Chapter 23: City Under Fire
"I thought we were going to be discreet and take our time with this. Kind of a huge step up, don't you think, Elder?"
Ambrosio barely deigned to reply to Eliana's comment, distantly stating, "Events are what they are. I was discovered by a rather sharp-eyed pair of Sekirei who work for MBI before they were assisted by an outside group. Ones I would wager are in league with the Custodes, the sooner we begin the better."
Barak grunted, glancing behind him as they closed on MBI's main headquarters, the wail of sirens, thrum of helicopters and other signs of panic decorating the areas they had just been, a significant portion of MBI's security force departing to deal with the assumed rogue Sekirei.
Just as planned.
"Very well...let us begin. Get in, find the Jinki and get out. We'll reconvene later."
The pair accompanying the older Siren smirked and nodded, ice spreading from the places where Barak walked and electricity dancing between Eliana's fingers while wind once more ensconced Ambrosio's form.
MBI headquarters were in sight.
"Should we not warn the researchers and others within MBI of the approaching trouble, master Alesandro?"
Flipping around his phone to show Illustrious a message Matsu had forwarded to all MBI employees—sans a few they were planning to kill—Alesandro responded, "The smart ones will keep their heads down once the shooting starts, that's all I'm willing to risk."
Karasuba snorted from where she ran alongside the group, archly asking, "My my, so worried about a bunch of Humans that poked and prodded you when you were naught but an embryo and little girl? That's so sweet and foolish of you, #32."
Victorious glared at the grey-haired woman, snorting dismissively before retorting, "Having a sense of reverence for life is hardly foolishness, mad dog...but then again, I would expect little else from a twisted individual such as yourself-"
"Enough, we're headed into a scenario where we're going to have to work together. Save your grievances for afterwards."
The Ashikabi's tone left no room for argumentation, Karasuba rolling her eyes but leaving things be regardless, the male feeling his body alternatively cramp, warm, and twitch as a full dose of the Unlocker began to take effect, allowing him complete access to his genetic heritage and all the advantages that came with it.
...Even if it did feel uncomfortable as Hell.
[Umm, Alesandro? You might want to hurry. Some Sekirei that I don't recognize just attacked MBI and totally broke in no problem, those the Siren people you were talking about?]
Swearing violently—startling his flock in the process—the male doubled his pace, quickly stating into his earpiece, "Matsu, do what you can to slow them down or alert anybody that can do so, we're on our way!"
Turning to his companions he informed them, "Sirens already broke in, don't wait for me and move it!"
While he had been keeping pace with the Sekirei equivalent of a light jog his urgent words spurred them into action, leaping forward with powerful strides that he was still a few minutes away from matching.
"Dammit, of all the fucking times they had to pick..."
Karasuba couldn't decide if she was more irritated or excited, body thrumming with adrenaline and mood lousy with vexation.
What had been a normal and boring patrol had turned into a life-or-death battle with a completely unknown opponent, the Sekirei's pride taking a hit as she'd been so easily manhandled by the bastard before she could figure out his powers. Just to add insult to injury she had been saved by a bunch of wishy-washy girls who Yume probably would have gushed over, what with their 'love' and 'destiny' crap.
Then she'd also had to confront a maybe-Human who mostly interested but also slightly irked her and his reveal of a major change in the status quo she had always just assumed to be the case was just icing on the cake.
Go figure. One of the few people she felt herself reacting to and he turned out to be some kind of plotting jerk who enjoyed keeping secrets and slowly dangling them in front of her, like some kind of literary carrot...and how the Hell did he know Miya?
But at the moment none of that mattered because she could finally earn some serious payback, a couple other Sekirei hot on her tail to provide backup as the scent of battle suffused her nostrils.
She didn't mind having companions along for the ride, considering it was actually fairly nostalgic of her days during the original Disciplinary Squad.
"As long as they don't get in my way..."
With that thought in mind the group of six cleared the surrounding buildings, arriving at the main thoroughfare that consisted of MBI's headquarters...and the grey-eyed Sekirei heard the four more emotional girls draw in a sharp gasp at the sight that lay before them.
Overturned and frozen vehicles, bodies impaled on jagged icicles jutting from the ground. Fried and smoking corpses with their eyes blown out, slagged and drooping metal carcasses. The air rife with burnt flesh, voided bowls and oily smoke.
Just another day on the job for Karasuba, but the wimpy four and even little Ayanami seemed unnerved by the carnage laid out before them, a trace of empathy coloring the older Sekirei's emotions as she firmly stated, "Stay focused, you five. Have a nervous breakdown later, we're on the job here."
...Maybe a bit more blunt than she intended but she was a killer, dammit. Not a soothsayer.
Thankfully it worked, the five centering themselves as they drew close...and slowed to a jog as they spotted a pair of figures sitting atop the steps of the building's entrance, confident and arrogant in their posture.
A man and a woman, dressed sharply and incredibly attractive, were it not for the sneers of unbridled pride as they stared down at the approaching group.
"Well look at this, MBI reinforcements...quite the varied lot, aren't you?"
"Heh heh, I've got dibs on the two little ones~!"
Karasuba twitched as her body instinctively tried to move in front of little Ayanami to shield her from the woman's perverted and possessive gaze—all the while cursing her few protective instincts—as she languidly responded, "We need to get inside. You've got two options, stand aside or get cut down."
She allowed a feral grin to split her face.
"Please pick option two, I'm very much in the mood for a bit of cathartic bloodshed~."
The pair looked at each other, the moment stretching…
"Quite the mouth on that one."
"Agreed. Let's shut her up."
The man tapped the heel of his foot on the ground-
-and the entire entryway to MBI headquarters was shut by a wall of ice, a second tap causing a wave of encroaching frost to speed towards the six Sekirei.
They leapt upwards without hesitation, landing somewhat shakily on uneven and slick footing...before a low buzz reached Karasuba's ears, eyes narrowing as the woman pointed in her direction-
-and a blue shield of floating energy snapped to life in front of her, blocking a bolt of electricity that erupted forth from a nearby utility box at speeds she never would have been able to dodge.
Karasuba sent a glance back towards Illustrious before returning to stare down their smirking foes.
"Okay, maybe they're not so useless after all."
Unfortunately that meant they were still in something of an uphill battle against foes that could freely alter and control elemental powers as if it was second nature, at a level that was easily what a Norito could manage except they didn't seem to have any absurd conditions like having to kiss a feeble Human.
"A challenge...just the way I like it."
"Do not become so driven by lust for blood that we lose the battle because of it, Karasuba. Allow me to slow them down while Victorious accompanies you and Ayanami, Illustrious and Unicorn will provide support."
The grey-haired Sekirei gave Formidable a strange look at her assertive tone before shrugging, idly replying, "Sure, whatever."
There wasn't time to argue or squabble over who was actually in charge, something their opponents agreed with as the man slammed his foot onto the frozen landscape, the six Sekirei stiffening in alarm before they once more leapt into the air, narrowly avoiding a deluge of icy spikes that would have impaled them within an eyeblink had they not dodged.
All while Illustrious manifested several of her shields, lances of electricity impacting the floating barriers as the group came in for a touchdown-
-and had to scatter to avoid yet another barrage of frozen spears, formation losing some of its cohesion in the process.
Karasuba locked a snarl of frustration behind her teeth, already annoyed beyond belief at the lousy situation they were in.
The pair of bastards seemed to have no limit on their power or from how far away they could control it. If it was just the ice user she and the others could blitz him, using their agility and numbers to avoid or deflect his attacks. But with the woman backing him up with lightning assaults that strategy was stonewalled, since Illustrious had to be close by in order to use her shields.
And there was no dodging electricity, you had to avoid where it was going to be and Karasuba wasn't familiar enough with her opponent's strategies or preferences to take her down, at least not yet.
"Well this is annoying."
No sooner had that thought raced through her head did the distant pair of enemies smirk and once more prepare to attack them...before the woman's eyes widened, arcs of electricity flaring around her and causing a stream of bullets to magnetically arc away, her features rattled for a moment before calm fury replaced it, the chatter of gunfire echoing across the streets in an unbroken staccato.
Karasuba glanced to the side, expecting to see MBI reinforcements showing up...and was instead left wondering at just what the Hell these newcomers were.
They were significantly larger than your standard Human, clad head to toe in what looked like armored vests, boots and gloves, military-grade assault weapons spitting hot lead at the pair albeit with little to show for it thanks to the arcs of electricity sending the streaks of metal off to the side.
Nonetheless Karasuba appreciated the distraction for what it was, even though the approaching soldiers were almost certain to die now that the woman was turning her attention to them with arcs of power flitting between her fingers.
...That was what she expected to happen, except one of the soldiers slammed their hand onto the ground, a protective wall of Earth leaping upwards and successfully negating the blasts of electricity, guns continuing to chatter as a burst of twisting fire reached out towards the pair like a live snake from the gloved hands of one of the figures.
A wall of ice rising up from the ground to halt the assault flooded the street with steam, Karasuba openly grinning at the opportunity that presented itself.
"On me!"
Forgoing her solitary nature in the heat of the moment the woman rode high on the rush of battle, sprinting through the suffocating cloud of heat and moisture with sure steps, Ayanami and the rest hot on her heels as the vague shape of their target revealed itself through the chaos, the man splitting off from the woman to meet them with a snarl as lances of ice formed around his body by the dozen, flying forward at incredible velocities-
-that she, Ayanami and Victorious smashed aside with expert swings of their weapons, the man snarling as razor-edged blades of ice snapped to life around his forearms...and his eyes widened before leaping backwards with surprising agility, Formidable's ability almost perfectly blending in with the spreading steam as it sought out the man with ghostly tendrils.
Frustrated at his escape Karasuba dashed forward with suicidal intent, ignoring the shards of ice that flew around her body, one icicle in particular embedding itself deep within her gut as her prey rose into the air on a rapidly ascending pillar-
-and Formidable leapt upwards upon glowing shields of blue, her powers finally making contact with the man as he staggered atop his perch, ascent slowing as if he was dazed.
A gleeful laugh escaped the grey-eyed Sekirei as she leaped high into the air, bringing her sword downwards in a hammer blow that the man instinctively raised his ice-covered arms upwards to deflect...and failed, limbs, torso and then hip giving way beneath her custom-made steel as he fell apart in distinct sections of meat, gaze puzzled as if unable to comprehend how he'd been defeated.
Releasing a pleased sigh Karasuba leaped off of the elevated platform with languid motions, alighting upon the ground-
-and almost collapsing as the ice embedded within her gut announced its presence, the Sekirei having forgot about it during the adrenaline rush of battle.
"Hold still, Unicorn will heal you."
Ayanami ripped the icy projectile free as the taller woman winced slightly, Unicorn placing her glowing palms on the bleeding injury and causing it to clot at a rapid pace, although full repair would take some time. A simple patch job would suffice for now.
"You were...surprisingly easy to work with, Karasuba."
Arching an eyebrow at Victorious's grudging words the injured Sekirei eventually crinkled her eyes in a mildly unnerving version of amusement.
"You could use some work on your technique...but you all weren't too bad yourselves."
Before the conversation could continue their attention was grabbed by a rush of air, the steam swiftly clearing as they saw the woman vainly struggling against what looked like a singularity tearing apart the street in a rush of air and debris, the armored soldiers—the ones still standing at least—take aim with their rifles and efficiently fill her full of lead while she was distracted.
And like that the battle was over, the bodies Karasuba had thought to be corpses jerking awake, rising to their feet with stiff and unsteady motions before regaining full motor control despite the no doubt brutal electric shocks they received.
"You're all in one piece, good."
Karasuba glanced behind her, finding Alesandro running up to them with an aura surrounding his form that was...potent, the Sekirei almost instinctively Winging herself on him before mastering herself, Ayanami clearly fighting down the same impulses.
Not that she had time to inquire about that or what he'd done to himself, the soldiers jogging up as the leader asked through a muffled helmet, "You all set to go, kid?"
"Sure am, don't freak out if you hear a girl named Matsu suddenly show up over the comms, she's on our side."
"Wait, Matsu too?!"
Now really curious about Alesandro and how he knew so many of her old companions she had to let the matter fall on the wayside as the group formed up, the unarmored male raising a hand at the thick sheets of ice blocking the entryway...and a spiral lance of water shot forward from over his shoulder at incredible speeds, the frozen liquid shattering apart with a noise like a cannon shot, Karasuba nodding in appreciation at the display of power as he resolutely stated, "Let's move, Ambrosio is still inside."
And like that they moved as one unit, entering the damaged and ruined remains of MBI headquarters.