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Chapter 6: The First Battle of Rome



Sanders stood at the edge of Pyrrha's head, watching as the last of the Phoenixes disembarked. Jimmy and his workers had finished whatever they had been doing and were the last to climb off. With everyone off Pyrrha, Darius gave Sanders a thumbs up to show they were good to go. Sanders nodded before moving back to the top of Pyrrha's head.

 

How long had it been since it was just him and Pyrrha? He had lost track of the date a long time ago, but it had to be nearly a month, maybe more. Back then they had been fleeing from the Society, but now... Sanders looked up at were the armored giantess was making slow progress across the bridge. Now, they were done running.

 

"Let's go, Pyrrha. We’ve got a city to save," Sanders said as he flicked the safety off on his machine gun.

 

"Yeah," Pyrrha answered as she started forward. After a few steps, though, she stopped and seemed to fiddle with something. Sanders was about to ask what she was doing, but his words were drowned out by an ear-splitting crash. He spin back to see what had caused the noise an-...something was off... Wait, the turret! It was gone!

 

"Ahhhhh~! That feels so much better," Pyrrha half-sighed half-moaned as she stretched her back out. As she did, Sanders spotted the missing turret laying on the ground next to her. Pyrrha had removed the platform, somehow, and audible cracks came from her back as she continued to stretch. Well... it was just dead weight considering nobody was on it, now.

 

"OK! Now I'm ready!" Pyrrha declared as she finished her stretches. Sanders held on as she leap forward and rushed toward the advancing armored giant, moving far faster than she had in a long time. As they neared the giantess, the guns behind them began to fall silent one by one. By the time they were about five yards from the monster, the bridge had gone eerily silent.

 

"Stop here," Sanders ordered bringing Pyrrha to a halt. She lowered herself down a bit and a low hiss escaped her lips. The armored giantess glared down at them, their identity hidden by the helmet she wore. Sanders risked a quick glance behind her and was both relieved and disappointed to see both Lutice and Aviel on the other side. Damn, he wouldn't be helping to put either down... then again he wouldn't be facing either as well...

 

Taking out a radio he had borrowed from Terence, Sanders switched it to the general frequency before bringing it up to his mouth. Despite his confidence in the meeting, Sanders knew this was going to be a near impossible battle. Buying a few extra minutes by goading the giantess into talking might be the difference between him saving Rome and it being overrun. And if there was one thing he had learned about these Society monsters it was that they LOVED to talk about their superiority.

 

"Society forces, this is Sanders Cutter of the Resistance. Turn back now and you will get to see tomorrow. Refuse, and we'll make your corpse into a new obstacle," Sanders said, using his anger and rage to push aside any fear he still had. Pyrrha added a loud hiss to his declaration once he had finished. The armored giantess was silent as she stared down at him and Pyrrha. Her body began to shift after a second and Sanders worried she might not take the bait. His fear was dispelled, though, as she threw back her head and a muffled, but still booming, laugh escaped her suit.

 

"HAHA, the little shit thinks he's a threat. Typical of tiny fools, believing they can challenge their betters," the giantess said as she chuckled some more. She sounded familiar, but Sanders couldn't quite place from where. Didn’t matter, she was going down either way.

 

"Typical of over-stuffed bitches, thinking they are immortal till their begging for their life," Sanders fired back. The giantess' laughter stopped as her eyes narrowed. She took a few steps toward Pyrrha before crossing her arms.

 

"Starting to see why Lutice and Aviel are so keen to get you under their feet. Hehe, but they got the short straws on this mission and I'm gonna be the one to make sure you BEG for death. That's right, I'm going to make sure both Gabriella and Isabella regret breaking my jaw by sending you to them as a broken mess. And once I’m done toying with you, I’ll crack this bridge open, and rub the fact I got to kill you in Lutice and Aviel's faces," the giantess said as she put her hand on her hip and glared down at him. Sanders felt his rage bubble up as he listened to her words. This monster didn't give a damn about all the people she was dooming, hell she didn't even THINK of them! No, all she was interested in was mocking Aviel and Lutice for getting to be the one to kill him AND getting revenge! The hundreds of dead people were a fucking afterthought.. no not even that, they were NOTHING. The sheer uncaring, unfeeling, un...unHUMAN cruelty… But what did he expect from a Society member...

 

With his anger boiling his insides, Sanders shifted slightly and got a good grip on Pyrrha. Fuck the plan and fuck trying to buy time, this devil was going to die. She and the rest of her murderous friends were NOT getting across the bridge, no matter the cost. Sanders turned off the radio before raising his machine gun.

 

"Pyrrha, let's send this demon back to hell," Sanders half-said half-growled. Pyrrha responded with a body-shaking roar that put a smile on Sanders' face. She leap forward and the two charged straight at the demon in human form.

 

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The Roman Colonel, Victor, lead Jimmy, Samantha, and a small group of Roman and Phoenixes soldiers/workers down to the bottom of the bridge. The Romans had built a, surprisingly solid, walkway onto the side of the bridge which lead down to the metal columns that supported it. Those very same columns were rigged to explode and should have been blown apart by now, weakened the bridge to the point of collapsing. But the large slabs of metal still sat where they had been placed, silent and unexploded thanks to a saboteur...or saboteurS.

 

Despite that, Jimmy had to admit he was kinda glad things had worked out this way. He hadn't liked having Pyrrha rigged to blow, doubly so when she started to show sentience, but had understood the necessity. If she or Sanders had turned on them the damage they could have done was... well pretty much total. Anyone would be very lucky to get away in that situation. But that situation hadn’t come to pass and, instead, the bombs were serving another purpose. Well at least their wiring was.

 

"Come on, the wires are up ahead. Keep weapons ready, people, if a traitor did cut the wires they might still be here. And might have called in backup," Victor ordered as he and the Romans moved up to lead the way. Since they had actual armor on, it made sense for them to take point, they might actually survive being shot. But traitorous weapons was the least of their worries. The guns were enough to keep fairies from reaching the shore, but down here there was no such protection. Hopefully, the Society had wasted all of the ones they had on hand trying to stop them from reaching the bridge, but if not... well Jimmy hoped the Romans were good shots with those rifles.

 

The group moved ahead, as a muffled, but booming, voice echoed down from the bridge. It was too muffled to understand, but everyone knew what it was. Sanders had meet the giantess, which meant the clock had officially begun. In response, Victor starting having his people move a bit quicker as they headed further along the walkway. Jimmy made sure to keep an eye on the wire as they moved, looking for the cut that had ruined the connection.

 

A few seconds of fast walking later, Jimmy spotted the first, and hopefully only, break in the wire.

 

"There, up ahead," he said as he pointed out the cut. Victor nodded and they all rushed to the area. He and his men spread out in a defensive perimeter as Jimmy handed the replacement wiring he was carrying to one of her workers, John. Taking out a few of his jury-rigged tools, he moved closer to the wire and was about to start repairing it when a sudden gunshot rang out. Jimmy, instinctively, dived down and swore as blood splattered onto him. He turned and felt a wave of fear and sadness hit as John flopped to the ground, his face nearly blasted apart. Goddammit!

 

"TAKE COVER!" Victor yelled as the his squad opened fire on a section of walkway higher up and further on. Jimmy managed to see a few figures darting around up there, returning fire as they fell back.

 

"Fucking traitors. You four are with me, the rest stay here and guard them while they fix the wire. Let's move!" Victor said as he and four of his comrades leap up and started after the traitors who had murdered John. He, silently, wished them luck before grabbed some of the wire near John's body and standing up to start the repairs. He would mourn his friend later, right now he had a job to do.

 

Someone without military training might have balked at the idea of fixing something when there was still the risk of incoming fire, but Jimmy was an Ex-military engineer. Fixing shit while people were shooting at you came with the job. Besides, it was kinda nice to be doing something that was more inline with his old life... Reminded him of better times...and got his mind off his dead friend.

 

Sounds of gunfire started up again as Victor and his squad arrived where the traitors had been. They, quickly, moved out of sight as the gun battle continued. Jimmy did his best to ignore it, though, as he cut some of the wire they had brought and began to rig it to the explosive line. It wasn't going to be a perfect fix, but it should be enough to get the charge through.

 

"There, that should do it. We should go after the Colonel, though. Those traitors have, probably, cut the wire somewhere further down the line now that they know we are fixing it," Jimmy said as he stowed his tools back into his toolbelt. The Romans nodded in agreement, rather enthused agreement in fact, and took point as they started after the Colonel. Gunfire was still ringing out as the battle raged on.

 

As they made it up to where the traitors were, everyone couldn't help but be shocked by the sight. They had assumed there were one, maybe two traitors trying to stop them. Instead, they came upon at least ten people all firing at where Victor and his two surviving people had hunkered down. The other two lay along the path leading to where Victor's squad was now pinned down. They hadn't gone alone, though, as at least three dead bodies were on the traitor's side as well.

 

"Shit, let's g-" one of the Romans said as they started to move forward to help their Colonel. Before they could, though, Samantha rushed out to block their way.

 

"NO! That is a killing field. If you go out there you will get cut to pieces!" Samantha said, extending her arms to make sure they couldn't just push past her. The soldiers looked less than happy to be stopped, but her words had gotten them to see what their rush to help had made them miss. The walkway leading to the metal column Victor and his two surviving comrades were using as cover was open ground with no cover at all. Worse, it was lower than the walkway the traitors were on. It was the kind of ground a defender had wet dreams of.

 

"We don't have a choice, we have to help the Colonel," one of the soldiers said before trying to push Samantha aside, she didn't back down and the two began to get into a heated arguement. Jimmy, though, was busy having noticed something on the nearby column. It was part of the C4 the Romans had set up to blow the bridge. Hmmm... a small bit wouldn't make it any less effective at blowing the column and with this extra wire...

 

"Cindy, help me with this," Jimmy said to his surviving worker. She nodded as they headed over to the C4 and cut a small piece of it off. They then took a long strand of the extra wire and wrapped it around the plastic before plunging the wire into it. With his little bomb made, Jimmy moved back to the Phoenixes, who were debating now who’s side they were on, the Romans or Samantha’s.

 

"Let me have that air rifle," he asked one of the soldiers before taking the gun. The soldier gave him an angry HEY, but Jimmy ignored him as he stuffed the C4 into the rifle. With it loaded, hopefully properly, Jimmy moved past Samantha and the Romans before aiming the rifle. He raised it up a bit before pulling the trigger. Just like he had hoped, the glob of C4 was shot out much like a grenade and arced right onto the walkway the traitors were on. A few noticed the sudden glob landing on their walkway, but only one seemed to realize what it was.

 

"C4! RU-" was all he got out before Jimmy took out the other end of the wire he had stuck into the C4 and connected it to a battery he keep on hand. The battery didn’t generate a huge amount of current, but it was just strong enough to trigger the explosives. And with a chest-hitting THUMP, the entire walkway the traitors had been on simply ceased to be. The only signs of its existence were some body parts and debris plummeted down to the water far, far below. Screams echoed up from the few traitors who had survived the blast, but quickly faded away as they fell to their death in the water far below. And as the screams faded, the area went almost nearly silent.

 

"I've missed worked with C4..." Jimmy said as he tossed the air rifle back to the shocked Phoenix. He moved out into what HAD been a killing field and headed for the surprised Victor. Victor blinked a few times before giving Jimmy a thankful smile.

 

"Thanks for the assist. Though it does leave us with another problem," Victor said as he looked to where the walkway ended. Specifically, to the cut piece of wire that was hanging down where a walkway HAD been. Crap...

 

"Shit, sorry. Forgot we might need that walkway to repair the wire," Jimmy said, suddenly feeling very stupid. Victor waved the apology off as the groups reunited.

 

"Rather deal with this problem then one that shoots back. Can you fix it from here?" Victor asked. Jimmy sighed as he shook his head. He was good... but not that good. He’d have to climb out there to do it, but that was...well dangerous didn’t even begin to describe it.

 

“Have to get to it to fix it… Not going to be easy, but I think I could do it,” Jimmy said as he let out a long sigh. Fuck...

 

"Let me go, I have a lower center of gravity and could stay on easier," someone, suddenly, said. Both Victor and Jimmy turned to see Samantha moving toward them. Aww hell no.

 

"No way, Samantha, it is way to-" Jimmy started to say, but Samantha interrupted him.

 

"We don't have a choice. Sanders and Jes- Pyrrha can't hold that giantess off forever and we can’t afford to lose you. So unless there is someone better suited to it than me, let me through," Samantha said with a challenging glare. Jimmy scrambled to try and think of someone else... but he was coming up blank. He cast a quick glance to Victor, but the Roman was looking at HIM expectantly. Fucking hell...

 

With a frustrated sigh, Jimmy moved aside to let Samantha start the climb over to the wire. Dammit, he was not looking forward to telling Jacob his lover plummeted to her death, doubly so now that he had the laser cannon... But Samantha was right, they didn't have the luxury of time. Considering the sounds coming from above them, the battle was in full swing.

 

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Pyrrha dodged to her left as the big bad lady's leg whizzed past her. Having avoided the kick, the lady's other leg was wide open for an attack. Pyrrha lunged forward and tried to claw into the armored leg. The thick padding of the lady's clothing, however, was simply too strong for Pyrrha to cut through and all she cut was bits of fabric. Worse, Sanders' loud stick was just as useless as its bullets simply bounced off. They hadn't hurt the lady at all!

 

"Is that all?" the lady said as her leg moved away from them. Pyrrha was confused for a secon- MOVE! She leap backwards, suddenly, as the lady came crashing down, nearly crushing her and Sanders beneath her. Pyrrha wasn't sure what had happened, but decided to retreat back a few feet. As she did, the bad lady, slowly, got back to her feet.

 

"Dammit, we didn't even dent that armor," Sanders said as his grip on Pyrrha's ear tightened a bit. Pyrrha couldn't help but droop a bit as she started to realize they were helpless. If she couldn't cut the bad lady's legs then she couldn't get at her throat... And...and even that was armored! Oh no... what were they going to do?

 

"Sanders...how are we going to hurt her?" Pyrrha asked, hoping her mate would come up with a plan. Before he could answer, though, the bad lady's advance stopped dead.

 

"What the...no way. Did that thing just talk?!" the bad lady said as she stared at Pyrrha. Pyrrha hissed at her in answer, she wasn't going to talk to a bad lady like her!

 

"Nice one, Pyrrha! Rush her, aim right for her leg! Don't claw it, though, just ram it!" Sanders ordered with a pleased tone. Pyrrha was glad she was proud of him...though was a bit confused with why. Whatever the reason, she did as he said and sprinted straight for the, still shocked, bad lady.

 

The baddie recovered before Pyrrha reached her, though, and lifted the leg Pyrrha was going for. Pyrrha changed targets mid charge and sprange left to charge the left leg instead. The lady tried to react in time, but was too slow thanks to her armor. Pyrrha rammed right into the ladies leg and she cursed as the blow knocked her off balance.

 

"That's it! Hit her again!" Sanders said and Pyrrha obeyed. The next hit was too much for the lady and she swore as her legs slipped out from under her. She crashed to the ground with a loud boom and Pyrrha backed away to avoid the dust and debris her landing kicked up.

 

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD! STOP WASTING MY TIME, YOU CAN'T HURT ME!" the lady yelled in fury as she tried to get back up. Pyrrha was not about to let that happen, though. She rushed in and tried to leap onto her chest, but a quick kick caught Pyrrha right in her stomach, sending her reeling back. She recovered quickly, but stopped as she worried about Sanders.

 

"Sanders?" she asked about to reach up to check on him.

 

"I'm fine! Get her!" Sanders said from her head and Pyrrha nodded before leaping forward again. Just as she was about to reach the bad lady, though, the lady took something out of a pouch she had. And the moment the smell of that stuff hit, Pyrrha seemed to plunge right into a fog of confusion and...and...ohhhh...

 

Suddenly, Pyrrha's legs felt so weak and....tired... She...hard to focus... Uhhhh, but her pussy...it was...on FIRE! Ohhhh she..she NEEDED something, ANYTHING! OH it felt so gooooooooood… And the SMELL, OHHHH THE SMELL!!!

 

Through the fog Pyrrha was dimly aware of someone saying her name. Who...who was- Oh, OH! It was Sanders! Mmmmm, she loved him...so kind...so sweet... her hero... He...he deserved a reward. Yeeessss, and her pussy needed it SOOO badly.

 

Pyrrha tried to reach up to grab Sanders, but moving was so hard for some reason. It was like...like she couldn't quite...why was he avoiding her? Why was he yelling? The giantess? What was that?

 

Dammit, SNAP OUT OF IT! She is coming toward us!

What? Who was that? Who was co- oh who cared, hehe. She had to get Sanders, had to shove him into herself...

 

Fine, if you won't fight, I WILL! I'm taking over!

Taking over? What wa- Pyrrha never finished her thought as she seemed to fall far...far away...

 

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Sanders tried to scramble back, but his leg was brought to a sudden halt. Shit, Pyrrha had gotten him!

 

"Pyrrha, stop! Snap out of it!" Sanders yelled as he was pulled past her ears. His cries were ignored as Pyrrha gave a lustfilled moan and pulled Sanders off her head. Dammit, of course the Society would have some way of countering catgirls and, OF COURSE, they would bring it with them! How could he have been so stupid not to see this coming?!

 

Now hanging upside down in the air, Sanders shot a quick glance back to see the bitch pick herself up while keeping her right hand steady. Inside the hand was a large clump of powder, probably some sort of catnip for catgirls. Whatever it was, it had completely taken over Pyrrha's mind and, if Sanders didn’t think of something, doomed them.

 

"Fight it, Pyrrha! Don't let them beat us!" Sanders yelled at Pyrrha, but her glossed over eyes didn't so much as twitch. She gave another groan of need as her other hand began to dig into her pussy. Fuck she was gone, completely and utterly.

 

But things only got worse as Pyrrha began to lower Sanders down... Down toward her pulsing vagina. Fuck, no, NO! He was going to be crushed by Pyrrha’s own need!

 

"PYRRHA! STOP!" Sanders yelled out, hoping to, somehow, break through the miasma that had taken over her mind. Her eyes, lazily, moved to him, but didn't show any hint of recognition. No...no… Had...had they lost?

 

Suddenly, Pyrrha's eyes seemed to snap back into focus. Sanders' despair was blasted away as they focused on him and a semblance of sanity appeared behind them. The hope was cut short, however, as her eyes fluttered a bit as if being hit with a fresh wave of pleasure. Still, Pyrrha stopped lowering him toward her pussy and began to lift him back up. Back up toward her mou- oh God...

 

"Pyrrha n-!" was as far as Sanders got before he was pushed into her massive lips. She gave him a sucking kiss before pulling him back long enough to gasp out a moan. Sanders tried to say something or brace himself, but didn't have time as he was shoved into the soft, warm, inviting lips again. Sanders didn't bother trying to fight her off, knowing it was hopeless, and instead focused on keeping his grip on his gun. He didn’t want to use it, but...

 

"San..ders," Pyrrha whispered through gasps. Sanders wanted to answer her, but Pyrrha's huge lips turned his cry into a muffled groan.

"Can't...fight...get rid...powder... Can...get you...on her...when...she...gets...closer... Get...rid of...it," Pyrrha continued, speaking between each kiss. Sanders was beyond stunned by her words and what she was suggesting. He knew she had gotten smarter, but this was a rather genius plan. Doubly so since the giant cunt was moving toward them, probably to gloat over them before killing them. Whatever had brought this sudden spark of genius, it was going to save their lives.

 

"Hehehe, how cute. Your little kitty really does love you, doesn't she, Sanders? I'm almost tempted to just leave the nip here and let her love you into a stained pulp... but then I wouldn't get the pleasure of killing you myself," the monster gloated from above them. Sanders did his best to get himself ready through the continued lip-based assault. They were only going to have one shot at this and if he failed... No, he was NOT going to fail. Too many people depended on his success!

 

The monster began to bend down, her free hand extended. Sanders wasn't sure who she was trying to grab, and would never know. Because the second her arm got within a few inches of Pyrrha, the catgirl sprang upward. Her sudden shift cause Sanders’ entire innerworkings to feel left behind and only the soft padding of Pyrrha's lips keep him from being hurt.

 

Pyrrha grabbed hold of the giantess' free arm and wrapped herself around it with both her arms and legs. She groaned and moaned as she started to grind on the beast's arm and used her lips to push Sanders onto the padding.

 

"Wha- OH MY GO-, GET OFF!!! EWWW!!!" the beast boomed out so loud that Sanders had to fight to keep himself standing. The giantess tried to move her arm, but Pyrrha was simply too big for the monster to make any quick shifts. And with her other arm unable to help without scattering the powder, she was left trapped and unable to do much of anything.

 

Sanders, though, was free to make sure she lost that powder. He cocked his machine gun before glaring up at the one place the beast was not covered in padding. Her visor.

 

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As the armored giantess began to get in trouble, two of the giantesses across the river began to move to help. A few quick warning shots from the turrets were enough to send both retreating. Terence frowned at them and dearily wished their turrets allowed for better accuracy. What he would give to be able to, reliably, hit them from here....

 

But that wasn't the case and trying to hit them at this distance would just be throwing ammo away. Ammo that was now very, VERY valuable. All he could do for Sanders and his catmonster was make sure the other Society members didn't interfere with the battle.

Come on Victor, don't let me and that brave idiot down...

 

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Samantha fought off another wave of fear and anxiety as she continued to make her way to the cut in the wire. Unlike the jury-rigged wiring the Phoenixes used, the Roman wire was the real deal, taken off some electronic and modified to work for what they needed. It was a good thing too, as it's thick, rubber insulation was perfect for keeping a grip on the wire. If it had been the kind the Phoenixes used, she would never have been able to climb along it... and be hanging thousands of feet above a raging river...

 

Pushing the doom just below her out of her mind, Samantha focused solely on the break ahead of her.  So far, the rubber-covered metal was holding as she continued to slide along on top of it. If it could just hold till she got to the break, she should be able to complete the circuit easily enough. Just... please no strong gusts of wind...

 

The weather took mercy on Samantha and stayed calm during her crawl over. She took a second to take a deep breath before releasing her arms from their death grip. She took out the tools Jimmy had given her and the spare wire as well. Ok... she could do this...

 

Pushing herself up into a seating position, Samantha studied the break in the wire. Thankfully, the cut was rather small and easy to fix, probably a result of Victor giving chase to the traitors. It shouldn't take her long to fi-

 

"FAIRY!" someone on the platform yelled. Samantha's thoughts grinded to a halt as a wave of panic slammed into her. She whirled her head around in various direction before spotting the unmistakable form of a fairy making for them. Oh God...

 

The huge fairy blasted past them, sending a rush of air crashing into them. Samantha was forced to grab the wire again to keep herself up while the others on the walkway stumbled a bit. She managed to get a good look at it as it zoomed by. At least it wasn’t that super huge one from before, though it was still more than big enough to kill them all.

 

"-en fire!" Victor yelled, part of his words cut off by the roaring wind. The sounds of gunfire erupted from behind Samantha, but the fairy raced away to avoid the shots. She turned back, once out of range, and starting to zoom toward them again. She was coming back!

 

"Hold your fire, wait till she closes!" Victor ordered as the fairy started racing back towards them. Samantha watched with held breath as the two played a strange game of chicken. As the fairy got close enough to see some of her features, Victor gave the order to fire. But the gunfire never reached the fairy as she thrust her hand out and sent a wave of air smashing into the walkway.

 

The sudden blast threw the soldiers' aim off and caused the walkway to begin to shake. The Romans, with their heavy gear, weathered the sudden onslaught without much trouble, but the lighter Phoenixes... Samantha cried out in alarm as three of their number were lifted off the walkway and tossed over the edge. Jimmy looked about to join them, but managed to hook himself to the walkway. The other survivors either followed his example or grabbed hold of the Romans. With the group now in disarray, the fairy blasted past again without a scratch, nearly blowing Samantha off the wire as she did.

 

Realizing the others would be helpless against the fairy down here, Samantha crawled forward and began to work on the wire. If she could finish repairing the wire, the others would have no reason to stay. They could escape and Jessica could stop fighting a doomed battle. Just a few more adjustments...

 

"Samantha!" Jimmy, suddenly, yelled getting her to glance up. Her eyes went wide as she saw the fairy now making a bee-line for her. The Roman's tried to dissuade her, but another quick blast of air forced them to focus on staying on the badly shaking walkway, and saving the remaining Phoenixes. The fairy gave her a horrifying, yet innocent, smile as she neared Samantha. No, not yet, she still had to get this wire on just right! Just a second more!

 

But a second wasn't going to be given as the fairy's hand got within inches of Samantha. She had failed... And then the hand was gone.

Samantha was confused till a sound blast hit her chest and an explosion sent her ears ringing. The fairy's smile turned to anguish as she veered off course, her arm plummeting down to the water with a trail of blood. What th-

 

Another sudden explosion slammed into the fairy and it was sent spiraling down into the water far below. Samantha watched it fall, still in shock that she was saved. She pulled her eyes away from the disappeared fairy and to the source of the explosions. At the top of the walkway where Jimmy had launched his C4 bomb, was a woman and three more Roman soldiers. Two of the soldiers had a large cannon-like gun set up on the walkway, smoke still leaking out of it.

 

"You have God's own timing, Captain," Victor said, apparently aware who the woman was. She nodded to him before turning her green eyes to Samantha. Wow she was...impressive, but not that impressive compared to Jessica.

 

"Hurry up, outsider! The catmonster and your soldier can't hold out forever," the female Captain said with a glare. Samantha snapped out of her shock and nodded before finishing the repair. There, it should be ready to blow now! With the repair finished, she scrambled back across the wire. Both Jimmy and another surviving Phoenix helped her down as Victor motioned for them to get a move on.

 

"Come on, we need to be outside the blast zone two minutes ago!" he ordered as the entire group took off at a sprint. The Captain and her men joined them as they all made a mad dash back to safety. As they did, the Captain took out a radio from her belt.

 

"Commander, repairs complete. Signal that the bridge is primed!"

 

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Sanders had his target and began to sprint up the bitch's arm. He was too far to get a good shot from here, but if he got a little closer... The monster keep trying to shake her arm around to force Pyrrha and Sanders off. However, with Pyrrha's huge form holding it, the movements were sluggish and only caused Sanders to stagger.

 

"Dammit, STOP RESISTING!" the monster bellowed out, causing Sanders' ears to bleed. He ignored the pain, though, as he continued forward to her elbow. If he could reach that he would have a good shot at the visor. However, as he got about halfway there, the monster tried a new strategy. She began to turn in place, going faster and faster as her turn became a spin. Sanders was forced to crawl forward to keep from being blown off as the wind turned from a strong gust to a full on gale. Fuck, if this keep up...

 

Realizing that he wasn't going to make it to the elbow, Sanders tried to take a shot anyway. However, the wind and inertia made it all but impossible to get his gun raised. Dammit, he had NOT come this far just to lose now! Wait...inertia, OF COURSE!

 

Sanders pushed his machine gun forward and held it there for a moment. He took a deep breath, readying himself for this, before raising the gun just a bit. The wind and inertia did the rest as his gun was forced to the side and then behind Sanders. He used his arm like a pendulum to swing the gun around and used the motion to bring it back forward... right to where the visor was. The effort sent pain screaming though Sanders arm, but he ignored it. With a yell of anger and pain, Sanders pulled the trigger and sent a hail of bullets toward the visor.

 

Most of the wild gunfire missed its target and bounced off the flak helmet. But four hit their mark and created four small cracks in the glass. They were nowhere near enough to shatter it, but more than enough to cause an involuntary reaction from the giantess

 

"SHIT!" she yelled as her arm shot up to protect the visor. Her spinning came to a halt as she made sure no more bullets were coming at her. She lowered her arm and looked about to give Sanders a smug look, but it faded as she realized which hand she had just used...and what was now missing.

 

Her instinctive reflex had caused her to drop the powder. And thanks to the motion of her spin, most of it had been sent sailing off the bridge to slowly drift down into the water. The idiot had tossed the catnip she had been using to counter Pyrrha off the bridge. Just as Sanders had hoped she would. His, nearly, dislocated shoulder had been worth it.

 

"You... little FUCKER!" she screamed as her hand shot out toward Sanders. Sanders was about to fire on the approaching wall of flak, but was pulled away by a sudden sea of flesh. He swore as the hand tightened on him a bit too much, but it, quickly loosened. Unable to see anything in the warm and familiar hand, Sanders braced himself as muffled noises outside echoed in. Suddenly, the hand was shaken by a loud crash and Sanders had to fight not to slam himself into the hand. Once it faded, the hand opened to reveal the familiar and very welcome sight of Pyrrha's head.

 

Sanders leap across the small gap and, quickly, grabbed hold of Pyrrha's hair. He gave it a small tug to show he was on and Pyrrha lowered her hand back down. As Sanders began to turn to face the monster again, he noticed something odd on the Roman side of the bridge. Was that a light blink- oh shit, the signal!

 

"Pyrrha, the bridge is going to blow! Back to the Roman side, hurry!" Sanders yelled at Pyrrha's ear. She gave a rather jarring nod before whirling around way too fast. Sanders swore as he had to fight to keep a grip and his, already injured, arm screamed in even more pain. He would have yelled at her to take it easy, but didn't get the chance as she took off at a full sprint toward the Roman side. Except...she was running on two legs rather than four...

 

"Where are you little shits going?! You are NOT getting away!" the giantess yelled from behind them, shaking Sanders from his thoughts. The monster started to give chase, but only got two steps forward before a massive explosion rocked the bridge. A second followed shortly after which was followed by two more. The explosions caused the bridge to heave and buckle as the C4 the Roman's had planted were set off. Jimmy and the rest had fixed the wire!

 

Despite the heaving and buckling concrete, Pyrrha managed to keep on her feet and moving toward the safety of the other side. The giantess, however, was not so lucky. She tumbled forward and tried to catch herself before letting out a cry of surprise as she vanished from sight. The bridge was collapsing and the tumbling concrete was racing toward them.

 

"Move Pyrrha MOVE!" Sanders urged as the falling bridge began to catch up with them.

 

"SHUT UP, I KNOW!" Pyrrha yelled back, taking Sanders off guard. She had never told him to shut up before... then again they had never been RUNNING FROM A COLLAPSING BRIDGE EITHER!! Pyrrha began to pump her arms like mad as the concrete began to give way under her. Sanders wished he could help, but there was nothing to do but hold on and pray.

 

The uncollapsed part of the bridge began to fall away, but still Pyrrha keep going. She leap from block to block before making a last ditch leap toward the lip of the bridge. Sanders held on as tight as he could, but not tight enough as they slammed into the bridge. The force tossed Sanders forward and he was sent tumbling along the cement. Not wanting to damage the machine gun,  he twisted in the air and landed on the side that still had some padding on his armor. The armor took the brunt of the skid as he slowed to a stop. Ignoring the damage and pain, he whirled around to look at Pyrrha, and breathed a sigh of relieve to see her pulling herself over the lip. They had made it...

 

"N-...HE-...TOO HEA-..." a voice yelled out from far below. Sanders moved to the lip and looked down along with Pyrrha. Far below was the murderous, slowly being dragged down by the weight of her armor… and her sins. A few of the giantesses looked to start forward to help, but gunfire from the buildings keep them back. The armored bitch gave a few more sputters of life before sinking beneath the murky water... A few bubbles being the only thing to mark her grave.

 

"You deserved worst," Pyrrha said as she glared at the bubbles. Sanders turned to her in surprise and wondered what the hell had gotten into her. That glare she was giving, the plan from before, her manner of talking, running on two legs, it was almost...almost like she was a-...a different person... Could Samantha...

 

Suddenly, Pyrrha's glare vanished to be replaced with a confused look. She blinked a few times before looking around, as if lost.

 

"Pyrrha?" Sanders called out to her. She turned to him and gave him a smile, but it looked...uncertain. She bent down to him before glancing around.

 

"Sanders! Ummm... what happened?"

 

Sword Intel report: Rome

Classified Information for Level-5 Clearance ONLY!

 

Section A-14:

Equipment:

 

Weapons:

Unlike other Resistance Forces, the Romans make use of standardized and serialized weapons. Because of this, their firepower is much easier to calculate for and prepare against. However, it is, also, far more reliable and powerful than the ad-hoc weapons other Forces use. Because of this, greater caution should be taken when engaging Roman forces.

 

AR-2(assault rifle): Made by the Poole Foundry, this rifle is impressively close to a proper assault rifle. Able to fire in semi and fully automatic, the rifle can send an impressive amount of firepower downrange. Using something akin to hollow point bullets, the rifle can seriously injury fairies and, with enough of them, injury even catgirls. However, they are of little threat to a properly equipped Sword.

Threat level: N/A

 

AC- "Typhon" 3(air cannon): Another weapon made by the Poole Foundry, the "Typhon" is the most common anti-giantess weapon for the Romans. Small enough to be man-portable, the Typhon uses an impressively small air-compressor to launch an explosive round at near supersonic speeds. Unlike the rockets most other Resistance forces make use of, this weapon is near impossible to dodge thanks to the high speed the round travels. However, it is less portable, making it less able to displace. While not powerful enough to kill either a fairy or a catgirl outright, they can deliver lethal damage to both with concentrated fire. Against Sword shields, tests have shown three to four shots are needed to penetrate. Once through, the damage they can inflict is rather impressive. Caution is advised.

Threat Level: Medium

 

"Bombard" Cannon: Produced in small numbers, the Bombard, as the Roman's have nicknamed it, is a cannon on par with a scale anti-tank gun. Capable of killing a fairy and even a catgirl in one hit, the Bombard should be approached only by heavily armored Swords. Tests of the cannon's power have proven shields to be mostly ineffective as even a single hit will overload them. Thankfully, they are heavy, slow, and helpless if caught setting up.

Threat level: High (N/A if not properly set)

 

"Rominus" Rifle Turret: Set up along the border of Roman territory, these turrets are true assault rifles that have been modified into emplaced turrets. Usually set up on high ground, either buildings or hills depending, these "turrets" cover nearly all the approaches into Roman land. Because of being true, full-sized military weapons, extreme caution should be taken when engaging. Agents have reported that the setup of the turrets makes aiming less than ideal, limiting their effective range considerably, but all crews are trained to be accurate within a little over a hundred yards.

Most make use of needles filled with various chemicals that are lethal even to human targets, however a few are equipped with true ammunition. Shields have proven completely ineffective at stopping either ammo-type as the sheer force behind both is simply too much to stop. However, tests have shown heavy armor to be able to withstand the needles. Such armor would be ineffective, however, against the real ammunition.

Threat level: Extreme, Do not engage

Chapter End Notes:

Whew, didn't think I would get this one out of time, but damn am I glad I did. The first battle of the war is over, but another is sure to follow. The Society are far from defeated, but this victory might well pave the way to them being. Or is it just a lucky win that only leads to a more crushing defeat... And were the traitors below the bridge the only ones?

Guess we'll have to find out in the next chapter!

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