CHAPTER 22 FIRE FROM ABOVE ...

Lyudmila did not know if the plan worked. If anything worked. Because she wasn't even told 80% of what should even happen.

She was only entrusted with two tasks. One, was to send Talulah to the meeting place. That she succeeded in, their meeting was unusually short, Alberto spoke his piece, and gave another elusive piece of whatever to Talulah. The information inside? She didn't know, but she hoped it contained the information she heard before.

"Crownslayer." Lyudmila looked at Talulah. They were walking back. Back to Reunion. "Tell me how you met them." Said Talulah, her voice calm and placid. "I was hunting down the Rhodes Island units that day, to find out the truth of why they were even in Chernobog." Lyudmila said, sighing. "They were trying to escape, running away to the outskirts like the dregs they are. Then a bomb exploded." "Exploded?" "Yes, I saw one of our men, a simple soldier crawling on the floor, we tried to help him, not knowing there was a bomb strapped on his leg."

Talulah stopped. "This was when you were chasing Rhodes?" "Yes, it was." An eerie gaze that Lyudmila had never seen before from the face of her trusted leader then suddenly welcomed her. "So how did you meet them?" Lyudmila instinctively gulped, her voice became unexpectedly sharp. Like a guillotine was hanging over her neck. "I don't remember what happened, after the bomb, I was the only one that lived. Then the sky was steadily darkening, the catastrophe was coming, so I ran to the nearest safehouse. I remember fainting, then waking up in a hospital bed. Their hospital bed." "How did you enter this city again, Crownslayer?" "They had a flying machine." "Oh?" "When I was in their base of operations, they tried to keep their organization a secret from me. Little do they know, I already managed to find out who they actually are." Lyudmila said, her voice was clear.

"What is it?" "It was a Columbian Logistics company, named Liberty Logistics. I haven't had the chance to investigate them that much, but from what I've seen, they're a newly formed group." Talulah went silent for a while, then spoke again. "Why would they take the chance to save you?" "I'm not sure, I'm not fully aware of their goals." "I see." The draco stopped talking.

Lyudmila silently sighed inside, a sigh of relief. Her second task was done. Lying to the leader of Reunion herself was extremely difficult, but she managed. As she had done so before. They were now walking again, but just as Lyudmila was off the hook, the draco spoke again.

"Crownslayer, do you know what else happened that day?" "The invasion? No, I don't." "Curious. In the night of that day, multiple reunion units were cut down in the dead of night. Their lifeless bodies bleeding in the pavements." "O-Oh, I haven't heard of that." "The interesting part is, we deduced that the only way they could have entered is with a flying machine, or with a traitor." "Wait, what are you impl-"

The temperature soared like the sun's glare. Fire spurned out of the dark like dancing devils. The dark burned with the might of a dragon's flame, illuminating the area with fiery light. Lyudmila's ingrained instincts immediately wanted to take a step back, but found that she couldn't. There was a blade of death touching her neck.

"T-Talulah?" "Crownslayer, take five steps back." "Wait! Wh-" "Now."

Lyudmila followed, with each step her boots shook as she maintained an intense focus on Talulah's figure.

"You will prove your loyalty to me, Crownslayer. Draw your blade." "W-What? Great leader, I think there's been a misunderstanding!"

Lyudmila didn't have time to explain as Talulah immediately dashed towards her with one step propelling her body like lightning. Grinding steel clashed as Lyudmila was thrown off her position. She had luckily managed to draw her dagger in time. "You're weaker." Said the draco, not giving a single chance for Lyudmila to reply as another blade slash came down on her head. Lyudmila blinked, successfully using her arts to dodge a few meters backwards, but before she could even say something, a torrent of fire started engulfing the ground beneath her as fire raged behind.

Forced to immediately jump forward, she met Talulah's blades once more using both of her hands. "You're using both of your hands? To wield a single dagger, Crownslayer?" "Agh! I-I told you, I'm still recovering from the explosive! W-What are you doing?" "I am simply looking after the Reunion." Steel clashed as Lyudmila was caught in an unexpected tempest of flaming sword art to her own dagger skill, which lacked capability to properly duel with a raging sword upfront. Making use of her mobility, she managed to temporarily overcome Talulah in speed and footwork, dashing backwards again, not in retreat, but for 6 silent flying daggers darting forward in defiance.

"Hmph." One swipe of the burning blade threw the flight of daggers off course and they fell as ash. Lyudmila expected this, in one moment of distraction, she jumped forwards and tried to disarm Talulah by concentrating her strength to stagger her blade. This obviously did not work, her attempt quickly ended as Talulah kicked her at her stomach.

Coughing blood while on the ashen ground with dagger out of hand, Lyudmila looked up to a blade pointed down. "Things had not been going into my expectations. To my plans, to the reunion's plans, and I don't want any further disruptions." Lyudmila stared at her leader in the eye. "Why are you doing this!? I had only fought for you!" "Tell me the truth, Crownslayer." "I have told you the truth!" Talulah almost placed the tip of her blade to Lyudmila's neck, as each dying second let the pull of gravity dig deeper. Lyudmila was panicking, she obviously didn't buy their faulty excuse of "I don't know." But their plan had to be better than this! "Wait! I know you are suspicious of them, of me, but we don't mean harm!" Now she said the utmost truth, to her knowledge atleast, but Talulah still didn't budge. Until something made her stop.

She took the vibrating radio out of her pockets. "Talulah, I have found them. Black clothed infiltrators." Talulah's eyebrows sharpened. "Are they of Columbian or Aegir descent? Do they call themselves Liberty Logistics?" "No, I have not heard of that name before. But I know who they are. The Forces of the Lungmen Guard Department had dared enter our city." Talulah's eyes ever slightly raised in response to Patriot's voice over the radio.

"The LGD?" She asked, wanting confirmation as she raised her blade back up. "It is what you have heard. Wait, I will deal with them." The radio communications cut before Talulah could have asked more questions.

"D-Do you now believe me? Since the LGD is here, maybe they were the ones responsible for what happened that night?" Talulah closed her eyes as she sheathed her blade and left the fire to die. "Even if they aren't what I thought they were, I remain suspicious."

Lyudmila picked herself off the ground, wiping the blood with her coat, now damaged and burnt at the ends, leaving some stray cloth flowing in the air. "Then, how about we listen to what he gave?" Talulah turned around and huffed. "We will see later. This is no place for it." She said, turning away and contacting her other forces to leave the park where they met Colosseum earlier. "We will deal with this, Liberty Logistics later." She said as she walked away.

Lyudmila stared at the back of her leader, steadily getting distant and smaller as she walked without looking back. ""Did she really try to kill me there?"" Lyudmila's heart ached. She brushed the thoughts away. Scanning for her dagger on the ground, she picked it up and ran back to her 'leader'.

...

Alberto turned off the audio tracker, he had heard enough of the conversations between Crownslayer and Talulah for now. What he didn't expect, was for Talulah to be so eagerly willing to immediately kill Crownslayer, with nothing confirming their connection to what happened that night except for her own personal theories that lacked any evidence, since the CIA soldiers literally did not leave any markings behind except for the corpses and a man that didn't even see what they looked like.

He had to reorganize his plan now. "That thing survived that one hell of a fight?' Asked a nearby guard, referring to the audio and tracker bug implanted into the clothes of Crownslayer. She didn't know such a thing existed, of course. "We've learned from our past mistakes. Anyways, prepare to leave this place. Something big is gonna happen that we don't need to involve ourselves in." The guard nodded and swiftly passed out the door.

Alberto picked up his communicators, holding it to the side of his head. "Colosseum to Intervention, we're preparing to leave this place. The package had been successfully delivered. Over." "Good work, birds right outside. We're coming, ETA 10 minutes. Refer to the original departing area. Out." Alberto clicked a button. "Colosseum to Archon 1-1, we're done here, Over." "Uhh, Archon 1-1 to Colosseum, Copy that, we're assigned a new objective, we'll be moving out the moment your squad leaves the park. Over." "Copy, I'll inform you after. Out."

Alberto ended communications. Packing up, he leaves and sees his guards already prepared. Unlike the soldiers that kept an eye on them, the guard force he went with were all wearing different types of civilian clothing, it was important to separate this new company from the soldiers that did the slaughter that night. They still wore vests inside, and their guns hidden from Crownslayer's sight but they were still professionals at heart. One of them came close.

"Successful?" "Only time would tell." "What even was the plan anyway?" "To establish a proper connection with the Reunion while deflecting suspicion." "We just got lucky that whoever the unknown group is, also showed up." Alberto scratched his beard. "That's why the process has been expedited. Now everything hangs on them." "What happens if the unknowns get captured, interrogated and they conclude that it wasn't them who was responsible for that night?" "That will not happen. That's why a part of us stayed. They'll do the rest of the plan and make sure it doesn't go astray. As for us, our part here is done. Aye?"

...

"Hoshiguma, how's our comms?!" "No idea! Can't contact any of the Rhodes Islanders!" Swire gritted her teeth, dodging a Shieldguard's bash by swiftly jumping backwards, swinging her meteor hammer with collected momentum and struck it to his waist. Not enough, the Shieldguard retaliated almost instantly with a charge and a boar-like rush with his shield. Swire immediately pulled back the chains of her meteor hammer as she sidestepped and bent the chains of the meteor hammer to aim lower.

It hit his legs, breaking his balance and charge but as Swire was about to finish it with a final blow, he unexpectedly grabbed and pulled the chain with a free hand before she could retrieve it. The strength of the Shieldguard eclipsed even hers as she was dragged in his pull. But as the Shieldguard seemed to gain victory, an electric shock ran through his arm. He winced in pain as he looked to his side and saw a small weaponized drone, and then saw black after Swire regained her weapon and bashed the head in of the guard.

With her victory, she looked to her most trusted companion. "Hoshiguma! Situation report!" "We've already lost two men! We can't hold any longer!" "Where did Toffee-1 go? I can't see her anywhere!" "Nine? I don't know where she went!'

Swire looked dreadfully at their current situation, should she detonate the bombs now? No, that wouldn't have any effect as of right now. They were too far to even serve as a distraction. They had to move immediately. She looked at her remaining members, making an announcement.

"Everyone! Retreat-" Another flying spear broke her rally, destroying unity and coordination causing an unorganized retreat. "Hoshiguma! Cover them! I'll use my drones to support you!' Swire shouted, her voice carrying a grim despair. "As you wish!" Responded the resulote oni.

The small group of the LGD operators swiftly tried to back off in retreat, but were stopped as more and more Shieldguards blocked their retreat route. She saw one of the special investigation units, hesitating to push outwards. "Miss Swire! M-More of them are here!" Swire cursed under her breath as she pushed the back of the man forward. "If we don't break out of the encirclement, we'll die!" The man nodded his head in understanding, then charged into the bloody night.

Swire ran right next to the casters of the group, the most effective members to protect their positions until Hoshiguma's voice was heard. "Swire! I can't hold this position any longer!" "Hoshiguma! I need 3 minutes longer!" "80 seconds Swire! 80 seconds before I retreat as well!"

Swire bit her lips at that reply. Even though she said 3 minutes more, she didn't know what to do. She racked her brain, they were entrapped in an encirclement, outnumbered and outmatched. Nine was missing, all she could wish for was for, the only hope in this situation was for the Rhodes Islanders to somehow come to their rescue. At least Patriot himself was only observing their struggle in the distance, he was that confident that his soldiers could break them on their own.

A group of Shieldguards advanced their way as the LGD Vanguards were steadily overwhelmed, the charge didn't have enough stopping power to fully break through the once-elites of Ursus military might. She clenched the handle of her weapon and steeled her heart as she moved forward to meet the adversary.

She ran with her chained weapon following behind her back, generating intense momentum as 2 Shieldguards saw her approach and planted their shields, but she didn't intend to beat them on her own. She was now just meters apart, and swung her meteor hammer with crushing force.

She slammed the hammer downwards like an actual falling star reigning down like a crushing anvil. A crush between steel and shield gave birth to an ever-ringing clash as the competing metals produced tinnitus to those nearby. The Shieldguards didn't falter in their defense, with one of the two opening up for a counter attack. Swire took a step backwards as she lifted her weapon from the shield and swung again to her front, temporarily halting the attacking guard's advance.

"Now!" She shouted, and a concentrated beam of arts poured into the two Shieldguards. The one that tried to attack was dealt torment by the retributive array of arts energy, collapsing as his heavy armor was penetrated and transformed into dust. Swire took hold of her hammer again and rushed to gain momentum to fell the other Shieldguard that survived the arts assault as he still did not let go of his shield. Another resounding clang echoed throughout the battlefield as the Shieldguard still managed to position his shield to meet her attacking hammer. Swire cursed again and managed to save the momentum gained earlier by sliding her weapons off the shield, spinning herself and the chain to another downward strike.

The Shieldguard managed to react just in time to raise his shield and meet the hammer, but in that small moment of time, Swire let go of the handle to her weapon and dashed away leaving his lower body exposed and another assault of arts broke his composure, boring through his legs, forcing him to kneel. Swire used this opportunity to rush behind with a knife on hand and climbed the towering figure's defenseless back as she aimed for his helmet's visors and used all her remaining strength to crack right through the darkened glass and leave red inside his helmet.

The Shieldguard fell and she retook her weapon once more, giving a thumbs up to the casters of her team before looking into the distance. They felled two of Patriot's elites, and yet more and more of them were coming. "Swire! I'll be retreating now!" She heard Hoshiguma shouts from far behind. They didn't even break out of the encirclement yet.

Then when all hope seemed dark, her radio rang. ""Rhodes Island!"" She thought, but it was not them. Salvation came in a deal. She took her communicator, and spoke. "This is Swire, we've been compromised and encircled in district B-11! We need any kind of support now!" Silence, answered the radio. "Rhodes Island? I repeat, we need immediate support now, else we'll get surrounded!" Finally, a voice coming from the other side finally responded.

"We are not Rhodes Island." Swire felt her heart drop. "What?" She said in a low murmur. The male voice replied again. "We are not who you seek." "How did you even intercept our frequen- Forget it! What do you want!?" "We can help you, but we want something in return." Swire's eyebrows twitched. "Just say it!" "Introduce us as mercenaries hired by the LGD." "What? No shot! That's illegal! I don't even know who you are!" "You will not have another chance of surviving."

Swire flinched, looking at the numerous armies of Shieldguards that maybe even numbered into their hundreds, and not to mention Patriot was still here. She looked at her behind and saw the familiar Oni, dressed in fresh scars. "What's the situation!?" She called out. Swire's face fell upon seeing the wounds displayed on her compatriot, clicking her tongue she replied back to the radio. "I accept your deal, just get us out of here!" "We hope you will uphold your words." The man behind the call replied. "Huh? What does that-" The radio cut off.

The oni now stumbled closely to Swire. "Who was that?" Asked Hoshiguma. "Rhodes?" Swire shook her head, not really sure on how to explain what had happened. "Uhh, well-" Then the sudden echo of gunfire erupted from the deepest dark, cutting her sentence off.

Both heads turn to see what was happening, the encroaching Shieldguards were suddenly struck with a hail of thundering bullets as the guards held their shield in surprise.

The deafening noise of raging bullets clashing within the steel of the shields filled the night. The shields themselves were performing their job of blocking the countless lead showers, but then the hail of iron storms descended to their left, to their right, to their backs, and some even came above their heads. The ones that encircled them, were now also being cornered. The fight's desperate atmosphere turned to confusion and shock as the once offensive Shieldguards rallied to form defensive formations that fell apart nonetheless as destructive explosions broke through their ranks like erupting volcanoes, that even their heavy armors and shields were sent flying. Hoshiguma looked to the void above, seeing glimpses of a shadowed figure, dropping payload after payload with only inches of the beast confirmed to exist thanks to the Illumination of the twin moonlight.

She looked back at Swire. "Swire, explain everything. Now." Swire, had a mix of relief and horror on her face as she watched the battle, or whatever in Terra was even happening. "They're- uhh, mercenaries that came to the rescue?" She said hesitantly, not believing her own words.

...

Minutes before the operation began.

Two figures were talking in a dimly lit office back at 555.

"Sir, you called me?" "You're here, Alberto. How are the preparations?" "Rushed, but it's going smoothly either way.' "Good. Good. So how will you do it, Alberto?" "Sir? Do what?" "Convince someone that the suspicious looking person, who came from dark, bringing back one of their revered commanders back from the dead, is to be trusted?"

Alberto smiled slightly. "You know of my past, an agent stuck to the heart of the criminal underground of Italy." "Yes, that past, I know." Alberto held his head in reminiscence. "One thing I've learned is that, these people in seats of almost untouchable power, the dons, the bosses, are all extremely anxious." "Because, even they know that no one truly is untouchable." "Yes, it's an unremovable thorn aching their pride. So they seek to get rid of threats, enemies. Even the slightest sign of disturbance is to be taken with extreme ferocity." "Indeed, the preservation of power is akin to the preservation of self. The original instinct. But what does this have to do with anything?"

"Sir, it's to portray their motive. Self preservation against everything. If you ask me how I ever won the trust of the ever-suspicious consiglieres, I'd give you three steps. First step, to point at a greater enemy, rival or foe." "Other families, or the law." "Exactly. The second step is to make yourself as humble as possible. You do not want to be seen as a threat, but still can be capable or useful." "Being too capable is a threat in itself." "That's right, that's the third step. Present yourself to be vulnerable, to be easy prey with an open mind and loyalty." "These three steps, are what got you inside?"

"No Sir, these are mainly the very basics. Every situation is different. No guideline is ever that accurate, and people are even harder to predict, but important rules govern these steps. There is one rule that must be respected at all times when it comes to stuff like this." "Oh? What is it?" "One of the rules for the best chance of success in the three steps is simple. Make them come to their own conclusion."

"Explain." "These people, they're smart. How else would they have gotten to the position they are at? And with intelligence comes ego, pride and fragility. They like to be seen as the puppet master, to be the one to see the webs of connections and opportunities." Alberto continued. "The trick is, to not directly show or say that you have the capability or usefulness, but for you to leave clues and for them to figure it out themselves. Do not outright show yourself as vulnerable, show yourself as strong, but leave a small hole that they think they can take advantage of. Do not point at their true enemy, but instead give hints to why they need you to fight off their rivals. Make them think they're the ones finding all these exploits. Make them think they're the smart ones. Make them think they're the mastermind making best of what resources are placed in the table. There is nothing that builds arrogance more than the vindication of ego, and there is nothing more blinding than ego."

"Well said Mr. Alberto. I think I've heard of a quote similar to that, and it said "Make an imaginary weakness for the enemy to find and take advantage of." It is a strategy to present your surface as paper, but rock on the inside. But can something like this really work? Here in this world? Where we know next to nothing about its inhabitants?" "I do not know much about Talulah, nor the Reunion. But a revolutionary army stays a revolutionary army. We know a lot about revolutionary armies."

The other man laughed. "Ha, maybe we do. Is this your plan for Liberty Logistics?' "I suspect Talulah to be extremely suspicious of us, of even her trusted aide, Crownslayer. So I need to turn that suspicion away to something else." "The unknowns." "Yes, those that we've been tracking. Current intelligence says they're already on their way to BFMC-1. We're relying on Snafu's reports to come in to determine who exactly they are, but one thing is for sure. Reunion and them, aren't exactly friends." Alberto concluded. "You'll use them to fall for what we did on our first visit?" "That's only if we get lucky. We can easily create another front group to take the blame for that night. Mercenaries, or whatever works." "Hmm, so what will Liberty Logistics be to Reunion?" Alberto smiled. "Let's see what Talulah thinks first."

... A/N

Hello I'm back! I realize the plan here was kinda confusing, maybe, but the next chapters should have explained the events more clearly Thanks for the support and please leave your feedback, criticism or suggestions below

Also, how are your pulls? I got both Wis'adel and logos, but contemplating if i should get copies and truly max them, also what would be the next arc? Now that we're probably near finished or completely finished with the (sarkaz part) of the victoria arc (Which was fire but had some small issues)