Operation, Double Pincer Attack: Mach II or, Pincer Attack from Heaven and Hell, began!
The infiltration team split off to gather more information. The girls, acting and working as geishas, were having a difficult time keeping up with the overbearing and excitable members of the Aizen Squad. "Hey, geishas! We need more sake, ahahahaha!" An annoying squad member called for them.
"It's fine that we split up, but it seems like there's no time to ask any questions..." Haru said with a sweat drop.
"We need to do something about this soon..." Makoto was beginning to reach the limits of her patience. The Aizen Squad members had no tact, and their rudeness was pissing her off! "If this keeps up, I'm not sure how much longer I can restrain my fist."
"Whoa, calm down, Punchy." Mika shook her head. "These guys suck, yeah, but try not to ruin everything. You can punch them when we're done."
"Sorry, you're right. I can't let something like this work me up." Makoto took a deep breath to compose herself. "I'll try to be a little more friendly. I don't know how you're keeping your composure..."
"Easy, I'm used to hearing these things." Mika replied. "Doesn't mean I like it. But in my line of work, people make rude passes all the time. Luckily I can be extremely fake and mask my malice with a smile. I think a good trick for you to use, is to imagine smashing their face into the ground like you normally do."
"Hey, didn't you hear me, geisha!? Hurry it up already!" A drunk squad member exclaimed, demanding their attention. Mostly Makoto's, since she was holding the bottle of sake at the moment. "Man, is this girl slow or what!?"
"...!?" Makoto's eyes widened at that insult.
"Makoto..." Hifumi started to sweat. Anyone could see that Makoto's anger was on the verge of exploding. Not that anyone could blame her, because being treated this way was annoying!
"Makoto-senpai..." Sumire whispered. "Be calm..."
"Makoto's fury is rising..." Sophia noted.
"Makoto...?" Erina had no idea what was about to happen next.
Makoto took Mika's advice. She imagined how great it would feel to punch that Aizen Squad member in the face. She knew she had the power to do it. When this thought crossed her mind, she was able to calm down with a deep breath. "Sorry for the wait! One sake, coming right up!"
"Oh good, she calmed down..." Haru let out a sigh of relief.
As Makoto began to pour the sake, the drunk squad member was still not pleased. "How long do you need? Hey, you know what to do after pouring it, don't you?" When he asked that, all of the girls gave pensive looks to one another. They had no idea.
"E-Erm, what exactly do I do...?" Makoto asked with a quizzical expression.
"Ugh! You're a geisha - let's see some entertainment! Put on a show, damn it!" The squad member demanded. "What, you don't even know what? How STUPID can you be!?"
"..." Makoto said nothing, but her expression darkened. Her hand balled into a tight fist that began to tremble. Right now, just imagining putting this bastard through a table wasn't enough for her. She needed to actually do it for the satisfaction.
"W-What do we do? She's going to blow...!" Haru gulped.
"Just leave the entertainment to me!" Mika spoke up. She could put on a show, and this was probably the best way to get Makoto to calm dowm.
"I didn't ask for you." The drunk squad member waved Mika off. "Wait your turn!"
"..." Now it was Mika's turn to feel that anger bubble up to the surface. He brushed her off!? Oh, she absolutely refused to let that stand.
"He angered them both!?" Sumire placed her hands in front of her mouth. This situation was about to spiral, badly, because of the attitude of this one drunkard.
"...We need a backup plan, asap. Before Queen and Viper make this plan go BOOMBOOMBOOM." Sophia moved her arms around, just to simulate the amount of angry table flipping that was about to happen.
"But what can we do besides pouring sake!?" Erina spoke quickly. Hifumi was doing her best to hold Mika back, while Haru was trying to calm Makoto the same way.
"Sake...sake..." Hifumi mumbled those words, hoping it could spark some kind of idea. Luckily, it did! "Wait, of course! A drinking contest!"
At first, the idea did confuse the others. But Haru was the one who connected the dots first. "Oooh, I get it!"
"Eh? What do you mean?" The drunk member looked at the girls, confused.
"Hehe..." Sumire snickered a bit.
"Oh, we can get those drinks right away." Erina said with a smug grin. "Just sit tight."
"Yes, let's have a sake drinking competition! Whoever drinks more wins." Makoto grinned, playing up her voice.
"I could actually use a drink right now..." Mika was still angry. It wasn't going away rapidly, but she was calm enough to see how this was going to play out.
"More sake? Ahahahahah! A little girl like you stands no chance against me." The drunk squad member said confidently.
"Oh, but I really hold my sake. Goes down just like water." Makoto said with a coy smile. "Loser has to do one thing the winner says - how's that?" A risky gamble. At least, on the surface, had the girls not picked up on Hifumi's subtle idea.
"Ahahahaha! I hope you don't come to regret this." The squad member was prepared for an easy victory.
"In that case, we'll pour the sake for you both!" Erina put on a fake, polite tone. Sumire and Sophia were going to pour the sake. What the squad member didn't know, was that while he was getting sake, Makoto was going to be getting water.
"Are you two prepared?" Hifumi looked between the squad member and Makoto. "Ready...go!"
The drinking contest began! The squad member gulped down glass after glass of sake, while Makoto calmly drank the water. The man was already drunk, so he was starting with a disadvantage. But he was playing a game he had no hope of winning. It wasn't very long before his face was flushed red, and he set his final glass down, panting and gasping. "Ngh...what the...how..." He tapped out.
"And with that, the contest has been decided! Please concede and maintain your honor." Hifumi gestured to Makoto as the winner, who simply smiled.
"I told you, didn't I? Goes down just like water." Makoto tilted her head a bit, maintaining an air of innocence. But in the squad member's eyes, she was a monster.
"And since you've lost, you must uphold your end of the deal!" Sophia demanded.
"Ugh..." The squad member groaned. He lost, not so fair and square, but he did agree to the terms.
"There's one thing I want you to tell me: Where can I find the control room for the cameras in this building?" Makoto asked.
What kind of question was this!? The squad member's eyes would've widened if he had any. "H-How do you know about that?! Don't tell me the guys in the labor camp..!? No! This contest is...!" He tried to flee, but when he turned around, Mika was standing right behind him. She had a sickeningly sweet smile on her face, but it did not mask the malice behind it.
"Where are you going?" Mika asked, tilting her head just so slightly. Despite how cute she may have seemed in the moment, she was more like a snake waiting to sink its fangs into its prey, and the squad member could sense it.
"I...I...! Do you really think I'd tell you!?" The squad member turned back around to face Makoto. When he did, she slammed her fist on the table, her darkened expression returning.
"Tell us. Now." Makoto was no longer playing nice. This one solider was seconds away from getting put through the table.
"Aiiie!" The squad member was quaking in his boots. "I-It's through the revolving door in the pillar of the rear entrance gate...!" And then, he fell over, passing out.
"Oh. He fainted." Erina snickered.
"I guess he wasn't much after all." Haru leaned over, looking over at the passed out soldier. "If anyone asks, we can just say he passed out from too much drinking."
"Oracle, did you hear that?" Makoto placed a hand on her ear. She didn't actually have an earpiece. But she could think of no other way to try and signal Oracle through their communication network. "It's through the revolving door in the pillar at the rear entrance!"
"We'll leave the rest to you!" Haru said. She then glanced over at Mika, who was pouring a glass of sake for herself. Considering how much sake they had to use to appease the soldiers, she was using the last of it. "Hey, wait..."
"What? That guy was annoying to deal with. I need one of these." Mika said, taking a sip of the glass. That felt good.
"I was going to say that you should share..." Haru mumbled. Too late for that.
"Could I drink some...?" Sophia wondered aloud.
"No." Hifumi, Mika, Makoto Sumire, and Haru all said at the same time.
"Awww..." Sophia pouted.
.
.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the large banquet hall, Ren's group were having some similar issues. "I guess it's fine that we split up, but..." Ryuji felt like they couldn't get any progress. Mostly because...
"Heeeeeeey! You there!" A drunk squad member approached them, all cheers. "You drinking? This sake's from Lord Yoshiki! Refuse it and you'll have to commit seppuku! Ahahahaha!"
"...These guys are lightweights." Zenkichi sighed. "But that works out for us."
"Yes, they are less likely to notice anything suspicious in this state." Yusuke could get behind this.
"Yeah, we need to pull our weight, too!" Ann placed her hands on her hips. "I mean, it's just a little acting job to get some info - piece of cake! It's basically the same at what I did at Fox's house, right?"
"Oh...that..." Yusuke mumbled.
"Right..." Ryuji just scratched his cheek. Zenkichi and Akechi had no idea what they were talking about, but they didn't want to either.
"Yeah, that sure went...well." Ren shook his head a bit. "I don't mean to sound rude, but your acting skills haven't exactly improved since then..."
"Hey! Those acting skills got Dragon with us!" Ann huffed, and nobody could really argue with that. "I can totally act!"
"I guess we can try clearing your name..." Ren said.
Of course, that wasn't what Ann wanted to hear. "Clear my name? Clear my name from WHAT!?"
"Try not to shout so loudly when you say that." Akechi said with a heavy sigh. "You'll cause a scene."
"Hey! What's all the ruckus over there?" The drunk squad member shouted at them. "Do you really wanna commit seppuku!?"
"You were serious about that!?" Even Zenkichi was surprised at how dead set this squad member was. But he quickly cleared his throat. "I mean, no. We don't. We'll have some to drink. We would never disregard Lord Yoshiki's love." As disgusting as it felt to say that, Zenkichi was a natural.
"Hmph! Fine!" Ann was suddenly taking over. "I'll show you all just how much I've improved." And she was marching over to the drunk squad member.
"What is she doing..." Akechi did not like where this was going.
"Heeeeey, so, like...I have a question..." Ann's voice took a valley girl approach.
"Nope. This ain't working." Ryuji deadpanned.
"Bad idea. Back out." Zenkichi was also not for this.
"Shush!" Ann was already too deep into this. "Soo, I was like, kinda hoping to learn about the floor plans of this building, you know?"
"That's not how you start questioning...!" Zenkichi was now beginning to panic.
"Whoa, man...you're pretty drunk, huh." The drunken squad member just stared at Ann, dumbfounded. "You all right?"
"I'M NOT DRUNK!" Ann huffed.
"Do we come up with a different plan...?" Yusuke looked to Ren and Akechi.
"...No, hold on..." Ren shook his head, feeling a stroke of genius come on. "I think we can use this..."
Seeing the potential opening, Zenkichi had an idea. Drunk men often had loose lips. "I apologize for my companion here. They've had a bit too much to drink, even though I warned them not to. He was looking forward to the entertainment with the geishas, but got a little ahead of himself."
"Indeed." Yusuke nodded. "If at all possible, we'd like to find a place for him to rest before the festivities begin."
"Wh-!?" Ann gasped. They were stealing her thunder. "But I haven't even had any...!"
"Quiet, it's working." Akechi said. Ann bumbled her way into making an opening and there was no way they were going to waste it. Ann grumbled under her breath. Not fair!
"We wouldn't want him to disturb something that Lord Yoshiki has planned for us. I was thinking we could take him to, you know...'that place'." Zenkichi said with a bit of a knowing tone. It was a bluff, but given the soldier's current mental state, he figured it was a decent shot.
"What? You mean the basement?" The squad member looked at the group, confused. "But you know that's where we keep those townspeople, right?"
With this bit of information, Ann saw her opening to take back this situation. "Ooooh, I'm like, sooo drunk..." To sell it, she even stumble a little bit and pretended she was off balance. "I'll probably mess up soooo much stuff if you don't lock me up..."
"Yeah, or less he might do somethin to' make Lord Yoshiki lose face, y'know?" Ryuji added.
"And that would be a terrible, terrible way to repay Lord Yoshiki after all of the love he's shown us." Ren said with a sly grin.
"I can't believe this is working." Akechi just remained silent. Because there was no way in hell he would utter anything about accepting Lord Yoshiki's love. Absolutely not. He'd rather die first.
The drunk soldier just scoffed at this. "Fine, then just take him through the usual secret entrance."
"Riiiiiight!" Ann said with a woozy tone. "The secret entrance...where was that again?"
"Huh? It's obviously the revolving door in the pillar of the rear entrance!" Surely the squad member couldn't be that drunk! At least, that's what he thought.
"Ooooh, of course! It's the door in the pillar of the rear entrance gate, right?" Ann repeated, just for clarification.
"You guys sure are acting strange...almost like you're looking for something..." The squad member then gasped. Surely they couldn't be...! He approached Zenkichi, since he was the 'leader' of this group. "Don't tell me you guys are...!?" And before he could finish, Zenkichi knocked him on his ass as he typically did.
"Ooooh, ouch. You okay there? You really ate it there. You really gotta watch that first step." Zenkichi said while rubbing the back of his head.
"He did it again." Ryuji somehow saw this coming.
"Hey, he was drunk. He just slipped and fell." Zenkichi replied with a coy shrug.
"That somehow went well." Akechi was surprised.
"We did it!" Ann felt proud of herself. "Oh, Oracle! Did you hear me? They're holding the townspeople in the room I just said!"
.
.
Outside the base, the second team of Ichinose, Morgana, Futaba, Toshiro, and Yuki were waiting for their cue. "Hey, Oracle. Any word from the others?" Morgana asked.
"Not yet, but they're working on it." Futaba confirmed.
Meanwhile. Toshiro was resisting the urge to pace about nervously. So instead, he stood, tense, waiting for something positive to happen. "..."
"You seem rather tense." Yuki noticed this and approached him.
"Well, yes," Toshiro admitted. "I find it very hard to imagine everything will go smoothly."
To that, Yuki giggled. "You have a big heart, don't you, Toshiro-san?"
"Is that what we're going to call it?" Ichinose lifted a brow. She could also see right through Toshiro, which continued to annoy him.
"Well, I wouldn't exactly say I'm trying to be considerate." Toshiro admitted. "The others, especially Erina, often behave far differently than what I expect. Seeing that just makes me worried."
"What do you mean?" Yuki asked.
"It's just...I know Erina has valid reasons for acting like she does. But her habit of obstinately rushing headfirst into things is concerning." Toshiro sighed. "If you don't take the time to be rational, there could be irreversible consequences."
"I don't disagree. It's a fault of hers, but you can't deny that it's helped people, too." Ichinose added. "It's why the Rebel Corp followed her so strongly. She was willing to put herself out there for them, no matter the danger. You have to admit, for a leader, that's a quality that's admirable to have."
"Mm." Yuki nodded in agreement. "Could it also be that...you envy her for this?"
"W-What!?" Toshiro gasped softly.
"Forgive me. You just seemed to give me that impression." Yuki spoke with a half smile. "When I see Erina-san and the others standing up for what they believe in, I think it's a wonderful sight. You must feel the same, Toshiro-san...Oh, but I'm afraid it's not my place to say such things..."
"I know I do." Ichinose admitted. "They're really stubborn and don't know when to quit. But if it weren't for them, I don't think I'd be able to reflect on the type of person I am...or the person I want to try to be." Matters of the heart were still strange to her, but she was learning, day by day.
"Oh!" Futaba got a communication from both teams, each of them having juicy information to share. "Uh-huh. Roger that! Leave it to me! Sounds like they have the citizens down there, too. Is everyone ready?"
"Yeah, let's do this!" Morgana nodded.
"Time to get this show on the road!" Ichinose was excited for this. An undercover operation. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine she'd have the chance for this.
"We should get going. Yuki-san. Please take care of yourself, too." Toshiro really didn't want to see her hurt.
"Hehe...thank you very much." Yuki gave an appreciative smile at Toshiro's concern.
.
.
The group in the banquet hall could only wait for Futaba and the others to contact them now. It felt like it had been some time since... "We haven't heard from Oracle and the others yet..."
"I'm sure they're okay. We just have to wait and believe in them!" Haru spoke with a smile. "We just have to buy them as much time as we can."
"Yes. Ideally, we'll be able to escape before they catch onto us..." Yusuke stroked his chin.
"I hope they manage before those squad members that lost consciousness woke up." That was Hifumi's main worry.
"I tucked them away in a corner." Zenkichi said while dusting his hands. "Not sure how long they'll be out, but they won't be getting anyone's attention anytime soon."
"It's scary how good you are at that." Ryuji wasn't complaining, though.
Although, there was one issue... "Hey, you! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" A large, angry squad member shouted at a cowering citizen, standing tall over them.
"I-I'm sorry sir, forgive me...!" The citizen exclaimed fearfully.
"Is that..?" Erina did not like where this was going.
"You spill my sake, and you think you're going to get off with an apology?! You wanna go back to the basement that badly, huh!?" The squad member took a step closer, while the citizen took a step back, eyes full of fear.
"N-No! No, please! Anything but that! Any longer in there and...!"
"And you'll what?" The squad member glared towards the frightened citizen. "Are you saying service for Lord Yoshiki is a burden!?"
"No, I wouldn't dare! Please forgive me, sir!" The citizen felt like they were backed in a corner.
"Even here, they're still...!" Erina clenched her hand into a fist.
"I don't like this." Sumire felt the need to help rise, just like everyone else. If she had to stand here for too long...
"They're a bunch of bullies." Sophia pointed at them.
"Oracle, how much longer?!" Ann asked. It felt like they were suddenly against the clock. If they acted now, they'd break their cover!
"Just a little longer!" Futaba replied. "Just gotta get through this...wait, huh? A door!? Agh, sorry guys, hang tight for a sec!"
"Hold..." Zenkichi knew how hard it was for them to hold back. In fact, he was going to try and buy them some time. So he approached the scene himself. "Hey, guys. What seems to be the problem here?"
"Oh. just in time!" Another squad member showed up, and the angry one had a fantastic. "This guy spilled sake all over me! So I was thinking we have some fun and make this guy squeal, huh!?"
"Hahahaha! I like the sound of that! It'll be the perfect side dish for my sake!" The other squad member laughed.
"Do we really have to go that far? Don't you think Lord Yoshiki and his boundless love would forgive such a simple mistake?" Zenkichi was doing his best to buy time and appeal to these thugs, subtly standing between them and the frightened citizen.
"Lord Yoshiki might forgive such a transgression...but I won't." The angry squad member shook his head. "He wasted the gift that Lord Yoshiki prepared for us! That is punishable by putting him back in the basement with the rest of those citizens!"
"Aiiiieee...!" The citizen screamed in fear. Zenkichi's ruse for time wasn't getting very far.
"This is bad...Wolf isn't going to be able to hold them much longer. We have to stop them...!" Erina couldn't stand by and watch this for much longer.
"Erina, no! I know how you feel, but we can't...!" Makoto grunted.
"Awww, is someone a little scared?" The angry squad member tried to step forward, but Zenkichi was unmoving. "What do you think you're doing? Are you seriously trying to PROTECT this little whining whelp!?"
"Didn't Lord Yoshiki ever tell you not to cry over split sake." Zenkichi's eyes narrowed. Everyone was growing tense. Clearly this was about to come to blows, but Zenkichi was just trying to keep that from happening for as long as possible. Even then, his patience was running extremely thin.
"Get out of the way! Some punishment is needed to get it through that guy's thick skull!" The other squad member exclaimed.
"Uh, this is lookin' really bad...!" Ryuji gulped. Nobody was sure how much longer this would last. "Oracle...!"
"Hurry...it's about to come to blows, as usual...!" Hifumi pleaded.
"We're so close! We just need to do something about this door!" Ichinose responded. "This lock is..."
"Sorry, but I'm borrowing this for a moment!" Toshiro could be heard on the other side.
"What are you...?" Ichinose sounded confused, but after a second. "Hey, it's open!"
"The ball's in your court now, guys!" Futaba exclaimed.
At this point, Zenkichi was willing to take a punch for the sake of the mission. And he did. The larger squad member practically shoved him aside for protecting the cowering citizen. "Ooof..." It sure did hurt, but he can take a punch. The citizen was shocked to see an Aizen Squad member stand up for him.
"I don't know what's gotten into you, but we'll throw you into the Labor of Love too!" The angry squad member stepped forward, only for Makoto to block his path. She didn't say anything, but her gaze was narrowed. "You got a problem, girl?"
"Yeah." Makoto said while cracking her knuckles.
"What!? You want punishment too!?"
"SHUT UP YOU SICK BASTARD!" Makoto finally hit her limit. It also helped that they were finally clear. So all of her pent up rage was put into a single fist, which she used to slam the large squad member right into the floor. And it felt so, so good...
"The hell's that little geisha doing!? I'll cut you down!" The other squad member gasped. However, before they had the chance to move, Yusuke brandished his sword and sliced them down.
"Silence." Yusuke's tone lowered. "You were the first to break the code of chivalry, were you not?"
"Now this is more like it!" Ryuji grinned. "You alright, Gramps?"
"Just fine." Zenkichi stood up. "Not the worst punch I've taken. But now, I'm in the mood for a little payback."
"In the end, it always comes down to this." Akechi drew his sword as well.
"It always ends in a fight. But in this case, they deserve it!" Hifumi pulled out her staff and twirled it around.
"Finally!" Mika looked too happy for this. "These guys have been pissing me off all day!"
"Now we can show them what a 'little geisha' can do!" Haru was more than happy to cut loose.
"Let's kick some ass!" Ren declared, and everyone was on board for that! Once Makoto and Yusuke made a scene, this caused the rest of the Aizen Squad to begin rushing to the scene. But at that point, they were walking into a slaughter.
"Intruders, have at them!"
Oh, but it wasn't going to be that easy. Makoto was taking joy in uppercutting a squad member and sending them damn near into the ceiling; Erina had another in a chokehold; Ann used her sword to clash with another Aizen squad member, standing back to back with Hifumi, who used her staff to knock several of them into a wall. Sumire, used her gymnastics skills to flip over several Aizen squad members, leaving them open for Sophia to tie them up with her yo-yos, and throw them off to the side.
"Sorry, Erina. I told you to hold back, and yet, I...!" Makoto felt a bit bad.
"Ahahaha!" Erina snickered as the squad member in her grasp struggled to break free. "Nah, that was really cool, Queen! Besides, from here on out, I'm not holding back either!"
"Why are they so strong!?" A squad member gasped. Yusuke leapt from the air and slashed down several squad members in the process.
"You lowlifes have no sense of morality. I'll cut you all down to your rotten cores!" Yusuke declared.
"Damn you! You think you can lay lands on us without Lord Yoshiki-argh!?"
That squad member didn't get to finish, because Ann cut them down. "Lord Yoshiki this, Lord Yoshiki that, just shut up!"
"Seriously!" Mika grabbed a squad member and shoved him right into Haru's line of fire. She clicked the trigger of her rocket launcher, letting the rocket fly and explode against a group of soldiers.
"Your tyranny ends here! Prepare to pay the price!" Haru said with an innocent smile.
"You guys make for some good dogs. All you do is bark when Yoshiki tells you to." Zenkichi said while cutting down some squad members with Ryuji. This simple sword was a bit lighter than he was used to, but he could make it work.
"But we'll do you the honor of putting you down!" As Akechi said this, their disguises came off. The Phantom Thieves were in uniform once again, no longer with the need to hold back!
More soldiers rushed into the room, but that was going to be their folly. "Hey! Get them!"
"You, get lost." Viper told the cowering citizen, who had no idea what was happening. They could only nod and hide somewhere.
"Whoa...!" The sword that Panther was using was knocked out of her hand. But she wasn't worried, because she simply held her hand out, and Dragon acted without needing to be ask. Dragon summoned her unique great sword and it split into two; one for her, and one for Panther.
"You will regret your actions on this day!" Dragon smirked as she and Panther jumped forward. "Dragonfire Strike!" The two of them exclaimed, slashing past multiple Aizen Squad members in an X formation. This prompted an explosion of fire that followed. The two slid to a halt and high fived each other after.
"Valjean!" Wolf's mask burned away as Valjean rose from the floor. Even though he was surrounded, he had no problem with this. Wolf quickly spun around, firing off his twin pistols to gun down the squad members that tried to approach him. Valjean circled around as well, his large chains swinging around wildly to crush the larger squad members. "That felt damn good!" This sort of aggression felt a lot better when it was direct, instead of the coy approach he'd taken earlier.
"Pandora!" Sophie pointed her hand forward. Pandora appeared in front of her, firing off multiple beams of light that struck Aizen Sqaud members, blinding them in the process. While they were blind...
"Ella!" Violet ran forward. She used her speed to slip past the blinded squad members, slicing them down with her rapier. Ella flew forward, shooting off beams of light to strike down any of the others that remained nearby. It was a lightshow between the two of them that the enemy couldn't withstand!
Fox sliced the air in front of him. This prompted a frigid blast of air to shoot forward, completely freezing a few Aizen squad members. He then rushed forward and slashed them, cutting them into pieces of ice. "This is exactly what you deserve!"
"Lock them in!" A squad member shouted. He ran towards the doors, and Skull quickly followed.
"I don't think so!" But unfortunately for Skull, the door closed in front of him and it ran right into it. Several other doors locked around the group as well, as the Aizen squad switched plans. "Ow! Okay, asshole. You think that's gonna stop me!?"
"They're trying to keep us in here." Crow scoffed.
"It's like they're asking us to bring the building down!" Skull cracked his knuckles. "Alright then. Get a load of this! WILLIAM!" Skull summoned William, and he let loose a strong Zionga that blasted through the doors. Several soldiers screamed in pain as the lightning blast completely destroyed the door and the small room behind it that they were occupying.
"I like this plan." Viper grinned as she called forth Nuwa. The serpent woman crashed through a door and coiled around multiple Aizen Squad members tightly. She used Life Drain, sucking them clean of their life essence. Viper let out a content sigh after that. "Ahhh, that felt good. I needed that after those frown lines I almost got from these idiots!"
"Hereward. Don't even waste time." Crow snapped his fingers. Hereward appeared, firing off a curse arrow at a locked door in front of them. Curse exploded and blew the door off its hinges, destroying several Aizen Squad members in the process.
"Agnes!" Queen drove forward on her bike. She violently sideswiped the squad members that tried to flee. They were knocked into the air, where Noir was waiting for them with her axe.
"Take this! Lucy!" Lucy appeared behind Noir, firing off multiple bullets from her dress. As this happened, Noir spun around with her axe, crushing several Aizen Squad members in the process. An explosion of psychic energy surged out when her axe hit the ground, and she just giggled.
"This feels so much better!" Erina was more than happy to give these jerks exactly what they deserved. A few Aizen Squad members tried to take shots at them. She hid behind cover and lifted her hand up. "Great Partisian!" A large spear appeared above her and crashed down on the firing squad. It took a few of them out, and the others that were hit completely forgot what they were going to do.
"Raoul!" This left a perfect opening for Joker as Raoul flew into the air, only to slam down on the Aizen Squad members and blow them away. With this, they effectively cleared the garrison of enemies. "Nice work, guys. Now, let's get out of here!"
.
.
The group escaped outside to a designated meeting place within town. There was a lot of excitement within that banquet hall, but they made it out. "Whew! We should be safe now, right?" Panther asked.
"I detect no one nearby. We are safe." Sophie nodded.
"I wonder if Oracle and the others made it out alright..." Noir was a little concerned for them.
"All that mayhem should've made it easy for them to slip out without notice." Fox was certain of this.
"Even though we didn't intend to leave with a fight, I suppose it was best we did. I was glad to stretch my legs some!" Dragon grinned.
"Heeeeey!" Oracle shouted to get their attention.
"Is everyone alright?" Mona called to the others. "You guys really made a scene back there! I'm kinda sad I missed it."
"Thank to you, we were able to work without interruption." Ichinose nodded.
"We've freed all the imprisoned people and returned them to their families." Yuki spoke with such a relieved smile.
"We took out the enemy base, too. That should do us some good." Erina felt accomplished. "Great job, Toshiro! Your "Operation Smack, Crackle, Pinch", was a huge success!"
"It was the Pincer Attack from Heaven and Hell!" Dragon corrected, as if that were the name.
"I forgot the name already, but that wasn't it, right?" Mona said with a side eye.
As much as Toshiro wanted to object, there was something else on his mind. "Hmmm..."
"You did great, Toshiro." Joker nodded.
"Yeah, the plan worked without a hitch!" Skull smiled. "So why not just take the win already?"
"We had our fair share of small hiccups, but it went well." Wolf nodded.
"Huh? Right..." Toshiro just nodded.
"He's been like this since we unlocked the door." Ichinose used her thumb to gesture at Toshiro. "Although I can imagine a reason or two as to why."
"Oh! You guys are gonna wanna see this." Oracle said with her usual mischievous snicker. "We set up one last surprise for everyone."
"You'll love it." Ichinose gestured to the monitor at the far end of town. On it was a display of the Labor of Love and how terrible it truly was. This caught the attention of the citizens, who were usally at the ready when the monitor came on.
"What's going on?"
"Perhaps this is a message from Lord Yoshiki?"
Their confusion would be answered soon. "Hope the people are ready for this special - Lord Yoshiki: Fraud of Love!"
"I love it when fakers get exposed!" Viper snickered in delight. Again, the irony in her words...
The video on the monitor displayed the cruelty of the Labor of Love. The citizens being forced to slave away, being worked to exhaustion and beyond with no rest. Only punishment for refusing to work...
"I-I can't move anymore...please...just a sip of water..." An exhausted citizen pleaded desperately.
"No stopping, you lazy bastards! You've got a ways to go to re-earn Lord Yoshiki's love!" An abuse squad member cracked the whip at him.
"P-Please...no more..." The citizen was so exhausted, all they could was just beg for mercy in a tired voice.
"Shut your trap and keep moving, you ungrateful wretch! You dare disrespect Lord Yoshiki's love!?" The angry squad member cracked the whip again and again.
"This isn't...what they said I'd be doing...I thought...this was for love..." The cruel reality for the citizens set in.
As for those watching, they were completely horrified at what they saw. "W-What is this!?"
"I thought if my family was safe, I could endure anything Lord Yoshiki asked of me..."
"Why are they doing that!?"
The confused and horrified cries of the citizens filled the town. "It's a veritable portrait of hell. So this is the truth of his so called "love"."
"Anyone who thinks this is love needs to be put down." That was Crow's thoughts on the matter.
"When we snuck into the control room, I managed to nab some footage." Oracle explained. "Queen was the one who came up with the idea."
"I was only trying to unearth the truth. But I had no idea it would be this horrible." Queen rubbed her arm.
"The illusion is being shattered before their very eyes." Dragon took a look at the citizens.
"I hope this truth wakes them up." Violet placed a hand on her chest. When it came to world changing truths, she knew the effects it had on people. "But I don't think they'll be ready to accept it so easily."
"And to think this is going on somewhere in Yoshiki's castle, too..." Erina scowled at the thought. "We have to stop this!"
"Hmm? Hohohohoho..." That voice made everyone tense up. "I seee yooooooou...!"
"What the hell!?" Joker quickly turned around and looked up at the sky. "Up there!"
"Incoming!" Wolf shouted.
"Everyone, your days of loveless behavior end now!" And from the top of the castle, Yoshiki himself descended upon the Phantom Thieves. The landed in front of them with a mighty thud.
"Hah! It's way too freakin' late to be showin' up now, you creep!" Skull pointed at Yoshiki.
"Yeah, your Labor of Love's been exposed! How do you plan to come back from this one?" Viper tilted her head.
"Hohohoho! Such blatant disrespect!" Yoshiki laughed their words off. "But you're forgiven. "After all, thanks to this, I was finally able to find who I'm searching for."
"Let me guess. Toshiro?" Wolf said, standing in front of Toshiro. Someone had to protect him since this looked like it was about to go south.
"Ohohohohoho! That's exactly right!" As Yoshiki's spoke, the buddha statute's face began to open. It revealed Yoshiki's true face, and he was a deep shade of red. Not only that, but multiple golden arms began to spawn from his back by the dozens as he glared down Toshiro. "TOSHIRO! YOU DAMNED, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING SON OF MINE!"