Secret Team Rocket Facility, Medical Research Room, 0535
Dr. Oliver and the other scientist had been subdued and moved into a corner of the lab where Ashley and Carrie stood watch over them. The Mistress eyed the scientist one by one, she wanted to think they weren’t all like David but something told her otherwise. She hadn’t been given just cause to eliminate them but was looking for any reason she could find. The loud banging that came from the other side of the room caused her to jump but Ashley gently pulled her back.
“Just relax sis. We don’t know exactly what they’ve done yet and you taking their heads off won’t make you feel better.”
Carrie shrugged away from Ashley’s hand. “You have no idea what would make me feel better. I would never want you to understand what I went through; I care too much about you. So don’t try and relate to me right now, the very idea that they could be like him is enough cause to kill them.” Even after what she was allowed to do to David fear still haunted the back of her mind.
Ashley put her hand down and stepped in front of the Mistress. “I appreciate that and given our current situation, not having to deal with them is a luxury I think we could afford. All the same we don’t want to kill them then have Marco upset about having lost information we need. Take a breath and be ready to move, once we get that door open we’ll have to make our way to Henrietta and the others.”
“Thanks… despite what Marco says I think you’d make a great Alpha.”
“Awww, thank you… wait, what do you mean?”
Chesra was busy hammering away at the door that had them sealed inside the room. It appeared to be specially designed to keep from opening once lockdown protocols were initiated. Of course this did nothing to stop the Archangel from trying to batter it down to get to the rest of their unit. Two minutes of brute force and there wasn’t a scratch on it.
“Out of the way!” Yelled Renae. Cold vicious winds blew as the air began to crystallize around the Ice Princess. The floor underneath her froze over as her arms began to glow blue with her barely contained power. Everyone backed away from her when the glowing brightened and gathered only in her hands, the strength of the cold air too much for them to handle. Finally she couldn’t hold back any longer, Blizzard Beam contacted with the door and froze it instantly then spread out to cover the ceiling and floor.
Chesra had moved next to Ashley and unstrapped one of the picks on the girls back. Renae was still throwing all of the energy she had into freezing the door but was starting to tire. Finally her arms dropped and she went to a knee to catch her breath. The Archangel didn’t need any more invitation that that, hurling the pick with all of her strength and punching a hole clean through the door. The hole made wasn’t big but it was enough for them to start the process of breaking it the rest of the way down.
~~~~~
Living Quarters, 0535
Tensions were running high in the Living Quarters. Those that weren’t awake for Dizzy’s announcement had been alerted to the situation and now everyone was making their way out into the hallways. With the lights out it was difficult to get a good head count and telling human and pokégirl apart was impossible. Like in the rest of the facility the doors had been sealed; all the members of Avalanche could do was hold their ground in the center of the room and wait for reinforcements to arrive.
“Back away and return to your rooms immediately and no harm will come to you; if you come any closer we will respond with lethal force!” Arianna yelled to the ever growing mass of people.
One man stepped out from the crowd with his arms raised. “Just leave, you’re putting us all in danger! If you weren’t here then none of this would be happening.”
Raising her weapon she focused on the man. “Sir, this is your final warning! If you don’t back away now I will open fire!” He took another step forward and she fired a round into his thigh.
Falling to the ground he clutched at his leg and looked up at her. “You don’t have enough bullets for all of us. Eventually you’ll run out of ammo.”
“Who needs a gun; that was just me being merciful. So let me give you the full picture of what you’re dealing with. The four of us could more than likely rip through you all with little to no effort, in the unlikely event that you did take us down then you would have to deal with the rest of the unit who wouldn’t be taking it easy on you, that’s over a dozen more pokégirls of equal or greater strength who will be quite upset at the loss of their comrades and will vent their frustrations on the first person they see. You’d be fighting in hallways, a choke point where your numbers will mean nothing but multiple deaths with little effort from our side.”
“That’s enough Ari,” Zianna growled as she shouldered her rifle. “Bottom line; if any of you attacks us then the lot of you won’t be around long enough to be poisoned to death.”
A loud squeak echoed through the high ceiling of the circular hallways as the P.A. system came to life. Once again the high pitched hyperactive voice of the G-Spliced came through with far too much enthusiasm. “I’m sensing some wavering for the sake of self-preservation so let me just remind you all of a few things since it may have been a while since you were last outside. The Indigo League Rules and Regulations:
7. Altered Pokéballs designed to catch pokégirls, (ex: Nightmare Ball) or people with pokégirl DNA, (ex: Love Ball) are HIGHLY illegal and using such items is punishable by death!
17.a. It is illegal for any Tamer or pokégirl to join any ‘Team’. Anyone discovered to be a Team Member will face charges that can run the gauntlet from incarceration all the way to the death penalty! Pokégirls will be confiscated and submitted to a Level 5 Taming Cycle and then redistributed at the Indigo League’s discretion.
20.a. Creating new breeds of pokégirls through the use of science within the Indigo League is HIGHLY illegal and is punishable by death!
And this next one is of particular importance to me.
20.c. Starting as of December 31st, 298 AS, mild-mannered and mentally stable G-Splices will become a viable pokégirl selection for Tamers to use. If a Tamer catches one in the wild and she passes a strict psyche evaluation at the nearest Pokécenter, the Tamer may keep her. If she fails, the pokégirl will be put through euthanasia procedures.
Now last time I checked, you’re all employed by Team Rocket and this is a manufacturing facility for ‘illegal pokéballs’, Dr. Oliver and company have been actively trying to create new pokégirls, and I seriously doubt I could fake being sane long enough to pass whatever league standard they would have for someone like me; so the long and short of it is we either die here, we die out there, or we fight and live.”
Once again the group of people began to murmur, weighing out their options. Arianna, Ariel, Emaline, and Zianna were content to let them do this when suddenly there was a rumble in the ground and the sound of a large explosion. A girl burst through the crowd and lunged towards them. The Lawfoxx was quick to fire two rounds into the girl’s knees, causing her to stumble forwards and then be dealt a lethal knee to the face. This one action started a panic and soon they were under attack. Magazines were quickly emptied and they didn’t bother to reload. The residents were already too close and the fight was on.
_____
0535
Back in the hidden room Henrietta was sliding down the wall like a piece of wet spaghetti. A feral Ying stalked her way around to line up a good angle for attack. The Armsmistress part in the G-Spliced had been busy during her years in the room, using the bones from the bodies she’d been given to create replacement armor for the one that was destroyed when the G-Stylist was used on her.
That first hit was a lot harder than Henrietta was expecting it to be and as she summoned her gun she knew she would be fighting for her life. There was little use trying to talk to the girl, based on the appearance of the room she had been left to go feral long ago. Without warning Henrietta opened fire, taking pot shots while she got back on her feet. Ying was gone in a blur then suddenly appeared next to Henrietta, grabbing her by her free arm and throwing her towards the far wall.
Thinking quickly Henrietta teleported before hitting the wall then used the momentum to launch a kick into Ying’s back. The hit was enough to knock the G-Splice down and she quickly followed up by landing several heavy blows to Ying’s head. But Henrietta’s eyes opened in shock when the hand came out of nowhere and caught her fist. With a single clinch of the massive appendage she shattered the bones in Henrietta’s hand then rolled onto her feet before slinging the Blaze Rider upwards and into the hard metal ceiling.
Once again she hit flat against the surface, blood being coughed up from the force of the impact. Still she had the presence of mind to activate her magnetic field and stay out of reach while she got her bearings. She didn’t have much time to think though; with a squat Ying sprung from the ground and launched herself towards her target. Henrietta seized the opening, pushing off the ceiling and kneeing the girl in the head she maneuvered herself into a better position, grabbing Ying by her armor and preparing to piledrive her into the floor. Just before the impact Henrietta teleported them both back to the top to increase the speed and with a boom that shook the whole facility dropped the girl as hard as she could.
While designed to contain the immensely powerful girl, the room couldn’t handle the brutality of the two pokégirls thrashing about. Plates of metal had been dislodged from where they were welded and newly exposed pipes burst. Henrietta staggered to her feet then limped slightly, the impact combine with a poor landing had snapped her tibia like a twig and while the bone had the decency to stay in her leg it was through sheer force of will she wasn’t screaming in pain. Still from the look of things she had gotten off better than her opponent, or so she thought.
When the G-Splice sprung back to her feet Henrietta’s heart fell; wailing in pain and clutching at her head Ying fell to her knees again. “This is a really unfunny joke.” Henrietta spoke through gritted teeth; she didn’t have time to be upset though. Looking around she found a long thin piece of metal and bent it around the injured part of her leg to keep it stable as best as she could, considering she only had one hand to work with.
Ying’s tantrum subsided and without warning she sprung forward and charged Henrietta into the wall. Grabbing her by the injured leg she slammed her back and forth between the ground and wall before throwing her across to the other side of the room and back through the opening she came from. She charged again but stopped just short, standing there like she couldn’t move past that spot.
“Ying, oh Ying, I see you remember.” Dizzy spoke through the intercom. Strangely the two G-Spliced seemed to be quite amicable with each other. Dizzy had been the only voice Ying had heard through the years and she understood her perfectly. “I’ll let you leave if you want. The fire won’t hurt you this time.”
Ying tentatively stepped over the boundary line and once she was sure the room wouldn’t be engulfed in flames she sprung forward and down the hallway. In her haste she stepped on the metal panel and kicked it, sending Henrietta back into the room. She was lucky her leg was still attached considering the force she was thrown with and amazingly she was still conscious too.
Still she didn’t try to get up, everything hurt too much to move. From the cameras Dizzy saw her stir and began activating the room’s emergency protocol. “You’re a tough nut to crack, but I’ll be sure to tell your friends that you fought bravely before Ying crumpled you like a piece of paper.”
Henrietta could barely breathe let alone speak, never the less she was going to get her point across. “B… biiit... bitch.”
“Still rude too, and just for that I’m turning on the room’s incinerators. Ying always did have a problem keeping the place clean. Actually it’s the system they install to keep her from leaving but since she’s gone and… damn it. Since she’s gone and your friend is still tampering with my systems I don’t have time to keep it off, toodles!”
For a moment Henrietta thought Dizzy was bluffing, and then she heard valves opening. A fire was thought to be the least of her issues until the overhead burner started. The vapor in the room wasn’t set to be ignited until the peak of its stoichiometric scale and the resulting explosion was enough to throw Henrietta into the wall. Despite the impact she took it as a chance to get some of her energy back. Throwing her arms out she began to absorb the flames and heal her wounds. Still she wasn’t sure how long she would be able to hold out. The temperature of the flames was beyond anything she’d ever felt before and she was forced to cover her face.
She had healed all she could but was starting to feel faint. The heat and the lack of oxygen was getting to her, she could feel her skin blister and boil all over her body. Her only thought at the moment was the hope that she or one of the others could somehow shield Marco from the pain she was feeling. Then suddenly there was nothing; no pain, no heat, no burning… just nothing.
_____
Technological and Weapons Research Room, 0530
Marco paced a furious line while the girls tried to break down the door keeping them in the room. Dizzy’s threat to kill everyone in the facility was a real one and without the means to evacuate the inhabitants would be sure to panic. This effectively put the four girls watching the Living Quarters in an extreme amount of danger. They wouldn’t have any issues containing a small number of people but from what they got to see in their HUDs there was hundreds of staff. If they didn’t find a way to leave soon then a lot of lives would be at stake.
While he knew it was the right call at the time Marco was currently cursing himself up and down for sending all the physically strongest members of the team to the Living Quarters. Their combine strength would have been enough to have the door down in a matter of minutes. He didn’t have time to dwell though, the others needed them and he would do whatever it took to get there.
“Come on, there’s got to be some way out!” Lily yelled to the others.
“We’re working on it but this is a blast door, we’re not just going to knock it off its hinge and charge through.” Marco explained.
“I know that but we’ve got to do something besides stand here!”
Kelly turned and snapped at her. “We’re not just standing here, we’re working on it! Now unless you have some suggestion for getting it opened or going through it, take a seat and cool off!”
“Cool off?” Marco said to himself as an idea formed. “Selena, I need you to get that door as hot as you can then freeze it. Kelly, we’re going to need your wall card, Kim you’ll be exploding.”
Selena’s tail curled around and scratched the back of her head. “Based off the description of what we’ll be doing and using I believe this should work.”
“It will work. Instead of just super cooling the door I want you to seal Kim in-between the door and Kelly’s wall card using your ice powers. If we do this correctly then the door will be the path of least resistance for when… Kim…” Marco suddenly fell to his knees and grit his teeth in pain then slowly made it back to his feet as it subsided. “We need to hurry.” The others gave him odd looks but didn’t voice their concerns.
Following his instructions and the plans he had laid out the girls got to work. Selena wasn’t a pure fire-type but she managed to get the door to glowing hot in a matter of minutes. After a brief pause to safely change her elemental typing she switched to freezing the door. Steam poured from the heated metal door as it cooled, hissing and popping violently. Kim moved into position and Kelly Summoned her wall card, its defensive stats being unmatched by anything else she carried on her.
Marco nodded and Kelly placed the card right behind Kim, pressing her up against the door with hardly any space to move. Once Selena started the freezing process she would have to be quick as well as thorough. Any gaps in the ice could ruin the plan but there was also the risk of either freezing Kim to death or her dying by suffocation. Kim radioed that she was ready and Selena let loose with a massive blast from Blizzard Beam. Little by little she encased the Bombshell in a layer of ice then expanded the beam outward and started freezing everything from the ceiling to the floor.
“You ok in there?” Marco called out.
“It’s oddly cozy in here, little chilly but that’s to be expected I guess. Just let me know when you’re ready.”
“Right; Selena, how long until you’re done?”
“Thirty seconds to make sure it’s sealed properly. It’s been hardened as best as I could and even a fire-type would have trouble getting through it quickly.”
“Good, everyone take cover and prep for detonation!”
At his command everyone dropped back behind tables and other sturdy objects just in case the force of the explosion shattered the ice and threw it back at them. A few seconds later there was a muffled rumbling and the ground began to shake, cracks snacked their way through the ice towards the ceiling and when Kelly dismissed her card the whole thing began to shatter and cave in. Giving everyone ample warning to clear the area Selena struck with Wildfire Tsunami, melting the freshly cracked ice then clearing the path to the other side.
Finding Kim’s spine in the melted ice was a simple task and soon enough they were on their way down the hall. At a junction up ahead they caught sight of Chesra and her team and were going to meet up when they heard echoing muffled gunfire. Thinking the worst they were prepared to press on and discuss their battle plan along the way when Marco fell to the ground. He appeared to be in intense pain, his mouth opened in a silent yell while he felt as if his skin were going to burst into flames.
“Hot! It’s too hot!” He finally screamed and writhed on the ground.
Everyone just stared at him, not sure of what to do. From their prospective he appeared to be fine physically. Even those delta bonded to him couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Without warning he turned and grabbed Renae by the arm before pressing her hand against his face. Taking direction from his actions she expanded her powers and froze the ground underneath him before grabbing onto him using Heat Drain.
“I don’t understand, for some reason he’s burning up. And I don’t mean fever, it’s like his body is on fire. I can cool him down but I…” Renae stopped when he reached out and grabbed Kelly.
The Duelist was afraid of what was wrong with him and visibly shook at the pained expression on his face. Struggling to sit up he rolled onto his side and glared at her. “What are you all still doing here? They need your help.” The sounds of the gunfire had ceased and without a connection to them he was thinking the worst. “Leave me here, I’ll be fine.”
Kelly looked conflicted, stuck in a war between her emotions and her need to follow his orders. She would have to make a choice and looked to Chesra for guidance but she was of little help, stuck in the same situation as herself. Finally she gave his hand a squeeze and made up her mind. “Renae and Carrie; get him to the Medical Research area so Alexis can have a look at him. Everyone else, get moving towards the Living Quarters.” The others nodded and took off down the hall while Renae and Carrie moved Marco into a position to be carried. Kelly raised a hand to halt the girls and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Take care love and you two take care of him.”
Marco’s thrashing had subsided and now he laid motionless but mustered enough strength to wave before she left. He had seen all of the girls who could be causing him to be in pain except for one, Henrietta. The last time he had a feeling like that was back in Cerulesbian City and it ended poorly then too. ‘Henrietta? Rietta? Say something love…’
~~~~~
0540
In the security room Ilene, Bernadette, and Tam had all backed away from Isabella. The Mecha Musume was on the warpath after Dizzy remotely shut down the visual upgrades in their headsets and now was doing everything she could think of to locate the source of her anger and frustration. Near the back of the room the other three were whispering amongst themselves to try and figure out how to tell her that Henrietta’s beacon had vanished. The memory of how Marco reacted was still fresh in their minds so they all knew that sooner was better than later.
At the terminal Isabella had continued to ramble to herself, biting at a pen and slowly losing her mind. Whatever Dizzy was her multitasking skills were off the charts; the speed at which she was blocking the buildings search program was staggering, Isabella was just barely keeping the communication systems off line and, trying to disarm the protocol for the poison gas was completely out of the question. “Little cunt, who does she think she is messing with my tech, gonna string he up by her toe nails when I find her, thinks she’s so damn smart, wait, just you wait, gonna cut her fingers off piece by piece then make her eat them…” She didn’t even bother looking back when they tapped her on the shoulder, just snapped at them. “I’m busy, what the hell is it?!”
Ilene had spent the most time with her and definitely had the best in with the angry girl so she was chosen to give the bad news. “Henrietta’s beacon has shut off.”
“Shit, I can’t give hyper bitch a spare second or she’s going to start locking me out of the systems. Um… Tam, I need you to get the laptop out of my bag and plug into this one. After that bring up the locator watch data logs, those will tell me exactly what happened before it shut off. Ilene, is there some way, any way you can figure out where the hell this bitch is operating from?”
“There are locator spells I’ve picked up over the years but I can’t actually perform them.”
Isabella didn’t’ take her eyes off the screens but her irritation was made abundantly clear by her tone of voice. “How in the hell do you know how to do the spell and not be able to do the spell at the same time. It’s just ass backwards.”
“They designed my breed as arcane boosters not mages, now if there was someone else around who could do magic I could teach them the spell in an instant but I can’t cast most spells on my own.”
Bernadette cleared her throat in an attempt to get their attention and once it was clear that wouldn’t work settled on just yelling at them. “Hey, Chesra can do the castin, she and the others be passing by any second!” She explained and pointed at the holographic display showing all of their beacons heading their way.
“Works for me,” Ilene nodded quickly as she started for the door and opened it outward. It was just at the same time the others were closing in and Rebecca flew headlong into the door then fell to the ground rubbing her head. “Sorry, Chesra I need you in here!”
“I don’t have time for this, the others are fighting for their lives down at the Living Quarters and the Colonel just collapsed in intense pain.” Chesra explained while barely slowing.
Isabella’s fingers froze when she heard about Marco, everyone knew about the delta bonds and now she feared the worst for Henrietta. Thankfully Bernadette wasn’t willing to let the Archangel leave, reaching out into the hallway and physically pulling her back. The action caused the others to stop and she met their murderous looks head on. “Rietta’s beacon’s gone bust er somethin and the Cap’n be feelin ill? I be makin this plain en simple then incase ya forgot, if he be hurtin then she be hurtin and if we can’t find er then shit be real wrong!”
Chesra and Kelly should have been able to understand what she was saying but they were both in too much of a panic and too deep in concern for Marco to actually listen to her. “We don’t have time for this; talk correctly damn it!” Chesra barked.
“If you don’t have time then open your fucking ears and listen properly!” Isabella snapped back while still not turning around. “We’ve lost Henrietta’s beacon and its last location isn’t marked anywhere on the regular directory. But taking Henrietta down is no small task and both she and the Colonel are delta bonded. Whatever hurt her was hurting him too and if it was that bad then I fear the worst. Now I don’t have time to listen to a bitch fest, yes, the others are fighting for their lives right now because this Dizzy bitch is hiding out somewhere in the facility and taking over the systems. Since Chesra is the only one here who can legitimately do magic I need her to stay here with Ilene and learn the locator spell so she can find and stop Dizzy. The rest of you can get at move on and I’ll try to have that door opened by the time you get to it, but the last thing anyone of us needs right now is everyone being high strung and throwing their own personal fits! Ok, cool, get a move on!”
The others stood there for a moment, stunned at being on the receiving end of a severe dressing down at the hands of the Mecha Mesune. Kelly nodded in agreement and with a single hand gesture sent the others ahead. “Chesra, you find them. I don’t really care what you have to do but you find them as quickly as you can.”
Chesra growled in frustration, she wanted to go and help the others. Two of her subordinates were stuck in that room and everyone was going to be there except for her. But she also knew that if what Isabella said was true then finding the one who was responsible for putting Henrietta in a position to be killed was just as important as fighting. That didn’t stop her from wanting to tell off the rather mouthy girl but she could save that for later.
“Ok, what kind of spell do I need to learn to find this Dizzy person?”
~~~~~
0540
The Living Quarters had turned into a blood bath from the first shot. While the members of Avalanche were surrounded and heavily outnumbered they were also leagues stronger than anyone who had the nerve to attack them. The first wave of attackers met brutal ends at the hands Arianna and Zianna, the pair of them clawing their assailants to ribbons. Between Emaline’s fire attacks and Ariel’s lightening attacks the second wave had been stalled and pushed back. Yells and screams echoed up into story by story as more and more of the residents fell to Avalanche.
Having seen dozens of their fellow residents fall in such a short amount of time broke the will of the hundreds who remained. They began to back down and retreat when there was a sudden loud wailing sound followed by ground shaking thuds. All fighting and commotion ceased and everyone stopped to listen and potentially locate the source of the disturbance. With every passing second the heavy thuds got louder and closer. What worried the residents was that even Avalanche seemed to be concerned about the noise. All eyes shifted to the empty section of the wall that Henrietta had disappeared into earlier and now that they knew the direction it was coming from all they could do was wait and see what it was.
They didn’t have to wait for long. The section of wall appeared to launch itself at them with almost zero resistance, killing those who were close to it and almost taking Emaline’s head of her shoulders when she didn’t move out of the way in time. In the wake of her abrupt entry all eyes turned towards Ying, her bellow shaking the walls and striking fear in the hearts of the non-battle hardened. Worse was when she knelt down and ripped an arm off one of the dead scientist before biting into it and stripping the meat from the bone.
Arianna and Zianna faced the massive girl and began backing away while Ariel pulled an unconscious Emaline into the darkness. “The fuck is she?” Asked Arianna as she eyed Ying tearing into more of the dead scientist.
As concerned as Zianna was about what the girl was she was more concerned about the smell coming off her. “She fought Sergeant Henrietta… where is Henrietta?”
Arianna and Henrietta hadn’t always gotten along. The Hound resented the CalamityJane when she was first captured and didn’t think much of her attitude. On the other hand Henrietta took issue with Arianna and Zianna’s loyalty to Marco when he didn’t do anything to earn it. Over the years the two of them had been in several altercations but managed to become good friends. So the idea that some feral had bested her friend in combat wasn’t setting well.
Ying had just finished cleaning another bone when she picked up a hostile scent in the air. Tossing the body aside and stepping on a few others she turned to face the War Hound and Wolf Queen. Zianna lost a foot to her in height even in her attack mode but the pair locked eyes. The residents of the facility took the opportunity to run for cover but in Dizzy’s haste to lock the four girls from Avalanche in she effectively trapped them in as well. Now they were stuck in the room and it looked like the mother of all fights was about to start. Zianna was moments from engaging when Arianna stepped in front of her.
“Let me test the waters first, back me up if things go poorly.”
“It’s time’s like this that I really hate the fact that you out rank me. Wait… you don’t out rank me anymore.”
“No, but I’m older.”
Zianna relented, folding her arms and taking two large steps back. “Fine… the irony here is that I was the runt of the litter, now I’m bigger than you.”
“Size isn’t everything.”
“… That’s what he said?”
Arianna didn’t respond to her sister and instead launched forward and swiped a clawed hand at the G-Spliced, cleaving through her armor and drawing first blood. But as she watched the wounds resealed almost instantly. On top of that her fingers were aching; the armor wasn’t the problem as much as the incredible durability of the girl’s skin. It reminded her of back when Carrie was still a Penance, the amount of effort required to get through the girl’s skin was greater than the pay off. Still, she didn’t have time to dwell on the past as she narrowly dodged a wild punch by Ying.
The G-Splice flew into a blind rage, attacking with everything she had. One strike landed and sent Arianna sprawling across the floor. Leaping forward she pounced onto the War Hound but got launched into the air in response. With most of the area blacked out Arianna had plenty of places to shadow teleport to, appearing above the still climbing Ying and ax kicking her back to the ground. Ying’s impact left a huge divot in the floor but she was back on her feet before Arianna knew what to do. Grabbing her by the foot Ying slung the War Hound into and through one of the stone pillars. Ying leapt towards the same area but was caught and hip tossed by Zianna.
“Ugh… she packs a punch…” Arianna groaned as she pushed out of the pile of stones that had fallen on her. “No wonder Henrietta had such a hard time with her.”
“Ready to tag out?”
“Don’t take her lightly.”
Zianna opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by the massive girl lunging at her. Reacting on instinct she put her arms up then delivered a downward elbow strike to the head before following up with a knee to the gut and a kick in the groin. Repeating the kick three more times Zianna spun sharply and connected with a roundhouse kick that sent Ying flipping over and sliding into a wall. But just like both Henrietta and Arianna, Zianna was left speechless when the girl climbed back to her feet without looking any worse for wear.
“You’re kidding me.”
“I know right.”
Ying lunged again, throwing all of her brute strength into single punch but bellowed angrily when Zianna stood her ground and stopped her. The Wolf Queen’s strength surged to the forefront as she laid into the G-Splice, landing blow after devastating blow. Being feral wasn’t doing anything to stop Ying from striking back when Zianna missed a hit. Flipping forward at close range and using her height to her advantage she landed a downward knee then flipped backwards and kicked her opponent in the chin. Zianna recovered quickly and kicked, sending Ying to a waiting Arianna who caught and suplexed her back into the wall.
Now that it was painfully clear that the odd girl was too much for either of them to handle alone both Arianna and Zianna took positions together. A soft groan was heard from a darkened corner as Ariel injected Emaline with the recovery dispenser. The Fire Maiden had been knocked for a loop and was finally making it back to her feet. Fire erupted from her hands in frustration and her head was still ringing from the impact she received earlier.
“She’s still alive?”
Arianna snarled and pooled darkness around her limbs. “Not from lack of trying on our part. She has some kind of ridiculous regeneration and durability; on top of that she’s super strong and won’t stop getting up. If you plan on fighting her then do it from the outskirts and for god’s sake don’t let her get her hands on you.”
The flickering lights emanating from the flames around Emaline’s hands threw Ying into a blind rage. Raising her arms high above her head she locked her hands together and slammed them into the ground sending out a massive tremor and knocking everyone over. With them off balance she leapt into the air and prepared to come down on top of the Fire Maiden but was met with a bolt of lightning that pushed her to the side. Hitting the ground she made to attack Zianna but scampered behind a pillar when Emaline’s fire attack flashed in front of her.
“She’s either weak against fire or afraid of it!” Emaline yelled as she channeled her energy for another attack. That was until the pillar that was being used as cover exploded and launched towards her in large chunks. Ariel dove to push her out of the way but they both ended up caught in the blast and thrown into the door. Ying moved to take them out but was intercepted by Zianna while Arianna kept the two girls covered.
It had been a while since Arianna received any transmission through her headset but things were looking bleak and she was willing to try anything. “I don’t know what’s keeping everyone but we could really use some help in here!” All that came through the other end was static, the two girls she was trying to protect had been knocked unconscious, and Zianna was being worn down by the nearly limitless reserves of the G-Splice. ‘Just need to hold out… the hell is that?’
In the darkened area it was easy to see the bright glow coming from the same entrance Ying had come from. The heart of the War Hound dropped at the thought of another opponent coming, she took a deep breath and prepared to try and join her sister in taking Ying out. Then a familiar scent hit her nose. Holding back the urge to cry or let out a scream of joy she settled on rotating her arm in preparation for a Tornado Fist.
~~~~~
0555
Chesra sprinted down the hallway with a miniaturized Ilene riding on her shoulders; her glowing eyes tracking pulsating lights flowing through the electricity in the ceiling. The tracking spell she was taught was a hybrid effort between the Imp and Isabella. It highlighted the excessive power use of Dizzy and turned it into a visible spectrum that was easy to follow.
Considering everything that had happened and the current state of Marco, Chesra was in a very foul mood. “The bloody fucking hell is she? These hallways all look the same and it’s starting to piss me off!”
“Well you’re the one who can see where we’re heading. My understanding of the spell says that the closer we get to the end the faster the pulses will… well… pulse.”
“Be that as it may we need to find her faster. She’s managed to block our radio and radar signals and judging by how mad Isabella is this Dizzy girl is gaining the upper hand.” The pair came to a forking intersection and it took Chesra a few minutes to figure out where the power was flowing before hanging a sharp left and bounding down the hall at an ever increasing pace. “Master is ill, Henrietta is missing, and this entire operation is going to shit.”
“Bella said to bring the girl in alive if we could help it, personally I don’t see this being much of an issue. If her specialty is computers and technical applications then I doubt there’s going to be much to worry about combat wise.”
“You say that; but half of Indigo specialized in just that thing, even Zianna. Since she had the patience to learn a multitude of skills she’s incredibly versatile in combat as well. Best not to underestimate the opposition.”
“Agreed, once we find her most of our issues will be cleared up. Hopefully that includes Marco as well.”
The thought of the state Chesra left Marco in made her even more upset and she dug deep to focus on the task she was given. “I hope so too, but I fear that Bernadette was right in her assumption. If he’s feeling that kind of pain then I’m even more concerned about Henrietta.”
They continued down the hall in silence, each of them thinking on their concerns for both their teammate and their colonel. As Chesra continued running the pulses were finally getting faster. She was closing in on her goal and subconsciously began to tense. After a while it wasn’t as much of a pulse as it was a steady stream of light heading towards one location. Stopping, both girls wore puzzled looks on their faces, the door they were standing at seemed oddly ordinary and the label over it didn’t help matters.
Ilene shook her head in confusion and moved to slide down in between Chesra’s breast plate. “A utility closet, are we tracking down the janitor?”
“Unless the spell is wrong, but this is where all of the excess power is flowing to. Master does say that some of the best secrets are hidden in plain sight. You should be fairly safe where you are if a fight breaks out, just don’t drop any lower.”
Sucking in a deep breath Chesra mentally prepared herself for whatever lay on the other side of that door and with a lunge, shot forward and kicked the knob clean through. There was nothing, no pokégirl, no computer terminal, just a bunch of mops, buckets, and brooms. Still, she knew something was off. Ilene knew it as well and her sharp eyes began to scan the room for any anomalies.
“Right there, there’s a half shoe print on the ground leading into the wall. Unless someone just has half a foot there’s a secret opening there.”
Taking that queue Chesra pulled out her war hammer and reared back before lunging forward and hitting the wall dead center. When it impacted and stopped, leaving a large dent on it she knew they had the right place. Using one of the magical strength spells combined with the massive arcane boosting powers of Ilene she struck a second time and tore through the door like it was made of tinfoil.
It was dark on the other side but her natural night vision allowed her to see a faint light a little further up and around the corner. After how she decided to open the door there was little point in being stealthy; whoever inhabited the room knew someone was there, but when she rounded the corner she was in for a bit of a shock. Sitting on the ground and surrounded but computers of every type was a blue haired pokégirl. Though she was sitting Chesra estimated her height at a little bit shorter than Kelly’s and her glowing blue eyes held untold mischief behind them. She didn’t even respond to Chesra entering her area, being perfectly content to continue giving Isabella hell.
“Hey… excuse me…”
“PIPE DOWN! I’m almost done here, been a while since I’ve had to deal with a group… this…” She looked up slightly to see Chesra standing there and thrust her hand outward releasing a magnetic wave, magnetizing Chesra’s weapons and armor and sticking her to the ceiling. Without missing a beat she went back to her cyber assault. “Tenacious. So, how can I help you?”
“You can let me down from here and stop making plans to kill everyone in this facility.”
“And you all could have waited patiently for me to call the security forces to come and retake the facility then gone with them and out of my hair. There’s a 94.897% probability that you could have escaped from them given the capabilities of the Avalanche unit, doing it to them means you wouldn’t have been my problem, though in retrospect if you escaped them then there’s 100% saying you would come back here, more than likely bringing Blizzard and Cyclone with you… yes, I guess it is best that I take of care you since you’re here. I counted twenty-four of you at one point and time, last I checked we were down to twenty-three.”
“Henrietta…”Chesra said softly though smiling internally at the girl’s miscalculation. Henrietta may have been hurt very badly at one point and that could have affected Marco; but if she was really dead then the grief Marco would have been suffering would have been obvious. It almost upset her to think about how well she’s gotten to understand how he feels pain.
“She put up a pretty good fight for like 30 second, even got a few good hits in, then Ying almost killed her.”
“Almost?”
“Yes, I say almost because I finished the… you bitch!” Dizzy yelled in aggravation before summoning a tablet in front of her and working on that as well. “I say almost because I finished the job. Next I need to take care of the little snoop that was listening to classified files, and I’m saving whoever’s been fighting me on these computers for last.”
“That would be Isabella; she’s quite vexed with you and has requested that I bring you to her alive. Me, I’m all for killing you right now but I’m sure my colonel and Henrietta would like to see you alive and in person as well.”
Dizzy continued to keep her eyes on the task at hand and didn’t bother to look at Chesra. “You say that like you plan on getting down from there. Archangel in full metal armor, a strong breed but you lack the leverage needed to pry yourself off of there and even if you did, you would be moving so slowly that I could just out run you. I’m sure you’ve tried teleporting but unlike those weak teleport jammers everywhere else that don’t allow teleportation through the field’s outer range the one in here doesn’t allow teleportation IN the fields range at all. And Henrietta is dead; I thought we had gone over that.”
Chesra thankfully had kept hold of her hammer and narrowed her eyes in intense focus. If not for the Imp stuck in her cleavage she actually would have been at Dizzy’s mercy and though she hated the idea of what she was about to do it was her only option. Maneuvering her pointer and middle fingers to point downward she created an Energy Blade and sliced through the straps attaching her bracer to her arm then flew into a quick string of hand gestures to cast Elemental Ward. Ilene’s proximity sent out a wave of negative energy as the electric attack’s effect disappeared and Chesra broke free.
No time was wasted as she formed her wing and launched herself at the G-Splice. With a horizontal spin she knocked Dizzy airborne with the hammer then jumped and crescent kicked her into the wall, knocking the girl unconscious. Lights flickered on and off for a second as her control over the facility faded and her body vanished back into the Life Disk sitting next to the computer terminal.
Along with the building returning to normal their headsets, visors, and comm. units began to function properly again. “Isabella, I’ve taken out Dizzy and secured her Life Disk, heading to the Living Quarters to assist the others.”
“Negative Chesra, return to the security office with the Life Disk.”
“The others need help in the Living Quarters, I’m heading there now!”
There was a short burst of static and a low groan as another voice came over the channel. “Chesra its Marco, the Living Quarters have been secured and everyone is fine, return to the security office.”
“… Master…”
~~~~~
Living Quarters, 0545
Arianna and Zianna had been put through their paces by Ying but were hanging in there. The blast from the Tornado Fist has separated the G-splice and Wolf Queen long enough for Arianna to join her sister again. Nodding to each other Zianna struck first, using her speed and superior power to create opening for Arianna to strike, landing devastating blows but not doing as much damage as she would have liked. A narrow miss left Zianna opened and she was hammered with a Meteor Punch that sent her reeling. Ying moved to follow up but suddenly found it difficult to move, Arianna’s Entangling Darkness and her being coated in shadows almost slowing her to a crawl.
Zianna was barely moving when Arianna reached her and was Shadow Teleported to the passage way the glowing light was coming from. “Hang in there just a little bit longer, reinforcements are on the way.”
The loud roar of the hover cycle echoed down the half mile hallway separating the Living Quarters from where Ying was being held. The G-splice had almost closed in when the cycle shot from the passageway and plowed into her with a massive explosion, lifting Ying off her feet and knocking her into the center of the room. Once the dust cleared the heavy footsteps and rattling of chains hailed the arrival of the cycle’s owner. Stepping out into the open was Henrietta, her hair had been bleached completely white again and her skin had turned black.
“Hen… Henrietta?”
Heat radiated from the now Charred Blaze Rider as she eyed her target. Without warning fire erupted from her body and swirled furiously around her. “You have no idea how pissed off I am right now, and I’m going to take it out on her first.”
Ying shook her head to get her bearings back then let out a vicious snarl when she laid eyes on Henrietta. The flames had died out but the level of heat she radiated was such that it looked as though she was blurry and always moving randomly. Her eyes glowed red as she activated her Infravision and in a surge of her new dark powers the little bit of light that was left in the room dimmed. Ying had been feral a long time, too long to recognize the danger and fury of the much smaller girl. Throwing a punch, she missed and struck part of the blurred image, going through it and striking the ground. Henrietta stepped on her massive fist as she was pulling it back then sprung forward, igniting in mid flip and kicking the G-splice in the chest, leaving a sizzling boot print.
“That was for throwing me by my broken leg!” The little bit of control she had managed to keep on her anger snapped and her body ignited again. With her Infravision she could easily see Ying patting and clawing at her chest, not paying her the least bit of attention.
Screams of pain and rage filled the room again as Henrietta went on a full blown assault throwing fire attacks of every variety to keep her opponent off balance. Ying attempted to lunge and grab at her but now both Arianna and Zianna were on their feet as well, taking the initiative to get their own revenge hits in. A set of clawed kicks severed Ying’s Achilles tendons, dropping her to her knees and without any leverage she was quickly overpowered by the sisters. Arms held behind her back and hair pulled she was helpless, held in a submissive position in front of Henrietta.
A loud pounding could be heard from the blast doors as the rest of Avalanche were working on breaking through it. But that was of no concern to the Blaze Rider. Her new powers surged again as the lights returned to their normal brightness and for the first time both Arianna and Zianna noticed she had no shadow. “You two want to see a cool trick?” She growled as she reached out and grasped Ying by the throat. The two canines could feel the heat radiating off Henrietta but were equally surprised to find that Ying was getting colder by the second. Not only that but the amount of effort required to hold her in place was decreasing the longer it went on, consequently, Henrietta’s grip began to strengthen, causing the G-splice to struggle to breathe until she finally let go. With no reason to hold the girl any longer Arianna and Zianna let go and focused their attention on the Echo leader.
Henrietta’s eyes reverted back to their normal pale white but her expression didn’t change. “You two haven’t seen the best part yet.” Darkness and fire swirled around her left hand in a strange and violent torrent of power. Looking down she eyed the head of Ying’s shadow and yelled as she jumped high into the air then came down and struck it. Somehow the force of the blow was transferred from the shadow directly to Ying, causing her head to explode out the back in an impressive spray of blood and bone showering both Arianna and Zianna. “And that’s what you get for breaking my hand, you giant feral bitch!” Henrietta got back up from the ground then glanced at her teammates. “Sorry about that.”
The people who were once ready to fight for their lives had decided that it wasn’t worth it anymore and vacated the area. Now that Arianna and Zianna had time to tend to their wounded they got Ariel and Emaline back on their feet. The Fire Maiden was upset that she didn’t get a chance to take part in bringing down the G-Splice but was equally happy that everyone else had survived.
On the outside of the Living Quarters the rest of Avalanche were preparing to go through the process of freezing the door when it suddenly started to get very hot. Backing away they watched in awe as the blast door began to glow white then melt before their very eyes. Melted metal dripped from the door and pooled onto the ground as the hole in the center of it became larger. On the other side of it Henrietta, Emaline, and Zianna were focusing their various fire powers and magic to burn a hole clean through.
“Hey, let me freeze it now then you can break right though it!” Yelled Selena from the other side.
The three girls backed off and Ariel waved to them. “Go for it!”
It didn’t take long for them to break the door down but everyone stopped to focus on Henrietta. Looking past her they saw the dead body of Ying and the state of the room. Never the less their attention turned back to the Blaze Rider.
There was no way to miss the changes in her appearance and Kelly approached her first. “What in the hell happened to you? You’re filthy; Marco collapsed in the middle of the hallway. Renae said that he felt like he was on fire and you, you look like a burnt piece of meat! What the fuck happ…”
Reaching out and yanking Kelly by the throat Henrietta glared at her Alpha. “That bitch cut my radio, her sister kicked my ass and nearly killed me, and then she set me on fire and nearly killed me! Do you have any fucking clue how sick I am of being set on fire?! Not to mention that fact that I know that I made him suffer through that too! So, do you know what I’m in right now?!”
“Exactly what I’m in; no fucking mood! Now put me down!” Henrietta released her Alpha then took a deep breath to calm down. Kelly took the opportunity to move forward and give her a hug. “Ok, it’s good to see that you’re alive. I want everyone else to secure this area, nothing gets in or out. I believe by now that we’ve all had enough of this place and the people here. If anyone gives you any problems at all, kill them, let the first body be a warning to the others. Henrietta, let’s head back to the security room.”
A short teleport later the two of them were back with the others in the security room. Bernadette was the first to acknowledge Henrietta being alive but carefully hid her joy at that fact. “Chesra and Ilene left a while ago to find the wench that be givin Bella here problems. She been in a foul mood ever since the comm. units went down.”
Kelly regarded Bernadette with a measure of her new found patience. “Bernie, I understand that Marco doesn’t mind the way you talk but it’s rather difficult for us to understand you at times. Could you at least attempt to speak in a way we’ll comprehend the first time without needing a translator?”
“I promise nothin fer the heat of the moment,” She cleared her throat and shook her head in concentration. “But I’ll try my best.”
“Fair enough. The comm. units are down huh?”
Isabella let out an ear splitting yell. “And the HUDs, and the motion trackers, and the Line of Sight pokédexes, and then she manipulated our Assault Packs and locked off our ammo. I swear… just… ugh…”
Henrietta knew better than to touch Isabella while she was working but could appreciate the level of frustration she was feeling. “Don’t you worry about that. Gonna kill that bitch the second I lay eyes on her.”
“I already called dibbs. Anyway, we…” Isabella froze for a moment in shock, the others couldn’t see what was on her screen but all of her systems were back under her control. On top of that the struggle for the facilities system was over as well. “We’re back on line and I have control over everything.”
Chesra’s voice sounded through their headsets in a rush. “Isabella, I’ve taken out Dizzy and secured her Life Disk, heading to the Living Quarters to assist the others.”
“Negative Chesra, return to the security office with the Life Disk.”
“The others need help in the Living Quarters, I’m heading there now!”
There was a short burst of static and a low groan as another voice came over the channel. “Chesra its Marco, the Living Quarters have been secured and everyone is fine, return to the security office.”
“… Master…”
Marco had regained consciousness not too long ago but was still feeling the after effects of the psychic backlash Henrietta’s fight subjected him too. “I’m fine Ches. We’re keeping watch over the scientist, but they seem pretty content not to do anything foolish. Regroup with the others and we’ll get everything sorted out.”
“Sir!”
_____
0610 found the Alpha, Beta’s, Marco, and Isabella sitting in the security room; surrounding a perplexed and slightly frazzled Dizzy. “Ya know, I could have just let it go, I could have gone back to sleep and let you sweep this whole damn facility. By the time anyone not in your unit came to any information that pointed in my direction I could have resealed the facility and killed them all then skipped away. But no, I had to keep it contained, just had to handle it on my own, not like I could depend on the security here. They haven’t seen real action in over a decade. Should have listened to me five years ago and traded them out every year when I suggested it. I mean for the love of fuck…” The G-Splice continued to ramble on with no end in sight. With her arms and legs bound, Life Disk secured, and being suspended from the ceiling there was little she could do to get away.
Marco would have been content to just let her talk but given the data Alexis had given him on the breeds used to create the girl and the probability on the enhancements she held she could feasibly keep them entertained for days with her rambling. Besides, he had a host of other concerns at the moment. Henrietta was way beyond her normal level of pissed off and in a rare case so was Isabella. It wasn’t quite out of place for the Blaze Rider but for the Mecha Musume whose fuse was generally much longer; her being in a homicidal frame of mind was something to be concerned about.
“Dizzy; G-Splice, created by David Frapp using a Video Girl and a Supe-Bra Genius. Calling you smart would be nothing short of an insult and a blatant slap in the face wouldn’t it?” Marco commented, reading over the information Alexis had the time to send him.
“At least someone knows genius and talent when he sees it, knows how to make a left handed compliment too. Me personally, I’m not big on handing out praise needlessly or without proper justification.” She then turned her head to face Isabella, swinging freely from the rope suspending her in the air. “You are a massive pain in the ass for not being that bright.”
Isabella’s response was to pull her combat knife from her shoulder sheath and throw it into Dizzy’s stomach. Her attempts to lunge at the girl were thwarted by Mina but that didn’t stop her from going off the deep end. “I’ll show you not that bright and pain in the ass! Give me a second and I’ll shove that computer up your ass and pull it out your throat!”
Mina visualized Isabella’s threat then shuddered. “My… how colorful…”
“Sergeant, get a hold of yourself!” Marco snapped.
“She was fused with a Video Girl and has a life disk; I could gut her like a fish and she would come right back.” Isabella explained in a slightly calmer tone.
By this time Henrietta had left her seat and stood before the dangling G-Splice. “You sure about that?”
“Oh come on, you’re not still mad about my locking you in there with Ying are you?” Dizzy chimed in with her best natured grin.
“You… set me… on fire!” She began to move forward but her arm was grabbed by Chesra. Taking a deep breath she relaxed and turned her back. “Oh yeah…” Without warning Henrietta turned sharply and back handed Dizzy with enough force to not only break her neck but spin her head completely backwards. Once again Dizzy’s body vanished back into her Life Disk but Henrietta wasn’t done yet, firing a fire imbued round and destroying the disk. “That smile… off your face.”
For the second time that night Marco grabbed her by the vest, what was left of it. “Rietta! The fuck! How am I supposed to fucking explain that?!”
“She said it herself,” Isabella chimed in, not feeling the least bit of remorse. “Indigo League rule 20.c. Starting as of December 31st, 298 AS, mild-mannered and mentally stable G-Splices will become a viable pokégirl selection for Tamers to use. If a Tamer catches one in the wild and she passes a strict psyche evaluation at the nearest Pokécenter, the Tamer may keep her. If she fails, the pokégirl will be put through euthanasia procedures. Guess she failed.”
“You shut the hell up Bella! And as for you, what the hell were you thinking?”
Henrietta snapped back but faltered when she reached to touch him. “You know exactly what I was thinking, what she did to me, what she forced you to suffer through… because of your link with me. I… I’m not sure if I can keep putting myself out there like I’m supposed to if you’re a constant casualty.”
The delta bonds with his girls had been fully realized long ago but he’d never felt one of them get that close to death. Under the circumstances he understood why she was upset and truthfully he didn’t fault her for killing Dizzy either. But now they were getting to the base of why she was upset, their link was starting to get in the way of their work and she wasn’t sure if she could keep letting it happen. “Do you want out?”
Her jaw quivered for a moment then firmed when she looked back. “What I don’t want is to do this here.”
“Fine; Bella, you can stop shutting up and secure all the information in this facility. While you’re at it continue keeping track of everyone and open a secure line for me to Butcher. Beta’s, regroup with your subordinates and assist them as needed.” Marco looked at the remains of the Life Disk then turned his attention back to Henrietta. “Good work on eliminating two G-Spliced pokégirls, very dangerous G-Spliced pokégirls.”
_____
0800, Avalanche Office
“Is that the report you’ll be filing Colonel?” Butcher asked already knowing the answer. Once again Avalanche had managed to outdo themselves in terms of capabilities. After the reclamation teams arrived at the facility and secured all none military personnel Avalanche was relieved of their duties there.
“Yes sir.”
“And that other matter?”
“Taking care of that next, I already know which way it’s going to go but it needs to be asked anyway.”
“Of course, as always I trust your judgment. Good luck.”
“Thank you sir.” Marco replied before ending the call. At the table in front of him were two folders whose contents were only known to him for the moment. He didn’t expect that to last long once he finished his next conversation but something had to be done. Sitting back he sent out his mental summons and awaited the arrival of Henrietta.
When she teleported in she was still wearing a towel around her waist and another one covering her hair. She seemed to have relaxed some since earlier but was still in a foul mood. “You called?”
“Yeah… you ok?”
“Three showers, two baths, and I was considering a full on cleaning cycle, but screw it I’ll still be pitch black.”
Arching an eyebrow he gave her an off look. “You’re Charred now, until you rub your skin raw you still won’t lighten up… so to speak. I thought you already knew that.”
“Hey, the pokédex isn’t always right.”
“Good point, take a seat. We need to talk.”
“Fuck…” Henrietta sighed. “Am I going to be in eighty-five, ten, or five percent after this is done?”
“Excuse me?”
“When a conversation between a couple starts with ‘we need to talk’, 85% of the time the receiver won’t be happy by the end, 10% says both sides won’t be happy at the end, and 5% for them both being happy at the end.”
“Cute, but it’s entirely up to you for how this goes.” He laughed before handing over the folders.
Taking both folders, she opened them and read their contents before looking back to him. “One of these is my retirement papers… I could leave you and the unit right now and you wouldn’t do a thing to stop me?”
“That’s the one you’re the most concerned about?”
“Well the other is a transfer request from the President of the League to join his personal security detail, I refuse by the way. So I guess this comes back to the question you asked earlier.”
“So… do you want out?”
She rubbed her hair a few more times with the towel before taking it off her head. After it became clear that she wouldn’t return to her original skin tone she was stuck in a personal debate over dying her hair again. “Love we’re delta bonded, we could be married and it still wouldn’t have the same impact that a delta bond does. So even if I did leave you it wouldn’t make a difference, I would still feel and know everything you’re going through. And I would still be there for you when the time came, retired or not. So no, I’m still in. The delta bonded members are in for life… or in till death… It’s the death part that makes me upset about what happened.”
“I understand…”
“Sometimes I wonder if you really do… or if it’s even a good thing?”
“Last time I checked empathy wasn’t one of your strong points, but it doesn’t need to be either. We’re always going to be concerned about each other, it’s the nature of what we do. We’ll suffer together.”
“You suffer due to our actions.”
“Better to know what’s happening when it happens than to just come across a beaten, charred corpse later on. While not being able to take part in the burning the feeling would have been the same in the end. Since you’ve never been one to exercise restraint I can only assume that you’ll be trying to avoid unnecessary damage when fighting now?”
“You’re an ass… but you’re not wrong. Thank you by the way.”
“You’re welcome? My gift for stating the obvious.”
Getting up she moved to stand in front of him, the traces of water still glistening between her cleavage along with the bullet on the chain. “Once again, you’re an ass. I meant thanks for calling to me. I… I had just about given up, then I heard you’re voice. Could feel the pain and concern that I had forced on you. I wasn’t going to roll over and die after that.”
Reaching out, Marco picked up the towel that had once been on her head and with a flick of the wrist threw it around her neck before grabbing both ends and pulling her down to him. Urging her closer he placed a gentle kiss on her lips then let her move away. “If anyone ever tries to tell me I can’t be concerned about you then they can go to hell.”
Blushing slightly, Henrietta smiled and adjusted her towel. “You can tell them all you like but if they say it to me; I’ll just send them there.”
_____
|
Delta |
Echo |
Indigo |
|
Beta- Chesra- Archangel |
Beta- Henrietta- Charred Ghostrider |
Beta- Mina- Kunoichi |
|
Arianna- War Hound |
Field Beta- Selena- Caphoochie |
Zianna- Wolf Queen |
|
Kim- Bombshell |
Rebecca- Smokey |
Renae- Ice Princess |
|
Nikki- SexSlash |
Alexis- Cherub |
Isabella- Mecha Musume |
|
Emaline- Fire Maiden |
Lily- Belle Awesome |
Tam- Catgirl |
|
Ilene- Imp |
|
Leona- Lamia- KIA |
|
|
|
|
Harem
Chesra- Co-Alpha
Henrietta- Co-Alpha
Carrie- Mistress (M)
Ashley- Peekabu
Jean- Kyubi
Bernadette- Piratit
Handler
Christina Reynolds
Ariel- LawFoxx