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Mission No. 69

Cerinia
Altaira Valley

"Freedom"

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Bill ran between the trees with abandon, chasing a mere dot on the screen. The radar tracker showed 19 a few hundred meters ahead of him; she'd curved off from the main path, angling due east. Her current trajectory would take her out of the forest and into the nearby fields. He might have to chase her through the crops, but it was only a matter of time before he caught up given his superior speed. She couldn't hide as long as she wore the tracking collar, either, and she couldn't take it off on her own. But he worried something might happen to 19—or himself—before he caught up.

As the branches whipped by his face and the carpet of dried leaves flew beneath his feet, an internal voice screamed at him. He shouldn't be doing this; the others could handle it on their own. He needed to be at the forefront of the invasion, leading his men and supporting them. After having lectured Miyu so sternly, he just ran off and did… this. He was a total hypocrite, going against everything he'd ever preached. But he didn't trust anyone else with the task, and he wouldn't forgive himself if something happened to 19. It had to be him.

The trees were thinning out now. Beyond the thicket of trunks he could see the bright fields turning gold in the sunset. His heart leaped, for he spotted a purple figure clothed in white running towards them.

Bill raced out of the forest, wading into the tall field of grass till it came up to his knees. 19 was already up to her waist in the shimmering blades, as if ready to march straight into the ocean.

"19, WAIT!" he shouted.

The vixen slowed. Her ears perked upon hearing his voice, but… she didn't turn around. To Bill's dismay she resumed running forward, away from him.

"Stop!" he ordered. In a fit of desperation he slowed and drew his gun, aiming at her back. "Stop or… I'll shoot!"

This time 19 came to a screeching halt. Her shoulders slumped and she turned to face him. She stared at the barrel of his gun—not with fear in her eyes, but… disappointment. Betrayal. She'd seen firsthand what a weapon of that sort could do, but it didn't bother her more than the fact that Bill of all people was pointing it at her. That reality alone wounded her more than the blaster ever could.

God, what was he doing? Had it really come to this? He never thought he'd have to hold her at gunpoint—not since he'd grown so close to her aboard the Justice, but he couldn't just let her run away, either.

19 didn't speak a word. She just stared at him with aching eyes, a storm of pain churning within.

"I don't understand," she called above the wind, struggling to speak in Cornerian. "You keep me alive when I'd rather die, then threaten to kill me when I want to live. Did you save me all those times only because you needed me for this day?"

He began marching towards her slowly, keeping the gun raised so she didn't dive into the grass. "No, 19, I—"

"What more do you want from me?" she continued. "When will I have paid for my past wrongs? I brought you here. I sold out my own sisters. Is that not enough?"

He swallowed a lump forming in his throat, knowing what he had to do and forcing himself to do it. He reached 19 and stopped, taking out some coils of tactical rope to bind her with.

"I'm sorry, I can't let you escape. I can't catch one Cerinian just to lose another. I have to take you back. This planet is too dangerous for you; there's nothing for you here." He holstered his gun, uncoiling the rope.

19 didn't argue any further. In fact, she said nothing at all. She bowed her head and put her wrists together, offering them up for Bill to tie. Her silence and resignation absolutely stung.

He went to put the first loop over her hands… but stopped. For the moment he could only stare at her. She looked like she belonged, standing in the wide-open field. The ocean of blades swayed gently, the wind sending waves of shimmers across its surface. A small pond glistened in the golden sun, and the mountain peaks at the far side of the field burned with rosy flames. It was so vast and open, so free and uncontained. It was the only time he'd seen 19 in the open air like this, and not in some cramped quarter aboard the ship or in the Venomian labs. This was where she dreamed of being; he knew it.

A war raged inside him, crushing him between two fronts. He was trapped between what his mind reasoned and what his heart felt. Letting her go was too dangerous; so many things could go wrong. There was no guarantee his men wouldn't just find her again, or accidentally kill her. If she stayed, the villagers might never accept 19 as their own, or even punish her if they discovered her involvement in the attack. If she ran away, another unhinged Cerinian like Ariki might find her, at which point death might be preferable to the torment he'd keep her alive for. And what would happen to him if Pepper found out? There were only a few people with the authority or ability to remove 19's tracker, and the others might be suspicious. If he couldn't come up with a convincing explanation for his failure, he might be court-martialed; humiliated for the rest of his life, even when he'd already sacrificed so much to be here.

The ropes shook in his hands while he battled it out inside—but ultimately he steeled his resolve and reached for her bindings.

Eyes closed, 19 flinched at his touch—but found him working on her collar instead. Soon there was a soft chirp and metallic clink, and the ever-present steel vice disappeared from around her neck. Blinking, she looked up to see Bill holding it. The metal circlet trembled in his hands, but eventually he let it fall into the grass, where it sank into the sea of green.

"What—?"

Bill swallowed, feeling his stomach drop out from under him. While he made his decision, his pulse beat faster than during the battle with the Cerinians.

"Go."

19 shook her head. "I, I don't understand!"

"You're free," he breathed. "I'm letting you go."

"B-But what do I do? Where do I go?!"

"Run. Hide. They won't be able to find you without that collar. Then, when the Justice leaves, throw yourself at the mercy of the Cerinians. Tell them I forced you to lead us here. It's the truth, after all. Maybe they'll be kind and understanding."

Tears began to run down 19's face, and Bill felt the lump sitting heavier in his throat. Both began to understand this was the last time they might ever talk again.

"Thank you… Bill," she sniffed, beginning to smile. "Will I see you again? Will you come back here?"

He glanced over his shoulder at the smoke rising from the village. "No, I don't think they'd want me."

She held his hand. "I'll miss you."

"Thanks, I'll… miss you too."

Then, on instinct, he dipped forward and kissed her, taking both of them by surprise.

It felt wrong, so he did it.

When Bill pulled back, he looked down guiltily, unable to meet her eyes again. "Now go! Before they send someone else after you…"

Releasing his hand reluctantly, 19 turned and ran into the sea of grass.

Bill thought of something before she disappeared. "Wait, 19! You need a name for yourself!" he called.

She turned to face him one last time; the blades nearly rising above her head. "But what should it be?" she asked.

"That's not for me to decide. Promise… promise me you'll choose one for yourself!"

She stared at Bill for a time, then smiled and nodded. "Alright, I promise."

Then she turned and disappeared into the fields, the tips of her ears sinking beneath the grass. Now there was nothing left of her; just Bill standing on the edge of the forest, and the empty ocean of blades swaying before him, stretching on for miles. He knew she was in there somewhere, escaping. He wanted to run in after her and find her, but he knew it was a lost cause already. He couldn't stay, and she couldn't go back with him. This was doomed to be their last goodbye.

Bill's heart ached; he could feel tears coming to his eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he'd allowed himself to cry…

But his men needed him now. He'd abandoned them for too long already. He dried his tears, wiping away the evidence of any lingering emotion he still had. He turned, tearing his longing gaze away from the fields and marching back into the forest.

The tree trunks now faced him like prison bars. Doubt filled his mind. 19 was gone. There was no reward left for him, nothing he got out of this, nor any evidence of his good deed—besides a quickly-fading warmth in his heart that was being crushed by worry. Only punishment awaited him.

There was no turning back from this. Once he disobeyed, once he sinned even a single time, there was no undoing it. He was a sinner forever. His perfect record… besmirched of his own volition. It was perhaps a death sentence on himself, but even if no one else found out, he'd have to live the rest of his life with the secret of his failure festering inside him, and that future somehow felt worse: an eternal living death.

Sprinting through the trees now, he made a pledge; this would be the first and last time he'd give in to his feelings. Never again.

He spoke into his radio. "Lieutenant Lynx, what's your situation?"

There was a slight pause before she answered. "We trapped the remaining Cerinians against the cliffs, but reached an impasse for a time; the psychic warriors protected them with a barrier. They might have attacked us, too, if not for Baines and Makepeace threatening to release 18."

The lines in Bill's forehead creased. "What do you mean, '18'?"

"Cerinian Subject 18. You… you didn't know?"

Bill growled, furious the doctor hadn't told him beforehand, but understanding why; he never would've approved. So that was Makepeace's ace-in-the hole. He thought it had been a bomb or something, and maybe he wasn't too far from the truth, considering how she might put the Cerinian to use. It also explained the black cell sitting in the cargo hold: the twin of 19's. It wasn't just for transporting 28 when they subdued her—it was to hold Subject 18 on the journey there. But if there was only one cell and two Cerinians left…

"Bill…?"

He quickened his pace. "Sorry, this is the first I've heard of it. I want you to ensure Makepeace doesn't release 18 under any circumstances. Do you hear me? She isn't to release 18!"

"Y-Yes, sir! But what of Cerinian 19? Did you catch her?"

Bill's stomach turned. He'd have to lie; already another transgression on his spotless record. But if one spot was all it took to make something not spotless, did another smudge really matter?

"I… couldn't catch her. The tracker led me to a field, but I found her collar smashed and broken on the ground. One of the psychics must have helped her with it before hiding her. I think she's a lost cause, so I'm turning back."

Miyu sounded almost relieved. "Well, it doesn't matter. We reached the cave where 19 last sensed our target. The other Cerinians say 28 is close; they can sense her, too. I'd say 19 is no longer needed for the mission."

Bill sighed. "That is fortunate."

"…But they say 28 is stressed and dangerous—I think she's at risk of becoming like 19 when she went psychotic in the labs."

His pulse quickened again, remembering finding 19 covered in blood. The Cornerians had lost a good number of soldiers and scientists trying to subdue her.

"Can you pump more of the sleeping agent into the cave? Have the Cerinians sense for when she falls unconscious while you wait outside?"

"Already working on it, sir. We're setting up the pumps right now, but we may not have enough time! They say she's on the move towards us."

Bill cursed. "I'm sorry, I should've been there this whole time. Please hold out until I arrive! Pull the men back to a safe distance from the cave mouth. If she comes out still conscious, bombard the exit with gas canisters. And if that doesn't slow her down, hit her with stun charges. I'll be there as quick as I can."

"And if that doesn't work?" Miyu asked worriedly.

He swallowed.

"Run."

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Krystal breathed heavily, feeling her way through the dark. The light of the tunnel entrance had long faded behind her, leaving her in total blackness. Springwater rushed over her feet, making it easy to slip—as if navigating wasn't hard enough given her blindness. For a time she relied on feeling the wall to move forward, then realized she could get away with tracing the interior of the passage with her mind. She could feel the slope steadily moving upwards…

This was all wrong. She realized the monster had chased her back nearly the same way she'd come, only a bit farther north above the valley's exit. She must have entered a cave in the western mountains and was climbing up some underground spring—back in the direction of the village.

Opening her mind to sense her surroundings, however, let in a wave of outside thoughts. Like whispers seeping to her from between the walls, she could hear the thoughts of the Cerinians in the village, no louder than the babbling of the spring. They were… distressed. Their emotions were so strong they reached her even through the tons of shear rock between them. Something was going on up there. She hoped Fox was alright…

As if she herself hadn't done enough damage to everyone already.

For the first time in a while, she saw a light: a purple glow coming from farther ahead.

Increasing her pace excitedly, she arrived at the source: bunches of lantern-like mushrooms grew near the spring, glowing violet in the bleak darkness of the cave. They reminded her of the ones in the stream outside the village, and the pleasant memories she'd had there—but the smile on her face sank, remembering she could never return.

A sound echoed up the cave behind her, and Krystal froze. She sucked in a breath, trying not to make any noise. Her ears picked up faint splashes, the tapping of rocks, the scraping of shale, and… breathing?

Impossible. There was no way a creature of that size could fit in the passage after her; the doorway was too small! Yet all the same, her ears picked up its approach.

Wasting no more time staring at the fungal lanterns, she took off, scrambling up the passage again.

Soon echoes of the creature's energy reached up to her. An aura of hatred surrounded it, bleeding up the passage. It was almost like it had thoughts of its own; she tried to shut them out, but they washed over her like a noxious cloud.

Involuntarily her thoughts returned to her torment. She didn't want them to. She knew what the monster was after. She knew it wanted to feed off her experiences and fears, but the memories were unavoidable. The cave tunnel reminded her of the cramped passages in the labs beneath Venom's surface. The shadows cast by the stalactites and rocks played tricks on her mind, letting her see shapes and moving figures where there were none. They haunted her like ghosts, chasing her farther up the tunnel.

She started looking for a place to hide, considering crawling beneath outcroppings of stone or into one of many narrow passages that branched off from the main tunnel. Surely these would be too tight for it to squeeze through… but each one turned out to be a dead end. She saw a blood red light within each one, sending shadows dancing over the walls: shadows of spindly, mechanical legs and webs of wiring. A cacophony of horrors echoed down the passages to her ears: distant screams that sounded like her voice; hisses and electrical discharges; and beeps and mechanical whirrings—all sounds familiar to her ears.

Each passage led to a memory she tried to shut out, but the shadows—or the things that cast the shadows—drew dangerously close. They used to only torment her in dreams and memories. Now they manifested in her very reality, and she couldn't simply open her eyes and wake up. There was no waking up from this hell anymore; her life had become the nightmare.

The breathing and crunching of stones drew closer; it was gaining on her. Its claws scraped over the rocks like nails on chalkboard. It panted—not from exertion or weariness, but from hunger. At any given moment she was only one step ahead as it snapped at her heels. Its ragged breathing was so close it deafened her ears, drowning out any sound of her own. Its warm breath washed over her, bouncing off the floor at her feet and suffocating her face in its stench.

Then she saw its claws beneath her; its footfalls alternated on either side, grabbing the rocks to drag itself in her wake with a rhythm that eerily matched her own. It was right on top of her now; she could feel its weight pressing on her back, immeasurably strong.

When the burden became too heavy to bear she tripped and fell forward, taking the beast with her. Her hands and face met water when she landed, and she gasped out a mouthful of bubbles. Quickly she pushed herself back out, coughing and spitting. She shivered, both from the water and the fear of the monster being right behind her. She couldn't bring herself to turn around, nor look it in the face; she just sat there, shaking. She'd stumbled upon a wide-open room with a large concentration of the glowing fungi, giving it ample light. A strange shrine sat at one end, along with a polished black sphere at its feet—but she paid them no mind.

While Krystal trembled at the edge of the pool, the ripples from her fall began to disperse, the surface calming. She sucked in a breath; the monster's figure was beginning to take shape in the reflection. She tried to tear her gaze away, but she couldn't; she was frozen. She could only stare as it materialized in front of her.

But when Krystal looked, she herself was nowhere to be found in the reflection. Gone was the young vixen in the colorful robes she was used to seeing. Instead, she found only the monster staring back at her: a nearly unrecognizable face with gritted teeth, wrinkled skin, colorless hair, and dozens of arms hanging off its back, clinging like parasites.

It was… her.

Its chest heaved when she breathed, its eyes blinked when she flinched, and its teeth gnashed when hers clenched in fear.

No… it had to be an illusion. She looked down at her hands, recoiling when she saw her darkened fur, bony fingers, and oversized claws. These weren't hers!

She tried tearing at her flesh, trying to remove the rotten bags and mange-covered hide that concealed the vixen she knew lay underneath, but the pain of doing so was too great to continue. There was nowhere to run now; not when she was inside it. The girl she had once been was only the shell, the illusion; this was the truth that always lay underneath.

Faced with her new reality, Krystal held her head in her hands and screamed—but her voice came out as a bestial howl.

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Miyu's skin crawled beneath her uniform, and everyone in the garden froze. The soldiers who were installing the pumps shook in their boots. The Cerinians grew restless, panicking from being trapped in the garden. Even Namah's breath seemed to catch as she looked towards the cave in fear.

"She is close!" she warned Miyu. "Please, please let me evacuate my people from the gardens!"

The lynx was about to grant permission when Fay stepped between them. "No. We still don't trust you. We need you where we can see you and your warriors. You may back away from the cave, but you may not leave the garden."

Miyu wanted to countermand her order but didn't risk making a scene. Namah wrung her hands worriedly, perhaps envisioning what Cerinian 28 might do to her people—but she was in no position to argue. She spoke to her warriors in Cerinian, and they obediently herded the crowd farther back from the cave—but not farther than the soldiers would permit. Meanwhile Miyu summoned her men back from the cave entrance. They ran to her quickly, eager to get away from the foreboding black tunnel.

"How much were you able to pump in?" she demanded.

"Just got 'em set up," one panted through his mask. "We left them going, but there's no guarantee Cerinian 28 will be exposed to enough of the gas before she reaches us. Considering the close quarters and the amount we're pumping in, it might work."

Miyu gritted her teeth. If only Bill were here…

"Back, back!" she ordered. "28 will be here any minute. Keep your distance, and make sure your blasters are on stun. Under no circumstance are you to kill her, or all of this will be for nothing."

Under her and Fay's guidance, Husky and Bulldog units reformed the semicircle around the cave exit, crouching behind a wall of shields and waiting.

All was still in the garden. Miyu and the rest of the soldiers held their breaths. Besides the sound of a few crying children and the hissing and compressing of the pumps, the hilltop was silent.

Then Namah gasped. "She's here!"

Like a bat out of hell, a flurry of cloth and blue fur burst from the cave mouth. The bundle tripped down the stone steps and fell in a heap, close to the out-of-place vixen statue Miyu had noticed. The lieutenant held up a hand, having her soldiers wait before opening fire.

28 sprawled on the lawn at the foot of the steps and statue, coughing and doubling-over. The sleeping agent was doing its work, but only time would tell if she'd been exposed to enough. The way she was acting now, however, wasn't how victims of the agent usually reacted…

So this was Cerinian 28: the girl they'd been searching for all this time. Miyu had seen pictures of her, but she didn't expect her to turn up looking like… this. She wore colorful robes like the rest of the Cerinians, but hers were caked with mud and sand and hung in tatters from her frame. Her hair was mussed and she looked raving mad like a rabid beast. She lay trembling on the ground, holding herself. She blinked in the sunset light which blinded her after the dark cave, but quickly gave up and curled into a tight ball, avoiding it.

After a few seconds, she lay completely still.

The Cornerians exchanged glances. None of them wanted to approach, and Miyu was loath to send any of her men out to check on her. However, a group of scientists approached the lieutenant from behind.

"We've received permission from Dr. Makepeace to subdue the Cerinian. She may have suffered an overdose and needs immediate medical attention to ensure it isn't fatal. Once we reverse the effect of the opiate, we'll inject her with a more long-term sedative and render her unconscious for the flight back."

"…Alright. But be careful. Any sign she may be awake, and you get the hell out of there."

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Krystal couldn't move. She could hardly think, either; only watch and observe as she faded in and out of consciousness—and more often out than in.

She didn't know how long she was asleep, but eventually a muddy red glow replaced the darkness. She squinted her eyes open and was immediately blinded by searing, stabbing light. The scent of burned hair and fur reached her nose. Distant crying found her ears, while heavy footfalls on grass and muffled voices sounded closer by. It was hard to make out the words, but it sounded like the language of Fox's people.

Eventually she became aware of a familiar, stinging pain in her arm—but as soon as she realized it was there, it disappeared abruptly, and pressure vanished from the crook of her elbow. She was waking up…

"Naloxone administered. Beginning to take effect."

"Subject is regaining consciousness."

"Sedatives! Sedatives now!"

"Injecting…"

Krystal groaned, forcing her eyes open. All she saw at first was a void of blinding, white light. Then her blurred vision began to distinguish shadows huddled close by, surrounding her prone position from all sides. The dark shapes took form, remaining little more than silhouettes against the overhead operating lamp.

She gasped; they were the Watchers! They had come for her again! She knew them by their white lab coats and bug-like eyes, and the way they crowded around her like vultures on a carcass. Behind them were masked soldiers, the ones who transported her between cells and intervened when she or her sisters acted up. She was in the labs again! They'd come for her; they'd dragged her back here already!

She struggled, but powerful arms held her down. One of the watchers bent over her with something in his hand.

"No…" she coughed out.

The silver needle flashed at the end of the syringe. He lay its cold tip against the crook of her arm.

"Stop!"

The watcher pushed it in, the needle burning as it slid deeper and deeper into her skin. He pressed down on the plunger, slowly but surely squeezing the contents into her bloodstream.

"Please…" she begged, feeling the sedative begin to take effect. She had already fought so hard to regain consciousness, and now they were putting her back under again, into the dark world where her nightmares waited. "Please! Onbitte! Quakoa!" she tried in every language she'd learned.

"'Please'," the voice spat back, mocking her. "How weak. You really think after all this we'd stop just because you asked politely? The pain only goes when you break the stone. So…"

She saw the rock materializing in the darkness, and the gleaming lenses of the watcher's eyes a ways behind it.

"Break the stone, and maybe we'll stop for today."

Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop—

"Go on, break it…"

Krystal reached out a trembling hand, feeling with her mind. This time, however, her gaze lifted from the unmoving stone to the grinning watcher behind it.

"Thaaaat's it, child. Now crush it with your—"

Snarling, she clenched her fist, and his goggles cracked. He screamed, but was silenced when his jaw caved into his mouth. All at once she released the energy that had been building inside her these many years. It felt like every time she'd held herself back from giving them what they wanted, she was only saving her energy up for this very moment. It had all built up to this.

Krystal crumpled his skull into a wadded-up ball; not even liquid blood or brains could escape between her invisible fingers of force as she tightened them. In fact, the plasma began to boil from the intense pressure as his skull collapsed inward like an eggshell. She crushed and crushed and crushed his head, pressing it all into a smooth sphere.

Soon what had been his head shrunk down to the size of a fist, then a golf-ball under her devastating pressure, as if forming a black hole with the gravity of her hatred. Only when she couldn't see the tiny speck anymore did she release the force on what was left of his skull.

With the pressure released, an explosion of blood and liquified marrow shot outwards like a bomb, coating the laboratory walls and her face in red.

The red gave way to blinding white as Krystal blinked her eyes open again. Before her, the scientist's torso teetered in place for a few moments, then landed on its back, head completely gone; it was painted in red on the grass and flowers of the garden around him, and on the trembling people who stood at his side.

Krystal's eyes widened in shock, feeling his warm plasma on her face. She wiped a hand over her cheek and stared down at her paw, finding it smeared with red and blue. She'd literally imploded the watcher's head in front of everyone, and it had felt…

…Good.

His syringe still hung from her arm, half of its sedatives injected in her. She tore it out, letting it drop to the ground. She had to fight to stay awake now—and alive—before it took hold. She'd let them put her to sleep again and again, for years on end—but it would happen no longer.

Quickly she appraised the situation. Metal creatures swooped through the sky above her. A larger one lurked in the distance, hanging like a massive needle before the sun. Smoke rose from the valley below—the valley she'd come to love. Her Cerinian sisters cowered in two groups, penned in by soldiers in gruesome masks. To her surprise, rather than various species of primates and lizards, these men were mostly canines and felines.

She clenched her fists. Venomian, Cornerian—it made no difference as long as they hid behind their masks and guns.

Krystal bared her fangs, smiling hungrily. She rose to her feet and laughed as the Watchers fled for their lives. This was her. This was who she really was; the person she'd held herself back from being all this time. She'd hidden this part of herself from evil Venomians, from sweet Fox and judging Namah, from her innocent sisters of the village, and even from herself for so long, it felt so freeing to finally let go.

Such pent-up power at her fingertips, to do with as she pleased. Now she would repay them for every wrong they'd done to her and her sisters, and she was going to enjoy it.

ㅤ⦲ㅤ

Miyu and the others watched in horror as the scientist's head shrank, then exploded before their very eyes. The feline was frozen in her boots, brain struggling to comprehend the gruesome display she'd just witnessed. She'd seen the horrors of war before, but nothing like this—most of the other men were stunned as well, and for a moment there was a silence as quiet as death in the garden.

"OPEN FIRE!" she shouted.

Without any regard for the scientists and soldiers fleeing 28's side, the Cornerians fired on the psychotic vixen. Their projectiles sung through the air, some hitting the scientists where they fled and dropping them to the ground. But as they had done with the Cerinian warriors, the energy bolts seemed to dissipate a few yards away from the vixen, failing to reach their target. She merely held her hand out and stood in place, flinching at first whenever one struck the "barrier," but laughing and growing more confident when she realized they could do nothing to harm her.

Free to do as she pleased, the girl reached out to one of the fleeing soldiers. He found himself dragged back towards her, kicking and screaming as his fingers dug into the grass and dirt—till his ribcage and spine were crushed into the ground, and he went silent. She began dragging the others back as they ran, snapping, tearing, twisting, bursting them as their allies were powerless to stop her.

When she'd incapacitated—or outright killed—most of her handlers, she set her sights on the ranks of Cornerians standing before the hall.

"Use more of the sleeping agent!" Miyu ordered, blood running cold.

"Can we risk an overdose?" a soldier close to her asked. "She just came out of the first one!"

"I don't know! But we gotta do something fast before she gets to us!"

The men obeyed, launching cannisters of the chemical at the vixen. 28 slapped them aside as they came, thinking they were projectiles, but they didn't have to hit her to accomplish their purpose. They plinked against the grass and stone paths, rolling and expelling their contents into the air around her. Her forcefield protected her from lasers, but she wouldn't know how to stop an invisible gas she couldn't even see—especially when fully-sealing herself in would suffocate her.

…But her ears pricked at the distinct hissing noise coming from the cannisters. Her eyes flitted between them and the gas-masked soldiers, making the connection.

Miyu's heart stopped; she was smarter than she gave her credit for.

In a flash, 28 took off across the lawn. She ran impossibly-fast, nearly flying till she became a blur, the gleam in her eyes forming a white streak. She abruptly stopped right next to the wall of riot shields and swung her fist across them.

With herculean force, the shields—and the men holding them—went flying. Some of the devices were literally smashed to pieces, while the arms that held them broke with bone-shattering snaps. At once the defensive wall crumbled, and even Miyu and Fay backed away. Thankfully for them 28's fury was directed at everyone; she had no plan of attack, nor seemed to care about their leaders in particular. She indiscriminately attacked those closest to her.

The men fell back, nearly parting down the middle to the two lieutenants as they scattered to get away from 28. She waded right into their midst, pouncing from soldier-to-soldier and killing or maiming them. Her claws somehow tore straight through their armor, ripping the flesh beneath into bloody tatters. As more and more fell prey to her rampage, some held their ground and opened fire, not caring that they could easily hit friendlies behind her. Laser bolts scattered wildly between the group, but most missed her entirely; she was just too fast. A few sailed over Miyu and Fay's ears, causing them to duck, before impacting against the side of the wooden hall where they sparked disconcertingly.

"FALL BACK!" Miyu yelled, but there was only so much they could retreat. They had their backs to the hall, and their sides against the two groups of Cerinian civilians who were just as terrified as they. The villagers broke past the Kaitaki trying to protect them, fleeing around and through the hall to escape 28's wrath. This time, the preoccupied Cornerians made no attempt to stop them.

Crouching behind a tree, Miyu decided to take matters into her own hands. She stared down her scope and bit her lip, lining up a shot on the erratic vixen. She moved like a demon, pouncing from soldier to soldier in a blur and making it difficult to keep her gun on her. Finally, when she lingered too long dismembering one of the men, Miyu took the shot. She fired, and her bolt hit the vixen in the arm. It flew back from the impact, going limp.

28 paused, staring at the limb as it dangled uselessly at her side. Then Miyu and the others watching gasped, for the arm miraculously seemed to lift itself back up, extending its bloody claws again. The charge in the blaster bolt surely would have paralyzed the muscles in her arm; she shouldn't be able to move it at all. But all the same it bent to her will, as if an invisible force were moving it with marionette strings.

Snarling, 28 returned to maiming the other soldiers, but she was too busy attacking them to properly maintain her shield. This gave more of Miyu's men the courage and coolness needed to return fire. One after the other, they managed to hit her limbs and torso with bolts. While she shook each of them off, artificially controlling her limbs with psychic force, the pain and burden were getting to her. She moved more sluggishly now, though still at an unnatural speed. Even a psychic like her couldn't fight the sedatives already in her veins forever; she didn't know how. Her arms swung slower and slower, and she stumbled to-and-fro, struggling to maintain her balance.

Once 28 slaughtered the remaining Cornerians who dared challenge her, she spun around to face the last figure standing behind her. Instantly she swiped at its head, decapitating it with a loud crunch… but it turned out to only be a stone statue of an unidentifiable vixen. She watched the fallen head topple to the ground, rolling to a stop at her feet. For whatever reason, 28 seemed to pause when she recognized her, eyes going wide.

"V-Vixy? No… no! I didn't—"

"ENOUGH!"

In a flash, Namah appeared out of nowhere behind the vixen; if Miyu blinked, she would have missed it. 28 spun to face her, taking a step back when she recognized the leader of the Cerinians. Then she snarled again and launched herself at Namah, bloody claws extended—only to be stopped just a few feet short of the woman, unable to lay a hand on her.

"Sorry, Krystal…"

Namah held out her hand, palm-facing outwards at 28's head. Suddenly the younger vixen's eyes rolled up into her skull, and she fell straight into Namah's arms, unmoving.

With 28's rampage over, the garden fell relatively silent again, but all around them lay the remains of her carnage. Bloodied soldiers lay in mangled heaps around the yard, and bright stains of red discolored the otherwise vibrant green in large brush-strokes, like a child learning to finger-paint with her favorite color. Many Cornerians still twitched or wailed out their pain, begging for help as they lay in pieces.

Tentatively, when they were sure 28 was unconscious, the medics spread out to tend to the wounded soldiers, but they were woefully unprepared. Even Miyu's stomach churned when she saw so many of them gasping for life, thinking they were beyond saving. She felt like she would throw up if she watched for much longer, so she turned her attention to the pair of Cerinians in the middle of the lawn, along with Fay.

"Take her," the spaniel ordered, pointing.

The men approached Namah, but were afraid. They'd seen what she could do, and the fact she'd incapacitated 28 made her seem all the more terrifying. But the Cerinian elder merely lay 28 on the ground and backed away, arms folded.

Gingerly the scientists and soldiers scooped 28's crumpled body up, placing her on a stretcher. The soldiers bound her arms and legs, while the scientists injected another dose of sedatives into her bloodstream, ensuring she didn't come awake this time.

When Miyu and Fay arrived to oversee the transfer, Namah scowled at the pair. "Take her, and begone—but you will find the blood you spilled of my people and your own men will not be worth her. No good will come from the Cerinia program. It's yielded naught but pain and misery so far. You cannot wield the power Krystal herself can't control."

Fay crossed her arms. "We'll just see about that. But… if it was so easy to stop her like you did…" She raised her voice suddenly, reprimanding the Cerinian. "Why didn't you do it sooner?! We lost dozens of men because you waited to—" but her mouth suddenly sealed itself closed, and her eyes widened. She placed a paw to her lips, panicking when she couldn't move them.

"Silence," Namah smirked. "I take no pleasure in what happened to Krystal, but I did enjoy watching her do the things I wish I could have done to your men. A pity she didn't get you, too…"

She jerked her head. "Now take all your wounded and dead and get out of my sight. Any you leave behind we will dump in the desert to rot, whether breathing or dead. And if you drop Cerinian 18 on us when you leave, so help me I will fly after you like a vengeful fury and smite your ship from the sky with a single blow."