Chapter 29: Hope's Flight

January 31, 2024 10:02 AM

Sanders swore under his breath as Aviel's massive form began to race toward them. Dammit he had forgotten that Flonne could heal wounds! Fuck he should have had Pyrrha finish her off when they had the chance, DAMMIT! He had shown her mercy and it had come back to bite him in the ass, AGAIN! But there was no time to kick himself over that. Right now he had to focus on keeping them alive.

"Pyrrha! Run, RUN!" Sanders yelled to Pyrrha as he rushed through the tangle of hair back to her ears. He stumbled a bit as Pyrrha went into a full sprint, but keep his feet thanks to being rather used to this. His stomach got a bit queasy, but he fought it down as he tried to hurry back. Near to Pyrrha's ears, Gabby had loaded up her weapons and was starting toward Sanders. Sanders knew she would want to get into the fight, but Sanders needed her for something else. Two things, actually, now that he thought about it.

"Gabby, wait. I need you to stay on Pyrrha's head and relay messages for me. And make sure this gets back to Ollie and Darius," Sanders said as he handed her the radio he had borrowed from Ollie. Gabby looked more than a bit annoyed by the request, but nodded just the same.

"Fine... dammit I wanted another crack at that traitor," Gabby grumbled as she took the radio and started off for the back of Pyrrha's head. Sanders continued on his way and reached Pyrrha's ears a second later. He grabbed on to steady himself and glanced back behind him. The top of Aviel's head was just started to appear over Pyrrha's head as she closed in. Even at a full sprint Pyrrha couldn't outrun Aviel, but it would take Aviel a few minutes to close in on them. That might just give Darius and the others time to come up with a plan. Sanders hoped they thought of one quick as he couldn't do anything else save give them time.

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Jacob nearly threw himself from the top of Pyrrha's head when he saw his father's broken body be placed onto the platform. It was only his unconscious self-preservation  that keep it from doing just that. Instead, he slid down Pyrrha's hair as fast as he could, ignoring the friction burn scarring his hands

The moment his feet hit the ground, Jacob ran to the side of his dad. He shoved aside a few people before stopping next to his dad’s broken form. His legs gave way as he looked at his father and he flopped to his knees. His vision seemed to start to shift a bit as if his mind couldn't process this. The noise of the chase, the yells of alarm, all of it fell away till nothing was left save him and his dad.

"Dad... no, don't you fucking dare leave me too. Come on you can't," Jacob said as he looked over his dad's crushed form. Jacob was barely even processing what was in front of him as his trembling hands moved toward his dad. There was no...he just couldn't....Dad was invincible and...no...

Suddenly, a hand grabbed his shoulder and Jacob turned away from the horror. Kimberly was leaning down next to him and had a very forced, but still calm, smile on her face. She slid past him and toward Derek's body while Jacob sat there in abject terror. He...he had to still be alive... maybe... maybe he should stop her. He didn't want to know if he was... Jacob's horrid thoughts were cast away, though, as Kimberly's face lit up.

"He's alive... Medics! Get a stretcher and prep the first-aid area! I want all the medical supplies and equipment we have ready to be used!" Kimberly yelled into the crowd. Suddenly, Jacob was aware of the other people around them and how many of them were moving supplies and other things. What...what was going on? He...he couldn’t remember.

A few people Jacob recognized as medics appeared with a stretcher and they, after hooking themselves down, loaded his dad onto it. Jacob stood as they started to cart him toward the barracks. However, Kimberly moved to block his way with a gentle hand.

"You would only be getting in the way in there, Jacob. If you want to help your dad, make sure we escape that giant monster... and that she pays for," Kimberly paused as she glanced back into the barracks, a flash of rage passing her face, "doing this to your father." Kimberly's look of anger vanished to be replaced with a kind smile before she turned to head into the barracks. Jacob stood there, confused for a brief second as his mind tried to catch up with what was happening. Escape the giant monster...?

A loud boom snapped Jacob out of his stupor. Suddenly, his mind remembered what was happening around him. Their escape, saving Sanders and the rest, the giant bit-...the giantess... She had been the only one there and...and those wounds on his father... Kimberly's words now made a lot more sense, though Jacob couldn't care less. All he cared about was the fucking whore who had put his dad on death's door was behind them. She was chasing them...trying to finish the job... She was going to fail… and PAY! SHE WAS GOING TO PAY!!!

Jacob jumped to his feet and started off to the back, but stopped when his foot caught on something. He looked down and saw his dad's laser cannon lying forgotten on the ground. He knew exactly why it was there, it wanted to help him avenge its owner. Jacob snatched it up and took off for the rear of the platform. He might have heard Samantha calling out after him, but Jacob didn't care at all. She could wait, the fucking dead giantess walking was his only concern now.

Rage and hatred boiled through Jacob as he plowed his way to the back of the platform. He ignored the cries of anger and alarm from the people he shoved past and keep his feet despite the constant shaking. His eyes stayed locked on the slowly enlarging form of the giantess as she closed in with them. As soon as he got a clean line of fire he was going to melt her fucking face off, shit in her skull, and then serve the rest of her to Pyrrha to shit out. AND burn that shit too! She was going to FUCKING PAY!!!! THEY WERE ALL GOING TO PAY!!

"Fuck, watch i-" Jimmy said as Jacob plowed into him, nearly knocking him over. Jacob barely even gave him, and the parts he was holding, a second look before he keep going. He didn't have time to apologize or care enough to give one. He ran past the useless cannon, ignoring both Henderson and Taylor as they scrambled to get it to pressurize faster. Henderson was using his patented "hit it till it works" plan while Taylor was doing something else, Jacob didn't care enough to look.

Past the cannon was the back edge of the platform where Darius and Gerard were getting people organized into firing lines. The narrow space at the back meant that they could only fit ten or so people in each line, but they were squeezing people in as tight as possible. Jacob ignored them as he shouldered his way through the lines and to the back end of the Oval. A few people yelled at him and cursed as he smashed his way through, but no one was stupid enough to try to stop him once they saw the look of sheer hate on his face. Good thing too as he might have melted them if they had.

Once he reached the very back of the Oval, he locked himself down and brought the laser up as the giantess closed to within a yard or two of Pyrrha. There was some more commotion behind him, but Jacob ignored it as he aimed the cannon right at the bitch's face. His dad had let him use the cannon to practice with more than once and Jacob was confident he could use it correctly. The laser hummed to live and Jacob's finger moved toward the trigger. Time to suffer, you fucking BITCH!!

Suddenly, a hand grabbed Jacob and his finger twitched away from the trigger. Jacob's head snapped toward the offending person and found Darius glaring back at him. Jacob was seconds away from shoving him away when their "leader" spoke.

"Hold your fire, Jacob. You will just be wasting ammo at this range," Darius said in a calm voice that seemed completely unaware, or uncaring, that his dad was on the verge of death. All because of the BITCH FOLLOWING THEM!!!

"Hold fire? HOLD FIRE?! THAT BITCH NEARLY KILLED MY DAD! FUCK YOU AND YOUR HOLD FIRE!" Jacob yelled into Darius' face before shoving him away and going back to aim. He got as far as picking out his target again when a sudden shot of pain went through his jaw and sent him reeling to the side. Jacob stumbled and would have fallen over if his hooked in cord didn't go taunt, stopping him. Jacob swore as he grabbed his jaw and looked back to see Darius bringing his fist back to his side. He...he had PUNCHED HIM?!?!

"I gave you an order, Hodgson, and I expect you to damn well follow it. I don't care if that giantess raped your mom and turned Samantha inside out, you do what I say or you give that cannon to someone who can! This mission and our lives are too important for you to waste our best weapon on pointless aggression! Now hold fire till I tell you otherwise like your dad would do! Or do you want to disappoint him, again?!" Darius yelled at Jacob with a look of, actual, anger on his face.

Jacob's fury only grew as Darius talked and the urge to turn the cannon on him rose to near inevitability. At least until his dad was mentioned. The last sentence was like a blow straight to the stomach and Jacob had to fight not to wince at it. That wasn't... he didn't want... he just... Jacob looked down and thought back to all the times this laser his dad had gotten had saved their asses. How he had climbed onto a rampaging warbot the Society had sent out and pulled it off it before turning it back on it. How it had put down a catmonster that had been about to rampage through a small, hidden, farm. How, when they had gone hunting, his dad had instructed him that the cannon was too valuable a resource to be wasted on small things, such as animals. Jacob hadn't meant...to waste it, but...but he had been about to.

Jacob's fury burned out as he realized his mistake. The laser cannon had finite ammo out here and wasting it firing at the giantess' face, which was outside its effective range even if her shield was down, was just stupid. A kind of stupid his father would be pissed with. Jacob sighed and nodded in understanding to Darius before pulling himself back up. Darius gave him a long stare before seeming to be satisfied and moving off. Jacob looked away from the others around him, embarrassed by that foolishness and sure they would mock him for it. If they did, though, they did it rather quietly.

Darius had gone back to yelling orders and Jacob glanced back to see a three deep line of people behind him. The first row, the one he was on, was only ten people wide, but the second had eleven and the third had thirteen. A number of people were behind them and were loading launchers with rockets as fast as they could manage and stacking them up behind the lines. Jacob had to admit that was rather smart and would cut down reload time. He glanced at Darius and saw Ollie move toward him with his radio strapped to his back. He might have been right to punch Jacob, but that didn't mean he liked Darius anymore than he did. Just that...maybe he should follow his orders...this time.

Jacob turned back and stared up at the still closing giantess. Her eyes flashed down toward them for a split second before moving back to look at Pyrrha's head. He knew this bitch had been Sanders' old partner but she seemed to have a odd obsession with him the way she stared at where he was. Not that he was complaining as her underestimation of them would be her downfall. As if thinking the same thing, Darius yelled out over the speaker in the radio.

"Soldiers, prepare to fire! Line one, fire directly at the giantess then duck down. Line two, fire toward the right of her then duck as well. Line three, fire toward the left of her. Once all lines have fired, Jacob you are to hit any location on the giantess' shield that was struck by a missile! Understood?" Darius voice blared out from the megaphone. A chorus of yes sirs came out of the line and Jacob, despite being a bit confused as to why hit those spots, joined in.

"Good. LINE ONE, READY!" Darius yelled as everyone, save Jacob, raised their weapons. By this point the giantess had closed to being less than a yard away. Despite her closeness, though, she seemed to back off a bit as Darius yelled and they brought up their launchers. Probably getting ready to dodge, not that it will do any good with a spread like this.

"FIRE!" Darius yelled before being drowned out by the rockets roaring out of their tubes. The rockets flew toward the chasing giantess as Jacob and the rest of the line knelt down to give the second line a chance to fire. The first volley was only halfway there when the second line sent their own rockets out. Jacob cringed at the noise of the rockets flying over his head, but keep watching the giantess despite it.

The whore sprang to the side as the first volley closed in on her. The dodge to the side caused her to slip back to about a yard away, but she avoided the first volley all together. However, it also took her right into the path of the second volley. Even better, for them, the roar of the third volley erupted out and the rockets began to speed toward their target as well. Suddenly, the giant bitch was in bind on what to do. She could have dodged both, but she would lose even more ground than she had already. Ground she would have to make up with time, time for them to reload and time for the cannon to pressurize. Or she could take the missiles full on. She picked the latter.

Raising her arms to protect them from the rockets, the bitch's shield flared to life as it stopped the five rockets that hit her legs. Sadly, the shield held despite the rockets assault, though it did dim noticeable. Jacob had no time to worry about that, though, as he leap back to his feet. He aimed the cannon at a spot on her thigh that had been struck and where the shield was still visible. Jacob smiled as his anger came back and he smashed his finger down on the trigger. Time for some fucking PAYBACK!

The anger burned itself out, however, as the laser went off target. It lanced out and hit just left of the target Jacob had been aiming for. Unfortunately, that was enough to cause it to nearly miss completely. The laser nicked the edge of the shield causing it to flare a bit, but not much. Jacob swore out loud as he realized he pulled the trigger too hard and had thrown his aim off.

"Dammit, Jacob! If you can't aim that thing give it to me!" Gerard yelled from the back of the firing line. Jacob grumbled to himself and started to recharge the laser. There was no way in hell he was letting Gerard use his dad's laser cannon. Thankfully, Darius got everyone to focus on something else as his voice rang out.

"REARM!" Darius yelled as the sounds of people shuffling the empty launchers back while loaded ones were sent forward. With everyone busy with that, Jacob turned his attention back to the bitch. The monster began to pump her arms harder as she speed up to a full sprint, closing the distance she had lost horrifyingly quickly. Fuck she was fast...almost inhumanly so. Jacob was going to have to do something to slow her or she was going to be right on top of them! Before he could bring the laser cannon back up, however, Darius yelled out again.

"Hold your fire! No one is to fire till I give the word!" Darius ordered causing many people to look back at him in shock, Jacob among them. What the fuck was he thinking?! That huge bitch was nearly in arm's length of them and he wanted them to hold fire?! Jacob swore in his head as he decided to ignore that shit. He turned back and got ready to fire, but stopped as he noticed something. The giantess had...slowed... Where as she had been in a full sprint before, now she was just jogging and matching Pyrrha's speed. What the hell? Why hadn't she came in clo-...

Suddenly, it hit Jacob why she was hanging back as he saw the others raising their launchers. If she had come rushing in fully, she would have been far too close to dodge the rockets. And with her above them like that, they could fire every last one right at her. With her shield already weakened, they would have easily blasted through. So she had hung back to give her time to avoid the next volley. And Darius had realized that as well, hence why he had ordered them to hold fire. That was....rather smart of him. If they had fired their rockets right away she would have dodged them and rushed them before they could reload. Now, though, they were in a stand off. Maybe he should give Darius more credit...

"First line, fire to the right. Second, fire to the left, third, fire right at that bitch! Ready....FIRE!" Darius yelled as he changed up their targets. The first line fired, but the giantess didn't move sending them off target. The second line fired and, again, the giantess refused to budge. Finally, the third line fired and, thanks to her not moving, was right on target. With the other rockets still off the her side, she really had no where to go to avoid them. And since the last row had the most people, it meant the largest volley was heading right for her.

Jacob got back to his feet and readied the cannon as the rockets neared their target. As they closed in, the giantess began to shift her legs around to avoid some of the rockets. Most, however, still managed to hit, but the shield remained active despite the large number of impacts. Jacob, however, didn't let that bother him as he aimed at a spot just above her knee. He did his best to keep his anger down and try to keep calm as he aimed the cannon. Rather than mashing the trigger like last time, he squeezed it till the laser flashed out.

This time, the laser was right on target and hit exactly where Jacob had wanted. It struck the shield and, for a split second, looked to have been stopped. But then the glowing shield vanished and the laser burned into the bitch's leg. Jacob smiled in triumph as the bitch winced in pain. The laser had overpowered the already weakened shield and had managed to punch through. It hadn't hit anything critical, but Jacob would make sure the next would. And with the shield down she had to dodge every rocket and laser to stay in the fight.

There was no time to celebrate the hit, however, as the bitch went back to a full on sprint. The wound slowed her a bit, but not nearly enough. Darius was yelling for everyone to get rearmed as she closed in on them and Jacob scrambled to get the cannon recharged. Before any of them could get another shot off, however, a massive blast of wind hit the platform. Jacob swore as he found himself nearly thrown off his feet. He ducked down and put his arm in front of his face to block the sudden gale. Jacob looked to his side and saw the others having just as much trouble keeping up and, worse, unable to get their launchers on target. Of course, with this wind, the rockets would be unlikely to stay on target even if they could.

Through the blasting wind Jacob began to hear a familiar and terrifying buzz. Jacob tried to shield his eyes as he looked forward toward the giantess. Just above the giantess' shoulder Jacob saw the thing that he was sure he would see, but wished he hadn't. The fairy from before was there, hand thrust toward them. And not just any fairy. A fairy that was far larger than any he had ever seen before. He swore under his breath as he tried to lift the cannon up, but the wind was dragging it down too much. Dammit, he couldn’t get it on target!

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Samantha had stayed back when she saw Jacob head into the firing line. She wanted to comfort him, to let him know she was there, but knew blasting Sander's ex-partner would do more for him than anything else. Instead, she had joined the group that was loading launchers and sending them forward. That was until the wind suddenly blasted into them.

The wind was unnaturally strong and Samantha had to fight not to be bowled over by it. A few others were not as sure footed and fell, but were saved by their hooks or by others grabbing them. The wind wasn't strong enough to blast anyone off, but it was more than enough to leave them helpless. Rockets were useless in this, but the laser. Why hadn’t Jacob fired it...unless...

Knowing what she had to do, Samantha unhooked herself from the platform. She gritted her teeth as she began to try and force her way forward through the buffeting wind. It was hard going as the wind threatened the blast her over with every step, but she refused to be stopped. She grabbed onto people nearby to help steady herself as she forced her way forward, most of them giving her confused looks. It wasn't till she was pushing her way past Darius, who looked to be about to unhook himself, that someone realized what she was doing. Darius stopped going for his hook and, instead, grabbed the radio.

"Everyone, help Samantha forward! Get her to Jacob!" he yelled out. Even with the radio amplifying his voice, it was only barely audible over the roaring wind. People turned back toward her and started to extend their arms toward her. Samantha gladly took them as they pulled her forward. Gerard snatched her up once he got to him and nearly threw her forward, sending her a few feet forward thanks to the strength he put behind it. Finally, the second line of shooters pulled her up to them and Samantha managed to see Jacob.

Jacob was fighting to try and bring the cannon up through the wind, but couldn't manage to raise it high enough on his own. The person next to him was trying to help, but couldn't quite reach without unhooking himself. Past them was the massive form of Aviel, Sander's ex-partner who was horrifyingly close. And right above her shoulder was the fairy causing the wind...only it wasn't just any fairy. It was the massive one that had nearly caught her, William, and the rest that terrible night. Of all the fairies...

Aviel got the faintest hint of a smile as she started to lean down a bit. Her hand extended out and began to move closer to Jessica's tail, sending a wave of terror through Samantha. She remembered all too well what had happened the last time someone had grabbed Jessica's tail. She couldn't let that happen, doubly so since it caused so much pain to Jessica! Suddenly feeling a burst of energy, Samantha plowed through the wind without any help before grabbing Jacob's shoulder.

Jacob spun around in shock at the sudden grab, a look of panic on his face. It faded to relieve and a smile when he noticed it was her. Their eyes said enough for both to understand and Jacob grabbed her arm to help her toward the cannon. They both grabbed hold of it and lifted it up against the wind. Both grunted and strained as they pulled it up inch by inch, closer and closer toward Aviel's leg. Aviel's hand began to grasp for Jessica's tail, but it began to move erratically like it knew what Aviel was trying to do. Samantha had to hurry, she would NOT let Jessica get hurt! Not after she had just gotten her back!

With a yell of effort, Samantha pulled the cannon up to point at Aviel's leg. Jacob smiled and yelled out something, though what it was was lost in the wind. His finger tightened around the trigger and Samantha got ready to give him a victory kiss. Suddenly, the wind nearly doubled in strength and the cannon was sent reeling upward by the sudden increase in wind. By then it was too late, though, for Jacob to stop from firing the cannon. It sent a searing beam of light flying out, completely missing their target. However, a scream of pain still came out of Aviel as the beam hit her, not in the leg, but right in the arm. The same arm that had been grabbing for Jessica's tail.

Aviel slowed a bit as she grabbed her forearm, swearing and cringing in pain. The fairy, however, didn't slow at all and now had both hands thrust toward them. While it wasn't the target they had wanted, they had still managed to buy themselves time. Samantha didn't get a chance to celebrate, however, as she felt herself starting to be blown into the air. Jacob brought the cannon back down to the ground and Samantha tried to keep a grip on it, but her hands began to slip off. Jacob saw her right hand lose its grip and spun around to grab her before her left hand gave out. He yelled her name as he grabbed both her hands and tried to haul her back toward him, but couldn't overpower the now immense wind.

Others tried to grab for Samantha, but the wind was simply too strong for them to get to her. Samantha could feel her hands started to slip through Jacob's hands. No...no, she couldn't leave him not after what happened to his father! She summoned as much strength as she could as she held on for dear life.

"Fucking DAMMIT! Flonne, get Sanders so we can finish these damn Resistance fuckers off!" Aviel's booming voice roared out, still more than audible even through the wind. Samantha took her eyes off Jacob and looked up to see the fairy starting to move forward. Samantha swore as she realized that it was going to steal Sanders away from them and then leave them helpless to fight against Aviel. It had to be taken down.

Samantha yelled at Jacob to let her go and target the fairy, but Jacob shook his head at her. She keep yelling at him, but he just yelled no right back, tears running down his face. Samantha knew it was going to be impossible for him to let go, doubly so after his dad. But he had too. He had to stop that fairy and save the others. Her life was not as important as the rest, no matter what he or William thought. Samantha let her hands go limp and began to feel herself slipping free. Jacob's tears turned to rage as he started to yell at in in fury. She mouthed an I love you to him and started to close her eyes.

Suddenly, the wind vanished just as quickly as it had came. Samantha opened her eyes in surprise just in time to flop to the platform. A sudden scream of pain and agony filled the emptiness left by the wind. Samantha and the rest looked up to see the huge fairy veer off to the right before smashing into the lockers lining the wall. She screamed in pain again as she tumbled along the lockers before slamming into the ground. She rolled a few feet forward before coming to a stop in a heap, her body clutching at one of her wings that looked to have been ripped apart by something.

Samantha turned back toward Jessica's head and saw a lone figure standing on it. Sanders stood there like some kind of hero of legend, a huge machine gun in his arms and a massive drum of ammo on his back. A wave of relief and happiness spread through her as a massive cheer erupted from the platform. The cheer soon turned into a chant as Samantha was pulled into a tight hug by Jacob.

"SANDERS, SANDERS, SANDERS, SANDERS!"

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Sanders barely even heard the cheering and chanting. His eyes, and mind, were locked onto the sight of Flonne plowing her way to a stop. She was so different than he remembered...far larger and more... developed than before. She had been like a small child before, now she looked more like a young teenager. But her scream of pain...it was almost exactly the same...and he had caused it.

He had no choice, he keep trying to tell himself that, but it was hard to convince himself of that. Maybe if he had tried to talk to her or...or something. Sanders had to fight not to let tears run down his face as he watched her roll into a ball from the pain. Flonne...I'm so sorry… He didn’t want her to be the first to face the fury of the repaired machine gun...but… Sanders let his hand run across the whistle as his heart sank like a rock.

"Flonne?! You BASTARDS! YOU ARE DEAD!! I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHAT YOU HAVE!!!! YOU HEAR ME SANDERS?! YOU ARE DEAD!! NO ONE HURTS FLONNE!!" Aviel suddenly bellowed out so loud that it hurt, even from this distance. Sanders threw his thoughts away as Aviel glared right at him with a look of utter hate that sent a chill down his spine. He had never seen her give that look to anyone, not even Resistance members, though he had seen it before... on Lutice.

The cheers died as Darius began to yell orders to fire at will as Aviel began to charge after them. Sanders was stunned by how quickly she started to catch them. Fuck, she had never been that fast before! Rockets began to fly out from the back of the platform, but Aviel didn't budge. She plowed right into them and didn’t even flinch. They blew off bits of flesh from her legs, but still she came on. Even the laser could do nothing to stop her rampage toward them as it seared into her legs. Blood was pumping out of her wounds, but it was like she didn’t even feel, or care about the pain. Fucking hell, she was unstoppable!!

Sanders gritted his teeth as he raised the machine gun Jimmy had fixed. It was time to see just what this weapon could really do. He flicked the jury-rigged auto-selector to full and got ready to unleash a torrent of metal at Aviel. He had no idea if it’s added firepower would be enough, but dammit he was going down swinging at least! However, as they passed an intersection, a massive figure drew Sanders eyes off Aviel. His jaw went slack as he got a good look at the person standing beside the corner, waiting in ambush. It...it couldn’t be...

Aviel came sprinting after them, looking about ready to dive for Pyrrha. The figure came spinning around, their arm thrust out. Aviel's dive turned into a flop right onto her back as the figure clotheslined her. Sanders would have cheered at their luck if he was still not in shock to see Alice, giantess-sized and still very much alive.

Despite the blow and fall, Aviel leap back to her feet with terrifying speed. Worst of all, her eyes barely even glanced at Alice before turning back toward Sanders, that look of malice still locked into them. Thankfully, Alice grabbed her and pulled her back, but seemed to be having trouble keeping a grip on her.

Pyrrha began to slow and glanced back, probably confused as to what was happening. Sanders didn't stop her as he looked on, still trying to cope with seeing Alice alive. But...Gabby had said... He might have heard Darius and a few others yell at him, but his mind was too busy reeling from seeing Isabella’s old friend alive. Instead, he focused on Alice as she yelled to him.

"Run! Damn you, RUN!" Alice yelloed before Aviel thrust backward with her elbow. Alice dodged it enough to keep it from nailing her, but it still clipped her and nearly got her to let go of Aviel. Snapping out of his shock, Sanders spun around to Pyrrha. Fuck this might be their only chance to escape and he was wasting it!

"Go Pyrrha! Get us out of here!" he yelled to her. He felt her nod and she turned back before taking off at a sprint again. Aviel screamed in rage, but Alice managed to get her arm around her neck to hold her back. However, other voices, giantess voices, began to echo from other hallways. Sanders swore as he realized they were going to leave her, but didn't stop Pyrrha as she turned down another hallway. There was too much at stake and they would just get in Alice’s way at this point.  Alice and Aviel vanished from sight with only Aviel’s bellow of rage following them.

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Samantha sighed to herself as she stood outside the barracks. They had made it back to Miranda's home without incident thanks to that rogue giantess. No one had any idea who she was or why she had helped, but Darius seemed intent on using the time she had bought them. He had people grabbed practically everything not nailed down to bring with them and had Susan and Gerard bellowing to make them go faster.

While that was going on, William and Darius had split off to talk amongst themselves and Sanders had gone...somewhere. Once all the activity started he had vanished, most likely to go help. Samantha wasn't worried much about any of them though as she was more interested in the people inside the barracks. Kimberly had tried to keep Jacob out once the fighting had stopped, but had given up after the fifth time he had snuck in. Samantha prayed Derek was alright, for Jacob's sake. Despite their rather...strained relationship, Samantha knew they both loved each other. Losing his dad would devastate Jacob and, possibly, undo any good saving her and the rest had done for him.

The sudden flap of the covers that acted as doors scattered Samantha's thoughts. She turned in hope of seeing Jacob, but found Kimberly instead. She had a good deal of blood splattered on her clothing and barely seemed to register Samantha. Samantha's heart sank like a rock at seeing her face. No... oh no... She started to go past Kimberley to get inside, but the doctor stopped her with a raised arm.

"Don't. Jacob needs some time alone with his dad," Kimberly said as she ran her hand across her face. Time with his dad...wait did that mean he was still...! Kimberly must have noticed her brightening as she nodded in response.

"Yes, Derek is still alive. For now. But that is all it is...for now," Kimberly said as she let out a long sad sigh and seemed just as devastated by those words as Samantha.

"You...you can't save him?" Samantha asked, regretting asking the moment she did. Kimberly looked as if she had been slapped by that question, but still managed to shake her head.

"No...I can't. His wounds are too severe for us to treat. All we can do is make him comfortable till he..." Kimberly stopped as she buried her face in her hand. She turned away from Samantha and walked away, tears dripping from her hand. Samantha let her go and leaned back against the barracks wall. Oh Jacob... She wanted to go in and comfort him, but did as Kimberly said and left him alone. He needed time...time to say goodbye...

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"You wanted to talk to me, Darius?" William asked as he moved toward Darius. William had a very good idea on what they were going to be talking about and was not looking forward to it. Surely Darius knew the answer he was going to get...so why bother doing this?

"Yes...I did," Darius said as he turned to face William. He had that same slight glare that William remembered him wearing that day... that day everything had gone wrong. It did nothing to make William feel better about this talk.

"William, I need you to take Derek's place as my second," Darius said without even a hint of emotion. William sighed as Darius voiced the thing William most feared... and most expected. Damn you, Darius...of all the things to ask for...

"N-" William started to say, without a second of hesitation. Darius, however, raised a hand to stop him from finishing.

"Before you say no, you should know what we found in the middle school. We found a computer, one built by Gregor Manchent and containing records of his research. I cannot show it to you as we don't have the time, but I can tell you what was on it. The truth of the Shrink Disaster. Namely, that the Society caused it," Darius said as his eyes narrowed at William. William's eyes did the exact opposite and flew open at Darius' words.

"WHAT?!" he blurted out in surprise. Darius didn't let up with the revelations, however.

"That is not all. Manchent, also, left a plan that could not just get us into the Society base, but give us the means to defeat them. A way to get our hands on a handheld shrink device, the kind that Sanders said was used on his commander," Darius added, a slight smirk of approval joining his narrowed eyes. Anyone else wouldn't have noticed it, but William had become rather good at reading Darius' face. Of course, William's own face could have been read by a twelve year old as his jaw hung slack.

"Defeat them...a shrink device… Gregor you magnificent bastard," William said as emotions went from shock to utter joy. A way to defeat the Society...He had never even dreamed of that being a possibility, but now... William couldn't help but laugh a bit as he thought back to his old friend... That crazy son-of-a-bitch had, actually, managed to figure out a way to defeat them...

"Knowing all that...is your answer still no?" Darius asked as he extended his hand toward William. William's joy vanished at that question. Instead, he felt himself torn in two. Work with Darius...his old student who had doomed people to death simply to save his sister... or don't and risk Manchent's plan failing... There really was no choice here.

"No...no it is not," William said as he took Darius' hand, "I accept your offer." William forced a smile onto his face at that as he tried to silence his apprehension. Monster or not, Darius now had their best weapon in his hands. And with Derek dying in the barracks, William was the only one who could take his place. William owed Manchent to see this through, no matter what.

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Gabby had thrown herself into the work the second they had arrived back at Miranda's house. Darius had ordered them to load up every bit of food and water they could along with anything else Miranda thought might be useful. Miranda's original plan of staying here had been put to rest thanks to Aviel and, now, she had little choice but to come with them. To stay would just make it a matter of time till she was found. Gabby hated that the mother and child had lost this safe home, but was glad she was staying with them. She could make sure they stayed save with them nearby.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason, though Gabby didn't like to think about that. Alice had really saved their asses back there, but it had put Gabby in a pickle. She knew she should have told Sanders the truth sooner, but there was just never a good time to bring it up. I mean, "oh by the way, that person you thought dead isn't," isn't exactly the kind of thing you just blurt out in normal conversation. Gabby sighed to herself as she tried to think of how to go about apologizing.

"Gabby..." a voice she did NOT want to hear said from behind her. Gabby groaned inside her head and turned to find Sanders standing behind her. He wasn't scowling, which was good, but he sure as hell wasn't smiling either. If anything he looked angry, but was trying to hold it in. She...guessed that was better than what she feared.

"Hi...Sanders. Umm... can this wait I nee-" Gabby started to say while trying to make the large box of food she was carrying look heavier than it was. She didn't get to finish, though, as Sanders slight frown turning into a full on scowl. Fuck...

"...Okay fine," Gabby said before setting the box down for someone else to get, "I'll tell you what is up, just not here." Sanders' scowl softened at that and he nodded. The headed off to a part of the desk that was rather barren of people to talk in private. She trusted Sanders enough with this, but she was still a bit iffy on some of the people in the Phoenixes. Best to keep them out of the loop as long as possible.

"Alright, now why the hell did you tell my Alice was dead?!" Sanders demanded as his scowl returned in full force. Gabby winced a bit at Sanders as she glanced away. Dammit, she hadn't been trying to piss him off. She tried to think of some lie that would make it better, but her mind was a complete blank. Maybe the truth was a better option.

"I'm sorry! I wanted to tell you, but I just never got a chance after you assumed she was dead! I wasn't trying to keep it from you I was just worried about telling the Phoenixes about her. Both me and Alice thought it best to keep her a secret from them," Gabby said, raising her hands to try and calm Sanders down. Sanders scowl lessened, a little, at that.

"Both of you did? Why?" Sanders asked. Gabby didn't like doing this kind of question and answer stuff, but at least Sanders wasn't pissed anymore. And she could guess not answering would put him right back to pissed.

"Because their are traitors in the Resistance, of course! If one of them found out about Alice and told the Society, they would never stop hunting her down... Which is what they are, probably, going to do now that she revealed herself," Gabby answered, making herself worried by her own words. Alice was resourceful and damn good at not being found, but she was going to be horribly outnumbered and all alone. Fuck, why did she have to get herself shrunk? She should be out there helping Alice!

Sanders glare turned to a worried look as he glanced away for a second. He turned back rather quickly, though, his glare back.

"How do you-... You know what, why don't you just tell me what really happened when you got shrunk?" Sanders said as he crossed his arms. Gabby sighed and grumbled to herself. She hated having to tell stories, but she wasn't going to get out of this without one. And she figured Sanders did deserve to know what had really happened.

"Alright, fine..."

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Concentrating was hard...so much activity, so much noise. She couldn't help but watch a few as they passed by.

Stop, you are scaring them.

Scaring them? But she was just looking, she didn't want to hurt. She knew they were not food, not anymore. She was a good girl, she had learned. Two legs meant no eat, four legs though were OK. Watching boring...do something else.

She wished mate or kitten would come back and say go. She wanted to leave now. Bad big smells were getting stronger and she hated them. They try to hurt her, hurt mate, hurt kitten, hurt others. Bad.

Giantess scum...they deserve to die for what they did!

Yes, she liked killing them! But they were big and put others in danger. They were small and needed protecting. She liked protecting them. Was almost as fun as eating.

Always food...stop with the damn fo- fuck, not this ag-

Odd...she thought she was hungry, but now was...something...head felt...odd...not right... She didn't like it. Keep happening after the tube lady. Didn't like her, just like the glaring other. Made her feel...wrong. Head was clearing, but still felt...off. Something was...was different.

She blinked a few times and tried to shake off the odd feeling. Weird...she was sure something had changed, but she couldn't really tell what. She turned to the side and saw the other people all gathering toward her. It looked like they were getting ready to leave. Finally...she was so sick of just laying here.

"Pyrrha!" Mate Sanders yelled out. She turned toward him and a bit of excitement ran thro-

My name is Jessica, dammit!

-wait what? Jessica? No...her name was Pyrrha. Mate Sanders and the other people had said so. Why would they call her that if her name was Jessica! But...then why did she think that? She...had thought that right?

"Pyrrha? What is wrong?" Mate Sanders asked, with a worried look. She looked down at him and felt bad for making him worry. She forgot about that odd thought and smiled down at him to show she was fine.

"Nothing, I'm fine," she added to make sure he knew. Mate Sanders gave her an odd look that she didn't understand, but nodded.

"Alright if you say so. Time for us to move out, Pyrrha, up," Mate Sanders said. She smiled in joy at those words and shifted her hand to pick up her small mate. She loved having him on her head where she knew he was save. Plus, he rubbed her ears and head every so often and it felt soooo good. She waited for him to climb onto her hand before lifting him up to her head.

Once she felt him grab onto her ear, she pushed herself up. She didn't head for the door, though, as she could smell a lot of giantesses in that direction. Instead, she turned toward one of the windows that was broken a bit. She didn't bother waiting for Mate Sanders to give her instructions as she leapt up onto the window seal and punched out the few fragments of glass left on it. With the way clear, she hopped out the window and into the open air.

"Holy crap...Pyrrha are you...are you sure you are alright?" Mate Sanders asked in surprise. She couldn't help but giggle as she realized he hadn't thought she was smart enough to think of that on her own. Well of course she could! She wasn't stupid!

"Yep, I'm great!" she said before taking off into a steady jog. She could still smell giantesses around, but didn't smell any to the north. There was a big hill that way with a bunch of houses on it. They would make for good places to hide. Pyrrha smiled to herself as she thought of how happy Sanders was going to be when he realized she had figured all that out by herself!

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Unknown to Pyrrha and the rest, one giantess was watching them leave. Alice let out a relieved sigh as she watched them head for the hills. They would be safe there, for now. As for herself, she had a distraction to make. She wanted to see Isabella and find out what they had found, but knew meeting them now would only put them all at risk.

Alice turned away from the hills and headed back into the middle school. The longer she keep the Society focused on her, the more time she gave Gabriella, Sanders, and Isabella to escape. Their reunion would have to wait. As if proving the point, voices began to echo through the hallway as another patrol moved in. Alice took a deep breath and got herself ready for combat. By the end of the day, there were going to be a few less Swords for them to contend with. And hopefully Aviel would be among their number.