Anna held her breath, eyes widening when Vera only laughed at her. "You think you're so brave, standing here to defend John Bates to the last."
"It's what one does for their husbands." Anna shifted Jack in her grip, ushering the other children to the sofa while keeping Vera and her androids in view. "You'd know that if you'd ever given a damn for anyone but yourself."
"Don't presume to think you know me, little girl." Vera stuck a finger at Anna, "You haven't got the first clue what I could do to you."
"I've been in Wonderland and held hostage by someone with a nasty temper so I disagree."
Vera cackled, "You think the little palace where Carlisle kept you was bad? You think that little hovel was anything like what I can do to you? Or to that boy in your arms?"
"Leave my son out of this."
"I warned you, Mrs. Bates," Vera drew out the syllables there, "That if the child you once carried as weight around your midriff were John Bates's then he belonged to the government."
"Then I don't think you've been paying enough attention since your government's in shambles and falling to shit around your ears." Anna put an arm out to stop George leaving the sofa. "My son's not going anywhere and neither am I."
"That's where you're wrong, Mrs. Bates." Vera turned to Barrow and O'Brien, "Take her and the runt. We'll have Mr. Bates come to us."
Anna stood, moving Jack to the open spot on the sofa, and spread her arms to defend the children against the encroaching arms of the androids. But before they could get their mechanical appendages on Anna or Jack the doors burst open. Something echoed in the room like a gunshot and Anna ducked to cover the children. Out of the corner of her eye she saw half of Barrow's face blown off to reveal the sparking internal wiring and whirring gears before another shot took the head clean off.
"I don't take kindly to intruders."
Mary cocked her steam-powered shotgun and let another two shells loose in the body of O'Brien, sending it knocking back into the stuttering torso of Barrow. Both collapsed to the floor, twitching and reciting phrases over and over again. Popping the spent shells out Mary reloaded and aimed at Vera. "Get the hell out of my house."
"I'm here on government business and you just destroyed two of my agents."
"I don't care if you're the bloody horseman of the apocalypse come to herald the second coming, get out of my house." Mary pumped the gun, "I won't ask a third time."
"You're taking your life into your hands with this." Vera drew her own gun, pointing it back at Mary. "Stand down or face worse consequences than threatening a level five agent of the government and destroying government property."
"My life's already in my hands since your agents killed my husband." Mary risked a look at Anna, "Are the children alright Anna?"
"Probably shaken," Anna hurried to check them, "But I don't think they're hurt."
"Then please do me the sincere favor of getting them into the panic room behind you. Granny's already in there." Mary did not drop her gun or her stance in the standoff with Vera. "Quick as you can please and then you can grab a pistol and help me get this bitch off my property."
"It's about to be government property for this insurrection."
"I'd like to see them pry it from my cold, dead hands."
"That can be arranged."
Anna opened the door to the panic room, hurrying the children inside and passing Jack to the old woman already inside. The woman nodded, leading the children farther inside and Anna shut the door before reaching into the gun rack. She removed two pistols, cranking both to life before joining Mary.
"Do you want to tell me who this woman is and what she's doing in my sitting room?"
"John's ex-wife and I promise I didn't invite her so I've no idea why she's here." Anna held her guns on Vera, "You're outnumbered so please lower your weapon."
"I don't plan to surrender to a bar whore and her spoiled friend."
"Bar whore?" Mary sounded scandalized.
"Spoiled?" Anna shrugged, "I admit Mary can be a bit of a bully and she likes her own way but there's nothing wrong with that."
"And Anna only ever shagged John like a rabbit so your statement is woefully incorrect. I would even dare to say hyperbole but I doubt you, in your non-spoiled upbringing, would know the definition of that word."
Vera's finger edged on the trigger and Anna knocked Mary to the side as the gas-powered pistol exploded. The shot struck the clock, shattering the face, and covering Anna and Mary in glass as they hit the floor. Mary fired back first, taking a chunk out of the sofa Vera dived behind.
"Come on Mary." Anna dragged Mary behind the other sofa, holding her guns high as Mary cracked the spent shells out to reload. "I don't suppose your house is soundproof."
"No, it's definitely not. As a child I heard a great many things I wish I could forget." Mary cracked the gun back into the stock. "But they're all on lock down. They'll be trapped upstairs."
"Why?"
"The moment I fired at those androids."
"Nice shots by the way."
"Wasted," Mary huffed, "I should've shot her."
"Next time yeah?" Anna went to turn but cried out when something grabbed her leg.
The headless body of Barrow crawled over the floor toward her while the badly damaged O'Brien snaked an arm toward Mary. Anna fired both barrels into the chest piece of Barrow but missed his central operating unit. His metallic grip tugged on her ankle, dragging her over the floor. She kicked and flailed, reloading the pistols to fire again.
Before she could a large, metal object severed the arm. Anna looked up to see Talbot, wielding a broadsword, take a clean swipe through the torso of Barrow to leave the internal gears clicking aimlessly before they stopped entirely. The body fell to the ground and Talbot put the sword on his shoulder with a smile.
"Never thought these would come back into use."
Anna went to say something else but a crack rang out and Talbot fell back. He dropped the sword, holding to his bleeding shoulder, and Anna ducked another possible shot from Vera's position behind the other sofa. She threw the pistols away, scrabbling for the abandoned broadsword, and used it to plunge through O'Brien's chest before she could finish trying to take Mary's head off.
Mary kicked the impaled android away and crawled to Talbot, helping Anna drag him over the carpet to their position behind the couch. "What kind of idiot are you?"
"I prefer to think of myself as a knight who forgot his armor." Talbot hissed against the pain in his shoulder. "Silly mistake, won't happen again."
"You're an idiot." Mary tore the sleeve off her dress, grabbing Talbot's arm to tie it to his neck. "What is it with men and stupid bravery?"
"In the genes I think."
"Focus on the task at hand please." Anna grabbed her pistols again, checking. "I've got two shots left."
"Me too." Mary nodded at her shotgun. "I don't know how many Mrs. Bates the former has."
"She's using gas so I think more." Anna shrugged, "And if she's feeling vindictive then she might just decide to blow us all to hell with it."
"What are the chances she's as vindictive as I think she is?" Mary turned to Anna, who only raised an eyebrow. "Pretty high then."
"Get Mr. Talbot here to the panic room and try to get the rest of the family out."
"And you'll be doing what, exactly?" Mary tossed her head behind her, toward Vera's position. "The whole house is locked down. She's got nowhere to go but wait us out and, though I think very highly of you, I know for a fact you're not trained for whatever combat you're thinking you might be able to handle at the moment."
"I'm a woman protecting her husband and her child." Anna took Mary's gun, pumping it to life, "Don't underestimate me."
"I wouldn't." Talbot interjected and Mary scowled at him.
"Shut up you, you're just collateral damage."
"I took out an android for you."
"Whatever." Mary grabbed him under his good arm, "Give me a three count and then let fly with the shotgun. I'll drag his sorry ass-"
"Hey!"
"Shut up." Mary shushed Talbot, "I'll get him to the panic room and get word to the upstairs."
"I'll be alright."
"Just… just don't die Anna. I refuse to raise your child."
Anna put a hand on Mary's arm, "You've been the best friend I could ask for. I just wish this wasn't happening now."
"Gives me something to think about that isn't Matthew at the moment and I think that might be a good thing." Mary adjusted Talbot in her grip, "Ready when you are Anna."
"Alright," Anna took a deep breath, "Now."
She swung over the top of the sofa and let both barrels loose into the far side of the room. One of the shots punched through the back of the sofa to send goose feathers and down everywhere. In the haze of white she fired at the sign of movement from behind the sofa. A feminine shout of pain rang out and Anna dropped back behind the sofa as two shots hit just above her head.
Catching Mary's eye, before she pulled the door to the panic room closed again, Anna nodded. Anna tossed the shotgun away, taking the pistols back in hand. She crawled to the edge of the sofa and then dodged back, missing a shot that shattered the gun case in the corner, leaving shards of glass everywhere.
"That was mahogany!" Anna shouted, firing blindly once around the side of the sofa before crouching to run for the gun case.
Something hit her in the midriff, knocking her into the wall. Anna slipped on the glass covering the floor, not ducking in time to miss a fist that collided solidly with her cheekbone, and fell to the floor. The glass there cut into her hands but she grabbed a piece and stabbed backward.
Vera's howl of pain, at the glass shard now protruding from her leg, gave Anna enough energy to kick out. The kick caught Vera off guard and she fell backward. Anna slipped to her feet, reaching desperately for one of the rifles still locked in place in the gun case. Her fingers, slipping now as the blood for the cuts in her hands slickened her grip, managed half the code before something heavy grazed the top of her head.
Anna fell back to the wall, holding her head, and ducked another swipe of the chair leg Vera brandished like a cricket bat. She ducked under the table and barely missed cutting herself on the sharp edge as Vera's strike broke the table in half. Kicking the halves at Vera only stopped her a moment as Anna planted a foot in the back of O'Brien to pull the sword free.
Swinging it around Anna held up a hand, "I'm not sure how this all works but I'm sure it'll do some serious damage."
"So will this." Vera swung again and Anna could only bat the attack away, the weight of the broadsword already sending tremors up her arm.
Vera went on the offensive, driving Anna back. She fell into the sofa, only just rolling away as Vera's blow clove the sofa in two to leave the air veritably heaving with down and feathers. Anna took the sword in both hands, beating away another advance but backing herself into a wall.
"End of the line Mrs. Bates." Vera snarled, swinging the leg at her.
Anna dropped and stabbed upward at the same time. She stopped, breathing hard, and looked up to see Vera impaled on the sword like O'Brien had been. But, what let Anna's mouth drop open, was that Vera continued to move like O'Brien had.
Pulling the sword from her chest Vera rapped her knuckles against it. "Replaced all the things that made me vulnerable. No one can break your heart if you haven't got one to break."
"I imagine you traded your soul for it too." Anna stumbled to the side, catching herself on a side table and nearly knocking over a lamp. Her fingers fumbled in the cord and Anna swallowed to try and hide what she hoped was not an obvious display for the idea that just came to her. "It must've been hard for John to love you when you're all metal and gears."
"John never loved anyone but himself."
"I think you're projecting." Anna wrenched the cord loose, leaving the sparking and exposed wires away from her as the plastic portion was safely in her grip. She focused on the hole in Vera's chest, the one exposing her internal components. "But maybe you can do that now that you're all tin and mechanics."
"I can do a great many things." Vera raised the sword over her head, "This could've been easier."
"Not really." Anna thrust the wires into Vera and reached back to flip the switch.
The completed current surged through Vera and she dropped the sword as her whole body smoked and shook. Her limbs flailed and sparked, whirring until little explosions snapped all over her body while the other lights in the room flared. Anna ducked down, covering her eyes, and waited until the sounds stopped and all the light bulbs in the room popped.
Dusting the glass off herself Anna stood, breathing hard, and looked at the smoking ruin that was Mrs. Bates on the floor. The doors behind her opened and Anna flinched before immediately dropping in John's arms. He held her close, rubbing over her back as others entered the room.
"Are you alright?" He leaned back to see her face and Anna nodded, all of her energy gone. He hugged her close again, "I feared the worst when we heard the shots but the doors all sealed and we couldn't get out until the power failed."
"I imagine it's what finished her." Robert bent by the body, wafting the smoke away from them. "I guess they say you should bury your past but I wish it hadn't destroyed my sitting room."
"It wasn't intentional, I assure you." Anna allowed John to see her hands.
"I wouldn't have thought so." Robert walked the length of the room to open the door to the panic room.
Mary hurried out, hugging her father, before running to Anna. "Are you alright? I feared the worst when the power failed."
"I'm fine. She's not."
Mary turned, snorting at the sight, "Well, I guess she burned in hell after all."
"What'll you do with her and the other androids?"
"Turn them into centerpieces… or just scrap metal." Mary cocked her head sideways, "I like them as warning signs for the next fool who try to get the better of Mary Crawley and Anna Bates."
Anna laughed too and then immediately cried out as Robert brought Jack to them. She tried to hold him but winced at the cuts in her hands. John took Jack instead, clutching him close. Tears soon rolled from his eyes as he pulled Anna to join them.
"We're together John." She whispered, "We're together again."
"Forever."
