Sigh... welp, here we are again. Another big hiatus. And this chapter somehow ended up way bigger than I anticipated. It's funny how I get to the parts I'm excited for, but then I slow down, like I was dreading it after all. Weird.
As a reminder, I plan to have this story done at 80, if not 81. We'll see what happens.
As always, thank you all for sticking with me through this. Been nearly 3 years.
The massive crimson giant towards which their humble balloon headed was colored an unsettling dark, almost black shade of red... the color of his father's hellish aura, which belonged to him now. The color of blood.
It was the most motley of crews: an unorthodox assembling of 8 if ever there was one. But like with all major crises, human beings could be counted on in those drastic times to put aside differences, beliefs, transgressions of the past, recent and long term, to combat an immediate threat to public safety or the world.
"Just so you know, if you cause any trouble up there, we'll see how well Lefty and Righty float." Mai threatened her blonde 'counterpart', who responded in turn with a scowl.
"Worry about your own arse. It's a nice, presentable target."
"This isn't helping." Lin interjected between them. "We face death up there, and not the kind you can see... the quick, instant kind. The kind that will claim you in a flash, before you've had time to think your last thoughts. The only way we survive, is to keep a cool head, our wits about us... and work together."
Lien rolled her eyes. "Never my strong suit. I'll go up there and handle business... but it'll be my way, and nobody will get IN my way."
"You guys..." Athena's voice had no shortage of concern for their compatibility as teammates.
At the helm of the balloon, Ai furiously clung to the cap on her head, her pigtails whipping in the powerful wind. She yelled with some strange enthusiasm: "30 SECONDS TO THE SHIP~!"
That was Yuki's cue to strengthen his wrist beam even further, jettisoning them at breakneck speed to close in and intercept the colossal air fortress.
"Come in, Adel."
His thoughts were interrupted by the voice in his earpiece, which had been provided to all participants by Heidern before departure. He grasped the little device, speaking into it. "Go ahead."
"I've been scanning the layout of the ship and analyzing their forces. I'll have to go silent inside the ship as to not blow your cover, so listen up now. You're dealing with approximately 30 law enforcement personnel, a combination of local and special forces. I'm seeing small arms on the locals, handguns, MP5s. Lethal at close quarters. Judging from the outlines, the specials are carrying G36Cs. I see at least one shotgun, probably for breaching."
"Understood." Adel replied.
"Listen... watch yourselves up there. Don't let them bunch up, and don't let yourselves get caught in a cluster either. Maintain intervals. Move fast, and take them down as quickly as possible. Don't let them blink. You guys know what you're doing."
"I'll make sure everybody gets some safe, sir." Adelheid assured. "It's the least I can do, considering..."
"WE'RE AT THE SHIP!" Ai blurted. "Where do we get off?!"
Adel ceased his talk with Heidern, to tend to the present matter. "Take us around the side! There's an emergency exit around there that leads to an area probably not well-guarded!"
"ROGER THAT~!" Ai saluted.
The balloon took a sudden juke, headed around the side, where one of the designated exits for the massive ship provided a hopefully discreet avenue to infiltrate.
"Um, why can't we just land near the main deck?" Andy questioned.
Adel opened his mouth, but Lien cut in. "Because, genius, the whole ship would be alerted to our presence, and we'd be looking down the barrel of every gun as we get bottlenecked. We have to sweep the ship anyway, so we might as well be smart about it and pick them off one by one."
"Hey, don't correctly answer my man's inquiry!" Mai bobbed her head sassily. "It can get all kinds of crazy up in this balloon!"
"Mai..." Andy groaned.
"Mai-san, please..." Athena pleaded.
"Oh come on, why are you looking at me?!" Mai grunted. "Mary said she was a bitch, and I trust my future in-law's every word. If the jumpsuit fits... well actually, it look like it doesn't, but that's beyond the point...she can't be trusted."
"The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go back to being out of each other's lives." Lien quelled the heat. "So we can all stand around having a good old chinwag about it, or we can go in there and mop up."
"We're here!" Ai announced. "Cmon Yuki!"
The Agent was finally able to abandon his role as the balloon's afterburners, and joined the rest of them, where the balloon now floated just beside the door which would grant them the first step to liberation.
"Isn't this fun, Andy?" Mai affectionately hugged the ninja's arm. "Our first bona fide assault! I feel so badass!"
Andy scratched his head nervously. "I can think of better things..."
"Munich's finest" had dug in, and were taking defensive positions throughout the ship...
...Not entirely. Though they were thoroughly under Botan's mind control, they had yet to see combat or even an ounce of purpose since their induction. Left to their own accord, minus their independence, they were essentially chilling, blissfully unaware, on an air ride to total destruction. The forecast of their own suicides went unregistered: a testament to Botan's effectiveness. Thus, in one of the lounge areas of the Sky Noah, the peace officers stood around... and ignorantly awaited their demise.
"Hey, you. Go out on patrol or something." one of the salaried servants of the public admonished his colleague. A handful of local police were chilling in what appeared to be one of the lounge rooms of the Sky Noah. Comfortable furniture, pleasing artwork adorning the walls, a television... in room like this, it would be a tremendous chore to have to get up and be productive.
"For what?" the fellow officer argued back, his body sprawled out on the couch, magazine in his hand. "We're on a flying fortress. Who's gonna be up here?"
"Just act like you're doing your job."
"You do it."
"It's YOUR turn."
"Who decided whose turn is whose to go on patr-"
CRASH!
Sentiment wasn't his number one concern about a wooden door, which could be easily replaced; thus, a solid kick from Adelheid blasted it from the hinges and sent it rocketing into the room with a wicked spiral; a few of the officers had to dive just to avoid it.
The diversion of the door paved way to the rest of them infiltrating... and from there on, it was less a battle than a massacre.
"BACKUP! SEND BACKU-AAAGUhhhh...!"
A Psycho Ball soared fast and true, but was a little too late to strike the man before he got his radio to his mouth.
The rest of them fell before they could get their handguns from the holsters. A Deadly Ninja Bees elbow strike knocked one into the nearby wall, felling a painting... but it landed safely atop the man, and wasn't damaged. The officer on the couch rolled off, hitting the floor, and in the ensuing scramble to get to his feet, a spinning kick from Adelheid crashed into his temple and put his lights out. He collapsed... right back onto that same couch, now snoozing peacefully.
The room was cleared in such a small amount of time, it may have even been a world record, if such a thing was documented.
"They know we're here now." Andy stated the obvious.
"That works for us." Adelheid assured. "They'll break apart and fan out, start searching the ship for us."
"So what do we do?" Athena asked.
"We do the same. Split up, and spread out. Make ourselves a smaller target. Makes it easier to pick them off, thin their numbers."
"Well there's eight of us." Mai noted. "So we'll go two apiece! I know who I'm going with~" she clung affectionately to the object of her infatuation.
Adelheid smiled slightly. "Mai, Andy, you two go together. Yuki, Ai..."
"That's pretty much a given, right?" Yuki grinned. Ai giggled.
"If you don't mind..." Lin requested to the Bernstein. "I'd like to go with you. I'll make sure you get back to your sister in one piece. It would help to atone..."
Adelheid patted him with an assuring hand. "I trust you. I'd be honored to have you with me. That just leaves Athena and-"
Adelheid stopped. Taking another head count, they appeared to no longer be the eight strong they started with... a tall, blonde, voluptuous figure who easily stood out in a room, was no longer among them.
"That woman is gone."
Everyone did a double take, their collective faces sharing confusion, before transitioning into the predictable anger.
"Oh no she didn't." Mai growled. "I swear when i see her again, I'll hit her in the face with her own speed bags..."
"That throws off the ratio." Yuki facepalmed. "Now there's only seven of us!"
Adelheid looked over at the Psycho Soldier. "Athena, if you want to go with us-"
"It's okay." Athena settled everyone with a confident smile. "Seriously. I don't mean to brag, but... bullets... can't exactly hurt me. I'll be fine on my own."
Adelheid nodded. "Just make your way towards the main deck. If you HAPPEN to stumble upon our missing counterpart..."
"...I'll give her a stern talking to." Athena grinned. "Maybe more."
Adelheid smiled, but in a split second, his face reverted back to a serious scowl. "Alright then... lets go get my ship back."
"This is Sabre. Be advised, multiple contacts have breached the ship. Spread out and sweep. Rules of engagement are shoot to kill. I repeat, do NOT take any into custody."
"Check corners!" one of the heavier armored officers issued a command to his fellow peacekeepers, armed with standard MP5s. "These guys are professional fighters! They're tricky!"
"I hear those Kings of Fighters are real badasses."
"No match for a gun, though." one of the more cocky personnel boasted.
A group of about eight had saturated the room, their automatics darting from corner to corner, a hint of nervousness in the more conservative of the bunch, who knew and respected the power of King of Fighters contestants. There were still some, however, who not yet knew to fear it.
"This room's clear." the point man declared. "Let's move on t-"
"ZAINEKEN!"
Those foolish words proved to be his last as a conscious man, as a human torpedo soared out of nowhere and not only took him out, but struck the sloppily bunched-up officers like a row of bowling pins, disorienting most of them in the initial hit. One of them recovered and tried to aim; Andy grabbed the gun at the barrel and drove an elbow upwards at a 90 degree angle, toppling him with his chin sky high. He swung the now-captured gun around, slamming it into the shin of another, dropping him to the floor with an agonized scream. He released the weapon and spun around, driving a knifehand into the jaw of another. Before the dazed man could hit the ground, Andy grabbed him and went airborne, freefalling backwards... their combined body weight plowed into the remaining four and knocked them to the ground before they could get their weapons off.
A ground strike finished off the fifth one. Number six tried to struggle to his feet, but Andy had him by his gear, and he dragged him to the nearby wall, where a chop to the back of the neck sent him facefirst and, inevitably, to a snoozing body on the floor.
The last remaining one was a safe distance away, had his weapon up, aimed directly... he had a sure shot.
"HISHOUKEN!"
But Andy was capable of long range as well, and a fireball struck him dead-on before he could squeeze the trigger.
Andy took the slightest of moments to admire his handiwork of the eight downed assailants, before heading off to regroup with Mai, who was hopefully having the same luck.
"Spread out! Spread!"
"They've probably separated. Keep your eyes OPEN. These guys are tricky."
"Sabre, we've secured the eastern sectors. Still no sign of them. We'll keep you updated. Over."
"Roger. Sweep and sanitize the entire ship. Don't leave a mattress unturned."
Six more had broken off and formed a search party, the manhunt continuing diligently for signs of the supernatural warriors. These ones weren't clad in heavy gear; their light attire and mostly handguns indicated they were probably beat cops at best.
"This is Chief Tirpitz. Multiple contacts have breached the ship. We're estimating at least ten guys. Your orders are to find them and neutralize them. Shoot to kill. The mission continues... no matter what. That is all."
The one in the lead, armed with a submachine gun, scanned the room carefully...the barrel brandished, covering every square inch of the room they were in. Left corner... right corner... top... bottom... there was no sign of anybody. The room HAD to be clear. And it was.
...Unless a master of the stealth arts was present.
"Clea-ARGHhhh!"
A red blur was upon them before they could finish a thought. Mai whipped out a closed fan and smacked the lead man's gun downwards, bringing her arm up quickly to back elbow him in the face. The man next to him aimed and attempted to squeeze off a shot; Mai quickly opened the fan, spreading the paper wide, and the close-proximity jolted the man off-aim, leaving his bullets missing wide right. She closed the fan again, thrusting the solid wood into his nose. As he went down, reeling, she spun around and threw the fan, just in time for it to spiral and smack the gun out of the third one's hand, as his two bullets went into the ceiling and floor. She frontflipped forward, and, at the apex of her majestic legs in the air, hooked them around his neck and grabbed the nearby wall for leverage; a sharp twist of her hips, and she brought the man's head forward, slamming him into the wall hard enough to leave a dent.
Still yet to touch the ground, she used the man's body as a springboard to go high into the air... where she came down on the remaining three like a homing missile.
"MUSASABI NO MAI!" the other three were laid out, like a baseball knocking over glass bottles.
Having polished off the six in no time, she dusted off her hands with a smile, just in time for Andy to come back into the room and check on her.
"Mai!"
"Oh there you are." Mai grinned, before turning back to her handiwork. She whipped out another fan and opened it, using it on herself. "Whew! This is pretty exhilarating... beating up mooks makes me h-"
"Let me guess... horny?" Andy raised an eyebrow.
"...I was gonna say HUNGRY. Jeez Andy... is that all you think about? Typical man." Mai shot him a joking sneer.
"Oh brother..." Andy rolled his eyes.
"Shots fired shots fired!"
"It's close! This way!"
The fighters' presence on the ship was becoming less and less vague.
It was no longer a mystery intruders had boarded the ship, especially now that it had escalated to a weapon discharge.
"Chief, we have shots fired in the eastern sector, moving to intercept. How copy?"
"This is Tirpitz, solid copy. Watch yourselves."
"Sergeant, over here! We've got her!"
The one they were claiming to have "got" was none other than a popular Japanese pop idol, though her status and recognition was lost on the addled minds of the officers, who thought no more of her than an intruder they were ordered to neutralize.
The confrontation wasn't as clear cut as described on radio; they were currently in a bit of a standoff, with several armed officers aiming at her, while the Psycho Soldier stood there with less fear than... sympathetic hesitation.
"Get on your knees!"
"ON YOUR KNEES!"
"DO IT NOW!"
Ever one to favor the shield over the sword, Athena's natural disposition prevented her from relentlessly running through the misguided grunts, instead futilely attempting diplomacy.
"You're making a big mistake. I beg of you, just-"
"WE WILL SHOOT YOU!"
"Please don't."
.. But her acute senses picked up that this ploy would fail, even before the gunmen themselves did. All at once, the room rattled with thunderous pops, as their weapons all unleashed at once...
"AAAH!"
"AUGHH!"
"AHH!"
The next orchestra was that of pained yelps, followed by a rhythmic dropping of light-to-heavy armored bodies. By the time the chaos subsided, Athena was the only one standing, her Psycho Reflector still active as she gazed with pity upon the rolling, writhing, groaning bodies before her, all felled by their own bullets.
"Sigh...well, I warned you..."
On a different sector of the ship, more combat had been engaged between the two opposing forces... but this battle seemed to be over, and it had not gone well for the armed forces. Their bodies lay sprawled out, low moans and slightly moving limbs indicative of the pain they were in, adequately assuring they wouldn't get up and harass anyone again. They knew not what force of nature they had tampered with... an unorthodox, borderline supernatural force, that destroyed all in her path with a repertoire of skills that no other being on earth could replicate...
"Hey Yuki! Hey! Yuki! Yuki!"
"What?"
As the two agents walked through a corridor, the groaning bodies behind them lay still... pinned underneath colorful blocks of various shapes and colors, originating from the videogame of old. Their bullets were no match for the unholy rain of Tetris shapes she could produce from her handheld gadget.
"You know what game this reminds me of?"
"Ai..." Yuki sighed. "...Not everything we do together can remind you of Ikari Warriors."
"I wasn't gonna say that!" Ai pouted.
"Okay then... what?"
"Wolfenstein!"
"I... uh... wha...?"
"You know, Playstation!"
"A-Ai! YOU CAN'T SAY THAT KIND OF STUFF!"
"What do you mean?"
"It's just not right! You can't! You just... can't!"
"What's wrong with Playstation?"
"STOP SAYING IT!"
"Okay okay... jeez."
"Besides... that's a very bad example to be picking anyway!"
"Uhhh, why?"
"Because they're Germans and you're talking about Wolfenstein, dummy! Put two and two together!"
"...I wasn't even talking about that! I was talking about the sneaking around, taking people out stealthy-like part! Jeez Yuki, now you got me thinking I said something wrong."
"YOU DID!"
Adelheid and Lin had managed to be the only two to slip through the ship undetected. One could chalk it up to Lin's prodigious stealth capabilities, but a more viable answer was the benefit of the lord of the ship knowing the most efficient routes.
"I say we head straight for the main deck and end this." Adelheid spoke with a low-simmering fury. "With any luck... she'll be there."
"Don't be foolhardy." Lin deterred him. "The path of vengeance can tempt you to be quick, careless, wanting the swiftest gratification...and that can lead to self-destruction. We must consider our allies and their well-being."
"But wouldn't knocking her out put a stop to this? We'd free their minds and everybody would be safe."
"Perhaps, but we can't underestimate our opponents. You're far from perfect condition. I suggest you use your knowledge of our surroundings to get behind the enemy; flank them, and clear a path for us all to regroup. We'll take the ship together."
Adelheid seemed slightly hesitant...but finally grunted in approval. "You're right... we'll serve the dual purpose of ensuring their safety and having strength in numbers."
"...I know what it's like, kid."
Adelheid turned around; Lin had stopped moving. His eyes, usually hard to read, bore a strange... sincerity... that Adelheid hadn't yet been treated to.
"To want to strike at someone so intensely, your blood burns like venom pumping from your heart. Vengeance is an unpredictable hunt; it can come disappointingly quick, or excruciatingly long. It may take a lifetime, or it may come at any given morning when you wake up. The agony of not knowing...you must suppress it, or it'll eat you alive. You mustn't let it dictate your actions, your judgement." he spoke calmly, but frankly.
"But I've got to get her...I've GOT to." Adel argued. "Not just for personal gain...for the safety of the world."
"She will come. Let it happen naturally. Not at the expense of the moment."
A sigh. He knew Lin was right... just like Heidern was right. It just became exhausting at times, having to think about the good of others, instead of the selfish path... the path that might make him feel good for a second, even if it cost more. With a relenting sigh, he decided to keep being a leader.
"In that case...the main deck can wait. Let's go this way. We can cut across and double back to the others."
His priorities again attuned, Adelheid got on his headset and attempted to contact the others, who he hoped were not currently in a scenario that required stealth. The frequent gunshots he was hearing would indicate not.
"Yuki, Ai, what's your status?"
"Yuki here. We just mopped up a bunch of em near one of the rec areas."
"I know where you are. Keep going down that hallway and make a left. We should be able to link up from there."
With the Japanese agents accounted for, Adelheid checked on the next duo. "Mai, Andy, how's it going?"
"We're good over here, but I'm a bit parched! Might swing by the kitchen for a... wait, hold that thought."
"...Mai? What is it? Mai? Mai!"
No response. If the well-being of Yuki and Ai had quelled his nerves at all, the sudden unknown from the ninja couple sent them flaring up again.
"Damn..." Adelheid cursed. "We've got to go check on them, Lin. We're all in this together, and I won't leave a man unattended!"
Lin nodded. "That's more like it. Let's go then."
The two proceeded in the opposite direction of their main goal, their main concern now the safety of their teammates above stopping Botan's madness. They still had time. They were all going to end this... together.
"Yuki, Ai!" Adelheid called into his headset. "Proceed to the rally point without me. We're going back to check on Mai and Andy. You two stay safe... and pick up Athena while you're at it."
"Roger that. What about our blonde friend?"
A sigh... he'd almost forgotten about her. "...Her too."
Aside from that one incident where she stumbled into a large group armed lawmen, Athena had been lucky. It may have been in part due to her being on what was probably the "outskirts" of the flying fortress. Her inexperience with these surroundings had shown; she was drastically lost, heavily off course, perhaps farthest from the objective out of all of them. She couldn't help but feel a slight irritation towards herself; she came along to use her powers to help the others, but she was helping no one being lost like this. She was also too scared to get on the headset and call for help, for it may compromise the others during a time where stealth was needed.
So she continued to wander, hoping that eventually she would naturally carry back in the desired direction of the large, confusing compound. Luckily, she wasn't as lost as she'd thought...a few more steps down the corridor gave birth to distant noise within earshot. There was action, all the way out here?
The possibility of it being her friends compelled her to sprint, eagerly closing the distance until the audio finally became visuals.
The sight that greeted her, finally, was NOT someone she'd call "friend"... but an unwelcome, inevitable reunion with the yellow-clad woman who had gone AWOL.
Hold it right there, little lady-UNNGH!"
She seized the condescending officer in a headlock with her gauntlet arm, before extending her boot in a front kick to the pelvis of the second one, temporarily stunning him. She lifted the head of the one in her grasp, smashing through his protective head gear with a short punch from her gauntlet, letting him crumple to the floor. As the second one tried to recover from the kick, a full-power hook to his jaw laid him out as well.
Lien stood there for a moment, observed the still bodies, pleased with her handiwork. But her sharp ears captured a presence behind her; swinging hard, she raised her fist in retaliation...
...Only to see it was the pure eyes of the Psycho Soldier.
"You." Lien called out with less emotion than a bag of chips.
Athena, however, was much more emotional. "What do you think you're doing? You abandoned us!"
Lien finally lowered her fist, but her dead expression remained. "The majority of you didn't seem to want me around anyway. Figured you wouldn't mind."
"You know what's at stake here!" Athena snapped. "How can you act so selfish?"
Lien, who wasn't interested in an argument, showed even worse disrespect, by simply turning her back and walking onward. This flustered Athena even further, who was not willing to let it go.
"Hey, I'm TALKING TO YOU!"
The blonde stopped again. She didn't turn back around, but words still came.
"...Scurry along now, little popstar."
Athena rarely lost her patience with people...but this woman demonstrated an uncanny talent for it. She stepped forward, angrier. "Excuse me?"
Lien continued to show her back. "This place, what's happening right now...you don't belong here. This is a world you don't understand: where people either use or are used. Where one person's sins aren't forgotten by another, and the cycle of vengeance continues perpetually, like a broken wheel."
Athena swung her hand in dismissal. "I don't care about any of that. I came here to protect people... that's all. You came here for selfish gratification. YOU'RE the one who doesn't belong here."
A scoff. Lien's feet suddenly found motion again, and the back of her head became more distant by the second. "Guess we'll see."
Not content to let the blonde have the last word, Athena called out. "You don't stick with the team, you're on your own! Your safety isn't a guarantee here!"
Lien kept on walking. When she was a fair distance away, she muttered under her breath,
"Never is."
"Mai, Andy, what's going on? Talk to me!" Adelheid interrogated with slight desperation in his voice. The other side finally picked up; when he heard gunfire, his heart sank.
"We're good over here! Just ran into a bit of an ambush is all!"
He was relieved to hear her voice, but his haste still quickened. You guys hold on! We're almost there!"
Unfortunately, what was the quickest route to Mai and Andy's position housed an obstacle: one capable of hindering their progress by several precious minutes.
"In front!" Lin called to him, and the Bernstein man looked forward to see a truly frightening roadblock indeed.
It didn't take glasses to see he was not a lawman; dressed not in standard gear, a pristine black tuxedo adorned his tall, slender body. A white silk-gloved hand reached up...and gently adjusted the spectacles on his eyes, causing them to shimmer ominously.
"Hein." Adelheid declared the name of their ally, their obstacle, their reluctant opponent.
"I apologize for my brusqueness..." Hein spoke in his typical posh tone, his hand still on his glasses. "...But my mandate is to terminate your lives."
Before Adelheid could take a step forward, Lin interjected, getting in front. "Stay back, Bernstein. I'll hold him off. When you see an opening, slip past and hurry onwards..."
Adel shook his head. "That's not happening. You can't beat him on your own."
"You're in no shape to fight." Lin argued back.
"That's why I need you. I'll create a diversion...you know what to do."
Lin gazed warily at him for a second; he had qualms about letting the wounded man put himself at risk. If he didn't make it home, Lin's word would be broken; he'd carry that dishonor to his grave. But Adel spoke the truth nonetheless; it'd take them both to bring the fearsome butler down.
Regardless of their unanimity, Hein gave them no more time to debate this, as he rushed in with fingers poised to pierce, Adel just barely dodging the first thrust, before Hein spun around with a massive swipe, finally twisting back around to unleash one more thrust. His fingers slipped just past Adel's head, putting their bodies in close proximity, and even from that short range Adel generated enough power to kick his knee out, staggering him backwards enough to nail his body with a more proper-powered kick.
Hein took the hits, but seemed unbothered. The two back at range, Adel inched forward carefully...he quickly lunged and pivoted hard, throwing a powerful roundhouse; despite it being his bad leg, he still favored it. Unfortunately, Hein wisely threw a leg up in turn and checked it... and the rawness of Adel's wound was reminded quickly, as the blonde gave a pained hiss and collapsed awkwardly on his knee.
The next thing he saw was a rare moment of panic for him: Hein's glasses shimmering, as his hand glowed with a demonic aura and headed towards his face... Adel had to push off with his bad leg and basically crash into Hein just to slip the attack; hooking an arm around his neck, Adel shot forward with some semblance of a Body Press, but the maneuver failed halfway through, and he only succeeded in shoving Hein back a few precious yards.
Lin knew he needed to buy Adel time to recover, so he made his move; backflipping in rapidly, he went airborne into a corkscrew. His Chinese braid whipped out, locking around Hein's arm in mid-air, and, with his massive momentum, Lin took the butler off his feet, crashing them both to the ground, Hein's arm bound.
Adel was already back up; going airborne, he attempted to come down on Hein with a crushing axe kick. Hein's wits were still about him, and he wasn't bound enough to prevent dodging the attack; a quick roll, and Adel missed. His strength dragged Lin back to his feet, and the Hizoku tried to take advantage of their bound state and poison jab him then and there... but Hein was too fast, and he dodged the body blow, before bringing his hand up in time to catch the wrist aimed at his neck. He threw a short, but punishing kick to Lin's knee, buckling him, before a sharp backhand knocked his senses temporarily for a loop.
His arm now free, he turned his full attention to Adelheid, who put full power into a massive kick, using his healthy leg... Hein had to bring both arms up just to block it, and it seemed to push his roots backwards, like a tree in the wind... but he capitalized on the fact Adelheid was putting standing weight on his wounded leg, and a short kick to that spot elicited a loud grunt of pain from the Bernstein... who was simply too wounded and exhausted to realistically stand toe-to-toe with the fierce butler.
'Unnnh... shhhh...i..." Adel nearly cursed as he collapsed for a second time... and Hein brought him down hard with an openhanded strike to the jaw.
Lin snapped back to his senses and rushed in, knowing Adelheid was on eggshells. He fought like raging water, backing Hein up with aggressive combinations. He spun around and whipped his braid, before coming back around and swinging high, then keeping the butler guessing by dipping low and targeting the feet. Hein stayed elusive, and Lin threw his body into more desperate power moves, pumping a huge round kick, that whizzed over Hein's head, but he spun with the momentum and came around with another, this time crashing into Hein's guard. The butler was too fast, too well-versed... Lin's hits couldn't strike true.
They both awaited each other to make the first move; Lin obliged, throwing a kick low. Hein timed it and intercepted it with his own kick, causing Lin to lose the exchange, as the assassin stumbled, and Hein punished him with a swift 1-2 to the stomach, ending with a back elbow that sent his senses awry... as Lin stumbled backwards in recoil, Hein fired a thrusting side kick, blasting him in the chest and flooring the assassin. Lin was feeling the effects of the strikes, as the butler hit hard, and he found himself unable to recover properly, before Hein approached menacingly... those glasses shimmering with ill intent...
...Out of nowhere, a charging Adelheid threw his body low at Hein, swinging his good leg and chopping Hein's knee with a kick so powerful, it pulled the rug out from the butler and he landed hard on his back. The Bernstein man knew what he had to do; knew he himself was in no condition to win the fight. Thus he made the only move that could bring them victory: scrambling atop the downed Hein, he tried to pin him down with his weight, to just hold him for a few precious seconds.
...But already, Hein was regaining the advantage, as Adel's diminished strength wasn't enough to keep him contained. He exploded from bottom, seizing Adel's neck with crushing fingers, and he slammed the Bernstein down, their positions suddenly reversed, with Hein atop him, squeezing the breath from his windpipe with a death grip.
"Ukk...ukkkhhh...kkhkkk..." It wasn't just the crushing constriction of Hein's fingers... but the deadly red aura emanating from the butler, that just made the air around him heavy... made his body want to sink in the ground like quicksand, his limbs and muscles sluggish and useless. He couldn't even lift a defiant arm in desperation... he could do nothing but lay here, and accept it, and pray that an ex machina would break through...
...And the payoff finally came.
Hein's eyes widened with surprise when he felt it: the sharp, stinging jab of purple-green fingers in his neck. His powers suddenly shut down; his body, turned off like a switch. He only managed the strength to turn his head and see the eyes of the sidewinder, Lin, before he lost consciousness, and hit the ground.
Adel sprang upwards with a gasp of life, air returning to him in waves. A few coughs leaked out before his breathing regulated, but he was finally granted a chance to just sit there and... rest. Lin appropriately knelt down to check on him, putting a hand on his back to steady him. He looked down... noticed the fresh red seeping from the leg.
"Your leg's opened back up."
Adel coughed a few more times before looking down, finally noticing. "It can be treated later."
Lin helped him up, and despite the gnawing pain, Adel still managed to walk under his own strength. He looked down at the fallen opponent, who was still innocent in all this.
"Is he okay?"
Lin nodded. "He's a stronger man, so I had to give him a concentrated dose... but by the time his body metabolizes it, victory should be ours."
He tried to offer his arm in assistance, but the Bernstein man dismissed it, already making his way towards the nearest door. "Let's go get our people back and finish this."
"FREEZE-urrghh!"
A collection of thuds indicated each body dropping, powerless against the combined might of two ninja, not to mention two passionate lovers.
"ZAINEKEN!" Andy rocketed forward, his elbow colliding with the officer's stomach just as he'd tried to aim and fire, causing bullets to spray upwards into the ceiling instead of flesh.
A spinning elbow from Mai laid out the man behind her, and she flipped forward into a handstand, her feet locking around the neck of the last man standing. With a pivot of her hips, she sent him stumbling uncontrollably into Andy...
"All yours, babe!"
... Who sent him sky high with a "Shoryudan!" that required several seconds for his body to land back on the floor.
After a moment of admiring their handiwork, Mai chipped in with a curious inquiry. "I wonder if these are the same jerks from the Stadium that tried to arrest us?"
Andy scratched his head. "Can't tell...but would you feel not as bad about it if they were?"
Mai grinned mischievously. "Possibly~"
Their pondering was cut short, by the emergence of a new body; they turned to spot it, and both felt their eyes stricken with surprise, and possible awe.
Among the black bodies, a beautiful white figure stood, an air of grace and elegance about her, that belied how deadly a foe she was. Her lovely raven hair in a white headpiece, clad in an outfit that looked more for provocative modeling than combat, it was only the set of dual butterfly knives that told of the intentions of Adelheid and Rose's exotic "maid".
Mai and Andy both looked at each other, as if silently debating which one was going to take the initiative against her, or if they'd both go together. Finally, Andy demonstrated enough humility to admit his reservations.
"I-I can't fight her dressed like that. It's just...not right."
Mai gave a good natured sigh, patting Andy on the shoulder with a smile. "It's okay, sweetheart. I'll take care of this one."
Andy backed away to give her adequate space, as the alluring kunoichi stepped forward confront the brainwashed maid, who stood with butterfly knives brandished.
"You are interrupting my Master's mission." She spoke with words that were only the illusion of belonging her. "Prepare to die."
Mai whipped out her trademark fan, fanning herself with it, flashing an awkward smile. "Iroha, sweetie, listen... we're both sexy bitches here. I'm sorry I have to mess you up, but hopefully we can make up later with some warm sake and a hot tub-"
Iroha wasn't interested in the spoken words, perhaps not even registering them, as she charged forward and swung the left blade with a vertical stroke that perfectly demonstrated her killing intent. Mai snapped her fan shut and widened her base to absorb the impact of the tremendous slash, which not only struck the wood, but burrowed a solid inch into it. Any harder, and she would have slashed clean though.
Mai didn't have time to count her blessings; the right hand was still in play, and Iroha came across with a horizontal stroke, forcing Mai to break the stalemate and backflip rapidly, as a hands-freed Iroha rushed with a volley of knife strikes. Mai's agility granted her ample range, and after landing a backflip, she quickly flung the cracked fan to gain some time. As predicted, the fan soared towards the majestic crane... and another swipe from her blade finished the chop, slicing the wood in two, as the pieces clattered to the ground.
Mai was already reaching into her cleavage, drawing two more...she had a seemingly unlimited supply. She barely had time to get ready before Iroha was on her again, knives swinging with killing intent. The beautiful bird lunged with a right, and Mai quickly brought her hand out to parry, opening the paper wide and just timing the wrist to make Iroha miss and stumble beyond her. Mai used the closed fan in her other hand to conk her in the back of the head, hopefully knocking her out... but Iroha was fiercely aggressive, slamming the brakes and spinning back the other way with an unholy pirouette of slashes...left, right, left, right, she spun gracefully and her blades flew like a steel whirlwind. Mai caught a small nick on the shoulder, and she could have sworn she felt the tip graze her cheek...
She timed the next spin, and Iroha swung just a little too sloppy, allowing Mai to parry with the wood of the fan, and, with one rotational flick, the left blade flew out of Iroha's hand, clanging in the distance behind her. Now with only one blade, Iroha still seemed unfazed, perhaps mindlessly so. Mai breathed a little easier, regardless.
More confident, Mai anticipated Iroha's next attack: a stabbing thrust towards her heart, which Mai easily intercepted, opening the paper of the fan, allowing the blade to pierce through it, and then snapping the jaws shut, effectively trapping and disarming Iroha where they stood. Now controlling the exchange, Mai gave a sharp jerk downwards, removing the knife from her grasp and exposing her chin... which received a rather nasty upper back elbow from the Alluring Kunoichi, that put Iroha on backwards skates. She stumbled into Mai's kicking range, and the ninja drilled a side kick into her stomach, finishing with a smooth rotation that gave birth to "Ryu Embu!", perfectly timing her special technique so it struck Iroha just at the apex of range, blasting the bird backwards and off her feet.
Still wielding one fan, Mai cautiously approached, silently begging for her to stay down... but the resilient maid again rose to her feet, and, to add to the misfortune... one of her discarded knives was within convenient reach, and Iroha was armed once again. Knowing she needed to finish this, Mai prepared a risky setup, slipping a hand behind her to clutch the tail of her ninja garb... almost presenting herself with her guard down, she enticed Iroha enough for the maid to SPRING forward, with a massive swing!
...That's when Mai sprung into action. With a sharp turn, she let the tail fly, the spherical red ornament swinging out and striking Iroha's fingers, causing her to yelp and drop the knife as quickly as she'd regained it. Now disarmed, Mai let her fan loose, the wood spiraling a short distance and clocking her in the face, stunning her enough for the coup de grace...
Frontflipping for momentum, she vaulted atop Iroha's head, resting her thighs and shapely rear atop the beauty's cranium. Her eyes glowed red hot... as the flames of her birthright unleashed in a short, but powerful combustion, like a petrol bomb. Leaping off, she somersaulted in mid-air and stuck a perfect landing... turning around just in time to see the shocked and awestruck Iroha fall over like a domino, her fight at last exhausted.
When she saw her defeated opponent laying there, outfit in tatters, her fair skin tainted with soot, Mai finally felt sympathy start biting her. There was an almost unconscious comfort in taking down hoards of mooks with guns, but having to rough up someone as pure and lovely as the maid, who probably was gentle at heart in her right mind...it made the kunoichi finally see this ordeal with more empathetic eyes.
"Thank god Silber's not on this ship." Andy approached, attempting to lighten the mood with some reassurance.
"Yeah..." Mai sort of reflexively responded. Deciding now was a good time to give a progress report, the kunoichi got on the headset and contacted Adelheid. "This is Mai. We just took care of the maid!"
"Good. Hold your position, I'm almost there!"
It felt like at least half an hour Athena had been wandering by herself, save for those two chance encounters. Through she didn't think bad of the others, the thought began to creep in her mind that maybe they'd forgotten about her. Or maybe she was just so epically lost, that even the lord of his own ship couldn't find her. She considered finally getting on the headset and calling for help...
...Until one opportune door swung open, and finally reversed her fortune for the better.
"Athena!" The voice that greeted her couldn't have sounded sweeter, belonging to Yuki, of the Japanese agent pairing. Athena felt tremendous relief, knowing that somebody out there still existed.
"Thank god, I've been lost forever." Athena chuckled nervously.
"Adel told us to come pick you up." Ai informed. "He's regrouped with Andy and Mai. We're about to make our final push on the main deck."
"Did you happen to see Lien?" Yuki inquired.
Athena's face reflexively twisted. "I saw her... she's stubborn."
Yuki and Ai looked at each other, before a shrug signified their feelings. "Guess she's made her choice. If she's not gonna cooperate, then good luck to her." the male agent said.
Athena nodded. "Let's just get back with the others."
It was a slight testament to Athena's inexperience in the protocols of raiding and infiltration, but truthfully they were all so late into the game, with confidence soaring sky high over their countless victories, that even the two seasoned Agents had allowed themselves to get slightly sloppy.
"Prepare to breach in 3."
Thus, when they headed for the nearest door, Athena in front, the possibility that the enemy could still get the drop on them had went slightly over their heads.
"Breaching, breaching!"
Before she knew what to think, she heard a LOUD pop; a crunching, and the wood of the door splattered into flying particles, in two different places.
Yuki recognized it first: the hinges. A classic breaching technique of special forces. Usually followed by...!
"Athena, get away from the D...!"
It was too late; Yuki tensed up when he heard the clatter of a metallic canister hit the ground. He gauged the distance between himself and Athena; she was too far away for him to get to her. Thus, he made the only move he could: turn and dive on his partner, sheltering her from the blast.
POPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOPOP! The canister, revealed to be a 9-banger flash grenade, lit up the room with an unpleasant cacophony of popping noises, and a disorienting light show of blinding flashes. Athena was too close to it, and took the most brunt, yelping and collapsing to the ground. She tried to drum up a forcefield... But to no avail, as she found herself trampled over by bodies all at once, ending with her pinned and smothered.
Yuki got off of Ai and tried to rush them...but the tight quarters and multiple bodies worked against him, as his first punch was seized mid-swing, and about two or three of them were able to drag him to the ground. Ai didn't fare any better; as soon as she attempted a swing, her bat was caught and she was taken down.
The three besieged fighters found themselves captive, pinned under the weight of multiple assailants, with assault rifles in their faces. Needless to say... they got caught.
One man, still on his feet, put a hand to his headset and spoke, while the other continued to aim. "Overlord, this is Sabre. We've got three of them contained. How copy?"
"Overlord, solid copy. "Drop them."
"If we keep them alive, we could set a trap to capture the others."
"They're too dangerous to be kept alive! You got three of them captured, you lucked out. You won't get that opportunity again, I assure you. Neutralize them, now!"
"...Sabre, solid copy. They're done. Out."
Athena knew what it meant...they were going to shoot them, right here and now. Stupid! If she hadn't gone for the door...they were going to die and it was her fault. That hurt more than anything: not her career, or not getting to see her family, or not 100% making peace with Kensou... but getting Yuki and Ai, who were relationship goals, killed.
The Agents, strangely, in the face of death, found time to exchange some last odd banter that only they could understand.
"Ahh crap, uhh...Ai...any last affairs we need to get in order before...?"
"Erm, eh...remember when I told you I beat Fatal Fury Special on the hardest difficulty without dying and then beat Ryo?"
"Yeah?"
"...Well I lied. I used the player 2 glitch."
"Oh Ai..."
"Weapons free." The leader ordered...and Athena felt every gun rest on them at once.
She shut her eyes...she had to concentrate right here and now; had to unleash an excessive display of her powers to break out of this. Even if it killed them...
CRASH!
...Thankfully, that scenario would never have to come. Athena couldn't have breathed a bigger sigh of relief when the nearby wall exploded, and their separated allies came barreling in like a freight train. Maybe this is why Yuki and Ai seemed so unworried; it was she who faltered, and underestimated the power of their friends.
They were already rattled by the initial entry, barely able to swing their guns around, so to take the super move of Mai, who had one in the chamber, made it even less a battle than it already was. The flaming kunoichi felled three of them, and by the time the other three started trying to get their shots off, Athena was back on her feet.
"Hrrrahhhhhhhh!" Her eyes glowed purple as her Psycho Power manifested, with her full mental focus. Their aiming arms were thrown completely off-track, and they found themselves spraying the ceiling, before surrendering their guns altogether. This made it all too easy to clean up; one tried to reach for his handgun, but Andy held his wrist at the holster and crashed a curving elbow into his jaw, knocking him out. Lin had the other one dead to rights, using Sting of the Asp to throw a surprise jab into his back calf, stumbling him and setting him up for a leaping hook kick knockout.
Adelheid took the leader, codename Sabre, without fear. The last standing officer valiantly drew his tonfa and inched forward, determined to meet the Bernstein in hand to hand. A brief feeling out process passed, before the lawman lunged with a wide swing, which was evaded even on a bad leg, and he doubled back with a backhand, also evaded. He took one more ill-advised swing before Adel caught his attack, and drilled a flat forearm into his nose. As the man reeled, Adel dipped low with both fists combined, chopping his calf to clip him down to one knee...before rising up, and swiftly finishing the job with a ramming kneecap to the face, laying him out.
The heroes, once a united front that split up, was now united once again, back to their original strong numbers.. minus one.
"Thanks." Athena bowed. "I...made a mistake."
"They got the jump on all of us." Yuki defended, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Guess me and Ai need a refresher course on checking rooms."
"What matters is we're safe." Adelheid spoke sincerely. "Has anyone seen our seventh man?"
Silence.
Lin stepped in. "That woman doesn't need anyone worrying about her. I suggest we press on and finish this thing."
Adel nodded, as did the rest of them. They moved, as one complete unit...towards the final destination.
Nervous breathing became panicked pants. Her heart pounded faster, as anxiety creeped in, casting a shadow...
As she hid, she knew something was wrong; her strength had been returning little by little over the course of the hour, and that only meant one thing... her puppets were falling. One by one.
When she felt two massive energy spikes return to her, she quickly deduced that there were some powerful intruders onboard, bent on liberating the ship from her clutches. It was only a matter of time before they hunted her down as well. The yearning for revenge burned hot...but as long as she lived, there would be other opportunities.
Already she was forming her escape plan. She'd have to wait until the ship landed, slip out of one of the emergency exits... She had enough power now that she could take over one of the stronger ones. Maybe multiple ones, if she were desperate.
She couldn't have predicted what fate was about to befall her, though. When she heard it: the clacking of boots drawing nearer and nearer, giving way to a strangely-proportioned silhouette, from head to toe, rounding the corner towards the doorway, she swallowed, unsure and unprepared. She had been prepared for the possibility of someone finding her, even him; that's why she chose his master bedroom as a hiding place. But this stranger, who approached...just the shadow itself sent an unsettling, anxious chill into her...like it was someone she already knew she didn't like and didn't want to see.
When that voice finally spoke, it became inexplicably clear they were.
"Ello there." The tall blonde spoke with a disgusting smugness, a sly, cocky smile on those self-important lips.
"You?" Botan was taken aback. "You're here? Don't tell me you're here to stop what I'm trying to-"
A snort interrupted her. "Hah...you give me too much credit. I could give a rat's arse about the fate of this ship or who it lands on...but you and I have unfinished business."
Botan tensed up, defensive. "What are you talking about...the job? Is that what this was about? I hired you to do a hit and you failed. I don't see how that's my problem."
"You were USING me." Lien retorted. "Same as the rest of them. Only difference is, you didn't have your mind control strings in me, but at some point i realized it didn't matter. You had no intention of paying me anything, because you expected us to either get killed or taken down. Sacrificial pawns. That's why you tried to sink your hooks in when i first got here...but you didn't count on me being just a little sharper than the rest."
Botan shrugged, her defensive scowl remaining. "Fine then. So what? You knew the job, knew the risks. You chose to stay."
Lien gave a sarcastic chuckle. "Heh... that's the thing. Even I'm given to pointless moments of self pride and sentimentality... perhaps I was impassioned by what this job meant to me, but I had a moment of clarity when that git Seth was choking my consciousness away...even now, when I declared this my official breakaway from my past self, when this was to be my first decision as a free woman and not a tool... even now, this job, I'm risking myself at someone else's leisure. I'm a glutton for it. Too conditioned to the lifestyle of being a soulless weapon in a drop dead sexy body. Years of being Duke's bottom bitch left its mark."
She took one threatening step forward, as if to emphasize her point; Botan retreated, but found that she had nowhere to go.
"So I'll try again. From this moment on...I'm done being used. By Duke. By you. By anybody. From now on, things will be on MY terms, or not at all. I'm calling my own plays."
Botan only smirked in defiance. "A little too early to be talking big. Don't you realize you're being used right now? You're on this ship, trying to stop me, because it's what Bernstein wants. You're just another piece, playing their part, going along with someone else's narrative."
"...Wrong."
Botan gasped; but only a squeak came out, as she found her wind robbed, and burning pain course through her stomach. She looked down: a green, glowing fist, embedded in her solar plexus, and she looked up to see two cold, merciless amber eyes peering into her own. And that insufferable smirk, so subtle, on her upper lip...
Botan collapsed to her knees, a gargling, whimpering mess, her mental concentration and physical strength blocked out by overwhelming pain and stolen breath. She could only hear that voice, as it continued.
"I came here of my own free will...and I'm making the choice to bring you to Bernstein myself. He'll be so grateful, they'll have to overlook anything I did to them this week, and let me walk free, without me worrying about a vendetta down the road. It feels good to be the one moving the pieces for once."
"Sabre, come in...come in Sabre!"
The desperation in the chief of police's voice was apparent. From his standing position on the main deck, he had no way of keeping a headcount of his remaining assets. For all he knew, they were all that was left...and he had no choice but to assume that, given he couldn't get anyone else to on the radio.
"Sabre, respond! All units, this is Overlord! Come in! Report!"
Nothing. His precarious situation filled him with hysterical rage, as he slammed the radio down, shattering it into plastic pieces. "DAMMIT!"
He turned and faced what little men he had left: a handful of his locals, in light gear, mostly handguns, with at least a few automatics among them. They were his closest officers, who had been a party to most of the carnage this week, from the Freeman killings, to the massive Battle of Odeonsplatz, to the destruction of Allianz Arena.
"We make our last stand here! They can't breach the main deck!". Misguided though it was, Chief Tirpitz still barked his orders with an inspirational authority.
...Not that it mattered much.
"MULTIPLE CONTACTS 12 O' CLOaaahhh...!"
To even call it a "fight" was an understatement. The bullets bounced off of Adelheid's Dark Barrier as he threw a high kick, knocking the SMG into a vertical spiral, before spinning around and launching him with a back kick. He propelled with that foot and pivoted to kick another, before spinning around and hook kicking another. A Psycho Sword sent two others flying, their bullets spraying hopelessly off target. Ai lunged and folded a lawman inwards with a home-run swing to his stomach, not skipping a beat as she spun with the momentum and knocked out another with her bat.
Chief Tirpitz had been spared just long enough that he could just stand there...in awe of their power. In submissive, terrified humility. He was a mere human, among beings more closely related to gods.
He was finally snapped back to action when he saw Lin approach from the front. He angrily raised his gun and tried to fire... but a lightning fast hand struck the groove of his elbow, the joint bending his arm inward and dropping it from his fingers. A body shot to his slightly doughy midsection, followed by a knifehand to his neck, and the chief of Munich PD was laid out, snoozing peacefully.
The last standing force had been cleared, in record time.
"Well that was easy!" Ai exclaimed, her baseball bat still resting atop a downed body in triumph.
"It's not over yet." Adelheid clenched his fist as he looked onward. "We gotta take out the person flying the ship."
When they finally got to the main control hub- the beating heart of the ship- there could have been all manner of evil mastermind, corrupt organization leader, radical "Messiah" bent on reshaping world, behind the metaphorical wheel.
... instead, the man at the helm was dressed in humble janitor drags, a blue cap on his head, painting a picture of the cruelty of Botan's abilities, that she could corrupt even the most generic of wage-earners to fulfill her dark ambitions.
"Why? Why do you oppose what you can't stop?!" the janitor spoke with hysterical words. "The only dignified course of action is to hold your loved ones, make peace with your god...close your eyes and let blessed oblivion take you to eternal rest."
"Dude, he's zonked out." Ai exclaimed.
"He doesn't know what he's saying. It's a mixture of his own conscious, warped and twisted by Botan's control." Athena analyzed.
The janitor continued his radical ranting. "I know EXACTLY what I'm saying, you stupid... pitiful... annoying flies! I'm going to bring about the end of the age of man, and restore the natural world! No more messes to clean...no longer will i mop up the putrescent blood of humans that stains the soil with each pointless conflict! Humans are waste... filth and excrement! I'm going to clean it all...cleanse EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING NEAT AND CLEAN..."
"Poor fella... I wonder if that's how he really feels, or if his subconscious thoughts and feelings are just being amplified." Yuki sympathized.
"In any case, he's about to get some time off." Andy declared.
"Eiji! Seize them!" Liam commanded his last remaining bodyguard, who had no free will to refuse.
"Don't hurt him. He's a victim in all this, just like the rest..." Adelheid reminded them.
The purple ninja, still robbed of his free will, did only what he was ordered and leaped towards them, somersaulting into his patented Pegasus Kick.
Andy volunteered, stepping forward and bringing his arms up to block the impact; Eiji used the momentum to launch himself off Andy's arms and backflip to a safe distance.
"Zaineken!" Andy shot forward with his speeding bullet of an arrow, but Eiji sidestepped to evade it, and they ended up at a right angle. Andy swung to the side with a chop, but Eiji caught his wrist, trapping them close; he shoveled two sharp palms into Andy's ribs, before the Bogard used his superior strength to reverse their positions. Their bodies together, Andy was still able to generate enough power to crack him with a short uppercut, creating just enough inches of distance to drill a sharp palm into his gut, before a backfist to the face finally separated them, and Eiji staggered backwards to range.
"Hishouken!" Andy capitalized by trying to blast him...but Eiji was a savvy anti-projectile fighter, who already had his defense planned, spreading his hands out with a screen of orange chi that sent the fireball right back at Andy. "Ryu Ei Jin!"
The Bogard brother somersaulted over his own projectile, and Eiji seized the opportunity to swing a knifehand; Andy just barely was able to block it, and Eiji spun around with a reverse knifehand, which Andy was forced to sway to evade. The ninja's aggressive combo continued with a double kick, leading with the left, before bringing that foot back down and springing with a right. Andy was quick enough to dodge the bigger attack, as Eiji's feet slapped off his palms. Andy took advantage of the recovery to close in, tuck an arm under Eiji's armpit, and throw the ninja over his shoulder... but Eiji nimbly recovered in mid-air, somersaulting and landing at distance.
The two back at range, Andy made no sudden moves; he tensed up, as he saw Eiji's hands slip behind his back, onto the handles of his knives...
"Wait!"
Andy's focus was immediately broken when a red figure stepped in front of him; his worries then changed not to stopping Eiji, but Mai's well-being.
"M-Mai, stay back! He's dangerous!" he urged her.
Mai shot him a quizzical look. "It's still Eiji, right? I think I have a non-violent solution to this."
With an almost uncanny lack of fear, Mai stepped forward, towards the brainwashed purple ninja, who wouldn't think twice about cutting her down. Andy was just at the point of freaking out.
"M-Mai! MAI WHAT ARE YOU D-"
FLUTTER!
...His word literally got caught in his throat, as he began choking, coughing violently on his own saliva.
Mai had grabbed the two rims of her red ninja garb... and with a rustle of cloth, yanked it down in one fell swoop... and it now rested at her feet in a red puddle.
The entirety of the main deck was graced with the sight of the most desirable kunoichi in the land, wearing nothing but her red underwear, and Eiji had been granted a front row seat to the exhibition. His eyes were in a staring match with a pair of a different kind, and the purple ninja looked simply... frozen. Stiff. Like a plank of wood. Unmoving. Possibly not even able to breathe.
Andy just stood there, mouth agape. Yuki was staring and drooling, and Ai's attempts to slap him out of it were ignored. Lin modestly looked away. Athena looked away too, scratching her head consciously... her eyes looked down at her own chest with a silent envy. Adelheid cocked a curious eyebrow, in no hurry to look away himself.
Eiji's body finally ceased to function; he simply fell over, just as stiff, no limbs moving, like a human domino. But the words that came out next were almost classified as a miracle at this point, for they were his own.
"I... I feel like I just woke up from a very long nightmare... and now I'm in a wet dream."
Mai approached the downed ninja, holding her discarded cloth against her body like a towel, knelt down and stroked his mullet head. "It's okay Eiji... the nightmare's finally over. You're awake. You saw my boobies."
The only one unimpressed by all of this was Liam Brantner, the humble janitor, who was too far gone to appreciate a legendary spectacle. "Cute. The temptations of the flesh... silly human compulsions that breed more chaos and violence. The world's better off without it."
Everyone was still recovering from the aftershock of Mai's disrobing, except Adelheid, whose composure ran a little tighter. He limped towards the janitor. "I know it's not you... you're just being used, like all the rest. It's what she does. I feel nothing but pity for you. Now... stand down."
The janitor, who couldn't think with his own rationale, instead grabbed the nearest thing to him: a mop, the primary tool of his trade. Brandishing it like a halberd, he charged at Adelheid, roaring mindlessly, too lost to stop himself.
"FOR SAIKI!"
He swung; Adelheid lifted his leg to absorb the impact, not even caring it was his bad leg, and the wood broke upon impact, leaving the janitor holding nothing but half a stick. A sharp body kick struck him clean, and he doubled over instantly, collapsing to the ground.
And with that, the ship was officially liberated.
His gnawing leg pain couldn't have compelled him quicker to sit down at the controls; it felt good to have them in his hands again. He immediately began a change of course: back towards Munich, to the nearest airfield.
"So what now?" Yuki asked.
"Now, we land this thing." Adelheid responded, his eyes focused on the skies.
"And Botan?"
...A moment of silence. Adelheid still remained focused.
"...She can wait. Right now, the priority is making sure everyone's safe."
Everyone got comfortable on the main deck, their bodies adjusting to the sudden shift of the air fortress maneuvering in mid-air, making a slow but steady 180 turn, back towards Munich... back towards the landing zone. Back to safety.
Adelheid took delight in finally getting on the headset, eager to report the good news. "Heidern."
"I'm here."
"It's done."
"...And Botan?"
"...Like you said, the priority is making sure everyone's safe. She can't get away while we're in the air."
"Good man. I'll see you when you get back, and we'll take her down. Happy landing."
While Adel piloted the ship back to ground, everyone else was left to finally take a much needed breather, and revel in their victory.
"Well, that wasn't so bad!" Mai grinned.
"Did anyone get shot?" Andy asked.
"Well, I came close a few times," Ai admitted, "but my extensive knowledge of FPSs and top-down shooters saved me~"
"There you go again." Yuki rolled his eyes.
The ship finally evened out; it was a much steadier flight from here on, and for the first time, the Sky Noah felt like a cozy ride. It was tempting to all of them to take a seat, grab snacks... but they knew there was still work to be done.
"So... what do we do now?" Athena asked.
"We should try to locate Botan." Lin advised. "Lien too."
"Do we HAVE to?" Mai whined.
"Well, she's kind of the one behind all this, right?" Andy deduced.
"...I was talking about Lien. I wouldn't mind if she got lost in the ship and wandered aimlessly for the rest of her days, living on trash and toilet water."
"Um, M-Mai?" Athena stammered.
"What, you gonna chastise me again? I don't give a flying-"
"Look behind you."
That wasn't just Mai's cue, but ALL of theirs, to turn and look in the distance: near the entrance to the main deck... where a figure stood. Tall. Full-bodied. A massive head of hair. Cold eyes bore the slightest hint of self-satisfaction and smugness. And, wrapped around her arm at the neck, eyes closed, seemingly unconscious...
Lien threw the body down, it slumping at their feet like a dead fish.
"Look who I found."
I'd like to thank two people in particular, Robertcop and Writerperson, for helping pitch some ideas that made it into this fic. They know what they are ; )
"Hold it right there little lady" is a reference to Matrix Reloaded, where some stupid security guy tried to stop Trinity and she laid his ass out.
Athena deflecting the bullets back on the guys is a reference to The Simpsons Movie, when the police try to shoot the dome and the bullets bounce back xD it was purely comedic here, none of them are seriously hurt.
NEXT CHAPTER: The week is over. The tournament is in the air. What now? Does everybody go home? Is there even a winner? And do they realize that Big stole the prize money? A bunch of questions get answered next chapter. TUNE IN NEXT TIME!