“I think the answer to that one is ‘slowly’.” Oliver answered with a grimace as he slowly pushed himself back onto his feet.
“Excellent observation. Anybody else got anything useful to add?” Alter responded sarcastically, a jab which Oliver was kind enough to ignore.
“Five is nearby, we could turn the LMG on him, hose him down with that.” Boats suggested as the gauntlet reappeared a little further along the broken wall.
Alter sent a spray of rifle fire towards the armoured hand, seeking to send bullets sneaking through the gaps between the finger-plates. In response, the axe once again flew through the room in a horizontal sweep. Several items of furniture were severely damaged, or even fully split in two, but fortunately the weapon couldn’t reach far enough into the building to catch anything living. Doubtless that fact would change if the Unlimited was allowed to climb without resistance. However, the weight of fire was enough for the giant to be content to slip out of view once more. Having secured another handful of seconds with which to breathe, Alter turned to the Marksman.
“The LMG is an effective weapon, but it wasn’t enough to put down the last one we tangled with. This one seems a little more combat savvy than its brethren, so I doubt we can ask Oliver to just stroll up to them and stick a blade between their ribs. We need something different, something bigger.”
“We’ve still got one of the anti-tank launchers, don’t we? That would put a fair dent in the bloke.”
“In theory, yes, but there’s a couple of problems with that. We can’t blast him when he pokes his head up again, the threat of shrapnel ripping into the priest, or even the blast wave knocking him for six, is much too great. On the other hand, if we move and try to shoot him while he’s down below us, the rocket will still be within its minimum arming distance, it’d be like throwing an angry rugby ball at him. It’d hit him hard and make a pretty dent, sure, but that’s about it.”
“It feels like we’re forgetting something. Do we have anything else that explodes?” Boats murmured as he waited for the hand to make another appearance.
Alter hummed to himself in thought, then the memory of their assault on the Last Flourish hit him. “Of course! Three has a couple of blocks of C4 squirreled away. Or at least a block and a half. That’s certainly a start.” He paused for a moment, frowning at the decapitated windows. “Hey, he should’ve made his next attempt by now. What’s the bastard up to down there?”
“Someone was giving him directions from within the other building, like a director, or a shepherd. Perhaps the Unlimited is being redirected in some way.” Boats supposed.
“That’s likely not too far from the truth.” Oliver chimed in. “Unlimiteds are not unintelligent people, at least not the ones I’ve spoken to, it has a lot to do with their upbringings. However, it is quite common for conscripted Unlimiteds to have a field commander with them during battle. It keeps them from wading too far into the enemy and getting isolated, for example.”
“Then it seems like the big guy is being repositioned. But where?” Alter asked.
His question didn’t have to wait long before being answered. A moment later the other members of the squad holding the corner towards the front of the building suddenly shouted in alarm and began to hurriedly retreat in their direction. Not a second passed before the axe struck once more, and again the air was heavy with the sound of splintering wood and shattering glass.
“It looks like he’s heading for the front doors, it’s the only way he can get to us without climbing, the other passages through the house are too small. It sounded like you had a plan to stop him, would you mind putting it into practice?” Oliver asked breezily, but the tension behind his words was easy to spot.
Alter nodded, and took stock of his immediate surroundings. The banishment was going well, it seemed. The Lingering still struggled, but its cries had been reduced to mere whimpers, and its body was rapidly becoming translucent under Sirrithae’s Lifefire. This reduction in volume allowed him to faintly hear the action going on upstairs. The Silver Wolves had begun their attack on the remaining forces loyal to Bertrand, stopping any archers from taking potshots through the floor. There was no way of telling which side was winning that particular conflict, but Alter welcomed the reprieve. Alright, time to put this situation to bed, Alter began to run towards the corridor with Boats on his heels.
“Three, get the rest of your explosives out and plant them on the main staircase!” He shouted at Boozehound as he ran past. “Everyone else, we’re going to hold the top of the stairs and buy Three the time he needs. Someone tell the Houseguard to get up here before that goliath figures out how doorhandles work!”
The rest of the squad took a second to process his instructions but were all on the move by the time he was halfway to their original position. The Houseguard needed no further encouragement to fall back as the mighty axe split the doors in twain. While they were deeply startled, they were still able to bid an orderly retreat back towards the lounge as the squad lined the marble bannisters at the top of the steps and pointed their weapons downward. A steady pattern of heavy thuds and clanks marked the Unlimited’s progress as Boozehound began the frantic process of readying his remaining C4 to blow. As the hulking form stomped into view, their appearance was, once again, met with a hail of gunfire. Unperturbed by the assault, the Unlimited turned to face them and raised their shield, causing them to briefly cease fire in order to avoid an unfortunate ricochet.
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“Just like before, Gents. Keep him locked in place.” Alter ordered, and the squad began aiming their shots at the small sections not covered by the shield.
For a little while it seemed that their strategy was working beautifully. However, this fragile illusion was soon shattered, and the Unlimited took a step backwards, then another. The man mountain was promptly making steady progress upwards, and no amount of fire would slow his advance.
“Three, you’ve got maybe twenty seconds, give me an update.” Alter growled.
Boozehound didn’t stir, his face a picture of pure concentration as wires and grips wove an intricate puzzle of chemical death. “I only needed five, she’s ready to go.”
The medic grabbed a nearby body and used it to hide the explosives from view before heading back towards them. Spotting a target he could attack without dropping his guard, the Unlimited swung the axe in his direction. Fortunately, the marble banister was strong enough to cause the axe to skip along the top before deflecting upwards. Once Boozehound was free and clear, the squad was ordered to withdraw to a safe distance. One by one they peeled off the firing line, until only the medic was left. Boozehound kept his body flat against the corridor wall, allowing only the tiniest slither of his face to show around the corner. Once Alter had reached safety, he turned and watched, breathless, as his friend’s thumb hovered over the detonation switch he carried in one hand. Spotting his moment, Boozehound recoiled away from the staircase and slammed his thumb downwards.
The explosion that followed felt like it had enough force to send the entire structure toppling to the ground in a cartoon heap. The volume alone was hard enough to endure, but the pressure wave that followed immediately after caused him to fly backwards and slam into the wall. Alter had no way of telling how long it took him to recover from the impact, it could’ve been ten seconds, it could’ve been ten minutes. Either which way, shaking himself out of the stupor revealed a corridor that was mercifully intact. Albeit he was wilfully ignoring the billowing plume of smoke coming from what once was a staircase, the wreckage of which he could now see through what was once two walls and a floor. He rose to his feet and took a couple of shaky steps forward, Boozehound lay face down on the floor nearby, but his body heaved with deep breaths, and he gave a shaky thumbs up a moment later. From his position, he could also see a heap of twisted metal and red chunks amidst the broken masonry. Well, that was a good thing, at least.
An intense flash of green light from the other direction drew his attention away from the grizzly remains. With one final, desperate swipe towards the priest, the body of the Lingering began to crack, shattering against the intensity of the flame. Banishment successful, the priest withdrew his powers before falling to one knee, clearly exhausted, but with a look of vicious triumph written across his face. As for Bertrand, the man had slumped over onto his side having been rendered unconscious. Oliver was moving between everyone still standing, an enormous smile on his face, dispensing pats on the back and words of gentle congratulation. Alter gave him a lop-sided smile as he approached, Oliver paused for a moment, before stepping forward and enveloping him in a tight hug.
“Ooph, please. My muscles are pretty fragile right now.” Alter complained good-naturedly, and Oliver quickly stepped backwards.
“I’m sorry, I forgot myself for a moment. I was just trying to congratulate you, are you alright?” Oliver asked quickly, his face turning from joy to concern.
Alter held up a placating hand. “It’s fine, it’s fine. So, is it over? Did we win?”
Oliver’s grin returned as he nodded profusely. “Oh, we won alright. Come on, let’s get out of this place.”
MISSION STATUS // 8Hkio4374”@dfEE0 / UNDEFINED / ONGOING
CURRENT LOCATION // 2879 2241 / OUTER JESTRIFF / NORTHERN RILLESTIA
SQUAD STATUS //
SL / 1.Alterfate / Wounded (Soul-Seared)
SL2 / 2.Riptide / Wounded (Soul-Seared)
Mdc / 3.Boozehound / OK
Mks / 4.YaLikeBoats? / OK
MG / 5.Pavejack / OK
MGA / 6.WalrossDE / Wounded (Soul-Seared)
Rfl (AT) / 7.Whimsical Bastard / Wounded (Soul-Seared)
Rfl (AT) / 8.Vangroover / OK
CURRENT OBJECTIVES //
-Secure the Masserlind Succession / COMPLETE
-Remove the Unrepentant / COMPLETE
RESUPPLY // APPROVED / FULL / 00:00
SITE-17 // ACTIVE / CONNECTED
CONTACTING OTHER SITES //
RESPONDING / ACTIVE / 05 / 06 / 11 / 15
ALL OTHERS / INACTIVE
SITE 00 / LOST
EXCELLENT. THE BOND BETWEEN US HAS STRENGTHENED ENOUGH FOR ME TO SPEAK MORE NORMALLY. THOUGH STRANGELY I FIND MYSELF QUITE ATTACHED TO HOW I HAD TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOU BEFORE. RETURN TO MY TEMPLE. WE HAVE MUCH TO DISCUSS.
