While Rebecca was fighting against Athena, the others were stuck dealing with the android Yeti Blizzard. The mechanical ape was atop the barrier that Lluvi created, slamming his gigantic fist down on it on it over and over. "Are we just gonna play defense!?" Asuka asked Lluvi.
"Hold your horses!" Lluvi said, glancing back at Stella and Sarisse. Based on what she knows, the two sisters should be more than capable of handling themselves. If the big forces were outside… "Can you two get inside the building?"
"Mhm! We can take care of everything in there." Stella said with a nod. "Especially if all the big bads are out here! But will you guys be okay?"
"You don't even have to ask!" Asuka said with a grin. "I'll take care of these chumps easily!"
"Don't get reckless!" Sarisse told Asuka specifically before nodding at Stella. "We go in, shut this place down, rescue Rebecca's friend and get out. Understood?"
Stella saluted. "Of course! Let's do this!"
"Get ready!" Lluvi told Asuka. Stella and Sarisse darted from the barrier, making their way to the open warehouse. Yeti Blizzard noticed the two of them attempting to sneak off and prepared to jump at them. Lluvi opened the barrier for Asuka to strike.
Asuka's ether gear shifted colors, the lines around her arms shifting from red to yellow. "Raijin Tempo!" Lightning surged around her body and her speed increased. She used this to propel herself through the opening in the barrier, surprising Yeti Blizzard with how fast she was. The red color returned to her arm and she swung a now blazing fist forward. "Flash Fire Fist!" She slammed her fist into Yeti Blizzard's face, causing the large ape to tumble down from the barrier.
"What was that?" Yeti Blizzard used the back of his hand to wipe the point of contact.
"My Ether Gear allows me to use a number of elements!" Asuka pointed at Yeti Blizzard proudly. "So I'm gonna take you down!"
"Hah!" Yeti Blizzard laughed and lifted one hand into the air. This created numerous snowballs, all of which he launched towards Asuka. The first snowball missed, but there was an explosive impact of snow that could crush anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast radius. The threat was acknowledged and Asuka used Raijin Tempo to speed forward. Yeti Blizzard aimed a punch for the incoming girl, but she flipped over him at the last second, slamming her leg into the back of his neck for an axe kick. "Agh…!"
"Too slow!" Asuka said with a cheeky smile. That overconfidence got the best of her, because she didn't expect for all of her momentum to stop. She was yanked backwards. When she looked back, the android had grabbed her ankle before she could move too far. "Huh!?" And then Yeti Blizzard used his superior strength to hurl Asuka into a nearby tree, which left her stunned and dazed. "Ugh…"
"Yukidama Rush!" Yeti Blizzard formed a snowball within his palm and hurled it at the downed Asuka with the force of a cannon. This snowball was intercepted, as a blue barrier appeared in front of Asuka at the last second. The snowball exploded against it, only cracking the barrier slightly.
"This kid…don't rush off on your own like that!" Lluvi chided before turning her attention to the android in question. A few of the skeleton androids decided to get involved in the fray now, so she had to fend them off with quick two finger strikes, a martial art she specialized in. The androids were down quickly and she glanced back to Yeti Blizzard. "That snowball cracked my barrier. That's never happened before…and it's powered by a fragment of the Black Moon Star. The captain was right; the power of that thing is no joke…
"You wanna be next?!" Yeti Blizzard said while glaring at Lluvi. He flung a snowball in her direction, but she created a barrier around herself. It was the same result, the barrier cracked slightly upon the impact, but it would take more than a single snowball to shatter it.
"I won't be next." Lluvi said while running towards Yeti Blizzard, who continued to pelt her with snowballs. The barrier held strong despite some weakness showing. Lluvi then pushed off the ground and slammed her barrier enhanced knee into Yeti Blizzard's chest. She did have to dispel her barrier for this, but it was worth it for the direct hit. Yeti Blizzard then grunted and pushed Lluvi back by flexing his chest.
"You little…" Yeti Blizzard reared his fist back and aimed to crush Lluvi with it. Lluvi reared her fist back, allowing a small, but equally powerful barrier to appear on her hand. She swung her fist forward and clashed with Yeti Blizzard's own.
Lluvi formed the barrier to make up for the difference in strength, and to protect her own body from the impact. However, she could still feel the android's strength reverberate through her arm, which forced her to pull back. "What the…!?" And this left her open to another punch, one that struck her square in the body. She grabbed Yeti Blizzard's arm and slid across the ground, attempting to hold her footing despite the damage she just sustained.
Asuka recovered and leapt into the air, spinning around with wind surrounding her leg. "Hurricane Kick!" With a sharp spin, she slammed her heel into Yeti Blizzard's cheek, the momentum of the attack causing the larger android's head to snap to the side. "How'd you like that?" She said upon landing.
Lluvi managed to jump back, grimacing from the damage she took from a single punch. "Don't stay cocky…"
Yeti Blizzard shook off the impact and just grinned towards the two women before him. "Is that the best you can offer? All of those hits tickled."
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Stella and Sarisse rushed inside of the warehouse. It was crowded with androids that were native to their planet, and they didn't want to destroy them. "Looks like they're not giving us much of a choice here…" Stella said while glancing at the robots who were ready to attack. "Ready?"
"Mhm." Sarisse said with a nod. The two twins then sprinted forward together, aiming their guns ahead of them. Ether bullets shot out from their guns, striking the robots dead center. Since they shot with ether bullets, it was clear their goal was to incapacitate over kill. "All we need to do is get upstairs!"
"Sounds easy enough when it's us!" Stella winked. But that playfulness was poorly timed, because before they could even approach the stairs, numerous skeleton androids dropped down from above right in front of them. "Eeep!"
"Guess they won't make it that easy for us." Sarisse said before sliding to a halt in front of her sister. "Let's do this!"
Stella nodded and kept her momentum going. She rolled over Sarisse's back, pointing her gun at the skeleton robots and struck them with precise aim. The ether bullets pushed these androids back and soon overwhelmed them and sent them into walls. As for Sarisse, she took aim at the androids were behind them. When it came to combating the androids, these two were adept at it. "Hey! Hold on, we're coming!" Stella exclaimed to Jinn on the upper floor. "We're friends!"
"It's not like they didn't already know we were here, but you could have been a bit quieter." Sarisse said with an exasperated sigh. A few androids were surrounding the two of them, so they went back to back and pointed their guns forward. "Go!" They spun around together while clicking the triggers, ether bullets flying all across the place. It didn't take them long to clear out every android on the first floor. The skeleton army ones were noticeably damaged, while the androids native to the planet were left in fine condition. "Are we clear down here?" Sarisse asked.
"Mhm! We probably have a welcoming party upstairs though!" Stella reported, grabbing an EMP grenade from her supply bag. "I'll be ready to strike. Should we have left some behind for the others…?" She was a little worried. They were against a super powered android and a Goldstone…
"That's why we have to act fast. The sooner we finish this part of our operation, the sooner we can aid them. As things stand right now, we'd only get in their way. I doubt Athena would let us try anything, so having her distracted is our best bet." Sarisse said while leading the way up the stairs. As expected, the moment they arrived at the second floor, there was an ambush waiting for them. They immediately ducked behind cover to avoid numerous bullets aimed at them. "Predictable."
"Hey, you there?" Stella shouted to Jinn. Her voice was slightly drowned out by the gunfire, but he could make out the voices.
"Yeah? What in the world is going on here?" Jinn asked. He could break out of these restraints at any moment, but chose not to for a few reasons. He was injured, and a false move when he was clearly outmatched was ill advised. But this seemed like a good time…
"We're allies! Rebecca, Happy, and Pino are with us! We're gonna get you outta here and shut this place down!" Stella exclaimed.
That's all Jinn needed to hear. He could hear the sounds of conflict outside, and he was somewhat certain he heard Rebecca's voice. So Ether lines appeared along his arms and he broke from his restraints. It did hurt, but he could attack from a distance. By the time the skeleton army androids noticed Jinn breaking free, he already extended his arm. His fist flew forward like a rocket knocking down a number of androids in the process. "Looks like I'm on your side then!"
"We'll explain later!" Sarisse said while using this opening to toss an EMP grenade over the cover. "Watch out!" There was a small electric explosion. The EMP completely shut down the skeleton army androids within the second floor of the warehouse.
Stella quickly popped her head out, looking around the perimeter for any ambushes…but it was all clear. "Area secure!" She then turned to the very confused Jinn. "Hiya! We'll explain everything later. But right now, we need to destroy this generator!"
"The one they tied me too?" Jinn said while rubbing his shoulder. That bullet wound really did hurt…
"Here, take this." Stella was at the ready with some medicine from Medi in her first aid kit. She always packed stuff like this for emergencies. "This should help with the pain for a bit…I'm sure Sister can fix you right up once we get out of here."
"Sister too?" Jinn really was out of the loop. It had only been half a day since the crash landing, a lot happened in that time.
Sarisse knelt down in front of the generator. "Once I destroy this, we have to escape. I don't know how long Rebecca and the others can hold out. As nice as it would be to win against Athena, we have to focus on our small victories. It'll lead up into our biggest one yet…" And that's when she could see from out the window, a blinding explosion of light. "…!"
.
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Lluvi and Asuka could see that blinding explosion that happened in the sky. They could barely make out Rebecca crashing down into the barrier of light. "That's…not good, is it?" Asuka said with a hard swallow.
"Haha! Looks like things aren't looking good for you humans." Yeti Blizzard said with a mocking smile.
"…I'm going to go help her. Can you hold him off for a little while?" Lluvi knew this was a tall order for Asuka. Yeti Blizzard was an extremely powerful android and leaving it unchecked was dangerous. But their numbers were low…they just weren't expecting this big a force to deal with, but any bigger numbers of their own would have pushed them into dangerous territory. It was simply too late to change that.
"I can fend this guy off! He's not all that tough!" Asuka said confidently.
"…Right…" Unfortunately for Lluvi, Asuka's confidence felt more like recklessness. But they were spread thin so she had to act fast. Asuka engaged Yeti Blizzard and Lluvi sprinted towards the barrier of light. She placed a finger upon it, only to immediately pull it back when she felt the light burn her finger. "Agh…I figured." It was a clever trick to keep people out, but Lluvi knew how to get in. She formed an ether barrier around her body, digging her fingers into the opposing barrier. With this protection, she was able to force her way through and rip an opening through the opposing barrier.
As Lluvi did this, Athena was leaning over the defeated Rebecca. "It's a shame…I was a fan of yours too…" But before she could follow through with the deed, she felt something slam into her side. It was a projectile barrier sent from Lluvi. Athena was forced off of Rebecca and grimaced from the sudden impact. "Hoh? How did you get in here?"
"You can't keep me out of a barrier." Lluvi said smugly. She took a quick glance at Rebecca, Happy, and then Athena. Clearly Rebecca put up one hell of a fight, but Athena was able to outdo her somehow. She had no information on her opponent other than light being the power of her Ether Gear.
"You shouldn't have come in here." Athena said calmly, a sweet smile appearing on her lips.
Suddenly, Lluvi's smugness faded just like that. Athena didn't do anything but smile, but there was a cold sweat running down the woman's face. This wasn't even a show of power, but it was a show of….
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[Flashback]
"Killing intent." Several years ago, Lluvi was a trainee in the Interstellar Union Army. There was a seminar being taught by none other than the now late captain Jaguar. The large man looked over the attentive trainees as he went over this important concept. "Do any of you know what this is?"
"How badly someone wants to kill you?" A trainee offered.
"That is perhaps the most barebones explanation, but it is correct." Jaguar said with a nod. "If you're going to apprehend criminals, you need to understand killing intent first and foremost. Gauging someone's killing intent is simple, but it is what you do with that information that is important."
"What do you mean, sir?" Lluvi questioned.
"The cosmos is filled with plenty of criminals who do nothing but foul acts, murder being a part of that. It's easy to tell when these people want to kill you. A simple first glance will tell you that much." Jaguar explained. "However…while you should approach with caution to avoid sustaining needless injury, they are not the people you should be worried about. It is those who can weaponized their killing intent that are the most dangerous."
"Weaponizing killing intent?" Lluvi repeated with a confused mutter. She wasn't the only one confused. "I'm sorry, sir…but I don't understand."
"Unfortunately, this is not something I can teach you." Jaguar wistfully shook his head. "It is something gained only through experience. But one day, you will face off against someone…and you'll know in an instant if their killing intent is the real deal. In that moment, you'll have to make a decision. Will you stand your ground and fight for your duty? Or will you live to fight another day?" He looked at Lluvi. "You'll have to ask yourself an important question on that day: 'What am I made of?'.
[End flashback]
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"Is this that moment…?" Lluvi thought back to Jaguar's words. He was gone now, one of the many casualties in the Kaede War. Things changed…she was no longer on the fast track to becoming a member of the IUA. So it was up to her to determine if this was something worth pursuing or not.
"Ngh…" Rebecca was able to get up to her hands and knees, holding her side painfully. She was making her way towards the damaged Happy, checking to make sure he was okay. "Happy…please tell me you're okay…"
"I-I'm okay…" Happy told Rebecca weakly.
Sure, Eden's Zero and the Eclipse Ark were essentially racing for the possession of the Black Moon Star, but in Lluvi's eyes, that didn't matter at the moment. They were in a fight and she simply couldn't abandon a person in need. Athena's killing intent was suffocating and Lluvi could hardly breathe. But Rebecca and Happy went into a fight against her guns blazing despite that…she absolutely couldn't slow down now. "I'm a barrier. So it's my job to ensure people don't get hurt." She told Athena.
Athena tilted her head slightly. "…Oh, so that's your answer. Okay." She shrugged with that smile still present. "I'll take care of you too, then."
"Bring it on!" Lluvi exclaimed, not backing down from this challenge at all.
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Meanwhile, Asuka was having a hard time against Yeti Blizzard. None of her attacks were leaving lasting impacts against the abominable snowman of an android. She was thrown back against a tree, grimacing from that impact. "Agh, damn…this thing is really strong…" It wasn't looking good for her, but she was able to stand up. "But Sarisse is depending on me. She's fighting so hard, so I have to fight even harder!"
"Be careful!" Pino warned Asuka. "I'm detecting a weak point on the back of this android's neck, but reaching it will be exceedingly difficult…."
"Back of his neck? I can hit that if I'm quick enough…" Asuka said with a weary smile, like she wasn't swaying from side to side slightly. This was the most intense fight she'd ever been in, and the chances of victory were slim….but that's what the Resistance was about in the first place. "Come on, body…" Asuka was trying to force her body to move. She had the willpower! She had a goal! "Raijn Tempo…!" Lightning sparked around her body, flickering off and on as she tried to get her ether going.
"You humans are no match for what Prometheus and Pandora have in store! You won't even be alive to see it!" Yeti Blizzard said while rearing his arm back, snow forming around it. He prepared to strike Asuka down while her body was too injured to move properly, but before he could, something kicked him in the head. "Gh…!?" And this was with enough force to make him topple over.
"Huh?" Asuka said while looking at the interference. Suddenly, she scowled. "Seriously?!"
It was the Blue Bomber, arriving in the nick of time. He landed in front of Asuka….but he didn't say anything at first. "…You okay?"
"What do you care? I was handling it!" Asuka shot. "Stop showing up and acting the hero when you're not even going to play along with us!"
"Still feisty!" Another voice said from the Blue Bomber, a mocking laugh.
"I'll show you feisty when I kick that helmet off your face one of these days!" Asuka yelled. Her anger at the Blue Bomber was enough to kick start the ether in her body again, activating her Raijin Tempo. "The boss is doing her best right now, so I'm not letting you get in my way. Stay out of it unless you want to get knocked down!"
"Ugh…" The Blue Bomber just sighed heavily. Almost as if he expected this reaction.
Yeti Blizzard stood up and rubbed his head where the Blue Bomber struck. "Another one? Peh, fine. I'll stomp you out no matter how many of you there are!"
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Miles away, Max was sitting in a tree with a sniper rifle out. "They make this too easy…" He laughed to himself, peering into the scope. The crosshair was trained on the window of the warehouse that was currently being raided. His target? The leader of the Resistance: Sarisse. "By the time they notice, it'll be too late." His finger squeezed the trigger.
Bang.
The bullet flew from the barrel and towards the unaware Sarisse with incredible speeds. Max aimed this bullet right for her forehead. One shot, one kill…