Once again, the three fighters stood within one of the rooms around the middle of Rizian tower, as they had previously, their gazes fell on their opponents. Al-Moussa opened his palms, before bending his knees.

Al-Moussa: Let's get on with this…

Sokol’s left hand went to his rapier. As he removed it from his hilt, it was soon pointed at his opponent. Soon, he’d burst forward, appearing in front of Al-Moussa, thrusting his rapier at the man’s chest as he arrived. the man looked upon this with surprise, his eyes widening, though he would quickly stop the thrust of his blade with a shield of bone, stopping his attack. His assault continued regardless, as thrust after thrust came toward Al-Moussa. The man squinted his eyes.

Al-Moussa(thought): He’s fast, even more than Ito...And he was the fastest out of us all. This could end up being an issue for me.

The man would soon jump to his right, moving out of Sokol’s range, before taking a swing at him with his arm blades Sokol, however, simply appeared behind him. As the man swiftly looked over his shoulder, his opponent would take a swing down at him. However, he soon jumped out of the way. Sokol would move to follow him, however, appearing in front of him, as he began to launch a storm of thrusts once again. Soon, shields appeared on both of his arms. As the man continued to thrust at him, he would continually move his arms around, stopping the strikes with the shields he’d created. However, he’d taken notice of the fact as small punctures appeared on his body. His attempts at defending against him were not going well, his defense was starting to fail. Taiki, taking notice of this, removed his cigarette from his mouth, now holding it between his fingers.

Taiki: Shift…

A glow surrounded Taiki’s hand once again, as the cigarette in his hand began to warp, growing both in width, and size, with its shape changing as well, a hilt and a guard soon formed, followed by a blade, as his trusty greatsword appeared in his hand. As he gripped it, he turned his attention to the two fighters. Najeem had still not managed to escape from Sokol’s storm of thrusts. Taiki was prepared to take advantage, he charged forward, flashing across the room as he appeared behind the man, he soon took a swipe at the man, which, he managed to narrowly dodge, before jabbing his elbow into his opponent’s stomach, which sent him flying back, though he skidded, stopping himself. Sokol, smirking, would capitalize, appearing behind the man, and slashing him down his back, leaving a light gash between the torn fabrics.

He would soon rotate his body, bending his leg, as he kicked Sokol’s side, sending the man away from him with the force of the strike. Taiki and Sokol glanced at one another from across the room, as to confirm their plans, before they bent their knees, and jumped at their opponent, from his left and right. Once again, shields of bone appeared on his body, extending from his elbows. Stopping their initial attempts to stab him. The three fighters stood there for a moment, before they began resuming their attack, while Taiki tried to cut the man, again and again, Sokol would continue thrusting at him. Though, the injuries the man gained remained trivial at best, as he continued to extend shields out of his body where they would strike, stopping their attacks in their tracks. Though some would get through, they were trivial at best. However, his guard was faltering, and their opponent knew this. Blades of bone would soon extend from the back of his ankles, he would soon bend backward, using his hand as a support, he began to spin around. The blades on his legs would come dangerously close to his opponent’s legs. Though they took notice within moments, and jumped away from him, returning to their original positions.

Watanabe: Tch… it looks like we won't get through this quickly, though I'd expect that much.

The apostle’s eyes began to glide over both of his opponents, and, though the strikes had gotten close, his expression remained unchanged, having since learned to have a cool head in battle, even in his situation. His opponents, in that way, were the very same. One has been a military leader with much success, and the other having led an elite team that was instrumental in a variety of operations.

Al-Moussa: Now then… I'd say it's about time that we get serious.

Watanabe: I agree…

Sokol: As do I…

Al-Moussa's body had soon been surrounded by a blue light that was just barely visible. As he clenched his fists, the blades around his body began to grow longer, the ends now appeared much sharper than they had before, as they narrowed. With the overall shape more crescent-like. The light around him began to swirl as he bent his knees, putting his left foot forward.

Al-Moussa: Come to Me- Yako(Malevolent Kitsune)

Shortly after, the floor below them began to crack, as a black blur came from below. Which caught the attention of both of the fighters, their eyes darted to follow it. As soon, landing between the hole, and Najeem, was a black-furred creature that resembled a fox. It stood in four legs, and was much larger than anyone there, nearly reaching the rather high ceiling. It would soon bare its fangs, growling as a red-light surrounded it.

Watanabe: A yako… one of the life weaver's creations…

Sokol glanced at Watanabe as he spoke.

Sokol: This is strange… Non-Sapient yako tend to attack humans, or stay away from them entirely, if I’m correct, what’s one doing this far out?

Watanabe: I wouldn’t know...But I’m guessing he’s tamed it, but even then, that's iffy at best.

Sokol: Not only that, but this one seems to be much larger than they normally are, likely stronger given the amount of muscle…

Watanabe: Then it seems that those blades weren't his only ability…

As the two sides prepared to battle one another, the same fight continued outside. The battle between the coalition and the Kaemerge has not stopped. Though many of the Civilians had since been evacuated into the bunkers, the damage was done. Pile after pile of the deceased, Civilian and military alike lined the empty, destroyed streets, filled the ruined buildings. Crater’s deep, wide, and both of the above laid upon the surface of the ground. To say that the area was damaged would be an understatement…

In one of these areas, there stood a squad of the Coalition's men, wearing full armor. The street that formerly would’ve been litten by street lights were now limited to their helmet lights and the dim light from the moon above. Defunct aircraft, transports, warships, and even the occasional HAU surrounded them. Even so, they continued forward, ignoring the devastation, or at the least, not speaking of it. They stopped in front of an open ramp, that reached below the road in front of them. They glanced at one another, as they nodded, entering and beginning their walk down into a well-lit tunnel. Further within this tunnel, yet another squad continued their charge onward, aiming their gauss rifles as they fired rounds at their opponents, they would soon take cover, getting behind metal crates scrambled through the hallway. One of these soldiers wore an orange patch on his armor’s left shoulder, showing that he was a Lieutenant. More specifically,

“Lieutenant Mills-- Corporal Chen has discovered the location of the Kaemerge’s main research lab…”

Mills: Good, we’ll move to capture them… We believe many of them were held against their will. but that does not apply to them all.

Soon, they went back to firing, one of his troops would be shot through the head as he peeked out of cover, prepared to take a shot at the enemy. His visor shattering as he collapsed, Mills clicked his tongue as his eyes went to the source of the round, returning fire, and returning the favor. His men continued firing until they’d finally cleared the hallway of the opposing men. The lieutenant pointed, and his men moved as they took notice, taking notice of the room at the end of the tunnel, lit with a dim blue light. Within said room, it was chaos, dozens of researchers, wearing white lab coats over their clothes scrambled around the room, grabbing research material, and attempting to transfer data between their holo-phones and the terminals that lay in front of them. Standing in front of a hangar bay that lay in the back, there was a brown-haired woman with a thin pair of glasses talking through the microphone.

“Let’s go, let’s go- This battle is lost, We need to get off of Earth, hurry up before they catch on. We don’t have to worry about the coalition in the wastes. I doubt the factions will care about Earth's issues.”

Another scientist, a man with straight black hair that reached his shoulders came to her side.

“What of the prototypes?!”

Another with Green hair would soon come, walking past the two with a wooden crate in his hands.

“We’ll take what we can, and destroy the rest!!”

On the sides of the ship, HAUs that were...Strangely designed, to say the least, were loaded onto the transport ships on the sides of the hangar. As the roof above them began to open, the ships would begin to lift from the ground, speeding up as they exited the hangar. Another scientist, standing closer to the tunnel entrance would wave his arms, directing his contemporaries.

“Let’s hurry this up, the last thing we need is for them to get the V.A.S.C.A.V. That’ll mean the difference between us being abl-”

However, the man was stopped, as with the all-too-familiar boom of a gauss rifle firing, his chest seemingly exploded, as he fell to the ground, his words unfinished. This did not go unnoticed by any of those within the room, as their eyes flew over to the now-deceased researcher, and then, to the coalition soldiers that’d entered. Even so, this did not trigger a surrender, rather, they would simply begin moving faster, rushing into the ships, and rushing to activate their reactors. Several would soon break into the crates, pulling out rifles of their own. The lieutenant had but one thing to say.

“Light em up”

Shots would soon ring off, the ones to pick up weapons were the first to go, their bodies unable to withstand the force of the shots, were torn apart, left in a bloody mess on the floors below. However, the troops did not stop there, even those who hadn’t picked up weapons were targeted as well. Though, even with their efforts, ships streaked across the night sky, as they began to ascend, further and further up, until the city looked to be but a sea of lights. In the dimly lit bridge, the fugitive researchers moved to occupy the stations.

Scientist #4: Set a course for Minamoto Spaceport on Mars. For now, we’ll split, it’s too risky to be seen together, we’ll rendezvous there.

Mills stepped over the bodies below him, he raised his head as he watched the escaping ships disappear into the sky. One of his platoon members came to his side, looking at the display as well.

“That doesn't look good Lt.”

Mills: Yeah, I’ll need to make sure that command is notified about this.

Part B

Within Rizian, the launching of ships did not go unnoticed, Watanabe’s gaze went to the streaking lights as they moved above the walls of the gorge, gradually exiting his view. Sokol would soon do the same, with their opponent glancing over his shoulder.

Watanabe(Thought): Looks like we got some stragglers… Not like I have time to worry about that though...Especially with one of their head honchos right in front of me.

Sokol(thought): We’ll probably end up having a lot of cleanup after all this is said and done.

Al-Moussa(thought): Good...At the least, the researchers have escaped, or most of them. I’ll need to take care of these two if I’m to help with the rest. The first got himself killed, and we only have about 35% of the guard left, assuming no more have died...The situation is desperate, but regardless, Ardam shall guide us!

As Al-Moussa pointed at his two opponents, the Yako opened its mouth, as a volley of red lights snaked their way across the room, flying at the two fighters. Watanabe stamped his foot, as rubble broke up from the floor, a light would soon surround his hand again, as a shield formed in his hand, the bursts slammed onto the shield, and yet, Watanabe remained unphased. Sokol as well remained unaffected, flashing around the room, and out of the way of the attacks. The beast closed its mouth for a moment, but would soon open once again as it simply fired more. Watanabe arched his brows as he took note of the display.

Watanabe(thought): This isn’t nearly enough to stop us. I suggest you stop holding back!!!

Sokol flashed forward, appearing in front of the Yako, thrusting his rapier into its head, and stopping its assault. The beast howled in pain as Watanabe tightened his grasp on his blade, rushing forward, and then, going across the length of the beast, dragging his blade along it as he did so. And, as he landed, the Yako fell into chunks. However, his assault did not end there, as he would soon dash Al-Moussa, who stood watching him, bending his knees.

AL Moussa: Herculean Cutter

The blades on Al-Moussa’s would soon expand once again, as they extended once again, they began to curve inward. He soon jumped forward as well, ready to meet his opponent's charge. Watanabe soon took a diagonal swing at his opponent’s shoulder, but he would soon slide on the ground, moving out of the way. He soon began to slip and slide around the man, swinging with the blades near his wrists and ankles alike. Leaving small cuts across the man’s body. Though the man was unwilling to let the assault continue, as his opponent sent his blades toward his neck, he ducked out of the way, and as the man’s body rotated away from him, he flipped away, landing on the other side of the room. Watanabe would move to continue his attack, charging at him. but Al-Moussa would soon extend more, thinner blades across the length of his arm.

Al Moussa(thought): Don't think that you'll win this easily, even if there are two of you.

As Watanabe moved to strike, Al-Moussa moved out of the way, before returning with the needle-like bones, extending, and retracting again and again. Watanabe grunted in annoyance as he took notice of the fact that the speed of the bones had even begun to increase...

Watanabe (thought): He has me on the defensive!!?

Sokol, after observing the battle that took place, would finally take action. He would soon point his blade at Al-Moussa as he grasped it in his right hand, charging forward to join the fray, as Al-Moussa took notice his eyes darted over, as a storm of thrusts soon began to fall upon him...Unlike last time, however, he was caught on both sides by the two’s attacks.

Al-Moussa(thought): It’d be unwise to weaken my defense from one to handle the other… even with what I said earlier, to think that I'll have to pull out my trump card this early…

The man would soon jump out of melee range. As the two took note of this, they immediately began their pursuit, Watanabe extended unused arm, as Sokol seemingly disappeared.

Watanabe: Sub-zero Blades.

Shards of ice soon flew out of his hand, closing in upon Al-Moussa, as he rotated himself in an attempt to avoid them. Regardless, he found himself pierced in his shoulder, Sokol appeared behind him, thrusting at his back. However, Al-Moussa would change his direction once again, flipping over Sokol’s back, as he flew away from him. Soon, Watanabe flew out of the hole that remained in the wall, soon coming to join his ally, as they once again faced off against the apostle.

Al-Moussa: Come, Phoenix of Crete, Algios!!!

With his words, Sokol and Watanabe’s usually composed expressions came to surprise. Sokol’s eyes widened as he heard the name, and Watanabe did the same, his hands opening, nearly losing grip on his blade before he tightened his grip. Soon, small embers began to form on the buildings around them. Though small at first, within some moments, they began roaring flames that downright swallowed the skyscrapers.

Sokol(thought): It can’t be! He’s bluffing!!

Soon, the flames behind him began to converge into a single point, as shooting from the ground was a downright gigantic bird creature, surrounded in flame. It’s size even dwarfed the mighty dreadnoughts that flew elsewhere. What followed soon was the beast raising its head, and letting out a screech, which radiated throughout the city.

Watanabe: Crete?!

Sokol: That shouldn't be possible… That beast was sealed away by its creator.

Al-Moussa: Yes-- Keyword, was… It was by chance that I found it, during our battles in Gythros… I'd say it's Ardam's blessing that I found it… It will surely be useful. Now, Destroy them!!!

To Be Continued