eat? "Free, are you - "
But she was cut off as suddenly, another bunch of guards had come running up to the group from downstairs. Five of them. Oh, boy. She hadn't had a chance to say anything before she was forced to duck once more, to avoid being punched in the face. Free had taken a couple of hits though, one sock to the stomach – that didn't seem to phase him – and a kick to the jaw. That one had hurt a little.
Now, the man was smiling.
"Well, I guess I don't mind working up a bit more of an appetite." And thus, the battle had continued, with Eruka stuck trying to protect herself while gaining the attention of her comrade, who was smashing heads like nobody's business. And also, causing a good deal of collateral damage. Not all of his hits were successful this time, and the others had stared at him as he'd fought, even as they tried to keep themselves from getting killed.
"Who the heck is he?!" Kilik was doing his best not to lose focus, as he avoided a strike from one guard and got him in the gut with a sharp jab of the shovel.
Jackie shook her head. "I don't know, other than he must be working with Medusa, because Eruka knows him!"
Kim had just finished blasting a guard in the face with the blowtorch – they were getting way too close now! - and was trying not to freak out. "OhmyGod, I just did that, and – and – and he's doing that!" She'd spotted Free in the mess, and was starting to panic. "Jackie, these guys won't quit! And who are we fighting with here? Should we be more afraid of these guys, or him?"
Her girlfriend shot her a slightly sympathetic look, before kicking one of the guards in the shin. The ground suddenly shook, as Free had just punched another crater in the floor with his ice block fist.
"Eek!" Kim let out a yelp and hurried to get closer to Jackie, pressing up against her back as two more guards had circled around them. Nearby Free, Eruka was gaping at the massive dent in the ground, that started just a centimeter from the tip of her shoes. This guy was on her side. He was on her side.
So then why was she so terrified?
If any of the group of young adults and cabaret performer had any real problems with Free fighting beside them though, they didn't say anything. Two opposing teams, coming together in this mosh pit of aggression and violence.
Plus, they welcomed the helping hands, since there were more of the Arachnophobia grunts than there were Medusa's helpers. They'd stop the bigger group first, since the others were so willing to help. About half of the original guards had been taken down, along with two of the new bunch. There were still a good few combatants left.
"Yeek!" There was a shriek, and Eruka scooted backwards, as Kim was suddenly shoved to the ground where she'd been previously. She was grappling with an opponent who seemed to have an edge over her. He had knocked the blowtorch from her hands, and was now trying to choke her. She was struggling to get his grasp away from her neck.
Jackie saw what happened, and was about to jump in and help. But she was blocked by the guard who was fighting with her on her side. Grinning, he took advantage of her having trouble with her torch to push against her. Now she was only holding it in one hand, and he was on her heels.
Remember what Miss B taught you! Narrowing her eyes, Jackie struck out at him with the base of her palm, cracking him squarely in the face. As he staggered back, she delivered a solid punch following it, which took him out for good.
Yes! One hit K.O! She rubbed her knuckles briefly, and was about to help Kim. But another guard stepped in to take the place of the one who had fallen. "Are you kidding me?!"
By now, Kim was in dire straights. She couldn't breathe! Eruka was still near her, watching in horrified trepidation. The girl looked over at her, so pitiful and pleading. Eruka felt her brow furrow, and that painful tug in her chest. She was not cut out for this line of work, even if she could do it!
The feeling in her chest increased. Although she may not have liked what Kim had done to her when instructed by the cat-girl...when she looked at her like that, with those short pink locks falling into her face, she reminded Eruka of another pink-haired person. Someone she'd spent a decent amount of time with, one of the only people who didn't cause her grief, at least intentionally.
Eruka couldn't stand the comparison, and found herself picking up the blowtorch and bringing it down over the man's head as hard as she could manage. His face went blank, and he let go of Kim instantly. However, since he was unconscious, he fell forwards on top of her. She let out a wail, but managed to push him off and rise to her feet. Picking up the blowtorch again, she looked at Eruka steadily.
"Thanks." There was a moment between them, as Kim regarded this stranger who had just saved her, and Eruka took in the praise of a supposed enemy.
Then, the moment was broken as Jackie came rushing up to her. "Kim! Are you alright?! Look out!" She shot out a stream of fire at the approaching guard, who let out a howl. The girl nodded, before returning her focus to the fight. Eruka had already ducked out of sight, to find Free so she could stick close to him once more.
Hopefully, if she got into trouble like that, he'd be around to help her too. Even if he was scary when he fought, and not always on target. Another rumbling blow, this time from ahead of her. Was that a hit or a miss?
"Ah? Hey, look up there!" Ox was pointing towards the stairs. From the center hallway above came five small squeaking figures, who darted right into the battle without a second thought. Now, guards and the Shibusen crew were being attacked without hesitation. "Hey, the hell is this?!"
"Yeek!" Kim was trying to block herself from their frantic slicing motions, as they cut at her bare legs. She was only able to protect her face by bringing up her arms, still holding the blowtorch. "Get back!" She shot it in the direction of where she thought they were attacking from, and received a screech of pain in reply. One of them had just had the side of their head singed by the heat, and was not happy about this.
"YOU!" She was now going after Kim with a fury, and once again, Jackie was on it to help her. Or she would have been, if someone hadn't tried to grab hold of her long hair, and yank her back. Crying out, she reached behind and sunk her nails into the hand that held her locks. The figure let out a cry, but would not let go.
Frantic, she looked over, to where Ox had just taken out the guard he'd been struggling with, by a good shove and a blow to the head. "Ox!" He looked over, and appeared worried about her predicament.
"Not me! Help Kim!" Instantly, his expression became serious.
He saw what was happening, and rushed over to block the furious rodent woman from attacking the girl any further. "Get away from her!" He drove the woman back with his shovel, and Kim let out a loud sigh of relief.
"Thank you! I thought I was gonna die! These people are really strong!" Her legs and arms were covered with bloody slashes; her long-sleeve top had been shredded. But she was still managing a smile of gratitude, as she turned her focus back to the battle.
"I'll just have to be stronger!" He nodded, and assumed a combat stance as well. Jackie finally managed to get her opponent to let go and shoved him away, joining them as well just as he came around again. "I'll help too!" Everyone was looking out for each other.
Eruka recognized the small figures and chattering voices instantly, and she zoomed in on their rapidly moving forms. "Mizune!" Maybe they knew about the status of the mission!
"Medusa! Medusa! Medusa! Medusa!" That's all they kept repeating, with those pained faces, as they continued to fight with the guards and Shibusen crew indiscriminately. A few of the former were confused at seeing multiples of an ally, and having to fight them.
From the way things seemed, Eruka was willing to bet that the plan was a bust. "FREE! We have to get out of here! The mission's failed! Something's happened to Medusa!"
"Eh? What's - " But he was cut off by a roar, as another new figure came charging down the stairs. With a yell, he leapt off from the last six steps, landing in the middle of the floor and startling all parties nearby. Looking about with crazed eyes, Black*Star began tearing through the assembled guards, throwing them aside as if they were nothing. "Where are you, ya damn mice women?"
The Mizune sisters squeaked and jumped up, bolting for the door. But Black*Star was quicker. He leapt overhead and blocked their exit, running right into them with his sword drawn. "YAAAH!" They squealed and split apart. Now he was swearing and trying to round them all up again. "Goddamn it, hold still, you - !" A few guards were knocked about as he did so, if they just happened to have the misfortune of being in his path.
"Black*Star!" Tsubaki was rushing down the steps, skidding to a stop as she looked over the scene before her. It was a veritable war zone! Guards, guards everywhere! And scattered among them were her friends, as well as the Mizune sisters, and two others that she didn't recognize, a large wolfish man and a smaller woman with light blue hair.
There was only one thing she could do in a situation like this: get to work assisting in the clean up. Instead of chasing the mice, Black*Star needed to help with the rest of the grunts!
"Black*Star! Put your pride aside, and help me!" She didn't hear a reply, and was already being surrounded by two guards. If he won't do it, then I guess I'll have to. Taking her position with the chain sickle and sword, Tsubaki prepared herself for another tough fight.
"Ah?" But before she could ready herself for an attack, one of the guards let out a cry as he went flying, head-first into the floor. Landing behind him was her spiky-haired partner, who proceeded to then kick out a leg and knock over the guard left standing to the side. Tsubaki shook her head, but she was smiling as he struck a pose.
"Heh! Like I'd leave you hanging!" With that, the fight resumed properly.
Adding Black*Star and Tsubaki to the mix, along with Free and the others, the number of guards went down rapidly in no time, but the collateral damage increased exponentially. These were the last remaining dregs of Arachne's army; there were no other soldiers left to fight, and it was a lost cause.
As exhausted and bruised as they all were – and in some cases rather bloody, too – the Shibusen crew were doing a bang-up job of mowing their opponents down. Soon, they were down to the last three guards.
They were out of moves, and they were cornered. One of them had been caught by Black*Star, Tsubaki and Kilik. The second was being surrounded by Ox, Havar and Blair. The third was prey for Jackie, Kim and Free. Eruka was on the side, finally able to let down her guard a bit as she talked heatedly to the Mizune sisters for the full details. Her eyes widened at what they told her.
"What?! Medusa and Arachne are dead?!" She said this in a loud, sharp pitch.
"Eh?" Now the guards and a few of the others were looking over. Black*Star saw the perfect opportunity. "Ya-ha!" Charging into his opponent, he cracked him in the chest with his elbow, then the face. With a final kick to the head, the man went flying. He started cheering. "Alright, awesome takedown! As expected of a God!"
He struck a pose, seeming not to pay attention to the blood that was now spurting out of his side. Tsubaki said nothing, simply going over to stop the flow with a makeshift bandage. He was enjoying himself, and they were almost finished with the mission...she could only hope that it had been truly successful. That, and no internal injuries for her companion.
"Aw, man..." Free was looking towards the door. "So she's dead, huh?" Now he was making his way over towards his companions. Suddenly, he didn't really feel like eating here. He'd wait until they got outside. His gaze glanced over, at the others who were still engaged in combat. "Does that mean we're leaving now?"
"H-Hey!" This move left Kim and Jackie on their own with the guard. That big dummy...! The two were forced to write him off, and prepare themselves for what they hoped would be a successful tag-team.
To the other side of them, Ox and Havar were charging at their opponent with their shovels out and ready to do some damage. She seemed to have gotten cold feet about being in this fight, and spun around to run away.
But instead, she wound up with a face full of cleavage, as Blair and her impressive assets stopped the girl in her tracks. With a smile and a wave, Blair delivered the finishing blow, a chop to the neck. "You're lucky I'm not on the clock right now, otherwise I'd have to charge you for that."
The two males exchanged looks, but said nothing. Blair was an adult, she was allowed to make whatever choices she wanted. And that sort of work didn't make her a bad person. It was a way to eke out a living, they supposed. If you've got it, flaunt it, right? Blair definitely had it. Soul had lucked out in that department.
"Hah! Get away!" Jackie shoved her foot into her opponent's stomach, knocking him back as Kim shot the last stream of fire at his face. As he did his best to avoid the attack, Jackie caught him in the base of the head with her own torch, two times. Just to make sure he was properly knocked out. They let out sighs of relief as they regarded each other, then the bodies scattered across the ground.
It had taken all the strength they had, but they'd managed to hold their own. The battle was over. Not only that, but the organization had been taken down, and the school had been saved. It was a full victory!
"Hah, I got my big ol' battle in the end, and an extra fight! Sweet!" Black*Star was pleased with this outcome, Tsubaki standing beside him, nodding as she continued to dress his wound. Kilik chuckled, giving him a slight grin. "Yo, you gotta tell me what you got into up there. How the hell'd you wind up with that hole in your side anyway?"
The blue-haired boy pointed at him, striking another pose. "Only if you'll tell me all about your fight too!"
"Black*Star!" Tsubaki was scolding him. "You have to hold still, otherwise I can't fix you up properly! Now I have to adjust the bandage again." Shifting his arm, the boy scratched the back of his head a bit sheepishly. "Sorry." He kept his pose all while she continued to dress him. Beside him, Kilik was chuckling, and even from where they stood Ox and Havar were regarding the scene with amusement.
Yep. Everything was back to normal.
"Let's get the heck out of here already, before this place starts falling apart on us. It would be just my rotten luck if that happened..." Eruka's strained, irritated tones wafted into everyone's hearing, as the Shibusen crew and Blair turned to face the three separate sets of individuals who were now trying to retreat. Eruka was leading the way, followed by the Mizune sisters and Free.
Since Tsubaki was finished wrapping him up, Black*Star was the first to go running after them, blocking their way. Eruka stared as he slid into place in front of her, regarding her with a slight crazed gleam to his eyes. "And just where d'you think you're going?"
The frog woman laughed, right in his face. "HA! You really think you can stop us! Just try it! Free!" She pointed at the boy. "If this one doesn't want to move, then make him move! Use your ice fists or whatever!"
The man blinked at her. "Oh, uh. Yeah. About that..."
He lifted his hand, revealing that the device on his hand had been smashed to bits, and was even sparking a bit. Eruka gaped, as he removed it from around his arm, and dropped it on the ground. "That one's no good anymore." Behind the remaining group of adversaries, Tsubaki was letting out a sigh of relief, and she wasn't the only one.
They'd all seen what sort of damage Free was capable of. It would be hard enough as is to consider taking him down normally. Only Black*Star seemed disappointed at not getting to fight the wolfish man at full force.
Then, Free's face broke into a wide smile. "But, I still have...this!" He leapt up, swinging his leg down for a powerful drop over the boy's head. Eruka let out a croak of fear and darted away, as did the Mizune sisters. They weren't stupid, they didn't want to be caught in the middle of that! Tsubaki was about to rush forwards.
"Black*Star!" He would be crushed if that blow landed!
But in a flash, the boy had dodged the move. As he came back down, Free now found himself in a sort of crouched position. Even with the trembling of the ground and the new crater forming between him and the door, his target was spinning to jump up and bring his foot around for a good kick to the man's skull.
The blow was strong enough to send Free crashing to the ground, and Black*Star took this opportunity to inspect his opponent's leg for the troublesome device. "Ah, here it is!" He managed to yank it off in a show of brute strength.
"And there it GOES!" He threw it at the wall across the way at full force, where it exploded into pieces with a small bang. Free was groaning, as he sat up and shook his head, rubbing it with a massive hand. "Ah, you brat...now I gotta rebuild both of them. With better straps too, I don't want everyone un-equipping me every time I get tripped up."
He sighed, and took up a new fighting stance. "Well, guess we'll have to do this the regular way, no bells and whistles. I can handle that." Black*Star was about to assume his position as well, when he was stopped by Tsubaki, who came to pull him away from the edge of the crater and back towards the quietly gaping group.
"That's enough! He's injured, and we have no more business fighting you! Your leader is dead, just go! We won't stop you!" Black*Star's wound was bleeding again, and Tsubaki was starting to worry. For all the boy pushed himself, she could see it in his eyes: he was in pain. But he refused to lean on anyone. Would he wait until he was half-dead to accept this aid?
"You've done good tonight, Black*Star," she spoke gently into his ear. "You don't have to keep fighting anymore. It's all over." The boy looked at her, a new expression beginning to creep into his features. "All over?"
He shot up, another spurt of blood issuing from his side. "It's over when I say it's over!" Those bandages weren't really doing much, since Black*Star kept jumping all over the damn place. He was regarding the quietly frustrated Tsubaki with that same cheery grin.
"But, since some people here like to worry, this time I won't kick your ass outta Death City! I'll let you off with a warning! Next time though, I really will take you down!" He gave Tsubaki the thumbs up, and returned to join the rest of them.
Eruka was regarding them warily. "So...is this it, then? Are you letting us go?"
The group wasn't really sure how to answer that. They weren't going to fight them obviously, but did that mean they were just going to let them walk, after all the hell their leader had put them through? There had to be another way of resolving this!
It didn't matter though, because they were all interrupted by the door to the lower chambers flying open, and a young male in bizarrely flashy garb zooming through it, to scurry up the main staircase. He was like a heat-seeking missile, except he was trained on a human target.
And that target was...
"NOAH-SAMA!" His cry rang out as he disappeared down the side hallway. There was silence among the gathered group for a few moments. Then...
"So...is Shibusen really safe from all these loonies now?"
A/N: And thus, another book is closed. The downstairs ruckus is over, with a clear winner: the Shibusen crew! Yay! However, there are still a couple more loose ends to tie up, before the curtain can truly fall upon this wild and crazy night. For example: what is that loony running up the stairs on about?
Well, you'll just have to wait until next time to find out! As always, feedback is welcomed, encouraged, and appreciated. We're winding down, but this story's still got a bit of gas left in the tank before calling it quits. Next time: the final few monsters are being laid to rest.
Until then, take care, everyone, and stay safe.