CHAPTER 59

THE MONSTER WITHIN

On the second floor of the eastern block, Jasmine had gathered a large group consisting of her mall staff, base personnel, teaching staff and the preschool children. Once ready she would guide them through escape route C to join Commander Jill down in the Aurora. All seemed quiet until a series of explosions came from the floor above in the direction of the upper hanger. At that moment, the three rookies came hurrying down the passageway, wheeling in the spare boxes of weapons and ammo Jasmine had requested. "Great job girls." she praised as everyone passed the guns around.

"This is really bad." gulped Noona, her body tense as an assault rifle rather large for her size was thrust into her arms.

"How are we going to be of any help? We haven't even had target practice yet." Mary worried, the rifle shaking in her hands.

"We have to be brave." Marika told them. "Cal told us to stay behind and help. We're para-mail troops now. It's our job to protect the others." Mary and Noona's faces lightened as they regained some of their courage. As the group prepped and loaded up, Jasmine did a double take and became aware that someone was missing.

"Girls, where's Miranda?" she asked, the panic building in her chest as the three rookies gazed around, their faces going ashen in sudden realization.

"Where did she go?" Mary gasped.

"She was right behind us when we left the mall." Marika remembered.

"You don't think she might have run off to join those fighting?" Noona wondered as Jasmine pulled her radio.

"Miranda, where are you?" No answer. "Miranda, do you copy?" Jasmine contemplated waiting for Miranda to turn up, but the silence was broken again by a barrage of gunfire coming from the upper hanger and the children clustered around the adults whimpering in terror. The enemy had now arrived on base. "Alright everyone, stay close, keep a look out and follow me." With no other choice, she and her group set off. Hopefully Miranda had indeed regrouped with her squad and not suffered a fate worse than death.

When the smoke had lifted, Lucas and those defending the upper hanger peeped their heads over their makeshift barriers and saw half of the launch runway had been blasted apart. "Shit!" Lucas coughed. The tiny sensor mines he had planted along the runway and hanger openings had been set off by those exploding disc drones. Luckily, the second load of evacuees within the elevator had already descended before the impact but the platform had yet to return.

"You three, go check if the elevator is still working." Lucas ordered as three Norma ran to the left side of the hanger, only for two of the girls' heads to explode in a spray of crimson. From overhead, what seemed like an entire platoon of NMB soldiers dressed in black tactical gear began rappelling down onto the runway. "Take them out!" Lucas ordered as he and the Norma opened fired, their bullets bouncing off the soldiers' Mana shields. "Flash grenades!" On his command, four stun grenades were tossed across the runway, the resulting bangs and flashes disorienting the soldiers into dropping their barriers and leaving them an open target. But no sooner had Lucas and the Norma cut them down then more soldiers appeared to take their comrades' place. Even worse, some were beginning to drop through the hanger's opening to their right flank to form a pincer.

"Lucas fall back, there's too many of them!" Dolton's voice broadcast.

"Copy that. Lucia route A is too hot! I repeat escape route A is too hot! We're falling back to your position. Lucia, do you copy?" No response so hopefully she had just forgotten to switch it on. For now, he had his own neck to worry about. "You, bring me the steel silver case in the back." For once, Lucas was glad for Frenzy's stupidity which led to him bringing along the prototype KRAKEN sensory grenades. Just a few would be enough to blow half the hanger apart.

"It's empty!" One Norma called back and Lucas' throat lodged seeing the 12 black steel balls missing.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" Lucas snapped.

"The Elevator is back!" One Norma yelled as the platform appeared.

"You lot get to the elevator. The rest of us will cover you!" Half the fighters ran from cover to cover towards the elevator while the remaining half kept the enemy occupied. Once on the platform, Lucas took aim at the control panel on the wall and shot its main power circuits. The emergency override kicked in and the elevator's steel doors sealed shut as the platform lowered. At least the enemy wouldn't be able to follow them that way. Meanwhile, the upper hanger was now crawling with soldiers, some starting to descend down to hanger 2 where the pilots were located and the rest were quickly gaining ground. Lucas knew they were intending to target Arzenal's main generator inside the Mall's back storage unit. The only way out now was through the corridor behind him.

"Retreat! Retreat!" Lucas shouted. Unfortunately, several Norma were forced back into the mall while Lucas and a few others made it inside the hallway. With no other choice, Lucas reached into his pocket for his second detonator trigger and the charges placed on the two doorways exploded, burying the entrances and leaving those in the mall trapped on the other side.

"You asshole, why did you do that! We have to help them get out of there!" One Norma cried as she tried to pull away at the rubble only for Lucas to wrench her back.

"Theres nothing, we can do. We'd all die if the enemy made it through." Not that it made him feel any better about it. "That won't hold them for long. Regroup at the second line of defense!" He just hoped those in the lunch hall hadn't run into trouble yet before those at the infirmary wing evacuated through escape route D.

"Commander, the enemy has collapsed the hanger. We can't launch out to help the other pilots." Hilda reported as everyone else scrambled to get the rest of the Para-mail onto the elevator.

"They'll just have to hold out until Villkiss has been brought down. Villkiss is the enemy's primary target. We must protect it at all costs." Commander Jill told her.

"Roger that. Frenzy, try and clear the runway with your Mana! Mei, the elevator?!" The young chief armorist flipped a few switches, but nothing reacted. "No good!" Mei announced in frustration. "That blast took out the auto controls. We'll have to lower it manually." One of the armorers ran over to the override panel on the wall when out of nowhere, Frenzy dove in front of her.

"Look out!" he yelled as a wave of bullets bounced off his Mana barrier.

"Take cover we've got company!" Hilda yelled. From the flight deck above, a series of rappel lines suddenly dropped down over the edge on which fifteen N.M.B soldiers descended. Their bullets sprayed the hanger as everyone flung themselves behind the row of Para-mail and rubble. Two Armorers trying to move Villkiss weren't so lucky and were shot down without mercy. Above them, Hilda heard additional gunfire from the mall along with the occasional scream of both Norma and soldiers.

"They're after Villkiss!" Hilda yelled. "Don't let them near it! Ready flash grenades now! Hey pervert, get over here!" A grenade belt was lobbed from behind and Hilda caught it just as Frenzy dashed in front to raise a barrier against the soldiers. She threw two flash grenades at the soldiers' feet who instead of running for cover, held their positions mistaking them to be frags and expecting their shields to protect them, only to be stunned when the blinding flash went off.

"Open fire!" Hilda bellowed as she and Frenzy retreated back to the cover of her Glaive. The pilots and armorers took the shot, and the enemy was cut down.

"I never thought that would work." Chris said amused.

"Guess humans aren't all invincible as they claim to be." Rosalie boasted.

"I wouldn't be too pleased." Ersha pointed out as overhead, a fresh batch began to descend, some of them hanging back in mid air to provide cover fire for their comrades on the ground.

"Attention all residents!" Pamela's voice suddenly announced over the intercom. "The enemy has infiltrated the base! I repeat, the enemy..." her voice suddenly went dead as all lights went out across the entire base.

"They've cut the power!" Mei yelled.

"Don't worry girls, I'll get the emergency lights up and running." Dolton called through their communications feed.

"Hurry up we're stumbling around in the dark up here!" Hilda replied.

Stepping over one corpse, Jadis sneered over the Norma's pathetic attempt at fighting back. "Check the mall, the generator should be located in the back storage area. If we split up, we can ambush any Norma trying to escape through the beaches and ambush them through any windows along the cliffs." She still remembered the base's layout thanks to her prior post as Inspector General of Arzenal though some didn't appreciate her input.

"Who put you in charge?!" One of Julio's overseers barked. "I am Captain of this platoon, and His Majesty has ordered this squad to sweep the upper levels. Now clear the rubble and flush the Norma out."

"Once the generator is taken care of, we should breach through different entry points where the Norma won't suspect us coming." Jadis repeated calmly.

"I will not ask again woman! Now do as…" Without warning Jadis grabbed her pistol and blew the overseer's brains out. Jeffry and Brawl took care of other two overseers in their group and the other soldiers stared in startled apprehension. It wasn't until Jadis removed her mask and helmet that they lowered their weapons.

"Lieutenant Jadis!?" One soldier gasped. "What's going on? We were informed you and Commander Villson were excluded from this mission."

"Things have changed boys." Jadis announced. "As of today, the entire N.M.B is under new leadership and your new Commander has left me in charge of the operation. Now clear this rubble out. Sargent Brawl go check the storage room." The giant hummed through his mask and within minutes, the metal gate to the storage area was ripped off its hinges. The soldiers stormed in and soon enough the main power had been cut.

"No! Get off me!"

"Lieutenant, we've got a few stragglers!" One soldier called as Brawl and his men emerged with several Norma. Their weapons had been stripped away, and they were forced on their knees with their hands behind their heads, their faces paralyzed with terror when they saw their former Inspector leering down at them.

"Please don't hurt us. Have mercy." One Norma pleaded in a shaky whimper.

"Mercy…MERCY!" Jadis taunted in a horrible mock baby voice before backhanding the girl, hard enough to knock her to the ground. "You dare take up arms against your superiors, you disgusting little whores!" Behind her, Jeffry stepped forward to open a Mana screen of the list of names and faces of the priority targets.

"Not a single rider among them." He noted. "What do we do with them?"

"Exterminate them like his Holy Emperor wanted." One soldier holding a flamethrower suggested.

"No!" Jadis denied much to the teams' bewilderment, "Trust me, I'd like nothing better than to burn these vermin up, but our new Commander and his master have made it clear that the unarmed and captured are to be spared and taken to the Galia labour camp. See it done." The soldiers stared in shock by Jadis's uncharacteristic display of mercy against the Norma, but didn't argue and set about clearing away the rubble.

"Corporal Jeffry," Jadis ordered, "take your squad and clear the four main floors. Any Norma you find, take them to the surface and ship them off before Julio's overseers get wise. Sargent Brawl, take your team back up top and zip down the southwest cliffs at the crater. If the terrorists and Norma have secured the infirmary wing, then they won't suspect you coming in through the windows. Me and my squad will follow after and breach through the south beach doors to ambush those trying to escape from below. Let Julio's men deal with the rest."

"But what if Julio's overseers order to kill any of the priority targets like the Princess." Jeffry asked.

"Then we make sure we get to them first before that happens." said Jadis, but she could see the guilt and uncertainty in Jeffry's eyes for double crossing the man who had taken him under his wing after his father's death. "Listen kid, after today once we fulfill our orders, the rewards will be substantial." Her twisted smile broadened. "Let your feelings of Dutch go. He's just an instrument to elevate our new commander's position. And ours for the new world order."

Through the thick murky dust that separated them, Cal stood blade in hand, firm and focused, while Dutch was tensed like a feral dog about to strike. The green fire burned violently in his blackened scaled hands, growing with intensity as their eyes bore into each other. "This ends today boy." Dutch growled. "There's no one left for you to use as a shield now. You have nowhere else to run." In the dark, Cal could just make out his two machine pistols on the floor to his right. He let out a soft chuckle and as he hoped, Dutch bristled in anger.

"Wrong, now it's your turn to run." In a hairs breath Cal flung one of his knives from behind his back and hit the glowing ball above Dutch's head, a jet of emerald fire released exactly towards where he would have been had he not leapt away. The lights of the glowing orb and fire died, and the chamber was swallowed in darkness. Dutch's hands flared with green fire, providing a dim light just as Cal grabbed his machine pistols from the floor. Dutch raised a shield to block the ensuring salvo before reshaping it into a streak of energy that shot forward and narrowly missed Cal. Mana infused into his legs let Dutch spring like a tiger across the cavern towards Cal who ducked just in time as Dutch's fist smashed a hole into the cave wall. In doing so, he left himself open and Cal tackled him to the ground. After a brief roll and exchange of wild blows against each other, they split and rolled apart. Cal grasped both his stun knuckle dusters and began hammering against Dutch. But the hardened scales were more resilient to electric shock than human skin and Dutch barely flinched until he re-encased his hands with Mana, allowing him to catch the knucklers and crush them. A Mana infused kick propelled Cal back into the dark where he sought cover behind a stone column.

"Come out you little coward!" Dutch snarled searching behind whatever cover the male Norma could be hiding behind.

"Coward!?" Cal's voice echoed around the chamber. "That's rich coming from the one who couldn't face Gramps like a man and takes hostages to force others not to fight back!" Cal carefully and quietly crawled around a pair of stalagmites and peered his head over to see Dutch standing fifteen feet away. Cal didn't dare use his frag grenades, fearing the explosion would set off the C4 Lucia planted on the chamber's main column. If only he could find his crossbow, but it was impossible to see with the only source of light being the green fire licking around Dutch's hands.

At one point Dutch thought he saw a shadow shift and directed a fire blast in that direction, only to howl in pain as something pierced his back. He felt the warmth of his blood run down his spine as Cal stabbed him again, keeping one arm around Dutch's neck who lunged backwards to smash Cal against a wall and knocking him off. Dutch whipped around, stomping his foot down onto where Cal's face would have been, but Cal rolled to the side and kicked Dutch's ankle to make him lose his footing. Cal got up but Dutch kicked him in the chest making him spiral back. Righting himself Dutch held both his hands in front as concentrated emerald beams shot in every direction like a shotgun. Cal darted and dodged between the blasts as he threw another two knives. The first missed but the second found it's mark leaving a large gash on Dutch's cheek. Cal turned back and sprinted as a torrent of green fire shot from Dutch's mouth, showering everything before him like a flamethrower as Cal dived behind a large boulder, narrowly missing death by inches.

"You little brat, I'll tear you apart!" Dutch seethed and felt the stab wounds on his back begin to close up thanks to his newly obtained power.

"Face it Dutch, your new tricks won't help you." Cal taunted and Dutch snapped around, unsure where the bastard was. "You're on my turf now Dutch. That makes you MY prey now."

"Shut your mouth!" Dutch snapped, directing another blast at a pile of rocks. But nothing was there and Cal's mocking laughter rang through the dark.

"So, what made you turn against your master's orders to bring his SON to him alive? Why kill me now?"

"So, you know?" Dutch glowered.

"Did he kick you out because you failed to capture me three times? Even by us Normas' standards that's rather pathetic." The fire in Dutch's hands grew with his anger as the monstrous scaly creature within him clawed at every layer of his flesh and brain cell. "I take it from your change of heart to finally kill me that you've also discovered the truth?"

"It took a while, but I got the answers I needed, and that's why I can't let you live."

"And why's that?"

"So, you still haven't figured that part out?" Dutch said with glee realizing the perfect bait laid in his breast pocket from which he pulled out the USB Donnie had hidden all these years. "This has all the answers why Embryo created you in the first place and what your true purpose is." He offered as he slipped the USB back into his breast coat pocket. "All you've ever wanted to know is all right here. You want it, come get it." Hearing a shift in the air Dutch snapped around, fire blazing in his left-hand as Cal dashed in with his knife pointed straight at Dutch's heart. At the last moment, both caught the other's wrist, stopping both blade and fireball from delivering the killing blow.

"Give up," Dutch growled through clenched teeth, "you're only delaying the inevitable, you little abomination."

"Abomination, have you looked in the mirror lately?" Cal snarled back.

When the lights had gone out, Ange had hoped the darkness would give her the advantage to disarm Salia. But in mere seconds the emergency lamps had kicked in, forcing her and Momoka to press on. They had now reached level 4 and were traveling further away from their comrades.

"Keep moving," Salia ordered as her free hand went to her headset. "Understood, I'll head up there once I deliver the package."

"What's happening?" Momoka asked.

"The enemy have infiltrated the base," Salia explained. "Once I get you two on board the Aurora, I'll head back there and help them take Villkiss down."

"Why are you wasting time when both of us could be helping?" Ange argued.

"I told you I have a mission to fulfill. I know Cal and the others will handle things, but you and Villkiss have to escape unharmed. That's all that matters." Ange could sense by Salia's low, dejected tone that her heart was no longer as devoted to the Commander as it used to be. It made Ange all the more frustrated that Salia was still putting Jill first above her own feelings and desires.

"You are unbelievable." Ange sneered. "Do you really value your life so little that you'd throw away your happiness just because Jill told you so?"

"What?!"

"It's all bullshit," Ange said angrily. "Even more than Jill's mission. You're so caught up in these asinine ideas of honor and duty that you're living in a fantasy. Is your head so far up your ass that you'll allow your friends and the guy you love to die just because Jill told you to!" Salia's expression changed from shock to fury before the crack of her palm across Ange's cheek echoed along the halls.

"Lady Angelise!" Momoka gasped.

"You don't know a damn thing!" Salia screamed and she snatched out a polaroid picture from her satchel. It showed two girls' arm in arm displayed over a huge tomato garden. Ange immediately recognized the first to be a younger Salia while the other was a girl with short dark blonde hair. "Do you have any idea how lucky you are to pilot such a machine that can stop those you care about from being killed in battle!? You get everything handed to you and you don't appreciate any of it because you care about nothing but yourself!" Ange glared at Salia and stepped forward so that the two stood a hair's breath apart.

"Lucky? I see Coco's face every night, wishing I had saved her and I'm not going to let Cal, Hilda and the rest of you join her because I did nothing!" The look of rage on Salia's face vanished and a trace of understanding flickered in Salia's eyes as if she too related to Ange's wishes. Though with Salia's guard down she had taken all her attention off Momoka.

"Hold your breath, Milady!" Momoka called as something clanked on the ground and Ange covered her mouth as a black cloud rose up in the air.

"Wha...what is-ACHOO!" Salia sneezed.

"Run now!" Momoka called. "ACHOO!" Ange had no time to disarm Salia and followed her maid's voice as they ran back the way Salia had taken them.

"What was that…ACHOO!" Ange asked.

"Salt and pepper!" Momoka answered. "I always kept a spare on me as…ACHOO…I tried to teach the cooks here a thing or two in seasoning."

"Guess we…ACHOO…have to thank Cal for getting you that job as assistant chef." Ange laughed. "I think you're getting the hand of how things are done around here. ACHOO!"

"Well, I did learn from the best." Momoka winked.

When the coms at her station suddenly lit up, Jill knew something had gone wrong. Salia couldn't have gotten down here this quickly. "Yes?" she answered.

"Commander," Salia said between fits of coughing and sneezing, "I'm sorry...but I lost Ange."

"Get her back now!" she ordered angrily. 'Damn it!' Couldn't one thing go in her favor today? From Dolton's heat signature screen, she saw the top of the base flooded with enemy soldiers that were gradually pouring in from every angle. More evacuees arrived from the main hanger lift and were aiding those loading the supplies into Aurora but time was rapidly running out.

"Commander," Dolton suddenly spoke in surprise. "I'm receiving a communications transmission from outside Arzenal. Frequency 244-352."

"Patch me through." There was a short pause before someone finally spoke.

"It's been a while, Alektra." Jill gave a small wistful smile at that voice.

"I'm glad to hear you're still alive Tusk. Where are you?"

"I'm below the western caves out of enemy sight. How's Ange? Is she safe?"

"She just got away. Think you can help track her down."

"Don't worry ma'am, I'll scout the outer perimeter and keep a look out for her."

At the broken observation window of the cafeteria, fourteen soldiers zipped down the row of rappel lines from the east cliffs above and landed onto the balcony. Entering the cafeteria, they saw over half a dozen of their comrades either unconscious or dead scattered all over the place. And straight ahead at the bottom of the stairs was a lone man built like an ox standing in a fixed southpaw stance, wearing huge gauntlets on his beefy arms that pulsed with the light of Mana.

"It's one of those terrorists."

"Drop your weapons traitor!" Finn scoffed and flashed a cocky grin before giving a whistle. From behind the kitchen counter and along the bannisters along the upper levels, Norma rose up and opened fired. A few soldiers were shot down, but the rest raised their Mana shields in time. With the enemy distracted, Finn zoomed in and with one huge uppercut sent one soldier hurtling up to the ceiling. Each blow from his gauntlets shattered bones, flinging one soldier after another all around the lunch hall while the Norma picked off the rest through exposed gaps in their defense. With one final blow to the chest, Finn crushed the last soldier's rib cage and sent him toppling over the balcony into the sea below.

"We did it!" one Norma cheered.

"Nice shooting girls." Finn puffed catching his breath. "But it's not over yet." They reloaded and prepared for the next wave when Finn's communicator suddenly buzzed.

"Finn, you've got a large number of enemy forces closing in on your left and right flank. I'd advise you pull back!" Dolton warned. Finn was about to order a retreat when from the hallways flanking the front of the cafeteria, a dozen metal canisters were tossed in and a trail of white smoke filled the air.

"Tear gas!" Finn yelled, covering his mouth as the white suffocating gas consumed the entire hall. Every intake of breath was like swallowing fire, eyes streaming and making it impossible to navigate through the hall. All around the Norma yelled out through fits of choking coughs.

"I can't see a thing!

"Where is everyone!"

"Take my hand!"

"Move in, move in!" Came hard shouts from the hallway entrances. As Finn stumbled his way up the stairs, he could make out the silhouettes of black figures file into the hall below, all wearing gas masks. Finn followed the Norma along the balcony where the smoke thinned out near one of the cafeteria's upper exits. Unfortunately, the Norma behind the kitchen counter had gotten lost in the tear gas and were completely exposed.

"Get out…of there…now!" Finn coughed, hoping they would follow his voice but the whole lower lunch hall floor was doused in fire from two soldiers holding flamethrowers. "Fall back to the infirmary wing!" Finn shouted forming a Mana barrier to shield the rest of the fleeing Norma as the wave of fire washed towards them.

"Lucas, the cafeteria defense has fallen, get your ass to the infirmary quick!" Finn messaged through his radio. But even as they retreated, he could not block out the blood curdling screams of burning Norma left behind.

Constant gunfire echoed all through the hallways but Jasmine kept pace, navigating her group down to Aurora. Vulcan, her mall staff and the rookies kept close to her in front; other base personnel followed in the middle while the teaching staff and preschool children trailed in the back.

"I hope Miranda is safe." Marika prayed.

"She'll be fine, I'm sure by now she's with her squad." Jasmine reassured but even she was grasping at straws and felt guilty that they couldn't wait for their missing comrade.

"Jasmine I'd pick up the pace. I've detected two enemy platoons attempting to breach through the beach entrances." Dolton cautioned. "A large enemy force has also infiltrated the entire south and west sections just above. I'd avoid those staircases." With Dolton's help, they had to divert their paths several times to reach route C as the soldiers had already breached through multiple points on the upper levels. They made their way down four different staircases and came into another maze of corridors at the south where they were soon approaching a hallway junction.

"We're halfway there, just keep moving." Jasmine stated. Forward led to the festa beach, the left led down a long corridor that joined with another staircase, but the right turn led to a dead end where a secret door and key code panel was built into the wall that would take them down a hidden staircase to Arzenal's cave tunnels and eventually to Aurora. They were so close when from the south beach corridor, canisters of tear gas were thrown into the junction and a platoon of soldiers wearing gas masks with their mana shields raised emerged into view.

"Ambush!" Jasmine bellowed as she and the front half of her group flung themselves into the left side hallway as bullets peppered through the white smoke. One girl wasn't so lucky and was hit square in the face. Her friend dragged her dead body by her arms into the left corridor and Jasmine saw with a painful pang to her chest that it was the bespectacled young woman who worked as the cashier clerk. Her glasses were lopsided, her eyes vacant and cold. Those in the back of Jasmine's group including the children were forced back the way they came as the soldiers advanced; their Mana shields an impregnable wall against the Norma's returned gunfire. Jasmine pulled her pink scarf up the bridge of her nose as her eyes began to sear. She and those still with her took cover behind whatever doors they could find as the soldiers began piling into the junction while one cluster split off from the main group to go after the Norma that had been separated from their group.

"Mary, take the kids and retreat back to escape route D!" Jasmine shouted down her communicator. "We'll deal with these bastards and regroup with you there!" At one point Jasmine tripped and the three rookies Mary, Noona, and Marika guided her into an open closet full of junk. Beside her Vulcan nudged her hand with his snout and Jasmine patted his head. "Not today boy, not today." she muttered. "Okay girls, give them all you got!" Jasmine bellowed. She hoped Lucas, his crew and those fighting above could hold the enemy off, otherwise they would all be boxed in.

"Stay close, don't break formation" Tanya ordered as she, Irma, Margret, Holly and Ginny huddled back-to-back in destroyer mode. The disc drones had chased them further away from Arzenal and were now clustered around them so tightly that they couldn't shift to flight mode anymore. They continued to circle around back-to-back, covering their exposed points. But no matter where they looked, they were completely swarmed on all sides. Suddenly, Tanya spotted an opening where they could fly through. "I'll draw them away, get ready to split and regroup to the northwest." she instructed hoping her plan would jinx the drones in following her alone as her arquebus was the fastest unit among them. "Split now!"

Tanya darted in one direction and dived sharply. However, Irma had overshot the others and was now outside of her group. Before she could rejoin them, the discs slammed into her, their spinning razor-sharp blades disabling her as strands of wires shot out and entangled around her purple Glaive.

"Help me!" Irma screamed.

"Irma no!" Tanya pulled out of her dive but was forced to avoid another group of discs and could only watch helplessly as Irma and her unit were dragged away across the sky.

The stream of soldiers never seemed to end, no matter how many got eliminated. More just kept rappelling down into the hanger and the intensity of the NMB's assault prevented those defending the hanger from moving Villkiss and Siegfried onto the elevator. Now came a squad armed with RPG launchers and the pilots were forced further back. Several explosions rocked the hanger and Ersha turned to see that one stray rocket had hit the left cannon of Rosalie's glaive, sending it flying off with a loud clang onto the floor.

"Do you know how much that cost me?!" Rosalie yelled, her face flaring with rage as she returned fire. "Oh, it is on!" From their visors, they heard frantic pleas for help from one of the pilots outside, her voice drifting further away as though she was being dragged down a long tunnel.

"Captain they've taken Irma!" Tanya panted.

"What do you mean they've taken her?" Hilda yelled over the deafening gunfire as she ducked back down behind her glaive. "Just hold on a little longer Tanya. We'll be with you soon!"

"Cal where are you, we need you!" Ersha tried to reach him but his visor com seemed to have been cut off. Then a static feed began to buzz through. But it was not Cal who spoke but Miss Mary.

"If anyone can hear this, we're under heavy attack on level 4! We can't hold them off for long! Please help us!" Miss Mary's calls for help sent shockwaves of panic through Ersha and her insides clenched horribly. She felt as though she was torn in two, stuck between waiting for the man she loved and helping the children in their dire need.

"Hilda!" Ersha gasped. "I need your help. Cover me so I can get to the doorway."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Hilda demanded.

"The children!" Ersha cried. "They're in trouble! Hilda please I have to save them!" Hilda saw the desperation in her eyes and nodded.

"Fine! Frenzy, we need a distraction. Do your thing!"

"I was hoping to save these for later." Frenzy sighed, despite looking eager for whatever he had planned. Grabbing his backpack, Frenzy disappeared behind a large pile of rubble and as the soldiers were about to use their rocket launchers again, a series of purple firework rockets whirled wildly around the hanger. They zoomed towards the soldiers, causing a few to dive out of the way in alarm, others to cry out in alarm as their uniforms caught fire and dropping all of their heavy weapons.

"Go!" Hilda yelled as she and the others opened fire. Ersha turned and ran as fast as her legs could carry her towards the adjacent corridor.

"Be careful everyone!" Ersha called as she vanished down the hallway, praying she'd make it in time. 'I'm sorry I can't wait for you Cal, but I can't live without them.'

Through the dark tunnels below Arzenal, Hosea and Lucia forcing Emma Bronson along hurried to find their way back up to the base's main levels. With the southeast caves cut off from the routes of escape they had to reach the main levels to take the correct escape paths down to the Aurora.

Emma with her Mana had managed to rip off her blind fold and pop Cal's socks out of her mouth and was protesting furiously. "Unhand me!" she demanded shrilly. "I have had it with all you wretched troublemaking Norma! You almost got me killed back there!"

"Oh, shut up, you'll live." said Hosea, keeping the flashlight he was holding trailed ahead. "Wait, over here." They had finally found the spiral staircase that would take them up to the main levels. As they raced upwards, Lucia fretted over having to leave Cal behind. Once she made it up to the surface, she'd be able to grapple down the cliffs to the secret cave tunnel on the southeast coast and make her way back to help Cal fight Dutch. She just hoped she wasn't already too late. Once back on top, Lucia pressed her knife against Emma's back and forced her to unlock the door with her Mana and they burst into the dark hallway of level 3 where gunfire seemed to echo from every angle of the base.

As they continued on to the next floor, two Nursing staff rushed past them wheeling the injured from yesterday's DRAGON attack on emergency beds. A third came running from behind and Lucia saw the sleeve of the Norma's coat stained with blood where a bullet had grazed her arm. Most of the fighting was coming from the infirmary which unfortunately was where Lucia needed to pass to reach the base's grounds. "Hosea, take her with you and follow the others down to Aurora."

"Let me go this instant you savages!" Emma shrieked as Lucia handed her off.

"Be careful Lucia." Hosea urged before she set off towards the gunfire. More of the injured and medical staff sped past her and Lucia could just make out Maggie yelling out orders over the deafening gunfire further ahead.

"Hurry it up!" Maggie shouted. "Don't stop until every patient is out of here! If you get killed, walk it off!" Turning a bend, Lucia beheld a makeshift barricade of medical beds. And sheltered behind infirmary room doors; Maggie, Scarlett, Ralph and a few other fighters did their best to hold off the assault and cover the evacuees. 40 yards ahead, the soldiers had formed a wall of Mana shields blocking Lucia's way to reach Cal.

"Close your eyes!" Lucia warned as she fired her last flash arrow, blinding the rest of the enemy platoon. Maggie, Scarlett and the others sprang from cover and took down the front line while Ralph lobbed a frag grenade down the corridor, killing the last few in the back.

"How do you like those apples you bastards!" He yelled.

"Nice for you to join the party." Scarlett said to Lucia, breathing with relief as the assault gave pause. "Since when did an alcoholic like you learn to shoot like that?"

"I'm no slouch when it comes to shooting." said Maggie indignantly, wiping sweat from her brow. "Back in our training days, I even managed to score higher than Jill."

"Not to down the mood but we've got company." Interrupted Ralph as another wave of soldiers moved into position from just up ahead the corridor ahead.

"What do you think you're doing?" an older voice shouted and Lucia looked over her shoulder with a grimace. Somehow, Emma Bronson had gotten free from her cuffs and was running toward the soldiers with Hosea chasing after her. "Have you gone insane, they'll kill you!" But Emma was in such a distressed state she couldn't see sense to everything that was happening.

"Don't shoot! I'm not a Norma!" Emma pleaded rushing out to the soldiers and waving her arms frantically, forgetting she was dressed like a Norma.

"Get down you fool!" Maggie tackled her to the ground just before a hail of gunfire almost ended her. "You Idiot!" she snapped. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Keep close Hosea." Lucia knelt beside the old man as Ralph passed him a spare rifle.

"I am too old for this." Hosea said in annoyance before he blew off one soldier's exposed ankle through the bottom of his Mana shield. "Target them through the gaps in their shields!" The old man instructed as the fighters all rallied behind him and the entire infirmary wing floor rained with bullet casings.

"Dolton I'm at the medical bay. I need another route to the surface!" Lucia shouted over the deafening gunfire.

"No chance! The enemy has broken through the cafeteria's defense and have taken over the two upper floors!" Dolton answered through her communicator.

"Shit!" Lucia swore. Cal was on his own.

With Dutch's focus on Cal's blade, he leapt up and kneed Dutch hard in the jaw causing him to stagger back. But he recovered quickly and evaded Cal's slash before delivering a punch to Cal's gut hard enough to fling him backwards. Cal landed against one of the stalagmites and felt his chipped tooth knocked from its socket before a wave of fire came his way, forcing him to retreat back into the darkness. Taking cover behind a boulder, Cal spat out a mouth full of blood and steadied his breath to not give himself away. He had to get that USB, escape from this chamber alive, AND get to Hanger 2 to help his comrades. But he needed to blow this entire cavern first.

"So, tell me Dutch." Cal called out as he carefully moved around a maze of stalagmites and rubble. "Even when you found out the truth that Embryo is my biological father and that he lied to you; why still fight for him?"

"I'll do anything to protect Master Embryo from the likes of you and your wretched clone." Dutch spat, his gaze darting right and left. "You two together will rain death on the entire universe and I will not let anyone get in the way of my dream."

"You're pathetic Dutch." Cal retorted. "Even after all of Embryo's lies, you're still just his puppet. And for what?"

"What do you know about it? NOTHING!" screamed Dutch. "Master Embryo gave me a new life after Gaz left me for dead!" Cal sneaked closer as Dutch had his back turned to him and to his delight, his crossbow lay just feet away across the opening. The chamber, though still dark, was becoming clearer from Dutch's blasts as Cal's eyes looked to the main pillar and had an idea. "Without master Embryo I have no reason to live!" Dutch rambled on. "You think I'm the puppet? You have no idea what your existence has been leading up to and what you'll become if I allow you to live. That's why I have to erase you from this world for good." Disgust and anger burned in Cal's chest.

"You're the one who should be erased. Trash like you and Embryo are why this world is so fucked up!" Springing from his cover, Cal grabbed his lost crossbow and loaded one of his shock tip bolts as Dutch turned and maniacally grinned at the sight of his target finally in view. Cal took a deep breath and focused. He'd have to time this just right.

"Die!" Dutch screamed, "DIE! DIE!" With one lethal whip of his arm, Dutch hurled a fireball. But at the last minute, Cal slid underneath the attack and fired his crossbow, the electric bolt hitting Dutch in the shin as his body went rigid from the powerful shock. Meanwhile the green blast hit the C4 that had been hidden at the column's base and the stone pillar blew itself apart, the entire chamber beginning to crumble and collapse. Cal sprinted faster than he had ever run in his life and shot out his hand for Dutch's breast pocket. Fighting through the surge of electricity, Dutch reached for him, but Cal spun around as he ripped the pocket from Dutch's suit and in the same motion, severed Dutch's Achilles tendon with his knife. Dutch howled in agony, but Cal didn't dare look back as the ceiling thundered down around him and he raced for the archway.

"BASTARD!" Dutch bellowed as everything around Cal blazed in green light as another burst of energy shot towards him. Something shattered behind him and Cal spared a look back to see the remnants of a particularly large chunk of ceiling rubble that had fallen at just the right moment clatter to the ground. The force of the blast picked Cal up and threw him the rest of the way out of the entrance as Dutch's scream of rage was lost in the roar of the collapsing cavern.

Cal landed with a thud and the world spun in a mix of shadow and dust. As his vision cleared, he picked himself up from amid the rubble strewn across the floor and felt pain creep into his body as the adrenaline wore off. Cool air from the ocean caressed him along with the hot stickiness of blood across his face as he looked down at the pile of cloth in his hand. He could feel the USB through the fist full of fabric and as his emotions erupted in a long, strangled drawn-out wail of tumultuous relief, victory and grief of finally avenging Gramps.

Slowly, painfully, Cal picked himself up and hobbled his way towards the shoreside entrance. Not even Dutch Vilson could have survived that.

In the upper levels of the base, chaos reigned as the Norma attempted to hold the line. Arzenal's defense threatened to break every passing minute by the NMB soldiers overwhelming numbers, firepower and unbreakable defense of their Mana shields.

"LET'S GO!" Lucas yelled, as the Norma with him gathered close and raced through one empty passageway. Almost every route to the infirmary was blocked off by an enemy patrol and Lucas had to double back multiple times. Further ahead, Norma ran in every direction, some carrying or dragging injured friends and Lucas and the group of Norma with him directed their guns towards any soldiers that were separated from their squad.

"Hostiles to the left!" Lucas warned as another squad came swarming down the hallway. They managed to force the enemy back where another group of Norma ambushed them from the right, led by none other than Captain Trudy, a large gash on her cheek.

"FIRE!" She screamed and the enemy platoon were cut down from both sides. Both groups rested for a few short seconds before Lucas stepped up to Trudy and realized someone was missing.

"Where's Lucia?"

"She ordered us to hold off any hostiles coming through the gaps in the crater." Trudy answered. "She was talking to someone on her radio before she left. But we managed to blow apart the exposed points in the crater with the C4s." Worry for his sister swirled in Lucas' stomach but he couldn't afford to run off to find her. Lucia was smart and tough enough to get out of a tight spot and his priority was to get these girls to safety.

"Let's get moving, we can't afford to be overrun." Lucas announced. Trudy and the rest of the Norma followed him down the next staircase that was strewn with dead bodies of Norma and soldiers where they found themselves in a corridor where a stand-off was taking place.

"Stay behind me!" Lucas saw Finn emerge from one door, a huge barrier formed from one of his gauntlets shielding the group with him as he tried to push forwards while two soldiers carrying flamethrowers began to make their way to the front line. "Everyone move back!" Finn warned, but they had nowhere else to go. Taking careful aim, Lucas shot at one of the soldiers' fuel tanks on their backs. The moment it exploded, Lucas tore down the hallway and into the wall of black smoke and fire. Screams of pain were followed by the sounds of slicing meat and when the smoke settled, Finn and the two groups of Norma gaped at Lucas who stood with nothing but a machete in hand in the middle of a pile of dead soldiers.

"I'm starting to see why everyone at APEX and the Sanctuary calls you the best among us." Finn said with immense relief as the two shook hands.

"Have you seen Lucia?" Finn shook his head so he spoke through his radio again. "Lucia, do you copy? Where are you?"

"Loud and clear." Lucia responded, but it didn't bring him relief as loud bangs echoed in the background. "The infirmary is under heavy attack. Request backup, over!"

"Let's get going everyone, we're not out of the woods yet." Lucas reminded him as he wiped the blood off his machete on a dead's soldier's uniform. They reloaded and began to make their way to the infirmary wing only to find every section blocked off, their numbers too great to take on. One oncoming platoon had spotted them and they had to flee further away from the infirmary. "Dolton do you copy? A large group of us are lost on level 2, we need a path to the infirmary to escape routes C and D."

"It's suicide." Dolton warned. "The infirmary wing is almost over run. Your only chance of getting down to Aurora is route B at hanger 2 which is under heavy fire."

"Understood." Lucas finally stopped and threw his duffle bag on the floor and began to quickly rummage through his best choice of tools as everyone else continued to run.

"What are you doing?" Finn demanded.

"I'll hold them off, you go help the pilots in hanger 2 to move Villkiss." Finn hesitated but one dark look from Lucas made him do as commanded. Once alone, Lucas drew his machete and grinned to himself as he pulled a few nail bombs, claymores and tiny mines he and Cal had put together the night before.

Thought glad he finally got revenge Cal could not shake off the hollow empty feeling in his chest. As he began to walk off the pain, Cal picked up the pace and finally, emerged into the sunlight along Arzenal's base. The signal to his visor was clear again and as he looked up to the sky, he saw in the distance the distinct shape of 4 Para-mail huddled together and trying to fight off a swarm of flying discs.

"Hilda, Salia, Lucas, Lucia does anyone copy over?" Cal spoke through his visor head set and a distant voice cracked through.

"Cal is that you?" Hilda gasped in astonishment to hear his voice, but Cal could barely hear her over the gunfire in the background. "About time you told us your alive! I swear if Dutch or these bastards don't kill you first then I will!" Cal simply smiled. Just hearing her voice made him feel a lot better.

"How are things looking up on your end?"

"Third squad is without support with the runway blocked! Siegfried is almost loaded onto the elevator but we're getting hammered! Get your ass up here now!"

"Just hang on tight, I'm on my way. Get everyone away from Siegfried!" Cal stood in the centre of the coast to give himself room. 'Hope this works.' Concentrating with all his might he closed his eyes and punched his left fist into the air, the red gem on his wrist burning in the sunlight. "Come Siegfried!" He called but nothing happened. 'Shit, why now?' The Ancient Folks' machine had teleported to him when he faced the Ragnarök so why was it refusing him now.

Cal looked all around the coast, there was no way for him to get up the cliffs and over the lower jagged mountains. His only option was to take a long swim around the island to the secret cave near the festa beach. He paced towards the water when he walked face first into something invisible and solid. "Ouch!" In front of Cal the invisible wall he had bumped into shimmered and a sleek white Mana transport ship appeared as its cloaking shield disabled. Cal stared at Dutch's airship for a few seconds and an idea came to him.

"Dolton can you hear me?" Cal spoke once he climbed to the top of the Mana ship's roof.

"Loud and clear." Dolton answered.

"Listen I'm stuck at the southeast coast. There's a Mana aircraft ship down here. Do you think you can use your Mana to hack into this thing and give me a boost?" It was safer to make his way through one of the windows back into base without the risk of being exposed in the open and shot down if he was flown across hanger 2.

"I have your location. I'll see what I can do." Cal only had to wait a few seconds when the light of Mana pulsed inside the cockpit and engines. "Hold on and whatever you do don't touch the lights."

The mana ship slowly lifted off and once it reached the highest window at level 2 Cal, fired three shots before jumping through the cracked glass. "Thanks Dolton, can you find me a safe route to Hanger 2?"

"Negative." Dolton told him. "Your best option is to head back up to hanger 1, most of the hostiles have cleared away from that area."

"Great, keep me posted." Cal reloaded his weapons and realized he was standing in third squad's old meeting room which was close to the lunch hall. And further ahead was a staircase that would take him up to level 1. Gunshots blared from every angle as Cal creeped through the dark hallways. Four soldiers ran out from a turn and were heading in the direction of the cafeteria. "Target has been reported to be in the kitchens, move in." one soldier reported. Cal grabbed one of his machine pistols, pulled out his knife and followed, ready for whatever came his way.

This is how it ends. Crushed and suffocating in a pile of rocks. Unable to move. His strength and power exhausted. His body battered and bleeding. Forever trapped and waiting to die. Dutch had failed everything. His dreams, his master, his life now forever meaningless and wasted just as his father had always told him he was.

Through his bleary eyes the faces of Gaz, Donnie and Embryo swam in the pitch-black dark. Friendship, loyalty, family, it was all a lie. A sick joke. Even when he was waiting for his life to seep away, sadness and regret never came, only anger and resentment to all those who betrayed and lied to him, shaping him into the man he was, now lost and forgotten.

The darkness was swallowing him and even in his dying breaths, the faces of Cal and Blackadder, the two abominations he hated more than anything appeared before him. Dutch's body shifted ever so slightly, and he could feel the edge of the bottle of Dracnium pills in his inner coat pocket poke against his chest. The fiery rage re-ignited within him, as the scaled creature clawed more ferociously than ever as though longing to escape. His father had once told him despite the luxury Mana gave humanity, when pushed come to shove, there was a monster waiting inside every human. Now it was time to let the monster out. He refused to die, not now, not until his purpose, his future and dreams were fulfilled.

"Subject…Alpha…Subject…Beta…I…will…kill…every last…one of…you." Dutch wheezed, using every ounce of his strength to reach inside his inner coat pocket for the bottle of pills. "I will…not die…TODAY!" Dutch vowed as he brought the bottle of pills to his lips. From outside the tombed archway, a flicker of green light beamed through the tiny gaps in the rocks until sparks of green flames shot through the cracks and the caved-in archway was blasted apart with the force of a bomb. All was silence until a great, brutal roar erupted like a crack of thunder, reverberating through the air and shaking the entire tunnel leading to the southeast coast.

"SUBJECT ALPHA!"

Shots echoed from every corridor which at least allowed Ange and Momoka to avoid any of the enemy forces. Sneaking around wasn't her style, but Ange couldn't risk picking a fight with Momoka with her. Bent low, Ange peered around one corner and held her arm out to Momoka as several armed shadows rushed past them and Ange thanked the darkness from the cut power for hiding their presence. Ange knew from memory that she and Momoka were coming close to the locker room but the corridor leading to it was once again blocked by a group of soldiers and they were coming their way.

"Through here." Ange whispered as she and Momoka took the next right and down two more hallways until they reached a large doorway. They came into a large hall and could hardly see ten feet in front of them as the place they entered was plagued with a thin white mist that was burning their eyes and throats with every breath. Ange realized it was tear gas but most of it had seeped out through the large broken observation window.

"I think we're in the cafeteria hall." Momoka supposed. Ange listened carefully for any footsteps or voices, but they seemed to be in the clear.

"The left exit below should take us around to the locker room?" Ange remembered as they navigated along the bannisters and down the stairwell when a truly foul smell hit their noses through the tear gas and halted them in their tracks. "What is that?"

"Here let me help." Momoka whispered as her hand shone with the Light of Mana and a horrific sight fell upon them. Dozens of charred bodies were sprawled all around the lunch hall, a pile of bullet cases all around them. "How horrible!" Momoka gasped, almost on the verge of tears. Ange didn't respond as the smell of charred burning flesh reminded her of the pit where the DRAGON corpses were being burned. The carnage before her and the realization that she had been killing humans all along came rushing back and she covered her mouth, her knees buckling as she almost gagged.

"Lady Angelize!" Momoka cried. Taking Ange's arm, Momoka pulled her up and leaned her against the stairwell. "Rest here. I'll get you a glass of water." Momoka dashed off into the kitchens and Ange began to breathe heavily.

'Why?' she asked herself. 'Why is this happening?'

"We can never truly appreciate what we have until it's gone," came a calm fluent voice from out of the darkness. "I find that true in every era." Ange looked up and to her surprise, a man emerged from atop the stairs. He was tall, with long neatly brushed waist length blonde hair, and his velvet green suit gave Ange the impression he was not a part of this military operation. But the way he spoke in such a detached manner, his condescending smirk and the way his narrow piercing green eyes looked at her like she was the rarest, most precious jewel in the universe set every alarm off in Ange.

"Who are you?" she demanded as she pointed her gun at him. But despite her threat the man didn't flinch. "Did you do this?!"

"I am not your enemy," he told her collectively as he looked over the slaughter around them with detached disgust. "I never ordered this slaughter. No, this is the work of your brother."

"My brother?" Ange asked and her stomach dropped at this revelation. She didn't know whether to trust this stranger. He didn't look like a soldier but neither did he seem to be in league with Lucas' group. "How do I know you're telling the truth."

"He is currently on the flagship carrier of the invasion fleet, approximately 16 kilometers off the coast of Arzenal," the man continued. "It seems he went against my orders and came here to kill you. And these poor girls had the misfortune of standing in his way." Ange had more questions but suddenly a gunshot and a scream came from the kitchens. 'Momoka! Please no, not Momoka!' Ange tore across the cafeteria and leapt over the kitchen counter where two soldiers stood with their backs turned to her, their guns trailed on a small figure on the floor.

"Get away from her!" Without hesitation Ange fired two shots, killing the first through the side of the head while the second dropped his weapon and went down from the bullet to his upper back.

Ange felt a rush of relief seeing Momoka cowering below against the counter, Mana shield still raised but a patch of red forming on the sleeve of her left upper arm.

"Momoka are you…"

"I'm okay Lady Angelise." Momoka said shakily. "It's just a graze." Ange's flaring ruby eyes flashed to the second soldier leaning against the kitchen cabinets and stamped her boot down hard, breaking his ankle and eliciting a scream of agony.

"Was it him?" she snarled. "Did my brother order you animals to do all this?" Through heaving breaths, the soldier raised his hand and opened a Mana window.

"I found her," he wheezed. "She's in the kitchens..." but before he could finish, Ange shot him through his hand and the window closed. "Please no!" he begged as Ange glared down at him with cold fury. "Don't kill me! I...I was just following orders from Emperor Julio!" It was all Ange needed to hear and in her blind rage began to pump round after round into the soldier even after he was dead.

"Lady Angelise!" Momoka cried as she leapt to her feet and threw her arms around her mistress, who still continued to pull the trigger even after the clip was empty. "Please just stop! It's okay! Momoka's here! Everything's going to be okay!" The warmth of her maid's hold caused Ange to gradually relax as she lowered her gun when footsteps came rushing towards them.

"It's the prime target! Take her alive but kill the spare!" Four more soldiers had appeared across the lunch hall and Momoka raised another Mana shield to defend themselves while Ange went to reload when from behind the enemy, a lone figure had dashed out from one of the lower entrances and shot down three of the soldiers. The fourth turned but before he could fire, the figure had rushed underneath, slashing at the soldier's legs. The soldier dropped to his knees and the unknown figure dug his knife under the soldier's exposed chin through his tactical mask as Momoka brightened the light in her hand and her face beamed.

"Lady Angelise look! It's Sir Cal! We're safe now!" She jumped over the counter and threw her arms around him.

"Glad to see you made it out in once piece." said Ange in relief as she followed after Momoka and patted Cal on the shoulder. His face was grazed, bruise, and covered in blood; but he wasn't dead and could still fight thankfully.

"Sir Cal you look terrible, here let me help." Momoka began to fuss over him and gasped noticing his missing tooth."

"You look like shit. I take it that bastard is dead." Ange winced.

"He won't be coming back ever again." said Cal in an empty voice which caught Ange off guard considering how much Cal loathed Dutch. "I'm fine Momoka. A visit from the tooth fairy is the least of our problems right now." He then turned to Ange. "What are you two doing up here? Why aren't you with our squad in hanger 2?!" Ange quickly explained everything that had gone down with Salia and the look on Cal's face was of contempt agitation.

"Goddamn you Jill." He seethed.

"Well, I'm glad you weren't in on Jill's bullshit scheme." said Ange as she loaded a fresh magazine into her sidearm. "Now let's get going, I have a debt to settle with my brother." Her eyes wondered back to the stairs and saw that the mysterious man was now gone.

"Just hold on a second," Cal put his arm out to stop her, "what are you planning to do?"

"My brother is on a lead ship out there." Ange explained. "He's the one who ordered all this. I'm going to get Villkiss, kill him and end this attack."

"Don't be stupid." Cal told her. "Once everyone has been evacuated, we're getting the hell out of here. Even if you're correct, you won't be able to get close to his fleet even if every pilot joined you."

"I don't want to hear it!" Ange snapped. "Don't you see what's going on around here? People are dying because of him! Are you really okay with that? Do you want Salia, Hilda, Ersha, Vivian and everyone else to end up like those girls back there?" Cal turned as his expression was full of pain not wanting to face the number of chard bodies behind him.

"For God's sake Ange will you pull your head out of your ass for five minutes!" he yelled. "This isn't the same as you going AWOL or stealing kills anymore! Don't you get it? You'll be playing into your brother's hands and there's far worse than him waiting for you out there. You're the pilot of Villkiss, our only hope for Libertus to stand a chance. You'll get yourself killed and we'll be lost without you!"

"You're the one who doesn't get it!" Ange shouted. "This place. It's been the lousiest, filthiest place I've ever lived. All of you here have been a pain in my ass and the food tastes like shit!" Even through her outburst of disgust, Cal was shocked to see a sad smile on Ange's face. "But even still, I liked it here. It was the first place I lived where people were completely honest with me whether they liked or hated me." She looked up to Cal and there were tears glittering in her eyes. "You were the first person to treat me as though I was just an ordinary girl and not some princess everyone idolized or resented." The smile then faded and replaced with a look of rage. "But look around you. Everything is gone because of Julio and everyone is being killed because he's after me. I don't care what Jill has planned. And I don't care what you think my priorities should be. Julio has to pay for what he's done. I'm not going to stand by and hide while you all die!" Cal looked like he was about to knock Ange out and take her to safety but unexpectedly he grabbed hold of Ange and held her in a tight hug. It was a long silence until Cal spoke.

"If you do this, you might not come back alive. I might never see you again." His voice was low and deep with concern and as the realization of his words hit Ange she put her arms around him. The tenderness, care and warmth of his embrace was almost like she was hugging a real big brother.

"I know." Ange sniffed. "But you've done so much for me and saved me so many times. Now it's my turn to save you all." Her eyes shifted to Momoka and she spoke very quietly so only Cal could hear. "You'll take care of her for me."

"Always." Cal promised with a sympathetic smile and Ange kissed him on the cheek. They finally let go of each other and Ange wiping her eyes as she chambered her gun. "Now, first I need to suit up before I head out."

"Okay." Cal smirked. "If you're going to be a stubborn ass then let's put it to good use."

Getting down to level 2 and into the first squad locker room was the easy part. The trouble was by the time Miranda had gotten dressed into her rider suit, Arzenal's upper levels were swarming with enemy soldiers who were now beginning to pour down into the lower levels. Strapping her duffle bag tight around her shoulder, Miranda drew her sidearm and listened carefully for any approaching footsteps heading her way. But with the island's inside interior now a war zone, the constant blazing

gunfire made it impossible to distinguish what direction danger was coming from. Miranda peered around, saw it was clear and hurried on. Her chosen path to the Hanger seemed completely deserted as she emerged into a two-way turn.

"Target ahead!" Came a hard voice to her left. A dozen soldiers were storming down the left turn and Miranda turned back as bullets whizzed past her. She sped down different turns hoping to throw them off her trail and had just came to a nearby staircase when a stray bullet grazed the bottom of her duffle bag, causing a sizable rip in the corner which unknown to Miranda, caused one of the black steel ball grenades to fall out. As it landed on the mid step behind her, the force of the impact activated the Sensory Grenade's countdown and its four blinking lights began to diminish one by one. Miranda tore down the last few steps and sprinted along the passageway just as the soldiers entered the stairwell behind her in pursuit and the last red light died out.

Time seemed to pause and then resume at slowed pace as a massive thundering force flung Miranda to the floor as the roof above rained dust down around her. Dazed and with her ears ringing, Miranda peered over her shoulder and saw the hallway behind her at the point the staircase aligned had completely caved in. And what was left of the soldiers chasing her were too mangled to even be called remains.

"Did I do that?!" She murmured to herself amazed. Placing the duffle bag carefully on the floor, she saw the tear in the duffel bag's fabric and took out one of the steel balls to examine it more carefully. Just one was enough to blow up that entire staircase? If she was smart then these could definitely help her turn the tide against the humans and prove to Cal and the others that she wasn't useless.

More waves of NMB soldiers flooded into the infirmary wing, trying to breach through the Norma's line of defense. "Everyone, hold your ground for just a little longer!" Hosea rallied, encouraging those around to keep fighting. They had to get out of here before they were completely overrun, but they needed more time until the injured were cleared. By now, the soldiers had changed tactics and rather than risk advancing, took cover in doorways where their protection wouldn't falter if they got injured. Maggie kept peeking over the bed she was using for cover, unable to get a clear shot. Sat beside her, Emma was rocking back and forth like a sniveling toddler.

"They shot at me," she whimpered clutching her legs tight to her chest. "I'm a human and they actually shot at me!"

"We've only got one container of ammo left!" Scarlett yelled as she and Lucia reloaded and began passing the last of it around.

"9 rounds left!" Hosea grunted in frustration, pulling back the bolt of his rifle before blowing off the fingers of one soldier.

"Jasmine, do you copy? We're about to pull back, what's your status, over?" Maggie called.

"Route C has been compromised!" Jasmine relayed through and she sounded desperate. "We're under heavy attack and are evacuating to the west of route D! Request immediate backup, over!"

"If route D gets overrun then we'll be trapped." Lucia worried.

"I'll go." Scarlett volunteered fiercely. "I'll take a few girls with me if things get hairy!"

"Go on. We'll catch up!" Maggie agreed and Scarlett dashed off as Ralph stood in front to cover her with his Mana barrier as his machine gun clicked.

"Shit, I'm dry!" Ralph cursed. "We can't keep this up!" Opening the long steel case next to his duffle bag, he wrenched out the only weapon he had left, his massive Mana powered war hammer.

"Mistress, we're wheeling out the last of the patients!" One of the nurse staff announced down the corridor.

"Everyone fall back! Retreat to the lower levels!" Maggie instructed as she forced Emma on her feet and handed her to Lucia again. "Keep her close so she doesn't get herself killed. Come on old man we need to get moving!" Hosea grabbed a smoke bomb from the duffle bag and chucked it down the hallway, blinding the NMB soldiers' vision.

"That should hold them." Hosea wheezed as he hobbled past Maggie who held back to provide cover fire. Once everyone from behind was clear, she just needed to pick up someone before she could follow. Just then, the sound of a window shattering came from the room she was heading towards, followed by the thud of boots and the voices of men.

"Sargent Brawl we've got one."

"Yes, it's definitely one of the priority targets." Peering around the doorway, Maggie saw to her horror a group of soldiers had breached through the window and had surrounded a single bed. And lying there unconscious in a pair of pink hospital pajamas was Vivian.

"Get away from her!" Maggie warned but was forced back around the doorway when they opened fired on her.

"What's happening!?" Ralph called as he ran back to Maggie.

"They've got Vivian!" With his hammer in one hand, Ralph raised a Mana shield and charged past Maggie into the room. From behind Ralph's bulk, Maggie saw a hulking giant of a soldier standing between themselves and Vivian. Half his face was hidden behind a steel mask and his left arm was mechanical from which a plasma cannon protruded out its front and was pointed right at them.

"Get back!" Ralph bellowed as he shoved Maggie out of the way. From the edge of her vision, Maggie caught a glimpse of the soldiers carrying Vivian towards the window just as a surge of blue plasma energy hit Ralph's shield and sent him flying out the doorway to smash against the corridor wall.

"Sargent Brawl we've secured the target. Fall back." The giant however seemed to have no intention of retreating. His sights were set on disposing of the terrorists and Maggie watched helplessly as the rest of the soldiers zipped back up the cliffs with Vivian tied to one's back.

"Ralph, Maggie, hurry!" Hosea called from down the corridor as the NMB soldiers finally broke through the wall of smoke.

"Come on get up!" Maggie forced Ralph up as Sargent Brawl stepped into the corridor, moving towards them like an unstoppable juggernaut. Lucia fired a shock tip arrow only for Brawl to catch its shaft with his mechanical hand and snap it in two like a twig. Hosea fired the last of his sniper rounds but Brawl easily blocked the bullets with his Mana shield.

"Get back, I'll deal with this one!" Ralph growled as he swung his large hammer at Brawl's head with all his might, only for Brawl to stop the hammer with his mechanical hand and held it in a vice like grip. "You've got to be shitting me!"

Sprinting down the dark passageways, Ersha let nothing stand in her way of getting to the children. Most of the soldiers she came across had their backs turned and she took them out without hesitation. Eventually, she came to a passageway that joined up with a staircase that led down floors 3 and 4 but her path was cut off by two soldiers.

"Shoot that thing down!" One shouted as Ersha took shelter behind a turn. She fired a barrage but could not push them back. In desperation, Ersha decided to take a chance and when the soldiers paused to reload, she charged, colliding with their mana shields which broke immediately before putting them down. Stepping over their corpses Ersha ran in a frantic hurry but to her confused horror the route down the staircase was completely destroyed. Its archway had been caved in by a powerful explosion.

Ersha turned back knowing a different route to the children's location as more gunfire blared from every corner of the base. 'Please be safe.' Ersha prayed, hoping she wasn't too late.

Staying low, Cal, Ange and Momoka navigated through the dark corridors on the second floor. Every turn they took presented a corpse of a Norma or soldier as the scale of the assault became clear to them.

"This is horrible. Those poor girls." Momoka sniffed.

"Just keep moving we're not far away." Cal hushed. But as they continued their path to the first squad's locker room, their way was soon blocked when they spotted an entire platoon of NMB soldiers coming their way. A few were equipped with flamethrowers and were dousing every dorm room in case any Norma was hiding inside. "I'll draw them away." Cal whispered to Ange. "The locker room is not too far."

"Just be careful." she urged. Once she and Momoka had hidden inside a nearby storage cupboard, Cal pulled a fireman's axe from a nearby fire station. Still hidden by the dark, Cal fired one of his explosive tip bolts from his crossbow. Caught off guard, the front line of the platoon was instantly killed by the explosion, leaving nine injured but alive.

"It's the male Norma! Waste it!"

"Over here you fat pigs!" he taunted as he ran off, bullets flying all around him. Once they had all passed, Ange and Momoka slipped away towards the locker room. Leading the enemy up to Level 1, Cal sprinted across a bend and came to a junction corridor where he threw himself into an empty room, hoping to split the platoon. His plan worked and the squad divided into three teams scurrying off in different directions. The group coming down Cal's end began checking every room and he waited with baited breath until the back of one soldier's boots stepped yards in front of him. Springing from cover, Cal buried the axe in the side of the soldier's neck, the spray of crimson splattering the wall. Before his companion could react, a crossbow bolt lodged through the goggles of his tactical mask. Cal was just about to reload his next bolt when the third soldier barged in; his gun trailed right at Cal's chest.

"Filthy vermin!"

And then something very strange happened. The soldier was yanked off his feet and was floating in mid air, spluttering and choking as an intense cold swept over Cal like icy water was filling his lungs and he knew in a rush of dread and anger who was here. Meanwhile, the struggling soldier's neck gave a horrible crack before he dropped dead to the ground when from out of the dark, his long white hair swishing about him and pale skin giving him that same pearly glow, was Blackadder, Lucas' blade hung at his side.

"Don't come any closer!" Cal's voice warned as he trained the sight of his crossbow right between Blackadder's black shades. The mere sight of his clone was like looking into a reflection of Embryo himself. "I don't have time for you so get out!"

"I thought you would have given more thought on my generous proposal last time we were face to face." Blackadder smirked. "Such a shame you'd gamble your friends' lives rather than give them a better life with us and Father." Like Embryo, Blackadder extended his gloved hand to Cal. "You're just making things much more difficult than it needs to be. You will be coming with us whether you like it or not."

"Shut up!" Cal barked. "I'm not going to listen to you or Embryo's lies. You think you're something special because you're HIS son? Don't make me laugh. You're just a secondhand copy of me and Embryo!" A slight flicker of a glower briefly showed in Blackadder's face and Cal knew he had hit a nerve. "I know why you've been trying to take over my mind and body." Cal accused. "You want to kill me without precious Daddy finding out what you're up to!"

"You still haven't put the pieces together." Blackadder mocked. "I don't want to kill you. Without you I can never be pure. You alone will…COMPLETE…me." His voice shook with an intense hunger and the hairs stood on the back of Cal's neck.

"Pure? Your garbage who follows an asshole who thinks he's god." Blackadder's face twisted in a sinister smile.

"And you are a hollow shell. A broken little boy masquerading as the pilot of a grotesque copy of our father's work." he said smoothly. "But you can be so much more than a false hero fighting for a doomed cause. Together, we can be something beyond what you can comprehend. Attachments, fear, love. It's what makes you weak and brings ruin on those you care for." His face filled with cruel glee as though bursting to reveal what he had hidden up his sleeve. "That's why I decided to exploit that pathetic weakness by tricking you into helping me find the Ancient Folk and the terrorists' main base of operations when they arrived to help you all yesterday." Cal felt as though he had been hit in the chest with an iron clad punch.

"What did you do?" his voice shook.

"It was predictable that you'd want to play the hero once I allowed you to take a peek into my head last night." Blackadder explained, tapping the side of his temple. "Once I placed the air-jam over Arzenal and you swallowed my little lie of how I had found their hideout, I just had to wait until one of you flew out to warn them. Though I never expected to I'd have to follow a damn raven back to their base. Really, you have no idea how hard it is to track such a small target over so long a distance." With every word Blackadder spoke Cal's body began to shake with rage. "I have you to thank brother. Without you I would never have found them." Cal's legs almost gave way at the sickening praise and the rage raising within him like vomit by the prospect that it was his fault he allowed his clone to play him like a fiddle. Suddenly, Blackadder stirred and turned his head to the window as though he could sense something Cal could not. "I'll see you soon brother. But first I have to finish what I started. Or rather what you helped me to achieve."

"Fuck you!" Cal roared as he fired his bolt, only for Blackadder to once more vanish into thin air. "Get back here you bastard!" Launching back out into the hallways, Cal raced down many of his well-known short cuts and to hanger 1, jumping and tripping over the bodies of both friends and enemies. Turning around a bend, Cal skidded to a halt and aimed his crossbow at a tall lean, blood-soaked figure standing over a pile of corpses. As if sensing Cal's presence, the figure turned around with blade and pistol drawn but the two lowered their weapons instantly on recognition.

"You look like shit." Lucas gasped.

"You're no rain of sunshine either." Cal joked. "You look like you've been in a meat grinder. Thanks for clearing the way for me back there." In that moment recounting the many fallen he passed; it became clear to Cal why Lucas was regarded as the best soldier and successor to Siegfried.

"Where have you been, I thought you took position in Hanger 2 with your squad?" Lucas asked. Upon quick reflection, Cal realized it was probably best to be discreet about his and Lucia's secret mission until they all evacuated. And he wasn't about to test Lucas' temper with all this bloodshed going on.

"Some of the girls needed me and Lucia's help." Cal answered. It was truthful enough. "But I need to get back to my squad and the level below is swarming with soldiers."

"I was heading that way myself. We can use the enemy zip lines to get down there." Lucas suggested until he got a call from his headpiece. "Lucia! What's your status? What!?" He looked visibly shocked, and Cal tried to make out what was going on. "What do you mean they got her? Understood, just get out of there."

"What's happening?" Cal questioned.

"Vivian's been taken. Don't worry Lucia's already contacted Tusk. He'll get her back."

"We better hurry before they get to the others!" Cal urged and he and Lucas dashed off together. But they didn't get far when Dolton contacted them both through their earpieces.

"Lucas, Cal I have your position, keep your eyes peeled. Something has climbed up the southeast coast cliffs and into an open window at level 1."

"More soldiers?" Lucas wondered.

"Was it a lone human?" Cal asked, fearing that somehow Dutch might have survived.

"No, it… doesn't look human." Dolton gulped. "But whatever it is be careful. It's big."

A continuous barrage of bullets pelted against the hulls of the Para-mail, not giving the Norma and Frenzy any breathing space to make a dent in the assault. Hilda ducked for cover again behind her Glaive and realized she and the others had very little ammo left. And with the last of their flash bangs used up, they had no way to break up their enemy's defense.

"Chief, Siegfried is now loaded up!" Three of the armorers called from behind Cal's unit that they had shifted by hand onto the elevator platform.

"Great, let's get Villkiss moving next!" Mei instructed. Across the other side of the elevator Hilda's eyes caught a bunch of soldiers hurtling frags from their belts.

"Grenades, move!" Hilda warned but it was too late. The force of the explosions sent the three armorers flying off the edge and tore one of the main struts clear off its corner, tipping the elevator platform at an angle. Everyone could only watch in horror as Siegfried slowly toppled off the platform and plunged into the sea below.

"Dammit!" Mei yelled, her teeth clenched in rage at seeing her sister's life's work be thrown into the sea. "Okay that does it! You're going to wish you hadn't done that!"

"No! They got me! Captain!" Tanya's voice cried for help through the pilots' visors. "Get them off! No…NO!"

"What's going on out there?" Hilda demanded.

"Tanya's gone! They've taken her too!" Margret reported. "Captain please hurry! We're not going to last much longer!"

"Hilda what do we do?" Rosalie asked checking her ammo. "I've only got half a clip left."

"I'm thinking just give me a moment!" Hilda doubted though she could come up with anything without Cal or additional support. With the elevator trashed the only other option was to take off in the Para-mail.

"This is it," Hilda heard Chris whimper as bullets continued to fly around them. "It's hopeless. We're all done for."

"Keep it together Chris. What happened to the first squadron of death?" Hilda asked.

"Come on Chris." Rosalie encouraged as she knelt to her side. "We can't give up now."

"Just shut up!" Chris screamed. "It's too late for the likes of HER to play captain!" Her pink eyes shot daggers at Hilda and Chris shifted to Mei and Frenzy's position of cover when a sudden movement along the edge of the platform caught Hilda's attention.

"Get down!" Hilda leapt at Rosalie and spun her out of the way as the soldier fired, one bullet cutting across her left shoulder.

"Bastard!" Rosalie shouted as she returned fire managing to clip the soldier's ankle and sending him plummeting off the ledge. "Hilda!"

"I'm alright. It's just a scratch." Hilda winced through gritted teeth against the searing pain as blood trickled down her bicep.

"You fool...why did you...?" Hilda forced a smile as she loaded her last magazine into her rifle.

"Because I'm your Captain. And I'm not about to let them kill any of you." Rosalie's eyes brimmed with tears and hugged her Captain as feet away, Chris looked on with deep jealousy and resentment in her eyes. By now, with the runway still blocked and the soldiers cutting off the doorway to the corridor, retreating wasn't an option. They were trapped and now the soldiers were gaining ground, their Mana shields so close together that they formed an impenetrable wall.

"It's been nice fighting by you girls' side." Frenzy complemented passing Hilda his last frag grenade.

"Let's give these assholes the last we got." Hilda grinned. But before they could attack, a series of flashes from three stun grenades broke apart the soldiers' defensive wall as bursts of gunfire cut down several of them before they could recover. From the exit doorway Finn, Trudy and half of her security team flooded in like a tidal wave and completely catching the group of soldiers off guard. With his Mana, Finn pulled over a boulder the size of a simulator pod, caught it in his huge gauntlet and launched it at a group of soldiers like a dodgeball, smashing apart their ranks as Trudy and her team dropped them.

"Dynamite Finn is in the house!" Frenzy cheered making Mei and a few others roll their eyes.

"Holy crap what happened to the elevator?" Finn gaped.

"Why did you come here? There's no escape this way." Hilda told him.

"Shit, the way down to the lower levels are blocked off too." Finn revealed.

"How the hell are we going to get out of here?" Mei yelled. "Even if we clear the rubble, all of us won't be able to taxi on the Para-mail." Hilda hated to admit it but with only her, Rosalie, Chris, Ersha, Salia, Miranda, and Ange's units left; some people would have to be left behind.

"We can use the zip lines." Frenzy suggested pointing at the many ropes running down through the hanger's openings.

"Guess there is brains in that horny dimwitted head of yours." Finn joked to which Frenzy shot him the middle finger.

"Alright listen." said Hilda as security unzipped their backpacks full of ammo. "We first need to cut down their numbers before we can do so. Let's push them back!" Her orders rallied everyone in the hanger together as they readied to make a final stand.

Emperor Julio's patience was rapidly wearing thin. From his chair he monitored different Mana screens displaying the progress of the attack. By now, the assault on Arzenal had been going on for almost half and hour and so far, two of his overseers were unresponsive and Angelise and the Ragna-mail candidates had yet to be captured. But to Julio's utter outrage, Arzenal had secretly being sheltering terrorists who were now helping them in their rebellion. "Those filthy traitors." Julio sneered at one human wearing massive gauntlets powered by Mana. "Captain, how's the progress of your mission?"

"We've broken through the infirmary and hanger 1 defenses your majesty." One of his overseers responded. "But the pilots and terrorists have mounted a stronger defense in hanger 2 and we have yet to capture one of the priority targets."

"I want results not excuses!" Julio yelled. "How can you lot be held up by a group of Norma? They're nothing but brainless animals you insolent fools!" By his side, Riza rested a hand on his shoulder and whispered into his ear.

"Calm yourself Julio. If the pilots try to evacuate the Pyrethroids will capture the rest of the Para-mail." Julio relaxed at the ease of her touch. He had waited years for this, and he could wait a few minutes or even an hour longer.

"Your majesty," One of the ship captains suddenly called, "we're picking up six unknown contacts entering the outer perimeter to the southeast." On one of the Mana screen six red blinking dots were moving 25 klicks from Arzenal's southwest. Once the objects were scanned, Julio began to seethe. "Para-mail! Those wretched Norma must have contacted more of those terrorists for assistance." But before Julio could order the surrounding vessels to open fire, he received a sudden call through his private Mana line.

"Stand down. I'll take care of this matter myself." A high cold voice slithered through and Julio's spine shivered. Even Riza looked troubled by the coldness of Blackadder's voice. But how was Master Embryo's mysterious new assistant going to take down six para-mail? Suddenly, through the command tower's windows, everyone stood from their seats in awe as a jet black-para-mail trimmed in azure-blue stripes flew past. It sprouted four wings with a pair of pod engines attached to the larger two. But unlike the common Para-mail, it's gears were sparkling gold like the Ragna-mail. Riza stared wide eyed, and Julio also looked surprised. 'I thought there was only seven Ragna-mail.' He thought. When did Master Embryo create a new one. Or was this an older prototype?

In an attempt to keep her younger squad mates from getting swarmed, Tanya had attempted to draw off some of the enemy discs. But now she had been caught, and Margret watched powerless as she caught a final glimpse of Tanya's unit being dragged away before disappearing in the distance just like Irma.

"I'm reloading!" Ginny called as a bunch of discs shot her way.

"Watch out!" In a fleeting movement Margret broke flank and shove Ginny's glaive out of the way. However, her own unit became entangled in Ginny's place. "Help! Get them off me!" she pleaded as she felt her unit being pulled away. Then from out of nowhere the discs were shot off and the wires loosened, allowing Margret to break free. She looked around for her savior and to her shock and amazement, six Para-mail, distinct in their armor and weapons the likes of which Margaret had never seen, appeared before the final three members of third squad.

"Girls get behind us, we'll cover you!" a hard gruff voice spoke from the lead dark grey Arquebus as twin rotary cannons attached to his massive gauntlets blasted a wave of flying discs.

"Who are these people?" Holly asked in amazement.

"They must be friends of the humans that helped us." Ginny theorized as all three pilots re grouped with their new allies.

"Hold the line! Once Aurora has set off, we make a break for it!" the leader commanded as they picked a partner and got into formation to cover everyone's flanks. "Commander, this is Captain Jacob, I understand you and your girls need some help."

"It's bloody good to hear from you Captain." Dolton said in delight through the communications feed.

"Stand by Jacob, the other pilots should join you shortly." Commander Jill broadcast. "Once everyone has evacuated in Aurora, we'll collect the rest of you."

"Captain Jacob, an unknown unit has entered Arzenal's airspace." The pilot of the dark blue Hauser informed. On all their maps, a single blue dot appeared 800 meters from their position when a jet-black unit with four wings appeared from outside the swarm of discs.

"Yes, more help has arrived!" Ginny cheered.

"No, it's not." Captain Jacob's voice shook with suppressed rage. "Everyone don't follow me, I'll handle this." With a flash of engine fire, Jacob's dark grey arquebus darted through the swarm, shooting down any that came too close as he launched towards the Ragna-mail, his power sword pulsing with electricity as he drew it. Xerxes met his charge with its own blade drawn and two clashed in mid-air, sparks erupting from the grinding steel. "I'm going to make you pay for what you've done." Jacob vowed.

"Come then primate." Blackadder hissed back. "You and your peoples' eradication will be my ascension to the new world order."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Jacob snarled.

With escape route C compromised and over run, Jasmine ordered a retreat to escape route D, their last hope of anyone getting out of here alive. As she, the rookies and a few base personnel retreated back to the southwest hallways, they had to stop on occasion to hold off the soldiers chasing after them. They needed to bide more time until Maggie, the injured and the others had arrived at the lower west tunnels.

"Split up girls, they can't follow us all at once." Jasmine instructed as they came to a four-way intersection that joined back up with their escape route to Aurora. The group split off in four directions, the three rookies and Vulcan right by Jasmine's side. "Hold here girls." Vulcan ran ahead as Jasmine and the rookies stopped at another junction hallway to take cover behind the two turns. Soon enough, the sound of rushing boots came closer and closer until half a dozen NMB soldiers stormed their way in. Mary, Noona and Marika targeted the upper edges of the humans' shields while Jasmine aimed at their feet. The six soldiers were clipped around their ankles but before Jasmine or the rookies could fire the killing shots, she was grabbed from her left side and held in a choke hold. Four soldiers had managed to sneak around the lower levels and ambush them from behind. And with Jasmine held in front as a meat shield, the rookies couldn't get a clear shot which allowed the other three soldiers to restrain them as well.

"Nice to see you've still got a lot of fight in you, Jasmine." A raspy cold voice spoke from behind the mask.

"You!" Jasmine exclaimed in a shocked gasp as they removed their mask.

"I've caught a real big fish here boys?" Jadis leered. "The former Commander of this dump." Her comrades laughed cruelly, one of them with his boot down hard on Noona's head. "You Norma might have been pleased I never found any evidence with your ties with the Ancient Folk, but a part of me always knew you orchestrated the alliance with those apes all those years ago."

"Just get it over with you wicked bitch." Jasmine sneered, but Jadis smirked and kneed Jasmine hard in the back.

"I'm not killing you. We have much bigger plans for you Norma." Jadis revealed. "Although I don't think an old bag like you will be of much use in the Galia labour camp compared to these virgins." Her head motioned to Mary, Noona and Marika. "Or maybe I might keep you alive. I always wondered how well your stamina would hold up with…" In the middle of Jadis's taunts, Vulcan came pelting back down the corridor and pounced on her. His bulk slammed into her chest and causing her to stagger back, his teeth snapping inches from her throat before he was thrown off. Vulcan backed up before standing over Jasmine, his body rigid, his hairs standing on end as he snarled at Jadis.

"Vulcan no! Get away you stubborn mutt!" Jasmine pleaded wrapping her arms around him to protect him from the evil former inspector.

"My new commander said nothing about bringing along pets." Jadis sneered as she raised her pistol. "He'll make a nice rug for my office. And I'll make you clean it every day." But before she could squeeze the trigger, there came five loud bangs as the three soldiers in front of Jadis dropped to the ground and someone sprang out like a bullet from the left side corridor, their knee colliding with the side of Jadis' jaw with such force she was knocked back several feet. The three rookies gasped in relief at their savior as Jadis rubbed her jaw and smirked.

"Hello Scarlett." Every inch of Scarlett's face burned with fury as Scarlett aimed her pistol, only for it to click on an empty mag. "Fine. I prefer this anyway." Scarlett scowled and cracked her knuckles as the group of girls with her stood next to Jasmine, unsure what to do.

"Stay back! This bitch is mine!"

"Don't be stupid Scarlett." said Jasmine as the three rookies helped her to her feet. "We need to get out of here."

"All of you need to leave, I'll hold her off." Scarlett ordered. Jadis licked the blood from the side of her mouth, her eyes filling up with a crazed exhilaration.

"This is going to be fun. Let's see what your truly made of little girl." Jadis taunted as she raised her fists

"This is for Zola." Scarlett whispered boldly and the two women charged.

Outside the grounds, over two dozen Mana air carriers were parked across Arzenal's fields and within the crater. Beside the destroyed private Villa quarters of the chief Inspector, a dozen Norma chained together in a single line were being forced into one of the aircraft, overseen by Corporal Jeffry and his comrades.

"That's the last of them on the first floor." Jeffry reported to the pilot. "Ship them off quick before one of Julio's overseers get wind of this." Once all the Norma were seated, Jeffry caught the crushed defeat in their eyes before the rear hatch closed. It lifted off the grass and flew off to deliver the Norma to the Galia labour camp. "Alright let's sweep the rest of the second floor and get the next batch loaded up." Jeffry ordered as they all filed back down the staircase to the first floor to check for any stragglers they might have missed.

"I don't understand why we need to keep the other Norma alive and not the intended targets." One soldier grumbled.

"We have our orders from our new commander, and he made it clear his master doesn't want any unnecessary bloodshed." Jeffry reminded them. Though he found it terrible that the spared Norma would spend the rest of their lives laboring away, Jeffry kept reminding himself how after all he had seen at Apex, it was a better fate than being slaughtered.

"None of this makes sense." said one soldier. "Commander Villson would not have taken any prisoners. Why isn't he here?"

"Forget about him." Jeffry said firmly. "Villson is a traitor and is no longer in charge." The guilt of betraying the man who gave him purpose after father died was eating away at Jeffry but he knew it was for the greater good considering how unstable Dutch had become. And now thanks to his hard work and investigation, mother and Clementine had a new life and future. They emerged into a hallway consumed in grey smoke from their grenades where to Jeffry's chagrin, they bumped into another platoon under the command of one of Julio's overseers whom they had no choice put to tag along with. With guns aimed the two platoons moved quickly and quietly and thankfully, the smoke began to thin out the further they went. Suddenly, both squads stopped when they heard the approach of footsteps and two figures came into view up ahead.

"Halt who goes there?" the overseer captain bellowed. The two figures aimed their weapons in response but did not fire and began to slowly back up.

"Drop your weapons now!" Jeffry ordered. When they moved a few steps closer, Jeffry realized on closer inspection the two figures were the male Norma and Lucas. Through the dim wall of smoke Jeffry and Lucas' eyes met, and Lucas bared his teeth.

"I was wondering when I'd get to see you again, you fucking traitor!" Lucas growled.

"It's the male Norma." One of the soldiers announced, checking the names and faces of the priority targets on his Mana screen.

"Emperor Julio will want this one taken to his ship alive. Kill the other one."

"Just try it!" The male Norma warned as he stepped in front of Lucas. From behind him, Lucas held a frag grenade in hand and the soldiers readied themselves.

"None-lethal takedowns only! We need the Male Norma alive!" Jeffry ordered.

"Was it all worth it, CLAY?" Lucas spoke to Jeffry. "All this innocent bloodshed? And for what?" Jeffry didn't answer unable to look Lucas in the eye. A pain and guilt he had tried to block for weeks returned vigorously as the little Norma girl Ruby he had used to get inside APEX flashed across his eyes.

"Step aside!" Julio's overseer barked at the male Norma. "Now!"

"Piss off!" the Male Norma cursed. "Let us go or…" Suddenly, the male Norma stopped talking, no longer looking at them but behind them. Jeffry began to sense that something was wrong as Lucas did the same. Jeffry's ears pricked and through the echoes of gunfire across every corner of the base he heard a series of ground shaking stomps from behind. The other soldiers noticed it to, and they all turned around to face the wall of smoke where a dim green light blazed through in the distance.

"What the hell is that?" One soldier said alarmed. Then there came a deep snarling growl, the likes of which Jeffry had ever heard. They all raised their Mana shields as the stomping grew louder and the light blazed brighter the closer it got. Cal, Lucas, Jeffry and the soldiers froze in shock and fear as a great, stark shadow emerged into sight thirty yards away. It stood at least nine feet tall, with long bottle green horns. Its skin was half human, half scales that were matte black in color running across its body in disjointed patches. It had long sharp claws and deadly bottle green spikes protruding from its overextended arms while a pair of vertical orange eyes that resembled two pits of burning lava glowed through the smoke. But most shocking of all, it was wearing Commander Villson's shredded and torn coat and clothes! The monstrous creature was drawing nearer and one of the soldier's nerves broke and opened fire. The beast let out a shrieking howl, its blood dripped onto the floor as its body was consumed in a green violent aura resembling emerald flames and the bleeding stopped. Its wounds healed within seconds.

Then it's horrible piercing orange eyes were set on Cal alone and it let out a roar so powerful that it blew apart the screen of smoke surrounding it, revealing the twisted features of the man and father figure Jeffry had once idolized.

"SUBJECT ALPHA!" Dutch Villson's feral growl echoed across the entire corridor.

TO BE CONTINUED…