Security Headquarters (Axel) for NyteTech was a somewhat rundown and dingy office, with stains on the walls and floors of various unspeakable origins, the occasional light that was a bit dimmer than it should have been, and furniture that was worn and scuffed. Still, it had all the arms and armor you would need, and the breakroom always had hot coffee and donuts. Not for free of course, but it was sold at a discount for employees.
Tina was currently indulging in both. It had been a week or two since their big bounty, but she had Claire had managed to bring in a few other small time perps. They would have had an easier time if they did what most security officers did and shook down people for protection, or picked up people whose only crime was debt or offending a manager, but the duo had resolved to only take on real criminals, especially the violent and dangerous ones.
It had given the two of them something of a reputation, as usually run of the mill CorpSec had very little interest in actually going after dangerous prey. Sure, it often paid better, but that was a good way to get hurt. Shaking down shopkeepers or people behind on their rent was a lot easier and better for your long term health.
"FORD! SHIN! GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE!" a bellow came from the Chief's office.
Tina paused and glanced at Claire, who was getting her own coffee out of the vending machine. "Wasn't me."
"What did we do this time?" Claire sighed, taking a sip of her coffee. She grimaced. "Ugh. I swear, this stuff gets worse all the time."
"I CAN SMELL YOU BOTH, GET OVER HERE!" the Chief roared again.
Sighing, Tina took two large bites of her donut and swallowed, handing the other half to Claire, who gave her half her coffee. It wasn't quite a meal, but if they were in for a dressing down, probably for ignoring a bounty or damaging corporate property in the line of duty again, they would both need something in their stomachs and to be at least slightly awake.
The Chief's office didn't have the poor lighting or threadbare furniture, the big orc having pilfered the best for herself. It did have a potted plant imported from Discord, though it wasn't doing well in the toxic air despite the old air filter churning away in the corner. The Chief herself was an old orc warrioress, though she had long since gone to seed. One of her eyes was gone, replaced with a cybernetic, and she kept a permanent rebreather on her muzzle after the last bout of lung cancer.
Still, Chief Swatti was a tough old broad, and the shotgun she kept in her desk was one she had plenty of experience with. Rumor had it she'd fired several people WITH the shotgun, though Tina was fairly certain that it had only been one time, and the officer in question had thought to use a more traditional orcish method of climbing the corporate ladder.
"There you two are. Close the door and sit down," Swatti growled, looking up from her plant. It was brown and sickly looking, and had steadfastly refused to bud, despite the fertilizer and special imported water Swatti insisted on giving the plant. She pushed it to a corner of her desk and glared at her two officers as they sat. "I take it you haven't heard yet."
"Heard what? We just got in, filing our paperwork from last night before setting out," Tina said, sitting on the nicely padded chair. She sat up straight, with her helmet under one hand on her lap, her shoulders back, and her eyes forward. Claire similarly had good posture, and both their uniforms were clean and well maintained, with each commendation and years of service stripe neatly sewn on.
"Nickles and Farbough are both dead," Swatti growled. "Along with that team of mercs that came through. You know, what was her name…"
"Alison?" Tina gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. "But…we went drinking with her…she was saying she and her team leader were going to retire together after this last job…start a family…"
"Mercs get killed," Claire said with a shrug. "Alison was nice enough but she knew what she was in for. But what about Nickles and Farbough?"
Swatti passed over a holocorder, which Tina turned on. She grimaced at seeing the gore. Decapitated bodies, blood everywhere…it was a massacre. It turned her stomach, but only so much. After only six years on the force, she'd seen worse. Though rarely to fellow officers.
"Their vehicle was stolen, we're still tracking it down. Corporate took extra offense to the theft of company property," Swatti grunted. "But we all know that none of us in this room give a shit about that."
"Ore and Branch were friends," Darkness said, looking up with a stern expression. "Our brothers in arms."
Claire nodded, leaning back and folding her arms over her chest. "So you want us to track down whoever did this and bring them in."
"I don't give a damn if you bring them in. I want them DEAD. For once, Corporate shares the sentiment. Rumor is, it's two Red Eyes and a priority target. Some sort of very dangerous charlatan that hired the demons as bodyguards, they weren't clear. They don't have a description of the third one, only that they are to be killed whatever the cost. Demons are the same. Now, Corporate is offering a million each for demon bodies and a billion for the third, but we both know you could take four demon eyes and sell them to ChimeraCorp for a cool three bil."
Swatti leaned back as Tina sucked in a breath. Three billion… "Now, you might be wondering why I'm telling you girls this, and not anyone else."
"Who else got themselves killed?" Claire said, her teeth gritted.
Swatti sighed. "Smith and Blackback are dead too. They went after the perps as soon as they found the bodies. At that time, it would have just been the standard bounty for killing an employee in good standing and stealing corporate property. But then their bodies were found an hour ago. Corporate is going to send in a black ops team."
Swatti snarled and slammed a fist onto the table, her eyes burning with rage. "WELL FUCK THAT! Those four are MY boys! This is MY turf! And it will be MY people who bring those red-eyed fuckers to justice!"
"I think we agree on that point, chief," Tina said, gritting her teeth. Four fellow officers dead? She felt slightly bad for the Crimson Demons as a people; their treatment was grossly unfair. But slaughtering four of her coworkers? That was too much to tolerate.
"You can count on us. We'll handle it. How long until the black ops team arrives?" Claire asked.
Swatti shrugged. "Wouldn't tell me that, but if i had to guess, they'll be here any time. But you get on the case, and you track those red-eyes down. I'm authorizing you to be put on special administrative assignment, and opening the armory to you. You can take whatever you want for this hunting expedition. On the house."
That announcement made Tina's eyebrows shoot up. "That will cost you."
"Big time," Claire agreed. She tilted her head to one side. "You actually give a damn, don't you, you old warhorse."
Grunting, Swatti leaned back. "Listen. I'm old, and my daughters are all worthless sows. But you kids on my force? You're mine. A clan leader protects her clan. I can't get out there and pound the pavement anymore, but I can make sure my officers are given what they need, and that anyone who fucks with The Axel Clan of NyteTech Security pays for it and everyone knows not to do it while Swatti Gutredsdotter is Chief of Security. You understand me?"
Tina and Claire sprang to their feet and saluted as one. "Understood, Chief."
They went down to the armory after that, keying in the code Chief Swatti had given them. Darkness picked out the best armor she could find, along with a heavy fire axe that was for breaching buildings. She grunted as she gave it a few practice swings, then nodded and holstered it. It would do.
For her part, Claire picked out some light stealth armor and a ghost cloak, as well as a variety of grenades, SMG, and another pistol. "Not going to take a firearm?"
"You're the one who cover's me. I'll be the tip of the spear," Tina said, resting her hand on the axe. She looked around, then grabbed a riot shield even taller than she was. "This is all the weaponry I'll need."
"I've seen you take out steel walls with just your thick head. I'd hate to see what you'd do with that axe," Claire said, chuckling. They both headed out, loaded for bear, then paused at their aircar.
"This could get us killed," Tina said quietly as she stowed the extra gear in the trunk. "All four of those men were veterans. Not as good as us, maybe, but they knew how to handle themselves in a fight. And Bandit and her crew were experienced Eye Hunters."
"Yeah," Claire agreed, putting in her own kit and slamming the trunk. She turned to Tina. "Think we should just half ass it and let the black hats take care of this?"
Tina grimaced and shook her head. "No. They were our brothers, even if they were also assholes sometimes. It is our duty. Besides, if reckless killers like that are loose, who knows how many innocents they'll kill? Corporate won't even care or report those. But I care."
"So do I," Claire agreed. Then she suddenly grabbed Tina, pulling her tight in an embrace. The next thing Tina knew, she was bending her head down slightly as Claire tilted hers up, and then Claire's tongue was in her mouth. After only a few heartbeats, Claire pulled away. "Sorry. For luck. If we bite it, I don't want to have any regrets."
Tina nodded mutely, standing there and half hoping Claire would demand more. But instead, her partner just climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine. Tina got in, and buckled up.
"Let's hunt," Claire growled, and took off into the black underbelly of Axel.
"Rest well, child of stone," Aqua said, closing the blank eyes of the dead dwarf. She bowed her head and reached out to the spirit of the fallen man, guiding his soul to the afterlife. It was harder than normal, as it had been since she'd woken up, but it was something she had to do. It was a part of her, one of her major duties as a goddess. Not one she liked, but one that was needed.
"Aqua, we have to GO!" Megumin urged, a bang resounding from the burning car behind them.
"After I put them to rest. They're just mortals, Megumin. Even if they did follow an evil path," Aqua said sadly. She walked over to the human male next. His head was mostly gone from Komekko's bullets, but she performed the rites anyway.
The two men had been making it very clear they wanted Aqua to get into the car and do…stuff…with them, before they'd gotten some sort of message and immediately shouted at Megumin and Komekko to take their visors off. Instead, the two girls had instantly attacked, and the result had been both brief and bloody.
Watching the young Crimson Demons fight was frightening. Before, Aqua had always been a bit concerned with just how effective the Crimson Demon Clan was at using magic to kill things, but their silly natures and bombast had softened the blow. Now, the magic and theatrics were gone, and all that was left was a reminder that the Crimson Demon Clan was a magically engineered race of super soldiers.
And that they were very, very good at killing things.
Once Aqua had guided the spirits to the afterlife, she allowed herself to be led away by Megumin deeper into the darkness. Though she knew it wasn't quite correct, Aqua couldn't help but think of their surroundings as a dungeon. They weren't quite underground, but the massive structures above them blotted out the sun, and the air was thick was some sort of poisonous , there were monsters.
They turned a corner to find four figures standing around a fire that blazed in a metal can, releasing noxious fumes. Aqua hissed and drew back, recognizing four lizardfolk. Their people were savage, servants of the Devil King for generations. She ducked behind Megumin, who for some reason kept Gram on her back.
Once, the lizardfolk had been beastkin, like several other races created by the gods. But when the Devil King had offered them power, they had agreed. They had grown larger and more powerful, and had become cannibals, eating both the flesh of their foes and that of their own kin and dead. They had been foot soldiers in the Devil King's armies, and had begun spawning in dungeons, their numbers ever increasing.
At their arrival, one of the lizardfolk turned. It was an old female, with milky eyes. She coughed, and held out a taloned hand, her frill trembling slightly. "You can share our fire for a bit of food…"
"Sssss," one of the others hissed, and Aqua saw it was a younger female. There was a gurgling, coughing sound, and then the soft crying of an infant. "Sssss, it's alright."
"Don't want any trouble," one of the males said, large and with broad shoulders. But he was hunched over, shifting from foot to foot, looking nervous. "We heard fightin' a while back. Just move along."
"They're hatchlings and a woman, Ss'at," the other male said, this one older and even more bent. He coughed himself, and shook his head. "Be at peace, warmbloods. We have nothing to share but our fire, but you are welcome to it."
"...that's not right," Aqua said, even as Megumin and Komekko were edging around the fire. "You're lizardfolk…"
"We got nothin'," Komekko said, keeping her weapon hidden. Megumin nodded quietly, motioning Aqua to follow her along the edge of shadow.
"CAW!" Hoost agreed.
The lizardfolk perked up at that.
"Wazzat?" the old female asked, her nictitating membrane flicking over her sightless eyes. Her tongue snaked out, tasting the air. "A chicken? Can we eat it?"
"He's ours, not yours," Megumin growled. "We don't want trouble either. Just passing through."
"Please," the female said, standing up. She was cradling a sickly looking hatching to her bosom. She had no breasts of course, but it was a natural way to hold an infant close. "My son, he is the last of our brood…the only egg that…it's been days. We have some trade! My shawl, it is real fabric! We would trade it for some food…"
Despite herself, Aqua stepped forward. The younger male growled, his crest half rising, but the older male put a hand on his shoulder. "Peace, Ss'at. Look at how the young warmbloods hold themselves. They know how to fight."
"But…we could eat them," Ss'at said, his tongue flicking out. Aqua shied back, suddenly afraid.
"We could. Or they could eat us. This is not our prey," the older male said firmly. He took the shawl from the mother, and held it out. "Any food in trade. My daughter, she is sick. And I do not wish to eat my mother…"
"My flesh for the child," the old lizard matron said quietly. "Tonight, we agreed. If the hunt went poorly."
"What is there to hunt?" Ss'at said, his crest slumping as he sat down, looking beyond exhausted. "There is no more work. There are not even rats now. The last time we tried to eat a carved creature…it killed U'ssul. My last daughter. The hatchling needs proper food."
"But you're monsters," Aqua said, stepping closer, peering at the softly crying infant. "You…you're not people. You serve the Devil King."
"Devil King?" the old matron spat into the flames, which hissed and crackled for a moment. "This for the false savior. We killed the gods and ate them, and their blood poisoned the world. We have paid for our sins, as the world has. The sun is gone, and all warmth has faded. The long night comes, and death comes for everyone. There is no more hope."
"Do not say such things, grandmother," Ss'at said tiredly. "That is but old superstition. I am still strong. I can find work. The hunt will go well. We will live another day. I will not eat you."
"You will or you will die. That is the way of the hunt," the old matron said.
"Aqua, we need to go," Megumin said quietly. "Scalies really do eat people."
"What else is there to eat? Everything else is poison," the older male sighed. He held out the shawl again. "You are not corpses yet. Please. Anything in trade. The creature, or even some scraps…"
Swallowing, Aqua took out five ration bars from her knapsack, and handed them to the astonished older male. "What's your name?"
"I…I am Zr'dok. This is…my family. How…where did you get this? These are real food…"
"Zr'dok…do you renounce the Devil King?" Aqua asked, looking up into the weary eyes of the…monster? No…they didn't feel like monsters…
"A curse on the shell that hatched him, if he ever existed," Zr'dok snarled. He did not eat the ration bars, instead giving one to his daughter, another to Ss'at, and one to his mother. He tucked the last away, and tried to give Aqua the shawl. "It is not worth it but-"
"Why does she keep giving away food?" Komekko asked plaintively. "That's really valuable…"
"I dunno, but let her do her thing. I'd rather not kill the scalies. They're not our foes," Megumin said quietly.
"Do you all renounce the Devil King?" Aqua asked as the other lizardfolk hungrily bit into their bars. The mother was giving chunks of hers to her child, who coughed, but managed to eat.
"I have said it already girl. He abandoned us before my grandmother was in the shell," the matron said.
Aqua nodded. Then she spat into her hand, and before the lizard folk could react, she rubbed spittle into the matron's eyes. "You see the truth. Let your eyes be opened."
"What are you-" the elderly woman battered Aqua's hands away, then blinked. She looked at her hands, even as Zr'dok growled and stepped forward, raising a powerful hand.
"What do you do to my mother?!"
"Son! Be still! Lower your hand!" the matron snapped.
Zr'dok froze, then looked at his mother. He blinked, first one eye, then the other. "You…see? But you lost your sight…what…is this…technosorcery?"
"Who are you?" the matron asked, slowly sinking to her knees before Aqua. "I see…you do not look like anything these old eyes have seen before. And I have seen much, before I lost my sight."
"I am Aqua, Goddess of Water. And I have returned." Aqua held out a hand. "Once, your people rejected the gods. Mk'ona, Matron of Clan Ruddertail, will you repent the sins of your people, and forge your bond with the gods once more?"
Mk'ona wailed, pressing her face to the ground. "Bow, you fools! You stand on holy ground!"
The other lizardfolk knelt, looking confused, even as Mk'ona kicked off the ragged shoes she wore. "I am not worthy…please…my ancestors, their sins…take my life, spare my son and his daughter and her son, even her mate. They are the last of my clan and kin…"
"The gods failed you, Mk'ona. We could not save this world. But I can save you now," Aqua said. She reached out and took the wrinkled old hand of the lizardfolk, and lifted her up to a kneeling position. "I will restore your bond to this world as I heal it, Mk'ona. Your people will be monsters no more."
Mk'ona trembled, her tongue darting in and out of her mouth. "What is your price?"
"I need prayers and offerings, Mk'ona. Your shawl will do. Offer it to the waters in my name, and promise to serve me from now on. You will be my prophetess: Spread my word to your people, and tell them that forgiveness is here, if only they will repent and believe," Aqua said. She smiled, and took Mk'ona's face in her hands. "You must eat the flesh of sentient beings no more. You must keep my commands: To love all, no matter who they are, or what their fetish is, to live life fully each day with no regrets, to give freely the gifts of the gods, and to treasure water, for within it is life."
"Yes. I will," Mk'ona vowed, her tail twitching beneath her rags. "That is…all you demand?"
"I'm not a war goddess, Mk'ona. I don't want your blood. Just remember; Slay the Demons! Defeat the Devil King!"
"It…it will be as you say, Goddess Aqua," Mk'ona vowed.
"Then rise, and heal your family," Aqua ordered.
Hastily, Mk'ona got to her feat. She began chanting a prayer to Aqua, praising her beauty and mercy. The child was first, gasping, then taking a deep, healthy breath. Then the mother, who shuddered and flexed a leg that had previously been withered. Ss'at stood up straight, laughing in triumph. While Zr'dok just keened and rocked, embracing his mother.
"I will not have to eat you," he whispered. "I will not have to eat you…"
"Never again will our people eat the flesh of family to survive," Mk'ona said firmly. She turned and bowed to Aqua once more. "Thank you, Goddess. We go now to hunt in your name. Not flesh, but souls."
"Thank you," the mother said, giving Aqua a hug. She did not cry, for lizardfolk have no tears, but her passion was obvious. "Thank you…"
And then Clan Ruddertail ran off into the Darkness, leaving Aqua alone with Megumin and Komekko again.
"I thought you said they were monsters. Those are bad guys, right?" Komekko asked, coming over to stand by Aqua in the flickering light of the flames.
"They were monsters. But…they needed me," Aqua said plaintively. "I don't…I don't understand it…but…the gods made them once, and the rest of the world. I remember…I remember when the lizardfolk swam in pure waters, and ate fish and seaweed…when they would pray to me, and give me beautiful pearls and seashell necklaces…until…until they joined the Devil King's army…it hurt so bad when they did…"
"It's why we're sticking with you," Megumin said, coming up to stand beside her sister. "You're really weird, and what you do doesn't make sense. But…if you can help them…maybe you can help the Crimson Demon Clan."
"Of course! The Crimson Demon Clan were always my friends!" Aqua said brightly. She gazed off beyond the flames, to where distant lights sparkled. "Are we going over there?"
"That's downtown Axel. Good place to disappear into," Megumin agreed. "Come on. They're going to come after us eventually."
They ended up sleeping in an old dumpster, the trash long gone. It offered some shelter, and there were still real monsters out there. Beasts with no minds, sharp claws or fangs, and that no god had ever made. Aqua shivered as she lay down in a pile with Megumin and Komekko, and cried herself to sleep.
Even as she did so, she did her best to answer the few prayers that came her way. Ss'at was praying for strength, to protect his family. Aqua gave him a minor blessing, and soothed away his worries. Cecily asked for more words to tell people, and for a good way to get into the skirts of a cute elf girl she'd met. Aqua gave Cecily's hair some extra shine, and sent her a vision of a speech one of her Arch Priests had given in a beautiful cathedral, back when the war against the Devil King had been going well.
But Komekko asked for her mommy and daddy back, and all Aqua could do was hug her tight.
There were some things even a goddess couldn't do.
The next day, they made it to the lights, which turned out to be yet more buildings. These, however, were in decent condition, with energy flowing through them, and people living in them. More cars flew overhead, and people filled the streets. Most of them were in better clothes, and looked relatively healthy, though almost everyone had on either a mask or air filter.
"I could help them," Aqua said, looking around at all the sickness and suffering.
"We need to keep our heads down. We're trying to hide, remember? We'll find some tenament and you can heal people on the downlow for some cash and shelter," Megumin said.
"No! Healing is free!" Aqua insisted.
"RAWK!" Hoost agreed.
"If you say so. But at least stop giving away our food, we only have enough left for a couple more meals," Megumin said.
"Um, I maybe ate a couple extra…" Komekko admitted. "I'm out…"
"What?! That was supposed to…" Megumin sighed. "Forget it. We can sell off some of the weapons we picked up. Those always go for a good price."
"Yeah, we can-" Komekko again, but Hoost suddenly flapped off her shoulders, screaming loudly. "ENEMIES!"
The people around them in the streets paused, one vendor, almost dropping the gadget he was hawking from a street cart. But Megumin didn't hesitate, whipping out Gram.
"There, ghost cloaks!" Komekko said, pointing as Hoost swooped around and screamed.
There was a flash, and a beam of light sliced through the air, striking Hoost. The bird screamed, then vanished in a puff of feathers.
"HOOST!" Komekko wailed. "I can't see them, they're-"
"SACRED DISPEL!" Aqua roared, stretching her hands towards where Komekko had been pointing. A rippling beam of blue light spread out, suddenly revealing half a dozen figures in dark armor with cloaks whipping about them as they hovered on grav boots.
"Shit, cloaks are down!" one growled.
"Open fire!" another ordered.
People screamed as guns spat, and Aqua was dragged behind a building by Megumin, even as Komekko fired off a burst that blew the boots off of one of their attackers, who then careened into one of his squad mates, crashing both of them into a building.
"We're wide open here!" Megumin snarled. "How do I-"
"You've gone up a level, I can give you a spell!" Aqua said frantically, grabbing Megumin's Adventure card.
"Is there one that will let me fight people who can fly!?" Megumin demanded.
"Yes!" Aqua stabbed down on the card. "Zephyr Step!"
Megumin gasped, standing up on her tiptoes. "Power…POWER SURGING! ZEPHYR STEP!"
Even as the other four attackers circled around the building, Megumin leapt up into the air, a gust carrying her as she ran up the side of the building. Zephyr step didn't allow true flight, but it did grant incredible speed and agility, making the user a leaf on the wind.
Gram slashed out, catching one of her attackers across the chest. With a spin, Megumin cut him in half, then turned and lept at two other assassins. She stepped on the head of one, spinning in a front flip, Gram lashing out, and cleaving the head of the other in half. The one that was staggered took a spray of bullets from Komekko to his center mass, and fell to the ground, dead before he hit the cracked asphalt.
The last of the attackers had a hand to one side of his head, and was screaming, "Targets located! Squad down! Back up, we need-"
"CREATE WATER!" Aqua roared, feeling fury well up in her. A spout of water rose up, and splashed over the assassin. "Ha! Take that!"
"What the- DIE!" The water, of course, had done basically nothing but give the assassin a good cleaning, and he pointed his gun at Aqua and fired off a burst. She cried out in panic and hit the dirt, even as Megumin rebounded off a building and drove her sword through the last attacker. She rode her victim down the pavement, then drew Gram out.
"Corpos," she spat. "Blackhats. Not just your regular mercs. But they're eye hunters."
"Never just one team," Komekko said, sounding sober. She bent down, and picked up an iridescent black feather. The street was empty now, the gun fire causing the residents to hole up and pray that they weren't caught in the crossfire. "Bye, Hoost. You were a good chicken…"
"He's not gone," Aqua said. "He just took too much damage. You can summon him again now."
"Huh?" Komekko said, looking up in confusion.
"Yeah. Summon Familiar has a short cooldown, but you've got plenty of mana. Just recast the spell," Aqua said.
"Um. COME OUT HOOST!" Komekko said, and tossed the feather in the air. A black cloud formed around the feather, and with a mighty CAW Hoost burst back into being. He flapped down to peck at Komekko affectionately, then flew back up into the air.
"He can spot the other teams for us. Come on! We gotta find somewhere to lose them!"
They fled down the empty street, passed overturned carts and locked doors. They didn't get far before Hoost began to cry out again, and Komekko nodded. "He can see more! Five, six…no..another group…at least twelve! And these ones got drones! NyteTech!"
"It would be them," Megumin moaned. "Come on, we've got to hurry before-"
There was a whoosh, and a flaming missile shot at them from above. Aqua barely had time to put up a barrier before an explosion rocked them, sending them all to the ground. Aqua managed to stagger up, keeping up her barrier, but gunfire started to pepper off it. They were at the corner of an intersection, with nowhere to hide.
"Dammit!" Megumin hissed. She raised Gram, looking around. "Too many! And from two sides…I don't suppose these spells make me immune to bullets or laser fire…"
"Um, no, you're supposed to dodge attacks," Aqua gasped. "I can't…I don't have enough faith! I need…I need."
"We'll take 'em out. At least half," Komekko said, wincing as Hoost was cut down again. "Sorry, Mr. Hoost…You were a good chicken-raven…"
"This can't end like this," Aqua wept. "We need…we need…"
And that was when the music began to play. Komekko perked right up, but Megumin groaned and slapped her face.
"What is that?" Aqua asked curiously. The music was bombastic, and growing louder, an over the top orchestral piece with lyrics in very old Belzergian.
"That's the theme music," Megumin sighed.
"YUNYUN'S MUSIC!" Komekko cheered.
Their attackers seemed to hear the music, and some of the fire paused, as they looked around to see a ground truck barreling forward, the music spewing forth.
"HALT, OR BE DESTROYED!" one of the NyteTech commandos ordered over a loudspeaker.
For a wonder, the van halted. Only for a hatch to pop open on the top, and a girl to scramble up to the roof.
"BEHOLD! I AM YUNYUN!"
Komekko cheered, clapping excitedly, while even Megumin smiled. "Get ready to lower the barrier. We'll attack when she does.
"FOREMOST GENIUS OF THE CRIMSON DEMON CLAN, AND SHE WHO WILL ONE DAY LEAD OUR PEOPLE TO GLORY!" the girl shouted, her own voice enhanced somehow.
"Red eye! Shoot her!" one of the commando's ordered.
Yunyun smirked, and struck a pose. "And you are all in range of my missiles."
The back of the van exploded, and dozens of missiles shot out. Most of the NyteTech blackhats exploded in mid air, though a few managed to dodge. They didn't survive long though, as Megumin activated her Zephyr Step again and cut several down, even as Komekko snipped a couple.
"Now that is a REAL Crimson Demon!" Aqua said happily. She turned to hurry towards Yunyun, who was scrambling off of the now ruined van.
"Megumin!" Komekko!" Yunyun gasped, running forward.
"SISSY!" Komekko squealed, and lept into Yunyun's arms for a hug. Megumin landed a moment later, laughing and crying, and hugged Yunyun as well.
"Hugs are nice," Aqua said happily, wrapping all three girls in a hug.
Yunyun blinked, then winced. "Um, w-who's the outsider?"
"We'll explain later," Megumin said, wiping away a tear. "Right now, we have to run."
"Um, f-first…could you rate my introduction? I-I've been working on it, a-and based on my research, um, I think that's h-how a traditional Crimson Demon greeting is s-supposed to go," Yunyun stammered, fluttering her hands nervously up and down.
"Ten out of ten! That's exactly how a Crimson Demon is supposed to say hello! Complete with the destruction of their enemies," Aqua agreed. Then she frowned and added, "though usually they use magic and not missiles…"
"Oh, oh I knew I got it wrong!" Yunyun wailed. "I-I had thought the old texts referenced magic, b-but I couldn't get any spells to work, um, but one…a-and it was just a light, and only sometimes…"
"Yunyun, that's super cool, but we seriously have to run now," Megumin said, grabbing Yunyun's hand and jogging down the road.
"Why? Um, I was tracking those guys…a-and I think we got them all…" Yunyun said, trying to count the bodies. Which was hard, as most of them had been blown to very small pieces.
"Because you just announced that you've got a pair of eyes worth a cool billion, and someone's going to get cute," Megumin said firmly.
There was a bang, and a bullet snapped by from a building up above.
"Like that!" Megumin said. "NOW RUN!"
Sobbing, Aqua ran after Megumin, but she couldn't help but think at least a little was going back to normal.