Chapter 30 The Hunted
Copper IX – Bunker Colony / 3071
/BEGIN PLAYBACK
School was pretty much a no brainer. Just smile and nod and say yes to whatever you were told, and you could actually get pretty far. As well, it helped to conform to certain cliches.
"So I was like, making out with Trevor~" Rebecca told them flippantly. "When he said he loved me! Ugh, that's so cringe, don't you think!?"
"Yup." Lizzy nodded, looking down at her phone.
"…" Doll nodded, looking back and forth between Lizzy and Rebecca. She didn't really get most of the shit her friends talked about, but she knew better than to stand out and be weird. Unlike another certain purple haired Drone.
"But, I will admit, at least Trevor is a better kisser than either Chad or Brad! Hehe!" Rebecca giggled.
"Yup." Lizzy nodded, still distracted.
"[…But, aren't you dating Darren?]" Doll dared to speak up, looking at the blue haired Drone questionably.
"Ugh, Doll! Girlfriend!" Rebecca rolled her eyes. "Yeah Darren is my babe, but you should always have one or two or ten back up guys, just in case any of them are a real loser." She grinned widely. "Speaking of which, Lizzy! You've got to help me get a date with Thad!"
"Ah…" Lizzy actually looked up from her phone. "Thad's a great guy, but he's a bit too easily distracted. Plus, he loves sports a bit too much to fit you into his schedule."
"Oh, whatever!" Rebecca shrugged. "I guess I can go kiss Braidon later then. Even though his head is still on fire!" She shouted at the Drone several seats over on her right.
"Bite me!" Uzi hissed while crouching on her desk like a gremlin. "I had no control over that!"
"Oh my god, what a loser, right Lizzy?" Rebecca snickered.
"Heh, yeah." Lizzy smirked.
"Doll, if you ever end up weird like little Miss Hot Topic over there, I'll totally make you feel left out like a big stupid loser." Rebecca threatened with a laugh.
"[Right…thanks for the warning.]" Doll nodded reluctantly.
The Teacher Drone looked away from one of the other students, and frowned. "Uzi, you have to partner up." He chastised with an annoyed and tired tone.
"Several people wanted to, for the record." Uzi added sarcastically, as she crossed her arms.
"No we didn't! You freak us out!" Lizzy laughed as she countered Uzi.
"Bite me!" Uzi shouted from inside a trash can that she'd crawled into when no one had been looking.
"…" Doll was thankful no one knew how weird she felt on the inside. Even if she had to lie and pretend to be meek and passive, she'd prefer that to the disgrace of being labeled a weirdo like Uzi was.
/END PLAYBACK
Rubicon III – Enroute to Western Belius/ Tuesday, Claudius 18th, 3175
/ONE NEW MESSAGE
/SENDER: V. VIII Pater
"Arquebus Group mercenary liaison, Pater here." The Corporate Mercenary greeted with an official tone, proud and elegant. "Impressive work on the refueling base assault. V. IV has left me a message addressed to you. If I may…" Pater coughed, then spoke in a relaxed tone, copying Rusty's style of speech in an exaggerated way. "'I knew you could do it buddy. I've got my eye on you.' That is all." Pater resumed talking in his official tone. "We at the Arquebus Group expect much from you."
/END OF MESSAGE
"…" 621 sighed, and set her head back against the seat. It was a long flight back to Belius, and there wasn't much to do.
The Strays seemed to have the right idea though. They were taking the opportunity to get some much needed sleep, resting contently against each other.
With their eyes flattened to pleasant, unconscious lines, Uzi was tucked warmly between N and V, holding onto her two big friends, keeping them close. N rested his head on Uzi head, and Uzi's head leaned against V's chest. As for V, she kept one arm around Uzi, and another tightly grasping 621's right hand, while she leaned her head against the Hound's shoulder.
It seemed the only time they could get peace and quiet anymore was when they slept. Otherwise, they didn't have much time to play or relax. It was always onto the next job, the next sortie, putting their lives on the line, all for a war not their own.
"You're worried about them, aren't you?" Ayre noticed. "I am as well."
"…"
"What's to become of them? When this war ends? When you and Walter are done with Rubicon?"
"…"
"You and I both know there is nowhere in the universe they can go, if Sol finds out they are still alive." Ayre pointed out. "They're fortunate that Void Sector is preventing news from reaching the rest of humanity…but that won't last forever. Sol will eventually find out about them, and when they do…"
"…"
"It's one thing, fighting against the PCA. But would you stand against your old allies, to protect the Strays?"
"…"
"Do you truly hate Laconia so much, that you would allow them to die, once your debt of honor is paid?"
"…Stop it." 621 hissed.
"…I touched a nerve, didn't I? I'm sorry. I just…" Ayre sighed. "Look at them, dammit. How kind and innocent and cute they are. Why would Sol demand their deaths?"
"…I don't know." 621 admitted.
Grid 086 - Independent Mercenary Hangars – Western Belius
After nearly two weeks, they'd found themselves back in the private hangar in Grid 086. Minus 621's right foot.
"Worst vacation ever…" V flopped onto the improvised bed, stretching tiredly.
"So, what are we doing back in Grid 086, Raven?" N wondered.
"…" 621 sighed. "Because Grid 086 and 085 are the only two places on the planet where your kind are relatively safe. Because Carla is the only fraction leader who likes Drones enough to want to protect them. And because apparently, Carla and Handler Walter go way back. So, we might as well stick around where we've got friends."
"Okay…so…should we do some maintenance or whatever?" Uzi suggested.
"Get some more rest." 621 dismissed. "Apparently, Carla has a ground-side mission for us tomorrow, that I don't know the details of just yet. So expect a lot of walking."
"Well…if we have nothing to do…how about a movie night?" N suggested.
"…" 621 shrugged. "Sure, why not. What did you guys have in mind?"
"Oh! Murder!" V smiled widely.
"Maybe some cool anime?" Uzi added.
"Just uh…something everyone will enjoy?" N tried to compromise.
621 couldn't help but laugh a little at how silly the Strays could be sometimes. "Alright. Let me throw out a few suggestions. There might be something you'll be surprised with." She then went to work setting up a projector to display on the far side of the hangar.
...
/NOW PLAYING: The Blue Brothers (1980)
Two men ran under an overpass dominated by state police, unnoticed as they dove into a parked 1974 Dodge Monaco. They were dressed like they had just come from a funeral, in black suits and black fedoras.
"It's a hundred and six miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses." Elwood summarized.
"Hit it." His brother Jake pointed forward, simultaneously stoic and relaxed.
Elwood started the car and hit the gas, the Bluesmobile rocketing out of the tunnel with tires screeching, a large megaphone sitting on it's roof being knocked off by low hanging pipes, alerting every state trooper overhead to the fleeing suspects.
"Chase scene!" Uzi, N, and V shouted excitedly. "Chase scene! Chase scene! Chase scene!"
The three little androids were having the time of their lives, as they enjoyed the action-comedy-musical released 1,195 years before. Admittedly, some of the social commentary went way over their heads, like the religious themes or the…Illinois Nazis? Even so, they liked how upbeat and joyful the movie was. They couldn't help themselves but to dance and sing along, even with songs they'd never heard before.
621 smirked as she watched them tire themselves out before another big mission tomorrow.
Oh, she could only imagine that they'd lose their collective shit when they found out this movie had a sequel.
Wednesday, Claudius 19th, 3175
It was probably a good thing that the Strays were dead asleep, passed out after a particularly energetic night. They wouldn't like the particulars of this next mission.
Extract VIP From Hostile Territory – "Cinder" Carla / Reward 40,000 COAM
"Welcome back, tourist." Carla greeted with a sweet but sarcastic tone. "Heard you ran into some trouble out on the ice? Glad to see you brought back my favorite Drones intact, at least. Anyhow, you're really going to love this. Doll decided to call me. Turns out running on her own wasn't all it was cracked up to be, and she's agreed to surrender herself to my custody in exchange for protection. I'll be honest, if she wasn't so cute, I'd tell her to suck my nuts, and wish her luck. But, then again, there is that mystery of her having weird magic space powers, so that could be fun trying to figure out. Oh, and just to make it more interesting, I'm sending Tessa and her new team out on a trial run. Yes, you heard that right, Tessa found some Worker Drones stupid enough to agree to work as mercenaries. Though, if they are even half as good as Uzi, then it might be a good investment. So do me a favor and keep an eye on them. And, just to make it interesting, whichever team manages to find Doll first will get a little extra scrip. Oh, by the way, she's hold up in Grid 078, keeping low and out of sight. Just remember, she is coming in willingly, so try not to abuse her too much, yeah?"
"…" 621 realized it had been a while since she'd given her Strays one of her trademarked, fucked up lessons in survival and mercenary life. All she had to do was conveniently forget to mention Doll's name, and her Strays would learn that not every mission briefing told them everything they needed to know.
Plus, it would be a good chance to see how much V had grown and healed since their last encounter, and if she would have a grudge against Doll.
"Come on Stray Squad, time to get up." 621 announced, shaking the three androids awake. "Carla's got a special mission for us."
"Ugh, already?" Uzi complained.
"Uh, what's the mission, Raven?" N asked as he got up.
"We've just got to pick up a high value target a couple of Grids over. Should be an easy day." 621 assured them.
"Ah…who's the target?" V requested, as she yawned tiredly.
"…Don't know. Carla didn't say." 621 lied.
Extract VIP From Hostile Territory – "Cinder" Carla / Grid 078 – Western Belius / Wednesday, Claudius 19th, 3175
A few hours by train saw 621 and Stray Squad arrive at one of the middle levels of the Grid 078 megastructure. This area was technically under control of the Junker Coyotes, but none of the important members, so just a bunch of selfish bastards who preferred to busy themselves with narcotics and arbitrary turf wars with each other. Since they were more focused on fighting each other, they were considered very low-level threats.
Also appearing at the docks of this Grid, were Tessa and J, and two Worker Drones they didn't really expect.
"Lizzy?!" Uzi seethed as she rapidly approached to confront the other teenage Worker. "What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Gosh, settle!" Lizzy put her hand on her hip and held a relaxed pose as she smiled confidently. There was a Vector .45 caliber submachinegun hanging from her shoulder. "J just offered me a spot doing merc work, and considering the scrip I'm getting, it's totally worth it."
"Hello Miss Doorman!" Detective Millie waved politely. There was a Beretta M9, 9mm handgun on her hip.
"Don't call me that!" Uzi complained. "Huh, I'm even more confused about seeing you, Detective."
"I just wanted to go on a big action adventure! Figured merc work was the way to go." Millie explained excitedly.
"Hi J!" N waved happily.
"N…V…I see you survived your scouting run." J nodded to her former squad.
"Yeah…mostly." V shrugged.
"Uh…hey V?" Lizzy smiled awkwardly. V just averted her gaze, trying to ignore the other Drone. "Ah…"
"…621." Tessa cautiously greeted the senior Hound. She'd gotten smart at some point and was now armed with an M4 Carbine, along with her usual kit.
"…" 621 quietly scoffed. "I see you decided to bring a…little fire team."
"It certainly wasn't something I planned. But I may as well learn from the best and expand my capabilities. As you've seen, my team consists of J, Lizzy, and Detective Millie. Their callsigns are Saber, Snappy, and Seeker, and they go by Tails Squad."
"…" 621 realized they were called 'Tails Squad' because all three Drones had their hair tied in ponytails, one for Lizzy and Millie, and two for J. She made no outward reaction.
"You're not planning on murdering me again, are you?" Tessa accused.
"Only if I'm very fortunate." 621 answered promptly.
"…So…how do you want us to do this?" Tessa requested. "Carla gave us both the same mission, but she told me to defer to your expertise in looking for our…VIP."
Tessa didn't agree with 621's request to lie to Stray Squad, but she knew better than to defy the Hound.
"We'll go high, you go low, and clear this Grid level by level." 621 ordered. "The target has a transponder for us to lock onto, but it has a very short range of a handful of meters. They'll likely be avoiding the public areas, awaiting pickup."
"Alright, let's go team!" Tessa cheerfully led her three Drones into the megapillar, to start searching low.
"Stray Squad, on me." 621 ordered, dragging Uzi, N, and V up with her. "Should be an easy day today. Just a kidnap job, nothing more."
"Yes ma'am!" Uzi, N, and V answered back promptly, as they started their search.
Grid 078 – Outer Shell
Two transports flew over the top of Outer Shell with impunity. Their IFF transponders marking them as PCA units, coming down on the Grid 078 megapillar.
Touching down on the roof, they deployed their troops, four platoons worth of PCA Special Forces infantry, and just a little bit of artillery. Leading the formation were two officers, dressed in clean, white uniforms.
"Intel confirms a Code 54A taking refuge in this Grid Sector." Lieutenant Celeb reported. "Our contacts in the Coyotes reported the 'wupo' levitating knives in an effort to threaten them."
"I want that Laconian abomination flushed out and torn apart." Colonel Madrigal demanded. There was a jagged Y-shaped scar across her right cheek. "Lock down the Grid. No one in or out."
"You heard the commander! Secure the Grid control center!" Lieutenant Celeb ordered, moving the troops down into the Grid.
Grid 078 – Megapillar Interior – Level 118
Admittedly, 621 had no expectations for V to overcome her fear of humans anytime soon. It was the excuse she told herself to let the little android girl keep holding her left hand, and squeezing it back gently to assure her.
They'd been searching for a bit over an hour, with Uzi and N close behind, their heads on a swivel, keeping their guns out to show they meant business, but relaxed and not in a hurry.
"Raven, what kind of target are we looking for anyway?" V whispered to her master.
"You'll know when we find them, setara mali." 621 assured her, calling her that word she liked being called.
"I really don't like you lying to the Strays like this…" Ayre complained. "But I can understand your reasoning, even if I disagree with this approach."
"…" 621 grunted softly in response. Then her hand terminal started pinging, in response to the signal they were looking for. "That's our call. We're close now."
"Alright! Looks like we're getting Carla's bonus!" Uzi cheered.
"Well, guess you were right. Easy day today." N nodded along relaxed, as he kept his eyes on their surroundings. There were a couple of people he didn't like seeing, but having an actual MP5 submachinegun for a hand tended to be a good deterrent.
After a few more minutes of walking they found the target of their mission. She was hunched down at the end of the level, hiding between utility pipes.
Doll looked like shit. Her bright red cheerleader's uniform had loose threads, and was now discolored black with filth. Her long and straight purple hair that was immaculately kept before was now an uncombed mess. The white of her shell and face was caked in a thin layer of dirt, and she was wearing a large button over her right eye like an eyepatch.
"[It just had to be you guys…]" Doll complained as she smiled weakly, her one still visible eye displaying both anger and exhaustion. "[I…surrender…]" She declared, raising her hands above her head.
"…" 621 cautiously raised her hand terminal, and sent an override-code to Doll's control collar, courtesy of Carla, that once again locked the little machine's abilities down. She was a bit surprised that the command actually went out, as Doll seemed to deflate with disappointment as her collar locked.
The Hound kept her eyes on V, seeing how she responded. It was pretty clear she was pissed, as her tail whipped behind her angrily, while her eyes settled from surprise, to glaring hatefully at the little Worker Drone. However, she stood her ground, and didn't lash out.
"Stray-"
"DOLL!?" Uzi screamed as she ran past 621 and V, fast enough that Doll's eye widened in surprise, her hands dropping to try and keep Uzi away from her, not that it helped.
Uzi tackled Doll hard, lifting her off the ground as she pushed her to the far wall. Unfortunately, it was not a wall, but a recycler chute. The door was pushed in, with Doll and Uzi disappearing down into the recycler.
"UZI!?" V and N shouted and rushed forward, looking down the recycler chute, too late as Uzi and Doll were going down fast.
"UZI!" N and V knocked into each other as they tried to climb into the chute.
"Do not jump into the recycler after Stray Three." 621 ordered dryly, obviously annoyed.
"But Uzi-!"
"Will come out several levels down in a pile of compost, mushrooms, and shit." 621 advised. "Carla's pet will be closer anyway, so I'll ask her to pick them up."
"…" V and N nodded to her, agitated and worried, but willing to follow their Hound.
"…" 621 sighed slowly and loudly, before she grabbed her opened her hand terminal and called Tessa.
"Uh, Hound?" Tessa wondered why her senior was calling.
"Be advised we had the target, but Stray Three managed to knock herself and the target into a recycler." 621 reported. "They should come out near your level. Please intercept and we'll reconvene to pick up my team member."
"Oh! Copy that! We'll get right on that!" Tessa answered promptly before hanging up.
"…Right, Stray Squad, let's find our little…purple…troublemaker." 621 sneered, taking a less direct route down to the recycler with N and V in tow.
Admittedly, tackling Doll into the recycler chute was far from the smartest thing she'd ever done. Maybe not as stupid as picking a fight with a Murder Drone while carrying a non-functioning weapon, but still pretty stupid.
After tumbling for several minutes down the vertical chute, Uzi and Doll fell into a pile of biological detritus accumulated from several of the above levels of the Grid Sector, in a large, dark room with almost no lighting. It was a rather sickening combination of unfinished food, bio-degradable trash, human corpses, and actual shit.
"[Oww…what the fuck Doorman!?]" Doll cursed as she struggled to stand in the compost pile.
Uzi immediately targeted Doll with her Solver, only to be annoyed by an error message.
-/ERROR absoluteSolver_trn
[like object non-interactive]
"Tsk!" Uzi hissed, and instead targeted several human bones nearby. They were infested with fungal growths, but still had enough strength to knock Doll off her feet.
"Motherfucker!" Uzi shouted as she lunged at Doll, getting on top of her. "You hurt V!"
"[You…are you seriously upset over that!?]" Doll hissed back. "[Are you sympathizing with the fucking Murder Drones!?]"
"You hurt V!" Uzi was a bit out of her mind at the moment, remembering the terror of falling off the Grid, watching V and N shatter against the ground, seeing N getting crucified with a pole through his chest…
And whatever hell that she couldn't even begin to imagine that V went through.
"You tried to kill me! You hurt N! And you hurt V!" Uzi had her hands grasped around Doll's throat, not that choking her would actually kill her, but it would certainly hurt.
"[I can't believe you would sympathize with those monsters!]" Doll punched Uzi in the face, knocking the smaller Worker Drone back. "[They've killed millions of our kind!]"
"Under false orders!" Uzi argued. "Part of a war none of us ever knew the scope or terror of! And like you're any better! You killed several Workers and drank them dry!"
"[The Murder Drones are the real monsters! Insatiable and relentless, they never showed us any kindness or mercy!]" Doll stood her ground as best as she could. She wasn't trying to fight Uzi, but that seemed to be what Uzi wanted.
"Because you never gave them a chance!" Uzi punched Doll back. "They really are good people if given the choice! Even that bitch J showed me a modicum of regret for what she'd done!"
"[Then you are truly lost!]" Doll laughed pitifully as she clutched her face in pain. "[They are just biding their time till they kill you too-]"
"Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" Uzi screamed back. She used her Solver to pick up several human bones and trap Doll. "You're just as blind as all the other idiots! You don't get it! This isn't Copper IX! Everything has changed! On this world, we are not Workers or Murder Drones, we are all Laconians! Hated by everyone for the crimes of an Empire long gone, and wiped out by the victors! Why do you think the PCA is trying to kill us!? Not just Workers, but Murder Drones too!"
"[Uzi…you…]" Doll was a bit distracted by being squeezed by her bone prison, and trying to comprehend what Uzi was telling her.
"And…as far as N and V…they are the best friends I've ever had!" Uzi declared. "They don't treat me like a weirdo and bully me or ignore me like all of you bastards! They are fun and kind and have fought so hard to keep me alive! Even my master, that Laconian hating Hound, is a really good person, who treats me fairly and looks out for my well being! For the first time in my life, I'm happy! What gives you the right to take that from me!?"
Doll sneered, unwilling to cede on the issue. "[And what about your mother?]"
"Don't!" Uzi threatened, squeezing Doll a little tighter with the bones her Solver was holding, the purple glyph floating above her right hand. "Don't bring her into this!"
"[Well it seems only right, considering your 'best friends' killed her!]" Doll reminded her.
"Don't talk about my mom!" Uzi threw Doll across the compost pile, and chased after her. She grabbed a human thigh bone from the pile, snapping it over her knee to give it a sharpened, jagged point. She then jumped on Doll, and pointed the sharp end at the center of Doll's chest, right over her core. "I think about her every day!" Uzi cried, digital tears slowly running down her visor. "I know they killed her! But getting vengeance for the mom I barely knew isn't going to bring her back, and it's not going to give me any relief! Especially not since…since I care about them so, so much! Since I would fight and die for them if I had to!"
"[You…]" Doll glared up at Uzi, smirking mockingly. "[Then maybe you should just become a Murder Drone yourself, if you so love the monsters that we should hate.]" She accused.
"…Maybe I should." Uzi considered it sickly, laughing silently as she twisted the bone in her hand, scraping it against Doll's chest. "But not for you. And not because I want to spare you or prove some stupid moral high ground to you. No…the only reason I won't kill you now…is because keeping you alive is my mission. And finishing the mission, working with my team, is worth far more than the satisfaction I'd get from killing you…welwala."
Uzi stepped back from Doll, and threw the bone she was holding away. She didn't offer to help Doll stand.
"…" Admittedly, Doll was tired. So tired she had begged Carla for herself to be taken prisoner if it meant living. Maybe she'd never agree with Uzi, and she knew she'd never forgive V. But for the moment, she wasn't going to argue the point any further.
Although, there was something else that Doll realized should be spoken about.
"[…Uzi…]" Doll spoke softly. "[Our power…the Solver…]"
"…?" Uzi grunted indignantly, but watched Doll closely, listening.
"[It's dangerous, and should not be misused.]" Doll warned. "[Because if you misuse it, it will eat you up from the inside, until there is nothing of 'you' left.]"
Before Uzi could question what she meant, a door over their heads opened, and four beings looked down at them with different reactions.
"Eww, you guys look like garbage." Lizzy accused.
"Hi Doll! Hi Uzi!" Detective Millie waved happily.
"…Ugh…that's just gross. Do I have to go down there to get them?" J complained.
"Yes-ugh, oh my god I'm going to be sick." Tessa practically turned green as she held her nose shut.
"…" J sighed, and jumped into the hole. She spread her wings to keep herself from stepping into the compost pile. Uzi just glared limply up at her while J plucked her by the jacket, while Doll flinched away from her. "No, stay still, just-"
J wrapped her tail around Doll's waist and flew up and back out of the hole, unceremoniously depositing Uzi and Doll on the ground.
"H-Hey Doll." Lizzy waved weakly. "It's good to see you…I think."
"[…What are you doing here, Lizzy?]" Doll wondered.
"I guess, saving you today." Lizzy shrugged. "I thought working as a merc might be better for me than, you know, being in the brothel."
"[…It's…good to see you too.]" Doll smiled sadly as she looked down.
J pressed her fist to the top of Uzi's head, not striking her, just emphasizing how short she was. "Nice going, troublemaker. Would have really sucked if we failed our first mission as a team because you and the target turned into trash."
"Bite me!" Uzi growled at J, fists clenched tight by her waist.
"Come on J, leave Uzi alone." Tessa advised. "Let's just meet up with 621 and get this day done with."
"You got it boss." J shrugged, following Tessa. Lizzy and Millie took to escorting Doll gently after the two taller girls. Uzi fumed for a second, before sighing. She might have messed up a bit.
Underground Subbasement – Utilities Level
Within the crazy and convoluted social hierarchy of a Grid Sector, service technicians and engineers generally existed as their own class, because their experience made them some of the only people able to keep the incredibly complex utilities of a sixty-billion-ton megastructure functioning, and therefore they were generally unbothered by anyone so long as they did their job and kept the lights running, as it were.
Such consideration was not given to the four technicians monitoring the main electrical grid as Lieutenant Caleb and an escorting squad of PCA soldiers gunned down the technicians without warning, riddling them with bullets.
Pushing the corpse of a man out of his seat, Lieutenant Caleb inserted a device into the console, giving command override to the PCA. There was a specific function that was pretty much ignored these days, that had been built into these megastructures, because it required command codes the fractions on Rubicon did not have access to.
The PCA had no such problems.
"We're patched in." The Lieutenant reported to his commanding officer.
Level 97
After dropping down several levels, 621, V, and N found their allied squad, their target, and their wayward member.
"Uzi!" N and V had ran forward to grab their favorite Worker Drone, with N picking her up and hugging her closely.
"I'm so glad you're okay Uzi!" N somewhat calmly exclaimed.
"Heyyy guys…" Uzi greeted awkwardly and embarrassed, as she was stuck in N's friendly grasp. "Thanks."
"Uzi you stupid idiot!" V shouted as she punched Uzi in the arm. "Don't ever do something like that again!" She then cupped Uzi's cheeks and held them.
"R-Right, of course."
"…" 621 walked behind Uzi, and struck her in the back of the head with the stock of her shotgun. It was not a hard strike, more of a heavy shove, but it definitely got Uzi's attention.
"Ah!" Uzi shouted in slight pain.
"…You need a bath, Stray Three." 621 announced calmly. "You smell like shit."
"Oh…yes ma'am." Uzi rubbed her head, pouting. After being escorted back by Tessa and her squad, she knew she'd messed up. Though it seemed smacking the back of her head would be the limit of her punishment for this failure.
"…" Doll glared as Uzi seemed to fit so naturally into such an unlikely group.
"If you two are done coddling that idiot, can we go now? We have a mission to complete." J advised.
"Oh! Hey, so since we found Doll and your lost property, does that mean we get Carla's bonus?" Lizzy questioned cheerfully..
"…" 621 pointed forward, towards the exit.
"Lizzy, dear, please don't antagonize the Hound." Tessa suggested softly, pushing Lizzy forward.
"Ah…right." Lizzy shut her mouth.
"Oh, why is that?" Millie wondered.
"Best you don't find out." Tessa added.
Control Center – Armored Basement Level
Behind several armored blast doors was the primary server room and control center for the whole Grid Sector. Normally, the residents didn't mess with this area, since it was sensitive and too important of an area to interfere with, and there wasn't much that they had control over anyway except the basic utilities.
With the area secure, and the PCA having a direct line to the primary function of the Grid, Colonel Madrigal enacted her plan for destroying the Code 54A that intel had identified.
"Lock it down." She ordered. There was a microphone nearby that connected to the Grid's PA system, that she intended to use immediately, as the following step of her plan.
"Yes ma'am!" Their tech announced.
/SECURITY PROTOCOLS ACCESSED
/INITIATING WAR PROTOCOL
/BLAST SHIELD INITIATED
Level 100
Coming back out near where they had entered, 621, Tessa, their respective teams and Doll kept a steady pace as they walked towards one of the exits of the Grid. There were a few hundred people around them, milling about and gawking opportunistically at the two Hounds, three Murder Drones, and four Worker Drones, but given that everyone but Doll was armed, no one made it too obvious.
A loud klaxon alarm sounded, and suddenly, the massive, ten-meter-thick doors on this level closed. Meanwhile, the primary lighting cut out, only to be replaced by red emergency lighting.
"What the hell?" Tessa looked around confused.
"What's going on?" Millie questioned.
"Uh…was this part of the mission?" Lizzy asked anxiously. Doll was looking around nervously as well.
J, N, V, and Uzi all nervously but confidently held their ground by their respective masters, confused but keeping their eyes open.
"…" 621 sighed loudly and for a long time.
Those massive doors locked them in with a bang. All the civilians looked nervous and confused as well.
"Lock down complete." An automated announcement declared. Then the regular lights flipped back on.
"…Stray Three." 621 demanded, gesturing at the door.
"Oh, yes ma'am." Uzi raised her hand terminal and tried to hack the door open. Except that there was no signal for her to send a connection to. "What the-? Raven, the door's computer was taken offline. We can't open it from here."
"…?" It wasn't that she didn't believe her, but 621 tried to hack the door as well, and was disappointed and annoyed that the hacking codes did nothing. "Ugh…" She grunted.
"Hello 078." Came the soft voice of a woman over the loudspeaker. "This is Colonel Madrigal of the PCA." She paused between each statement, making sure everyone inside the Grid Sector understood what she was saying. "Somewhere in this Grid are some Jenson model androids. I want them dead. Until I get what I want the Grid is locked down. If I don't get what I want in two hours I'm cutting the water supply. Two hours after that, main power. Then, lastly, two hours after that, the air recyclers. Anyone with a gun, on every level, hunt those little robots down. Everyone else clear the corridors and stay the fuck out of our way until the shooting stops. If I hear of anyone helping those androids I will kill them and the next generation of their family. As for you androids…sit tight, or run…makes no difference you're mine."
"…" 621 closed her eyes for a moment, as she analyzed their rapidly changing situation. Pretty much everyone around her, those nearby civilians and allied teams, were panicking to a greater or lesser extent. And, once again, she was the only one who could hold them all together, from falling into sheer fucking chaos.
Turning around, 621 showed neither fear nor hesitation, as she addressed her strange allies.
"Stray Squad! Tails Squad!"
"Ma'am!" 621's commanding tone immediately caught and held the attention of the six armed androids. Even Tessa and Doll had to snap-to at the demand of the Hound.
"I'm updating our rules of engagement, and our mission." 621 declared. "Our new mission is to remove the PCA's control on this Grid, in order to escape and free the citizens trapped in here with us. However, you are to consider all civilians within this Grid as possible enemy combatants."
"All civilians?" Tessa questioned worriedly.
"The PCA is forcing the citizens to choose, to die choking in the dark, or come down and kill us. We won't engage the unarmed, but remember that every time we are spotted, the civilians are incentivized into reporting our position, in order to assist the PCA and Coyotes in defeating us."
"So…how many people have the PCA pitted against us?" N wondered hesitantly.
"There are the better part of a million people living in this Grid, so we can expect a possibility of several tens of thousands of active enemy combatants from this population."
"We have to fight…all those people?" Lizzy was hiding her panic well, but it was still readily apparent.
"…These Grid Sectors are an evolution on the Big Box series of megabunkers produced by The League, meaning there are several features that are still similar." 621 explained. "There will be a control center near the bottom of the Grid, in the most heavily armored portions. That's where most of the PCA troops will be holed up. If we can get down there and retake the Grid's controls, we won't have to fight anyone else, and we'll be able to finish our mission."
"Oh I like this plan!" Uzi cheered.
"Stray One, Stray Two, Tail One." 621 addressed V, N, and J. "You three have an advantage in this situation. The ability to heal from damage rapidly and manufacture your own ammo internally makes you all absolutely critical in this situation. You'll be taking point, driving us towards that objective as quickly and efficiently as possible. Try not to engage civilians, but do not hesitate to fire on anyone who is armed. In fact, shoot every human carrying a weapon that you see, other than myself or the exile here."
"Yes ma'am." The former squad nodded as they reunited for this mission, even for as worried as N was and surprised as J was. V on the other hand was taking the news remarkably well.
"The rest of us will stay close and engage at our discretion, with similar ROE." 621 ordered. "We have four hours at most to get this done."
"Uh…what happens after four hours?" Millie asked innocently, showing her inexperience.
"The PCA will cut water and power, and in an effort to save their own lives, all civilians will become hostile in an effort to kill us. We won't even last the six hours till the air is cut off." 621 announced grimly. "Let's not let it get that bad."
"…" Doll grunted, looking up at the confident Hound. "[What about me? What do I do?]"
"You…are a mission target." 621 dismissed. "It's our mission to keep you alive, and the PCA's mission to kill you. If you like being alive, then I suggest you stay close, and stay out of our way." Then 621 leaned down close to Doll, and sneered. "And if you even think of trying to inconvenience us to get your vengeance at a moment of opportunity, then you won't have to worry about the PCA or the Murder Drones. I'll kill you, and I'll make sure it hurts."
"[…I understand.]" Doll avoided looking at 621, hating that she was so desperately reliant on the Drones she hated the most, and their unhinged Hound.
"Now, let's move." 621 demanded, getting their strange group moving down. Even though she had told the Murder Drones to take point, she was right up there with them, as they found a stairway to drop down to the next level.
"Hello? Carla? Come in Carla?! Dammit!" Tessa cursed. "I can't get Carla on the radio."
"Tsk!" Uzi hissed at that realization. "I can't get a hold of Handler Walter either."
"The blast shielding is blocking transmissions; we are on our own." 621 confirmed. She looked down the stairs as she could hear numerous individuals climbing up the stairs after them. "Prepare to engage."
"Right." J confirmed. "How do we-"
V had already dropped down the stairs, one hand changed out for an MP5 that she steadied with her other hand, aiming carefully to take as many armed men down with short, controlled burst as she could. 621 was right beside her, handgun out for the moment as she maneuvered around the narrow stairwell, sending single, high-caliber rounds down range to pulverize whatever V missed. They very quickly stacked seven bodies on those stairs.
"Come on! Don't keep them waiting!" Uzi complained, pushing past a shocked J and uncomfortable N as she rushed into action.
"Okay, we're deep in it now." N shook his head and stayed close to Uzi.
"J, let's go!" Tessa urged on. "What's the matter?"
"Just ah…maybe I'm not used to killing people to protect Drones is all. This is all very new to me." J admitted sheepishly.
"Yeah, me too." Tessa nodded grimly. "There's no time to think about it though. As for you two." She gestured to Lizzy and Millie, lingering around behind them. "Keep up and watch out for Doll. 621 and her squad aren't going to wait for us."
"Y-You got it, boss." Millie was definitely feeling overwhelmed, but didn't want to let her new boss down.
"Yeah it's okay." Lizzy lied to herself. "Just got to fight through a few tens of thousands of pumped-up Coral Junkies and a handful of Drone hating PCA specialist in four hours, or else we'll have a few hundred thousand people trying to beat us to death in the streets. Yeah, okay. Just another Wednesday on Rubicon."
"…" Doll winced, but kept up, following behind the most unexpected allies she could find.
Level 94
Taking a risk, 621 took her expanded fireteam into a freight elevator that wasn't covered by cameras, either internally or externally. It wouldn't be able to get them far, just a few levels, enough to surprise what few Coyotes had jumped up and were now patrolling the next junction on their journey down.
Two guards had noticed the freight elevator's arrival and turned around to investigate. The closest guard was pounced on by V and got a sword through the heart, while 621 shot the other man in the head. The area cleared, she led the way to the next area they had to get through.
Unfortunately, the Junker Coyotes were out in force, with gang members carrying everything from handguns and shotguns to fully automatic rifles, standing at the ready. Eleven people, guarding a small courtyard in front of what appeared to be a medical ward.
621 and Stray Squad, along with J and Tessa, hid behind some concrete pillars that looked into that courtyard, with Lizzy, Millie, and Doll not far behind, holding the rear. Seeing the crowd before them, V deployed her missile launcher, only for 621 to grab her by the arm.
"No." 621 whispered. "Save your artillery for hard targets. We want to limit the explosives we use for the time being. Both to be quiet, and to conserve our energy." She explained quickly. She then reached for the grenades on her bandoleer, twisting one to 'stun.' She signaled to her allies her intention, and then tossed the grenade around the pillar.
The effect of a stun grenade going off was known as deflagration, as opposed to a regular grenade undergoing detonation. Pressure waves were expelled at sub-sonic speeds, with an emphasis on being bright and loud. Nothing it did was enough to kill anyone, but it certainly left everyone in the courtyard disoriented and unable to fight for several seconds.
Time that was immediately capitalized on as 621 led Stray Squad, J, and Tessa on an assault, taking out all eleven Coyotes. It took J a long time to set her sights on the closest man to her, but she managed it and put several rounds into the target, killing them.
Using her railgun in it's low powered mode allowed Uzi to effectively use her weapon like a slug throwing shotgun, but with plasma instead of heavy rounds. The large blue bolts slammed into flesh and melted several inches deep, before cooking off the surrounding flesh into fresh pulp and causing the gases made from melted flesh to expand so rapidly, it would rupture any nearby internal organs. She managed to get two kills that way.
N was admittedly hating ground-side combat. He'd much rather be escorting Uzi on his back as they stalked after 621's AC. But he didn't complain, and did his job, and managed to add two to his kill count.
And for 621 and V, they each tore through the enemy with precision, and each earned three kills.
"Clear-" 621 called out, but noticed one still moving Coyote, their chest riddled with not-immediately fatal wounds. One of N's marks. "Clean up, Stray Two." She demanded.
"…Yes ma'am." N still wasn't used to killing humans. It was a lot messier than he was used to, and their faces persisted in more horrifying expressions than Worker Drone corpses. But he was past the point of hesitation now at least. He resighted his previous target and put one round through the head of the struggling Coyote.
"Don't get sloppy now, N." J criticized.
"I'm fairly positive I only saw you kill one enemy, Tail One." 621 scoffed back. "And the exile didn't hit a damn thing."
"S-Sorry!" Tessa squeaked. "I sorta panicked and uh…I might have closed my eyes?"
"…Why don't you stay back then and leave the killing for the professionals." 621 advised. "Keep an eye on those other rookies. And don't worry, if things get bad, I'll save my last bullet just for you."
J hissed at that last comment, and bared her teeth at the Hound.
"Your former leader is right though, Stray Two." 621 turned back to N. "Tighten your groupings. We've got no time to waste on double-taps. Shoot to kill the first time."
"Yes ma'am." N nodded grimly.
Control Center – Armored Basement Level
"While the System deems the destruction of Jenson androids a priority, she's only able to spare a few resources to the task." Lieutenant Celeb explained what they already knew.
"Which is where we come in." Colonel Madrigal added. "I heard there was a report of another Code 54A out on the Central Ice Fields?"
"Unconfirmed, but yes." The Lieutenant nodded. "Unfortunately, that team was wiped out by Scavengers before they could deal with that threat."
"It is imperative the Drones be wiped out. Especially the Code 54As and Ds. They are a threat to everything Sol fought for." The Colonel declared.
"Ma'am!" Their Tech called out. "You'd better come take a look at this." He led his two commanders back to the camera system within the Grid, pointing out a problem. "We believe there are several Drones and even a few humans fighting their way through the Grid, and they've been stacking corpses up. We've got seven here on level ninety-nine, eleven on level ninety-four, another two dozen on level eighty-nine. They've downed almost fifty Coyotes and they haven't even taken a scratch."
"…Worthless fucking Coyotes…" Colonel Madrigal complained. "Where are they now?"
"I don't know, but they seem to be moving their way down the Grid." The Tech reported. "No, wait, wait. I just picked them up. They're on level seventy-six, west quadrant." He pointed to an image of four Worker Drones, three Murder Drones, and two Hounds. "Shit, looks like our target has a pretty heavy escort."
"Three Code 54s, a Code 54A, and three Code 54Ds." Lieutenant Celeb counted hatefully. "Looks like we've got a good catch today."
"Do you want me to patch you back into the PA? We could get level sixty through eighty converging on them." The Tech suggested.
"No. Can you seal them in there?" Colonel Madrigal suggested.
"Sure. War override gives me total control of the Grid." The Tech confirmed. A few keystrokes later, and he had trapped the enemy on that level with more heavy doors. "Full lockdown. They're going nowhere."
"I tried to do this clean, but they wouldn't let me. So now we do it messy." Colonel Madrigal muttered to herself. She watched as one of the Hounds used a large caliber handgun to shoot the camera. "Too late Hound. Lieutenant."
"Ma'am!"
"Grab the artillery and set up on that level, we're taking them down now." Colonel Madrigal demanded.
Level 76
"…That's not good." Tessa frowned, looking back at the doors that had dropped behind them.
"I really hate doors." Uzi grimaced.
621 walked up to the door, inspecting it closely. "How long would it take for Murder Drone lasers to cut through this door?"
"Statistically…more than a day." J shrugged. "And we wouldn't be able to maintain the laser for that long anyway. Our arm would melt off trying to cut through, and we'd burn through our oil and energy reserves in a matter of minutes."
"Tsk." 621 hissed.
"They know where we are. Why aren't they coming after us?" N questioned.
"That's what worries me." 621 admitted. "Exile, take your squad and Stray Two back to the main lobby. Hold position behind the elevator shaft. It's a good place to defend. Stray One, Stray Three, on me."
"Oh, yes ma'am!" Uzi answered promptly.
"Copy that." V nodded.
"Wait, where are you going?" Lizzy asked.
"…" 621 sighed. "If we don't come back, and you get cornered, you might not want to be taken alive. Your call."
"…" Nobody took that advise well.
"Who talks like that?" Millie complained. 621, V, and Uzi walked away, further into the level.
"[…She's right you know.]" Doll advised. "[It's not a good idea to be taken alive. The PCA might just kill us, but the Coyotes-]"
"Can you shut the fuck up?" Tessa hissed. "We're trying to save your life, so stop being such a buzz kill! We'll get through this…somehow."
"[Really feeling that confidence.]" Doll appraised Tessa coldly. "[You're not like that other Hound, are you? Is that why she calls you 'exile?']"
"Don't talk to Tessa like that!" J was quick to defend her master. "She's probably the nicest human you'll find on this planet! So you'd better appreciate that she took this mission to save you."
"[Don't talk to me, sky demon.]" Doll snarled. "[I heard you are quite familiar with the Coyotes, aren't you? Maybe you should go back to doing that kind of work!]"
"Fuck you!" J shouted at Doll, gun raised at the red eyed Worker.
"Okay!" N stepped between J and Doll. "She's trying to get a rise out of you J! I know you're better than that!"
"Fine…" J shrugged, still obviously angry. She turned back and away from Doll.
"And you!" N turned to Doll. "I know you hate us, but can you maybe just not try and antagonize us while we're trying to save you? It's hard enough fighting through the whole Grid without you still trying to prove something to us that really doesn't matter right now."
Doll looked like she still had more things to argue about, but Lizzy stopped her.
"Hey girl." Lizzy smiled softly. "You know N's right. This is already turning into a pretty long day, so please don't make it harder on us. We all just want to get out of this alive. This is not the time to prove something to our old enemies, not when they're helping us survive."
"[…Fine.]." Doll scowled, averting her gaze to the ground.
While Tessa, J, and N kept a lookout, Lizzy and Millie turned in, talking to Doll.
"Doll, dear." Millie rubbed Doll's head. "How have you been surviving?"
"[…Sometimes fighting, sometimes stealing, sometimes…other things…]" Doll admitted shamefully.
"Don't worry Doll, we'll get through this." Lizzy assured her. "Between the Murder Drones and the scary Hound, we've got a lot of guns and experience in our favor."
"[Lizzy…you…]" Doll hesitated, wording herself more carefully. "[Why would you trust the Murder Drones?]"
"I don't know." Lizzy shrugged. "But…maybe it's because they are so very far from the worst things I've seen so far. This is a whole different world, Doll. Everything has changed."
"[Yeah…I've heard as much.]" Doll sat dejectedly, fuming tiredly.
This level appeared to be made from an abandoned factory, old machines standing tall and cold, and a shanty town stuffed in between those old production lines. There were a lot of people on this level too, but all of them were hiding, locking their doors as 621, V, and Uzi strolled by.
"Raven…" Uzi frowned, as she kept up on their rear. "Did you know that Doll was the target of this mission?"
"…Maybe." 621 admitted.
"…Why did you lie to us?" V asked, hurt but trying to hide it.
"Because not every mission briefing is going to tell you everything. Sometimes they will withhold information that might have been vital." 621 explained. "And you just have to deal with it."
"But…that was Doll." Uzi hissed. "You should have at least-"
"And what would telling you that you were here to capture and escort Doll do? Allow you to prepare emotionally?" 621 scoffed. "You should always be prepared for the unexpected. The enemy will never show you the courtesy of announcing their intentions. Additionally, you may find yourself in the position of being back-to-back with a sworn enemy, fighting to survive. But that's something you already knew, isn't it?"
V stopped walking, and considered what 621 had just said. She turned around and caught Uzi staring up at her, purple eyes wide and thoughtful.
"…She's right." V admitted.
"She's a jerk." Uzi retorted.
"But she is right." V emphasized. "I didn't think I'd ever become friends with a Worker Drone of all people. And yet here we are."
"…Do you think…we'd have become friends if we'd never come to Rubicon?" Uzi wondered.
"I'd hope so." V assured her. "Cause…now I can't imagine my life without you in it."
"…Same." Uzi whispered, hiding her bright smile.
While V and Uzi were distracted with their conversation, 621 scouted ahead. Around the corner of a corridor, she saw a deep pit, across from which was part of a PCA platoon. Among them was a woman in a white uniform, pale skin and dark hair, with a scar across her face. This woman, wearing the rank of a Colonel, stared out across the pit, her eyes meeting the Hound.
The problem was that this PCA Colonel was standing between three M61 Vulcan Gattling Cannons, the heavy guns pointed in 621's direction.
"Oh shit…!" 621's eyes widened.
"Fire!" Colonel Madrigal ordered as she pointed at the Hound. The three cannons spun up, and sent 20x102mm armor piercing rounds down range at six thousand rounds a minute each.
*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
*BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR*
"RUN RAVEN! RUN!" Ayre screamed.
"…!?" 621 wasn't going to bother responding to her while she ran back down the level, threading through the improvised buildings as heavy tracer rounds cut through the steel and concrete, pounding into the walls behind her. Anyone unfortunate enough to be standing in the way of those guns were quickly reduced to pulp and paste.
"Raven!?" V and Uzi turned to see her running towards them with tracers streaming past her, dust and fire being kicked up in her wake.
"RUN!" 621 snatched up Uzi and pushed V forward, getting those girls away from the rapidly approaching tracers that were tearing this level apart.
...
"What…the…fuck…?" Tessa started shaking as a terrible roar resonated through the level, like the vengeful cry of some hate filled dragon. The distant sound of people screaming in pain and fear, and the gentle but growing thunder of rapidly approaching jackhammers tearing into the structures of this level.
"…!?" N, J, Lizzy, Millie, and Doll stared anxiously around the corner of the elevator shaft they were hiding behind, filled with fear and dread as the thunder and the screaming grew louder with every passing second.
...
Hellish chaos followed them with every step. Concrete and steel exploding into dust and smoke, the deafening roar as a combined eighteen thousand rounds a minute came clawing after them, cutting through every wall they ran behind to get away.
Hundreds of screaming people were cut down in their wake, their bodies torn apart by the high caliber rounds before they'd even hit the ground in bloodied heaps of themselves.
The mazelike construction of the level forced 621, V, and Uzi to run back and forth through the corridors as they inched their way closer to their allies near the elevator shaft. They dared not look back as the cannon rounds ravaged everything behind them.
...
Pushing a soldier off the middle gun, Colonel Madrigal grabbed the handholds to the 20mm rotary cannon, and pressed down on the firing lever with her thumbs.
The bloodshed and horror before her was all acceptable, collateral in their rightful mission to destroy those accursed androids, and finally bring peace to Rubicon.
...
Charging down the second to last corridor of the level, 621, Uzi, and V barely kept in front of the tracers tearing everything and everyone apart. There was some grim knowledge that everyone who had been hiding and taking cover behind them, hundreds and thousands of people, were dead, ripped apart by the massive rounds.
One round struck a high-pressure pipe in front of them, and caused a small explosion that knocked them to the ground. The tracers followed them, right over their heads.
621 kept her hands on Uzi's and V's backs, keeping them down as they all crawled under the massive tracers still ripping through the level.
After an agonizingly long minute, they had enough room to get up and run towards the elevator shaft at the end of the level, the long stream of tracers chasing them again.
Rounding the last corner, they could see Tessa and the other Drones watching wearily, confused and concerned with the danger they knew was approaching.
"GET BACK!" 621 warned as heavy tracers started breaking through the walls around them, having cleared through every wall of this level, and started cutting into the elevator shaft.
Tessa, her team, N, and Doll all dove for cover as 621, V, and Uzi joined them, all of them suddenly surrounded by hot tracers as the elevator shaft started to evaporate under the abuse it was receiving.
The air was choked out with smoke and dust, as the supersonic boom of three hundred rounds a second passed right over their heads. The PCA seemed to know they'd trapped them, and left them with nowhere to run as the three long streams of tracers converged. Debris rained down on them as chunks of pulverized concrete and shards of steel nearly buried them as the whole level came apart around them.
It seemed hopeless. It looked like in just a few seconds, the bullets would tear their rapidly deteriorating cover apart, and reduce them to so much brutalized and unrecognizable piles of meat and metal.
Then Uzi noticed something. At the end of the small courtyard, just a few meters away, was the chute of another recycler.
"RECYCLER!" Uzi shouted over the roar of passing rounds, before she ran across the courtyard, keeping her big head as low as she could, and jumped into the chute.
"…" It was rare to be so disappointed in salvation that everyone had to stop panicking and sigh in annoyance. Although, there were still several thousand rounds passing over their heads every few seconds.
"…GO!" 621 shouted, grabbing N and V and pulling them along. Tessa and J grabbed Lizzy, Millie, and Doll, and followed closely, keeping their heads low as their cover was almost depleted.
Doll didn't need any encouragement and dove in after Uzi. Millie hesitated at the edge of the chute, and thus earned a boot in her back as 621 kicked her clear.
"Go boss!" J shouted as she grabbed Tessa by the belt, and shoved her head first through the chute. Tessa squeaked and shouted as she fell down into the recycler.
"Uh! On second thought! I'm okay with dying in a hailstorm of bullets-!" Lizzy hesitated, only for 621 to pick her up by the shirt and throw her overhanded through the chute. Lizzy could be heard bouncing down the chute, cursing.
J leapt through next, quickly propelling herself down and out of danger.
"Okay! You guys should go-!" N tried pushing 621 and V, only for them to grab him by the belt and shove him headfirst through the chute next.
Before 621 could force V in next, the android girl tackled her, causing them to both fall into the recycler. Just in time too, as 621 could see rounds slamming into the chute door just as they were falling away from it. Though, as they fell, 621 and V were separated, as they tumbled down the chute painfully.
Author's Note: I don't know what it is about this time of year that makes me absolutely sick and miserable. I'm either boiling in my own skin, freezing my ass off, throwing up, or bleeding out of my nose aggressively. Sometimes all at once. So since I just ran out of sick days at work, I knew I was going to struggle even more than usual to write the next chapter, so I got chapter 34 done just a bit ago and am uploading this now with my last ounces of strength and sanity. Next chapter will come when my head stops spinning and I can focus on whatever the hell I'm doing.
Oh yeah, this chapter. This chapter and the next are HEAVILY inspired by the movie Dredd, because why not have our cute cast of lovable characters trapped in a building while being hunted by fanatics. Sorry it ended on another cliffhanger (at a cliffhanger, no less), but if I hadn't broken up chapters 30 and 31 the way I did, this would have been 30K words long, and my poor mother would get tired trying to edit that all at once.
So I'm going to post this then try the sleep the rest of the day, and hopefully I'll feel good enough at work to start working on chapter 35. Anyway, that's all for now. So remember mi beratnas, abide with Rubicon!
To magenta skelter: I'll certainly try and give it an attempt, but I rarely have the time anymore to read fanfics, even when I want to. Good luck on your story, it sounds very ambitious and I wish the best for you!
To undead3: I really like all the Drones and want to give them the right amount of time to shine. We're going to have a lot of fun with them and the adventures that come. As far as Stray Squad being useful, I try and balance it so that they can and will punch above their weight class on occasion, but in most circumstances they can only deal with weaker enemies like MTs or slightly inconvenience larger enemies like ACs or bosses. Still trying to balance Uzi's Solver since I know how powerful it can get, but I don't want her one-shoting enemies for 621 later on. Plus she is still trying to keep it a secret from most people.
To guest: So glad you've been enjoying it! I hope to continue entertaining you!