Chapter 28: Aviel

January 31, 2024 9:42 AM

Sanders mind was sent reeling as the all too familiar voice blared down above them. No...no, not her...anyone but her... But it was her...Aviel. And while the voice was a bit different, Sanders had no doubt who the other one was...Flonne. Of all the times they could meet again, it had to be now. Just as they had gotten some glimmer of hope, she appeared to crush it. Dammit no...

"What...what do we do now?" Miranda asked as she edged further from the opening. The group looked between each other, all looking unsure. All sav Darius, anyway, who simply shook his head.

"Nothing. As long as we are in this rubble, neither she nor the fairy can get to us. The others would have taken cover and hid as well. We sit and wait till she gets bored and goes somewhere else. Then we can slip out," Darius said in a sure tone. The group relaxed a bit as they all realized he was right. Sanders knew for a fact that opening was too small for Aviel to reach in, hell even Flonne would be hard pressed to get her hand in here. As long as they stayed put and didn't draw attention to themselves Aviel's impatience would get her to leave.

"I don't se- wait," Aviel said from above them. The group tensed up again at Aviel's words. Shit, had one of the other soldiers been spotted?! Sanders and Derek moved toward the entrance and peeked out. High above, Aviel was bending down toward the ground, her arm outstretched. Sanders might have let out a sigh of relief that she was reaching toward the ground and not the debris if he hadn't see what she was going for. Fuck, the tractor! They had left it out in the open!

Derek swore under his breath as he saw it too and pulled back into cover. Sanders did the same and slammed his fist into the rock wall in frustration. Dammit, now she would KNOW they were here.

"What happened?" Darius asked as his eyes got a slight look of worry. Neither Derek nor Sanders got a chance to answer as Aviel did it for them.

"A tractor? One of our models too… Flonne, go back to the jeep and get the others. I'll stay here and make sure no one slips away," Aviel's booming voice said. Darius’ eyes closed in frustration as he rubbed his head. Both Miranda and Ollie slumped down in despair as the others let out resigned sighs. Staying put had just become unavailable to them. As if to press the message home, the sound of the tractor crashing to the ground erupted from outside. No one needed to look to tell it was, utterly, ruined..

"Fuck...anyone got a Plan B?" Jimmy asked as the sound of buzzing wings zoomed past and slowly began to fade. At least now all they had to deal with was Aviel...but Aviel was an expert combatant BEFORE she had become a giantess. Now...dammit why had he hesitated back then? Why had he not killed her when he had the chance?! Stupid bitch was working for her par-

Sanders eyes snapped open as he remembered the recording. It...it proved the Society were the ones to kill Aviel's parents! If she heard that, maybe... maybe she would join them! Pyrrha was a huge asset already, add in Aviel and... But...but what if she didn't? What if she had gone so far that she didn't care? What if she still sided with the Society because of the power? Isabella had been corrupted by it...and there was no reason to think Aviel hadn't been. If she learned the plan and betrayed them... No, it was too much of a risk. He touched the whistle in his pocket and reminded himself what his attempts to save everyone had done before. Aviel had made her choice already and Sanders was not going to risk the one hope they had to try and save her. She had made her bed and she could lie in it.

Sanders shook off his thoughts and looked up to see Darius deep in thought. The others were keeping quiet, for the moment, but most of them looked to be getting antsy. Outside, Aviel stood a few steps away from the pile of debris, her eyes scanning it. A few of them might be able to slip away while she was looking another way, but any large groups would be spotted with ease. And with them only having about thirty people and no Pyrrha, the chances of them bringing her down were practically zero. So what the hell were they going to do?

"I have a plan," Darius said, suddenly. Sanders turned back to him and joined the others in gathering around him. Sanders didn't like the look in Darius' eye, but he was drawing a blank so he might as well listen.

"Derek, Gabriella, I want you two to go out and get behind Aviel. Find some cover and get into positions to fire on her. Once you do, hit her with your weapons to get her attention," Darius said in a curt tone. Sanders was beyond stunned with what he was hearing. He wanted Derek and Gabby to go out there, ALONE, to be BAIT?!?! They would be massacred!

"You can't be serious? You are going to send Derek and Gabby out there with no back up?!" Sanders asked in horror. Darius stopped mid-drawn in for breath to glance at Sanders. He didn't look angry, but did look slightly annoyed. The rest of the group didn't look so concerned, save Kimberly though she didn't voice it. Suddenly, a hard clap on his shoulder got Sanders to look away from Darius.

"Aww, you worried about me, pipsqueak? Well don't be. I'm not about to get killed by that overgrown, traitorous bitch outside," Gabby said with a big, confident smile. Sanders opened his mouth to argue, but Derek spoke up then.

"Damn right. I've fought giantesses one-on-one before and lived. Your old partner wasn't a bad fighter, but fighting someone much smaller than you requires different skills. I doubt she has had a chance to get used to it. We'll be fine," Derek said with his own smile, though it seemed directed more toward Kimberly. Sanders tried to say something, but knew it was pointless as he looked between the two. Fuck, they were going no matter what he was going to say. He just sighed to himself and shook his head in surrender.

"As I was saying,” Darius said, with a bit of anger in his voice, “once Gabriella and Derek have Aviel's attention, I will slip out and rally the other soldiers. While I am doing that, the rest of you will head to the fallen backpack a few scale yards to our right. Hide in it and wait till me and the other soldiers engage Aviel. When we do, all of you need to make a break for it and get the computer out of here. Above all else, the computer has to escape along with at least one of us who knows the plan. Everything else, including our lives, is secondary to that." Darius looked between each of them with a stern galre. No one voiced an objection to the plan, this time.

Sanders would have prefered one that didn't result in so many being left behind, but Darius was right. The computer and what it contained was more important than any of them. Hell more important than any NUMBER of them. It was their last bit of hope and they had to keep it safe and away from Aviel. Anything, and anyone, was worth sacrificing to make sure of that... Sanders hated to admit that...but knew it was true.

"Does everyone understand the plan?" Darius asked as he looked between them all again. Jimmy, Gabby, and Derek all nodded rather quickly and looked more than ready. Ollie and Miranda had worried looks on their faces, but nodded as they hefted up the computers. Kimberly gave Derek a long look before sighing and nodding. Sanders wanted to say no...but felt his head nod as well. He brushed the whistle in his pocket and tried to remember Lindsey's words. He couldn't save everyone...he knew that now...but dammit that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Good. Gabriella, Derek, whenever you are ready," Darius said as he stepped back to let the two of them move forward. Sanders swore as he watched Derek unsling his laser cannon and Gabby take the much better launcher that Darius had. Both nodded to each other and moved up to the entrance. They waited barely a heartbeat before taking off into the open.

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Derek waited for Aviel's massive head to turn away from them before rushing out into the open. Gabriella was right beside him, running just as quickly as he was. They had to reach her boots before she turned back or she would, undoubtedly, spot them out in the open like this. Derek pushed his legs as hard as he could as he focused on their goal, so far away, yet looming larger with each second.

Derek glanced over to Gabriella and swore as he noticed her falling behind. Her head was craned upwards and she was staring up at Aviel with a look of awe and terror. He had seen that look more than enough to know what it heralded and he was not going to let her fall prey to it, not when she was so important to the plan. Derek slowed just enough to grab Gabriella's arm and yank her forward. Gabriella jolted a bit at the sudden pull and her eyes shifted down to him. A bit of confusion was in them at first, but it faded as she regained her senses.

"Wha-? Oh...shit, sorry. Lost myself there for a second. Guess I'm still not used to seeing people bigger than skyscrapers, doubly so people I used to be able to hold in my hand," Gabriella said as her cheeks reddened slightly. Derek let her go and waved off her apology.

"Don't worry about it. Happens to everyone the first time they get close to a giantess. Just don't let it happen again," Derek said and Gabriella nodded in understanding. The two of them got back to a full sprint and managed to reach Aviel's massive boot before her head turned back toward them. They both plastered themselves onto the sole of the boot as Aviel's head turned back forward. Gabriella swore a bit as she noticed the sole was almost taller than them. Derek, however, just motioned her to follow as he headed to the back of the boot. He had gotten used to such sights long ago.

The two made their way around Aviel's boot and to its heel. Derek stopped them as he looked around the hallway behind Aviel for any good places to take cover. There was a number of backpacks, a few moldy books, school supplies, and a some other random junk scattered about. Not the best cover, but it-

Derek's thoughts were interrupted as Aviel's boot, suddenly, lifted off the ground. Derek and Gabriella scrambled away from it as it rose and Derek swore as it started to shift toward them.

"RUN!" Derek yelled as he took off for one of the backpacks up ahead. He looked back to see where Gabriella was, but wasn't able to see her as the boot came back down. Derek grunted and threw himself forward to try and get out of the boot's path. He landed just outside the boot's reach and rolled into a ball as it smashed down into the ground. The impact sent him tumbling a few inches away and blasted all noise from his ears. Derek, however, ignored all that as his extensive experience took over. He leap back to his feet and took off toward the backpack, unconcerned about the silence. He pumped his arms to give him some extra speed and didn't slow at all till he had dived into the its welcoming fabric. He whirled around as his hearing came back and readied himself to make another dash toward cover.

Behind him, Aviel was still standing where she had, her stance slightly wider than it had been. It seemed all she had done was shift her feet and hadn't, actually, seen them. Derek let out a relieved breath and relaxed for a second to catch his breath. As he rested, he looked around for Gabriella, but didn't see her anywhere. Damn, looked like he had lost her during that mad dash. He might have tried to look for her, but he knew he didn't have time. That fairy could be back with other giantesses any moment and they were going to be hard-pressed keeping just Aviel distracted. Gabriella was on her own, as was he.

Derek climbed out of the backpack and moved to put it between him and Aviel. He brought his laser cannon up and prepped it for combat. He smiled at the familiar, and welcome, hum of it powering up and waited for the ready light to glow green. This laser cannon had been their trump card ever since he had ripped it off a Society robot a few years back. He dearly hoped it was one today, as well.

Moving out from behind the backpack, Derek hefted the cannon up with both hands. Holding it at hip level, he raised it up to point at Aviel. He scanned her body for a good target and smiled as he noticed the shield generator on her hip. It was unlikely that she didn't have it on, but it was worth taking a shot. If it was on, it wouldn't matter where he shot her, after all. Shifting the cannon to point at the generator, Derek pulled the trigger.

A lance of red energy sprang out of the cannon's tip and right toward the shield generator. However, the beam stopped an inch or so away from its target as a green field of energy appeared in front of it. Derek swore as he dived back around the backpack, hiding just in time as Aviel whirled around. He wasn't surprised her shield was on, but it was disheartening all the same. He doubted he would get another clean shot at her shield generator which meant they were going to have to take it down the old fashioned way.

Derek took off to the side of the backpack where a moldy book was laying near to it. As he ran, Aviel's massive feet began to stomp toward him with frightening speed. Derek pushed himself to go faster as the stomps began to shake the ground. He keep his feet thanks to his experience with fighting giantesses, but couldn't keep from slowing down. He reached the edge of the backpack just as Aviel's stomps stopped. Derek, however, knew better than to stop himself and rushed out from the backpack and toward the book.

He had made the right call as the backpack was, suddenly, sent flying back to crash into the lockers. Derek glanced back and saw Aviel lower her foot from the kick she had given the backpack. With it out of the way, Aviel bent down and began to look around where it had been.. If Derek had stayed, he would have been a sitting duck right now.

Aviel's eyes narrowed as she looked over the area. She let out a low sigh as her head started to turn toward Derek. Derek swore as he rushed toward the book as fast as he could. Dammit, he didn't have time to get around it, which meant... Dammit, this was going to be bad. Derek took in a huge lung full of air before diving head first into the moldy pages of the book.

Derek had to fight not to gag as he felt the mold moving over him, but still managed to turn around. He peeked out of the pages and saw Aviel scanning the area he was in. She hadn't seen him, thank God, but she was still looking in his direction. Dammit, he couldn't risk getting out of here till she looked away and he couldn't risk breathing in this sea of mold. The mold could be just as deadly as Aviel's shoe for all he knew.

What seemed like hours passed as Aviel keep looking in Derek's direction. His body was screaming for oxygen and Derek was having to keep his nose and mouth tightly clamped to prevent him from giving in. Dammit...he couldn't...keep this...up… The pages started to swim as his body’s need for oxygen hit its peak.

Suddenly, a loud explosion got Derek to look up and Aviel to whirl around. A rocket had struck her leg from behind and, though it hadn't gotten through the shield, had got her attention off Derek. Derek wasted no time as he scrambled out of the moldy book. He flopped onto the ground and gasped for air as he crawled away from it and its damn spores. He whipped a bit of rotten paper and other crap off him as he coughed and wheezed from the sudden rush of air into his system. Fuck that had been close.

As he caught his breath, Derek looked up and saw, and felt, Aviel move over to a pile of random junk a yard or so away. Aviel shifted around as she looked over the area, but didn't seem to spot anything in the mess. It looked like Gabriella had survived after all, thank God for that. Still, he had a feeling she was in a similar mess he had been in just seconds before. He needed to get Aviel to turn her attention to him again to let her find a new hiding spot.

Derek got back to his feet and rushed back toward the backpack Aviel had kicked into the wall. Figuring Aviel was unlikely to think he had gone back to his old firing spot, he took cover behind it and recharged his laser. He waited for the green glow to come back before stepping out of cover and taking aim. Aviel was just starting to bend over toward something, giving Derek a clear shot at her over-sized ass. Derek couldn't pass up the ready target and fired a lance of red energy straight at Aviel's rear end. He frowned as the shield stopped the laser again, though the glow of it was a bit softer this time.

Aviel sprang back up and spun around as Derek slid back into cover. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit to himself as he moved to the other side of the backpack, the one closest to the wall. He heard Aviel growl in frustration as her booming footsteps started back toward him. Derek shoved his way into the space between the wall and backpack, thinking it would be the best place to hide. He hunkered down as Aviel's rumbling stompes came to a stop a short distance from where Derek was. He keep quiet and still as he waited for Gabriella to fire and get her attention off him.

The welcome explosion came a second later and Derek let out a sigh of relieve. A loud and violent quake followed it as Aviel stomped her foot into the ground and let out a blaring, angry growl. Looks like they were upsetting her, good.

"That's it! I've had enough of this stupid game!" her voice bellowed out in anger. Derek frowned as he powered up his laser, but stayed where he was. Suddenly, the backpack shifted a bit and Derek swore as he got ready to move with it. However, the backpack didn't move to the side, it moved straight up. Derek's eyes went wide as the backpack was lifted into the air. He sprang up to try and grab it, but the strip of cloth he grabbed ripped away. Derek fell back to the ground with a curse as he was left completely exposed.

Derek looked up and stared up at Aviel towering above him, her eyes locked onto him. Another man might have frozen at the sight of her massive face glaring down at him in disgust, but Derek was not so easily intimidated. He brought his cannon up and got ready to fire at Aviel's massive form. Aviel's frown spread as she noticed what he was doing and her foot shifted toward him. Derek swore as the massive, building sized, boot came rushing toward him. Derek turned and ran as fast as he could before diving to the side, barely clearing the boot by scale inches. The massive boot smashed into the wall, causing a huge blast of air and sound to erupt from the impact. Derek ignored the rushing air and his deadened hearing as he raised his cannon and fired.

The lance of energy flashed toward Aviel's thigh, but was stopped by her still active shield. Derek cursed as he keep moving, hoping to get beneath her and find someway to lose her. Another rocket smashed into Aviel's side, but she ignored it in favor of him. She growled in fury before her boot came sliding straight toward him. Derek swore as the side of Aviel's boot came rushing along the ground toward him at blinding speed. There was no avoiding it this time, it was simply too big to dodge and moving too fast. Worse, if he got caught under it, it would smear him across the floor till nothing was left of him but a stain. Only one way out of this...

Derek gritted his teeth as he leapt up just as the boot came to fill his vision. He screamed in pain as the building-sized boot smashed into him and plastered him against its side. He tried to suck in some breaths, but his ribs and chest were racked with pain from the attempt. Before he could try to do anything else, the boot stopped and Derek was sent flying from it by his own inertia. He slammed into the ground with a sickening crunch and more pain filled his mind. He would have cried out if he had any air left and it was all he could do not to pass out in shock. He gritted his teeth and forced open his eyes just in time to see the ground rushing toward him again. And then he saw nothing at all.

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"DEREK!" Gabby yelled out in horror as she saw his tiny, thanks to the distance, form go bouncing and sliding away from Aviel's foot. The large man came to a stop nearly a foot away from where he had first hit the ground and didn't so much as shift. Gabby couldn't see how bad he was hurt this far away, but she could guess that if he wasn't dead then he was close. Jesus...and all Aviel had really done is slid her foot along the ground... She hadn't even done it all that fast or forcefully...

Gabby felt a sudden surge of fear swell inside her. She might not have liked Derek, but she knew that Bulk Benchpress was tough and good at what he did. No one would command that much respect from their soldiers if they weren't one of the best. And all it took was Aviel to shift her foot to put him down for the count...

Gabby gulped as she realized she was in the same boat, now. Acting tough had been easy before when she had been bigger than most, but now... now she was just a speck, a tiny little bug waiting to get stepped on. Fuck, what the hell was she DOING out here?!

The sudden boom and shake of a footstep got Gabby to snap out of her inward thoughts. Aviel was shifting around to face Derek's fallen form and was looking to start toward it. No...he was helpless like that and all it would take is a few steps to... Gabby's fingers tightened around the launcher and she shook her fear and thoughts away. Fuck that, she didn't have time to lose her nerve, Slab Manrock was going to die if she didn't do anything! And there was no way in hell SHE was going to lose her nerve if he hadn't!

Gabby raised the launcher and came out from behind the fallen water bottle she had been hiding behind. She sent another rocket flying out toward her old friend's student and hoped it would be enough to get her attention. Aviel glanced over as the rocket came toward her and raised her hand to block it. The green pulse of the energy shield came to life an inch or so from Aviel's hand and stopped the rocket before it hit. Gabby wasn't surprised it was still online, but she smiled nonetheless as she saw how dim the shield was. It wasn't out, but it was on its last legs. Two or three more should do it and she had five more rockets to send.

Her smile vanished, however, as Aviel turned fully toward her and started to raise the backpack she had picked up. Aviel brought the backpack forward and tossed it toward the assorted junk Gabby had been using as cover. Gabby's eyes bulged as the huge pack came flying toward her. Fuck, it was like someone had picked up a multistory house and tossed it at her! Her terror came back in full force as the backpack started to close in.

There was no way she could get out of its path fast enough and Gabby knew it. She started to back up, despite knowing it was pointless, as she snapped her head to either side, hoping to see or figure out someway to survive this. Her eyes settled on the water bottle she had been using as cover and she nearly slapped herself. Duh, the empty backpack would crush her, but it didn't have enough weight to crush the bottle! Gabby rushed toward its, thankfully, uncovered top and started to pull herself in.

She grunted as she pulled herself up and risked one glance toward the backpack. It was a mistake as it now filled the sky and was only milliseconds away.. Fear and terror gave Gabby a burst of strength and she pulled herself into the bottle. She had just managed to slip fully into it when the backpack smashed into the area. Gabby cried out as the bottle was sent skidding away from the backpack as it landed just on the edge of the bottle. The world was sent spinning and tumbling and flying as the bottle rolled away. Gabby was thrown about the inside like clothing in a dryer and was completely soaked by the little bit of water that was still in the bottle. Gabby rolled herself into the fetal position and keep her hands over her head and neck as she tried to keep from breaking anything in the madness.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the bottle came to a sudden stop as it bumped into something. Gabby grunted in pain as she splashed down into the side of the bottle. She rolled over to keep her face out of the water and groaned as the world looked to still be spinning and tumbling. She closed her eyes to keep herself from getting sick from the sight and busied her mind with checking for injuries. Nothing was broken, but she was sure she would have more than a few new bruises come tomorrow. She took in a deep breath as she laid in the small pool of water before letting out a relieved sigh. She was still alive, at least, which was all she could really ask for.

A muffled boom brought her rest to a quick end. Gabby opened her eyes and found the world to only be shifting a bit more than normal. She sat up and looked around to try and get her bearings. The bottle looked to have hit the wall on the other side of the hall from the debris. It hadn't gone racing further down the hall, but rather perpendicular to it until it had hit this wall. In the other direction was the backpack that had nearly crushed her and the junk it had either landed on or near to.  And back near the back of the bottle was Aviel who was moving toward the junk. At least she looked to have lost interest in Rolf Ironquads.

Gabby tried to stand up, but the sloped sides of the bottle and her own lingering dizziness sent her falling right back into the water. She cursed and tried again, managing to get a few steps toward the bottleneck before slipping again. Dammit, the fact the bottle keep rolling when she walked wasn't hel-.... wait.

A much louder and closer footstep got Gabby to realize her mistake. She turned back and saw Aviel making a beeline for the bottle she was in. Gabby started to swear up a storm as she gave up walking and just crawled to the bottleneck. She reached it and was about to try and stand up when the footsteps came to a booming, and shaking, stop. Gabby gulped as she turned to see Aviel's massive form looming over her.

To say she was dumbstruck would have been an understatement. Seeing Aviel, a woman she had been used to fitting in her hand, tower over her like a skyscraper was....fuck there were no words. Before had been bad enough, but seeing Aviel glaring down at her with that look of disgust and hate was beyond terrifying...and sad. Gabby had liked Aviel back before all this. Her tough attitude and ruthless combat style was the kind of shit Gabby loved. She was sure Isabella's prized pupil was going to go far once Isabella stopped being such a worry wart over her... Though now, it seemed, Isabella had been right to be worried about her. Isabella had a bad habit of being right about things...

Gabby didn't bother trying for the bottleneck, she knew it was pointless now. Even if she slipped out she had nowhere to go. Instead, she got to her feet, managing not to slip around too much, and forced herself to stare back at Aviel. Aviel's eyes narrowed at Gabby as she raised one of her arms up to the huge woman. Gabby gave a slight smirk before giving the traitor of her best friend the one fingered salute. It wasn't much, and she would have preferred a rocket, but it was the best she could do while trapped in this damn bottle. Aviel's eyes widened in surprise at the display, causing Gabby to chuckle a bit. That's right, bitch, even in the face of death I say FUCK YOU!

Suddenly, a series of muffled explosions went off behind Aviel. Aviel's wide eyes widened further as she started to turn, but too slowly. Gabby watched in joy and sudden rekindled hope as Aviel's shield dimmed and went out as three more explosions went off. A muffled scream of pain came from Aviel as she spun around and jinked to the side to avoid two more rockets. Gabby looked up and saw three large burn marks on Aviel's jacket along with blood beginning to leak out of them. Gabby laughed as she realized Darius and the others in the debris field had opened up, now. About damn time, too.

Taking full advantage of the distraction, Gabby rushed toward the bottleneck and leap up into it. She wormed her way through it and flopped to the ground, not caring how ungraceful the landing was Leaping back to her feet, Gabby took off as Aviel's hand lowered and snatched up the empty bottle.

"Not going to get me today you fucker, hah!" Gabby said to herself as she rushed toward the nearest cover she could find. Behind her, more rockets began to fly toward Aviel as the giantess spread her legs and got ready to fight.

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Darius' plan had worked nearly flawlessly. With Aviel distracted by Derek and Gabby, Sanders and the rest had, easily, slipped out of the rubble and into the hallway. Using various junk and school supplies, they had managed to stay out of sight while Aviel was busy dealing with Gabby and Derek. But Sanders was anything but pleased by it.

The plan may have worked, but it had cost both Derek and Gabby's lives. Derek's laser cannon had gone silent after Aviel's attack and Sanders could guess why. And he hadn't needed to watch the backpack hit to know the outcome or its target. In fact, he hadn't been able to...he didn't have the heart to watch the last of his old friends meet their end. He was all that was left, now...that hadn't changed sides anyway.

Explosions, and a cry of pain from Aviel, got Sanders and the rest to turn back. Rockets from the debris had broken through Aviel’s shield and struck her back. Blood was leaking out of the small wounds, but they were far from life-threatening. Darius and the rest were joining the fight now, buying them time to escape with their lives.

Sanders felt disgusted with himself for leaving them. If he hadn't hesitated on Angela's palm, if he had fought with all his heart from the very beginning of that duel, then Aviel wouldn't be here. They would have all escaped with Manchent's message and those people wouldn't be forced to make the ultimate sacrifice to protect it...not yet anyway. He touched the whistle in his pocket and reminded himself that people WERE going to die during this no matter what he did... but... But Aviel had been his partner and her life had been in his hands. If only he had taken it...

Aviel's booming footsteps snapped Sanders out of his thoughts. She looked down at a bottle she had picked up, for some reason, before tossing it away as she advanced toward the rubble. More rockets were sent surging out of the rubble toward Sander's old partner. This time, however, Aviel saw them coming and, easily, shifted out of their path. The rockets flew past her before exploding on the lockers behind her. Sanders would have keep watching if someone hadn't grabbed his shoulder. He turned to see Jimmy standing behind him.

"Come on, Sanders. There is nothing we can do for them, now," Jimmy said with a face that was trying to hide the sadness it felt, and failing. Sanders glanced back and wanted to say that wasn't true...but knew it was. He turned back to Jimmy and nodded.

"Yeah... best thing we can do is get this computer to safety," Sanders said, more to convince himself than anyone. Ollie and Miranda nodded their agreement while Kimberly just stared ahead as if unwilling to look back. Jimmy patted his shoulder before motioned for them all to follow him as they headed on.

Behind them, the sounds of more explosions echoed after them. Sanders couldn't help but glance back and saw a few rockets impact Aviel. The soldiers in the rubble had starting firing their rockets in large spreads, rather than right at Aviel. The mass of rockets made it impossible for her to dodge them all, but she was using her arms to block the few that she couldn't dodge. Worse, she was making sure none hit the same spot twice. The rockets were blasting off bits of skin and causing surface damage, but weren't getting to the veins or muscles of the arms. Aviel would need a lot of bandages after this fight, but that was all she would need. Still, Darius and the rest were, mostly, save in that debris.

Sanders couldn't help but slow as Aviel closed in with the rubble. She jinked to the side to avoid another spread of rockets before leaning back and kicked the top of the rubble. A loud boom echoed through the hallway as the rubble started to shift from the kick. A few boulders, at least compared to them, were knocked loose, but the majority of the rubble held firm. Still, Sanders could see in his mind the soldiers in the rubble screaming in terror as that massive kick sent bits of the cover tumbling down around them. Fucking hell...she was going to bury them alive! As if to confirm Sander's thoughts, Aviel spun around and delivered another kick to the pile causing even more rocks to be shaken loose. Dammit...she couldn't squish them while they hid in the rubble so she was going to make the rubble do it for her!

Dammit, he couldn't keep watching this. Derek and Gabby had been bad enough, but now Darius and the rest were going to die as well. And not just quickly either. No, some would be trapped and left to starve, or crushed by a rock, or pinned in place, or... Dammit NO! Damn running away and damn surviving! This was all HIS fault and HE should be the one to pay for it, not them!

"Sanders! We need to hurry!" Miranda, suddenly, yelled out. Sanders shook his head and turned to see the others had gotten well ahead of him. He looked at them before turning back to Aviel. A few rockets were sent up, but she, easily, dodged them and went back to kicking. Dammit, Darius and the rest were dead... unless... He turned back and looked at the computer. He didn't dare risk that or the others, but... His gaze shifted down to Ollie who was carrying part of the computer. His mind went back to the train and when he had first seen him, hunched over a rad- A RADIO!!!

Sanders eyes went wide as realization hit him. Could he- no, no time to think. If he waited any longer than there would be no one TO save. He needed to do this NOW. He rushed forward getting a look of surprise from the group. He ignored them all and made a beeline for Ollie who's surprised turned to fear. He started to cower away, but Sanders grabbed his shoulders to stop him.

"Ollie, do you have a radio?" Sanders asked, turning Ollie's fear to confusion. He mouthed a few unheard words before nodding.

"Ye-yeah?" Ollie answered looking and sounding very confused. Sanders smiled at that and thanked whoever for that.

"Good, I need it," Sanders said before looking for it. Ollie tried to say something, but just managed to point it out near the back of the large amount of parts he was carrying. Sanders took the jury-rigged and rather bulky machine out and strapped it to his own back.

"Sanders, what are you doing?" Miranda asked as Sanders got the machine settled on his back. Sanders would have answered, but Jimmy beat him to it as he gave Sanders a long, hard look.

"You can't beat her, Sanders. All you will do is get yourself killed," Jimmy said, apparently having already guessed with Sanders was trying to do. Miranda's eyes went wide as she realized what he was going to do and opened her mouth to protest. Sanders stopped her with a raised hand.

"I know. But better me than anyone else. I had a chance to kill Aviel before and didn't take it. If anyone deserves to die to her, it's me. Don't worry, I'll be a good distance from all of you before I get her attention," Sanders said as he got his best, fake confident smile. Miranda shook her head and started to say something, but stopped as Kimberly grabbed her shoulder. Kimberly gave Miranda a long look and the other woman turned away, but keep quiet. Jimmy shook his head with a unpleased frown, but didn't try to stop him, either.

Sanders turned away from them and charged back toward Aviel. Jimmy could keep them safe without him, at least from anything that wouldn't have doomed them even if Sanders was there. Jacob, Pyrrha, and Gerard were still out there and could see the plan to its end. And a martyr would work just as well as a hero for keeping hope alive, doubly so with the help of what was on that computer. And maybe, maybe his distraction would give Darius and a few of the other soldiers time to slip away. Even if it was only a few, it would be worth it.

Sprinting back through the hallway, Sanders turned and headed to the side of the hallway opposite of the debris. That way Aviel would be looking away from the others when she turned to face him. He swore as more kicks hit the rubble and more rocks were sent tumbling down. Dammit, he was out of time, it was now or never. The area around him was devoid of cover of any kind, but Sanders didn't care. He was trying to distract her more than anything, anyway. It was time to finish this, time for him to face down, or rather up, his failure. It was time he and Aviel had a chat. He flipped the radio on and turned it to the Society general frequency.

"AVIEL!" he yelled into the receiver as he took out his rifle. It wouldn't do much to Aviel now that she was a giantess, but he would be damned if he didn't go down fighting. Aviel stopped mid kick and glanced behind her.

"Back here,  by the backpack you threw," Sanders said as he glared toward her, his fingers tightening on his rifle. Aviel turned till she was looking right at Sanders. Her eyes scanned the area before settling on him. Her face was the same emotionless expression she had worn when she had betrayed him, Flonne, Isabella, and everyone else opposed to the Society. Sanders glared turned into a look of utter hate as he fought to keep from shooting at her right here and now.

"Sanders... where is Manchent's legacy?" Aviel's booming voice asked as she started to move toward him. If she was bothered by the look he was giving her, she showed no sign of it as she closed in on him. And he knew she could see it, she had a HUDpatch after all.

"I have it, why don't you come and get it?" Sanders said as he stared her down. He didn't give a damn that she was taking up more and more of his view as her massive, skyscraper-sized form moved closer. He didn't give a damn that she could end him with a twitch, and he didn't care that he was hopelessly outmatched. He was NOT going to back down from her, not EVER.

Still, he felt an odd need to reach into his pocket. Despite himself, the hand holding the receiver dipped into it and brushed against the whistle. Lindsey...He knew he couldn't save everyone, but he couldn't just stand by and watch this. She would have to understand... Just like Pyrrha...Pyrrha....

"Stop this stupidity. You cannot hope to fight me, now, Sanders. You couldn't beat me when we were the same size, how do you expect to beat me now?" Aviel said as she continued her slow advance toward him. Sanders glanced up and up....and up, at her. Sanders didn't want to hear that but...but it was a good question. He was beyond outmatched here with nothing more than a rifle and no cover at all. Darius had had forty other people and the best cover he could ask for and had STILL been losing. What did Sanders have compared to that? His fingers brushed the whistle and Sanders realized his answer.

He shifted the radio and smiled as he saw a loudspeaker setting. He switched it on before taking out the whistle. He put it in his mouth before raising the receiver up. It was a long shot, but it was the only shot he had. Sanders sucked in as big a breath he could before blowing into the whistle. He keep blowing till he had to gasp for breath and barely managed to catch the whistle before it fell to the ground. Sanders looked around, but there was no sign of Pyrrha anywhere. The only noise was Aviel's advancing footsteps.

Suddenly, Aviel sprang forward and Sanders stumbled back in surprise. Her massive foot crashed down a few scale yards from Sanders before being followed by the other. Sanders had to fight to keep his feet as a massive wave of dust blasted into him. He waved it away and coughed some of it out before glancing up. Sanders felt a wave of terror rush through him as he found Aviel towering above him, her feet only a foot away from him. Aviel bent over as she put her hands on her hips, her eyes staring down at him with an annoyed glare.

"Give me the legacy...NOW!" Aviel said, her voice blasting Sanders with the last word. Sanders had to fight not to cringe as the sonic force hit him. Fuck...even her voice was a weapon now... Dammit what was he supposed to do now? Sanders took a deep breath as he remembered Isabella's pleading face and Manchent's last words. His fists tightened as he knew what he had to do.

"No...I would sooner die than give it to a traitor like you!" Sanders yelled up at Aviel. The eye uncovered by the patch looked to twitch at the word traitor and Aviel's stern glare turned to a frown. She knelt down toward Sanders causing his sky to become her body. Sanders glared up at the titaness that had been his partner and held his fear back with his rage.

"Last chance, Sanders. Give it to me or I will go back to burying those people in the debris," Aviel said as her eyes narrowed. Sanders couldn't help but look stunned and taken off-guard by that. She wouldn'-...of course she would. No... that bitch knew threatening him would get her nowhere so she was going after the others! Dammit NO! He had done this to save them, but now... Sanders looked around again, hoping beyond hope to see that familiar, cat-like, form. But there was nothing save empty hallway and the gigantic monster than had once been his friend. Sanders turned back to Aviel and stared up at her building-sized eyes. There was only one choice here.

"No," Sanders said as he locked his face into its own glare. Sanders knew he was damning Darius and the others, but it was the only choice he had. Giving Aviel the computer would mean making Manchent, Isabella, Derek, Gabby, and everyone elses deaths pointless. That computer had the only hope they had of ever seeing the Society, and Aviel, defeated. He would NOT give it up, even if it meant having to watch Aviel slaughter everyone in that rubble.

Aviel's eyes widened in surprise at his word and expression. For a short second, she looked completely dumbstruck by Sander's refusal and unsure what to do. It vanished as quickly as it came, however, as her face went back to a scowl. Sanders returned the immense scowl with his own as they stared each other down. Sanders was not going to back down, not this time.

Suddenly, a loud explosion erupted from behind Aviel's bent leg as a rocket smashed into her calf, just above her boot. Her scowl turned into a scream of pain as her arm raced back to grab the calf of her right leg. Sanders grabbed his ears in pain as Aviel's scream blasted him and his ears. He forced his eyes open despite his urge to cringe in pain and saw Aviel start to fall forward, toward him. Sanders gritted his teeth and rushed straight toward her, hoping to get to safety by going through her legs.

The scream ended as Aviel's massive form filled the sky above Sanders. Her left arm caught her as she fell forward onto her knees and sent a huge tremor through the ground. Sanders stumbled from the quake, but managed to keep his feet as he ran under her stomach, suspended high above him like a ceiling. He raised the rifle he had and fired it up into her while he switched the radio back to loudspeaker mode. He gave the whistle another long blast as he sprinted as fast as he could for Aviel's legs.

Aviel grunted as the bullets began to strike her, but didn't seem all that bothered by them. Considering they were almost like bee stings, only without the venom, it wasn't hard to tell why she wasn't too distressed by them. Sanders had to stop blowing as he gasped for breath, but keep the whistle in his mouth. He glanced back and saw Aviel's head tilt down and focus on him. Her right arm let go of her wound and started toward him. Sanders turned his gun on the hand and fired two shots before the gun clicked to empty. The bullets sent small bursts of blood out from the hand, but didn't even cause it to flinch. Swearing to himself, Sanders tossed the rifle away and focused on sprinting to avoid the hand.

Despite his best efforts, though, Aviel's huge hand was too fast. It began to close in on him with rapid speed. Sanders looked forward and gave one last blast of the whistle as Aviel's fingers and thumb began to overtake him. Dammit, he had to go faster or find someone to help!

Answering his prayer, Gabby suddenly appeared ahead of him, emerging from behind some junk. Even better, her launcher was loaded and she was only fifty or so scale yards away. The launcher came up and pointed at Aviel's hand, but Gabby got a worried look as she held her fire. Sanders could guess why as Aviel's hand began to close in. He was so close to Aviel's hand that the rocket's explosion was bound to hit him, and that assumed Gabby didn't hit him by mistake. She could wind up killing him rather than saving him by firing. Still, it was far better than being captured and interrogated. He went to signal her to take the shot as Aviel's fingers began to come together in front of him.

He never finished the signal as a hissing scream burst out from the side of Aviel. Sanders and Gabby both turned to the noise and saw the huge form of Pyrrha charging straight at Aviel.

"NOT HURT SANDERS!!!" Pyrrha yelled out as she closed in. Aviel had just enough time to look surprised before Pyrrha rammed into her side. Aviel cried out in pain and surprise as she was sent crashing into the ground. The massive quake that erupted from her fall was too much even for Sanders and he tumbled to the ground. The equally huge explosion of sound silenced everything and Sanders scrambled to his feet in utter silence.

Sanders had just gotten his feet back under him when fingers reappeared around him. He didn't have a chance to run or try to fight as they snatched him up and lifted him off the ground. Sanders grabbed hold of them and tried to pull at the fu- fur? His confusion was dispelled as a large, very familiar, and far more welcome, face appeared in front of him.

Pyrrha gave him the biggest and most relieved smile Sanders had ever seen as she lifted him past her head. She dropped him onto her head and Samantha came rushing over toward him. Behind her was Jacob standing next to Pyrrha's ears and looking to be ordering her around. Leaving the oddity of Jacob and Pyrrha for later, Sanders smiled in relief at seeing Samantha safe and would have hugged her if sound didn't suddenly come back.

"NO! You are not getting away!" Aviel yelled out as she pushed herself back to her knees. Her  hand swiped at Pyrrha, but the catgirl was quicker and managed to leap out of her reach. Aviel tried to stand, but stopped when she put weight on her right leg. Instead, she grimaced in pain and cursed under her breath. Gabby had hit her right in the calf and had crippled- GABBY!

"We have to go back! Gab-" Sanders started to say before Pyrrha raised her other hand to her head and dropped off the other person she had grabbed while Sanders had recovered from the quake, Gabby.

"Aww, thanks for caring, Sanders, but I'm here too. Now let's finish off that bitch traitor!" Gabby yelled as she turned back toward Aviel's fallen form. Pyrrha shifted and her ears lowered as if in agreement as she let out a loud hiss. Sanders would have liked nothing better, but Aviel wasn't the goal of this. The computer was still out there, as was Flonne with reinforcements. They needed to get out of here with it while they could and, with Aviel's leg wounded, this was their best chance.

"NO! We need to go down the hallway and get the others! They have the computer with Manchent’s plan to defeat the Society!" Sanders yelled as he moved to join Jacob. Jacob snapped back toward him with a confused, and surprised, look.

"Computer? Defeat?!" Jacob said, looking far more interested in the last word.

"I'll explain later, Pyrrha down the hallway! Find the others!" Sanders said as he pushed Jacob out of the way and grabbed old of Pyrrha's ear. Jacob didn't look happy about being told later, but let Sanders take back command. Pyrrha keep up her hissing, but glanced down the hallway before taking off away from Aviel. Aviel sprang forward and tried to grab her, but Pyrrha leap over her swipe.

"Dammit, NO!" Aviel yelled as the sounds of her trying to crawl after them started to echo toward them. Thanks to Pyrrha's hair and head, Sanders couldn't see Aviel, but could guess she was hot on their trail. Shit, they needed to hurry if they wanted to get Jimmy and the rest along with the survivors in the rubble...assuming there were any.

"I'll go back and see what she is doing. Make sure you get...whatever it is we need to beat them," Jacob said as he started toward the back of Aviel's head. Sanders nodded to him and was a bit surprised he had offered to do that. No time for that now, though, they had to find Jimmy.

"Find Jimmy, Pyrrha, hurry!" Sanders urged as Pyrrha began to sniff the air as she moved further down the hall. Dammit, they couldn't have gone that far in so short a time so wher-

"THERE!" Samantha yelled out as she pointed off to their left. Sanders followed her finger and spotted Jimmy standing on a book, his arms waving in the air. Pyrrha saw him too and sprinted toward him. She snatched him up as quickly as she could along with the others who were hiding behind the book.

"Put them on the platform, Pyrrha," Sanders instructed as Pyrrha sat the four people on the platform behind them. It only took her a second to do, but even that seemed like an eternity as the noise of Aviel's crawling became ever louder. Sanders wished he could see as he glanced back, worried that Pyrrha would be snatched up by Aviel at any moment.

The moment never came, however, as Pyrrha put Miranda and Ollie onto her back. She waited a second before spinning around to face Aviel. Aviel was only a little over a foot away and had moved right into the middle of the hallway, blocking their path. It would be easy enough to go the other way, but that would mean leaving anyone alive in the rubble, and Aviel must have figured Sanders wouldn't do that. Fuck, she knew him too well...

"Pyrrha, let Henderson take a shot!" Samantha yelled out from where she was standing. Of course the air cannon! Though...why had Samantha told Pyrrha than and not him? That wasn't a comm- Sanders thoughts were thrown away as Pyrrha shifted her head down and her rear up, getting the air cannon a clear line of fire on Aviel. Sanders was stunned that Pyrrha had known what Samantha had meant, but shook off his surprise as he saw Aviel's glare turn to panic. That’s right, bitch, we aren’t helpless now!

The air cannon fired with its satisfying WHOOMP and sent the large slab of metal flying at Aviel. Aviel rolled to the side and got her head out of the way, but the slab grazed her shoulder and arm. Blood was sent flying as the slab sliced across her arm leaving a huge gash down the length of it. Aviel cringed in pain, but keep rolling to get out of the line of fire for the cannon. They had caught her off-guard, that time, they wouldn’t again.

"Jacob, tell them to save the shots!" Samantha yelled back to Jacob, who yelled it down to the platform.

"Save the shots? Why?" Gabby asked as Pyrrha got moving again. Aviel’s roll had given Pyrhha enough room to spring past Aviel and toward the rubble. With them on the move again, Samantha turned to Gabby and took a second to finally answer.

"Oh...be...because it only has three...shots. After that it takes a few minutes to...get enough pressure to fire," Samantha managed to get out as she looked away. Gabby gave her a confused look as Sanders just nodded to himself. Made sense. Better to save them in case they needed them than waste them trying to hit Aviel. Even so, he was glad to hear the cannon turning to face Aviel now that they had rushed past her, even if it was kinda slow.

Pyrrha bounded up to the rubble and began to sniff over it. The place had been wrecked by Aviel's kicks and it looked even more chaotic than it had before. Sanders cursed as he saw blood splatters coming out from rocks and limbs sticking out from under rubble. Dammit...he had been too late to save any of them... If only he had come back sooner...

"Found!" Pyrrha, suddenly, said as she began to dig into the rubble. She moved a few rocks out of the way before revealing a small shelter that had been made between two large slabs. Inside were ten people, one of which was Darius.

"Great job, Pyrrha! Get them, hurry!" Sanders said in excitement. He HAD saved some of them and Darius in particular! They were going to need him to help get this plan to work and, more importantly, keep leading them. Without him and Derek... No, best not to think about it now that it was a mute point.

Pyrrha snatched them up as quickly as she did the other group, though she seemed a bit...hesitant, to pick up Darius. She put them all on her back and went back to sniffing the area.

"Jacob, ask Darius if anyone else is alive!" Sanders yelled back to Jacob. Jacob relayed the question and there was a long pause before the answer.

"He doesn't know!" was all Jacob yelled back. Sanders could guess that wasn't what Darius said, but could, also, guess what Darius had really said. Something along the lines of them leaving now and not bothering to search. Well, Pyrrha was under his command and they would leave when Sanders felt like leaving. And that wasn't till they were sure they had gotten everyone.

As if to prove his point, Pyrrha stopped her sniffing and began to dig down again. She managed to pull three more people out from a little hidey hole before going back to sniffing. Behind her, the WHOOMP of the cannon firing again attested to Aviel not sitting idle. Sanders swore as he realized they had only one more shot and they didn't need to waste it. Fuck he didn't want to leave anyone, but...

Suddenly, Pyrrha stopping sniffing and her ears drooped a bit.

"Rest broke..." she said in a sad tone. Sanders was surprised at how well she was talking and that fact she seemed to understand they were trying to save people. However, he was more interested in what she said... broken... Only thirteen of the thirty-one people had survived...dammit he should have acted sooner.

"Alright, let's get out of here, Pyrrha," Sanders said as he sighed to himself. Gabby patted his shoulder and gave a comforting smile as Pyrrha leap down from the rubble. Behind them, Aviel let out an angry growl and the sounds of her moving could be heard. The last WHOOMP, however, put a stop to that.

Pyrrha started to get into a full sprint, but came to a sudden halt a few steps into it. Sanders swore as he was thrown forward by the stop, but managed to hold on. Samantha and Gabby slid forward a bit, but caught themselves before they slid too far.

"What the hell?! Pyrrha, don't stop!" Gabby yelled at Pyrrha as her hands latched onto Pyrrha's hair like a vice. Pyrrha, however, ignored her yelling and bent down toward something. She picked up whatever she had found and seemed saddened by it. She lifted up whatever she had found and started to put it on her back.

As her hand passed, Sanders got a look at what she had picked up. His blood ran cold as he saw the crumpled form in Pyrrha's hand. It was Derek, or rather what was left of him... His chest looked to have been caved in and his right arm was bent back in a way it was never meant to go. Bruises and bumps covered his face and his nose had been smashed completely inward. His left arm still held his cannon, but the wrist had been bent forward far beyond where it should be. Sanders couldn't see his legs from this angle, but could only imagine they were just as bad off. This...this was why the cannon had gone silent. Derek...what had Aviel done to him?!

"Oh no...Derek..." Gabby said as she saw the state Derek was in. She looked away and shook her head in anger as her fists clenched together. Samantha grabbed her mouth in horror when she saw him and stood there, stunned, till Derek started to disappear behind Pyrrha's head. Dammit, he shouldn't have let them go. Sanders knew they might not come back and now... If he had only suggested another plan or had the damn guts to kill Aviel before this-

"What i- Oh God, DAD! DAD!!!" Jacob, suddenly, yelled in panic. Sanders cringed as Jacob's cry turned into a wail of horror as his father moved into his sight . Samantha snapped out of her shock and sprinted through Pyrrha's hair toward the sound, a dead-set look on her face. Sanders didn't watch her go as he cursed himself once again. Aviel had done this...yet another life lost thanks to him... He wanted to avenge Derek and get revenge for Jacob so badly, but there was no time. They had to get out of here before Flonne came back. Derek...would have wanted that.

"Pyrrha, go. Fast as you can," Sanders ordered Pyrrha as he tried to keep his pain hidden. Pyrrha's ears drooped a bit, as if somehow sensing his pain, but she did as she was told. Gabby moved back and looked to be about to try to comfort him, but Sanders waved her off. He...didn't want comforting right now.

"I'm...going to see what Aviel is doing. Tell Pyrrha to take the left hallway up ahead," Sanders told Gabby before turning away. He figured she would try to say something or try to assure him this wasn't his fault. However, Sanders didn't want to hear it. He walked toward the top of Pyrrha's head, completely ignoring Gabby's calls to him.

He scaled the top of Pyrrha's head and looked back toward Aviel. His old partner wasn't moving after them, now. Instead, she let out a long sigh and hung her head down in acceptance of defeat. It looked as if she had given up on trying to catch them... good. Without a tail, they could get back to Miranda's home and get everyone out of here before the Society trapped them in the building. At least...at least he could save everyone else.

Sanders started to turn back when movement got his attention. He looked back toward Aviel and saw a smaller, but still large compared to him, figure fly down to her, Flonne... She looked...bigger than he remembered her, even from this distance, but figured it was just because it had been so long. The two talked as Pyrrha rushed around the corner and down the hallway Sanders had picked. With the two lost to sight, Sanders sighed and started back to the front of Pyrrha's head. He wondered what lie Aviel was filling her head with and his heart ached for the fairy. If only he could talk to her and get her to see th-

A loud rumble got Sander's thoughts to scatter as he looked back. That wasn't the sound of Pyrrha's footsteps... Another rumble followed it, then another, and another, almost like someone was... Oh no...

Sanders rushed back and felt his heart fall into his stomach. Racing around the corner was the massive form of Aviel, her wounds healed and her legs working just fine. Aviel glared down at them as she pumped her arms to get more speed. Worse, a sudden flash of green energy appeared around her before fading away again. Aviel was after them...and her shield was back online.