Chapter 49. Crafty Opposition.

Toket sat in front of a conference table, talking on the phone. "When shall we expect this performance?"

"The ads have been watched, and now we send the invites to our special guests, the date is set to be a month from now, on a saturday," Draum spoke from the other side.

"August, hm? Month before Autumn."

"A final autumn performance for a succubus and Exterminators."

"How many Exterminators do you expect?"

"Well I would hope for the entirety of them, but a performer only hopes for more, not expect, so I would assume at least two."

"Just two?"

"They're numbers are limited, and they are the cautious type, so I expect two while having some in reserve but not in waiting. Besides that, we don't know what other plans they may have."

"That's fair, they could still be decrypting those files, finding a base or two to attack."

"While I would enjoy such guests, the instruments would have to be rush tuned to abide by the performance."

"I understand, sadly we have yet to find a way to keep tabs on them."

James entered the room, holding a white mask with red trims and blue around the eyes. "Toket?"

"Hm? Oh hello James."

"I couldn't help but hear you talk about keeping an eye on the hellions."

Toket looked at the mask, then up to James, unamused. With a sigh, he addressed Draum: "I'll call you back," Hanging up, he faced the Crusader, "Don't tell me your plan is to act as a spy."

James, ever so hopeful, approached the table, "We already know this works, and we know the regular demons they work with tend to come to earth as hitmen, so I was thinking-"

"Please," He softly face palmed, "don't say you're going to pose as one of them?"

"No. Something better. I pose…as a client."

"Hm?" Raising a brow, Toket looked only slightly interested.

"I can pose as a sinner, hire them, and take the chance to learn about their current tidings. Using this, I can easily change between other hellspawns, taking each hire for a chance to learn more, and during a cleansing, I can report back to you what I found," With confidence, he smirked at his plan, "What do you think?"

"..." Toket leaned in with a serious expression, "I think you're going to end up dead like your sister if you go through with this."

The confident smirk went away. baffled by Tokets response, "What?"

"I still remember it, approving of her plan to observe the Exterminator's on earth. She thought it would help get an inkling of how they act as a whole and their relations to hell, but she got lucky, or so she thought, when she found one involved in an upcoming party with an Exterminator in hell. Against what I said, she took her chance, not only risking us being found out early but also getting herself killed. No doubt she was discovered, had her disguise broken, and was killed. We still don't even know where her remains are."

"I…Still we c-"

"Do you know the three problems with that mask?"

"Three problems?"

"Problem one. The target not only has to be close to your build, and while it'll be easy for you to subdue one to place it on, they have to remain alive."

"But they're unconscious while it's on and I can hide them easily, so that's no issue."

"You don't understand. Once you take off the disguise they awaken, confused and disturbed. While you were planning to jump from Demon to Demon, did you ever account for the panic you'll cause? They'll still remember the assault, word will spread, the exterminators will see, and you'll have that much more pressure."

"I…" James wanted to think of an argument but couldn't.

"Problem number two. Knowledge. You don't know anything about who you're going to change into, friends, habits, none of that. Something else that led to your sister's death."

Tightening his grip, He retorted: "We don't know that fo-"

"She chose to pose as a friend of theirs. She knew nothing of what she posed, so why wouldn't she have been discovered? Odd behaviors are odd behaviors, and she didn't know how to behave in the first place."

"Hrm…"

"Maybe if she took time to understand her, time to learn, it could've went better, but like you, Lara was too hasty."

"I can be patient, I swear!"

"Patient? Were you planning to study your targets before disguising? Not only is that a waste of time, just for whatever small tidbit you could gather, but you risk being exposed as an angel hiding in hell."

"...That's….true," Jame begrudgingly agreed.

"Now, problem three. You may have forgotten, but those disguises are fragile. If you get hit, cracks will show, and then it'll fall apart, thus, exposing you."

"I see…" James deflated, those three simple problems thwarting his plans.

"I get you wanting to help, and I know you want vengeance for Lara, but if you don't think things through, you're going to end up in the same ditch as her."

Grumbling in defeat and anger, "Fine," He huffed, exiting the room.

Toket sighed, shaking his head and pressing the round console on his side, speaking into its microphone, "Didi, Jameson, come to the conference room, please."

Soon enough, Agents One and Two entered the room.

"You call for us?" One asked.

"And you said you'd stop using our real names!" Two protested.

"Sorry, but I like your real names better," Toket chuckled, ushering them closer, "Let me see your bracelets," The two of them approached Toket, rolling up their sleeves, showing a silver bracelet with two screens, side by side, and a trail of crosses on the rim. "Hmm…" Toket expected them, looking at the screens and nodding. "Not bad. The break value is only at three, and control is almost at fifty."

"Good progress right?" Two stated.

"It is, but don't get too excited, you're not quite there yet. Still though, I think you earned something," Pressing another button on the console, a map appeared in the center. It was of a section of Hell that the Cleansing was currently a part of, with a multitude of white circles spread around, "I wanna hear your plans on our upcoming Cleansing," He made a list appear on the side, showing icons of angels by a number, "Here's the resources."

"We get to plan the next one!?" One questioned, excited.

"More so give a rough draft, but if I like it, we'll do it."

"Hell yeah! So how's this work?"

Toket pointed to the list, "These are our available angels," Pressing an icon, he dragged it to one of the white circles, a box appearing next to it for the Angel to be set in, "See, just drag and drop to set where they leave." There was a timer on top, and he turned its dial to fast forward it, the symbol in the box turning gray, "That's how you set it when they leave. Course this is just preplanned and subject to changes, but you get the point."

"It's kinda like a tactical RPG!" Two observed excitedly.

"Now if you hit here," On the list, Toket pressed an arrow button, revealing a new list of Angel monsters, the boss kinds, "You get the bosses, regular and improved. Now when selecting the improved ones, you are going to need to choose a pilot, and good news, there's a ranking system."

"There an availability system? Cause I think one of the agents is ready to get back in it."

"The one that got sliced in half?" One questioned.

"Yeah, he's over that trauma now."

"Brave man, woulda took me longer."

"I thi-"

James rushed in, "Toket!"

"James," Toket sighed, noticing he was still holding the mask, "if this is about your plan-"

"What? N-no, it's the DD's!"

"The DD's?"

"Line three, they're trying to call you!"

"Ok," Curious, Toket pressed the button on his console, "Hello?"

"Toket!" Someone called out to the speaker, "Remember our little wake up project?"

Now Toket got very interested, ""Did you get results!?"

"Turn on your monitor!"

Wasting no time, Toket had a screen from the ceiling slide down, turning on. On the screen Alto was shown pinning someone down with a red whip around their neck. Who he had pinned was wearing red light knightlike armor, which was slightly tattered and cracked. They were female, weakly groaning, barely able to fight against Alto. Seeing this, he stood up from his desk, looking with wide eyes and excitement. "Amazing! Is she the only one?"

"Sadly yes, b-but this shows something!" Said the man on the other side of the call.

"Tried to put up a fight as soon as she was freed," Alto commented, "Even though they were understandably weak, they still kept that feistiness," He chuckled with intrigue.

"Fascinating!" Toket amused.

"Where…where art…thou?" The pinned lady groaned, light flickers sparking on her velvet hair, her claws scratching onto the pavement.

"Hm… Didi, Jameson, James, let's go visit our new guest."

"Eh?" Two gazed at him, confused, "You want us to come with you?"

"What about Cleansing plans?" One asked.

With a smirk, he stated: "This could help with our current plans."

"It can?" All three questioned.

"James did have an espionage idea."

"Huh?" James was taken by confusion by what Toket just said.

"For you!" Jack handed Shred a pair of Wolverine claws.

"Hell yeah!" Shred happily took them, putting them on. Currently, the team were at the base, a few hours before the cleansing, greeting Jack back from his vacation and the Imp exterminator handing out his souvenirs from his giant bag. "I'm getting Gen and Dax to mod these?"

"Why? You already have claws," Echo questioned.

"For when I need to hunt or fight in disguise."

"Stolas," Jack gave the Goetia two books, "First volume of The Lord Of The Rings."

"Oh! Thank you!" Stolas took the novels.

"We already saw the movie," Blitzo stated.

"Yes, but the books are different, and I'm curious what they changed."

"You could just wiki it."

"Where's the fun in that?"

Jack reached into his bag, "for Tia," He pulled out a covered frame, handing it to the owlette.

Curious, Octavia took it, "What's this?" Opening it, her eyes lit up. It was an artistic print of Aang from the last airbender in his avatar state, surrounded in his elemental sphere, the same one he used against Ozai. It was expertly detailed with a background being the same area as the final fight with the fire lord. "Whoa!"

"Nice right? It wasnt cheap either."

"I bet! Thanks dude!"

"And for your owl man," Jack addressed Dundy.

"Watch it," Dundy and Stolas said in unison, Stolas glaring while Dundy deadpanned.

Out from the bag came a thick green box chain necklace that had the symbol of Hulks fist busting through a wall in the front and the words Hulk smash across the neckline, "A Hulk themed necklace! Y'know, cause of Asura."

Dundy took it with curiosity, "They do share similarities. Thanks."

"For the first hound couple," Shelly and Solis were next, being handed a pair of prop hand cannons from Destiny. They were the Ace of Spades for Solis and the Thorn for Shelly.

"Oh these look so realistic!" Shelly gushed, checking the features.

Solis popped out the barrel, noticing the holes, "Can they shoot?"

Jack handed them fake shells and gel beads, "Just these, no need to pump anything though, just pull the trigger."

"Oh I can't wait to show Dax!" Shelly hopped, taking the shells.

"Now," Walking to Poch and Loona, he shuffled in his bag, "for the dense hound couple."

"Fuck off," Poch and Loona said in unison.

Jack retrieves a sword and a packaged robe, "This is from demon slayer. This is the main character's sword, don't know his name, and some sexy chicks robe."

Poch took the sword and noticed the flame symbolized guard, "Thanks," He checked the weight, "I wonder…" He drew the blade, inspecting it, "Yep, it's Tanjiro's when he got Rengoku's guard."

Loona checked the robe, "This is…" Looking at it, she was trying to think, "what was her name…the demon with the sashes?"

"Daki. That's hers?"

"Yeah, it's got a few sashes too."

"Nice!"

"Welp," Jack spoke, "Now Poch has no excuse not to wear that outfit."

"Huh?" Poch gave Jack a confused look.

"Remember what we were asked to wear for the base and stuff? The bargain for the club?"

"What about them?"

"Now you gotta wear it, for her," He pointed to Loona.

"M-me?" Loona blushed.

"W-wait, why!?" Poch questioned, flustered.

With a smirk, Jack goaded, "You just gonna have your girl be the only one wearing something hot around the house?"

Poch felt even more flustered, "W-what!?"

"I guess you're more of an oogler huh?"

"I-I am not!"

"Alright, then I'll tell the owner to send your suit!"

"You cheeky bastard!"

Loona thought to say something but opted to stay silent, for obvious reasons.

Octavia picked up on this and slid in, "Awfully silent there," She whispered.

Stifining with a frown, she growled out: "Shut up!"

"And don't forget to shake that tail," Jack continued to tease the short hound.

"I'll rip off yours!" Poch threatened.

"Just giving some advice, but before you threaten me further, can you summon Shiv?"

Poch pulled back some of his rage in replace of confusion, questioning: "Shiv?"

Shivarna summoned, equally questioning: "Me?"

"Didn't think I wouldn't get ya anything, did ya big guy?" Jack stated, shuffling his bag, "I saw this and thought you might like it," From the bag, he pulled out a Avengers themed, large sized rubber bone shaped chew toy with ridges in it. It was easily as big as Shivarna's palm. "Its extra sturdy too!"

Poch gazed at it with a mix of uncertainty and discomfort. "Uh…this a joke?"

"Why would it be a joke?" He asked, handing the Shadow Demon the toy.

"Jack, Shivs not some dog. Yes he's a wolf but he's not some domesticated…" Hearing chewing, Poch glanced up to see Shivarna biting into the rubber bone, wagging his tail and looking happy.

Seeing his gaze, Shivarna gave him a: "What?"

"...Nothing."

Jack continued giving gifts, heading to Blitzo, "For the boss man," He took out a figurine from the first Ghost Rider movie of the old rider on horseback charging through terrain.

"Oooh!" Blitzo awed at the figurine, taking it, and examining closely, "Thanks Jacko!"

"Gunner boy!" To Moxxie he handed a pair of realistic guns, the ones Dante uses from Devil May Cry.

"What are these?" Moxxie asked with interest.

"Ebony and Ivory from Devil May Cry! Trust me, they're badass weapons! Millie?"

Millie was bouncing on the spot excitedly, "Whaddya get me!?"

Jack took out a few switch blades, "A Cloak and dagger switchblade, Harley Quinn one, and Captain Marvel!"

"Ooh!" Before she took them, she stopped and frowned, "Wait, witch Captain Marvel?"

"Not Brie Larson."

Her smile was back and she took the knives, "Ok good!"

"And now, last but certainly not least," Jack turned his attention to Echo.

Echo smirked, "Was wondering if you forgot about me."

"I didn't but…this one isn't specifically for you."

With a raised brow, Echo questioned: "What do you mean?"

"Well," Pulling out a rolled up poster, "It's for…Autumn."

"Autumn?" He was taken by surprise by his statement.

"I remember the time you told me how you and your wife missed a chance to get a signed poster from Toby Miquire and, lucky for me, Toby made a surprise appearance and," He rolled out the poster, showing it to be a Spiderman poster with Toby's signature saying; Keep it webbin, Autumn! "I was persistent."

"Jack…" Echo was speechless, taking the poster, eyeing it. Smiling, he looked up at the Exterminator with a smile, "Thank you."

"Heh, no pr-" Before he could finish, his and the others Exterminator symbols shined, "What the-?"

"A reaction?" Dundy question.

"From who?" Shelly asked.

Shivarna appeared, giving his theory and pointing at Echo, "I think it's him."

"I…" Echo looked at his symbol, "I think you're right," taking a pause, he formed a Halberd and wrote out for Familia, "Familia," Once the totem was summoned, Autumn appeared without being told to, looking at Jack.

"Uh…hi?" Jack waved, unsettled.

Autumn took a step to the imp, kneeled down, and hugged him, surprising everyone, but not as much as when she said: "Thank you!"

"Wh- S-she just-!"

"I heard!" Echo said with a dropped jaw.

Autumn turned to Echo, smiling, "Hang that somewhere nice honey."

"W-wait!" He reached out to her but she dismissed before he could even touch her. Everyone stood in silence, gazing at where Autumn once was.

"I…" Jack spoke first, feeling somewhat responsible, "I didn't thin-"

"Thanks Jack," Echo faced the Imp, holding a smile, there was a bit of pain in it but mostly happiness, "I appreciate it."

"...No prob man," Jack returned the smile.

Echo turned to Stolas, "Stolas? Do you mind letting me hang this up real quick before we start?"

The Goetia obliged, "Of course," He opened the portal, "Here you are."

"I'll be back," Entering the gate, he made his way through, entering his room. It wasn't the room at the base, nor his home in hell, it was his original home, the one he got with his wife when they got married. He looked around the bedroom, the tv above the dresser across the master bed, said dresser having photos of his family and the time they were wed, the closet being on the right made him remember the dresses his wife owned, and the bookshelf that held different movies they'd watch whenever Dawn was having a sleepovers. Before he was taken down memory lane, he focused and went to his nightstand, pulling out some wall stickers, hanging the poster right above the bed. He admired it, rubbing his ring, smiling proudly before going back through the gate, a tear going down, hoping he'll get a chance to show Dawn.

In the radio room

"Testing, testing, one, two, three," Jack said into the microphone, "Y'all hear me?"

"Loud and clear," Shred responded.

"Alright, setting out camera's," Jack pressed a few buttons and sent out the eyeball cams, "Alright set, checking quality…" He switched through the inputs, "All good. Bringing up the map," Hitting a switch the mini map pulled up on the other screen, showcasing everyone's position in the form of an icon of their faces, "Confirm positions, Shred?"

"Mox and I are on Pump Street."

"Dundy?"

"Near Lisa's Wax and Candles," Dundy answered.

"Poch?"

"At Licker Avenue," Poch replied.

"Echo?"

"Right in front of the Bothered Hotel," Echo radioed in.

"Gunner team?"

"Engine's hot and ready, right in front of the base," Blitzo said.

"Positions confirmed, all matches up, all is good!"

Stolas, Loona, and Octavia, were next to him, looking at him both surprised and shocked.

"I'm impressed, I didn't think he could handle all that," Octavia commented.

Stolas chuckled, "Good to know those hours showing him everything weren't wasteful."

"Hours?" Loona raised a brow, "I'd thought it'd take days."

"I can hear yall," Jack deadpanned.

Shred stretched, popping a few bones, "Alright, you ready Mox?"

Moxxie cocked his rifle and took a deep breath, "Yep!"

"Nervous hun?" Milli questioned.

"A bit."

Shred nudged him, "Don't be. We got some good practice before this."

"I'm surprised you wanted to partner with me this time."

"You were curious what it was like to ride me, so who am I not to oblige."

"Luckily you don't gotta be gentle with him, Shred," Blitzo said, "he's been rode rough before, right Millie?"

"Yeah but I think Shred's a bit rougher," Millie chuckled, "but I'm sure he can handle it."

"He does have a tough ass."

"Ugh," Moxxie face palmed, "Why is everything with you a sex allegory?"

"Cause making you blush is easy and fun."

"It's not that easy! Right guys?"

"I Plead the fifth," Poch said.

"No comment," Solis answered.

"Pass," Echo and Dundy said in sync.

"It's a charm really," Shelly complimented.

"You are quite squeamish," Stolas said.

"You don't want my comment," Jack stated.

"I got nothing," Octavia replied.

"It's a fact," Loona said.

Moxxie sulked with a pout, "I hate you guys."

Shred patted him on the head, "Love ya too," The sound of the Cleansing alarm rang through and the gateways opened, "Party time," He wrote for Cait Sith, "Cait Sith! Armatize!" Armatizing his Shadow Demon, he crouched to let Moxxie on, "Hop on!"

Moxxie hopped onto Shred, "Giddy up!"

"Gonna let that slide for now," The angels were coming down and he ran to them with Moxxie in tow. They got close to their first batch of angels, a group of sheilders.

Moxxie aimed his rifle, "I'll open them up!" He shot, hitting a few in the legs, disorienting them. Shred charged, slicing his claws through them, swiveling around, letting the imp fire again, hitting them in openings before they could put up their guard.

"Hold on!" With a leap and spin, Shred drilled through them, his paw meeting with a pairs shields. He thrusted them down, flipping forward and tossing them up. They still had their shields up to protect from any follow up until two bullets hit them in the head, rotating them and revealing their backs which were torn through by Cait Sith's claws.

"Hmp!" A small gag went up Moxxies throat.

"Too much spinning?"

"I'll be fine…but please don't overdo it."

"I'll be careful for ya," Kneeling down, he rushed to the next batch.

Poch sliced through the stomach of an angel in front, flipping back and over the thrust of a driller, latching onto its back with his daggers crossed on its neck, leaping and slashing in one quick motion, kicking a dagger in the face of one trying to approach.

While he was fighting, Jack radioed in asking: "Hey Poch, when a boss comes, you gonna dual wield?"

"Huh?" Poch asked, pulling his dagger out a chest.

"You still got Rex's sword right? Gonna do some Chaos Blading and saw blading?"

"I WAS thinking of that, but I wanna focus on trying out my configurations."

"Didn't think to try it out at a training area?"

Loona answered for him, "The Exterminator lounge we tried to go to was booked, and we didn't go to Dad's cause he didnt wanna wreck the area by accident, plus he wanted something to hit."

"Which one you go to?"

"Dojo called…uh…Maximum…"

"Maximum chi cultivation, also known as Saidai no ki no yōsei," Poch answered.

Octavia, surprised by his fluent Japanese, asked: "Poch, you know Japanese?"

"Yeah. I don't speak it much now-a-days but I'm really good at it."

"That's an understatement," Jack replied, "While we were still recruits we challenged him and Celis to speak only Japanese for a week, and after that week, we forgot they spoke english."

"We?" Shelly spoke.

"You challenged them, not us," Dundy reminded.

"And we all paid for it!" Shred chimed in.

"Yeah and yall made me pay for it by not letting me speak for a week," Jack replied with some snark.

"Does Shiv know Japanese?" Octivia questioned.

"No, that's one of the many things that didn't transfer from Celis, but I'm willing to teach him," Poch answered.

Before the hound could kill the upcoming heavenly assailants, Shivarna summoned and backhanded them, looking at Poch with interest, "Really?"

"If you want to."

He leaned in, "Teach me, sensei!"

"Don't do that."

Dundy and Echo were close to each other, taking on a couple of brutes.

"Ora!" With a hard strike to one's stomach, he grabbed its ax when it keeled over, swinging into its middle and launching it into another one. His next targets were two more brutes but before he could make contact, they were shot through the head by an impact shot. "I had that!"

Echo laughed, "Gonna have to be quicker!" He took his sword and slashed behind him, killing the angels that rushed in.

"Heh, you're in good form."

"I'm in a good mood," He tapped his earpiece, "and before you ask, yes you helped with that Jack."

"My ego needed that," Jack responded.

"No, no it did not."

"Agree to disagree. By the way, more brutes incoming."

"Brutes seem fixated on us for some reason."

Shelly spoke: "Archers for us."

"Fuck off ya Robin Hood wannbies!" Blitzo cursed, driving away from its shots.

Millie took a shot with her rifle, missing an angel, "Damnit!"

"Almost got it," Shelly commented, taking aim with Le-arms equipped, down on them.

"Rifles ain't much my thing. Shotguns I'm better with but really I aint no gunner."

"You coulda partnered with Poch."

"He's too short to ride, and Loona wouldn't want me to ride him like a horse.."

"Definitely wouldn't," Loona confirmed.

"Yeah that's her ride to ride like a horse, eventually," Jack commented, "OUCH!" His scream confirmed he most likely got decked.

"What about Dundy?" Shelly asked.

"Eh, too muscular, and he aint as fast," Millie answered, communicating to Dundy, "No offense."

Dundy reassured: "None taken."

Shelly nodded, "Yeah, and I'm not using Close Range mode right now. Maybe if a boss appears near us, I can switch and you can mount on top."

Millie smiled at her, "Sounds fun!"

Octavia had a question. "Where would she even mount? You got those big thrusters on the back."

"Got enough space on top," Shelly replied.

"Be a bit tight."

"You underestimate the compactness of Mil-Hm?" Looking up, Shelly noticed a few large mechanical orbs coming out, "Guys, there's a few of those orbs coming out."

"We see them," Stolas noted, the machines floating to a direction.

"There's about four of them," Jack informed, "but they seem to be going somewhere."

Looking at the map and where they were going, Octavia pointed out: "Isn't Poch around there?"

"Oh shit!" Loona was quick to contact him, "Poch, those orbitars are coming your way!"

"Huh?" Poch glanced upwards, noticing the objects in question incoming, "Son of a-" Noticing their numbers, Poch quickly opened a gate and pulled out Rex's sword.

"I thought you we-" Jack was soon to question.

"Not for air combat. Shiva!" He wrote and summoned Shiva, creating his wings and his chaos blade. Once they got closer, he flew up, going after them. They fired their lasers, trying to entrap Poch, but he out-maneuvered them, managing to close in and nick one. "Huh?" The one he got fired again but this time to another orb, its beam connecting like a link, "Friendly fire?" The other two came upfront and shot. He was going to dodge but they did not aim at him, instead aiming at the other machines, connecting to them, "The hell?"

"What are they doing?" Stolas asked.

"I dont…" Looking at them questionably, they moved, rising higher and spreading out. From the edges came an opaque screen that closed him in, "Shit!" He couldn't fly up as the top was already closed so he swooped down, attempting for the sides before he was walled off. He almost made it, stopping before he crashed in. "Damnit!"

"Poch, you ok?" Shelly asked.

"They got me trapped in those barriers again," He stabbed into it with his swords, pushing but not making a dent, "Alot…tougher than…before."

Shelly radioed to him: "Hang tight, we'll drive by an-" The bells rang, louder than usual, "Boss time? Already?"

"Those bells sound louder than usual?" Dundy asked.

Five boss gates opened, two near Dundy and Echo, one near the truck team, and two somewhere close to base.

"Five!?" Stolas exclaimed.

"Heads up guys!" Jack informed.

From the ones near Dundy and Echo appeared two improved lion bosses. For Shelly, she got something new. It shrieked, flying out of its gateway. It was shaped like a falcon, wings long and feathers in the fashion of neat curved blades. The talons it had were lengthy and feral, its feet bulbous, and the legs put together by several ovalish balls, like they were made of beads. It had an arrow shaped head, the beak sharp and the edge of its lips going all the way back to its face, its whitish red eyes looking straight at Shelly, opening up its face to let out a cry, several tendons that connect its mouth in the back, stretching out.

"That's a Dyna!"

"A what?" Tia asked.

"Tough flying bastards! They can stretch out parts of their bodies like their legs and wings! Peddle to the metal boss!"

"Wait, what about the other two?" Loona asked.

She soon got her answer when the remaining gates produced their bosses. Crashes were heard and the familiar sound of "WOLOLO" was heard. It was a pair of Stone faces, but the improved version, their drills now equipped with spikes.

"Stone faces, with spiked drills, great," She groaned.

After landing, the Stone faces turned in the direction of the base and headed that way.

"Uh oh! Guys, they're heading this way!"

"Who's close by!?" Octavia questioned.

"Mox and I can get there quick but…"

"What?"

"Look, I'm tough and all, but I'm not gonna be able to handle two of those things with just Mox, especially if they got some upgrades!"

Jack nodded, knowing he was right, but knew no one else would be able to come, "Everyone else is occupied! Poch, can you make it quick on that barrier?"

"Not gonna happen!" Poch responded.

"Why?"

Poch backed up against the wall, holding both blades at the ready, "Because there's actually six bosses."

Standing before him was another Dyna, having come through a gate in his cage, shrieking at him.

"You're kidding!" Jack lamented.

Shelly was using her turrents to handle the angels while she focused on her Dyna, "Solis! I'm gonna share Clairvoyance so you can help Blitz dodge!"

"Got it," Solis stated, getting the link. As soon as it came he saw its foot shoot out to them, "Left!" The car swerved just in time. Between its bulbous sections was its stretched out flesh, a weak point to exploit.

Shelly aimed to take a shot before it retracted but Le-arms dismissed, timing out, "Not now!"

"Try Juggernaut!" Millie suggested.

"Juggernaut's too slow, but I can try to grab it, I guess!"

"Squaaaal!" Asura grabbed the charging lion, wrestling it back the best he could.

On Echo's end, he was using Dawn to block his Lion's wing blades, cutting a wave of fire, firing an impact shot through to damage a turrent.

Shred and Mox were on their way to the base.

"We're almost there, what's the situation?" Moxxie asked.

Stolas answered, "They're getting closer but everyone else is occupied! They won't be able to get here in time to back you up!"

"I can't open my gates in this thing, sorry!" Poch apologized.

"I…I can try to hold them off! I have a protection spell that can ward them off for a little while!"

"Are you crazy!?" Octavia exclaimed, "You have to be out in the open to use that! You'd be vulnerable!"

"I'll make it big enough to cover myself as well!"

"Doing that will DRAIN you, it's too risky!"

"It's the only option we have!"

Shred grit his teeth, growling in frustration.

"It's not the only option," Jack stated, "I'm going in!"

"Wh- You can't! You're still affected!" Stolas reminded.

"Yeah, but maybe my time off tapered it off! We're stretched thin so I-"

Chiming in, Shred said: "Jack, sit your ass down! I'll handle this!"

"What!? You can't handle those alone dude!"

"I can…If I go berserk."

"What!?" Stolas and the other Exterminators shouted in unison.

"Don't do that!" Shelly shouted.

"Even if it does work, what are you gonna do afterwards!?" Dundy asked.

"Let's go with Stolas's plan, just give us time!" Poch stated.

"We don't got time!" Shred growled, "If I Armatize, I might be able to control it better! Besides, the time will be shorter too, plus Mox can tranq me!"

Confused, Moxxie looked down at Shred: "Huh?"

"If he can even take the shot, if it'll even work!" Jack argued.

Taking a sharp turn, Shred was coming up at the base, getting there first, "We're already at base!"

"Shred, if Armatizing doesn't work, what are you gonna do if there's still time left for Ripper?"

"Plenty of Angels left!"

"Yeah, if you can recognize them!"

"Not like there's anyone else around, look, we don't have time! I either do this, or risk losing Stolas and/or the base! I'm sure by the time this is over, the others will be done too!

"I…Ugh fine, Stolas get ready to put up that barrier!"

"Guys, what's going on?" Moxxie asked, confused, "What do you mean by Berserk?" Once at the entrance, he was grabbed by Shred and let down, "Shred?"

"..." Shred pointed at his neck, looking at the imp seriously, "When Ripper is Armitized, there's an opening right here. It's kinda small but I'm sure you can make it."

"What are you planning?" He asked with concern.

Scrunching, he didn't know how best to answer, especially since the bosses were coming up the road, "If the others don't make it in time, I'll leave it to you. Get inside," He turned to face the Stone faces, rushing to them.

"Wait!" Moxxie was gonna follow, but Jack stopped him.

"Mox, get in quick!" Jack ordered.

"I'm going to back him up!"

"You can't! If he's gonna go Berserk, then you're gonna be a target!"

"Target!?"

"Hurry up and get in!"

"I…" He watched Shred, summoning and Armatizing Ripper.

"Hurry!"

"Ok ok!" He reluctantly complied.

The boss angels stomped forward, Warcrying, seeing Shred and readying their weapons.

"..." Taking a deep breath, Shred wrote Ripper's name again.

Loona and Octavia were confused, the owlette asking: "What's he doing? He already summoned Ripper."

"...Ripper…" He placed his fingers on the side of the sign, fearful, swallowing a lump before committing, "Berserk!" Swiping, he slashed through the words, cutting them in half, "HNG!" An intense heat went throughout his body and he knelt, "GRRRRG!" Ripper gained a pinkish red hue, steam spraying from its joints and cracks, the body changing. The claws widened, the blades becoming razored with sharp gashes, the spinal blades doing the same, another two coming out. They split down in the middle, spreading in a forty five degree angle. The wheels expanded and the spicks curved, almost overlapping, while the ones on the head twisted and got longer, the eyes dilating and turning pink. From the back of the hip, a bundle of wires came out, barbed and black, unraveling and wrapping around Shred's tail and the chest panels ajared, heat puffing out the inside. "GRAAAAAAAGH!" Shred let out a feral roar.

Octavia and Loona both looked with shock and awe.

"The hell is that!?" Loona asked.

Shred looked to the drill-armed Stoneface, kneeling down and revving up his wheels, tearing through the asphalt. He launched right to one of them with nearly the same speed as Cait Sith, ramming his claw into it with major force, meeting its drill. The spin of the drill clashed with his nails but Shred proved to be stronger, managing to push it back before leaping upward and diving. It sent out its bladed tongues with its cohort, attempting to cut him up. He slashed and kicked them away, closing in. "RAGH!" Wildly swinging, he clawed right at one, the boss barely able to guard with its weapon. The other launched its tendrils, grabbing him and yanking back. That was a mistake, for as soon as it pulled, Shred launched and slammed his nails into it, knocking it down, screaming and tearing into its face.

Moxxie entered the radio room, "Im he-" He paused when he saw Shred, "Oh my crumbs! Is that Ripper!?"

The drill slammed into its side, hitting him away but he twisted around, back on all fours unphased. Running, Shred spin dashed right in, meeting its weapon. He managed to overpower it, hitting its foot. It tripped and hopped forward, trying to maintain balance. With a quick turn, he leapt right to it.

*BANG!*

Neglecting the other one, he was open for fire, a bullet going right to him. He noticed at the last minute and grabbed it, crashing into the opposing wall, fighting against its force. It nearly pieced, sparking in the grip of his claws before slowing and being tossed down. "ROAAAGH!" With a cry, he did another spindash, tearing down the wall and onto the ground, rushing into the bosses.

Everyone in the radio room was watching, Stolas asking Jack: "Does he…look like there's some control?"

Jack shook his head, "Seeing how he's rushing around, not really, he's at least blocking, I'll give him that."

Octovia, a bit annoyed, questioned: "So are you going to elaborate or-?"

"Right so…Ripper's got a limiter, kinda like Asura's seal, but different. It's called Berserk mode, and as you can see," He gestured to Shred nearly tearing off one of the Stone-face's gun arms, "it becomes stronger and faster…but as you can also see."

"ROAAARK!" The animalistic roar Shred let out.

"It's called Berserk for a reason. It can't be controlled nor can it tell the difference between friend or foe. When he first used it, he couldn't get it to stop attacking everyone it saw. Couldn't even dismiss it."

"Shit…" Loona stated, surprised by the information.

Stolas added: "I guess he hoped Armitizing would help but it doesn't seem so."

"How do you know it, dad?" Octavia curiously questioned.

"I was a candidate to be a corps member, remember? I got to know about the new recruits and Shred was one of them at the time, so I managed to see the recording of Ripper when he first used Berserk mode.

Seeing Shred, wrapped up by the tendrils and pulled in, yank back and roll away, dragging the other down and scraping its face against the pavement, Jack commented: "He's winning at least," He called the others, "How's everyone else?"

"Feeling like we're in Mario kart!" Blitzo said, driving around the Dyna's claws.

Asura was heard yelling on Dundy and Echo's side. "We're managing, and Dundy's doing sumo!" Echo answered.

"Not….Sumo!" Dundy argued, Asura pushing against the lion he was facing, which did kinda look like a sumo wrestle with how they gripped.

"Poch?" Jack called.

Poch yelled out: "Dont fucking talk to me, this cage match is a bitch!" He was running on the wall, running from the stabs of the Dyna's blades. The wall tilted, tripping him up. Before he fell, he pulled back his Chaos Blade, shifting it into spear form, and threw it at the Dyna. It guarded and the spear bounced up off its wings, caught by Poch when warp was used. Clipping it onto his brace, he sent out a flurry of kicks, waning its protection, charging up for the final one until, "Huh?" The top of the barrier shifted down, slamming into him. Shivarna covered Poch, softening the blow and landing on his feet.

"The walls are morphing!?" Jack commented.

"Yeah, I hate it!" He groaned, his Shadow Demon rushing away from its talons while holding him.

"Are you gonna be ok?" Loona asked, worried.

Poch, getting on Shivarnas back, looked at the eye camera outside the barrier, smiling and reassuring her with: "It's annoying, but I'll be fine," He turned his spear into a Kusurigami, "just keep an eye on Shred."

"OK, but be careful."

"Course!" He held tight on Shivarna, "Let go!"

Shivarna howled, rushing forward, dodging its talons. He noticed sparks emanating from the Kusarigama and asked: "Are you gathering Chaos?"

"Just a small dose, wanna test it out," He spun the sickle, the Chaotic energy electrifying around. The Dyna dove, trying to eat the two, scraping against the ground. Shivarna jumped over and gave Poch a chance to wrap his weapon around the neck of the boss.

"KRAAA!" The Dyna screamed in pain, the energy electrocuting its body.

Poch pulled, fighting to yank the Dyna to him. As he did so, the wall behind folded and the edge charged right at him. Shivarna pushed back, fighting against it. As they both struggled, the Dyna swung and stretched its bladed wing. "Shit! Dismiss!" Poch commanded Shivarna, jumping away, pulling his weapon back and turning it back into a sword. Rolling away, he formed the shuriken, charging a small amount of power like he did the previous form. "Hm?" It felt odd, looking over at the weapon. The Chaotic power was encircling the outer ring. He didn't have time to be curious, leaping up from a swing of its foot. Seeing a chance, Poch swung the Shuriken at the opening in its leg before retraction. While it soared, the power it built up stretched out the edge, spiraling around like a cyclone, making contact with the beaded joint, digging in and swiping past, leaving a gash and returning to its owner. He was about to throw again but the wall edge came in again, "Sunnuva!" Shivarna summoned and scooped him up, running away from the changing walls.

Jack radioed to everyone, "Shred's getting close and his timers only half way!"

Shelly wrote out Xđæœ and holstered her guns, "Working on it! Savage!" From her Shadow came a creature with a similar appearance to Taurus but more sleek and slender, with long double edged swords for arms, a star tip pointed head with a larger blade sticking out on the top, and small purplish eyes. She bent down, pulling back both arms to the side.

Blitzo eased off the gas, nervously sweating with Solis guiding him: "Steady…steady… left!"

With a sharp turn, they avoided a wing slice, Shelly keeping her pose, murmuring, "C'mon…" They were trying to bait the boss, Millie focusing on keeping the archers at bay the best they could, using up tons of bullets, with Solis unable to help as he was shared Clairvoyance. After a few the Dyna reached its foot back.

"Blitzo, get ready!" Solis shouted.

Sweating and groaning, Blitzo yelled: "Stolas were getting drinks after this!"

The Talon came crashing in. "Now!" Solis yelled.

Blitzo slammed the brakes and did a quick swivel, narrowly dodging the Dyna's foot and almost tipping over.

"Hya!" Shelly sliced Savage's blades right into the flesh, going halfway. It screamed and pulled back, "This'll be fun," Shelly grimaced, turning off her Clairvoyance, her Shadow Demon getting yanked up with her too.

"Drive drive drive!" Solis slammed the hood, hopping out the car and into the trunk, grabbing the rifle from Millie.

"Whoaaa!" The Dyna was trying to shake off Shelly, Savage's blades sliding out. Sweeping low, she gripped tight and aimed for its head, "Alley oop!" With a pull she launched Savage up and stabbed its wing. It didn't go in far due to its hardness, but it gave her a chance to hop up, leaping off Savage's arm, and reorienting above it, stabbing right into its shoulder blades. Crying out, the Dyna tried to shake her off, flying erratically.

Echo noticed the Lion Dundy was facing charging its beam while fighting, "Dawn!" He summoned Dawn and quickly gave the owl a defense boost.

"Thanks!" Dundy yelled, gathering energy in Asura's. The lion fired and Asura thrusted both fists forward, blasting his energy in waves, funneling to the beam, pushing away everything and destroying the environment. It made contact with the lion's beam, pushing and distorting it slightly before it pushed through. Asura crossed his arms, holding out thanks to Dawn's boost and his own attack. Dundy groaned and stepped forward, getting close enough to uppercut the lion. His arms hurt, but he ignored it, closing in, having Asura grab its leg and twisting around behind it, easing it back, and hooking his arms around the middle. Arching back with force, he slammed its upper body into the ground. A well done German suplex.

"Save that," Octavia asked.

The lion groaned, sluggishly rising. It looked back but didn't see Asura or Dundy. Observing its surroundings, it tries to find him. From the corner of its eyes it noticed a light emanating from very close behind. Tilting its head back, it saw Dundy right on its back, gathering power into his fist. Once eyes met, it flared its jets but Dundy was faster, slamming his fist into its eye, breaking through its visor. He released what he charged and half of its face exploded. Its corpse flew off, tumbling away, Dundy flying off it but landing on his feet, groaning with throbbing fingers.

On Echo's side, he switched to Autumn, having her block the blades while he focused on the turrets and avoiding the piston stomps. He kept his distance, relying on Autumn's thrust.

"Raaagh!" Shred was heard, yelling from the distance.

"Was that-?" Echo asked.

Jack answered: "Shred! He just took out the Stone Faces!"

"Shit!" He cocked his gun, readying a charged shot. He wanted to end this quickly so he had Autumn at the ready, keeping distance and trying to bait it. The turrets were already damaged so he had an easy time staying back.

Dundy rushed by, "Need some help?" Luckily for them, there weren't many angels around, not enough to create a problem while fighting the boss.

"I'll be fine! Go get Shred!"

"Alright!" He left, making his way to the base.

One Stone Face gun only had one working barrel and some broken tongues, while the others drill was ripped up but still functional with its gun arm close to torn off, hanging loosely. Both had scars across their bodies. They had tried to take him out but he was overpowering them and was too erratic to effectively catch.

Shred skated in, his claws scratching the road. The Stone face with a loose arm let out an angry yell, stomping to the feline. It slammed its weapon down on him, deflected by the swipe of his tail and impaled in its normal eye. Shred's nails dug in deep and he pulled, its drill and tongues trying to knock him off but he was too persistent, biting into the ball, tearing it out. Throwing the organ away, he jumped in, ripping up the inside, clawing out its flesh and bones, carving through. The angel cried and wailed in agony, desperate to get him out, its drill arm unable to reach, and its tongue too weak, some getting cut off. The green eye faded in color and it stopped for a moment before moving again, this time less desperate and less cohesively, trying to move its other arm. It stiffened up, the back breaking up and popping with Shred exiting out. The body fell back and the Exterminator glared at the other boss.

The other boss had fear across its face, stepping back, wanting to run. On the spot, he started a spin dash, razing into the ground, revving like a wheel in a high speed race. That made it even more scared, looking like it was panning. Revved up enough, Shred zoomed in, closing the distance in a near instant. Before he hit it, it went limp for a second, its eye dimming before waking. "WOLO-LOOO!" It did a battle cry that soon turned to one of pain, getting fed Shred. It convulsed, its inside being ripped apart, collapsing forwards, its tongues falling out with massive amounts of blood. Falling and going lifeless, Shred tore out from behind. Both bosses were dead, effectively and savagely killed by him, but he wasn't done.

"Raaagh!" With a wild animalistic yell, he wildly slashed at the corpse, ripping out chunks of its body in a frenzy.

Stolas and Jack watched Shred disquietly.

"Blitzo you can pick up Dundy?" Jack asked, "Shreds going crazy and still got two minutes left!"

"Not close enough, and driving for our lives!" Blitzo exclaimed.

Stolas chimed in, "I could try to contain him!"

"Not worth the risk!" Jack said.

"If he sees anyone hiding they'll be screwed! Right now he's occupied but-"

Moxxie cut in, taking his sniper. "Send me out!"

"What!?"

"Angels aren't around and I can try and tranq him!"

"I-" Stolas wanted to argue but when he heard a car explode by Shred, he decided against it, "Ok but I'm going with you!"

Opening a gate nearby, Stolas and Moxxie jumped through. The imp wasted no time, aiming his gun, loaded with darts. Shred was tearing into everything around him, roaring like a monster. Moxxie was disturbed but focused, aiming.

"You got a shot?" Stolas asked nervously.

"Hm…." He kept his eyes locked on, not answering. Shred was moving so much that it was hard to get lined up. He got a chance when he went to the pulled eye. Firing, the tranq dart went right to its mark, almost hitting it, almost. Instead it hit right his Armatized chin, bouncing off. Shred glared right at them, starting up a roll.

"Time to go!" Stolas grabbed Moxxie, quickly opening his gateway, before he came up.

Before Shred could roll up the wall, the hand of Juggernaut crashed into him.

"Hold it!" Shelly yelled, holding Juggernaut onto him.

"Shell!" Jack called out in glee.

"How long?"

"About a minute!"

"Ouch!" Cuts adorned her hand, Shred was attacking the hand that held him, forcing her to let go. "Ugh, this is gonna be fun."

Autumn's spear stabbed into the ground before the lion. He had her activate her slow field once its mouth opened and shot into it. The charged shot did damage but didnt finish, which is why Autumn's spear pulled back and went down its throat before the field went away. Managing to kill it, he was going to meet up with Dundy but the honk of a horn caught his attention.

The truck came swerving from the side. "We brought friends!" Millie yelled.

Groaning, Echo cocked his gun, grabbing onto the truck as it passed.

Shivarna ran with Poch on his back. They had a plan, skidding to a stop, Shivarna reassuring: "Ready?"

"Ready!" He got his spear, prepping to throw it at the Dyna. On cue, an edge was made and closed in while the angel dived, "Perfect!" He threw his spear, whizzing right past its face. He warped right to it once the boss got closer, Shivarna taking hold and throwing right at the back of the bird. Another warp and Poch locked it onto his brace, kicking right behind the head. It didn't have a chance to fly up from the sharpened wall so the force of the kick knocked its face into the edge. The edge gashed into its face, pushing the back of its head into the spear, digging the tip right in. The wall quickly retracted but it was too late, the Dyna fell, twitching before dying.

"Booyah!" Shivarna cheered. It didn't last, as after they landed, all the walls swiftly closed in on him, "Uh oh."

Poch got Rex's sword, "Wings!" He clipped it on, activating the saw and kneeling down. Holding his Chaos Spear.

"Klarna!" Shivarna separated himself and Klarna directed Shiva onto his user, forming the wings, dismissing afterwards.

Chaos energy gathered at the spears end and Poch spread his wings, launching up. The top tried to pull out his reach but he proved to be faster, thrusting his weapon and busting through. He let go, letting it fly up, pulling his leg back and doing a spin, the sawblades stretching out and slicing through the orbitars. They dropped, dissipating the shields, crashing onto the ground. "I'm out!" His spear fell and turned into daggers, caught by their owner and sheathed.

"Great, can you help us out!" Solis loudly asked.

"What about Shred?"

"Shelly's keeping him occupied, so youre good!" Jack answered.

"Alright," He took Rex's sword and flew to where the truck was.

Shelly was using Le-Armes in Close-Range mode, staying away from Shred who was chasing him, only shooting when he spin-dashed, to try and slow him down, the uzi's not doing much.

"Thirty seconds!" Loona said.

"Should I try again to tranquilize?" Moxxie asked.

"It's fine, I got it!" She said, skating up the wall with Shred on her tail. She leaped off and swiftly wrote for Dome don. "Dome don!" Right when the cat lunged, he was encapsulated by multiple platings in the shape of an octagon. She held onto it tight, holding him up, struggling to contain him as he thrashed about inside. She had fifteen seconds. The shield was breaking, panels ajaring and bending out. Motioning them around, she attempted to hold them in place the best she could. Ten seconds left. She shook him around, hoping it would disorient him but it only seemed to agitate him, the sound of his claws and spines razing from the inside. Seven seconds. Shelly was sweating, arms trembling to keep the barrier enclosed, but she had reached her limit. He broke through, forcing the Shadow Demon to dismiss, falling onto the ground, glaring right at Shelly.

His wheels revved.

Four.

He charged forward, claws extending out towards her.

three.

Shelly grabbed her guns, arms a bit sore and not able to summon Le-armes quickly enough.

Two.

She aimed, hoping she'd be able to hit his legs before he got closer but then.

"No!" His arm was grabbed by his other yanking his trajectory to the side.

One.

Steam sprayed out of Ripper, dismissing, fading off Shred, who toppled over, bouncing on the ground.

"Shred!" Shelly called out, running up to him.

"Errg!" He groaned and cringed, eyes weakly opening partially.

Carefully, she lifted him up, "You ok?"

Shred's ears were ringing and his body was burning, aches and pains adorning his body, "Ugh…everything…hurts…" Softly, he looked up at her, "Did I…Was anyone-?"

"Everyones fine, cmon, let's get you in before their back up comes," She hooked him around her shoulder and lifted him up, leading him inside the base.

"Thanks…" He glanced over and noticed blood and cuts on her hand, shrinking at it with his face twisting in disgust and shame, "Shit."

One, Two, Toket, Alto, and James, observed the Cleansing from the operations room.

One snapped his finger, "Damn, was hoping that double boss play would at least break shit up."

Toket patted his back, "It was a good plan," He did the same for Two, "Both of you."

"Yeah, well we used up a bunch of resources," Two stated, "Next few Cleansings are gonna be easy mode for them."

"It's fine. We got our main goal completed didn't we?" He smirked, "Alto, can you-?"

Alto wasn't paying much attention, watching Poch intensely, "How interesting. He's got some new weapons now."

With a sigh, Toket turned to James, "James, can YOU establish contact?"

James nodded and typed a few buttons on the console, "Lea? Can you hear us?"

There was some static but someone spoke: "Thy is here."

"Good. Remember, cont-"

"Contact can only be made clearly during thine Cleansing. Other times thou must be careful as establishing a connection can send out a signal that while small, is highly noticeable, including to thine demons who shall lose connectiority."

"Connectivity and yes. Use it sparingly and don't forget about your Knife."

"Thou is a worry wart."

"Ain't he?" Two joked.

James let out a grumble, "Just do your best."

"Aye." The woman on the other side said, "Lea, leaving."

"Out, not leaving."

"Oh. Well anyways," She cut the connection.

"Alright then," Toket leaned back, "let us see…what we can learn and how we can water our social seeds," He smirked mischievously.

End.

Next chapter: Connections.