"Oh shit!" Four yelped.
Three's voice chimed in, directing the team with confidence. "We're moving people, code green. Get Sonera out of there."
Sonera shook her head in frustration, grabbing the chip from the terminal before bolting out of the room. The moment she cleared the dead man's desk, she was greeted by the two butlers from before, wielding two black machine guns as they aimed at Sonera. She was faster.
Sonera could hardly hear her own handgun over the deafening alarm, its fiery trails eliminating one target with ease. She would have found it to be a fine model, if not for her tendency to use it as a bludgeoning weapon. Such destructive habits were precisely why her own team preferred not to share.
"Is Sonera alive?" Three asked over the intercom, a tinge of desperation infecting his tone.
"Yeah, she's fine. Ruining a vintage Desert Eagle, but fine." Two chuckled, watching from a distance as Sonera clubbed the second butler to death with the butt of her sidearm. "Just get your ass into position."
A hail of gunfire erupted from within the manor, as four of Sonera's squad, save three, all began to engage their targets. Such a firefight would have been suicide if not for their experience and extremely expensive armor. In fact, the only member in grave danger was Sonera, who came face to face with two more of the manor's staff.
That didn't make her any less eager to fight.
Sonera fired off the last of her magazine, but was suprised to find that her opponents were just as agile, ducking under cover as they unfolded two knives from beneath their skirts.
"Maids." Sonera rolled her eyes, pulling out a thin knife from deep within her own leggings.
The three combatants closed the distance between themselves remarkably past, proving just how illegitimate they all were when it came to their supposed profession. But Sonera had faced other assassins before, and even as she suffered a wound to her shoulder, she was completely unfazed.
One of the taller maids screamed, her black mascara practically dripping off her face from all the sweat. "Die, you stupid bitch!"
Sonera responded by biting the girl in the neck, and after pulling the knife out from her shoulder, she rammed it into her enemy's eye. The second maid was shocked, hurling her knife at Sonera in a desperate attempt to end the fight.
Sonera caught that knife.
Back on the first floor, Two and Four worked in tandem to gun down half a dozen gaurds, swapping cover positions to overwhelm and confuse their enemy. Such was their skill that they continued to banter, tossing each other's scavanged munitions like toys. Any glancing shots their opponents did manage to land merely bounced off their armor, its costly design having been intended for earthling trench warfare.
"Hey, about that joke earlier," Two gestured nervously, using his free arm to crush a man's skull against a wall. "I think Sonera might have used to-."
Four sneered loudly. "Sonera's a dyke?! Oh really? Thank you for informing me, Two. I never would have known."
Two shrugged. "No reason to be mean about it."
The jovial soldier barely finished his expression before a bloodied body came crashing down next to him.
"The hell?"
Such carnage didn't really surprise the Two, who looked up to see Sonera standing next to a shattered banister. She had half-hazardly thrown her prey over the railing and could only offer a brief shrug as an apology.
"Damn you, crazy." Two whispered as he offered Sonera a thumbs-up.
Sonera spoke desperately as she ran down the stairs, seemingly unconcerned with the bullets that whizzed past her head. She had none of the cover nor the protective gear of her team, and yet, she remained determined to push on.
"The basement, how do I get to it?"
Four pointed with an accusing finger. "Listen, Sonera, Three said to pull you out. We'll clean this lot up, and then you're coming with us."
"So you can handle it yourself." Sonera nodded. "Thank you."
"Wait no-. That's not what I meant!"
Sonera took her chances, sliding across the messy floor as she sprinted her way out towards the grassy quad. Even without useful intel, she had a good intuition about where she could find a basement hatch. More importantly, she had a good feeling about who would already be there.
She made it a fair distance before a stray bullet struck her in the knee, causing her to slide onto the ground in a heap. Sonera didn't stay down for long, resisting the pain and picking herself off the ground. She was confident in her team.
"Jesus Sonera, be careful!" Five called out to her from the distance, focusing their efforts on buying her time. "Three will kill us if you die."
Three hadn't shown themselves. And he was easily the most cunning and talented on the team. Something was wrong.
"Not this time," Sonera muttered to herself, kicking a guard in the face as she made a mad dash for an open shutter-door at the far side of the quad. "Three."
Diving into the concrete opening, Sonera found herself surrounded by bodies. Sadly, none of them belonged to Venra. Sonera figured Three was in hot pursuit, but had still not located his prey.
Sure enough, upon rounding the corner, she found Three standing in front of two figures, with his sidearm unholstered yet strangely relaxed. More importantly, Sonera could make out the figure of Venra, who stood pensively next to another man clad in drop-trooper armor.
"You!" Sonera cried out, her anger more palpable than ever. "Traitor!"
Venra sighed, placing her hand onto the muscular arm of her partner, his frame dwarfing her the same way Three towered over Sonera. "I'm sorry, Sonera. I should have told you before."
Sonera snatched a second sidearm from Three's holster, knowing exactly where he liked to keep his spares. "Told me what? That you were going to leave us!"
"Whoa there, partner, slow down." The man next to Venra spoke calmly, gesturing towards a large machete on his forearm. "We can talk through this."
Three nodded in approval. "I'm up for it if the ladies are."
"Up for what! Let me kill her!" Sonera pleaded.
"Listen!" Venra cried, tears welling up in her eyes as she tugged at her own nightgown. "I didn't want to do this, but...it's the only choice we had! Our family lied to us, Sonera. We didn't steal that index to fight Tesselation, nor aid any of their victims. We were going to blackmail them for...for money! To prove ourselves useful so we could keep earning and earning!"
"It doesn't matter." Sonera hissed. "We mattered. Our family."
"A family that is willing to further the goals of the entity that orphaned us all to begin with...the same company that made Mars what it is today...is no family of mine. Please, you can join us. Algernon doesn't have to rule half the Sol System. We can fight him. Togethor."
"I can kill you."
"You can try, give it a chance. Give hope a chance."
Sonera smiled. "I WILL enjoy it."
Nearly everything about Venra had sent Sonera over the edge. The man she stood with was eerily similar to Three. Her prideful prattlings were the same as they were before she had betrayed the Bratva. And even her sense of fashion remained largely unchanged, proving to Sonera that she had simply nestled into another family without struggle.
"I promise you that." Sonera finished.
Venra lowered her gaze in shame. "And to think I loved you."
Sonera squeezed the trigger, sending a bullet flying through Venra's head. But much to her amazement, the only thing that fell to the ground was the illusion of her, as the real Venra grabbed onto Sonera from behind, jamming a knife into her back. The pain was unbearable and sudden. But rage kept Sonera going, as she pivoted on her heel to kick Venra off before pulling the knife out of her back.
"Welp." Three shrugged. "Guess we're doing this."
The other drop-trooper responded with a chuckle, throwing his machete with blinding speed. "Ladies."
Three deflected the attack with their bare hands, firing his weapon at his opponent while frantically trying to close the distance. Both men then entered a lethal dance of strength and steel, their armored fists slamming into each other's armor as they attempted to exploit what little weaknesses could be found. The girls, on the other hand, were engaged in barbaric carnage, kicking and clawing at each other with whatever they could find.
Venra was frankly a better fighter, evading Sonera's wild kicks before twisting her opponent's exposed arm with a swift and elegant hold. The pain didn't seem to matter. Losing didn't seem to matter. Sonera was a relentless beast, and Venra was getting tired. What little damage she had taken was adding up, as she nearly stumbled backwards upon receiving Sonera's elbow to her face.
Venra attempted to confuse Sonera on the fly, using another holographic disguise in tandem with a flying kick. Not even attempting to decipher the true attacker, Sonera ducked out of the way, grabbing a fistful of dirt before throwing it at Venra. The moment her true form became evident, Sonera tackled her, beating her senseless with a string of brutal attacks.
By the time she finally came to her senses, Sonera's fists were covered in blood. She hesitated, and Venra slashed at her with a scavanged shard of glass, cutting deep into her chest. Finally reaching her limit, Sonera pinned the girl to the ground with her legs before wrapping her fingers around her throat.
"Die," Sonera whispered, not realizing her words had slipped into Venra's mind.
It wouldn't take much longer after that.
Three was much more efficient in his battle, allowing his opponent to make the first move at every opportunity before using his sidearm like a sword, firing into the gaps of the trooper's armor only when greeted with a point-blank opening. Feigning a rather bullheaded punch, Three stepped back before kicking at the enemy's exposed knee, bringing them down just long enough to sneak his sidearm into the armor's neckpiece.
One gush of blood later, and Three was done. The only thing that could then affect his calm demeanor was Sonera, who could be seen quivering in a pool of blood next to Venra's corpse. Three rushed over to her side, cradling her in their arms as she stumbled backwards.
"Hey, hey," Three spoke to Sonera in a tender voice. "Hang in there. I'm right here, Sonera."
The girl twitched violently, gasping for breath as she clawed at Three's visor. He held her steady. Finally, after a few minutes had passed, Sonera came to her senses, her rage having turned to sorrow. She looked up at Three with shame and regret on her face. She wanted to cry.
"It's okay. It's over now, Sonera."
The rest of the team appeared behind Three, checking their weapons while observing the dramatic scene in front of them. Sonera was badly in need of medical attention, with a total of three major wounds located on her knee and shoulder blades. Three had, of course, considered such a possibility and were quick to apply a spray-gel he kept in his rear pouch. He was well aware of Sonera's impulses, which so frequently compelled her to push herself into danger without proper protection. She was a bit like himself in that way.
"All clear?" Five signaled with his right hand, his black visor covered in blood.
"Yeah." Three replied solemnly.
"Is the target done for good?" Two inquired playfully.
"My guy. It's Sonera." Five laughed. "The guy's dead."
The team leader then helped Sonera to her feet carefully, stepping over the pool of blood with his heavy boots. He knew it wasn't wise to set the girl off, given her unstable nature. But when he finally pressed a finger against Sonera's face, she looked up and gave a tender smile.
"You good, Sonera?" Three asked as he tried to pull his hand away. "I think your dress is uhh..."
Sonera responded by clinging to the trooper's glove. She was unwilling to let go. Not after what she had lost.
Three then carefully placed Sonera's bra strap back onto her shoulder, knowing full well she didn't care one way or the other. All she could do at that time was stare, deeper and deeper into his tinted visor. Sonera thought it was the most handsome look in the world.
"Did...I do well?" Sonera tilted her head with wide eyes.