The Commander remained silent. He saw what happened and stated his intent. In that moment, the man was judge, jury, and executioner over all who attacked the base. Yet, he didn't seem all that concerned with his order. He didn't even notice Blake and Marie's presence. Instead, all he did was walk calmly and quietly towards Alexis.
A cursory glance at the girl's barely breathing body told him she went through the meat grinder. The bruises on her hands, legs and face and the steady loss of blood further proved the point. If he left her here or had Alec take her back to the base, she would die.
So, he did what anyone would have done in his position. He bent down and gently picked her up. The Commander made sure that she was safe then walked towards Saint Louis and Alec. As he did, Roon, the Ironblood juggernaut trotted towards him like a happy little school girl.
"Commander, is she…" asked Roon, looking curiously at Alexis.
"Not yet," came the reply.
He now went to Alec but his words were directed to Saint Louis and Roon.
"Can you take them?" he asked. For a moment, the two girls looked at Blake and Marie in the same way you'd look at an ant or a worm.
Roon quietly cracked the knuckles in her hands and then her neck. She looked at the pair and gave them a devilish smile.
"Don't worry Commander," she said, "we've got this."
"Rest assured my liege, these two traitors will not live to see tomorrow," declared Saint Louis and pointed her spear at Blake.
"A lot of innocent folk are dead because of them," he added "make them suffer."
The two remained silent but were intent on carrying out his orders. After all, when it comes to loyalty, the argument could be made that Saint Louis and Roon were the most loyal members of the fleet. If the words came from the Commander, they would follow it to the letter if they could.
With his order set, the Commander extended his hand out to Alec. Alec, grabbed it and was lifted up. He tried to stand, but the pain from the bullet wound made him wince a little and stagger. The Commander's right hand rested on the shoulder and steadied him.
"Fair warning," he said to Alec "this is your first time so it will be disorienting."
"What…" but the rest of the words turned into a slurry cry of fear as the Commander held Alec's hand and shot into the sky. There, he flew towards his base with the intent of getting Alexis the medical attention she needed.
Back on the ground, Roon looked to Saint Louis and said "do me a favor and stay out my way. I want to wrap this up quick and make my report. If I'm lucky, the Commander will praise me on a job well done."
"At least we agree on one thing," said Saint Louis, pointing her spear.
"Ah by the way," said Roon, now turning to Blake and Marie "you don't have to worry about us using our rigging. If we did that, this fight would be over in seconds."
"Indeed, my liege ordered us to make you suffer and we shall do exactly that," said Saint Louis.
All Blake knew was that he had to dodge. In an instant that seemingly stretched on for eternity, he could feel the hairs on his back stand and fear overwhelming him. With the strength he had, he managed to rev his bike and skid to the side. As he did, he felt a powerful gale pass by him. On closer inspection, he saw that it was not a gust of wind but the tip of a black spear.
Horror gripped his heart as he felt that if he were a second late, there'd be a fist-sized hole in his head.
The spear wielder stopped her attack and saw Blake still on his bike. On one glance she could tell that her first attack scared the life out of him.
"Get… get the hell away from me," he yelled and started his bike. Then, the others watched as he drove away as fast as his rigging could take him.
Saint Louis didn't seem all that surprised at this. Instead, she broke into a run and caught up to Blake in less than five seconds. She reached out, grabbed the back tire and brought the vehicle to a sudden halt.
Blake slowly turned around and when he saw Saint Louis, he let out a panic-stricken scream. His attacker seemed unfazed as she threw his bike and him back to the starting point.
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The Commander's order echoed through everyone in the fleet when they heard it. It was the first time his order was brief and so final. There was no interest in taking prisoners, no opportunity to let anyone go. His order was clear and final.
No one had any interest in questioning or doubting. After all, this was not the first time their base came under attack. The thing that made all of them silent was that this time, the attack did not come from Omega or her lackey. No, according to the warning message they got from Eldridge and Curtis, this was straight from the Resistance.
There was no doubt that their leader would find out more in the hours after the exercise, but for now, one thing was clear. The Human Resistance betrayed them. Stabbed them in the back and sided with the Sirens.
What James and Alec knew better than any other human is that loyalty is perhaps the most valued trait to the girls. They were loyal to their leaders and loyal to their friends. As such, to have that very loyalty turned back on them was like a knife in the back.
Yorktown, the only one who summoned the courage to speak asked "Unicorn, are you sure that all the children are safe?"
There was a pause on the other side and then came a response. However, the answer did not come from Unicorn. Instead, it came from Friedrich.
"I've confirmed the headcount," she said "the kids, our girls are safe and alive. Much of that is thanks to Unicorn, Eldridge and Charles' quick thinking."
"However," she added, and everyone held their breath "I cannot say the same for the human children."
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Elsewhere, the Commander landed outside the fleet's hospital and headed inside. He let go of Alec, who quickly rose to his feet then immediately staggered.
"Stay down for a few seconds till your legs stop shaking," he warned.
But Alec didn't listen. Instead, he fumbled his way to James while keeping an eye on Alexis' unconscious body. Seeing this, the Commander simply sighed in resignation and went inside. There, he was greeted by Vestal, who took him and Alec to an IC room. The Commander set Alexis on the bed then turned to the door.
"When Alec comes in, strap him to the bed," he said, and Vestal simply nodded. She wanted to ask him a question, ask him why he was helping someone who was clearly the enemy but stopped. This was the first time Vestal had ever seen her leader do his best to contain his anger. She could see his fist tremble and hear him grinding his teeth, all in an effort to maintain a calm façade.
Realizing that she had important things to do, Vestal simply began her work on an unconscious Alexis.
Outside, the Commander let out a sigh of frustration, then took in several deep breaths.
How long did he know? That was the question that hit him when he reached a measure of calm thought. How long did he know that Byron was a traitor? A week? Two weeks? Definitely more than that.
He had that information in his hand and he had the power to take out the corrupt leader. But, what did he do? Nothing. He simply twiddled his thumbs, letting time pass by while Byron plotted and continued without fear of retribution. There was always a chance that there were more but he could have taken Byron out without arousing suspicions. Hell, if done right he could even flush out the rest of the rats.
The Commander knew that everyone who died today, that blood was on his hands. His inaction led to Byron fully enacting his plan and that led to a lot of innocent deaths. Sure, the traitor got his just desserts, but the Commander knew that it did little to absolve him of his mistake.
"Master," came a voice through the communicator and he recognized it immediately.
"Belfast, status update," he said, doing his best to sound normal.
"The rest of the fleets arrived," she replied "the cruisers and destroyers were first to arrive and now the carriers and battleships have reached the base. We will start carrying out your orders."
"Good," he said "Friedrich, Sandy, Warspite; I want you three to remain with Unicorn and Curtis' group. Bring any of the wounded back to the base."
"Battleships are to form a firing line around our island and the mainland. Annihilate anything that tries to escape. Carriers will double up between attacking enemy ships and doing reconnaissance work. Belfast, take the maids and set up tents outside the hospital. We'll put the severely injured inside and the rest go outside."
"Marblehead," he said and the girl in question let out a high-pitched yelp.
"You are to work with Akashi and help the wounded in the tents."
"As for me," he continued "I'm going to start gathering survivors and bringing them here."
"Commander, if I may," said Z23 "Javelin, Ayanami, Laffey and myself would like to assist in recovering the wounded."
"My sisters and I also want to help," added Cleveland "it'll be a lot faster with more of us involved."
"Very well then," said the Commander "those who are able to, please assist me in finding survivors."
"As for the rest, the order still stands. I don't want a single damned one of them to survive."
"Commander," said Warspite "if possible, can you or someone else investigate what happened to the school?"
The Commander stopped his march on hearing it.
"He's helping with finding any survivors," countered Wales.
But then James remembered what Friedrich said about the human children. He hoped that it wasn't as bad as the Charles, Eldridge and Unicorn put it, but if he were wrong…
"I'll head there after I'm done bringing survivors here," he said and resumed his march "till then, no one is to go to the school. No questions."
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Saint Louis saw the fear in Blake's eyes as the man wildly attacked her. First he tried to ram her with the bike, then he tried to use the blades on the bike wheels to hurt her, and finally he tried to hit her with his fists.
Despite the many attacks coming at her, Saint Louis dodged them all with little difficulty. Much of this came down to how there was no method to Blake's madness. She knew that he was simply swinging for the fences in the hopes that one attack will land. But she was not going to give him that.
Saint Louis waited for the bike to draw near. When it was close, she rammed her spear into the ground. The move caused the bike's blades to hit the spear. Typically, this action would result in the blade cutting off the spear's shaft. However, Saint Louis' weapon was made of stronger stuff than the metal in that blade. As a result, the bike came forward, its back wheel rising high into the sky. Before it could fully flip over and fall, Saint Louis yanked Blake off the seat and flung him into a wall.
She watched as the man slowly rose to his feet and struggled to take a fighting stance. He had fully of openings, no technique, and most certainly relied on his power to do the trick. Saint Louis quickly summarized a number of attack avenues and charged forward. She thrust her spear out, the blade gleaming in the light of the fires and the moon and cut Blake on the side.
Blake winced at the pain, but did not lower his guard. It did not surprise Saint Louis who spun around and rammed the flat side of her weapon into Blake's right. She could hear the sound of a few bones cracking before she leapt up and kicked him in the face. Blake's body arched back in stunned shock before he crashed violently into the ground.
His combatant did not move. As much as she knew she would win, she also knew that she could not be arrogant. A simple mistake was all it took. That's why, she remained firmly in her place and waited for Blake to rise once again.
The man's fate was decided. Her Commander handed out the judgment and she was carrying it out.
As this fight took place, another fight brewed nearby.
Roon carefully dodged the many attacking hair monsters conjured by Marie. Slowly and steadily she made her way to the enemy, ignoring Marie's shouts and cries of desperation.
"Get back, stay the hell away from me," she shouted but Roon remained resolute in her goal.
When the distance between them was dangerously close, Marie sent out a barrage of hair strands intending to catch Roon and hold her in place. To her horror, Roon simply ducked down and avoided the attack. Marie did not have time to retaliate as her opponent came shooting forward and crashed a knee into her face.
Roon, while still floating in the air with Marie under her spun around and kicked Marie in the chest. The force of that attack sent her crashing into the ground with a sickening thud.
Roon then leapt back a little and waited for her opponent to get up. As she waited, she could not help but compare Marie to James. Both had only one similarity and that was they were human. Yet, here was Marie, with the power of a Siren and was struggling to mount a decent defense. James on the other hand, a man with a fake arm managed to hold his own against her for a little over one hundred seconds.
Once again, she saw several strands shoot out with the intent of holding her in place. Roon dodged the initial attack then grabbed a bunch of them. With a dark smile she yanked them to her using all her force and in response, Marie came flying towards her.
Roon still smiled as she clenched her right fist and smashed it into Marie's chest. Blood shot out of the woman's mouth but Roon was not done. In an attempt to repeat a move she saw on one the anime's the kids watched, Roon planted her left foot in the ground then rose her right foot up and rammed it into Marie's chest. She looked up and saw the kick send Marie flying up, which was exactly what happened in the anime.
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The first shot came from Sirius. It was aimed at one of the Hybrids patrolling the area and searching for any living thing to attack. She watched as the robot tumbled to the ground and showed no signs of getting up.
"Hey, I found one," said an unknown voice. She turned and saw a human point a gun at her. Before she could react, the man opened fire and emptied the clip into her.
To his surprise though, he found that the bullets did not do an ounce of damage. Her skin and the maid uniform she wore was completely fine.
"What?" he asked, looking puzzled "but they said that these bullets would…"
His words were cut off when Sheffield fired into his head and turned it into red paste. The rest of the body crumpled down as she ran to Sirius.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her otherwise stoic and stone-faced look gave way to concern and worry.
"Not to worry," said Sirius, giving her friend a quick twirl "their bullets did nothing to me."
"Master," said Sheffield "one of the humans shot at Sirius."
"What?" he asked through the communicator. Before he could ask the next question though, Sirius interjected.
"Don't worry Master, I'm fine," she said.
"Oh thank God," he said, sounding very relieved "wait, what about the bastard that shot you?"
"I killed him," replied Sheffield.
"Good. Be careful when you're going out searching for survivors. No doubt Byron has several of his men out there killing whoever they find. If you see anyone taking a shot at you, you are free to defend yourself."
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The interior and exterior of the fleet hospital was nothing short of a mess. Though attempts were made to bring some order, the continuous influx of patients and providing everyone ample medical treatment was nearly impossible.
The Commander sent more girls to help Vestal, Akashi, and Marblehead, but it wasn't enough. Vestal genuinely feared that the supplies they had in the base wouldn't be enough and that would force her into making some very difficult decisions.
Then, to her relief and surprise the team of Z23, Javelin, Ayanami, and Laffey came in and behind them were several doctors and nurses. She also noticed how the four girls were carrying several bags in each hand and prayed that it was extra medicine.
"We got as much as we could from the hospital," said Z23, answering her prayers "where should we put this?"
"Here, on this table," said Vestal, pointing to one of the tables that Marblehead used to previously remove a piece of rebar from a woman's foot.
The four girls carefully put the bags on the table and started taking out the bottles one by one. They took extra care with the glass ones so as not to damage them.
"What about us Miss Vestal?" asked one of the doctors "where do you want us?"
"You all head inside," she replied "there's a lot of people that need help and not enough to provide it."
The doctors and staff nodded. Vestal saw a plethora of pain killers in pill and liquid format. She also saw plenty of gauze and antiseptic.
All she could do now was hope that it would be enough to last the night.
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Elsewhere, in the mingled crowd of panicking people and those fleeing the Siren ships, the team of Damian, Lakshmi, Ingrid and Whitney all hurried to safety. Originally, their plan was to have Byron lead the charge, attack and wipe out everyone. By the time James and the fleet arrived, they'd be too late.
However, none of them counted on Alexis managing to overcome the programming and fight back. This seemingly small detail completely derailed their plan's flow. Thanks to that, James somehow got back faster and he brought the entire force of his fleet with him.
They knew that Blake, Marie, and Byron were done for. All they could do was hide out, feign ignorance and pray that karma did not come for them.
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"Get up," said Roon, to Marie who lay on the ground. She tried to raise herself up, but spat out blood and collapsed again.
"All that power and this is the best you can do?" she asked, but Marie said nothing. She laid on the ground while her hair bore into the ground below and slowly surrounded Roon.
Marie knew that she could not win in a straight-forward fight. Thankfully, she'd quickly learned how to use her hair in more than one way. She was positive that if she could get the drop on her opponent, she'd emerge victorious.
Marie also took a moment to confirm Blake's situation. His opponent was equally as dangerous as Roon but that didn't faze her at all. The woman was committed to wiping Blake out and while Marie felt somewhat sad, she also knew she had to abandon him if she wanted to escape.
"Well if you're not going to get up," said Roon, now hovering over her the way a lion would over a wounded animal "then I may as well do it for you."
Marie saw this chance and sprung her trap. In a second, a few hundred strands of hair shot out from the ground all around Roon. The girl did not react in time and that allowed Marie to wrap those strands around Roon's body and immobilize her.
"Thought you were hot shit didn't you?" asked Marie, slowly rising to her feet and wiping the blood off her nose.
"Thought that you could get the best of me did you?" she asked and Roon stayed silent.
"Well look how the tables have turned," she stated, triumphantly "now I'm the one in control and you're…"
"Are you done now?" asked Roon, raising her head to reveal a bored expression. The move shocked Marie, causing her to forget her words and take a step back.
"Don't act like you aren't scared," she hissed "I've got you right where I want you."
"No you don't," said Roon. As if to emphasize that point, Roon's left hand grabbed several strands on her right hand. With a simple tug, she tore the strands to pieces and then did the same to the ones on her left hand.
Ignoring that she could move despite being immobilized, Marie was shocked at how effortlessly Roon removed her restraints.
Roon gauged the fear in her opponent's eyes as strange. She wondered if Marie really thought such thin wire would be enough to hold her. She saw the fear and desperation in her eyes and saw that she achieved her goal. It was time to end this fight.
Just as she was about to strike, she heard the Commander's voice speaking to her and Saint Louis, ordering them to stop.
Without hesitation, they did as told.
"My liege," said Saint Louis "what's wrong?"
"Can you describe the weapons that Blake and Marie are using?" he asked.
It seemed like an odd question to ask, but the pair had no problem answering. Neither of them noticed the growing dread in their leader's voice.
"Blake uses a bike with blades on the wheels," said Saint Louis.
"No, not him," he said and that confused the pair a little.
"Marie uses her hair strands to immobilize people," said Roon "she can also turn it into small creates with sharp mouths. I saw her use them to bite into some debris and fling it at me."
This time though, there was silence on the other side.
Saint Louis and Roon became genuinely worried at that silence. They shifted from their leader to the duo of Blake and Marie, wondering which one to focus their attention on.
Then, they heard a response.
"Children," said the voice on the other side.
"She butchered the children," he said and both of them were shocked by the statement.
Saint Louis and Roon recalled early on how Yorktown insisted to James that the school meant for Unicorn and the other kids would also start teaching the human children too. Given that the Resistance had other priorities that took precedence over education, James okayed it almost immediately.
Roon in particular, recalled how she visited that school now and again and how she played with the kids when the teacher was busy or tired.
The thought that those kids were now dead, the idea that innocent lives were so brutally taken without rhyme or reason horrified her. Then, that horror shifted to anger as she saw the culprit behind those actions.
Marie tried to take a step back, but it was over before it even began. Roon was standing over her in a second, her eyes filled with malice and hate. To her, every breath this monster took was an insult to those innocent lives snuffed out.
She grabbed Marie with her right hand and with her left punched her in the face. Marie's face reeled back from the impact but Roon didn't seem concerned. She pulled Marie close and punched her again in the face.
Marie tried to kick Roon in the chest, but the Ironblood juggernaut ignored the attack and continued with hers. The third shot shattered the bones in Marie's nose and she let out a terrible cry of pain. Yet, this too, did not stop Roon in the slightest.
Roon heard Marie cry for help but continued hitting her in the face. Every time her fist landed, she drew blood. Roon had gone well past the face and was now hitting the muscle underneath. Despite how angry she was, she restrained herself enough not to kill Marie in a single strike. After all, she wanted this monster's death to be agonizing and drawn out.
At some point in the attack, the voice grew silent. Roon continued hitting the face and found no protest. Then, a new voice calling out to her caused her to stop. But, she did not. She continued attacking the target till someone grasped her arm and forced her to a halt.
Roon, her face covered in blood and her eyes blazing with a white-hot fury turned to her side and expected to see the other meathead Blake. Instead, she saw Saint Louis with a worried look on her face.
"Roon please stop," she said, the desperation in her voice was evident "she's dead. Can't you see that?"
In truth, she did not see it. When she began her attack, Roon kept recalling the memories of those children. She remembered how she played with them when free and how she read them stories. She remembered how they were all orphans and harboured the idea of taking care of them even after the war.
They weren't a threat to anyone. They were harmless and innocent. Yet, thanks to the callous actions of someone else, those kids would never live to see another day.
When that thought entered her mind, all the pain and anger she held came bursting out in the form of tears. Saint Louis, then saw the Commander descend towards them and brought Roon to him. He gently reached out to her and she began to sob uncontrollably all the while maintaining a tight grip on him.
Saint Louis recognized this pain for it was something she heard once before. She took comfort in the fact that Roon was with the Commander, who was better equipped at handling these things than she was.
Saint Louis turned to Blake and saw that the coward was trying to escape. Without moving from her spot, she flung her spear at the back tire like an Olympic javelin thrower. Though the tire of Blake's rigging was stronger than a building, the spear and the force behind that throw shredded it to ribbons and turned the bike into dead weight.
Blake got off the vehicle and tried to use it as a club against Saint Louis but it didn't work. She simply raised her hand up to block the attack. She retrieved her spear from the ground and pointed it at Blake.
"Eight ball, corner pocket," she said, and suddenly, Blake's vision shifted. He felt his face hit the ground and now saw Saint Louis with her spear extended out as if she completed the attack. She came towards him, bent down and picked him up by his hair.
Blake now found that Saint Louis did attack him. It's just that it was so fast, his mind couldn't see it happening. As a result, everything from below the neck was turned into a red mist while the only thing that survived was his head.
"If it's any consolation," said Saint Louis as the fear set in "you'll be dead soon enough."
Saying her peace, she dropped the head back down and made her way back to the other two. On the way, she confirmed that the other one, was dead. In a strange twist, Marie suffered the exact opposite death that Blake did. Everything below her neck was fine and normal but her face was ground into a red mist.
Saint Louis did not dwell on the dark comedy of that moment and now turned to her liege who was still holding a sobbing Roon. Though her cries were a little softer now, she held onto him.
Just then, she felt a drop of water on her shoulder. This drop was followed by another, and another, until… it started raining.
She could feel the sudden downpour wipe the fatigue off her body and felt somewhat relieved. Yet, as Saint Louis looked at the destruction and death, that relief vanished.
She looked at her Commander and he did the same. In that moment, she wordlessly communicated a message to him and he nodded.
The day was saved. Yet, neither of them felt the relief that came from defeating the Sirens.
AN: I'm almost done with this story arc.
