Ice crackled, and Megumin took half a step back, her heart pounding in her chest. Aqua was just as she had found her the first time: trapped in a pillar of crystalline ice. Their two assailants, Claire and Tina, looked horrified, with Tina raising her hands and planting herself between Wiz and her partner.
"M-Megumin," Yunyun whispered, crawling over to her. "D-don't move."
"I think we can get away," Megumin whispered, licking her lips. "But…but I don't want to leave Aqua…you take Komekko and-"
"Shhh! Just w-wait," Yunyun urged.
Megumin shot her a baffled look, but Komekko was still down and bleeding, while Megumin was barely on her feet, and she didn't have Gram, the sword having skidded across the room. To her horror, Wiz bent down and picked Gram up, pointing it towards Tina and Claire. "Depart now! Or I shall be forced to act!"
"Fine. We'll go. But the kids come with us," Claire said, pushing Tina aside.
Wiz's eyes narrowed. "If it is credits you want, I suppose something can be negotiated later. But their eyes are mine."
"No, you bitch, they're CHILDREN! How dare you-" Claire began, but Tina dragged her partner back.
"We're leaving. They are, after all, criminals and murderers. We'll report that you handled it, CEO Wiz."
"Tina, I am not leaving a bunch of little girls to-!"
"They're still Crimson Demons. And they've killed a lot of people. I'm not letting you die over this," Tina said quietly. Claire grimaced, but nodded her agreement. Slowly the two NyteTech officers backed away, finally leaving out the hole that Tina had made.
Megumin swallowed, slowly moving over to Komekko. Her sister was trying to be brave, but tears leaked out of her eyes, and she was clearly in serious pain, and tied up to boot. She was just about to try lifting her despite her own injuries, when Wiz spoke.
"Make sure they're gone," she ordered her own goons, and several of her heavily armored enforcers took off after Tina and Claire. She turned to Megumin and her sisters, and Megumin swallowed.
"Yunyun, are you alright?" Wiz asked, her tone suddenly breathy and worried as she lifted up her skirts and hurried over.
"I'm fine, Miss Wiz," Yunyun said tiredly. "Aqua healed me. Um, m-my sisters are hurt though…"
"What!?" Megumin gasped as Wiz reached out a pale, sender hand towards her. She jerked back, horrified. "But Yunyun, she's a corpo!"
"I am," Wiz admitted. "Do you…do you know what I am? I- Oh! Oh no!"
Wiz turned about, dashing over to the pillar of ice that contained Aqua, who appeared to be suspended, frozen in mid punch. "Get blow torches! Something! W-we have to melt the ice! Hurry!"
A WizShop guard came over, taking out a knife as he hovered over Komekko, and Megumin snarled, balling a fist and summoning the winds. "Don't touch her!"
"Woah, woah, relax, relax!" the female voice in the heavy armor said. It was impossible to tell gender with the full face mask, along with the heavy ballistic plate. The woman popped off her helmet, revealing a kindly face, though one with a scar down the cheek. "I'm Aloerina, please. I just want to cut your sister free. Here. Take a First Aid kit. Yunyun? Why don't you take the knife."
Megumin watched, stupefied as Aloerina turned the knife around, handing the hilt to Yunyun, who quickly cut the zip ties off Komekko and removed her gag. Megumin accepted the first aid kit and hastily checked over herself and Komekko. She had a cracked rib, while Komekko had a number of scrapes and bruises, along with a broken arm. Even as she worked to bind up their wounds, Wiz supervised workers hastily trying to melt the ice, though it seemed to resist their efforts more than simple frozen water should have.
"A-are you going to be OK?" Yunyun asked, helping to bind up Megumin's rib.
"Yeah, but Yunyun, what's going on? How do you know the CEO of ShopWiz?!" Megumin demanded.
Yunyun bit her lip. "Um, at first…I-I tried to hide, b-be secretive, a-and get a job. B-but they found me out…a-and Wiz came to find me…Megumin, Megumin it turns out s-she's not evil!"
"But she's a CEO! And she attacked Aqua!" Megumin protested.
"Um, Aqua was trying to kill her," Yunyun pointed out. "A-and I think Aqua will be OK…um, I-I think I can get her out of the ice…"
"If you knew magic you could," Wiz sighed, pacing about nervously around the pillar of ice. "But I don't have the power to teach others spells anymore, no even you could learn from my grimoires. And while I have mastered Ice Magic…fire now escapes me…"
"Um, I do. Here, step b-back." A space was made, and Yunyun extended both hands. "Fireball!"
A roaring flame shot out, melting a large chunk of ice, and there were various gasps of amazement.
"Magic," Wiz whispered, putting a hand to her heart. "It's…it's really coming back…we might actually save this world…"
"I-I think I can melt the ice w-with one or two more," Yunyun said, and everyone stepped back a little further. "Fireball!"
"Megumin? What's happening?" Komekko asked quietly. "Why…why are the outsiders not trying to kill us?"
"I don't know," Megumin admitted, hugging Komekko close. "Everything has been so different since we found Aqua…nothing seems to make sense."
Komekko nodded seriously. "I kinda like it."
After two more spells, Wiz took a long step back, biting her lip. "Um, Yunyun, can you and…it's Megumin and Komekko, isn't it?"
"Yes," Megumin said slowly, regarding Wiz. "What of it?"
"Can you…can you please calm Aqua down? I don't…I don't want to hurt her…but my work isn't over yet, and, well…I'm still a lich," Wiz said, her tone sounding mournful.
"I don't think you are," Komekko said. "You're a nice lady."
"Ah, not…that," Wiz said, a faint smile brushing her lips. "I'm…a different race. One that the gods abhor. One that…well. I have much to atone for. But the first step is reviving Aqua. Please. Tell her I mean her and you no harm."
"Um, OK," Megumin agreed. This still made little sense to her, but she was injured, tired, and thanks to being around Aqua, had a slight glimmer of hope. She still hated all the corporations…but it was just a bit harder to hate a woman who seemed to have just saved her and her sisters.
Taking Megumin and Komekko's hands, Yunyun offered them a timid smile. "Um, she seems nice…a-and I think we can trust her…"
"They're still outsiders," Megumin said stubbornly, using Gram as a crutch.
"So is Aqua, but I like her," Komekko pointed out. "Maybe not all outsiders are bad. Just most of them."
Megumin opened her mouth, but she didn't really have a good response to that. Instead, she dropped Yunyun's hand and picked up Gram in both hands. "JUST COME OUT ALREADY YOU LAZY GODDESS!"
With a loud reverberating gong, Gram struck the weakened ice, shattering it. Aqua staggered forward, managing to faceplant right into Yunyun's breasts, and causing the young teen no small amount of distress.
"Where's that stupid lich?" Aqua slurred looking around drunkenly. "I'll kill her!"
"Um, um, A-Aqua, p-please don't kill Wiz, she's um, nice," Yunyun said desperately, trying to get Aqua's face out of her cleavage.
"What!? The Ice Witch!? She's a lich!" Aqua said, looking around wildly.
"She's not, she's nice!" Komekko argued, but Aqua had spotted Wiz, who was standing a few yards away, looking slightly worried.
"TURN UNDEAD!" Aqua shrieked, pointing a finger at Wiz.
"EEEEEEEEEEE!" Wiz screamed, falling to the ground and going translucent, her form flickering as if she were a guttering flame. It was one of the oddest things Megumin had ever seen, though the reaction of the ShopWiz blackhats was certainly normal.
"FREEZE!" weapons were drawn and Megumin raised Gram, determined to sell her life dearly.
"No…" Wiz gasped, struggling up to her knees, even as she flickered like a hologram on the fritz. "No…she is…she is the only hope…to save…this world…if I die…it's…worth it…to save you…"
"You know, that doesn't really sound like what a murderous CEO is supposed to say," Megumin said, frowning as the ShopWiz guards backed off. She looked at Aqua, who was breathing hard, a look of confusion on her face. "You sure you want to kill her?"
"I don't…wait…what's that?" Aqua demanded. She strode forward, reaching down Wiz's neck and causing her to gasp in pain. However, Aqua drew forth a pendant, that of a seven spoked water wheel.
"I never…stopped believing," Wiz managed, her entire body trembling.
"I…but you're evil," Aqua said, clutching the pendant in her hands. "Why do you have an Axis Symbol?"
"You know," Megumin said slowly, looking at the shattered remains of the ice. "This looks a lot like the crystal we found you trapped in. Aqua…how did you end up in that cavern?"
Slowly, Aqua shook her head, frowning at Wiz. "I…I don't actually remember. I remember fighting Hans with Matsumoto-"
"Um, his name was Mitsurugi," Wiz corrected.
Aqua gave the lich a flat look. "-with my champion, and I remember Wiz joining the battle…we were losing, but I could have taken that stupid slime!"
"...no. You couldn't have. You were nearly spent. You were trying to purify Alcanretia's waters, but Hans had nearly killed Mitsurugi already. Most of your followers were already dead…I…I couldn't stand to see Hans kill you too. When I was alive…I worshiped you. I never wanted to be a lich…but it was the only way I could see to help the innocent people. The gods were already losing. You were one of the last, Aqua. Eris had already fled, taking the Prince and Princess to the moon. It was only you."
"I couldn't abandon my followers! We still had the Crimson Demon Clan, even if the capitol had fallen, there…there were other kingdoms!" Aqua protested.
Wiz shook her head sadly. "Ragecraft had already suborned the royal family of Elroad. Brydle's dragons were all dead, and the kingdom would fall in mere weeks. All the other lands had been overrun. You were the last goddess. I didn't understand what that meant, none of us did. Not even Sylvia. But I couldn't see you die. So…so I froze you. Hans went off to fight the last of your followers…High Priest Zesta and Mitsurugi took you away, while I…while I…"
"What did you do?" Aqua snarled, raising a fist.
Wiz broke down weeping. "I sent your followers on to the afterlife…they were already dying. Poisoned by Hans. The Devil King wanted me to raise them as zombies…and some of them I did, by accident."
Snarling, Aqua raised a fist, but Wiz put up a hand.
"I laid them to rest! All of them! But…but by the time I finished…I didn't know where you were. I thought it was for the best," Wiz explained.
"I don't know…" Aqua said, still looking angry. She glanced back at Megumin, then let out a gasp. "You're hurt!"
"I'm fine," Megumin grumbled, but she felt a real sense of relief when Aqua put her hands on her, and all of her injuries were washed away.
"Goddess," a few of the ShopWiz guards muttered, and slowly knelt. A few removed their helmets, looks of disbelief, joy, and raw emotion on their faces.
"I wish we could stay here and talk more, but we cannot," Wiz said, getting shakily to her feet. "We have to act quickly. The other Generals, I suppose they are CEOs now, will catch wind of the magic returning soon. I think Beldia already suspects, and Sylvia certainly does. She's shut down all trade from Eris."
"What!? But then there's no more food!" Komekko cried, looking horrified.
"Yes. It's been brewing for a long time," Wiz said grimly. "But, I have been preparing. Come."
Aqua hung back as Wiz exited the shop, looking uncertain. "Um, Megumin? What should we do?"
"W-we can trust Wiz, s-she's nice," Yunyun offered.
Megumin glared at her sister. "The last time you led the way, you got mom and dad killed. Why should we listen to you?"
Yunyun wilted, and Komekko glared at Megumin. "Megumin! She just helped save us! And momma said it wasn't her fault!"
"Hmph." Megumin turned her back on Yunyun, watching the silent blackhats. "...I think we have to try trusting her. I'm good, but I don't think I could kill all the CEOs on my own right now. Not after seeing what Wiz could do, or being taken down by two damn pigs."
"Those weren't n-normal corpsec," Yunyun said with a shake of her head. "T-they were too strong, too well armed. M-most of them are just bullies, but they…they seemed like they wanted to p-protect people."
"They're still outsiders," Megumin declared. "The only people we can trust have Red Eyes!"
"Yeah!" Aqua agreed fervently.
The three sisters looked embarrassed. "Um, and you, Aqua," Megumin hastily added.
"So what do we do?" Komekko asked, uncertain. "I'm hungry. Wiz is a CEO. She's got food, right?"
"For now…I guess we need allies," Megumin admitted. "We'll go with her…but we stick together! And if things go bad, Aqua kills Wiz and we fight our way out!"
Reluctantly, Megumin followed after Wiz, the others behind her. She put her hand on Gram's hilt on her back, and set her jaw. She was the foremost blademaster of the Crimson Demon Clan. And if anything went wrong, she'd cut their way free.
Chief Swatti stood over the prisoner, her nostrils flaring as the dwarf laughed at her. "You mocking me, Dwarf?"
"F-fuck you, orc," the dwarf spat, a bit of blood and a tooth flying loose. He was chained to the wall, his body bruised and bloodied. Swatti preferred the old school methods of interrogation, and applied them with a right cross to the dwarf's jaw, spinning him to the ground.
"M-Minor Restoration," the dwarf snarled, suddenly getting to his feet, as a green glow enveloped him. He flexed his hands. "FERAL RAGE!"
His chains suddenly snapped, and Swatti swore as the dwarf tried to tackle her. She managed to beat him back, but only barely. Taking out a new chain, she bolted the prison down. "I'll ask you one more time. And then it's the pliers, shorty. Where is the blue woman and the three Crimson Demons?"
The dwarf laughed, and started to sing, blood and spittle bubbling on his lips.
The Axis Church can get things done!
And because we can get things done,
When stuff goes wrong, it's not your fault!
Blame society! It's always their fault!
Disgusted, Swatti stepped back, reaching for her pliers. "Stupid ditty. I'll make you bleed, dwarf. And you will talk."
There was a sudden buzz, and the interrogation room intercom came on. "Chief Swatti! There's an executive hovertank pulling up to the station?"
"Oh? The reinforcements I asked for?" Swatti demanded, turning. "Where are Ford and Shin?"
"They're still dark, chief. But, it's the CEO! Beldia himself!"
"What? Oh fuck me," Swatti snarled. She hastily toweled herself off, then dashed to the front office, pulling on her uniform jacket as she did. Unfortunately, she was late, and she found a massive black cyborg waiting for her.
"Ah, Captain Swatti. Tell me. What have you learned?" Beldia, CEO of NyteTech demanded. His body was all black metal, save for a clear armor glass container in the center of his chest, which contained a head with two glowing red eyes in a dark metal helmet. The entire thing was over two meters tall, with huge shoulders and several mounted weapon systems, from three missile tubes, to a chain gun, and even a massive black sword.
"Not much, sir," Swatti admitted, saluting. "We know they got into ShopWiz turf. I sent officers in anyway. I knew you wouldn't want to give up the hunt. They're my two best girls. They'll get the Eyes, and that blue woman."
"So, nothing but failure then," Beldia growled dangerously, clanking forward. "Perhaps you should be retired, captain."
Sweat broke out down Swatti's spine, and she stiffened. "Sir! We have a prisoner. He's not talked yet, but I'll break him soon, and we'll get that priority target's identity. He's already mentioned there's someone called "the Prophet" spreading news of this woman and-"
"A prophet? Is the Church of Serenity involved?" Beldia demanded, sounding irate. "If Serena thinks to steal my prize…"
"No sir! I…here. I'll show you the prisoner. He's mad, but no Revenger," Swatti said. She hurried to a console, and piped in the audio from the interrogation room, putting a visual up on screen. The dwarf was curled up on the floor, and he could barely be heard chanting something.
"...slay the demons, defeat the Devil King. Slay the demons, defeat the Devil-"
"No," Belida whispered, taking half a step back. "Impossible. It has to be impossible."
"Sir?" Swatti asked, uncertain. "He's just a dwarf. But he knows something. I can break him."
"ALL LOVE IS GOOD IN THE SIGHT OF LADY AQUA!" the dwarf suddenly sitting up. "BE YOU LOLICON, FURRY, OR HAVE A-"
There was a deafening roar, and Swatti ducked for cover. When she looked up, the barrel of Beldia's chaingun was smoking, and the screen was destroyed.
"KILL HIM!" Beldia shouted, backing away. "KILL HIM, AND HUNT DOWN EVERY ONE OF THEM! SLAY THEM ALL!"
Swatti shook her head, her ears still ringing. "What? Sir, he's our only lead, the other perps were all-"
Beldia suddenly charged forward, pinning Swatti to the wall, an iron hand choking her. "I said to kill them all. Every last one of them. Wipe out the Axis vermin. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir," Swatti croaked.
"Good." Beldia released Swatti, and she sank to the ground. "If you succeed in this, you'll be promoted to President of Security. Fail, and I'll kill you myself. You'll be given access to every single resource NyteTech has at its disposal. This is what Sylvia is trying to hide. I knew it. She had a god caged all this time…well. Now that bitch is mine."
"You…want her alive?" Swatti asked, confused.
"If you can, take Aqua alive. If not, kill her. Whatever you do, do not let the lich get a hold of her. Wiz failed once, but I'll not have a chance at domination slip through my fingers now. If that damn chimera can harness the power of the gods, so can I. Even a dead god will do."
"Uh, yes sir," Swatti agreed, uncertain what her CEO was babbling about. But she did understand a Dead or Alive order. Then she brightened. "Anything I want, sir? Even the mecha corps?"
"Anything," Beldia growled. "My forces are already mobilizing. Wiz is weak. We'll crush her, and then there will be only six corporations. It's too bad. She's still quite fetching, especially for a lich. The last of my fellow undead."
Swatti nodded, though she was still quite confused. Then, drawing her service revolver, she went to go take care of that Axis Cultist.