A/N: Thanks to kyoteshaman76 for helping me write this one; sheesh I couldn't figure out how to make this work. I hope those of you still following this will like it. :P

Disclaimer: I don't own this manga or anime. Please, I am not really that good.

Chapter 12

Urzu One, Urzu Seven and Urzu Six hit the ground running in stealth mode. Their objective was a deceptively small town on the peninsula of Kamchatka. They and the other AS squads had come in from the Bering Sea side of the peninsula while the land forces were coming in from the Sea of Okhotsk. Air support was coming in from both sides; and the groups would be splitting up to cover the north and south sides of the town to cut off both retreat and reinforcements.

Not that intel had expected much in the way of reinforcements as KRD had been steadily whittling down AMALGAM's forces over the last nine months. There was some speculation that AMALGAM's leaders had decided to 'test' the gas when they did in an effort to get KRD and Mithril off their scent.

If so; it hadn't worked. Mithril's own agents had begun to work double time to find out who had put the Darling of Mithril in her current situation. When it was discovered that Lord Mallory had been an unwitting ally of AMALGAM most of Mithril had given up hope that they could actually defeat this compartmentalized group.

Then Sagara and Weber had stepped up with incidents that had been glossed over or forgotten about. Incidents that had been reported to Kalinin and he had buried. It gave the intelligence teams enough to go on to find the separate cells and bring them down. With each cell Mithril ended they found more clues to where Kalinin's main base was.

Now, all AS teams were converging on what was sure to be a heavily guarded base. It had taken a full six months to get here and every member of Mithril had the picture of Captain Tessa and Miss Chidori that had been taken during that celebration in thanks to Miss Chidori so long ago.

Andrey Kalinin was going to pay; he was going to pay for having betrayed their Darling and their VIP. Andrey Kalinin was going to pay for the damage he had done to the two women the entirety of Mithril had come to love as their own little sisters.

Andrey Kalinin normally kept his cool, stayed calm and rational. There was very little that could outwardly perturb the lifelong mercenary; yet today's actions by Mithril – a company he had created to test AMALGAM's forces against - this annoyed him.

He stood watch over the surveillance monitors and began to sweat when he saw the Arbalest leading the incoming Arm Slaves. When he saw two other ASes that clearly sported Lambda drivers as well as more advanced armaments than he had allowed them to have …

Andrey Kalinin cursed aloud before turning to the crazed German with narrowed eyes.

"Send out Testarossa," he ordered. Gates began laughing gleefully as he turned and left the room. Gauron, on the other hand narrowed his own eyes at the Russian. He didn't like that he had to answer to the man in the first place, but now it appeared the geezer was about to panic.

"You wanted to kill Sagara?" Kalinin asked him softly. Gauron simply smiled and nodded. "The get out there and do so," Kalinin ordered, Gauron almost thought about refusing; but the chance to kill Kashim was too great an opportunity.

When the room was clear, Kalinin pulled out a laptop and began to furiously type commands into it. He found himself blocked at every turn. Nothing he did could get through to the Arbalest; and if Sousuke had come to terms with the machine – if he worked with it instead of against it …

Sousuke, Clouseau and Weber confirmed they were on target seconds before the first group of Zy-98's burst into sight.

"Wow, these Shadow's don't understand staying out of the light!" Weber said into the comms as the Urzu Squad began to mow them down. Clouseau and Weber's upgraded Gernsbacks easily kept pace with Sagara and the Arbalest.

"Don't get bogged down by the ground troops, Sagara! Let our forces do their jobs!" Clouseau said to keep the younger man on point.

"Not ground forces, Sir!" Sagara replied as a swarm of Alastors came up from the ground to begin harassing the much larger ASes.

"Wasn't expecting that," Weber said to himself. Then to the others. "Watch for Testarossa!"

That was all the warning the they had when the Behemoth shuddered into view. It became clear that Leonard Testarossa was piloting the oversized Plan ten fifty-one. Despite the size the machine was smooth and faster than expected. Sagara and the others were unable to quickly find a way to shut the machine down.

"Al," Sousuke said. "Find me a weakness."

"Already working on it", replied Al. "Remember Mr. Tsis's training."

As their mercenary group hunted for their enemy, the three soldiers had undergone more specialized training to better utilize their AS units. Weber and Clouseau had gotten upgrades upon their psych evals following the gas. Both now had the motivation and drive to properly use a Lambda drive system.

"Don't will or picture anything into existence. Know that this thing you want to happen, will. Just because the unit next to you can't enhance a Boxer cannon round or produce a force field, doesn't mean you can't. Inside these machines, in your element, you three are the gods of death and justice. Nothing is impossible!"

Sagara could be the impossible for her. He would rid her of the threat of AMALGAM. He would be the partner; the person, she deserved. The father their child deserved. Energy surged through him. He felt the Arbalest's feet glide along the ground. The air flowing along the armor.

"Alert", Al calls out. "Two Venom class AS units just entered the battlefield two hundred kilometers east! Pilots unknown! Threat to right flank of allied forces immediate!"

He keyed up the data. The specifications of one of the Venoms matched Gauron's AS. He could only assume the other was the German Gates. They outclassed every unit on that flank. They were going to need to split their forces. With dispassion of a seasoned soldier, he assessed the situation. He was the best equipped to handle the two Venom units. Weber and Clouseau could handle the Behemoth threat here easily, but were not skilled enough with their Lambda drivers to be of much help against the Venom's.

"You two take Testarossa", he calls out while turning to the new threat. "Back me up if you get a chance!"

The two mercenaries acknowledge his orders as his IS sprints off. The Behemoth before them actually throws one of the Zy-98's at Weber's Gernsback. It is shot down before it can cause trouble, but Clouseau gives the mech a shot it has to deflect. One can almost see the confusion on the machine's face. The two M9's circle carefully, trying to track the little machines as well as the giant.

Weber watches the Behemoth's legs as it moves further into the field. He catches the tail end of a thought and lets his instinct take over. He could almost hear his Teletha in his head as he slid through the 98's, cutting down the one that got in his way.

He could see Clouseau's M9 on his monitor, moving in a mirror of his own. The two men didn't think, simply let their hind brain make the decision. When Testarossa brought the arms of the Behemoth up in an attempt to strike out at the machines; Clouseau shot up to fire point blank into the lumbering machine's head while Weber thrust forward to slide his molecular blade into the red menace's weak spot on the underbelly.

As fast as Testarossa was; the damage that Andrey had done to the former genius prevented him from being able to fully utilize his own Lambda drive. The shots to the head blinded the psychotic boy while the strike at the only vulnerable area paralyzed the machine. Both M9's were out of range of his sudden tantrum like flailing in seconds, they turned to help Sosuke as the machine exploded behind them; taking out the rest of the 98's.

The battlefield was a chaotic mess, but any machine with a Lambda driver passed through it as if it weren't even there. Sousuke and his opponents only had eyes for one another. There were some obvious differences in technique, though. The Venoms struck down anything in their way, even as the Arbalest was practically dancing amongst the clashing forces. Gauron and the German knew something was off when the opposing machine seemed to jump off a passing missile to gain even greater height as their clash began.

The two men were off-put as the young soldier was on the offensive immediately. His attacks were direct and fierce. Their own Lambda drivers worked laboriously as they deflected blow after blow. Much to their chagrin; however the armor on their machines was steadily being chipped away despite the energy constructs they created.

Gauron grit his teeth and focused as he never had before. His beloved opponent was much more focused and skilled than he could have believed. The idea that the young man was not using any ranged weapons; and probably could have destroyed them if he had, was chilling. There was a rage and a hate behind the attacks that were of a level he hadn't felt but a few times before. Yet, the control was so extreme, he himself had to be careful not to lash out in a way that would hit Gates.

Gates was feeling a combination of ecstasy and terror. This young man Sousuke was more than Kalinin had told him he was. This was a warrior worth his time. He was more than a man, he was a paladin here to protect the puppies, kittens and other weaklings of the world with blood and bone. That this creature was pitted against him, burned him to his core. His every instinct told him to run, hide, and never cross this young man again. The grin on his face never faltered. This was his element. This was what he was born to do. The battlefield was his art and canvas, and if the paint was his own blood, so be it.

Meanwhile, Gauron opened his comms to make direct contact with the young soldier.

"Amazing, Kashim! You have become so much more than I expected! Did that little beauty of yours inspire you to such heights?" The psychotic mercenary taunted. "Perhaps she will inspire me as well."

Sousuke responds by throwing a punch backed by such force that the limbs were shredded off the body of the mech and the torso was pitched through the air. Gates tried to take advantage of the opening, but his energy packed shot was deflected by a shield. The Arbalest spun and threw it's blade straight into the Venom's cockpit. Then walked to the remains of Gauron's mech as the other falls to the ground.

"N-not Kashim any more", coughs the wounded madman. His body broken and bleeding from being tossed about. "You have become something else. *cough cough* It won't be enough. Y-y-you're still an animal. Still like me." Any further comments were cut off as a shot flies in.

"No comments from the peanut gallery." Weber quips as parts fly from the cockpit.

Sousuke turned to face the second Venom as the pieces flew; face expressionless. Although there was a part of him that wanted to tear the machine apart it was no longer a part of himself he couldn't control; couldn't ignore.

Clouseau and Weber flanked the Arbalest as he moved west towards the second Venom. Inside the advanced arm slave the German was laughing maniacally. His excitement had grown beyond his fear once the knife had opened up his gut. He wished he had an extra hand to stroke himself with. This SRT team was not the same as the one he'd been watching. This team was far more disciplined, better trained and he knew he was going to die.

But oh, what a battle this was going to be.

The injured German turned his minigun to the M9 with the long rifle; that would be the German Kurz Weber. He would give the young man the honor of dying quickly. He wanted to see just how long the Arbalest could hold up.

Clouseau saw the movement and opened fire with his box cannon; adding energy to the round that jammed the muzzle of the minigun, causing it to jam and then explode. Gates' scream of pain could be heard without the radio before Kurz put a round point blank into the cockpit, killing the crazed pervert.

The rest of Mithril's ground forces had left the fighting of the more advanced AS-es to those best trained for that kind of fighting. Knowing that their special response team would have the Venoms and Behemoth well in hand they had focused on clearing a path to the front gate of the compound. Deathrax had taken the time to clear this invasive force with the Russian government; citing the numerous terrorist activities that AMALGAM had engineered as well as funded. Mithril had no doubts that the local government would be under Kalinin's thumb; but they had the clearance they needed to seek their revenge.

Andrey Kalinin watched in abject horror as first Testarossa then Gauron and finally Gates were killed far more quickly than he would have thought possible. He had worked hard to ensure that Sousuke would be able to use the Lambda driver, of course; but he had been nowhere near to having this kind of control before the incident with the gas.

Kalinin reached out to his computer to type in a command and saw his hands shaking. He realized he was afraid; truly afraid, of what his surrogate son would do to him.

The silver haired man took a deep breath and forced himself to relax before sending a quick order to the Xia Yu twins Fan and Lan.

'Slow them down; keep them away from me as long as possible'

Ben Clouseau dropped lightly to the ground at the main entrance to the compound. Sounds of gunfire and explosions could still be heard in the distance but closer to his location the fighting was done. Mithral's Urzu One had cleared a direct path for Urzu Two. Weber and Sagara each landed as silently as he had and now flanked their commanding officer, shoulders squared and faces grim.

"We've seen evidence of the Xia Yu twins," the other Lieutenant reported quickly. "We haven't seen their arm slaves; but that doesn't make them any less dangerous," he warned them.

The main entrance was nothing more than a long hallway. Clouseau moved forward first, sliding along the left wall to disarm the first of several trip wires that were visible with the heads up. Weber settled onto one knee with his Walther at the ready. Sagara slid along the right hand side five feet behind Clouseau, watching for any movement from the front.

They heard the giggle after about five minutes. When Clouseau turned to check on Weber he shook his head in the negative. He was fine where he was and they all knew the twins were ahead of them. Clouseau turned back and disarmed the final tripwire silently and fell back to where Sagara was holding position.

"They won't come out unless we split up" Clouseau said softly. Sagara nodded. The Xia Yu twins were deadly, highly trained assassins that were also quite mad. The dossiers they had gotten on the Chinese girls made it clear that Gauron had raised them and had them trained after he had their village wiped out. Clouseau hoped that hearing that the bastard was dead might cause them leave the fight; he didn't like the idea of killing the girls when it wasn't their fault they were what they were.

"Gauron would have twisted them, Sergeant Major," Sagara said quietly; as if reading the dark skinned man's mind. "They aren't victims any longer."

Clouseau took a moment longer to decide then nodded.

"You take left, I'll take right." The two soldiers checked their weapons and gave Weber the sign they were splitting up. The sniper waved two fingers forward and slid so he was prone. There was a chance one of the assassins would come for him and he would be ready.

Sousuke Sagara checked the right hand hallway as well as the left before he moved into the left hall. His gun in his right hand, Sagara knew he needed to keep loose enough to be ready for the attack but felt himself tensing up. His last conversation with Kaname played through his mind briefly. Her command to come home to her helped him relax, as did the knowledge that Mao's recovery was still going well.

Neither he nor Weber had spoken about the pregnancies; he himself thought that bringing it up when he might not be there for the birth would jinx it. Yet his Kaname sounded tired and thrilled at the same time.

His training is what saved him. It was Fan who came from the shadow of a doorway on his left. He caught a flash of green just seconds before she struck out with a small knife in her right hand. His body slid to his left so his back was opposite the open doorway. He swept up his left arm out to deflect the movement away from himself.

His soldiers fingers closed upon a slim wrist and he pulled it behind him as he turned. He heard the popping sound of a joint being dislocated and a feminine gasp of pain and surprise. He continued to yank the arm as he brought right hand up and pulled the trigger on his glock three times. He used his right elbow to knock her head back as she bent forward before then pulling the trigger twice more into her face.

The echo of the ten millimeter weapon was loud in the barren hallway. Sagara frowned, however when he heard an explosion followed by three more shots fired from the opposite direction.

Clouseau had kept low and slow to keep from making too much noise. The downside to being older and boxier than his younger soldiers. His eyes were constantly moving across and around the hallway in an effort to catch any stray movements. He had already passed three closed doors. He had been sure to place a small C4 charge with a small battery on the handles of each door. If the handle moved, the charges would explode.

He paused on his haunches when he thought he caught a flash of red ahead of him where the hallway turned to the left. He missed the sound of sneakers on tile behind him and took a slash to the his right side and back. He used the momentum of the blow to roll forward and twist so he was now facing his attacker. His body armor had deflected the strike, so he wasn't bleeding, but it was a close thing.

The small Chinese girl smiled coldly at him before moving forward in a blur; the machetes she was using flashing in the light. He allowed her to think she was pushing him back for three steps before he twisted to his left and swept her feet out from under her. The crack of her skull hitting the tiled floor was loud.

Lan was dazed but not out and she recovered far more quickly than he would have thought possible. Her movements were only slightly slowed as she twisted herself back into a standing position. Ben cursed as she made it to her feet just as his pistol cleared it's holster. Once again she was twisting the blades; but he was able to detect a small hitch in the pattern now. She had a concussion and it showed.

He turned to his right, putting his back to the wall and sliding himself back towards the main hallway. Clouseau was watching her hands and her feet, waiting to see when she was going to break pattern and strike out at him. He failed to watch her eyes and shoulders so missed when she rolled her shoulders. He caught the tail end of a whip as it struck something to his left and twisted his head away from it as it popped. His left arm raised just in time to protect his face from the sudden explosion.

The force of the explosion slammed him into the opposite wall with enough force to cause him to blackout for a brief moment. He had managed to keep his hold on his pistol, though. When he saw the blurred shadow of movement on his left he quickly shot three times at the center mass. His vision began to clear shortly after a heavy warm mass landed on his injured left side.

The blond German narrowed his eyes in frustration at the sounds of gunshots and explosions. His desire to be in the thick of the battle battling with his orders to keep the entrance clear.

After what seemed like an eternity he saw Sagara in his sites at the corner of the intersection. The younger man gave the correct sign and Weber gave the all clear. Once Sagara had crossed he switched the radio to the backup frequency and called in the reinforcements. Weber moved forward once the first group arrived, he gave the order for two of the other team's snipers to follow him to help him watch the two corridors. He knew Sagara would have it well in hand; but he needed to help his team.

"Urzu six; we need a medic immediately," Sagara's voice was as calm as ever, but there was an edge to it.

"Copy that Urzu seven," the blond replied, signalling for the medic that was with the other team. The soldier kept low and behind him as they moved down the right hand hall. It was near the end that they could both smell and see the explosion.

Xia Yu Lan was lying in a pool of blood against the left hand wall, Sagara had clearly shoved her away from the wounded Clouseau. Benaflagam himself appeared to be struggling to move, the medic snorted as they reached the two men.

"Good luck Sergeant Sagara, Clouseau never listens," the man said with humor. Between the three of them they managed to get the older man to be still long enough for the medic to get a good idea of what was wrong.

"Well, he's got a concussion as well as three broken ribs. I can tape up the ribs; but he isn't going to be able to focus very well," the medic said. His dark head was shaking as the older black man started speaking rather loudly.

"I can still fight," Clouseau insisted. Sagara as well as the medic shook their heads. When he realized that he could see their mouths moving but hear no words he raised his hands in surrender.

"I can't hear you!" He said loudly. "I'll go with the medic." Sagara and Weber seemed to sigh in relief before helping the older man back to the second team.

"Sagara, keep your comms open to channel five," the Major of the second team ordered softly. "We have hacked our way into the security cameras for the next four levels so we'll be able to to let you know if there is opposition ahead." The young soldier nodded before turning to his partner and heading back out.

This time they didn't split up, they decided to go down the right hallway and see if they could make their way down. Unlike Clouseau they moved quickly if carefully; being sure to check all rooms briefly before moving on.

Forty minutes later they managed to find a stairwell leading down. There was no word from command so they kept going at the same cautious clip. When they encountered no resistance in the next thirty minutes they decided to rest in one of the rooms they were checking.

"Sagara," Weber said suddenly, the whisper shockingly loud in the absolute silence that surrounded them. Sagara grunted in response.

"Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?" He asked, the question surprised the younger man into looking at him. "I know, it's not something you and I have talked about, but," Weber huffed out a breath before continuing.

"I don't know why I'm asking," he admitted, prepared to drop it.

"I hope it will be a girl," Sagara replied softly. "One with Kana-chan's eyes." Weber looked at the younger man in shock only to return the smile the Japanese boy had.

"Well I'm kinda hoping it will be a boy," Weber admitted. "But I want him to be as smart as Teletha." Both men took deep breaths and they went back to their search a little more energized.

It took another two hours to reach the fourth floor down. From there they could easily see why their team was unable to hack their way into the security system. This part of the building had been built upon an old fallout shelter and was using not only a different power source but an entirely different security system.

"Urzu six and seven at bottom level," Weber reported softly. There was a brief click of acknowledgment and the men waited. It took only an hour for the other three special response teams to join them at the new entry point. Once the bunker doors had been opened, Weber held up a hand to get everyone's attention.

"I was given a strict command by Captain Testarossa," he said with an indulgent smile. Every man and woman there gave him their undivided attention. "We are to come back in one piece," he said as he looked over the group. "Every last one of us." There was a round of smiles and a brief humph of affirmation before they moved en mass into the underground shelter.

Andrey Sergeivich Kalinin, Lieutenant Commander of the Tuatha de Danaan and Commander of AMALGAM turned from the screens along the wall swearing.

First the weaponized Testarossa falls to Weber and Clouseau. Then his most promising weapon had managed to kill both Gauron and Gates. Proving once and for all that he was the better warrior; but he wasn't going to be controlled by Kalinin. No, this boy somehow managed to find his way to working with the AI without Kalinin's guidance.

Then the twins die. Normally the silver haired Russian wouldn't consider it much of a loss, but they had only managed to injure one of the team. It hadn't slowed them down at all. Yes, they had taken their time getting down here, but it didn't matter; he had lost.

Well, not yet.

Andrey Kalinin turned faded brown eyes to the old power armor that stood along the left hand wall of the office he was in. It wouldn't be long before the two Mithril SR teams arrived; no matter how thorough they were in their search. There wasn't much to search. He made his decision and stepped into the armor. It wasn't as fancy or as large as the AS units that were in use today, but it would still give him an advantage over the younger men.

The office was only twenty feet square, not a lot of room to maneuver, and it would hinder him but he was more experienced than both Weber and Sagara. Should the other team attempt to come in it would hinder them more than it would him.

He had been correct, it was only a few moments after he was set in the armor that the double doors burst inward. Sagara, Weber and four other soldiers were at the door, weapons ready. He opened fire with the AK-47 in his hands, laughing as they all dove for cover.

"Give it up, Kalinin," Major Dawson called from the corridor. "Your forces are done, you're done."

"You think this is all I have?" The old commander asked conversationally.

"I think you know you've fucked up," the Major replied. "You've lost, Kalinin." The white haired man laughed softly at that. HIs mind raced, however as he knew the truth. This was the end.

"Tell me, Sousuke," he said; still in his conversational tone. "Did you really think Miss Chidori would be safe without you there to protect her?" He waited for a response, but didn't get the one he was expecting.

"Even if you somehow managed to find out where she was, Andrey," the boy replied. "You wouldn't have been able to get her," there was a pride in the young man's voice and a confidence he had never heard before that had Kalinin narrowing his eyes.

"Surrender, Kalinin

So far none of the soldiers had broken ranks, and that was why he was talking. He needed to thin them out and to do that he needed them to be impatient.

"Surely you don't think that Testarossa would be able to protect her?" He sneered. "She was only made Captain because she designed the submarine, you know."

He waited for a response from any of the soldiers out there. They were all unreasonably attached to the little whore. She hadn't even been as good as her psycho brother. He frowned when a full minute had passed and no even spoke.

He was watching the side of the door that Sagara had dove to so intently he didn't see Weber's rifle until it was too late.

The round slammed into his helmet temporarily blinding and deafening him. He fired blindly towards the door to keep anyone from entering while he recovered from the shot, cursing profusely in Russian.

"Once again, Kalinin," Dawson said with the sound of a laugh in his voice. "Surrender."

The shaken warrior shook his head in denial as well as to clear it. "Forget it, Dawson. I know that Mithral can't afford to kill me. There are assets linked to Amalgam that could threaten them without my supervision. Or even shake the world to it's core. You want me alive? Come in and get me!"

Unbeknownst to him, the team outside the door were readying grenades. Standard procedure did say that they were to capture as many of the enemy as possible, but this enemy knew that. That is why Killroy and the remainders of the board had given an order to supercede that one. If it looked as if there were no chance to capture the traitor alive without losing a single man, take him down with extreme prejudice. They had plenty of information on this organization.

"Andrey, this is your final chance. Surrender. We only ask you to as a courtesy to an old friend. Surrender or die."

His answering growl was all they needed to act. Two of the team blindly fired into the room as the rest tossed in their grenades. Seconds later, the concussion waved smashed the Russian into the wall in a hail of fire and small pings as the armor brushed off the shrapnel. However, there was a second set of explosions, and then a third. He was on one knee at the end, but still alive despite the dozens of small injuries he had from bits of shrapnel had gotten through the armor. He laughed silently. He would have them when they came into the room to make sure he was dead. The armor would make sure he had the strength to take at least a few with him.

No one came in. He stayed in place, his body aching in a way that he hadn't felt since he was young. What was taking them so long? He advanced on the doorway cautiously. Did they give up and leave? No. The push had been too real, too costly. Then what was going on? A few feet from the door, he found their plan. Four blocks of C4 attached to a remote detonator. His world went white before he could think anything else.