Chapter 10: Fear the Reaper

Hans let a shiver run through his body as he pulled his jacket tighter around him. Night had descended on the defensive line watching the northern edge of Roman territory and the temperature had dived along with the sun. He wasn't sure if it was below freezing, but it sure as hell felt like it was.

"Fuck it's cold, don't understand why they won't let us have a fire going," Hans grumbled as he slid a bit closer to his buddy, Arnold. Arnold opened one of his eyes and sighed as he tried to get more comfortable in their little foxhole.

"Probably cause they don't want to give away our position," he answered before yawning. If the cold bothered him, he didn't show it. Hans scoffed at that reasoning.

"Give it away? Come on, they know where we are just by looking at that," Hans said, thrusting his thumb back toward the massive Romulus turret sitting behind them. The huge gun sat on a large metal slab with a concrete command center built next to it. Lights could be seen coming from the few windows as the gun's crew got to enjoy the warm inside. Lucky bastards... A few large flood lights were set up around the perimeter, but were all turned off at the moment.

"Maybe they just like us being cold and sad," Arnold said before he rolled over to face away from Hans. Hans rolled his eyes, but took the hint. At least Arnold was sleeping. After what happened in that failed assault... well...

Hans sighed inwardly as he looked over that cursed no-man's land. The moon was only a small sliver of light this time of month and Hans could barely see the vague outlines of things in the no man’s land. The dead catmonsters and fairies remained where they had fallen, their stench not quite reaching them, along with the bombards too damaged to be brought back. Thankfully, dark as it was, there was still no way even a fairy could take them off-guard, it wasn't dark enough for something THAT big not to be noticed.

Shivering again from the cold, Hans decided he needed something to get his mind of the chill. He glanced over to Arnold but found him fast asleep. Not wanting to wake his buddy, Hans glanced over to the hole beside theirs. He, quietly, picked himself up and crept over to the other group's fox hole.

"Hey Jack, Dan you gu-" Hans froze as he spotted his two comrades, but something was very very wrong. Both were staring wide eyed at the sky and a trail of blood was pouring down from their slit throats. Oh God... OH GO-

Hans' thought came to a sudden halt as a stab of pain erupted from his throat. He raised his hand and felt sharp metal where his throat should have been. It pulled away as breathing became a struggle and his scream turned into nothing but a bloody gurgle.

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Samantha groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose. If she had known homework would be part of William's training she would have refused on the spot. But she hadn’t and now she was in WAY too deep to back out. Even if she asked, William, and more importantly Darius, would never allow it. So here she was, working late trying to write up a battle plan to deal with an impossible situation. One she knew Darius would rip to shreds tomorrow...

"What are you writing?" Jessica asked as her hot breath blasted into the back of Samantha's head. It wasn't unwelcome, though, considering how cold it had gotten. Samantha turned, keeping her head down so as not to shine her headlamp right into her huge friend's eyes, and lifted the paper up a bit.

"Just some stuff that William needs. Reports and that sort of thing," Samantha said, unwilling to tell Jessica the truth. While it was obvious Jessica wasn't... herself right now, Samantha did know the Jessica she remembered was in there. And she feared that Jessica would NOT approve of Samantha training to takeover William's job. She had been very protective back before... well.., and Samantha doubted that had changed.

Jessica squinted as she tried to read the paper, but gave up after a second. Instead, she let out a long yawn and nuzzled a bit closer to Samantha. Samantha scooted back to enjoy her warm cheek and tried to go back to her writing. But feeling that different, yet familiar, warmth... the nostalgic smell, the feeling of protection and safety... Old memories rose like bubbles from a soft drink and Samantha had to fight not to lose herself in them.

"Do... do you remember when we first meet the Phoenixes?” Samantha asked with a slight smile. She glanced up, but Jessica was looked away from her and off into the distance. Despite that, Samantha pressed on.

“The moment you noticed them, you jumped between us, that pointy stick you called a spear in hand... You didn't even hesitate, didn't even think of keeping yourself safe, just..." Samantha trailed off as she found herself back in those woods. Dirty, hungry, scared out of her mind... and staring at that unbending back of Jessica as she faced down five people all armed with guns... Samantha had looked up to Jessica before then, learned to trust her like an adopted older sister. But that was the day she realized what she wanted to be, realized she wanted to grab her own stick and stand beside Jessica, realize-

Suddenly, Samantha's world become far smaller as Jessica's hand cupped itself around her. Samantha gasped in surprise and started to stand, but Jessica's thumb pushed her back down. She was about to ask what was going on, but stopped as she noticed the way Jessica's ears were twitching. It... it couldn't be... but if she was hearing something...

Samantha tossed her notepad away as she turned off her headlamp. Pulling out her handgun, she started to inch around Jessica's hand and peeked out into the darkness. Sadly, her eyes hadn't adjusted to the near pitch blackness and she couldn't make anything out save the soft glow coming from the base. Yet something had to be out there,Jessica wouldn't have reacted like this otherwise... Had a Roman snuck in, trying to get a closer look at the outsiders? Or were the traitors getting desperate now that Malcolm was closing in on them?

A ear splitting hiss was all the answer Samantha got as Jessica leaped forward. She crashed down a few feet from the base causing the entire area to shake and nearly knocking Samantha to the ground. Her hand swiped down along the ground and looked to snatch something up as her other hand backhanded something. Samantha squinted as she sprinted after Jessica and could see what looked to be a human figure in her hand. Her surprise turned to horror as Jessica smashed the figure into the ground with more than enough force to kill. OH GOD!!

"JESS-" Samantha started to say, but stopped as she spotted more figures moving through the treeline. Now that they were closer she could tell they were all rather large, not Derek large but definitely close, and had swords and other archaic weapons in hand. And there was only one group who would be using weapons like that.

"How th- WE'RE UNDER ATTACK! PHOENIXES, TO ARMS, THE SOCIETY IS HERE!" Samantha yelled as the lights inside the base began to turn on. Yells of alarm, running boots, and the loading of weapons came drifting out of the base as Samantha opened fire at the figures. She ducked behind a tree just in time to avoid an arrow that zipped inches from her head. To her horror, the arrow buried itself a good three inches into the tree behind her. Good God...

She peaked out as gunfire from the base began to start up and watched as floodlights illuminated the forest. Samantha's eyes went wide as she got a good look at their attackers, and she realized why that arrow had gone so deep. She needed to get to a radio, NOW.

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Hans forced his arm forward again as he dragged himself still closer. His body was crying in agony, screaming for oxygen he could no longer provide, yelling in terror as fluids continued to seep into his lungs, and struggling to answer his demands to stay alive a few seconds more.

His other arm moved forward now as he inched a bit closer. He wanted to breath, to gasp and fill his lungs with air... but he knew that would be his death. He wouldn't suck in air, he would suck in  his own blood. He would drown and die if he breathed, but his natural instincts screamed and bellowed for him to breath. He fought the instinct down, pushed it aside as his will demanded he keep going.

His arm moved forward again, but it was so much harder... His senses seemed to have become sharper now that he sat on the edge. He could hear the killers moving through his comrades positions, hear their talks come to a sudden end, see the shadows moving from foxhold to foxhole. No one else would notice, no one else had super-human senses brought on by a dying body, but they would hear this...

Hans grunted as he forced his body up. He extended his arm as far as he could and tried to reach it. He missed... No, no he would not fail! He would not let them win! Would not let them get away with this! With one last surge of energy, Hans pushed forward and gripped his objective.

Hans wormed his fingers, his cold, numbing fingers into the firing slit as his vision began to blur. He fought off the rushing oblivion for a second longer as he pulled the weapon down and squeezed the trigger.

With the most satisfying whoosh to ever grace Hans' ears, his typhoon fired. The creeping silence ceased immediately as cries of confusion and surprise began to echo out in the darkness. Hans flopped to the ground, his energy spent as lights began to sweep through the area. Shouts of alarm and surprise started before gunfire erupted behind him. Hans smiled as more and more gunfire began to echo out.

Hans, finally, took in his last breath. He didn't struggle as he felt his lungs fill, didn't resist as darkness began to fill his vision. He just gave one last prayer that he had saved a few of his friends... and that the hero wo-...

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The captured fairy was still huffy as she chewed the food Sanders had given her. His unrelenting attempts to earn her trust looked to be paying off as she, finally, stop glaring and just ate. For her part, Gabby was staying out of the way and letting him handle this. Now that he knew this fairy had information on Flonne, Gabby knew Sanders was NOT going to rest till he got what he wanted. Best just to let him handle it.

"I know this isn't quite as good as what the Society has, but it's the best we can do," Sanders said as he pushed another large pile of assorted fruits and vegetables over. The fairy stopped eating and gave Sanders a puzzled look. She was silent for a second as her eyes narrowed as if in thought.

"H...How do you know what the Society eats?" the fairy asked as Sanders finished pushing the pile over. He looked up at her before looking down with a sigh.

"Because I was with the Society once. A Ranger who worked... worked with Flonne," Sanders said as he sat down and grabbed an apple from the pile. The fairy's eyes widened and she blinked a few times. But they snapped back into a glare as she bent a little closer to him.

"Liar. Flonne doesn't work with the Rangers. And you were never part of them," the fairy said with an accusing scowl. She huffed and turned away as her fussy scowl reappeared. Sanders, though, just reached into his armor, what little of it was still left anyway, and pulled something out of it.

"I can prove it. Look," Sanders said as he took out a folded up piece of paper. He opened it to reveal a photo and Gabby got a chance to see it before he turned it to face the fairy. Gabby felt a stab of pain, regret,... and rage come over her as she recognized it. Isabella had been so happy after getting that picture. So happy, in fact, she had gone out into the suburbs to find the perfect frame for it... The joy and embarrassment when Gabby had caught her trying to sneak back... It was a good thing Sanders had already ripped Aviel out of that picture, or Gabby might have ripped it apart just to get at her image. That murderous, traitorous...

The fairy glanced at the picture, a dismissive look on her face. However, the dismissiveness faded as she slowly turned toward it. She leaned down and her eyes widened as she looked between it and Sanders.

"See? I was part of the Society. Gabby was too. But we learned the truth about them, about what they REALLY stand for. They are not the good guys, far from it. They're evil, corrupt, and don't care who they have to hurt to get their way," Sanders said as his face twisted into a slight glare. The fairy looked at him in confusion as her mouth drooped open.

"That's why I need your help to find Flonne. She is too sweet and kind and... innocent to let them keep using her. I need to-" Sanders started to say, but didn't get any further before the fairy's confused look turned to anger.

"Sweet? KIND?! You ARE lying, you...you... TRAITOR! Flonne is none of those things! She is cruel, mean, and...and... evil! Always picked on us, beating us up, mocking us... You're trying to get me to turn on the Society, you...bad man! GET AWAY FROM ME!" the fairy yelled before trying to lash out at Sanders. Tied up as she was, though, all she could really do was jerk herself at him. But being so much larger, even that was dangerous. Sanders leap to his feet and retreated back as Gabby rushed forward to help.

"Evil? Pickin- no, NO! You have the wrong Flonne! She wou-" Sanders tried to say, but was forced to stop as the fairy lunged forward and started to fall toward him. Gabby swore and pulled him away just in time to avoid being crushed. She pulled him away as he keep trying to plead with the fairy, but it had no intention of listening anymore. Gabby was going to pull him out of the room, but stopped as she noticed a figure at the door frame. And then an arrow slammed into the fairy’s shoulder.

The yelling and curses stopped as all three of them stared at the sudden appearance of the arrow. For two heartbeats no one seemed to move, but the silence was broken as the fairy began to twitch and gasp. Her eyes rolled back into her head as her twitching turned to convulsions and drool began to leak out of her mouth. Realizing the fairy was as good as dead, Gabby turned to the massive door and barely caught sight of the figure fleeing around its frame. THE TRAITOR!

"STAY HERE!" Gabby told Sanders as he started to scream in frustration and took off for the door. She rushed around the frame and spotted the traitor dashing toward the parked jeep they had used to get her. FUCK, Roman cars didn't use keys! All the traitor had to do was flip the switch and he would be long gone. Gabby pumped her legs as hard as she could before drawing her pistol.

The figure leaped into the jeep and it whined to life as Gabby emptied her clip. Most of the bullets either pinged off the jeep or missed completely, but two hit their target. Despite the wounds, the figure managed to get the jeep rolling and it began to rumble its way toward the parking lot's exit. Gabby was not about to just give up, though.

Reloading her pistol, Gabby headed for the exit herself. Unlike the jeep, she didn't have to avoid the huge concrete parking blocks or the various potholes scattered through the area. She sprinted as fast as she could through the area, making a beeline for the exit, while the jeep had to take a criss-crossing path. The parking lot wouldn't have been that big back when she was still her actual size, but at pipsqueak size it was massive and reaching its end first was pushing her to her limit. But Gabby ignored her lungs and legs complaints as she pushed on.

Gabby half stumbled her way to her destination, out of breath from her marathon run. She had only a few seconds to recover as the jeep came screeching around another pothole. It began to whine even louder as the figure gunned it, intent on running Gabby down. Gabby pulled herself up and raised her pistol, but didn't unload. She waited as it got closer, and closer, and closer...

At only a few yards distance, she opened fire, pumping the trigger as fast as she could. The window of the jeep shattered as the bullets punched through, but the jeep keep on coming. Gabby, pistol now empty, dived to the side and barely managed to avoid being crushed by the plastic vehicle. She slammed her fist down onto the pavement as she turned to see the jeep zooming away. But her spirits rose as the jeep began to veer off course and came to a sudden stop as it slammed into a tree that had grown through the pavement.

Gabby pushed herself off the ground and loaded her last clip into her pistol. She ran toward the crashed jeep till she was within a few feet from it. Slowing to approach cautiously, Gabby keep her pistol ready as she inched the last few feet toward the jeep. She charged forward for the last foot or so and pointed the gun into the cabin. What greeted her sent her eyes bulging.

A man was in the jeep, but the man wasn't... wasn't all flesh. Parts of his face looked to have been replaced with machinery and one of his eyes whirled as it turned to look at her with a red glow. Gabby gulped a bit, but pushed her shock away as she keep the gun leveled on him.

"Out, now!" she demanded as the man, bleeding badly from his wounds, simply stared at her. His eyes seemed to lock onto her for a second before drifting away to look at nothing in particular.

"Understood. For the advancement of the Society," the strange man said with a voice far too calm to be natural. What w- Oh crap! Before Gabby could stop him, the man began to convulse and sparks began to fly out from his mechanical parts. Gabby ducked back as a massive blast of light erupted from the man and a sickening smell began to drift out. She turned back to see the man's skin turned a charred black. His natural eye lulled to the side while his fake one still sparked every so often. Gabby was no doctor or mechanic, but she was very sure he was beyond dead.

"Fuck," Gabby said as she opened the door and got a look at the rest of him. He was, definitely, wearing Society gear, though it was just toughened leather and not much else. His arms and legs had a few mechanical parts showing through as well, but he was definitely bleeding blood from the gunshot wounds he had taken. But one of those wounds had been right in the heart... how had he survived that at all? Was this some kind of cyborg? Fuck, when did the Society get THOSE?!

Gabby didn't have anytime to wonder about that as a blaring alarm began to sound from Rome. Shit, sounded like they were not the only ones who had gotten hit. And considering they knew where the fairy and Sanders were... Grabbing the cyborg thing, Gabby tossed him out and climbed into the jeep. The impact, thankfully, hadn't damaged the jeep to the point of not working and Gabby got it zooming back toward the restaurant. She didn't have to go far before spotting Sanders heading her way.

"Come on, get in," Gabby said, but Sanders shook his head.

"I've already called Pyrrha, she will be here soon. The Society is hitting the defenses along with the city so we need to get their ASAP. You, though, need to get to city hall. If they knew where the fairy was, then they have to know Darius, Terence and the rest are all there. They are going to need you," Sanders said, as he turned the volume down on the radio he had. Even with it turned down, Gabby could hear the confusion, panic, and general chaos going over it. Gabby really didn't like leaving Sanders here, but she could already see a huge figure heading their direction. And, while it did wound her pride a bit, she did have to admit Pyrrha could keep him safe a LOT better than she could.

"Alright, don't get yourself killed or I'm coming down to hell to kick your ass," Gabby said before whirling the jeep around and racing off toward the city.

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Terence sighed as he looked at the map laid out before him. Planning a successful defense while knowing the enemy would know your positions and numbers was proving a near impossible task. Even with Darius, Dixie, Gerald, Victor, and himself all looking at the problem, there just didn't seem to be a good way to make this work. Simply put, they didn't have the numbers of both soldiers and guns to make their positions strong across the front. And having any weak points was just begging for the Society to smash full force into it. But they had to make such a task possible, at least till Malcolm could hunt down the traitors.

The group had been at it for hours and Terence could see, and feel in his case, tiredness taking its toll. They did need this plan ASAP, but they had hit a brick wall and showed no signs of getting past it. Perhaps calling the meeting and letting everyone have a night to rest on it would be the best optio-

Suddenly, the door flew open as one of the guards came rushing in, causing more than a few of them to jump. Terence turned to glare at the man, but stopped as he noticed the look on his face.

"Sir, the ci-" was as far as he got before the city's alarm began to blare to life. Shouts of alarm and confusion began to echo into the room and were soon followed by gunfire. Gunfire that began to die off far too quickly.

"Get in and close that door!" Terence ordered as he drew his sidearm and stood. The rest of the group did the same as the guard slammed the door shut and pulled back from it. The gunfire outside continued, but was lessening sharply as screams of pain and agony started to drift in as well.

"Fucking hell, how did they break through so fast?" Gerald asked as he pulled out a strange tube from his back.

"They didn't," Darius said simply, as if that explained everything. Terence was going to ask him to elaborate, but didn't get the chance as the remaining guard outside opened fire. The gunfire continued for a second before a sudden crash silenced it. A large, bloody, arrow punched through the wall of the room at about head level and only stopped after getting nearly halfway through. Dear God, the strength needed for such a thing...

"Stay away from the walls, help me turn this over," Victor said as he moved away from the corner they had taken cover in and toward the table. Dixie, Gerald and the guard, Bill, tipped the large table over, sending the map, paper, and other crap flying, and pointed it toward the door. The rest of their little squad joined them in cover behind the table.

The sounds outside had died away to nothing more than a few bursts of gunfire here and there. All the screams and yells were gone and a horrifying silence took their place. The battle outside was over, and it was obvious who had won. Worse, their attackers had cut the power and the room was now nearly pitch black. City hall hadn't had many people guarding it, why would it need it?, but it was still worrying just how quickly the veterans had fallen. And that arrow... What kind of new monster had the Society sent at them this time?

"Shit THE WINDOW!" Dixie yelled causing Terence to whirl just in time to see a human-sized figure come crashing through.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fshEON1kdRE

Dixie fired a quick shot, hitting the man in the leg. But it didn't seemed fazed in the least as it still rolled to a standing position. At the same time, the door burst open and another came charging in. This one wasn't so lucky and both Bill and Victor greeted it with a hail of gunfire. The thing convulsed from the gunfire before flopping to the ground, either dead or too wounded to move.

The figure that had gotten through rushed the group, sword in hand, as two more rushed into the room from either entrance. Gerald stood from his spot and leveled his tube before a gout of flame covered the first attacker. He laughed in near manic joy as the flames bathed the figure, but stopped as the full features of the thing came into view. It was a man... or had BEEN a man, but was now covered in mechanical bits and pieces. One of his eye had been removed and turned into a mechanical one while much of his arms and legs were now machine. But worse of all, the figure didn't slow at all or even seem to notice the flames. It rushed forward and sliced Gerald's head clean off his body with a simple slice.

"Jesus!" Victor said before turning his handgun on the still burning monster. He emptied his clip into it and the thing, finally, fell as sparks and the smell of burning metal wafted off him. Were...were these machines?!

Terence turned his own gun onto the second robot-thing from the window and aimed for the head. His shots, however, missed as it moved impossibly fast toward them. It raised a mace to strike at Darius, but was forced back as Bill unloaded on him. Tough as these things were, it seemed a full clip of rifle ammo was just too much and it flopped to the ground. But the one that had come from the door used the distraction to close as well.

It raised a spear up to stab Bill in the back, but was sent reeling back as a bullet punched through its skull. Darius' gun was still smoking as the thing fell to the ground, dead. With the second wave dead, the room turned eerily silent. Everyone, quickly, reloaded as the lull gave them time to process what had just happened.

"What the hell are these things?" Dixie asked as she shifted between looking at the broken door and the broken window.

"Something new, aim for the head…. Should have expected some new tricks when we started to push them..." Darius said, half to them and half to himself. It was hard to tell if he was saddened by Gerald’s death, but Terence could guess that he was. Losing a captain was never easy... even if it was for their own stupidity.

"Not your fault about Gerald, Darius. No way anyone could foresee them throwing something like... whatever these things are at us," Terence said as he shifted his position a bit. Darius looked about to answer, but Victor beat him to it.

"Shh... I hear something..." he said as everyone went silent. Terence concentrated on trying to hear, but couldn't hear anything beyond the distant sounds of gunfire and the still burning body of the machine.

Suddenly, a massive crash came from above them and the group was forced to dive away to avoid the roof crashing into them. Bill wasn't quite as quick and cried out as his leg was pinned under a bit of rubble. Out of the wave of dust and debris kicked up, Terence could see at least three more red dots staring out at them.

Terence whirled to fire, but the robots moved with superhuman speed. One rushed straight for him, axe in hand, another went for Darius and Dixie while a third began to pull back an arrow. Terence tried to get his gun on target, but the machine batted his arm away with ease. Pain raced through his arm as the thing's immense strength hit nearly broke it just from that and it was a struggle just to keep a grip on his pistol. The robot brought its axe around and Terence barely managed to duck under a slice aimed for his neck.

Stumbling back, Terence ran headlong into the wall as the machine continued its assault. It started to unleash a backswing, but was stopped as Victor slammed into it. Victor's bullrush barely even budged the thing, but he did manage to get a point blank shot to the gut off on it. The machine didn't seem fazed by the wound, however, and backhanded him away with enough force to send Victor flying and crashing through the table. It was enough of a distraction, though, for Terence to move his gun to his other hand. The machine turned back just in time for Terence to put a bullet into its head. Blood splattered out from the wound and the thing collapsed backwards into a heap. Apparently they weren't completely robotic...

With his own attacker dead, Terence turned to see the rest of the fight. Dixie was standing between Darius and the advancing...  it still sounded crazy but what else could they be?, cyborg. Her shots, though, were either just bouncing off or were dodged by the things super-human reflexes. Fear gripped Terence as it got within striking distance and grabbed her by the throat.

"DIXIE!" he yelled and started to rush forward, only to have Dixie come flying right at him. Terence tried to stop, but it was too late and the two collapsed to the ground in a tangled mess. With the two of them down, Victor either unconscious or badly hurt, and Bill killed by an arrow to the brain, no one stood between Darius and the cyborg. Terence tried to fight back to his feet as the second cyborg turned toward them and began to draw the bow back. Darius didn't even bother firing as he glared at the advancing cyborg. It raised its sword up to deliver the killing blow as Terence fought to get his gun arm free from Dixie. The sword reached its zenith as the bow pulled taut.

"RAHHH!!!" bellowed out from the door, causing everyone to whirl toward the door. A huge bear of a man came charging into the room and plowed into the cyborg with the sword like a linebacker. The cyborg's remaining human eye went wide as it was lifted off the ground and slammed down with enough force to shake the area. The other cyborg whirled to face the new threat, but a burst of rifle fire caused its shot to go wide and smash, harmlessly, into the wall.

"Get out of here, Commander!" the huge man yelled at Darius as he fought to keep the cyborg pinned. Despite his huge size, Terence could tell it was a losing fight. To make matters worse, whoever had fired from outside had run dry of ammo and the dreaded click of empty was coming from the door.

"Fuck it, come on you fucker!" Gabby yelled as she rushed the remaining cyborg, wielding the rifle like a club. The cyborg ducked under her swing and started to swing its bow at Gabby’s ribs. It didn't get the chance, however, as a gunshot caused it to stop mid swing and collapse. Terence looked down and saw Dixie, her gun raised, coughing as she tried to catch her breath. Gabby gave her a nod of thanks before moving to help the huge man.

Dixie rolled off Terence and he sat up to check on her. She waved him off as she rubbed her bruised neck and he turned to face the last threat. A yell of alarm came from the fight as the cyborg managed to get its legs under the man and they proved more than enough to force him off. The man rolled with the toss and got back to his feet as the cyborg, still on the ground, kicked Gabby's leg out from under her and leap back up at the same time.

It retreated a bit toward the window as the huge man, Darius, and Terence advanced toward it. Now that it was closer to the still burning cyborg, Terence could get a good look at it. It definitely looked to have once been a person, a person of hispanic descent considering his skin color and features. He was only wearing what looked to be a bit of padded leather or maybe just cloth, but the Society's emblem was proudly displayed on it. Unlike the others, only a few machine parts were showing on him and he looked far more... aware of what was happening. And yet, despite facing three armed enemies, it still looked very calm and confident. A slight smile was on its face as it studied them, its mechanical eye whirling a bit as it did. It twirled its sword around before lowering into a combat pose.

"Good timing as always, Derek, but it seems it still wants a fight," Darius said as he cocked his gun at the cyborg. Its natural eye narrowed at the mention of that name and it seemed less... sure than it had been before. Darius must have noticed as he, immediately, fired at the thing. It jinked to the side with super-human speed and looked about to rush them.

"Richardo?!" Gabby gasped out causing the cyborg to stop mid stride. Terence risked a glance back to confirm who had said it. Behind them, Gabby looked on with a stunned expression.

"Li...Little brother... oh God what did..." she stammered out in horror, causing Terence to widen his eyes. Little brother? Shit, so these WERE people... people the Society had, most likely, twisted and controlled with those machine parts. Dear God... shrinking everyone wasn't good enough, now they had to make them mindless machines too?!

"Hello, Gabriella. It hasn't been long enough, sister," the cyborg, Richardo, said with a very human-like scowl. Gabby gasped in horror as-

Suddenly, Darius fired at Richardo, but the cyborg managed to move enough to cause the bullet to plink off his, apparently strengthened, skin. The cyborg started to move forward, but stopped as Derek snatched up a sword from one of the fallen cyborgs. The paused was enough for Terence to fire, but again the cyborg dodged. Darius was about to fire and catch him mid-dodge, but his aim was thrown off as Gabby grabbed him.

"STOP! He's my brother!" she yelled as Darius swore at her. Derek couldn't help but turn to try and help and the cyborg smirked at the distraction. Terence opened up, to try and hold him off, but the cyborg didn't rush them. Instead it cartwheeled back and dived back out the window. Fuck, it was fleeing!

"Derek, go after him! Dammit, GET OFF ME!" Darius yelled as he tried to shove Gabby away, but to no effect. Derek nodded before taking off out the door, barely avoiding Gabby as she tried to stop him.

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Derek didn't waste a second as he charged out of the room. He looked over the battle area and managed to spot the cyborg fleeing deeper into the building. Stopping just long enough to grab a fallen Roman's rifle, Derek sprinted after him as fast as he could.

The cyborg, Richardo, smashed the tiny-sized door built into the larger door open and continued to flee. Derek raised the rifle a took a few pot shots at the fleeing monster, but was unsure if he hit. If he did, it didn't slow the mechanically-enhanced human.

Derek and Richardo ran into a massive hallway leading deeper into the old courthouse. This part of the building didn't look quite as well maintained as the forey, but still looked to get some maintenance. The long open ground gave Derek the perfect terrain and he fired a burst at the fleeing cyborg. Richardo tried to avoid the shots, but couldn't dodge it all. One smashed into his leg, causing him to stumble, but he rolled with it and keep moving.

Suddenly, a tiny door opened in front of the fleeing cyborg. Derek cursed as William and a young boy in Shadow clothing stepped out, looking very confused as to what was happening.

"WILLIAM GET INSIDE!" Derek yelled as he cursed his inability to fire. With William and the kid standing where they were, the risk of hitting them by accident was just too great. William and the kid turned around and both of their eyes widened as Richardo closed on them, sword ready.

Suddenly, William was sent tumbling back into the room, out of the way of the charging cyborg. The boy had shoved him out of the way rather than defending himself. Derek cursed as he tried to get a shot off, but too late. Richardo rushed past the boy, but not before bringing his sword back and slicing the boy's back apart.

"NO!!!!" Derek yelled as he unloaded at Richardo, the boy out of the line of fire now that he had fallen. The cyborg managed to dodge a few bullets, but couldn't dodge the hail Derek had sent. Blood and sparks began to fly out of him, but still he moved on, managing to slip around a corner and out of sight.

Derek rushed to the boy, but was waved away as William arrived first.

"Go get him, Derek. Take him alive!" William said before starting to rip bits off his clothing for makeshift bandages. Derek nodded and charged around the corner. Richardo was there, hobbling his way to a section of the building where the roof had caved in. Derek was tempted to blow his brain out here and now, but resisted it. There would be time for that later. Instead, he fired at the thing's legs and forced it to collapse to the ground.

"That's far enough. You are coming back with me," Derek said as he advanced toward the still crawling machine. Derek was about to fire again, this time into its back, when a sudden blast of wind sent him stumbling back. Derek squinted through the blaring wind and managed to see Richardo release something from his belt. A huge parachute came shooting out and, quickly, grabbed the wind.

"NO!" Derek yelled before firing nearly blindly at Richardo. His bullets, sadly, were far from on target and the cyborg shot up into the sky. Not long after, the figure of a fairy, though a very big one, came racing toward him and grabbed hold of him. The wind died down as Derek raised his rifle, but it clicked to empty as the two raced off into the distance. Derek slammed the rifle down in frustration before a scream of terror and anguish came from behind him.

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Malcolm sighed as he tried to ignore the screams coming from the cell. Kenneth had been at it for a hours now and Malcolm was beginning to wonder if anything would even be left. His focus on the transcripts of other interviews was dashed as the screaming died away. It wasn’t quick enough to be from a sudden death or loss of consciousness, but was definitely too quick to be just a change of tactic. Malcolm glanced back at the cell just in time to see Kenneth tap on the glass.

With a sigh of finally, Malcolm moved to the cell door and headed inside. The Colonel was...rough to say the least, but was still breathing. He shook his head as Kenneth moved closer so Malcolm waved him off.

"Ready to talk now?" Malcolm asked with a stern face. The Colonel gave a weak nod and Malcolm put on a pleased smile.

"Good. Then let's start with the basics. Who else are traitors?" Malcolm asked as he took out a notepad and a bit of charcoal. The Colonel shook his head before giving a very weak whimper.

"I...I don't know," he said before letting out a short sob. Malcolm's smile vanished as he began to turn back to Kenneth. The Colonel's eye went wide as Kenneth began to move forward and his breaths speed up dramatically.

"I don't know! I DON'T KNOW! They...they keep it all... all... separate or..." the Colonel said very quickly before pausing as his brain tried to work despite the fear racing through him. Malcolm turned back and narrowed his eyes.

"Compartmentalized?" Malcolm offered and the Colonel nodded vigorously.

"YES, YES! Tha-That! I...I only knew what they told me and they...they didn't tell me much," the Colonel admitted as he slumped in his chair. Malcolm could tell the man was telling the truth, and that it scared him to death. For good reason as if he had no useful intel...

"What about the transmission to Flechett. Do you know anything about that?" Malcolm asked as he started to think of where else to go if this turned to a dead end. The Colonel looked up and opened his mouth, but closed it as he shook his head. Malcolm's scowl returned as he motioned to Kenneth. Kenneth stomped forward and started to grab something on a nearby table, but stopped as the man spoke up.

"OK OK! It... it was from Waring’s-" was as far as he got before his voice was drowned out by an explosion. Malcolm whirled back to the door outside the cell and barely made out a figure in the smoke. Suddenly, an object came whizzing out of the smoke and struck something with a sickening crack. Blood was sent flying as an arrow smashed right into the Colonel's head, killing him instantly.

"SHIT!" Malcolm yelled as he dived to the ground and drew his pistol. Kenneth grabbed a shotgun he had on the table and fired it out into the other room. Another arrow came flying in, however, and slammed into his heart. It hit with enough force to drive him back and nearly pin him to the wall. He was dead before he even hit the ground. The other two Shadows, Chaney and Carl, ducked down with Malcolm and grabbed a rifle and a pistol.

"Fuck where is a grenade when you need one," Malcolm mumbled before firing a few blind shots and nodding to Carl. Carl rose out of cover and fired a spray of fire into the next room. The sounds of bullets hitting flesh came from the other side, but a blade flashed out and sent Carl's head rolling away. FUCK!

Malcolm barely had time to react before the enemy leap into the room, sword in hand. Chaney fired at the figure and winged him, but the bullet seemed to skid off his armor... even though he wasn't wearing armor... The "man" whirled and started to bring his weapon down, but Malcolm jumped up and grabbed his arm before firing a shot point blank into his chin. There was no time to celebrate as the archer turned his bow onto Malcolm. Malcolm swore and swung the, now dead, enemy around to be between him and the archer. His quick thinking saved his life, but not his back as the impact sent him reeling backwards. FUCK these guys were strong, and heavy!

The archer tried to reload, but was forced to withdrawal as Chaney grabbed Carl's rifle and opened fire. Malcolm, barely, managed to shove the dead guy off him and was shocked to see bits of metal built into him.

"Sir, I think these ar-"

"Cyborgs...of course they have cyborgs," Malcolm finished for her and she nodded. Malcolm grabbed Kenneth's shotgun and reloaded it as he hunkered down.

"What do we do now, sir?" Cheney asked as she shifted positions to make it harder for the archer to draw a quick bead on her. Malcolm looked out toward the door and, now that things had settled down, could hear gunfire and yells coming from outside. Seemed these Society cyborgs hadn't taken the entire building over, yet. And considering they had come here and not been used to punch right through their defenses, their couldn't be a shit ton of them. So...

"We hunker down and wait till reinforcements come. News of this attack will get out and-" Malcolm never finished that sentence as the entire world seemed to explode apart.

He wasn't sure how long he was out. But it had been long enough. Goddammit... he should have thought about... them having more explosives... He tried to roll over, but couldn't thanks to a mass of fallen rocks and cement pinning him down. Fuckers had blown the wall behind them and...

Malcolm's thoughts came to a stop as a figure moved towards him, gun in hand. An all too familiar one to boot. Fucking hell... of course, Malcolm should have known... This whole thing had been a set up...

But Malcolm wasn't completely beat yet. He still had... one last card... He smirked up at the fucking traitor... and whipped his pistol out.