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Futuristic Blacksun (Notorious x C.DEX)

"Suits all the way on, we don't know when this thing is gonna blow and if we want Lucy to pick us up after the entire thing decompresses and we're violently jettisoned into space then we need to have our helmets on!" Imille said, looking back to the others. "We should split up into teams; we'll cover more ground that way." she said, counting up just how many people they had. "Okay. I'm thinking two - a muscle on each team. Jagar on one, Ajax on the other. Now we can do this team Captain style where you each pick a person, but my feelings always get hu-"


"I'm going with Ajax. You don't need one of them on each team, either. You guys should stick to the outer residential areas and then work your way inward, we'll go deep and then work our way out." Casar said. "We're taking Jagar, too."


"See, normally, I'd argue about you taking Ajax and Jagar and totally cheating the whole team Captain system, but we don't have time to argue. Wait. Doesn't that make me the team bruiser?" Imille asked, looking down to her own bicep. Before she could get offtrack, Casar had continued.


"If ... if we do come across Knox, we can't divide our power like that, because them catching any one of us alone is going to be a death sentence." he said, the thought a grim one. "Avena needs to go with you guys, too; Ajax and Jagar can heal on their own, and you need numbers." he said. "And ... Psy. That'll make up for what you don't have with Jagar and Ajax. Imille can repair Psy, Avena can repai- er ... heal the others who get hurt. Arc is technically a non-combatant but we've all gone through combat training, initially and bi-yearly."


"So ... me, Arc, Avena, Psy, and Nyx?" Imille clarified, to which Casar nodded.


"You'll be able to cover ground while we'll focus on hitting the bigger, more defended targets." he said, his shoulders slumping. Then, the Gaius crept to a stop inside of the RCN-1, Lucy getting them just as close to the inside and past the docking bay as she could without getting outright shot out of the artificial sky. The breach doors opened up, showing them a view of below. The time for strategizing was gone, and now they had to jump into the action.


Literally.


It was a short fall, but with boosters abound the team had floated to a stop as soon as they had hit ground, realizing that it was just as chaotic inside of the RCN-1 as it was on the outside. With every blast it shuddered and shook, the foundation groaning as if it were going to crack apart like an egg and release everyone inside at any moment. They had to find their Ayla before that happened, though. They had to.


"We touched ground, Luce." Imille said, her breath quickening in her throat. It was the same feeling that all of them had: equal parts fear and exhileration as the adrenaline began to take hold. "If any of you die anti-climactically I'm gonna be HELLA PISSED!"


"We'll see you in the middle." Casar said, beginning to run forward with his team while the others started toward residential.


"You fucking better, this time." Imille replied. Then, they split, with little in the ways of a goodbye.


They still had moments before the Exodlites cracked the shell of the RCN-1 and got inside, and while that had yet to happen, soldiers and civilians alike preoccupied with either fighting or hiding tore through the streets, not paying an iota of attention to the crew that had actually forced their way inside as opposed to out. Chaos had been their stealth, if they had even needed it at all.
 
"No one is dying today." Lucy said over the comms, "I'll direct your group Imille to the residential area. Ajax... You need to head to the tower. Knowing Nephilim he'll want his bitch Axel close. Meaning..."


"I know." Ajax said, gaining his bearings as they had touched down in the city. It looked drastically different than what it had been the last time he was here. The faux sky was disabled, showing the fighting going out in space illuminating the city with each whizzing laser and missile that passed by. The light blue hue of the shield baked them in a glow while the other colors merged in, the bigger attacks making a bigger effect on terrorizing the fleeing citizens. "We'll meet in the middle." Ajax reaffirmed, "Don't y'all get crazy. In and out. Be safe."


"CRAZY IS MY MIDDLE NAME! I THINK!" Psy shouted out, adjusting to his new hat as he centered it on his head. He wasn't nearly as bothered as the others were, this being a walk in the park for the droid. If anything his surroundings resembled what was going on in his mind the bulk of the time, war actually calming him. "If you meat bags die just make sure to not spill your guts all over the place. Someone has to clean that ick... probably a poor droid!" Psy's voice drowned out as the groups moved away from one another.


As the groups split away there was a feeling in the air of dread. Any moment the station could be destroyed. Any moment the shields could go down. Any moment the Exodlites could breach the station. Thankfully they were disguised as RCN personnel for the most part but that wouldn't stop the bigger security checkpoints. They were racing against the clock and the longer they took the bigger chance something bad would happen to one of them, if not all of them. The others disappeared from sight soon, leaving each group to fend for themselves.


----------


"This way." Ajax said, being the guide for his team while Lucy had the other. "Act like you belong, let me do the talking if we get stopped."


They pressed on, the chaos happening in the streets drowning out the battle above miraculously. Civillians were shoving and pushing one another while wisely ignoring the RCN garbed team that was cutting through the middle of the road. Ajax, Casar and Jagar looked intimidating to the typical worker so they were given the respect that they deserved even in chaos. Ironically so, they were behaving much better than they ever had a few years ago.


"Ne-phlem make people scared of Renegade." Jagar spoke through the comm's, his voice too low to be picked up along with having his voice muted to the outside. "Make them something they not. No more good team like Yeller. Or Gaius. This happen cause of him."


"You ain't lying. People like Div and Brok wouldn't have let the location get leaked under any circumstance. My old man use to be one of the higher agents that kept shit like that a secret. Maybe he's getting sloppy."


"Let us hope."


-----------


"Okay everyone, I'm your eye in the sky." Lucy said to Imille's team, the Gaius actually hovering above them. "No one is going to shoot me down this close to the city. That and I look just like one of them so shouldn't be too suspicious. I'm going to scout ahead to make sure there are no baddies in your way. We're headed to Axel's old apartment... Whether it's still in use or not is to be determined. If it isn't we can find a hint on where he is now by hacking the home V.I. itself."


"No!" Psy shouted, "We are not abusing my brothers and sisters by playing in their funny bits against their permission."


"It's a V.I. you insufferable droid." Avena spat, "They don't have intelligence. If it was an A.I. like yourself it would be different. Shut up and move forward."


"Geezz... Someone didn't have their cat nip this morning! You big mean bitch!" Psy groaned, though not antagonizing Avena much further due to the situation they were in. "Am I going to get to kill anything on this mission? Why am I the only guy here? Isn't it a little sexist that they sent all the women on one team?"


"Arc is right here." Nyx gestured, bringing up the rear with her rifle drawn. They too blended in well enough, their surroundings filled with much less frantic people and more eerily empty streets. "Besides, our boys are probably running into Axel. We're all skilled enough to extract Ayla but I sure as hell am not fighting him."


"Oh..." Psy replied quietly. "With the long hair I thought he was a girl. Whoospie!" He said, giggling a terrifying metallic laugh. "Are we there yet?"


"No."


"Are we there yet?"


"No." The group replied in unison.


"Are we there-"


"You are coming up on a park." Lucy interrupted, saving them all from having to shoot Psy just after getting him back. "It's... a nice one." She commented, reminiscing on the time she had convinced Dayle to leave the Gaius for once. That felt like a lifetime ago. "Cut through it, there's an RCN patrol ahead. Looks like they're going to ship out to the battle and they might try and command you to join them if you get caught face to face. If you do, make something up."
 
Fire abovehead flashed like lightning, creating a massive crack in the sky. While the RCN-1 displayed the view of outside of the station, it was just that - an illusion. Internal plates depicting the image from behind the heavily reinforced walls began to groan in response to the Exodlite siege outside. Every few moments, it looked as if directed force would wipe them off the face of the universe, but thankfully, it had stopped at the shields.


But the shields were waning.


Casar had kept his eyes downards, knowing that if he'd fixated on the chaos outside that he'd want to run. But he couldn't. Because as terrified as he was, he wasn't defenseless. His brother hadn't been nearly killed, his sister hadn't been bissected in front of him. He hadn't been taken by a psychopathic maniac from the only life that had been positive. That was Ayla. And she was probably much scareder than he was. The thought kept him marching, but he'd be lying if he said he hadn't felt numb.


"We're not here for them." Casar said, suddenly. "As much as I would like to kill Nephilim ..." his teeth gritted. "We're not here for him. And they're not here for us. I can't imagine any of them would stop in the middle of a war to stop for us, especially if we look like Renegades. Until after they get in, at least. After the Exodlites get in, both sides will shoot us in the streets."


He looked up for half of a moment.


"Their shields are getting low. Once that happens, they could just kill everyone inside with the Harbinger, unless there's something inside this station that they want. Hopefully." he said, keeping up the pace by running. The tower loomed overhead, most of the traffic on the streets either outright avoiding the three or not reacting to them at all. There were other things they had to worry about. Until they had gotten too close.


"Halt!" came a voice, which sounded slimy and metallic. "You three. You should be heading towards the battle. You better have a good reason why three able bodies are heading further in." it said, and they had found that it belonged to a Renegade officer, blocking their entrance to the massive gate that lead further in the city. It was just beyond reach, and the temptation to simply raise the barrel of their guns and mow him down was a strong one.


Casar paused, looking to Ajax.


"Uniforms don't look standard, either. We don't let mercs in here; who are you?" he asked, reaching for his weapon.


---


"We're cutting through, Luce." Imille said, her eyes traveling upwards. "No officers in sight, we've got eyes on the apartment buildings. Damn, this place was built for a lot of people. Looks like a lot of it was built recently, too." she said, realizing just how clean cut and massive the apartments had been. "They kicked so many people out, I wonder why they were making so many new buildings."


"After Casar and the original Gaius crew as well as the assisting teams seiged the Sinai, I imagine the Renegades had a lot more people to accomodate." Arc replied, actually knowing the history of the place quite well. When Imille shot him a look, he nodded back at her. "After losing on Terram it almost became an obsession of Knox's to find and destroy this place, and that includes gathering intel from the Renegades that we captured."


"Poor Renegades gettin' tortured by errybody! ...That reminds me. Did we remember to feed the prisoner?' she asked. "Ooh man. This is like my childhood pets all over again. Oh God, did we remember to feed Bambi?!"


"The prisoner and the cat have both been fed." Arc replied.


Then, they were there.


Gray and steely, the apartment buildings Lucy had guided them to took place in front of them. The RCN-1 groaned, indicating that they might not have much time left in order to get her. "God, I hope she's here." Imille said, low.
 
"I'm Ajax Winger." Ajax said to the officer as plainly as he could, not caring for the consequences. "I'm here for my sister Ayla. Nephilim's enforcer is my father, Axel. We're here to get her out of here and probably kill him." Jagar couldn't believe what Ajax was saying to the Officer who's face could be seen underneath his helmet, a permanent look of surprise were painted on his alien features. "If you're going to stop me you better shoot me. I gotta tell you though I don't kill over easy and nothing is going to stop me from getting her back. Keep your weapon down and let us in."


Ajax began walking past the officer who reached for his weapon. Axel's children were common knowledge around the station now, at least they had been when they went missing. He had torn the station apart looking for them before reaching out toward the stars. Unfortunately for the officer he hadn't known just how skilled Ajax was now. As he heard the weapon unclick from his belt Ajax's right leg kicked off the ground, the cowboy spinning in a semi-circle before planting his boot firmly in the Officer's visor. The glass broke on the helt, sending shards into the alien's face before he received a devastating fist breaking the rest of the glass and knocking him out cold.


"Was stuck between the flying knee and the roundhouse. Think the roundhouse went better." Ajax commented, grabbing the limp guard's wrist and opening the gate remotely from his wrist computer. He dropped the Officer's hand and it fell limp to the floor, the unconscious alien none the wiser of what was going on in the battle now. "Hope the poor bastard wakes up before Knox blows this place to hell and back." Ajax said, leading the way deeper into the city.


They were within a short hike from the tower but now they were in the military district, thankfully nearly empty after the majority of the troopers had been scrambled to go fight in the battle above. Renegade and Exodlite ships alike were detonating, the battle a stalemate as neither side could wrestle supremacy from the other. Ajax frowned, "Lot of good people are dying today..." Part of him wished he could be up there helping them but he knew that would be for nothing, this wasn't his battle.


His battle was retrieving Ayla. His family's battle was retrieving Ayla.


They were running out of time.


---


"Which building is it, Lucy?" Avena asked, her voice low and her morale equally low. She had lost the spring in her step since arriving here, the battle not weighing heavily on her but something else was. "We are running out of time."


"I know, Avena. I'm marking it on your HUDs, one second..." Lucy said, sticking her tongue out as she guided the Gaius to line up with the apartment building. She lined it up and put a beacon they could see when wearing their helmets, one of the older apartment buildings being highlighted in their sights. "Make your way over there and-" The entire Gaius shook as multiple ships went flying by Lucy, one opening fire on her. "What in the fuck?" She gasped, seeing unfamiliar looking fighters come diving in.


The shield had lost a segment.


Exodlite fighters and troop transports began to flood into the opening in the shield before it reformed, as it did the shield obliterated those trying to rush in but that didn't matter. What mattered was Knox had men on the inside now and they were razing the RCN-1 directly. The station's defense system roared to life and soon the entire city went ablaze as the anti-air cannons were operational and firing a wave of flak at the attacking Exodlite ships.


"Hot dayum!" Psy shouted, "LOOK AT ALL THOSE BEAUTIFUL SHINY SHIPS! HELLO THERE!"


"Guys I have to break off." Lucy said, moving the Gaius away from the apartment complex. She flung the ship into overdrive, bursting away whilst remaining close enough to come get them. "Never thought I'd have to do this again but... I'm flying with the Renegades to fight these bastards off. Hurry it up!" Lucy activated an old Renegade tracker on the Gaius, pinging them as an ally. She had it registered under a different name but it meant not getting shot by the defense systems.
 
As soon as the shield had come down, it had kicked both teams into gear harder than they could have ever ran before. Ajax, Casar, and Jagar took toward the tower - which they had recognized as the capital tower of the RCN-1. It was undoubtedly where they would find the Chancellors, especially in a time of war. "If we're looking for Ayla, she might not be with Axel." Casar said. "But any information we need I can get from this tower. It's a delay, but while I'm sure they keep their Chancellors' homes here and probably their guards nearby, they might not be in the same location." he said, admitting the reality of everything.


He snapped his head back, looking at the blasted section of shield. Exodlites had boots on the ground - that had meant they didn't intend to blow it up. Not immediately, at least, but whatever they had wanted was probably going to be near the tower - the most valuable part of the RCN-1, and the most defended.


"They're probably coming here." Casar said, grim. Soon, they were in front of the doors of the tower overhead. Everything about the place was massive and extravagant, cameras scanning the horizon with turrets ready to be set on anything that the tower operators had deemed a threat. Luckily, the threat had only just entered, and the three of them simply looked like soldiers. Casar approached the doors, only for them to violently burst open in front of him.


"They're inside of the RCN-1. We can't all sit here like sitting ducks waiting to be taken out all together. Nephilim can stay inside if he wants to sink with his capital tower, but you know well that if they get to the middle then we're all dead - the Renegade Coalition is done, and I'm not willing to let that happen." a voice said, one familiar to Lucy - it perked her ears. A long man had walked out of the building, one draped in dark RCN robes and pallid, sunken eyes. He was eerie and gaunt, and while he had no true defining characteristics of anything but human, something had told the others that he was anything but. It was Chancellor Undyne, looking pallid, ill, and determined to move.


A trio of guards walked behind him, while another Chancellor shuffled to keep up. It was a smaller Chancellor, one with the snout of a lizard-like creature and an odd quartet of shifting eyes. "You can't do anything from your vault, Undyne." he said, his voice rasping and trilling. They didn't even seem to set eyes on the others, instead preoccupied with chasing the other Chancellor out. "This is not a time to be divided." he said.


"We cannot do anything." Undyne replied, spinning in place to shoot a hard look back at the other Chancellor. "We are men and women in nice robes. We are not telecommunication agents, or combatants. That day has long passed. All we are doing is sitting in a tower, waiting for our killer to deliver us, but I will not let that happen. I'm going to organize my men my-" he stopped, his eyes turning to lay on the three. A flicker of recognition highlighted his features - and it had made sense, Undyne being the Chancellor of Justice and Punishment, but ...


He continued on, leaving them unsure if he had actually recognized them at all. "If you want to join me then I encourage you. If you want to hide, then hide, but you are not stopping me." he hissed, leaving at last. The mage slipped in through the front, his hand on the entry panel as a distraction had taken the tower. A pulse of energy shot through his hand, keeping the door open for the others. Unfortunately, they had caught the attention of the lizardic Chancellor, whose eyes seemed to rest on them all at one time. His detail fingered at their weapons, as if ready to mow them down at any moment.


"Whose detail are you and why are you not with your Chancellor?" he hissed.


---


"They are not beautiful and shiny, Psy!" Imille nearly shouted, raising her weapon and firing a single shot at the keypad of the older apartments. It erupted, melting from the assault and unlocking the door. "They are bad! And rusty! And terrible! And bad!"


"Lets hurry and search this place." Arc whispered. "I'll sit near the entrance while you all go to the room. I doubt there's any danger inside of it."


"Aw! Are you defending us, Arc? Hey, Psy, can you stay near the entrance too? Make sure no big bad shitty ship Exodlites come in and sneak up on us?" Imille asked, grinning under her helmet, while her heart hammered in her chest from the adrenaline. They could literally die at any moment, but the prospect of seeing little Ayla again was there. They had to. They couldn't fail her. Then, the combat doctor took off up the stairs. "REMEMBER NOT TO TAKE ELEVATORS IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION!" she shouted, sounding desperately out of breath.


Arc stood near the doorframe, raising his weapon and poking his head out to monitor the streets.
 
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"Ajax!" Lucy called out, "That's Chancellor Undyne. Don't hurt him... He's one of the good ones."


"Because we're not with a Chancellor we're-" Ajax began speaking only for Jagar to grab him by the shoulder. Even the Vekht was drawing the line there, knowing that Ajax was about to blow their cover the second someone asked a question. "Let. Go." He said firmly, his eyes narrowing at Jagar. With a huff the Vekht let go, knowing that a fight was about to break out because Ajax couldn't preserve their cover. He had been so calm and collected when it came to their Exodlite cover that he had almost successfully infiltrated the base when rescuing Tess, now it was as if he was asking for trouble.


"Who are you with?" One of the guards reiterated, his hand tense around his assault rifle. "Speak. The Chancellor asked you a question!"


"Don't have a chancellor we're defending, we're not with the RCN." As Ajax spoke he reached up and took off his helmet so Chancellor Undyne could see his face clearly. "My name is Ajax Winger. Use to be a pilot here, my old man is... the cybernetic monster you send out to do your dirty work. Axel." The guard's hand seemed to tighten around his gun but was simply waiting with the others for the Chancellors to give the order. For now Ajax didn't seem to be posing a threat, simply stating who he was clearly and he wasn't reaching for any weapons so they simply remained alert.


"State your business!" The smaller chancellor spoke, on edge enough as it was. "You three are intruders... We should shoot you on sight!"


"Well you didn't. And I gotta say... I don't kill over easy. Neither does big guy back here and this man here? He might not look like much but ain't nothing out there that can kill him. We don't mean any of you harm."


"State. Your. Business."


"My father has kidnapped my sister Ayla. She's in danger, I'm here to rescue her. After seeing how the tower is looking though... I think I'll put a round through Nephilim's eyes for ruining this once great rebellion too on my way." The guards immediately drew their weapons on Ajax, he didn't flinch. "Do it. Showing your loyalty to him when he's all but forgotten you sorry sons a bitches makes you all look pretty weak." Ajax's attention went to Undyne, "Please get your men out of here, Undyne. Don't let that asshole take your lives too. There's like minded people in the universe just like us still out there, not like Nephilim or my father."


---


"Sure can Fishbait!" Psy shouted back as they made their way in, picking up on Nyx's nickname for Imille. He glanced over to Arc and chuckled, "Bitches, huh?"


Ignoring Psy's sexist comment the women began to make their way up the stairs. Avena was in the very back while Imille and Nyx cleared the halls with their weapons drawn. None of them there had actually been to Axel's apartment before but they continued up the stairs, Lucy monitoring their situation while listening to Ajax's.


"It'll be on the top floor, Room A-11." She said to them, paying closer attention to what was happening with Ajax and the others but still helping them nonetheless. "If she's in there be ready to run... If not, search it. There may be some clues. Ajax and the others are held up at the tower but once they get going again they can get you an exact location." All the while this was happening Lucy was fighting in the skies, weaving and jumping around buildings while pursuing Exodlite fighters.


"Roger that." Avena said quietly, "Let's move."


"Are you staying back there to check us out Kitty?" Nyx asked, stepping to the side so Avena could get a look at Imille too. "Cause typically it'd be safer for you in the middle."


"No." She replied dryly, "This is not the time."
 
Chancellor Undyne's eyes stayed glued to the three of them, honing in like lasers. When Ajax took his helmet off, he hadn't reacted whatsoever, because he had already known exactly who they were. His eyes shifted eerily to the smaller Chancellor, who seemed to be panicking at the sight of him. Undyne then turned to the other Chancellor. "Lower your weapons." he said. "This very well may get me killed, but ... that atones for nothing of the atrocities that I let slip through my hands. I have been negligent, attempting to keep what little remains of the justice we once used to have. The nobility."


Undyne's face showed no emotion, but his words had plenty to make up for it. "Chancellor Jurea." he said, addressing the other. "Please come with me. There is no need for you to stay here and go down with a sinking ship. You are afraid, and that is understandable, but the things that will happen to us here - and they will happen with the knowledge that we have failed to save the RCN - will be much worse than if we are able to convene in a place where we can begin to rebuild again."


They all fell silent, the guards slowly lowering their weapons. What they were talking about was treason, but that was a crime that Undyne had already committed himself by leaving the building. All four eyes of Jurea focused in on Undyne, and then he looked up to the crack in the sky.


Exodlites were filtering in.


"You ... You are right, Chancellor. We will die if we stay here, but ..." he looked down. "That's ... what we pledged to do when we took on our positions here."


"We also pledged to protect these people. And then the executions began occurring on the streets." Undyne said, his gaze penetrating. "I allowed this to happen. But I intend on living in order to correct those mistakes."


Chancellor Jurea looked up to Ajax, Casar, and Jagar. "I... I will go down with the ship. If there is something to do here, I'll do it, but ..." he tightened up, regarding the assassins in front of him. "If there was ... a plan to conspire to kill Chancellor Nephilim ... I am unaware of it." he said. "Just as he was unaware of the assassins that murdered Chancellor Ui. Gorv. And Hedon."


Undyne approached Ajax, placing his hand on the man's shoulder. "That is Chancellor Jurea's way of saying he will look the other way."


The lizardic Chancellor looked down, as if ashamed of his own actions. Then, he turned to his detail. "Go with Chancellor Undyne. You are good people, and you can help the fight better if you're serving someone that isn't hiding in a tower. Go!" he said, shooing them away. Then, he turned to look to Ajax, Casar, and Jagar. "By the time they realize I have a different detail ... it will be too late for Nephilim. Let us go." he said, turning to go back inside of the tower, while his security detail remained stunned, transferred out to spare their lives while Ajax, Casar, and Jagar had somehow gotten an easy way in.


They boarded the elevator, Chancellor in tow. The group of four that had originally kept Jurea safe raised their hands to their foreheads, saluting the Chancellor as he made his way back up, knowing well that it would be the last time that they had ever seen him again. Undyne nodded solemnly, seeing them off until the doors closed in front of him.


---


"AYLA BABY WE'RE COMING!" Imille shouted through gasps, finding herself overtly tired as she climbed the stairs. "Oh God, I regret everything! This pain is worse than space! This pain is CARDIO! There is no euphoria to exercise! It's all lies!"


"Stop being dramatic." Arc said, over the radio. "You can't be sure that Axel did not leave behind someone to watch her. She's an eight year old: it would be the responsible thing to do."


"I'm sorry! You're right!" Imille said, panting. Finally, they had hit the top floor, moving through the halls until they had found the old room. She glanced backwards, catching Nyx and Avena's eyes, and then nodded to them.


Unclipping a hack charge from her belt, she put it on the door, raised her weapon, and then let it do its work.
 
"Is... Undyne okay?" Lucy asked Ajax, her voice low but stressed as she was doing her best to avoid oncoming fire. Ajax in the mean time placed his helmet back on his head and muted his words to the outside of the room momentarily.


"He's evacuating the station now. We're with Chancellor Jurea... He's taking us to Nephilim."


"Nephilim?!" Lucy asked, dumbfounded by what he was saying. "This is about Ayla! What the fuck are you doing chasing after that asshole?"


"Where Nephilim is... Axel is... and where Axel is... Ayla might be. He might have brought her up here when the attack started." Ajax let out a long sigh, "We have no choice. I can do my work here, Cas can go hack the tower to find her as a worst case scenario and..." Ajax grunted, "I'm going to kill that motherfucker for what he did to you Luce. If it's the last thing I do I'm going to get even with him for hurting you."


"No!" Lucy shouted, "Don't you get killed just for some bullshit revenge. I'm fine Ajax! I really am, we can fix me. One day... Maybe..." Ajax heard gunfire as Lucy made some evasive maneuvers. She had really grown into her own, disabled or not it was no longer stopping her. "It doesn't matter. Do not fight him! He might kill you and after what just happened up here between us if you go dying on me I swear to god I will fucking murder you."


"I love you Lucretia, I'll be home soon." Ajax said, manually cutting his communicator from Lucy. She roared into the microphone as she continued to fight, distraught that Ajax was even considering this as a possibility. As he hung up on her the elevator doors opened, the three following the chancellor forward as they entered the room Nephilim was residing. It had been the Council's chambers, the massive room near the top of the tower with gigantic windows overlooking the entire station. Two figures stood at the very end, looking out at the destruction together.


There stood Chancellor of Military and Tactics: Nephilim, next to him his enforcer, Axel Winger.


The breath was knocked out of the three walking towards them, not only in awe of the massive room being at the tip of the tower but also by the sheer fact that they were willingly walking towards two of their greatest enemies. Countless years they had been pursued by both of these men until they were considered nothing by the two of them. Those very two men had brought the Renegades to their knees. They had won countless battles, endured several defeats but even through all their foul deeds the two of them thought that no matter what they were right.


Now three assassins were approaching them from behind, Chancellor Jurea escorting them personally.


---


"I got your back, Fishbait." Nyx said, standing behind Imille. "Like always. In more ways than one." Nyx eyed Avena who looked down and let out a triumphant, "A-ha! I knew it. You are so pissy because you can't come to terms that you like women too?"


"Please. Draxi do not care about gender, we live hundreds of years. I spent longer doing as I pleased than you have been alive." Avena frowned, "Please. Let us finish this mission and live to fight again. I would rather not die in such a disgusting looking apartment complex... Have you seen this door it is-" As if on queue the door opened. Immediately Nyx and Imille began clearing the rooms, only to find that no one was there rather quickly. The apartment was small, barely big enough for a family of four but at one point in time it had been enough. Remnants of Axel and his family's life was everywhere. Pictures of the happy kids, of Axel with Ava. Pictures of Ayla when she was a baby.

A harsh reminder that this family had lost everything.


"Place is empty." Avena announced to Lucy, "Looks like she isn't here."


"She... might be hiding!" Nyx exclaimed, "Look... a bowl of cereal." She said, pointing enthusiastically at the kitchen. "She has to be here!"


"What does cereal have to do with this?"


"IT HAS TO DO WITH EVERYTHING! THE KEY IS THE CEREAL! LOOK!" She said, showing that the bowl was on the ground. "Someone dropped this when the attack started. The door was locked... If someone ran out they wouldn't lock the doors. Remember, Ajax said they were older model doors you have to manually lock them. Ayla has to be here!" She said, her eyes darting around everywhere. "AYLA BABY WE'RE HERE WHERE ARE YOU?!" Nyx turned to Imille, "Rip this fucking place apart."
 
As soon as they had seen the backs of Axel and Nephilim, Casar had raised his gun up, pointing at the back of Nephilim's head. The elevator dinged as it had reached its location, catching the attention of them both, and giving them a sight that they never thought they would see again. Casar, Ajax, and Jagar, all alive and well, all right behind them. No amount of fear flickered in their eyes, not after staring directly at the cracked outer RCN shield.


"It seems your son is here to apprehend us." Nephilim said, looking to Axel. "The station is already being broken apart, are you here to truly squash the last remainders of the last forces that can stand up against the Exodlites?" he asked, and in that moment they had realized that they had truly believed that they were good. The barrel of Casar's gun didn't waver.


"Axel, if you so much as twitch, I will kill him." Casar said. "I don't miss, and I'm fast. So try it." he threatened. "You ... are the one that brought this upon yourself. You blaming us for anything that happens from hereon out is just a delusion, I promise you." he hissed.


"Councilman Jurea ..." Nephilim started, looking down on the man, who had actually taken place behind the three of them. "Did you arrange this...? I was under the impression that you were loyal to the RCN-1."


"I am loyal to the Renegades! It is you that is not! Do you think the other chairmen don't know what you've done? The murders and atrocities you've committed?!" Jurea replied, hissing. "I thought ... I thought at least under your rule - your rule, not the Chancellors' - we could withstand Exodlite invasion. That all of these militaristic changes and all the executions were for something. But it broke our peoples' spirits ... and now ... and now they're here."


"You're weak." Nephilim said, scowling. His hands were behind his back, knitted together. Even in the end, he was dressed to the T, looking down on them with the most contemptuous of glares. "This fight isn't over yet, but you're betraying us at the first sign of danger. If this attitude is so pervasive that it has taken you and the other chancellors, if you all are so weak, then yes, we truly have never had a chance from the start. But don't you dare blame me for that. Blame yourselves. Blocking me at every turn. Stopping us from our rise to power. The only thing I regret is that you weren't killed along with Gorv, Ui, and Hedon. But that's beside the point. You won't leave this room alive." he hissed.


"Neither will you." Jurea said, solemnly. "It's sad that even now you can't see how divided you've made us." For a moment, Jurea hesitated. Then, he stepped forward, coming to the side of Nephilim and looking out of the window. He was sure that he'd die there, but he wanted to see the rest of the station before that had happened. Unluckily for Nephilim, he had been stayed in place by the assassins, unable to lash out at the other Chancellor.


"Where is Ayla?" Casar asked Axel, still aiming down at Nephilim. "We aren't here for you. We're your opportunity to get her out of here safe. Tell us where she is, or we'll extract the information from this place after we kill you. If you care for her at all anymore, then do the right thing."


"Axel ..." Nephilim started. "Kill them."


...


"Ayla!" Imille called out, reinvigorated in her search after seeing that a tipped bowl of cereal had been on the table. "Ayla baby, we're here to get you out of here - don't be scared!" she said, moving through the apartment with her gun pointed downwards. The last thing they needed was to traumatize a little girl that had already been through so much.


She paused as she passed a single picture. The doctor looked down, seeing one of Ayla, Ajax, and Axel, all younger, happier versions of them. It had a distinct lack of their mother, but it proved that even after, they could smile. And they had. If only for a little bit. She had noticed that a lot of the pictures had also lacked both Axel and Ava, some even simply taken with Ajax and Ayla.


Imille reached out, grabbing a picture frame of just that. Little Ajax and Ayla. If she hadn't, they might never see it again. She tucked the picture into a pack on her side, proceeding into the young Ayla's bedroom. She looked around anywhere a little girl could hide; under the bed, under tables, and blankets. Then, she opened the closet.


"...Ayla?"
 
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The sheer intensity in the room was suffocating.


Axel's augmented eyes shined through the darkness in the room, the unnaturally blue orbs cutting through the room and eyeing Casar in particular. It was as if he didn't even care his own son was standing before him. Casar. The one who started all of this. The one who cost Axel his legs, his crew, his life. The one who someway or another costed Axel everything. He had tried to help Casar in his own ways but the boy never learned or listened, to Axel he had even given the former Exodlite a bit of trust. Trust that the boy took for granted.


He hated him.


He hated him so much so that he didn't answer Casar's question nor addressed Ajax's gaze. In fact, the bald overly augmented man's expression didn't change a bit. It was as if he had been waiting for them to come, knowing it was an inevitability. Axel took Casar's word as fact, knowing that if he even twitched he'd shoot Nephilim. So, he took one step to the side and blocked Nephilim from a direct shot from Casar. It was a slow, calculated move that tested the resolve of the three would be assassins.


"Axel." Ajax spoke, not reaching for a weapon but taking a step forward to mirror him. "Tell us where Ayla is. I know you're still in there somewhere old man... You can't tell me you don't love your daughter anymore?" Axel's face remained completely still. "What about me? I know we've had our differences but is my father still in there?" The corner of Axel's mouth twitched. "You wouldn't let us in and then you went and done this to yourself... Let this human hating fuck face twist your mind and turn you into something you're not." Ajax spat, "You became the very thing you wished to destroy..."


"No." Was all Axel said before pouncing forward out of no where. Two blades came jutting out of each augmented arm, meeting Ajax's fists in the middle as he caught the blades. Before Axel could attack properly Ajax twisted him by the blades and slammed the cybernetic man into the ground. He showed no pain but his face had finally changed, the cyborg furious he had been countered like that. Ajax flung him across the room and looked toward Jagar, "Kkeep Jurea safe, I got Axel. Cas..." Ajax turned to look at Nephilim for a moment, "Shoot this motherfucker."


---


A gun shot rang out from the closet, narrowly missing Imille's head as she opened the closet. Only one shot rang out though as the tiny hand clutching the pistol could no longer support the weight and it fell to the ground. Through teary eyes a little girl looked at who she had shot at only to see a familiar face. One that had treated her to ice cream long ago.


"Im....Imille?!" Ayla cried as she dropped the pistol completely and rushed over to Imille and jumped into her arms. She began sobbing incredibly hard, so much so that the front of Imille's armor was slick with tears in a matter of seconds. "You... you came... for me!" She exclaimed, "You... didn't forget about me! I thought... I thought... they had hurt you! That they killed my brudder and Lucretiana and everyone!" Her cries actually managed to drown out the danger outside, the fact that she was finally safe she could hardly comprehend.


Nyx and Avena raced to Ayla's room and found the scene unfolding so the two of them blended in the background. Nyx turned and smiled at Avena who couldn't help but smile at seeing Ayla safe, though when she caught Nyx looking at her the smile quickly faded. Nyx gave her an annoyed look but Avena promptly turned and spoke into her communicator.


"Ayla is secured."


Lucy nearly jumped out of her seat how happy she felt in that moment. If she hadn't known any better she felt movement in her legs at the sheer excitement of finally finding Ayla meant.


"SOMEONE GIVE MY KID A FUCKING COMMUNICATOR NOW! AJAX! AJAX!" She called out, though his communicator had been turned off before hand. "WE FOUND AYLA!" Unfortunately he didn't hear her, being in the midst of a fight with the line shut off. Even then Lucy nearly crashed at how happy she was, her focusing slowly returning to her as she knew one slight mistake meant the end for her and as a result an end for the others. "Make your way outside, I'll land for ex-fil. The others are... fighting Axel."
 
As soon as those words had left Ajax's lips, Nephilim threw himself to the side, looking to avoid the direct fire from Casar. But it had been too late. As soon as Nephilim had moved a fraction of a hair, the mage laid down on the trigger of his gun, aiming a few inches lower than his head. Before Nephilim could even react, a hole had been blown precisely through his throat, stopping his escape and collapsing him to the floor. Casar spared a glance at Axel, who had been too preoccupied with Ajax to stop him from murdering the Chancellor that had taken hold of him the past few years.


Casar advanced forward toward Nephilim. He wouldn't die right away, because the mage hadn't wanted him to. As much as he had been 'reformed', as much as he had gone through to be stable, there was still a nagging need for revenge that he'd had. As soon as he had set eyes on Nephilim, he had remembered just what he'd done to him, the memories flooding back like waves and making him want all the more to prolong his death. He couldn't collar him and shock him into lifelessness, or watch with a smile as someone pummeled him into unconsciousness. But he could make him suffer.


Nephilim clawed at his throat, as if anything he could do would stop what was about to happen. As if Axel could stop it. Not many people survived a shot as grisly as he had taken, his breath robbed of him, and no one survived it without access to healthcare. They were far from that now, and a vicious, blood-filled snarl took up on Nephilim's face as he had begun to realize that fact. Cas reached up, pressing a button on his helmet that had made the front visor transparent again, so Nephilim could see his face.


Then he raised his weapon. Light filled the room. Once, twice, thrice, four times, five. Five shots directly to the stomach and gut, unloaded along with the mage's anger for him, purposely missing vitals. A pained gurgle came from Nephilim as his eyes rolled back in his head. Then, the mage turned back to the battle, raising his pistol to Axel, aiming down the barrel through a smattering of blood that had landed on his helmet. Behind him, the Chancellor's form had stopped writhing.


He fired. Just as soon as he had, a communication rang out through his helmet.


"WE FOUND AYLA!"


Chancellor Jurea jumped just as soon as Casar had fired his weapon, captured by the horrifically gory sight. He hadn't anticipated that it was going to be so violent, and he hadn't anticipated that it was going to be so quick. The Chancellor backed up to the elevator, though he mostly looked like he intended on staying away from the battle, not running from it.


Casar's eyes widened. He stepped back, strafing toward the elevator where the Chancellor had been. "Jax, they got her!" he said.


...


"I'm going to ignore the fact that I literally almost died to an eight year old and HI AYLA!" Imille said, reaching into the closet and accepting Ayla into her arms. She staggered backwards, the force of Ayla jumping at her pushing her back onto the bed, and letting her relax for half a moment. Imille pulled off her helmet, placing it over the young girl's head and pressing the communicator button on the side. "Okay, sweetheart. Say hi to Lucy. She's in the ship and she's going to be picking us up." Her hand reached up, knocking the side of the helmet with two fingers. "A little added protection, and you look like a badass." she said, suddenly frowning as tears came out of her eyes and she embraced the scared little girl.


"Ajax and everyone is okay. We were all looking for you. Cas, and Ajax, and Lucy, and me and Nyx and even Big Bird over here, and grumpy-face Arc." she said, smiling through tears. She stood again, bending down for Ayla to jump on her back. "Jump on, kiddo. We gotta run." she said, and once Ayla had, Imille went to the closet, picking up the gun and feeding it back to the girl. "I know that I probably shouldn't be giving you a gun, but if I tell you, you fire it, okay?"


Imille reached up, wiping the tears from her eyes and laughing. "Okay. We're exiting now!" she said. "Be down in a moment, and then we'll get our boys."
 
The death of Nephilim didn't register for Ajax, he was too busy caught up in a battle that'd stop a lesser man's heart completely still. Axel was an animal now, the bladed villain swinging at Ajax with intent to kill. Luckily for Ajax he had been trained to dodge, block and be faster than his opponent in the days he fought in the Galacrea Prime fighting pits. He had fought tougher people than Ajax, faster people. They were never armed and were that augmented before but he was confident in his abilities to end this brutal relationship once and for all. He was going to kill his father and no one there could stop him.


That was, until he heard the words "Jax, they got her!"


Distracted for merely a second Axel found his opening. With a mighty roar the cyborg slammed his blades into Ajax's chest and out through his back. Axel actually grinned, a sadistic grin especially when it was his own son he was trying to kill. Ajax let out a groan of pain and Axel thrust his blades in deeper, thinking this would be enough to kill Ajax. He hadn't known the true extent of his son's powers. After so long of thinking his own son was a monster for kidnapping his daughter he spoke.


"I've waited for this... for so long... My traitorous son... Who took my daughter and turned me into the thing I am today..." His eyes were unblinking, unwavering. Just as Judas' had been back on Echora. That same style of augmented eye that was so unnerving it stunned their opponents. Ajax starred right back at him the whole time. "You caused me to do this... You weren't there... you took my daughter... Poisoned her mind... Poisoned my mind.... You're a disappointment... A blind fool that takes and takes then never gives back..." Axel smiled, "You may be my blood but you are no son of mine. Good bye Ajax..." Axel went to pull out his blades and deal a killing blow but Ajax had other plans in mind, waving to Jagar and Casar to stand back.


A loud crack filled the air as Ajax rammed his head as hard as he could down onto Axel's. As soon as he did a massive spark shot out the side of his neck as the strange augmented head armor he was wearing shattered off, revealing more of his face underneath. He then began to fight whilst clinching with Axel, the blades stuck inside Ajax the entire time as he began to deliver painful knees to chest where Axel was the least defended. He knew where Axel's augments were, avoiding them completely to ensure the most damage was dealt to him.


"HOW?!" Axel roared, finally pulling away and swinging for the fences to strike Ajax.


"I don't give up easy like you, bitch."


---


"Ayla!" Lucy shouted, "Are you okay baby? Did he hurt you?"


"LUCRETIANA!" Ayla cheered triumphantly. "I LOVE YOU!"


"I love you too little girl! Are you okay?"


"Yes! I've been stuck in this house all by myself for months!" She revealed, showing just how little Axel cared about her currently. Though that soon changed with what she said next, "Daddy comes along with food and things then just watches me for a while... I see him... get watery eyes every now and then... But he never talks to me. No matter how much I've tried I can't rescue him."


"You break my heart Ayla." Lucy said, getting choked up. Even in a prisoner situation Ayla was trying her best to save her father. "I don't know if you have your brother's courage or his recklessness. Did he ever hurt you?"


"No... He still loves me." She said, "Daddy is just hurting right now. Tell my brudder not to hurt him! I almost saved him. I just need more time..."


"Imille." Lucy spoke to Imille through her communicator augment seeing as how Ayla was now wearing her helmet and getting situated on her back, "Meet us outside, I'll be landing the ship shortly. You get that little girl out of there, you hear me?" As soon as that had been said the three women with Ayla in tow began rushing downstairs. Ayla gave the apartment one last look as they whizzed by and let out a grumble.


"These meanies made me spill my cereal!"
 
Casar could only watch as Ajax was impaled by his father, a sickening sound filling the air, only for Ajax to keep fighting. While he was resilient and a hell of a lot stronger than when they had last come to blow, there was no way he could survive taking a direct assault like that forever. The mage strafed, his hand landing on a metal desk to his side, ripping it from the bolts on the floor and hauling it toward Axel, his eyes glowing from underneath his helmet. It was massive and heavy, though he knew that the purpose was almost solely getting him detached from Ajax.


His other hand reached out toward Ajax, and the cowboy found his communicator switching back on again. A voice rang in his ears - a familiar one.


"LUCRETIANA! I LOVE YOU!" his sister cried triumphantly.


"She's alive." Casar said, relieved, but straining. "Imille, is everything okay?" he asked, concerned as he had heard her whispering, barely audible over their telecomms.


...


Imille took down the stairs with Ayla in tow, practically flying with the little girl on her back down the stairs. It was much easier going down than it had been coming up, the gravity of the station assisting her trek downwards. It was surely a little scary, but they had to get out of there as soon as they possibly could. Soon, Imille and the others had found themselves on the ground floor, tearing toward the exit of the building. But they didn't get far.


It had been a while since they had heard from Arc and Psy, a result which they had all overlooked in their search for Ayla. Unfortunately, it had been the worst of results, as the sight they had come across had stopped them in their tracks. The hall was dark, a result of some of the power on the RCN-1 getting switched to emergency purposes, but they could see a figure illuminated by the jarred exit door. It was laying face down on the floor, a small amount of blood leaking from its helm.


It was Arc.


Slowly, he had pushed himself back up, limbs shaking. He reached for his weapon, shakily pulling it off of his side, before Imille and the others had come into view. Just as soon as he had made eye contact with them, he shook his head. Whatever had done this to him was still there, it still hadn't noticed them, and they needed to run.


"Arc...?" Imille asked, her eyes widening upon seeing him. The headshake was all she had needed - there was someone there, and there was no way they could take on anyone now. Not with an unarmored child to defend. She backed up, trying to keep quiet, Ayla still on her back. "Go back." she whispered, to Nyx and Avena. "We can exit through a window. Someone's here. Lucy - fuck. Arc is down. I don't have eyes on Psy. We're on the ground floor."
 
Ayla's voice only added to Ajax's distractions, Axel hitting him like a space shuttle and taking him to the ground. Rearing his blades back Axel was about to stab Ajax in the face only for a much bigger creature to slam into him even faster than he had done to his son. Jagar respect Ajax's wishes to fight his father one on one for far too long, the Vekht springing into action precisely when he was needed. With a growl Jagar began to thrash at Axel as Ajax was stumbling to his feet in the background. Jagar was merciless, having unfinished business with Axel after his second capture on Vetka. Again and again he tore at Axel's armor, ripping up augments and armor until they became an indistinguishable mechanical mess of wires and metal.


"DAMN YOU!" Axel roared, stabbing Jagar from the ground and super heating the blade that entered the Vekht's side to such a high temperature it felt cold to the poor Vekht at first. Once the heat caught up to him he literally squealed as he jumped away, the pain something Jagar had never felt before. His healing ability was struggling to heal the massive burn, the blades simply too hot to be struck with. Axel's eyes darted about, seeing Ajax's wounds healing in a similar fashion to Jagar's. "They turned you into a mutant, huh?... Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."


"Shut your fucking mouth!" Ajax roared, grabbing his assault rifle from his back and opening fire on Axel. He couldn't risk getting stabbed by those blades, even being a hand to hand combat expert would mean very little when his opponent possessed a blade, let alone two. The gun fire caused Axel to do what he always did, run from his problems and take cover. With the combined fire of Ajax, Casar and Jagar it was easy to have Axel pinned down. That's when they heard what was happening elsewhere though.


---


"What do you mean Arc is down?!" Lucy asked, broadcasting to everyone's communicator. "Who the hell could be there to take him down?"


Suddenly a banshee like screech filled the air as Psy was being tortured outside, alone. Their curiosity to see what was going on would kill them as the entrance to the building exploded into a million pieces. Psy was flung like a rag doll into the rubble and swiftly disappeared, the poor android buried under hundreds of pounds of rocks and debris. The one who was assaulting them was one they had never expected to see. Lucy nearly choked on her own breath as she glanced over to Ayla's helmet camera.


"Vitor..." She whispered, seeing an Exodlite Crusader with familiar armor towering over them in the doorway (or what had been left of it at least). It was unmistakably Vitor, from the old worn down armor to the furious expression painted on his face which could be seen just barely inside his helmet. The designation 'V-1' was painted on the front of his armor, the very same designation he had told Lucy it had been a long time ago. She could see the camera shaking as Ayla was trembling, the pilot was useless to them currently. "EVERYBODY RUN!"


The Crusader before them charged right at them, bypassing the broken Arc entirely and chasing them back up a flight of stairs. He roared as he tried to punch at Avena who simply flew up and away, no longer staying grounded with the others to safe herself. To their surprise she open fired on the Crusader, her bullets simply bouncing off of them like they were nothing. He ripped a piece of concrete from the wall and hulked it at the flying target, nailing Avena in the chest and sending her spiraling back down to the bottom of the stairs.


"AJAX! AYLA AND THE OTHERS ARE IN TROUBLE! VITOR IS KILLING THEM!"


Lucy felt the color drain from her face. Vitor had already taken one of the most important people in her life away from her, she couldn't let him do it again.


"AJAX PLEASE! SAVE THEM!"


---


Ajax's will faltered as he heard those words, the knowledge that Vitor was fighting the others and could be killing any number of them now was enough to give him a heart attack. The added knowledge that Ayla had just been rescued and now the Crusader was on the ground chasing after them pushed him past his breaking point. He looked back to the battle with Axel, seeing him pinned down and in a position where they could finally be done with him. This could all be over now if they just pushed forward. They had him outnumbered, out gunned with his remaining cover chipping away.


"I'M COMING! FUCK!" Ajax spat, turning around and running towards the elevators but stopping himself when he seen the Chancellor inside them. "Fuck fuck fuck fuck... FUCK!" He hoarsely scream, rushing back towards the window which Nephilim's cold dead corpse was bleeding out next to. "Y'ALL BETTER KILL THIS SON OF A BITCH! I'LL GET THE OTHERS!" Jagar nodded with confidence and began to push forward with Casar's assistance as Ajax blasted the window open. A cold rush of air entered the room and took all the heat out of it from the height they were at. "Imille I hope you had time to finish this set of armor or I'm fucked..."


Ajax jumped.


Falling from that height made everything slow down. He knew he was falling fast but it didn't feel like it, not after everything that was happening. He had nearly finished Axel, they had rescued Ayla. Now... A phantom from their past was trying to kill everyone he loved and now he was jumping out of the tallest tower in the RCN-1. 'No pressure.' Ajax thought, the Cowboy earning his nickname now more than ever as he plummeted further and further down. The closer her got the more nervous he was about Imille finishing his requisition for situations like this. The ground was getting closer and closer until it was upon him, the suit beeping as it did and suddenly two jets appeared out of the bottom of his boots as well as four from the back of his armor. They were fast and loud, rotating Ajax until his feet were pointed towards the ground and slowing his descent hard enough for him to land roughly on the ground.


The concrete beneath his feet shattered as he landed, the entire area shaking as Ajax miraculously survived the fall.


"Am I dead? No? If I didn't have Lucy I'd marry you Imille... Holy shit!" He mumbled to himself, looking himself over for a moment before breaking out into a full sprint to the residential area. He didn't have long to assess any damage from such a fall, his armor no doubt taking some sort of hit but that didn't matter now. "AYLA I'M COMING! HANG IN THERE EVERYONE!"
 
The news of Vitor attacking the team hit Casar like a train, his heart sinking in his chest. Wherever Vitor was, Knox was, meaning they had to be somewhere on the station. It was a fact that he had been avoiding ever since he had laid foot on it, and one that he intended on avoiding for longer. Casar brought up the others' armor cams for a moment, distracting himself from the battered Axel long enough to see what was happening.


It was him. He was there.


"Save Ayla." Casar said, his view flickering back to the fight. He was terrified, but it wasn't anything that had shown on his face. They needed to get back to the others as soon as possible, but they had also needed to end Axel, to ensure that he would never hurt that little girl again. He raised his weapon, becoming more ruthless and violent as the fight had gone on. He hadn't even been scratched yet. They would be fine. Right?


Shot after shot, he fired into Axel, pouring his rage into the gun the very same as his energy. The superheated shots roared as they exited his gun, ironically permeating the very same desk he had used to fend the augmented, broken man off of Ajax.


"Make this easy, Axel! We don't want to drag this out longer than it has to be!" Casar roared. "You're outnumbered!" he shouted, a horrible grinding sounding out as he raised the weighty piece of furniture with his powers again, prepared to crush Axel underneath it. He stopped firing for a moment, his concentration waning on his weapon as he focused on utilizing his powers.


...


As Avena took the shot, falling down from the ceiling to the stairs below, Imille tore up the stairs with Ayla in tow. The little girl was terrified; she could feel her tremors through her back and the vice-like grip she'd had around her neck. The peashooter Ayla had would do nothing to the indomitable Crusader, and Lucy was on point. They had to run.


Whatever hangups Imille had previously about taking the stairs had been destroyed as she made it to the third floor, bursting through the doors and tearing down the hall away from Vitor. There was a light at the end of the tunnel, one that she had raised her own weapon to. She was going to exit from the side, prepared to make just as daring of an exit as Ajax had. Her other hand clasped to Ayla's arm, making sure that she didn't fall off of her back throughout the insane commotion. A ballistic shot fired from her gun, piercing the window on the oppsite side of the hall and sending glass shattering everywhere.


"HOLD ON AYLA!" she shouted. "Arc! Nyx! Avena! Are you guys okay?! Psy?!" she cried as she ran, afraid that any one of her friends had been taken from her. "Lucy! I'm exiting the third floor window! Are you ready to exfiltrate?!"
 
Axel was down, but not out. As the desk he was taken cover behind began to rise Axel sprung back into action, slicing upwards and cutting the remaining bits in half. With a show of dexterity and unbelievable timing the cyborg kicked a portion of the metal piece of furniture and sent it flying through the sky right at Jagar. The Vekht stopped firing in order to jump away but it had left Casar open. Axel hadn't hurt him, not yet. Dodging the Technomage's gun fire was easy, his augmentations allowing him to move inhumanly fast. He was practically a blur by the time he covered the entire room and within striking distance of Casar. Miraculously he recalled his blades, his pride getting in the way of logic as he uppercutted Casar with all his might right on his jaw.


Casar went flying, skittering across the floor like someone throwing a pebble across a pond. He crashed into one of the other council member's desks and hit the back of his head on hard steel. Axel was simply laughing, "That's one thing I can never lose... After everything... Beating your sad face in is still one of my favorite things." Jagar had recovered as Axel spoke, returning fire to which Axel dove to more cover and thus began the same song and dance they had already performed. Axel dove out of cover to strike at both Casar and Jagar, they both fired upon him and the only thing any of them were really accomplishing was tiring themselves out. If only they had known that the real threat wasn't even in the room yet.


The shields to the RCN-1 went down yet again temporarily before going back up yet again, but this time it had been intentional. Fighting had occurred inside the shield ships now, Exodlites spreading everywhere like a virus. While many Renegades were retreating already several were being slaughtered everywhere, whether they were on the station, outside the station or across the galaxy the Renegades were being hit even at their remote bases. This was a systematic slaughter, a total show of force from the Exodlites who had simply gotten tired of losing. As the shield went down for a moment the Harbinger fired. A massive ray of light blinded the station and collided with the top of the tower, searing the roof off and destroying Renegade communications which were routed through the building.


The Renegade Coalition's Network was down.


Axel, Casar and Jagar were all dazed and confused as the pointed roof of the room they were fighting in was peeled off. The space battle above was now in full view as they were somehow still miraculously alive. They didn't even rise to fight eachother, at least not right away. With the roof gone a lone Exodlite shuttle began flying in to the wreckage. Axel was the first to stand, releasing his blades and turning his back on Casar and Jagar. For once, their battle was the secondary one. One that Axel intended to finish later.


A heavy set of footsteps came from the loading ramp of the shuttle which folded out before them. Three silhouettes came walking out of the dust from the tower's destruction, one massive one in the center, a shorter more reasonable sized one to his right and a hunched over taller one to his left. From the smoke the last thing they ever wanted to see approached them, General Knox with his right hand man Vivick at his side along with a lone technomage, the one who was hunched over and unstable looking.


"Usually I'm not one for surprises... but is that C-2341 I see... cowering behind a Renegade?" Knox's helmet came down, revealing his dark menacing face to the three before him. "You were the last person I expected to see here, boy. What's that old saying?" Knox asked, the smirk on his face disappearing as he looked on to the traitor. "Fool me once... Shame on you." He began walking forward, his massive boots clattering on the ground as the Crusader general drew closer. "Fool me twice... I'll have to kill you." He motioned forward for both Vivick and the Technomage to attack, both of them advancing forward as Knox began to charge as they brought up the front.


"MOVE!" Axel ordered surprisingly, diving out of the way as Knox rushed surprisingly fast by both Vivick and the Technomage. "Cas... Jagar... Kill each other later."


---


"WE HAVE TO JUMP!" Ayla shouted, spinning around on Imille's back to see V-1 charging down the hall roaring at the two of them. The poor little girl began to fire, her shots simply bouncing off Vitor's armor as if they were nothing.


"Be there to catch you!" Lucy shouted, tearing the Gaius on a course that would have killed a lesser pilot. She spotted the apartment building and guided the Leech to exactly where Imille was jumping out of. Lucy's heart sank as she watched Imille pull off a jump that better suited Ajax. She pushed the Gaius forward and soon both Imille and Ayla were standing on the front of the ship, no where near an entrance but on the ship. Lucy's heart took an even bigger beating when V-1 went charging through the window without hesitation. The massive warrior went falling through the sky and landed on the nose of the Gaius, causing the entire ship to buckle under the sudden weight.


"Run..." She whispered into the communicator as Vitor tore after them on the deck of the Gaius, Imille being just fast enough to outrun him but her cardio was taking a beating and the Gaius wasn't long enough to keep dodging on.


They were running out of options.
 
Casar's heart stopped.


It was the last thing he could have fathomed seeing, but what did he expect? In the capital tower of all places, was it really unbeknownst that this could happen? He was dazed from Axel's punch, spitting out blood inside of his helmet. It had lent for a particularly bad situation as he had climbed to his feet, his hand still clasping his weapon, amazingly. In front of him were the very same people that had put him through his own personal hell, breaking his resolve completely.


"Lucy, Jax ... Knox is here." he sputtered, his voice grim. It was as if he had already known what it meant. His eyes flickered once again to the armor cams of Ayla and Imille, finding that Lucy would be in no position to save them whatsoever. They had to fight.


'Bad' was underplaying it, especially as a shot rang through the air, penetrating the skull of Chancellor Jurea and bringing him to the ground, as if he had never been alive at all. Vivick had raised his weapon, killing the Chancellor with painless efficiency, and now he had turned his eyes to Casar and Axel. "Don't draw this out. I'm not going to say it's going to be any less painful if you submit, but it will be less annoying for me." Vivick said, a smirk appearing from behind his own helm. "Magnus, kill C-2341." Vivick said offhandedly, as if he hadn't just given an order to end someone's life. "It's only fitting."


Casar looked up, meeting where he knew Magnus' eyes were. He shook his head slightly, as if imparting the knowledge that the aged mage didn't have to do this, while keeping in full mind that that didn't really matter. He had been in his place before. And the Exodlites were winning. Axel, Jagar, and Casar were tired from fighting one another, could they really handle these people?


They would certainly try. Right after imparting his message to Magnus, Casar dropped his weapon, raising a hand in the air and abjurating a shield in front of him. The other clenched tight, tearing shrapnel from the dessicated ceiling - now open to the world due to the Harbinger's beam - and sending the deadly barrage of metal flying straight toward them. It was all or nothing.


...


Imille and Ayla had found themselves on the outside of the Gaius, the only one of the squad sent in to retrieve her that had been still on the radio. She tore across the top of the Gaius, barely able to keep her balance enough to keep the speed required to outrun Vitor. But she was getting tired, carrying a child on her back and running perhaps the fastest she'd ever run in her life. There was no direction to go but down, and she hadn't intended on dropping to her death.


The woman tore to the back wings, making certain not to get even relatively close to the thrusters, which would undoubtedly cook them both. She wasn't agile enough to trick Vitor into charging her into them, and that was a risk she was entirely unwilling to take with Ayla on her back. But he was coming, and he was terrifying.


Imille reared her pistol out, aiming at the large window of the second story. She blasted it open, sending glass everywhere once again, but they were still too far to jump safely. "LUCY! LEFT!" she roared, the Captain's hairtrigger instincts kicking in and veering them toward the building. "DUMP US WHEN I SAY!" she said, realizing that Vitor was charging them and then would be there in only moments.


The Gaius was seconds away from the building when Imille shouted, "NOW!" jumping with Ayla in tow toward the open window and barely making it, wrapping her arms around her to shield her from the glass. Even a Crusader couldn't hang onto a spiralling ship, but that hadn't meant he didn't jump as well, even if he had been on the other side of the building.


"Ayla, are you okay?!" Imille asked, uncurling from her. "We're going to get out of here, I promise." she said, regarding the poor thing, who had been shaking like a leaf.
 
Knox and Vivick seen the technomage's deadly attack and waited for their own to counter it. Magnus held up his hand and each projectile stopped in its tracks. It was anti climatic, Casar's grand attack simply being stopped in between the two groups of people as if it was nothing. Magnus looked rough but the power coursing through him could be seen even from those inexperienced with technology such as Jagar, the technomage's very veins glowing with a red energy. Everyone was stunned, practically frozen in place as Magnus commanded the battlefield with such a gesture. Knox began to laugh.


"You really thought that would work? C-2341... No... You don't have the right to that name any more. Casar." He said with spite in his voice, using Casar's actual name in an ironic disrespectful way. Knox no longer would show the technomage mercy, in fact, by calling him by his name it was a death sentence. "You gave up the gifts of our grand Exodus for those of the Renegades... After they tortured you?" He eyed him, seeing fear in all of their eyes. "No... You came here for something else. That pile of cybernetic trash wouldn't be worth-"


Axel was tired of listening to Knox talk. Jumping through Casar's shield and the wall of debris he slammed his blade into Knox's armor and stabbed him right in the his chest. The blade didn't sink deep, the Crusader's armor thick but his skin itself even more durable than one would think. With a grunt the Crusader twisted to the side, breaking Axel's blade followed by grabbing him by the face. Knox began to try and squeeze Axel's head off but his augmentations saved him, the metal even too strong for Knox to break. Getting more furious by the minute he tossed Axel across the room into Casar, causing the shield to come down as well as sending both men to the ground.


"Now." Knox ordered, Magnus obeying as he shot the same debris right back at the three of them. Jagar sprung into action, jumping in the way and absorbing the hits with his armor as Axel and Casar were both down. The Vekht groaned as the attack was beginning to be too much but suddenly Knox held up his hand and Magnus stopped. "Don't ruin the fun. Vivick, take the Renegade. Magnus, kill Casar. I call dibs on the alien mutt who's trying to be a hero."


Jagar was knocked away from Axel and Casar as Knox charged, tackling Jagar away and dragging him into the center of the room to engage in melee combat with him. Casar could see hesitation from Magnus but the technomage had to obey, raising more debris from the ground and shooting it back at Casar. His abilities had increased an alarming amount since Casar had seen him last, the idea that he was even alive a bizarre one at that.


---


"PLEASE LET'S JUST GO!" Ayla shouted, she had long since dropped her pistol and was barely hanging on. "LUCRETIANA HELP US!"


"I'm trying baby... Hang on..." Lucy said, watching as V-1 vaulted straight back into the building on a few floors above them. Lucy opened fire on the abandoned apartment complex but to no avail, she couldn't get a clear shot and even if she could Vitor's armor was still top of the line. It was as if he was a literal tank, the heavy shielding encasing him inside only penetrable by heavy weapons and by ripping it apart piece by piece.


As they approached the staircase once more V-1 had made his way back and seen where they were. Though a mighty roar had distracted him for a moment as Nyx vaulted down from her hiding space and landed on V-1's shoulders. She had been knocked aside when the Crusader had been chasing them, he had been more interested in getting two kills rather than one. Now he was regretting it as he pawed at his helmet to try and grab Nyx but she was too quick. Thinking quickly she reached down and spun Vitor's helmet to the side, obstructing his vision, followed by kicking him in the visor to stun him.


"RUN FISHBAIT!" Was all she managed to shout before V-1 got a hold of her. He then threw Nyx straight out the window, a drop that could very well kill her if she impacted on the ground. "I'm fine!" She called out from outside moments later to their surprise, "Kitty here caught me!"


"You're welcome." Avena replied dryly, floating down with Nyx in tow leaving Imille and Ayla to run out of the building as Vitor continued his pursuit. He had nearly leveled a building just to get to them, he wasn't about to stop now. He ripped off his helmet as he did so before jumping down a whole flight of stairs after them.
 
"Gladly." Vivick said, looking down to Axel. His smirk was contemptuous; he knew well what the outcome of all of this would be, and he'd been waiting for the moment for a long time. He approached Axel, drawing his sidearm as he approached the downed Renegade, aiming it point blank at his chest. "Would it be a proper example if the traitor who stopped our efforts on Terram were executed in the Eye, or should we end them here, I wonder?" he questioned, firing at Axel, who had moved at just the last moment to assure that Vivick's shot hadn't been fatal.


He bared his teeth like an animal, raising his weapon to track Axel as he moved for better positioning. Then, it had been pierced by a long piece of shrapnel, slicing the weapon in half and causing Vivick to groan. "Magnus, take care of your target!" he shouted.


Casar had raised his hand, directing some of the shrapnel that had been routed back to him toward Vivick, who had been closing in on Axel. Casar was angry and hateful of the man, but nothing that Axel had done had ever compared to what he had to go through on the Harbinger, and for all intents and purposes, Axel was an ally in the moment. The other shrapnel, however, had embedded itself in his armor, cutting him cleanly on the inner leg. He had taken a knee, the other seeping blood.


He pushed himself up, leaning on the wall and looking toward the broken window that had overlooked the massive station below. It was in fire and chaos, on its last leg. He then looked to Magnus, who had hesitated for a half a moment too long.


The floor warped upward instantly, as if a massive fist had smashed it from underneath, settling Magnus off balance enough for Casar to take hold of the desk in between them, ripping yet another from its bolts. Only, he hadn't intended on crushing anyone. Not then. It jolted forward at violent speeds, on a direct crash course to take Magnus out of the building entirely.


He was still fighting.


"We're ... not going to make it." Casar said, speaking out to his team with a pain-filled grunt.


...


"Anyone who can get into the ship get into it!" Imille shouted out. "Gonna be a hell of a lot harder to exfiltrate if we're not all boarded up and we still have to find Psy!"


Casar's transmission hadn't gone unheard, but the team battling Vitor had one goal in mind. It was something they had all agreed on, whether it was with words or not. Ayla was priority, and she was not on the Gaius. Imille still had the poor sobbing girl, but an opportunity to get her out had presented itself. Vitor had blocked off the stairway, meaning that she had to find herself out of the building without using the intended exit.


The doctor unclipped the wire she had used to tether herself to Nyx on the moon where they had found Bambi, and hooked it to the outer ledge of the window. In a moment, she had shifted Ayla to her front and rappeled out the window, meeting Avena and Nyx at the bottom. Vitor was still in the building, but not for long. Imille put the girl down in front of Avena, and looked up for the Gaius.


"Can you get her inside?" she asked, desperate for a solution. "Like, now." she drew her gun, but knew that it wouldn't do much.
 
With the weapon sliced in half Axel and Vivick were on a more even playing field than the Exodlite thought. Both of them were agents, both of them had carried out similar duties and missions, both with a similar skill set. The former however still had a blade tucked away in his right arm. Axel raised his arm towards Vivick and pressed a button on his arm, the blade releasing from its metal sheath and firing out as if it was a bullet. The surprise attack was more than enough to give Axel the edge, the blade flying through the air and piercing Vivick in the stomach. A serious injury, one where he'd need medical attention if he made it off this tower.


"I wonder if the Exodlite piece of shit on my tower should die on the tower... or at the bottom of it?" Axel snarled, racing forward to Vivick and slugging him right in the mouth. The blade had bought everything Axel had needed to get the upper hand again, the cyborg slamming his knee right into the blade still embedded in the officer before reached forward and fighting as dirty as possible. Vivick felt his head split open and his ear get ripped off as Axel in a move of desperation bit the cartilage of his ear clean off, spitting it into his face before slugging him once more.


Magnus on the other hand was nearly swept out of the tower, riding the piece of debris Casar threw at him and actually crossed the threshold and was flying outside of the tower. Casar had a brief moment in which he thought he won, only for Magnus to simply glide back to the edge of the tower. Knox began to laugh as he smashed Jagar in the face, his respirator knocking back into his mouth and injuring his mouth.


"You think I wouldn't give my men the best? Pathetic!" Casar's attempt on Magnus' life ironically enraged Knox further, the Crusader ripping Jagar's armor apart and dealing such extreme internal injuries his healing factor couldn't keep up with it. No one had seen Jagar so handily beaten before, the Vekht barely hanging on while the Exodus' best slammed him again and again. Magnus had returned and began to open fire on Casar with his side arm, the technomage filled with remorse but knew there was no other option.


Knox picked up Jagar over his head and laughed at them all, "DID YOU REALLY THINK YOU COULD SURVIVE THIS?!" With a deafening roar the Crusader brought Jagar down over his knee, breaking his back. Jagar let out the first true howl of pain Casar had ever heard from him, the Vekht never before fighting against someone as strong as Knox. None of the beasts he had conquered before could compare to the overpowered Crusader showing just how terrifying the General actually was. "Finish this... Both of you! Today the Renegades die, and so do these three." Knox gloated, standing over Jagar with a big smirk on his face, his helmet retracting so he could see the Vekht's eyes himself. "Any last words, alien?"


Knox had his back turned to Casar.


---


Ayla immediately rushed back to Imille but Avena grabbed her. Not knowing the woman she began to squirm, already wanting Imille back.


"Hush, little one." Avena said, "Look at me." She said, forcing a smile to the little girl. "Look... I have wings." She said, unfolding them to Ayla's amazement. For a brief moment the little girl was taken out of the fight and entranced by the bizarre alien woman with wings. "I'm going to take you away now, okay? You will be safe with me."


"But Imille... and... my brudder... and everyone here... They're going to die." Ayla's tears disappeared, "I have to help them!" She said, the fear of V-1 no longer terrorizing her. In fact, she wanted to stay and fight.


"You are brave... like your brother. But these people are too, they will fight harder if you are safe. Okay? Come... Let us fly." Avena hugged Ayla and though it was against her will Ayla began to look around as they began to glide upwards. It felt exhilarating, the ground leaving their feet as they began to fly up to the Gaius. Ayla screamed when she seen V-1 burst out of the building, to which Avena responded by simply hugging the little girl closer to her chest. "Shhh... They are okay." Avena lied, watching as the man formerly known as Vitor smashed into Imille finally. She was pushed to the ground by the brute of a man, defenseless.


Not even Nyx could get there in time to save her as V-1 raised his fists into the air then as they were crashing down to kill Imille his arms went limp and the air in his chest escaped him. Imille looked up just in time to see Ajax wrapped around V-1's neck, choking him out with all his might.


"RUN!" Ajax roared to the others as he had the choke in tight, only for V-1 to grab him off his neck and smash him into the ground. The Crusader tried to slam his fists down onto Ajax but he was simply too fast, the Cowboy jumping to his feet and engaged in combat with the Crusader. "I'll hold this motherfucker off, y'all get going! Luce, bring the Gaius down NOW!"
 
Vivick's midsection had been torn open, the rusty officer not quite as used to direct battle as Axel had been. He had once been an Espion - that was true enough - but that hadn't meant that he was going to gain the upper hand on one of the Renegade Coalition's strongest enforcers. Before he had known it, Axel was on close enough to kill him, fighting him desperately like an animal. To the officer's horror, he had bitten off a chunk of his ear, coating his head and face in blood.


Vivick fought just as viciously, however. Just as soon as Axel had gotten close enough to bite him, the Espion reached forward, grabbing the man's arm like a vice. His other had gone to his side, pulling a second side-arm and jabbing it into Axel's chest. He fired as quickly a he could, knowing that Axel would be too strong to hold onto for long, but a close-range attack like that would be devastating for the already-broken man. Knowing that he'd tear away at any moment, Vivick returned the favor, kneeing upwards and slamming his knee into the wound that he'd made.


Magnus' shots rang through the air with deadly precision - the same precision that Casar had. His shield had been broken, he had berid of his own cover as an attack, only to find that it hadn't worked. He was out in the open, and the energy shots had hit his armor, striking him in the chest and stomach. He staggered backwards, hitting the wall behind him, his own weapon raising up once again to fire at Magnus. Before he could, however, he heard a noise.


His eyes darted to Jagar, whose howl had split the air.


His friend was dying, and he was being made to watch. Injured, the mage stepped forward, finding that his body couldn't carry on. He dropped to a knee, his unoccupied hand covering his chest wound. He was getting dizzy, bleeding out from the shrapnel that had been directed back at him, but ...


A deep pain filled his chest, his heart hammering against it. He was losing control. But then, beyond himself, he began to rise, metallic augments kicking into gear in the absence of his muscles being able to move. Before Magnus could stop him, he tore toward Knox, using his last bit of energy to clutch onto his armor and haul himself up, Knox's attention turned away from the mage for a moment. It would be his mistake.


The mage unclipped his knife from his belt, wrapping his arm around Knox's head and plunging the blade into his eye, intending on killing him if it was the last thing he had done.


...


Imille ripped herself out from underneath Vitor, bringing her thrusters out and directing them directly at him. She kicked them on, searing the Crusader's armor and skidding across the floor. But she couldn't run just yet. They were still missing two. Imille rounded them, running away from the Gaius and into the building, knowing well that Arc and Psy could never survive if they had been simply left.


She tore towards the inner entrance where she had seen the scientist last, and surely enough, he had collapsed midway to crawling to the exit, the slow, rhythmic breathing of his chest indicating that he was still alive. She reached down, grabbing his arms and dragging him out of the building, leaving a small trail of blood. They couldn't do much else while the Gaius wasn't down, but she could look for Psy.


"Psy?! Where are you?! I'm not losing you again!" She roared, dizzy and hurting from the assault. "If you're still awake say something!" She shouted, rounding the outside of the building and propping Arc up against the entrance. "Lucy, Arc is near the apartment! I'm going around the back for Psy!" she shouted, disappearing from view of the others.
 
Imille's journey was cut short when she found the android himself, digging through the rubble cursing to himself. He turned around and seen Imille, "HEY DOCTOR LADY! I LOST MY FUCKING HAT IN THIS MESS AND NOW I CAN'T FIND IT!" He cried, not quite understanding the severity of the situation. "That big motherfucker out there nearly took my head off and then he fucking kung fu'd me over here. A little bit of rocks isn't going to take me out but seriously dude? That was my first and only hat! How the hell am I supposed to amass a collection of awesome hats if they're just going to get lost?"


The Gaius hung overhead and began to land, the loading ramp already coming out. Nyx had rushed across the battlefield and retrieved Arc, quite literally picking him up and racing over to the Gaius. "My lifting with Ajax finally paid off Arc!" She said with a grin, even if he couldn't hear her it helped try and take her mind off of just what exactly was going on. "You're the damsel in distress and I'm the big hulking knight that's gonna take you home and-" A massive amount of rubble nearly killed them both as V-1 began throwing pieces of the building at Ajax. They had nearly got caught in the cross fire as the Crusader took on a mutant of a different kind, both technically being cut from the same cloth. Nyx double timed it and raced into the Gaius with Arc in her arms, dropping him once she was a safe distance inside before racing back out again.


"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING NYX?!" Lucy called out, "GET BACK IN!"


"Not without my Fishbait!" She shouted back, running back towards the apartment complex and dangerously close to V-1 and Ajax battling.


They had torn the area up, or rather V-1 did as Ajax was simply playing it defensively. After trying to choke the Crusader out it was hard getting close to him and Ajax had lost his weaponry up on the tower. His taunting was what kept the group alive as he would trade blows with Vitor only to distract him further. With two middle fingers gestured up proudly to the brute Ajax began to shout.


"Fuck Damaris!" That only caused V-1 to get angrier, his chip reacting to the stimulus and making him fight harder. "EVERYBODY BETTER BE ON THAT SHIP I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH LONGER I CAN DISTRACT THIS ASSHOLE!"


---


Casar would regret that attack for the rest of his life.


Knox hadn't felt such an attack in a long time. One that would cripple him, one that was the result of him being careless. Here he was taunting and enjoying himself on the battlefield, his own pride swelling up too big and getting in the way of his usual battle superiority. That was General Knox, the tip of the spear of the Exodlite war machine and he was just stabbed in the eye by a man an 1/8th his size. The roar of pain that followed the stab was less about the injury but the statement itself. Casar bested him in combat and left a scar on Knox's already grizzled face. A scar that greater men had inflicted. Here was the welp that Knox taunted day in and day out, who he had broke mentally multiple times and yet he came back like a cancer just festering until he committed another atrocity against the Exodlites.


Knox's eye had all but been disintegrated from the knife as Casar dug in deep, the Crusader already accepting he had lost that part of him for good. Twisting the blade the Technomage caused Knox to reach back and grab him by the neck, ripping Casar off his back and thus the knife with it. The blood that exploded from the General's head not only blinded him but it enraged him further. Powerless, Casar tried to fight off Knox's grip but there was no fighting him now.


This was the end.


The Exodlite General had no words for Casar, only pain. With a mighty heave the Crusader slammed Casar into the ground as hard as he could, breaking bones and immobilizing him. It was as if Casar had been hit by a moving vehicle, the force of the impact not only knocking the wind out of him but sending a radiating pain throughout his body. In the background Vivick was slamming the already injured and exhausted Axel into the ground, elsewhere Jagar was laying motionless, his back broken and the fight in him gone. It took a long time before Knox spoke again as Vivick dragged Axel over to them and Magnus reconvened forward.


"The welp took my eye..." Knox grunted, "Gotta hand it to you kid... It was a lot more than I'd think you were capable of. You did good."


"Sir..." Magnus spoke, irking Knox but the General turned to face him. "Reports are coming in that the artifacts have been retrieved and the shield generators are rigged to detonate. The fleet is ready to fire." He couldn't even look at Casar, the shame on Magnus' face thankfully hidden by his helmet.


"Good." Knox replied, his voice low. The shuttle behind them roared to life again as they were preparing to leave. "Where was I?..." The Crusader's strength was evident, having just lost an eye and still not breathing heavily or showing signs of fatigue. He was built tougher than even Vitor, Knox simply taking the injury in stride. He didn't seem all that angry, though that changed within the blink of his lone eye. "Prop Casar up, Magnus. Vivick, escort the Cyborg onto the shuttle." Magnus obeyed, walking over to Casar and helping him up.


"I am so sor-"


"DON'T YOU SPEAK TO THAT TRAITOR!" Knox roared, hearing Magnus who recoiled from the sudden shout. "I brought you back to the life, that does not mean I can not take your new one. Sit. him. up." Magnus obeyed, picking Casar's broken body up and propping him up to look at Knox. "As I was saying... you did great kid. More than I bargained you'd be able to do..." Knox smiled, "But you do know your actions have consequences... Right?" Knox turned to look at the fallen Jagar. "Is this... your friend here?" The Crusader moved forward and picked up the equally broken Jagar, the Vekht groaning in pain as he was forced to stand up. "Are you friends with Casar, Vekht?"


"Cazzer... best... friend..."


"Is that so?" Knox said, his smiling betraying his intentions. "That's a shame. You could have picked a lot better. Now then Vekht... What would you say to Casar if it was the last time you'd ever see him again?"


"Jagar... say..." The Vekht let out a massive yelp as Knox thrust his hand through his back, into his chest and out the front. Purple blood burst out from his chest cavity, spraying out and soaking Casar and Magnus in it as they starred on in complete shock at what was happening. The poor Vekht could barely comprehend what was happening, the pain so staggering he couldn't breath. Jagar was already going into shock, Knox's massive hand wrapping around both his fast beating hearts inside his chest. Jagar struggled to say something, anything to Casar but the pain was much too great. His healing ability meant nothing with those massive wounds, the Crusader's devastating wound much too big to heal naturally. Knox began to squeeze, killing Jagar before Casar's eyes. The Vekht's face was a mix of horror and deep regret, his eyes losing the hue as he shed a few tears starring at Casar.


Incapable of speaking, Jagar lifted his right hand up proudly to the sky and gave Casar one final thumbs up.


Both his hearts burst in unison as Knox squeezed them until they popped, Jagar's face going blank as he fell face forward onto the ground with a loud thud.


"Your actions... have consequences." Knox repeated, flicking his bloodied hand into Casar's face. "Load him up."
 
Casar had been broken, forced to watch as Knox reached into Jagar's chest and quite literally killed him in front of his eyes. The mage grasped the ground, trying to pull himself toward Jagar, who had collapsed in front of his eyes and stopped moving. He wouldn't believe that his friend had died, even though his eyes had gone slack and his hearts had been literally ripped out of him. He crawled forward, pain radiating throughout his body, until his hand had reached Jagar's.


Cold.


A throaty noise escaped from him, separate from the groans of pain that had emanated from him when Knox had thrown him down. His chest heaved, every sob full of pain as his ribs had been undoubtedly been broken. He screamed, his worst possible fears presenting themselves. Knox had come, Jagar had been killed, he was once again within Exodlite company, and Jagar had been killed. "Noo ... No ..." he groaned. "J - Jag..." The pain was suffocating, barely able to speak himself. Every breath had felt like it squeezed his chest further and further until he couldn't breathe at all.


"Don't ... Don't touch me -" he groaned at Magnus, his breath caught up in his throat. Tears streamed down his face, unable to feel anything but sorrow. He couldn't be dead. It was Jagar. And Jagar never died. He always healed. Casar was overcome with grief - nothing he could do would bring him back, and before he could even begin to grieve, he was being taken away. His hand clasped onto Jagar's arm, cinching it and forcing Magnus to tear him off. It was a devastatingly easy task, especially because as soon as Jagar's heart had been crushed in Knox's hands, he had given up, losing the fight that was in him.


He didn't feel hate, he wasn't thinking on revenge, but still, he had never felt so terrible in his life. It was worse than breaking him, or anything he could physically to do his body. He'd never had his friends killed in front of him, powerless to help them. The others weren't responding, preoccupied with fighting Vitor; they couldn't help him, and he didn't blame them. He blamed himself.


Perhaps it was deserved. Perhaps he was just going through the same things that he had put Axel through. To see someone killed before his very eyes - someone he'd cared deeply about. To be broken and helpless. Ayla had left his mind. Knox had won.


As Axel collapsed, Vivick kneeled down onto his chest, taking the butt of his gun and slamming it into Axel's face. He unclipped his own blade from his belt, lowering it toward the cyborg's ear. "We still have a while until we get back to the Exodus, where you'll be executed readily for everyone to see. No one will question if you don't arrive whole." he hissed, menacing. "But I'm going to let you recover first." he said, struggling to climb back up to his feet. Blood had covered the front of his armor, a result of Axel embedding his blade into him. A distinct pain shot across his face, one that he'd make Axel pay for.


He grabbed the cyborg, dragging him toward the ship.


...


"PSY COME ON!" Imille yelled. "I'LL GET YOU A NEW HAT AND IT'LL BE BEAUTIFUL!" she shouted, terrified of having to face Vitor again. She grabbed his arm and pulled him, hopefully the promise of a new hat and his team's adoration was enough to get him to come. "The station is breaking apart, Psy, and we're NOT leaving without you!"


She looked up toward the Gaius, which had gotten close enough for everyone to exfiltrate. The doctor pulled him along, though ultimately it was up to him - she wasn't strong enough to force him. As they raced along, Imille had reunited with Nyx, more than happy to see her again.


"Lucy - check Cas' and Jagar's vital monitors! AJAX, COME ON!" she shouted, more than willing to cut it close.
 
As Casar and Axel were taken aboard the shuttle, hundreds of stories down on the ground level of the station things were looking grim for the Gaius crew. Ajax was barely distracting Vitor, having nothing really to hurt him severely with while the others were all struggling to get inside. Lucy was monitoring everyone and keeping an eye on their surroundings, Imille's call to check in on Casar and Jagar wasn't necessary as she finally got the moment to check on them and witnessed something that shattered her heart. One moment Jagar was alive, the next he was face down on the ground. She felt the wind get knocked out of her, seeing that alone was enough to nearly throw their entire escape as she genuinely couldn't believe what she was seeing.


She didn't have the heart to respond to Imille.


"LET'S GO DOC!" Psy said, skipping across the battlefield with Imille's hand in his hand. "A NEW HAT AND IT'S GONNA BE KICKASS, NOT BEAUTIFUL!" He corrected, anti-climatically dragging her across the battlefield. Nyx was also being dragged along by Psy by her other hand, the Calivarian simply wanting to exchange a few words with Imille to make sure she was okay but the android made it impossible. "YOU TWO NEED TO LOSE SOME WEIGHT! YOU'RE SLOWING ME DOWN!" He then let go of their hands and simply sprinted ahead, ignoring the massive fight between Vitor and Ajax happening just in the background.


Neither one of them was getting the upper hand, though that would chance soon as the Crusader seemed to have an unlimited amount of energy while Ajax's would soon wane with how much fighting had happened in such a short amount of time. It had mostly been Ajax dodging about and slamming his fists into V-1's face when he got the chance, actually causing blood to drip down the Crusader's face. The permanent scowl on his face was interesting, what was even more interesting was when Ajax noticed everyone aboard the Gaius and it seemed to be clear. Vitor was acting funny, his moves getting more sluggish while still maintaining the same pace.


"We all good?" Ajax asked, ducking a mighty heave of Vitor's fists. "Cause I'm about all outta gas. Big bastard doesn't go down!"


It took Lucy a long time to speak, her voice cracking when she did, "R-r...run..."


Upon hearing that Ajax gave Vitor one last goodbye present. Jumping up he twisted his body in a way that confused the giant, only to end his attack with a kick to the side of the head. This caused V-1 to stumble back for the first time, the Crusader reaching up to his head in pain. Ajax didn't have time to question quite literally the first attack that worked so he began to run back towards the Gaius. Lucy was watching him closely and began to take off, Ajax running faster with V-1 regaining his bearings and charging after him. Ajax jumped with all his might and caught the loading ramp of the Gaius just as it left the ground, causing Vitor to charge into nothingness as they got away.


Ajax pulled himself up and over, looking at his other crewmates with a big smile on his face. "We made it! We did it! Arc looks fucked up but other than that-" Ajax began to look around, noticing two very important people missing. "Cas... Jagar... y'all still alive? We're coming to get you, hang tight. Hope you gave that bastard hell we-"


"Ajax..." Lucy spoke over their communicators, "I wish I could roll my way down there to look at you all when I say this but... Knox arrived. He and his men took your father and Casar and..." Tears were streaming down her face, her voice not wanting to work as she tried to form the words.


"What is it Lucy?" Nyx practically yelled, fighting back tears at the news of Casar being taken. "What happened to Jagar?!"


"Knox killed Jagar."
 
The words hit Imille like a bullet, staggering her. She instantly climbed to her feet, walking up to the cockpit wordlessly, intending on viewing just what Lucy had seen to determine that Jagar was gone. Because she didn't believe her. Like Cas, she had believed that the man was invulnerable. The image on the viewport shook her to the core, instantly making her fall to her knees, tears welling up in her eyes. Imille had begun to sob, her lips curled downwards in absolute anguish. They had traded Casar and Jagar for Ayla. And while that was a risk that they had all known they were taking ... it was a horrible one.


"NO!" she said, watching through Casar's rewound armorcam as he had been grabbed and thrown to the floor. Magnus had pulled him up to the wall, offering a perfect view for the others to witness as Jagar had been murdered by Knox. Imille brought her arms up to cover her face, her hands clasped around her ears as she stopped herself from watching what was happening to her friend. "TURN IT OFF, LUCY!" she roared, turning her head up just as Casar had began to be dragged into the ship as well, leaving Jagar behind with finality.


Downstairs, Arc had began to awaken, his last memories of being charged by Vitor. Now, he was safely in the ship, but ... he looked up, seeing the faces of the others. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. They weren't the faces of a group of people who had just saved a little girl. They were the faces of those who had lost someone. He staggered to his feet, stumbling down to the floor after a moment and then trying to rise back up again. He took his helmet off - he looked bad, but so did the others. The scientist made his way up to the cockpit, only to find Imille collapsed onto the floor, sobbing into her own arms. Then, Lucy.


"What ... happened ...?" he asked, out of breath. He fell to a knee, but not because he had fully comprehended what was on the screen.


"Knox ... Knox killed him." Imille said, red teary eyes looking to Arc. "He killed Jagar. He killed Jagar and took Cas." she said, taking a moment to allow the scientist to comprehend what she'd said before she'd spoken again. "Lucy." Imille said, getting her attention. "We need ... we need to get ... his body." she said, the words that had come out of her mouth forcing her to stifle a sob. "H-he's ... he's alone. Please. I don't want to leave him alone."


The revelation hit him too - harder than any of them would have expected. He turned his eyes away, reaching up to grab his hair. He fell silent, his face contorting in grief. He had barely gotten the chance to make up for what he'd done, and no one other than Ajax had realized that it was his son that was gone.
 
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