Charging headfirst into combat was always a harrowing experience. Napoleon never found the sensation terrible. In fact, he always reveled in it. The aftermath wasn't always what he wanted but that was the nature of war. You won some. You lost some. However, he couldn't afford to lose. Not anymore. He was the Sensei of this city. The inspiration and guide of thousands of students, if not millions. So whatever came, whether it be tanks or dinosaurs, he'd charge straight into danger to protect them.
"It should be right up ahead, Sensei." Arona spoke to him.
Rin had given him back the tablet. Honestly he was more than fine just leaving Arona with Rin but it seemed that it was his duty to keep it on his person. Fair enough. A computer girl like her could come in handy. He was also sure she had other methods of aid but he'd eventually ask about those.
He could hear gunfire. Napoleon smirked. He was ready for whatever was coming. He had never fought a dinosaur before. Coupled with doing it during an active gunfight was truly going to test his mettle. He wasn't going to disappoint his students. Shouting could be heard. He couldn't make it out, but they were surely panicked. It was probably the gangsters. He'd-
"Whoa!"
He jumped back as a car was flung just from around the corner. If he'd been a couple of feet forward, he'd have been pasted. He let out a sigh of relief before he laughed. A roar could be heard.
"Be careful, Sensei." Arona cried out in panic, "I don't know how many cars I can protect you from if they hit you."
Napoleon smirked, "Then I'll just dodge them as best as I can."
He summoned his cannon and stepped around to meet his foes.
What a sight it was to behold. The entire street was a mess. This wasn't too surprising. The city was still trying to fix the mess of the last uprising. That and the recent chase that had happened here. He expected that. He was slightly frustrated to see that one of his students was by herself while trying to fight off the remaining gangsters. Well, they were all his students, but most of them here needed to be taught their lesson.
The most eye-catching aspect of all of this was the large dinosaur. A stegosaurus. One that was mostly blue with orange spikes on their back. The beast was bellowing in anger. When it wasn't trying to smash one of the hooligans, it seemed to be looking for something. Napoleon did notice how the bullets weren't affecting it so. He had a hunch it had a similar protection to his own, plus its thick hide as well. There was no doubt it was magical. He could sense that clearly.
"Damn it!" One of the hooligans shouted. She was firing at the beast, "Someone take that thing down!"
"I'm-" One of the other hooligans primed a grenade but was down by a small burst of rifle fire.
"And take out that girl, for crying out loud!"
"Sensei get down!" He heard a familiar voice shout.
Napoleon wasn't one to ignore an order like that. He threw himself to the ground, avoiding a rocket that narrowly missed him by a hair. It impacted the side of a building, sending chunks of stone everywhere. With swiftness, Napoleon got up on his knees and looked to where he thought it came from. Just as he thought, it was from the third floor of a building. He aimed his cannon faster than the girl could and fired. The room was blown out, no doubt knocking her out with it.
He nodded and ran behind a car, avoiding a few rifle shots. He could hear the beast in the center of the area roar again. No doubt irritated by yet another explosion. He sighed. He was going to have to try and hit in the head. Shouldn't be too hard but with all these girls trying to bring him down as well, it could be tricky. A part of him was sure he could absorb the damage but he wasn't going to chance it.
That's when he peered over to see Suzumi decide to race over to him. She rolled out of the way of a stream of gunfire before returning it. Then she ran the rest of it without stopping. She skid to a stop and hid right next to him.
"It's good to see you again, Sensei."
"It's good to see you as well," Napoleon said, "Numbers?"
"Unknown," Suzumi said, hanging her gun's magazine for a full one. "But I think it's no less than twenty. At least in the immediate area. A few more might be tied up with the dinosaur."
"So twenty gunners and a raging dinosaur," Napoleon smirked, "I like these odds."
"So Sensei's a battle maniac," Suzumi deadpanned.
"The battlefield is where I shine, after all." Napoleon said firmly, "For better or worse."
"Well hopefully it's for the better today," Suzumi peered over the car's hood and fired a couple of rounds before ducking back down behind the car. Bullets pelted the sides of the vehicle, "We can't stay here much longer."
"I wasn't planning on it," Napoleon said, rolling his shoulders. "Follow my lead."
Napoleon reached down and grabbed the underside of the car. He kept his cannon firmly held in his free hand. He gave Suzumi a nod before he stood up. He lifted the car with ease, flipping it onto its side. He was still tall enough to fire over it. He moved his cannon to where he saw the gleam of a helmet and fired. The gang member was sent off her feet, smashed into unconsciousness. Suzumi followed suit, peeking around to knock out a gang member who had been trying to run to a better firing position.
Napoleon caught the sound of a rocket being fired and acted on instinct. He grabbed Suzumi by her collar and ran for it. The two narrowly missed the rocket that smashed into the car, blowing it in half. He quickly fired upon another gang member, knocking her out before letting Suzumi down onto her feet. Neither of them could rest as the Stegosaurus chose that moment to charge straight at them.
The beast was faster than he thought. He had just enough time to fire at its head. The dinosaur powered through it with a pained roar. Its steps were out of focus and obviously was a bit dazed. It wasn't enough to stop it as the duo narrowly avoided being stepped on. As they rolled out of the way, the Stegosaurus came to a stop. It started to shake its head from the attack, trying to get its bearings. Napoleon fired another blast into its side. It gave out a pained roar and glared at him.
Well this was going to be challenging to take down.
He moved to fire again, but a few bullets impacted his arm. He gritted his teeth, thankful for his halo for protection. It still stung and he had to be reminded that the dinosaur wasn't the only thing they had to worry about.
"Stop hitting our dinosaur," one of the gang members shouted as they started to regroup, "That's our paycheck your shooting."
"Well sorry but I don't-"
He had to duck as a car was thrown his way. The irate beast wasn't going to let them have a conversation it seems. Just as he got up, a mailbox hit him square in the face. He let out a pained 'ooph' as he fell onto his back.
"Sensei!" Suzumi cried out in fear.
Unfortunately, she had to duck under another rocket. Several bullets battered the car she was using as a shield. She watched as Sensei got back to his feet while the Stegosaurus stalked closer. The larger creature was irate and Sensei was the target of its frustration at the moment. Napoleon Sensei fired twice more into the beast. It roared in pain but it was still standing. She had to lead it away.
She idly looked up to see the rocket launcher wielding gang member loading up another shot. She had a random idea. She hoped it would work. She ran right out from her cover, dodging the incoming bullets. A couple did hit her but they weren't enough to stop her advance. Which was right towards the Stegosaurus. She primed a flash grenade and threw it behind her.
The explosion blinded them. More notably, it caused the rocket toting girl to fire randomly. Unfortunately for her, it impacting right into the Stegosaurus's shoulder. The beast roared and then looked over at the group of thugs.
The lead thug gulped, "M-Maybe it'll focus on Sensei."
The dinosaur didn't. It charged right for them, causing them to scatter. Suzumi used this opportunity to run up to Napoleon. He shook his head as he got his bearings.
"Are you alright, Sensei?"
"A little shaken but unbroken," Napoleon gave her a reassuring smile, "Now we just have to find a way to deal with that beast."
Suzumi and Sensei watched as the Stegosaurus sent one of the thug's flying from a tail swing. Suzumi had to wince when it happened. Sure the spike didn't go through thanks to their halo, but it was still unpleasant to look at.
"Since it's just the two of us right now," Napoleon said, "I think I know how to make this work."
"Reisa should be here soon enough," Suzumi said, "I called her in so we'll get back up."
"A three on one battle," Napoleon laughed, "Excellent."
"You think we can make it a three on one?" Suzumi asked, "What about the other thugs?"
"Our dinosaur fiend is taking care of a few of them," Napoleon turned his cannon to fire at a couple of gang members and fired. They had been too focused on taking the dinosaur down that they couldn't react in time, "We'll just help them along with that. If we can knock it out in the meantime, I'd consider that a win as well."
Suzumi nodded, "Got it. I'll back you up until our victory."
"And you have my support," Arona said for only him to hear.
"That's what I want to hear!"
Unbeknownst to those engaged with the dinosaur, two of the gang members had made off with another prize. One of them was holding a large cage that held a little animal within. It had a muzzle on it to keep it from crying out. One look at it could tell you who it wanted to hear its cries. It was a small Stegosaurus with wide, scared eyes as it frantically looked around at the moving environment.
"Can't you hold it," the other said, "My arm's getting sore from carrying around this cute thing."
"Can it," the other said with a growl, "I know that's rubbish. That thing barely ways much. If you're arm's sore, we'll buy you a brace or something from all the money we'll make off of it."
"It better be worth it," the other grumpily followed, "We've lost a lot of supplies and people on this venture."
"Well that's the boss's fault," the gang member smirked, "Well, ex-boss. She'll probably lose in the next few minutes. Which buys us just enough time to escape. How's about getting rich with a new gang?"
"Sounds good," the other nodded.
"Doesn't sound good to me, evil doers!" A new voice cried out.
"Wha-"
The gang member in front was cut off when a stream of bullets slammed into her. She toppled over with a gasp of pain before hitting the ground, her halo going out like a light. The remaining gangster cried out in panic, cradling the cage close to her chest.
"Come out where I can see you or the dinosaur gets it," she called out.
"Now that's just plain evil," said a voice as they jumped from one of the stairways on the sides of the buildings.
It was a cute girl with blue and pink striped hair. She had a gray sailor outfit with a black coat loosely held by her waving arms. She narrowed her eyes at the thug and raised a finger.
"Leave that cute animal alone," the girl said.
"And who do you think you are to make me?"
"I'm Reisa Uzawa," the girl said, before leaving her gun at the villain. "And I'm going to bring you to justice."
"You can't stop me," the thug shouted, "I've got this hostage. You might hit it."
"That's where you're wrong, villain." Reisa said, "Heroes never hit the hostage."
Elsewhere a certain cop sneezed.
"And I'm not going to hit one today," she raised her gun.
"You little-"
The thug made a mistake. She pulled the cage slightly away to level her own gun. This gave Reisa an easier time aiming. She had her gun up so she was the quicker on the draw. Her bullets impacting the thug who fell to the ground. The little dinosaur belted out a little cry of alarm.
"Oh you poor thing," Reisa quickly went over and grabbed the cage, "I'll get you out. These villains usually have a key for unlocking their hostages bondage somewhere on them."
Another thug went flying as the Stegosaurus swatted her aside. Suzuki put down another pair with a well placed flash grenade and gunfire. Napoleon kept close to her, waiting for his chance to take down the dinosaur. The pair of them had made short work of most of the thugs besides the ones close to the dinosaur. They still needed a distraction after all. Unfortunately for everyone, they were running out of distractions.
Napoleon acted fast when two thugs tried to fire rocket launchers at them. One blast from his cannon knocked them firmly out. However the noise was enough to draw the Stegosaurus. It glared at him, which he knew meant he was in for another charge. He started to pour energy into his cannon but instead of firing, he decided to make a run for it. Suzumi was at his side instantly.
The dinosaur roared as it made chase. On the way, it stopped to smack a car their way. The duo jumped to different sides to avoid it. The dinosaur made its way to its real target: Napoleon. It wanted nothing more than to stomp him out of existence. For a very good reason. It seemed his cannon blasts did the most damage as several marks were littered across its body courtesy of it.
The archer servant rolled out of the way when it caught up to him. He raised his cannon and prepared to fire. Unfortunately, the Stegosaurus' tail was just within distance of him. It would have punctured his body if not for his new halo. It did little to stop him from being sent into the building's wall. At the last second though, he was able to get a good shot off. It hit its mark, one of the forelimbs. The beast stumbled and roared as it tried to correct this but couldn't stop itself. It hit a car and fell on top of it, crushing it under its weight.
"Sensei!" Suzumi cried out in panic as she raced over to him.
The prone form of Sensei groaned in pain. She instantly grabbed his arm, unsure on the damage. He lifted his head and gave her one of his trademark smiles, wide as can be.
"Don't you fear," Napoleon said, "I am well and good. Just help me to my feet."
It was a bit of a challenge but Napoleon Sensei got to his feet all the same. He patted his chest, where his shirt was ripped. He frowned and sighed.
"Twice in a row," he said, choosing not to comment on Suzumi's flushed cheeks at the sight. "Hopefully this doesn't become a habit."
"Sensei," Suzumi said, aiming her gun at the groaning dinosaur. "Our target is neutralized. Should I call for back up?"
Napoleon simply raised a hand to stop her, "We just need a moment to be sure. I don't want to drag more students into a drawn out fight."
He was proven right when the dinosaur teetered back onto its broad feet. It hobbled about, trying its best to turn to face them. The injured leg held slightly above. Napoleon wasn't fooled. Anger could allow it to fight through that pain. One good burst would put them close to each other once more. Napoleon simply smiled and raised his cannon.
"Bring it!"
"Wait!" A new voice called out.
Suzumi turned around to see who it was, "Reisa? What are you doing here?"
The answer was obvious to everyone. The instant he saw the baby dinosaur in the girl's arms, he lowered his cannon. He sighed and chuckled, shaking his head.
"I just rescued this little fella," Reisa said with pride, stopping by them. She turned to look at the large dinosaur and her eyes widened, "Is that it's momma?"
"It think it is," Napoleon said, seeing the two dinosaurs start to bellow at each other. "Let the little one down. I think this is over."
Reisa did just that. Instantly, the little dinosaur rushed over to its mother. Frantic calls answered by a low rumble. The two started to nuzzle each other and the large mother started to lay down. No doubt exhausted.
"Call in some support," Napoleon said, "We're going to need a lot of hands on deck to transport these beasts somewhere else."
Suzumi nodded, getting out her phone. "Yes, Sensei."
Rin sighed as she plopped a stack of papers on Sensei's desk. She had to give him one thing, he at least seemed at home with filing paperwork. 'Reading battlefield reports' and whatever else he babbled about seemed to have given him some know-how on the subject. Good. It meant that she wouldn't have to peer over his shoulder to make sure he did his job correctly.
"That was amazing, Sensei!" She could hear Arona shout. It still felt weird to hear an AI speak, "I've never seen someone take on a dinosaur like that before."
"I doubt many people can say they've faced a dinosaur at all," Napoleon said, beaming with pride. "But I'm not like most people. Turning tail and running from a fight is a surefire way to lose a war. I wasn't going to let some old fossil turn me into a coward."
"I hope next time it happens," Rin said, glaring at him. "You'll try to keep property damage to a minimum."
Napoleon laughed, "I can only do so much but I'll definitely keep that in mind."
Rin hoped he'd get a calmer assignment next. Kivotos didn't need another high octane adventure or disaster, whichever term you preferred, hitting the streets. Maybe some counseling or breaking up a small spat. Surely one of the letters would have such a thing.
Unbeknownst to everyone, a certain letter that would have normally made its way to Schale, never made it in. In fact, it still sat in its owner's desk far from their location.
"RUN AWAY!"
"I WASN'T PAID ENOUGH FOR THIS!"
"GHOSTS! WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE GHOSTS!"
The Abydos gang watched in disbelief as the Helmet Gang ran away for their lives. Floating behind them were several spectors of different sorts. The most stand out ones were the skeletal figures kept together with a blueish miasma. It sent shivers down their spines just looking at the assortment of the undead.
"So scary," Ayane gulped. She was a young elvish looking girl with a prim set of red glasses adorning her face.
"I'm glad those things weren't pointed at us," Serika, the resident catgirl, said. Her cat ears twitching with how those things frightened her.
"Nnn," Shiroka nodded. To contrast the catgirl on her left, Shiroka herself was more of a wolf. Her dog like ears standing at attention. A blue scarf wrapped around her neck which she idly fiddled with.
"Well I can certainly say it's… a unique way of beating them," Nonomi chuckled nervously. Unlike the other three who wore dark uniforms, Nonomi wore a white shirt with a light yellow coat hanging loosely from her shoulders.
"Uhee, such youngsters." The last member spoke up, "Back in my day, we'd have put up a better fight than that. Even against ghosts."
That last member was none other than Hoshino. The smallest of the group but also the oldest. Her long pink hair fell behind her white shirt and black skirt.
"Stop saying 'back in my day'," Serika shouted, "You're barely older than us."
Normally, a visit from the Helmet Gang would have been cause for concern. They weren't skilled combatants, but they were numerous and stubborn. It had eaten away at their ammunition supplies just to keep them at bay. It didn't help that they sometimes snuck in attacks when they left the school, which is why there usually was someone staying behind at most hours.
Today though, something was different. The person standing behind them.
"I'm glad you're happy with my efforts, Master." A noble woman's voice spoke up.
Behind them was a beautiful woman who wore little over her silky light brown skin. A simple white loincloth and white chest cloth kept her modesty intact. She had a blue and golden square patterned neck piece, the same color as her bandana. Although that one had more triangle features to it. Gold pieces adorned her belly, hips, and wrists. As did some brown wrappings around her arms. She had dazzling purple eyes that bore into you. Her long purple hair flowed almost all the way to the floor, fanning out from her to form a 'hood'. Two jackal ears poked up from atop her head.
"Let it be known that I, Nitocris, swear to keep this school safe from those vagabonds!" She cried out, hefting a silver scepter with an animal's head at the top. A hoop laid at its bottom.
Hoshino, the leader of the group, sighed and shook her head. "Sure, sure. Geez, you don't have to shout." She put a finger in one of her ears.
"As a pharaoh," self proclaimed Nitocris said, "It is my duty to announce myself as best I can to my subjects."
"Well there are only five of us," Serika deadpanned, "All in one room. So you don't have to shout. Also, we're not your subjects!"
Nitocris pouted, "Look who's shouting now."
"Now, now." Nonomi said with a bright smile, "Let's not get cranky here. We just beat back the Helmet Gang and we got to save a lot of ammunition. I think that's cause for a celebration."
"I bought some fish earlier this morning," Shiroko said.
"Excellent," Nonomi clapped her hands, "I'll cook them up right now."
Ayane couldn't help but smile. She did remember the letter she had written to Sensei. It was sitting on her desk right now. However, now that Hoshino had a new 'friend', maybe they could survive on their own. Just maybe, things would turn out well for them now.
Glad to have gotten this out sooner then the last update. Now as you see, there will be other servants being summoned. I do want to say that Napoleon will still be the focus servant and character here, interacting and leading the charge. I just thought it'd be fun and interesting to have other servants pop up with the gangs. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and take care.