Chapter 5: Break Out
The team gathered around the newly repaired holo-pad at the center of their command center. The large, cracked holo-pad had been retrofitted using the remaining glass and circuitry into a circular table similar to the one the Crimson Raiders used. The only one not gathered around the table was Krystal, who was sitting off to the side and listening in to the plan. She had proved her use and a bit of loyalty to the team getting the Vladof communicator as well as cracking it and figuring out where Zach was taken.
"Alright, from what we saw, the prison is heavily fortified with snipers, frequent patrols, and truckloads of robots packing a whole lot of ordinance." Nickoli pointed out as a holographic image of the prison presented itself. All of the defenses were laid out in red while the structure itself was a light blue. The prison was similar to all other prisons, large and boxed shape with towers set up on the corners.
"So, what's the best plan we got?" Justin questioned as he looked over the layout. Tactically speaking, the place was nearly perfectly defended. No place was ever perfectly defended, but this was damn close. Angel stepped forward and zoomed in to the interior of the building.
"From what we've seen, they keep the bulk of their patrols on the exterior of the prison. Their only real blind spot is on the inside." Angel updated.
"So, we need to destroy this place from the inside, right?" Lynn surmised. It seemed like a relatively easy plan; get inside, disable key systems, get Zack out and celebrate after. Of course, no plan ever went that easily.
"Right." Patrick answered with his usual short response. Lynn smirked as she went to one of the terminals she had connected to her main computer. Krystal finally decided to add her own input into the conversation.
"So, any volunteers to get arrested?"
"I'll do it." Nickoli immediately volunteered. Angel immediately had argument.
"No! I need to do it." Angel argued.
"Angel, please, Vladof doesn't know about you. I'm the only one here who's wanted by Vladof."
"Exactly. If you were to go in, I'm certain they'll lock you up tight. We need someone that's not well known by Vladof. I need to do this. Besides, you'll be more suited on the outside." Angel explained as she zoomed out of the interior of the prison. She adjusted to the small ridge that sat near the prison that seemed to have been forgotten.
"What do you mean?" Nickoli questioned.
"Well, once I start to make a mess inside, the rest of you will need to distract the teams outside to keep them from coming inside." Angel explained as she pointed at the hologram.
"We overrun the prison from both sides… clever." Justin complimented. "I guess I'll put my hat on the outside distraction."
"Precisely, Nickoli, Justin and Patrick, you three are best suited for that part so you'll need to make as much ruckus you can make."
"When?" Justin questioned for clarification.
"As soon as the insides start stirring up." Nickoli interpreted. It seemed pretty simple, make a big distraction and scatter the Vladof forces. Patrick smirked as he popped his knuckles, silently signaling that he was ready for a fight. Krystal moved from her spot and joined everyone at the table.
"There is one problem I can see. Angel, whatever you plan on doing, either starting a riot or turning their security measures against them, you'll need to stick with it in case it isn't enough. I suggest we send in another set of hands to get your brother back." Krystal pointed out and suggested.
"Are you offering?" Angel questioned.
"I am. I may not know your brother, but if we're trying to pull off a plan this big then he must be worth the trouble." Krystal responded. Angel couldn't help but smile at the remark. Krystal was willing to put her life on the line for her brother, and she didn't even know him.
"Thank you, Krystal." Angel thanked with a large smile.
"You're welcome, and don't worry about me. I think I've already found a way to get myself in." Krystal assured. Lynn finally came back to the group, pulling a small card out of the port on the console.
"Alright boys and girls, I found a way to get Angel inside the prison." Lynn announced as she put her hands on her hips and pushed her chest out, appearing very pleased with herself.
"How?" Angel questioned.
"We'll need someone to pose as a Vladof soldier, and it shouldn't be a problem with this I.D. card here." Lynn responded as she held out a very convincing Vladof I.D. card. Lydia stepped up and took the I.D. card, giving them their fake soldier.
"I'll do it." Lydia responded. Nickoli stepped up, questioning his half-sister's decision.
"Are you sure about this, sis?" Nickoli asked, just assuring her position.
"Compared the two of us, I would sneak in easier… I am the one with organic arms, no offense." Lydia responded.
"You're good, and you aren't wrong."
"Alright, so we're all clear on the plan?" Angel questioned, assuring that everyone knew their role in the mission. Everyone nodded their heads and started getting themselves ready when they had a visitor. He rolled into the command center with a bit of urgency.
"Hello everyone! There's a call waiting for you on the main line!" Claptrap announced as he rolled to the map and started hitting buttons to bring up the call. The call brought up a man about their parents age with long, slicked black brown hair that was starting to gray around the edges. One eye was brown while the other was yellow.
"Hello everyone, I'm Rhys, the CEO of the Atlas corporation." The man introduced.
"Hello sir, can I ask what is with the unexpected call? We're a bit… busy… right now." Angel greeted and explained. The last time they got mixed up with a corporation CEO was Maliwan, and that didn't exactly go very well.
"You must be Angel, Zer0's daughter."
Angel was a bit taken back from the comment. How did he know about her, and her father?
"How do you know me and my father?" Angel questioned, wanting to get to the bottom of this.
"Oh right, he sent me to help you guys out. I owe him a favor myself, so this is where I cash in that chip. So Claptrap here gave me the run down on your status with Vladof, and your rescue mission. I've been monitoring their business on Elpis for quite some time, and I have something for you that might prove helpful. But first, I assume you know about Vladof's new robots?" Rhys explained and questioned. The group looked around, everyone completely looking over the mass of robots that Vladof had at the prison.
"Oh yeah… right… we forgot about those." Angel admitted, a tad embarrassed on her oversight.
"Well, knowing those things can pack a very bad punch, I do have a way around them. I'm sending you a virus that will hack those big guys and rewrite their friend/foe identification programing." Rhys stated as he started messing with a computer off screen.
"Ooo, I like the sound of that virus." Lynn responded, smiling a bit.
"There's only one downside. It has to be uploaded through the bot's central control system… which is on the inside of the prison. But I assume that it won't be a problem." Rhys pointed out.
"No, it won't. I'll plant the virus. Just send it over and I'll make sure it gets there." Lydia declared as she put her hands on her hips, giving her a very confident pose.
"Good. Sending it over."
"Wait, Rhys, can you do us one more favor?" Angel questioned, hoping that she wouldn't be overstepping her boundaries.
"Name it."
"Once we get my brother out, we'll need an escape transport. Would you be able to help us out with that?" Angel questioned.
"You got it. I've got a friend on Elpis, he can help. As for me, I'll be on my way to Elpis soon, where I can provide assistance personally."
"Very well, see you soon." Angel replied.
"You got it, and good luck." Rhys replied before he ended the call. The virus arrived to Lynn's console and she immediately checked it over.
"Let's see what we've got here." Lynn stated as she checked the virus' programing. It was incredibly complex and powerful, luckily it was on their side or it could have sent them back to the Stone Age. "Wow, this is a very powerful virus. Lydia, let me see your ECHO."
Lydia handed over her ECHO and Lynn downloaded it on to it so she could get it into Vladof's computers.
"Alright, here you go." Lynn stated as she handed off the ECHO. "All you need to do is plug it into the main system, and if Rhys isn't bullshitting us, this plan should go off without a hitch."
"Good. Alright Angel, let's get you ready for prison." Lydia chuckled as she turned to Angel. Angel simply smiled, positive that their plan would work.
O00000O00000O
Zach sits beaten and brutally broken, his body barely able to handle the near constant torture. He was covered in blood, he was horribly bruised and he was barely able to stay awake. Lucky for him, his advanced healing factor kept him from dying. The Vladof officer/ whore tossed her hammer aside, clearly pissed off that he hadn't broken yet. She roughly grabbed his hair and yanked him back so she was staring into his eyes.
"How are you still breathing god dammit!?" She practically spat in his face. The constant torture should have broken him, just like it did all of the others. This one was certainly resilient, and it was just getting in her way. A small smile slid across Zach's face with a small chuckle, just pissing her off more. She grabbed a knife from the table and put it on his throat, ready to slice his jugular, but her ECHO started to ring.
She tossed the knife aside, clearly angered that she had been interrupted, and grabbed her ECHO.
"What!?" She barked.
"Ma'am, we have a new prisoner coming in." The other end exclaimed in a male voice.
"Another clone?"
"No ma'am, a girl."
Zach flinched a bit hearing that news, fearing that it might have been Angel. Lucky for him, the botch was too busy with her call to notice.
"What does she look like?" The female officer questioned.
"Black hair, blue eyes, and pretty." The male responded.
Zach used every ounce of energy he had left in his body and will power not to react to that news. He should have figured they would come after him, but he didn't think that Angel would have been captured.
"Stash her with the rest of the prisoners for now. I'll get to her later." The female officer stated. She hung up her ECHO and stashed it as she went for the hammer she tossed aside. She placed the head of the hammer against the left side of his left knee with a devilish smile. "Now, where were we?"
She reared the hammer back and brought it right where she had aimed.
O00000O00000O
Angel was escorted through the halls of the prison, her hands bound by handcuffs behind her back. Her tattoos were covered by body paint, so her Siren identity was safe… for now. Lydia was posing as a Vladof soldier. Angel slowed her pace a bit, but Lydia shoved her forward with some aggression to keep the guise up.
"Keep moving." She growled as Angel stumbled forward, doing her best to seem like she was a part of the group. One soldier walked by and checked Angel out with a smile.
"Hey there, gorgeous." The soldier flirted as he got closer to Angel. Lydia raised her weapon a bit towards the soldier, the barrel pointed at his knee caps.
"If you touch my prisoner, I'll fill you with lead." Lydia threatened. The soldier backed off and the two continued their trek until they met up with the commanding officer with two soldiers acting as his guard.
"Who are you?" The CO questioned.
"Private First Class Anna, sir, and this is Angie. I caught her stealing our supplies in Concordia. Figured this bitch needs to be locked up" Lydia responded, snapping to attention to continue her disguise.
"Stealing supplies, eh? Well, we'll make sure your stay is a living hell." The CO snarled in Angel's face. She had face far worse than whatever this Vladof scum could do, so she wasn't exactly worried. The CO looked to Lydia and continued "Good work, private. Head down to the lounge and we'll call you up for your debrief."
"Yes sir." Lydia responded. The two soldiers grabbed Angel by the arms, preparing to escort her.
"And as for you, buttercup, let's get you ready for the slammer." The CO exclaimed, gesturing to the side with his head. Before the soldiers left with Angel, she and Lydia shared a quick glance and a small nod. Once the guards with Angel and the CO were out of sight, Lydia started searching for the main computer system to upload the virus.
O00000O00000O
The two guards escorted Angel to the cell where they were holding all of the clones and uncuffed her, tossing her in without a care. The older clone that led the clones went to Angel's side and assisted her back onto her feet.
"Thank you." Angel replied as she looked up at the elder clone, who seemed a tad surprised at her reaction.
"You don't seem surprised by us. Have you met other Zer0 clones like us?" the elder clone questioned.
"Yes, I'm Angel, daughter of Zer0." Angel introduced.
"Ah, 12's sister. I'm Zer0-1, an original Zer0 clone."
Angel brightened up hearing that Zach was still here, even though his condition was still unknown to her.
"Yes! Is he okay!?" Angel questioned in a quiet, excited tone. The last thing she needed was for the guards to get suspicious of her for questioning about another prisoner. She also noted the change in the clones' faces when she questioned about Zach.
"Well… he's alive." Zer0-1 answered. Something about the tone of his voice made her questioned whether Zach was truly okay.
"What do you mean?" Angel questioned, now extremely worried.
"He's… been going through constant rounds of torture… we've stopped counting how many times he's taken out of this room just for that reason."
Angel could feel her blood start to boil, her peaked emotions causing her Siren tattoos to react and glow. She quickly calmed herself down, her tattoos starting to dull before anyone noticed through the body paint, which was causing her arm to itch and burn a bit.
"Is he in there right now?" Angel questioned, even though she already knew the answer to that. The sad looks on the clones' faces were all the answer she needed. The very thought of one of their own going through those inhuman torture sessions tore everyone's spirits down. Zer0-1 decided to bring up the mood as he flashed Angel the key that they snagged from one of the guards.
"But we do have this. Got it from one of the guards." Zer0-1 replied with a smirk.
"Why haven't you used it yet?" Angel questioned. She was very confused to find the clones here if they had a key. Why not use it and escape?
"We were hoping we'd take advantage of the situation when help would arrive. We figured that someone would arrive to help12 and break him out." Zer0-1 explained.
"Well, don't worry. We're all escaping. All we need to do is wait."
"For what?"
"For a friend to start the party."
O00000O00000O
The coast was clear so far, Lydia catching the security shift change, so she had a perfect opportunity to get in and out. She made her way to the prison's main computer, but she couldn't help but stumble upon the contraband lock up. She quickly found all of Zach's gear, his pistols, swords and his helmet, and stashed it in her inventory. Lydia left the room and quickly moved to the main computer in the security office. She checked the room, luckily finding it completely empty, a poor decision on the Vladof security. She plugged in her ECHO and immediately started uploading the virus, which was set on a remote activation.
She could hear some of the soldiers talking outside nearby, but lucky for her, the virus was finished uploading. She quickly unplugged her ECHO and slipped out before the soldiers made it to the office. Her next stop was to check on Angel, hoping that the lock up wasn't that bad of a life.
O00000O00000O
Nickoli, Justin and Patrick sat on the nearby ridge checking their weapons before their signal went off. Nickoli was checking over his arms for the billionth time, still trying to figure out his new appendages. Patrick was polishing and inspecting his new Torgue rocket launcher since he was their heavy weapons support. He was also carrying a caustic Tediore double barrel shotgun, Vladof grenade rifle and Jakobs revolver. Justin was doing some final tweaks on his Battle Borak, specifically checking the turrets for any final bugs.
He was carrying a full set of Dahl weaponry, a sniper rifle, assault rifle, pistol and submachine gun. All of them were pretty focused on their gear to notice that someone was moving up towards them. Luckily, it was only Claptrap riding Zver, but Claptrap was armed with a Maliwan Lightning Laser gun.
"Claptrap? What are you doing here?" Justin questioned as he looked away from his Battle Borak.
"And how did Zver let you ride him? Let alone even let you near him?" Nickoli questioned as he closed his arms up.
"Come on! I know how to handle a good gun… and a stalker. I can certainly help!" Claptrap cheered as he pet the barrel of his weapon.
"Since when?" Patrick questioned as he started putting his weapons away.
"Since before Handsome Jack recruited me to take out the Commander of the Lost Legion! Oh the memories I have on this moon…" Claptrap sighed happily, clearly reminiscing about his time on Elpis.
"Alright Claptrap, if you can hold your own, and don't annoy us to death, you're more than welcome to join us." Nickoli sighed as he went over to Zver and started scratching behind his ear.
"Seriously?" Patrick groaned, clearly unhappy about Claptrap joining them. He had spent enough time around Claptrap and didn't really want to spend any more time with him.
"Patrick, he's not wrong about Handsome Jack or Dahl. My father always talked about the operations the Lost Legion had here. If he really had a part to play in that, then he can handle himself." Justin defended.
"Why thank you, Justin. You may have never noticed, but I've always appreciated you." Claptrap complimented as he rolled over and patted Justin on the arm.
"Thanks… I guess." Justin replied as he went back to inspecting his turret. Claptrap decided to start inspecting his own weapon, ensuring it was in its best condition.
"Is that laser gun the only thing you brought?" Nickoli questioned. It didn't seem too intelligent to bring just one weapon when sieging an enemy stronghold.
"Nicky, my friend, have you ever even seen a laser gun in action?" Claptrap questioned. Nickoli held out his arms to Claptrap, converting them into their laser weapon forms. Claptrap looked at Nickoli's weapons and replied "Oh yeah… well, despite that, when you hold one of these babies in your hands, you don't question, you just shoot."
"Alright, it's almost time. Everyone, get into position." Nickoli ordered as he moved to the ridge overlooking the prison. He couldn't help but think about what kind of hell that he was going through. Zach was his brother, and he easily deserved better than whatever was happening to him. Nickoli quietly sighed to himself "I promise Zach, the second we break you out of there, we are definitely hooking you up with someone."
Patrick slowly slid up to Nickoli and looked out at the prison with him.
"The virus?" Patrick questioned in his usual short manner. Nickoli looked at the heavy hitter, thinking that he never really heard him use more than a few words anytime he talked.
"Yeah, it should take care of those robots. I bet if we can get a few parts from the bots, it'll make Justin's day." Nickoli chuckled.
"Agreed." Patrick chuckled as he loaded his shotgun. Justin crawled up to the other two, joining in on the conversation.
"So, when do we start shooting?" Justin questioned, ready to break their friend out of the jail.
"As soon as the lights go out in the prison, which should be soon. Considering the robots are starting to take positions, it shouldn't be too long." Nickoli updated, hoping that he was right.
O00000O00000O
Lydia headed to the cell block and easily found Angel, with a bunch of other Zer0 clones.
"Hey Angel." Lydia whispered, doing her best to avoid suspicion.
"What is it, Lydia?"
"I'm about to initiate the virus, figured you would want to know before the party starts." Lydia answered as she slipped Angel her ECHO.
"Thanks Lydia." Angel answered as she took her ECHO and stashed it away.
"I marked the armory on it, once you break out, head there and arm up."
"You got it."
Lydia turned and spotted two guards, both with wide smiles on their faces and looks that said they meant harm. She immediately had a horrible feeling in her gut that a meeting with these guards would not end well.
"I knew it! You're Lydia Vladof!" The guard on the left laughed. Lydia was frozen in place in utter disbelief that she was so easily discovered. "And it looks like she's planning on breaking these scumbags out!"
She quickly tried to grab her ECHO to initiate the virus and cause enough chaos for her to get away, but the guards quickly pulled out their guns and pointed them at her before she could get her hand on her ECHO.
"Move another muscle, you and everyone around you, are going to be used for target practice." The second guard threatened. Lydia knew that the guards wouldn't hesitate to end her, Angel and the guards. The left guard went to the cell door and opened it up. "Now turn around and get in the cell."
As soon as the door was opened, Lydia attempted to beat the guard down, but he was ready for her. He struck her in the face with his pistol as the second guard jumped to his aid. He backhanded her with his pistol, striking her in the side of the head with the grip of his pistol, knocking her to the ground. Once she was on the ground, the two guards started kicking her relentlessly. Using what strength she had, Lydia pulled out her ECHO and initiated the virus.
As soon as she did, the power shut down as the entire base's computer and power systems needed to reboot. The emergency power kicked on, bathing everyone in a red glow. Angel took the opportunity and generated her power, coating her hands in ice until they became spears, her Siren tattoos burning the body paint away. She charged them with a roar, both guards turning to see Angel spear them both in the chest and take them to the floor. Angel pulled her spears out, turned them into frozen fists, and slammed them down, turning the guards' heads into bloody messes on the floor.
Angel and Lydia took their weapons, both of them getting a Vladof pistol and rifle. The clones gathered to the two, so Angel chose to address them.
"Alright everyone, we're heading for the armory and we're going to shoot our way out." Angel exclaimed with confidence and power in her voice. The clone prisoners cheered and followed her out of the cell. Zer0-1 stopped at the dead guards and pulled out the key to their cell.
"Here." Zer0-1 muttered as he tossed the key onto a corpse. "You can have this back."
"What about 12?" Zer0-1 questioned as he caught up with Angel at the front of the group.
"Don't worry, we have another friend here taking care of that. We'll meet them at the extraction." Angel replied with a smile, taking the clones to the armory.
O00000O00000O
In one of the halls of the red lighted base, a ventilation cover is kicked out and Krystal slides out, landing silently. She's wearing her assassin suit and a pair of night-vision goggles that gave her 180 degrees of vision, which was given to her by Lydia.
"Alright Zach, let's see what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into." Krystal quietly muttered as she started making her way through the halls. There weren't any alarms yet, so either they hadn't escaped yet, or no one was left to sound the alarm. She slunk through the halls, searching for the torture room, which became easy when she started to hear roars of pain. She heard a clang, like a metal object being thrown on the ground and a woman bark in a rage.
"For fucks sake! Why won't you break!" the woman barked angrily. Krystal slid to the door and heard a weak male laugh.
"I've got all day, sweetheart." She heard a man reply weakly. It suddenly went quiet again, and the door started to open. Krystal quickly slipped into a dark corner as the torturer and two guards walked out of the room.
"Alright, that's enough. When we get back, he's getting a bullet in the head. I've had enough of him." The torturer growled, even though she looked like she belonged on a pole rather than a military instillation.
"Yes ma'am." One of the guards replied.
"Let's go see what's going on with the power."
The three walked down the hall, giving Krystal the opportunity to slip into the room without anyone being the wiser. She turned the light on and removed her goggles to see a bloody scene. There was blood all over the floor and the tools on the table by the prisoner. The man she could only assume was Zach was beaten and sliced into a bloody pulp, his head hanging down. Krystal felt sick just looking Zach's condition.
She knelt down, lifting his chin to see his beaten face. Luckily, he was still alive, although barely conscious. She started to lightly pat his cheek to get him to wake up.
"Hey, wake up." Krystal called out as she patted his cheek. Zach slowly started to come back to, groaning as he forced his eyes open.
"Who… are you?" He questioned weakly, but clear enough to understand.
"I'll tell you later, when it's safe. All you need to know is that Angel sent me."
Zach sighed in relief, but then his eyes widened a bit. His look went very grim as he looked over Krystal's head. He croaked through his broken mouth "Duck!"
Krystal ducked just in the nick of time, dodging a kick that was meant for her. Unfortunately, that kick went to Zach and knocked him out cold. Krystal spun around and drew her katana, borrowed from the Crimson Raider armory. She immediately spotted the torturer with a smug smile and a large hunting knife.
"What do we have here?" The torturer questioned as the two started to square off.
"I'm the last thing you'll ever see in your life." Krystal replied with smile.
"Prove it."
The torturer charged, swinging the large knife, aimed at Krystal's throat. Krystal caught the swing and wrapped her arm around the torturer's, swinging her and throwing her across the room. The two guards came in behind her and grabbed Krystal's arms. She kicked one leg up, showing off her flexibility and clocked one guard in the face, then stomped on the other's foot and elbowed him in the face when he let her go. She quickly grabbed her blade from the floor and sliced the two guards' heads off with ease.
The torturer recovered from being thrown and kicked Krystal in the back, but she was able to recover quickly. Krystal went on the attack, swinging her blade at the torturer. Unfortunately, the torturer was just as agile as she was and dodged every swing, taking a step back as she did. The torturer decided to switch it up and went on the attack herself, making just as much headway as Krystal did. The one thing that was different, the torturer struck her in the neck, and then struck her in the side with her knee.
Krystal, unfortunately dropped her blade, giving the torturer the chance to kick her, but using both feet. She flew across the room and slammed into the wall, grunting hard as she did. Luckily, her hand found the blade the torturer had tossed to the ground earlier. She charged the torturer with renewed ferocity that threw the torturer off her game. Krystal struck her with several hooks, a strike to the stomach and then an uppercut that forced the torturer to stumble back.
While the torturer was stunned, Krystal rushed forward and slammed the blade into her stomach, the torturer gurgled a bit as blood started to leak out of her mouth. Krystal laid her down and ripped the blade from her stomach, and tossed the knife aside to pick up her own katana, sheathing it as she went to Zach. She undid the binds on his ankles and wrists, Zach slumping down on her, so Krystal basically had to carry him. As she stood up with him, there was a loud explosion and the sound of gunfire started to echo through the halls.
"Come on, Zach. Let's get you home." Krystal cooed as she carried him out of the room and into the halls.
O00000O00000O
Angel's group made it to the armory, finding it completely empty, so their distraction plan was working. It consisted mostly out of Vladof weaponry, but it was more than enough to break them out.
"To freedom! Arm yourselves my brothers!" Zer0-1 called out as he grabbed a purple rarity spinigun. The rest of the group went in and started grabbing rifles and heading back out. Angel and Lydia were the last out of the room, Lydia not taking anything since she was already armed to the teeth. Angel emerged only with the armory's best weapon; the Infinity. They also grabbed some high explosives to blast through anything that got in their way.
They pressed on, coming to the main door, which was currently locked down due to the sounds of gunfire and explosions.
"Get to work on the door. I'll see what I can pull from this computer." Zer0-1 ordered. The rest of the clones started setting up the explosives as he went to the computer and plugged an ECHO into it. Angel went to Zer0-1 just as another clone stopped working to talk to him.
"1, even when this is over, do you really think we can trust Angel?" the clone questioned, clearly either ignoring her presence or he just didn't care. Angel shot him a very neutral blank, void of all emotion, just like her father taught her. Once Zer0-1 was done downloading any useful data from Vladof, he unplugged his ECHO, stashed it in his pocket, and walked over to the two assassins.
"As if she were my own daughter. All of us aren't really so different, our origins were from the same person, just with different processes." Zero-1 then put a hand on each of their shoulders with a smile. "Since the beginning and from now on, we are all kin." Zer0-1 announced with a smile. Angel couldn't help but drop her blank face and replace it with a smile, feeling like it was her father standing before her. The other clone smiled and nodded at Angel, accepting Zer0-1's response. A clone at the door called that the explosives were ready. Once everyone was braced, he blew the door to reveal the front had become a warzone between soldiers and the robots, now showing a blue light.
O00000O00000O
The group on the ridge readied their weapons once they saw the power go down and all the robots slump forward, the red lights going out.
"Shouldn't the robots be on our side now?" Justin questioned as he started down the scope of his sniper rifle, looking at the now deactivated robots.
"I think so." Nickoli responded, both arms in their weaponized forms. According to Rhys and Lydia, the virus was supposed to rewrite the robots friend/foe subroutines.
"So when do we shoot?" Justin questioned, clearly having an itchy trigger finger.
"When the robots start shooting."
The last thing he wanted to do was ruin the plan by jumping the gun. And if they all made it out by some miracle, he would never hear the end of it from Angel. They watched as one of the few soldiers at the gate walked up to a robot and tapped its head piece. The robots all stood up straight, the red light now turned blue and turned on the soldiers. Their weapons went hot, unloading everything into the soldiers that were at the gate.
One of the guards were able to set off the alarm, drawing all of the soldiers that were on patrol towards the front, where they were met with heavy resistance. The group on the ridge started shooting and heading down to meet the robots, unloading on any soldiers unlucky enough to look at them. They were close to the base when the front door exploded, Zer0 clones as well as their friends running out and firing at the Vladof soldiers. The group exiting the building were lucky enough to have the robots as cover, the machines giving them covering fire as well as cover themselves. Angel stopped running and turned back, realizing that she forgot about Zach and Krystal.
Luckily, when she turned she saw Krystal and Zach limping out of the entrance they made, Zach leaning on Krystal for support.
"Lydia! Lead the clones to safety! I'm going to help Krystal and Zach!" Angel shouted as she headed back to help her brother. Lydia nodded and continued pressing on. Angel fell back, unloading her infinity pistol on any soldiers that even seemed like they would get in her way. One soldier tossed his rifle in the air as Angel unloaded into him, Angel holstering her pistol and catching the rifle. After a few more shots from Angel's rifle, she caught up with Krystal, taking Zach's other side so they were basically carrying him.
Their pace quickened as they crossed back through the warzone, smoke rising from the destroyed vehicle patrols and rocket launcher craters. Two robots broke away from the fighting and took Zack from the girls, picking up the pace significantly. They moved to the large group's defensive position, two destroyed vehicles that acted as cover. Angel, Krystal and the robots with Zach joined the group, adding to the defense. The remaining robots moved to the cover, but stood outside of it, acting as a moving wall.
After a minute of fighting, a large drop ship honked in the distance, coming towards their cover.
"That's our getaway ship! Let's go everyone!" Claptrap cheered as he rolled over to Zver and jumped onto his back. "OWARD MY TRUSTY STEED! ARIBA ARIBA!"
Everyone started hauling to the drop ship as it landed, Nickoli the first to jump in. He went to the driver, only to discover something far from ordinary. It looked like a golden skeleton with a Loader Bot eye for the head.
"What the!?" Nickoli cursed a bit, a tad surprised by the driver. "Did… Rhys send you?"
"Yes, he did." The driving robot responded in the voice of a Loader Bot. The ship waited for everyone to jump in, Zack being hauled on by the robots. Krystal took a seat next to Zach, leaning him on her for support.
"You look like shit bro… but you're safe now." Angel chuckled and then sighed. As soon as she finished her statement, a bullet flew past her, grazing her arm. She turned back to see the torturer, holding her bloodstained gut, clearly on her last leg of life.
"You aren't… taking my bitch… from me…" She coughed and cursed as she trained her gun on Zach, ready to end him. She seemed like she was about to speak, when her head suddenly vanished in a spray of bullets. Angel looked back to see Zach holding her Infinity pistol, very weakly though.
"Now… you're my bitch…" Zach grumbled weakly as he dropped his arm and the pistol. The two robots shut the doors as Krystal slowly moved Zach to the medical stretcher that was provided in the dropship. The dropship took off, leaving the sounds of gunfire and explosions far behind them. Angel took a deep breath and sighed in relief as she took a seat next to Nickoli.
"We got your brother back." Nickoli sighed in relief as he wrapped an arm around Angel's shoulders. Angel looked around, seeing Justin drool over the robots like a kid on Christmas as well as Patrick slumped into a corner, snoring his throat sore.
"Driver, take us to Concordia. We need to get my brother some medical attention." Angel called out, feeling her own eyes get heavy.
"Affirmative. I could use a copilot, if there are any volunteers." The driver replied. Lydia was the first to step up, moving to the copilot's seat. Claptrap started doing a victory dance to everyone's amusement, although it was more amusing to watch Zver join in, bobbing his head to Claptrap's self provided music.
"Come on Angel, get some sleep." Nickoli urged shaking her shoulder a bit. She rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. Exhaustion and relief flooded over her, letting pass out almost instantly.
A/N: There you have it! Zach is out of prison and everyone is happy! Will it last? Find out next chapter! PM for any questions comments or concerns. Until next time!
-Chief