With the arrival of the Russian forces, the streets of Vyely Dvor had become a literal warzone. Explosions were going off everywhere, and many buildings had been reduced to nothing but ash... yet amidst the chaos, Amiya and her friends were trying their best to survive.
"Не дайте им сбежать! (Don't let them escape!)"
RATATATATATAA! – The rain of bullets passed grazing their heads. At the same time, the sound of blades was getting closer very quickly.
"Fuck, what are we going to do now?!" Yelled an injured Mostima as she dodged the incoming fire. "At this rate we'll end riddled!"
"I know, just keep moving!" Shouted the Doctor back.
At that moment, a violent explosion consumed a nearby house, wiping it off the map entirely. Amiya and Talulah immediately raised a combined barrier, protecting their companions from the falling rubble.
*pant* "Is everyone alright?" Asked the young cautus.
"Yes, but that was very close!" Exclaimed Matt. "C'mon, let's get out of... OH SHIT!"
Before they could even realize, several squads of Russians came out from the side alleys, and immediately they converged fire on the team. They were forced to seek cover behind a pile of rubble in the middle of the streets, from which they shot back.
"Tch, they've pinned us down!" Cursed Will under his breath. "Try to open a gap in their lines! Hopefully we..."
"I fear it won't be possible, my friend! We've got more incoming!" Warned one of the Reunion riflemen.
Emitting a low grunt, the boy turned his attention back to the enemies ahead and continued shooting. Exusiai, Mostima, Talulah, Matt... everyone was doing their best to try and hold back the Russian assault, yet even with all their combined efforts the Russian Army was slowly overwhelming them. Amiya watched the situation around her unfold, remaining in complete silence. She then shifted her gaze down to her hands and pondered her options... Instants later she made the decision.
Without skipping a second, the young cautus reached for the rings on her fingers, and with a swift move took two of them off. The moment the Doctor noticed her sudden action, he quickly approached her and exclaimed.
"Amiya, your rings!" His tone was full of worry. "Don't remove them, the only thing you'll achieve is putting yourself in grave danger!"
She glared back at him with a reassuring expression on her face.
"I know, Dokutah. Kal'tsit told me what would happen to me if I did so, but this is what needs to be done."
Ans thus Amiya closed her eyes.
X-X
Inside her mind, Amiya started to dive into the depths of her subconscious. As soon as she made the first step the souls of the ancient sarkaz crowed around her like a swarm, each one whispering things in her ears. "Your mission is futile... They'll all die..." The voices tried to convince to let the burning anger and hate consume her... but she ignored all of it. Instead, she kept going deeper and deeper, desperately searching for anything amidst the darkness... but nothing came out of it. The cautus had lost her last bit of hope... but then she felt it; a presence different from the rest. Her consciousness drifted towards it, navigating through a sea of emotions... and when she reached it, her hand wrapped around the cold iron handle of a weapon. There a voice filled her head.
"Today's the day when the world's fate is decided!"
A memory started to play out before her eyes. A column of T-14 Armatas rolled down Tiergarden along with infantrymen, a reminiscence of what their great-grandfathers did more than 80 years ago. From the defending force, only the commander and a handful of men remained. Their eyes burned with the desire to keep fighting until the bitter end.
"This might be our last battle, my men, but remember this! Behind us are our homes, families and friends! The free nations of the world are in grave peril, and we are its protectors! Even if we die, our sacrifices won't be in vain! We won't let those bastards ravage our city a second time!" He raised his firearm and gave a last yell. "FÜR FREIHEIT!"
The commander's voice was drowned in his men's wild cheers, it was a cry of defiance to the Great Bear of the East. She tried to make sense of what she saw, but before she knew it, a bright light enveloped it all.
X-X
Back at the real world, the Doctor and the others watched in astonishment the transformation of Amiya. Beams of dark energy climbed up her arm and wrapped it like a filament, fusing into a gauntlet of pure darkness. The shadows of a mysterious weapon appeared... and with a bright flash, it finally materialized.
They had expected it to be Chi Xiao... but it couldn't more far from it.
While this was taking place, Amiya woke up from her trance. When she reopened her eyes, the cautus looked down and, to her absolute surprise, found that she was holding a spectral HK-416 assault rifle between her hands.
"What the actual f*ck...?" Matt managed to mutter.
Amiya was going to say something back, but at that moment a grenade exploded very close to the hideout, reminding them that they were in the middle of a battle.
"C'mon, don't stay there like statues and come helps us!" Yelled the Reunion guy of the blast suit.
Amiya gave a light nod. She stood up, and with determination in her eyes she pointed the HK-416 at the enemy and opened fire. The spectral HK proved to be devastating, it shot projectiles of dark matter which exploded upon making impact. With her new weapon, Amiya managed to throw the Russian lines into disarray, giving her teammates and opening to stage a counterattack.
"Everyone, forward with me!" The boys didn't wait and rushed the soldiers, shooting them down with their rifles. The rest followed soon after, and eventually they drove them back.
/ /
In just a couple of minutes, the tables had turned in favor of Rhodes. It would seem like they had successfully repelled the attack... but this was far from over.
They heard a sound on the sky, and upon looking up everyone went pale. A KA-52 had arrived at the scene, and before anyone could even shout anything, it launched all of its missiles.
BROOOM! – One of them hit the mark and detonated, sending the entire team flying to the airs...
X-X
CRASSHHH! – The sheer force of the explosion threw Talulah against a window, completely shattering it. Instants later her body hit the floor with an audible bump.
"Ughh, it hurts..." The draco brough her hand to the forehead and caressed it, but it wasn't long before she got back on her feet.
Looking around, Talulah noticed she had landed inside a manor, concretely in the living area. The room before her was both big and cozy, its wide windows letting some light in. There were some paintings hanging from the walls, along with fir bookcases filled to the brim with books. However, the most impressing of all was the stone fireplace dominating the room.
The owners of the mansion must had abandoned the place very recently, because the fire on fireplace was still burning.
"At least they managed to escape..." At that moment she heard detonations outside. "Oh shit, Will! I have to help him and the rest!"
Talulah quickly went towards the window and prepared to jump, but then...
"добрый вечер, Talulah Artorious."
Her body froze in place. The sound of footsteps began to be heard behind her, to which she turned around... and there, just mere meters away, a man's figure rose from the shadows.
His combat uniform and insignias gave his identity away as an officer of the Russian Army. He had neck-length blond hair, and his eyes were icy blue. The scar running down his left eye gave him a very unsettling look... Talulah couldn't pinpoint exactly what, but there was something about this man that reminded her of a certain... someone.
Without even thinking, the draco got into fighting stance, and keeping her glare locked onto him asked.
"Who are you?"
Seeing her reaction, the office let out a giggle and spoke.
"It would seem you don't know me... Well, in that case I'll present myself." He took his officer's hat off, and making a small reverence he said "Commander of the 13th Airborne Division Alexei Volkov at your service."
Upon hearing that name, the draco's expression hardened.
"You're the one they call Butcher of Lvov... I've heard about you. You've got a reputation of being bloodthirsty and brutal." Gritting her teeth, she held her sword tightly. "Tortures, plundering, mass executions... You and the men of 13th leave behind a trail of death and destruction wherever you go"
"I rather consider it as 'collateral damage'." He replied with a grin carved on his lips. "War is a bloody business and innocent lives are always lost in one way or another... You should this better than anyone, Talulah."
"Tch, I'm definitely not buying that. I'm not the type of person who has the life of others in such low regard."
"Hmm, you're a very interesting one indeed, Talulah Artorious. It's was just like what I had expected..." The tone in his voice became darker by the moments. "... but enough with the pleasantries. You've become an obstacle for the Russian people, and as such... You must die."
Moving fast as a lightning, Alexei loaded his AK-14 and unleashed a rain of bullets upon the draco. Talulah barely had any time to raise a wall of flames, but it managed to deflect his shots.
Volkov loaded another cartridge and, in a very daring move, he tried to close the distance between them while also firing at her. However, Talulah guessed his intentions almost instantly and, just before he could reach her, she casted her Arts and threw a fireball at him. The man threw himself to the side and narrowly dodged the attack.
"Hah... Good, very good..." He muttered between gasps. "Your fighting skills are truly impressing... but now show me what are you capable of!"
He followed his words with another series of attacks.
Talulah had had enough. She mustered all her strength, and with determination on her eyes went on the offensive. The draco threw slashes of her sword and orbs of fire towards him at a staggering speed, so much that he was barely able to dodge them all. Alexei tried to put some distance and open fire, but she cut him off with her flames and, using that small opportunity, managed to land a hit that sent him flying to the other side of the room.
Alexei came crashing down against the wall with great force. Lying on the floor, he extended his arm to recover his assault rifle, only to discover that it had been discarded to the side. Taking advantage of his state of defenselessness, Talulah didn't wait and began casting her Arts. Looking frantically around him, he spotted a coat of arms hanging from the wall above him... and that gave him an idea.
Alexei quickly stood up, and with a swift move he lowered the coat of arms, equipping himself with sword and shield. He turned his gaze to the draco, and seeing that she was almost about to release her attack, covered himself with the shield.
FUASHHHHH! – Talulah unleashed all her power against the officer. Flames intense as hell's licked the edges of the shield, some reaching his extremities. He could feel the piece of metal in his hand melting under the stream of fire alarmingly quick. It seemed like he was about to succumb to the flames... but when the draco finished, she was shocked to see that he was still standing, his uniform charcoaled and presenting some serious burns, but alive nonetheless.
Talulah watched as he slowly put down the shield... and there saw that the smugness on his face was totally gone, replaced by a cold expression. He just said five words.
"It's time to get serious."
In the blink of an eye, Alexei hurled the melted piece of metal at her like a frisbee, and sword in hand threw himself against the draco. Talulah blocked the red-hot shield aimed at her with her sword, but by the time she deflected it, the man's sword delivered a slash to her side.
"Aghh!" Letting out a muffled howl, she swung her blade and blocked his attack.
Talulah and Alexei exchanged and parried the other's blow as they dueled it out, completely ignoring that the room was burning all around them. The officer's slashes were both brutal and devastating, each time that their swords clashed together, Talulah struggled to block his blade.
Like that, they kept exchanging blows for some minutes, but at that moment Tal used a feint to distract him and, aiming at a gap in his defense, made a slash in his leg. They both looked at each other, his furious glare locked onto her... Suddenly, he took out a metal cylinder and threw it to the air. A bright flash engulfed the room, blinding the draco's vision. Once the light had faded, she blinked a couple of times... and her eyes managed to caught a glimpse of a sword approaching her head at breathtaking speed.
She barely had time to intercept Alexei's sword, the clash sent a shockwave up her extremities. The man continued to deliver slash after slash. His attacks were so relentless and quick that Talulah was barely able to swing her sword and fight back. In one of those, their faces ended up mere inches away. The disturbingly calm expression on his face sent shivers down her spine.
"I must say you've surpassed all my expectations, Talulah Artorious... but I'm afraid this must come to an end."
"Go f*ck yourself, Alexei Volkov."
Greatly infuriated by those words, Alexei prepared to deliver the next, and hopefully final blow, but suddenly...
BOOOMM! – The room's entrance was blown open, and before he could even realize an orb of black matter exploded right on his face. His body hit the wall with such force that it crumbled down, burying him under a pile of rubble.
Talulah turned to where the detonation had come from, and there saw Amiya, with a big-ass hole open in the wall. The young cautus lowered her weapon and exclaimed.
"Miss Talulah! I'm glad I arrived on time. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks for coming to help..."
At the same moment, Will walked inside through the opening and walked over to them. Seeing that Talulah was fine, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Tal! Oh gods, I had thought you were injured by that missile!"
"Don't worry, darling." She responded with a reassuring look. "I'm completely fine."
"Will, it would be good if we left now." Said Amiya. "Our friends are barely holding the line."
Talulah threw a glare at the pile of rubble. She didn't know whether Alexei had survived or not, and if he had, this was the moment to deal the finishing blow. However, after pondering for a bit, she decided it was not worth it. She turned to her companions and said.
"In that case, let's go."
X-X
Matt and the rest watched Tal, Amiya and Will come out from the manor. The latter signaled his friend and exclaimed.
"What's the situation?!"
"Not looking good... Ugh!" A bullet passed grazing his head. "They've got all streets covered! There's no way out!"
"Shit! There must be something we can possibly...!"
At that moment, a voice mysterious shouted from behind.
"Hey, you! Over here!" They all saw a shadowy figure waving at them from a side alley. "Come with me if you want to live!"
With no other options left, the team accepted the offer and went after him. The figure guided them through very narrow alleys, until minutes later they finally came to a halt near a small square.
"Hahh..." Matt gasped. "Thanks for taking us out of there. Who are you?"
In response, the figure revealed it face. It was a very young Ursite woman, no more than 17 years old. She then spoke.
"Me? I'm no one, just a person that lives here."
"Why are you helping us? You're putting yourself in danger, the Russians could take reprisals against you."
The girl gave the cautus a meaningful look.
"I understand your concern, but it's fine... we've all been suffering under the Russian yoke. I don't care if they catch or kill me, if being honest. Since those bastards took my family, I have nothing more to lose."
"I see... Even so, thanks for helping us."
"As long as those Russians get what they deserve, it's alright." The girl grabbed a manhole that was besides her and opened it. "Here. There's an old tunnel to the right that will lead you out of town."
"We'll take it then." Said Talulah to the girl. "Thanks, girl. Take care of yourself, okay?"
"I'll do it with pleasure."
With that said, the girl disappeared into the shadows. The team exchanged a final glare and descended to the depths of the earth...
X-X
"...Miss Talulah! Are you okay?"
Alexei bas buried under the rubble, barely capable of moving neither his legs or arms. He felt his head spin uncontrollably, the only thing he could focus on were the voices outside.
"Yeah, thank for coming to help"
Hearing Talulah's voice, the man remembered what had just taken place. He felt his blood boil, if it hadn't been for that surprise attack... No, he wasn't letting her get away so easily, oh no...
"Ughh..." Gathering his strength, Alexei tried to move his body, but in vain. He tried again, and again; but before he could continue...
"Tal!... I had thought you were injured by that missile..."
His body froze completely. It couldn't be... That voice, he hadn't heard it in ages... He kept telling himself that he was wrong, that it was a product of his imagination... but deep down he knew it was him.
"V- Va... Vale... " Despite his stuttering, he did his best to call for his name. He had hopes he would hear his voice between the rubble, but in the end he didn't come... and to make matters even worse, the voice was fading away.
"N-No... Don't..." No matter what he did, it became fainter and fainter... until silence engulfed the place.
/ /
Five more minutes had to pass for his men to finally find him between the rubble. When the first light ray fell landed on his face, Alexei blinked several times and opened his eyes. He was met by the face of his right hand, Captain Livchenko.
"полковник Volkov! Are you injured?!"
"Ughh... Not too much, Captain." He emitted a low grunt. "C'mon, help me get out of this rubble..."
The man wrapped an arm under Alexei's, and between their combined efforts they got him back up. The first steps were difficult, but soon he was able to walk normally. Now fully recovered, Alexei went outside together with the captain and both men headed back towards the main plaza.
Upon arriving, they saw that the men of the 13th had gathered hundreds of civilians in the middle of the square, leaving a handful to guard them. The rest were just standing right next to the Mi-26s, waiting for orders.
Seeing the scene before his eyes, Alexei approached one of his subordinates and spoke.
"Report on the situation."
"Ehm, we have bad news, sir." He replied. "The forces from Reunion and Rhodes managed to slip way, we suspect they were helped by one of the locals." He then pointed at the crowd. "We brought all of the inhabitants here, what we do with them?"
The man remained silent for long minutes... but eventually came an answer.
"Put them in a line... and from there you know what to do."
"Understood!" Captain Livchenko went over to his men and gave the order. "Солдаты, готовьте огнестрельное оружие!"
Taking a deep breath, Alexei shot a last glare at the plaza before he turned back and started to slowly walk away. He turned a deaf ear at the people's cries for mercy. It wouldn't be long before their screams of terror were drowned by the sound of machine guns.
Not a single time did Alexei look back.
