Scene #5002: Little Girl Lost Part 2

Owner	Pose
Yari Takane	Sars Ito, and Ito Industries, is done for. At least, on paper. The atrocities found within the company's facility has had enough law enforcement attention to drown them in litigation for years. The few executives that somehow squirm out of the legalities? There's a very sudden, very swift uptick in heart attacks and fatal accidents among them. With one singular exception. The CEO himself. He went dark almost a week ago, and only now has he resurfaced. Under the name Sebastian Cent, owner of a large mine outside of a very steampunk town. Investigations through various means turns up that this is a subsidiary of the man's company. And the slave labor that showed up missing from the factory is very much here. If possible, the paperwork regarding transfers and outright buying of people for the mine is even more blatant. Almost desperate. As is the present of a paramilitary force. The mine is located in the middle of a valley reaching towards the depths of a mountain. A single tin-roofed shack-like section leads down towards the actual mine itself. Technological or magical scans will show teeming human life down there. Upside, at least ten well-armed men patrol the flat plains. A single tank even sits idling, canon at the ready. Deep within the mine, amidst a mass of dirty, beaten men, women, and children chained together, Sars Ito scowls and occasionally smacks some poor soul across the cheek. "How /COULD/ they stop my operations! I bribed every official! I paid good money for those slaves! This is impossible!" Howls the man. In the corner, alone, a young korean girl is curled up into a ball. She shivers, fearful, but doesn't cry. Sars turns to her. She looks up from her knees. Eyes sparkle, somehow still defiant. He scowls, and grabs her by the arm, lifting her up. A harsh slap, then a kick. She screams. "How dare you look down on me, idiot slave!" There's a single way in towards the mine, and that's a simple dirt road. Yari Takane is dressed in her usual kimono, a katana resting next to her. A 'borrowed' humvee from the hired mercenary company rumbles down the road towards the checkpoint. There's two of the guards there. They look sharp, and jumpy. "It's annoying, but we can't be subtle. The mercenary company is good. I couldn't get ID's. We go in loud, if they resist?" A shrug. "Do what you have to. We're here to rescue the slaves, and get my daughter back. Positive ID. Nagato. I'll let you handle Sars. This entire operation is illegal anyway." The humvee comes to a stop, and the guards walk up. One already has their gun pointed. They're not yet to the vehicle, but they're getting close.
Sanary Rondel	With Linh's location confirmed, it's taking a lot of self-control for Sanary to not just head in and make some heads roll. Part of it is coming from knowing that the girl could be put in the line of fire, another part from knowing that she's got allies that might not take well to people being chopped in half, and yet another part is coming from a desire to see just how her allies are going to approach the situation. "Sounds fine to me." The fact that going in loud would give her an excuse goes unsaid, but it's probably obvious from the expression on Sanary's face and how tightly she's grasping her gunaxe's handle. The healer is sitting in the back of the humvee, keeping her eye closed for the time being and looking deep in thought. "Don't think we can bribe or hire 'em? Wouldn't hurt to have some guides heading in, but..." She groans and rubs her forehead lightly, turning around to watch as the guards approach. Her grip gets a little firmer, but she's not going to make the first move just yet. Not until she gets that excuse.
Kushiko	Sometimes, subtlety and such is in the tune of, 'kill them before they have a chance to alert anyone else and be a ghost about it'. This was the case of Kushiko sometimes; technically, she did and would have certain stealth options, and she actually inserted not too long ago, and frankly was waiting on Yari, Nagato, and a few others before she proceeded inwards. And by waiting, well. In the case of one guard, a figure seemed to /shimmer/ into being behind him--black and purple, bright lilac energy phasing into existence as she swept noiselessly with one foot, kicking his feet out from under him. Yet before they had a proper chance to say anything, the very same sweeping, crouching motion had him fall back onto a gleaming katana-like blade. Which worked pretty well in concert with another nearby figure at the mine who too, had faded into view, only what took care of guard #2 was what looked to be an ornate arrow--two, actually, one that simply severed through the man's gun--and maybe a hand, with the second aimed at his neck that flew in at near the same time. Valkyr--the felinoid berseker frame and Nova Prime--the cute lil' antimatter wielding destroyer, who rose and sheathed her nikana in one fell move, nodding at the approaching humvee before gesturing with a 'look' towards the mine's entrance.
Kirikou	Of course Kirikou's going to be there. Here. This isn't the sort of thing he's likely to miss. This has been quite obviously hard on Yari, and anything the Meister can do, he's doing. Today he's dressed in fairly normal gear. Pullover sweatshirt with a skull on the breast, the Death Academy logo. It doesn't LOOK like a school uniform, but then Death Academy has a remarkable variety. He's also wearing his Weapons, and so he's obviously not here to be discreet. "I'm good at not bein' subtle." Kilik says, trying to bring at least a weak chance for a smile. "And 'Don't think' too, I guess." he adds, smirking at Sanary. "If anyone wants to read 'em their rights, go right ahead." he adds, starting to stride ahead. Tank mode, fists clenched and weighted down by his waist, Kilik swaggers forward, making no effort to hide himself. Any hostilities, he's happy enough to draw fire. He might not need to, not with a certain ninja clearing the way, but eventually he'll find a chance to take point.
Nagato	Nagato's in the back of the humvee, the battleship quite big here... still without her rigging, but she's brought a few implements today... her earring to summon her mech suit, a double head axe, a gifted Gunblade from the driver herself and her Paladin's badge.. today, Nagato was here on official buisness to put a stop to this all, and put this person down and in the slammer for ... hopefully two to four lifetimes. "I would say drive me closer so I can cleave the tank with my gunblade..." a light chuckle from the battleship. She had a bad sense of humor. "Understood. Keep in mind, murder is still illegal, I really don't want to have to take you all in with him, so keep casualties to a bare minimum. I still have my job to do you know." She peeks out the window to view, "Mmm, peashooters... small arms. Shouldn't hurt a battleship."
Yuna Kagurazaka	Lots of human life signs far underground; about ten mercenaries patrolling on the surface with a tank standing by to assist them. Yuna is already in her Light Suit; Elner is with her in Yari's Humvee ... and the rest of the Matrix of Light is following in the air, just barely far enough behind the humvee to avoid being noticed without fairly devoted attention to 'up and away from the vehicle that's right in front of you'. And as the guards approach the humvee, Yuna just puts on her sunniest smile, almost as if she were as vapid as idols are sometimes taken for. However, while they're still in the humvee and the guards are too far away to overhear, she quickly addresses her allies. "I can knock the mercs on foot out pretty quickly - if brutally - if I combine with Jiina and turn Powered Form loose on them, but they might still have enough time to call an alert down to whomever's guarding inside the mine proper ... or, I can leave the guards to you guys and focus on putting the tank out of commission. I'll probably be better taking the guards down. Suggestions?" She knows Nagato has more than one way to take the tank out; honestly, Yuna's happy to let the battleship deal with the opposing heavy hardware, or to help her with it. The only thing Yuna knows for relatively sure is that anyone she fights will be in slightly less mortal danger, due to her weapons' potential for non-lethality.
Yari Takane	Yari sighs. "Tried it. But Sars paid them a ridiculous amount that I couldn't beat. As much as I would have liked to see his own soldiers fill him with lead...business before pleasure." She offers to Sanary woefully. Yari sounds in an extra-murdery mood as much as she tries to play it off. Those looking at her might notice she's gripping the steering wheel in a vice grip practically. The poor guard doesn't even know what hits him. One moment, he's walking off to take a smoke, the next? His legs get kicked out from under him. Schlicht. A sword through the heart, and he grows still. Another guard gets two arrows, and similarly falls still. They're both on the extreme perimeter, and so the bodies go unnoticed for now. Down to eight outside. Nagato and Kirikou and Yuna all get to their statements and tactics, and Yari smiles. First, to the battleship! There's a paper ball flicked at her almost playfully. "Only in self defense, Officer." She offers, before growing serious. "Nagato, Yuna. You two handle the tank. Kilik, Sanary, with me. We'll rush the mines. I don't want to give Sars any chance to escape. Three...two..." She knows a certain Warframe is on point. Up comes the first guard. He leans into the humvee. "Shouldn't be any more transports! Where's your I...URGH!" Yari reaches out, grabs the man by the throat, and slams his face four times into the side of the truck's frame. Teeth fall in from his mouth. He dangles there, stunned, and then thuds heavily unconscious on the ground. The ninja is in a bad mood it seems. "One. GO!" Then Yari kicks out the door as bullets start flying. Bullets start flying even before Yari's exited the humvee. One of the soldiers throws a grenade at the vehicle! Every member of the party minus Kushiko gets small arms fire coming their way! Shrapnel is peppering the vehicle with a loud KRUMP from the grenade. They'll need to borrow another one. Worst of all, the tank's main gun is wheeling around as orders are spat out. It's smaller machine guns are shooting large calibre bullets at Yuna and Nagato already!
Sanary Rondel	If it's any consolation, the unconscious man gets a bit of healing to stem the bleeding and more immediate internal damage. Let it not be said that Sanary doesn't know how to show some mercy! Following Yari out of the humvee, the healer holds the gunaxe in front of her like an impromptu shield as the bullets start flying, barely flinching at the ones grazing her. She swings herself around behind the humvee to use it as some impromptu cover, conjuring up some thick sheets of gray magical... Gunk in front of her all the while. And then there's a grenade. "Heads down!" The healer calls out before arranging the sheets of magic stuff into a makeshift shield against both bullet at grenade, most of them getting blasted apart on impact. She's conjuring them as quickly as she can, trying to give her allies some coverage from the projectiles coming their way.
Nagato	"Only in self defense." she gives this knowing smile to Yari... partially the fact that she's working with a verified assassin. And almost giving the ok to do some murder. Let's just hope this doesn't bite her in the stern... The countdown starts... there's some banging on the door.. and the Go order is given and Nagato hops out of the humvee... and that small arms and large caliber standard bullets are just plinking off of her. "Seriously?" she mutters, "That's not getting past armor." She stalks towards the tank, aiming the gunblade towards it. "A gift. YOu may wish to leave the tank." and with a click... she lets the gunblade fire off a round, her radar-horns giving her a better shot... try to get it right in that barrel to blow up the ammunition inside. "Disable this... find the leader... and arrest him... that's the goal..." she mutters to herself. "They can do what they want."
Kushiko	Certain two Warframes in this case. Kushiko's a bit of an interesting little duckling; not that people need know officially that most Tenno can only operate one frame at a time. Why, one may wonder later, could she operate two? In the meantime, however, Nova was the closests to the approaching group of Elites, which is why she sprints, leaps and sails like a small projectile, rolling to where the humvee itself has stopped, twisting around. Wordlessly, she opens not one, but two different dimensional gateways. From the side, there can be seen a tether like an energized thread wavering in the distance--a distance that puts whoever jumps through at a rapid option to close the distance--tank flank for one, mine rush for the other. Speaking of firepower and the like, Valkyr, perched on the sheer surface near the mine, nocks another arrow for Dread. Yet even as she cuts it loose--the person she was aiming at is the victim of an energy-based hookshot that yanks him into the path of the arrow, cutting the 'poor' guard in half, a horrified splrchgrk following. Another party plays merry in all of this--a massive purple-black furred hound, charging through and knocking another one off his feet. The aim was chaos--distract the mercs, distract even the tank so others could close without too much harassment and capitalize on the opening. Speed, after all, was the key. And with Nova launching herself through one of the portals to rejoin her partner frame, Kushiko was conducting herself with care; she could utilize antimatter with care, but the potential for collateral out here was not one she was willing to as yet risk. At least, until they got their objective.
Kirikou	Kirikou grins fiercely. "That one doesn't count, Yari!" he insists. "You hit him before we started!" Apparently Kilik's treating this as a game. He dashes to the side. Guns are annoying, and only his fists are bulletproof. He's quick though, and doesn't leave himself exposed as he skirts around, bullets flying into the ground at his feet. The grenaded jeep is bad, but it's not like this is the first time he's had a ride blow up from under him. He'll deal. In the meantime the dust and smoke of the explosion makes him a much tougher target. He skids, pivots, throws a massive punch at the gunners from a range more usually used by gunners than by punchers. His fist ignites, shooting a ball of flame towards them. It's not particularly well-aimed, but he's not expecting to take them out with it. It's to scare them, to make them flinch. A ball of flame isn't something likely to be good for morale, and they don't KNOW it won't just explode messily in the middle of them. Kirikou doesn't stop, charging in behind his fireball, getting close enough to actually count. With his other fist charged, he leaps up and then punches the ground. The lightning explosion showers dirt, rock and crackling energy at the gunners. THIS one isn't a feint. One might almost feel sorry for the guards, but hey, they're at least not getting impaled?
Yuna Kagurazaka	Elner teleports away as Yuna dives out of the Humvee - too far away to actually take down any of the guards on her way out, and just barely fast enough to avoid getting blown up by the grenade. The tank's machine guns are already coming way too close, and a frantic yell of, "SHUGOSEIHEKI!!" conjures her kite shield. The Wall of the Guardian Star is enough protection to let Yuna get back to her feet, and that buys the time she needs for Jiina of the Earth to fly down, going translucent en route, and to phase into position 'over'/around Yuna's own body. Then Jiina seems to disappear completely, a wireframe appearing around Yuna instead - a wireframe outlining the shape, bulk, and contours of a large exoskeletal battlesuit, one which adds most of a meter to Yuna's own petite height. A couple of heartbeats later, Yuna's transformation into Powered Form is complete, and she fires up her hover-thrusters with no further delay, pulling Shugoseiheki back out of the ground with the battlesuit's left exo-arm. Nagato's probably already drawn the tank crew's primary attention by that point; however, letting Nagato test her armor against the tank's guns sits really, REALLY poorly with the Savior of Light. So when the tank's first shell is launched, Yuna tears past - across Nagato's line of fire because she has no other way to do it - and swats the shell away with Shugoseiheki's surface. Then Yuna launches her own blast, the twin beam cannons in her suit's outer shoulders - the ones from which the manipulator arms descend - firing a devastating pair of blasts. If Nagato's shot down the barrel didn't take the turret off entirely, there won't be a whole lot left of it when Yuna's cannon blasts taper off. The tank will still be there, but not the guns. Hopefully the crew is still there too. Likely with a .... rather pungent mess in each occupied seat.
Yari Takane	BOOM! The humvee rocks on it's front wheels. That's one heck of a grenade! Then whump right back down. At least it has (had!) good suspension. Sanary has plenty of room to duck behind the vehicle. Yari is quick enough to reverse what would've been a charge into a series of backflips. Sanary's gray metal cover? Gets used for exactly that. The ninja waits for her moment as the others get to work, bullets plinking off of Sanary's impromptu magical cover! Yuna has the tank's guns slowly wheeling around to her just after it's first shot! The shell goes wide past Nagato thanks to Yuna intervening, leaving the smaller fire to plink off of her armor uselessly. Already, the crew is reloading when Yuna takes her shot. Her fire smashes against the twin machine guns that serve as secondary weapons on the tank, turning them into smoking metal. BLAM! Goes Nagato's gunblade, and her aim is impeccable like a proper battleship. The bullet enters the main gun, and a second later, the loaded shell goes off. Metal flies out from the explosion hard enough to smash into one of the infantry troops. Who knows if he's alive, given the blood flowing from his head. The twisted wreckage of the main gun goes flying off to the side, smashing against a tank tread. From inside, one can hear three men crying and sobbing and generally begging for their lives deliriously. That tank is going nowhere. Kushiko gets to work once again. Another soldier down, but most importantly, the purple hound is drawing heavy fire! The group now has far less to worry about if they're vulnerable to bullets. Kirikou speaks, and Yari pauses. Her lips move...and she laughs. It's the first laugh she's given in a week. That angry, despairing, cold look in her eyes fades just a little bit. "Of course it does Kilik." "Ninjas cheat." Kilik soaks up what fire isn't being directed at the fuzzy purple woof. Fire licks at the troops, they duck to the ground, bullets become erratic. One or two drop their guns and flee in all the chaos. These Elites just aren't worth the pay. But the others? HIs lightning meets gunners along with showering earth, and more fall to the ground. As the smoke clears, there's just three left standing their ground. The rest are on the ground in surrender, fleeing, or out cold. A blurr flickers behind the three outside soldiers brave enough to stand their place. Yari flicks her sword clean of blood as three heads roll. She peeks at her side and shoulder, grazed and bleeding from near hits. "Come on, everyone." The group might take a second to form up. Yari waits to lead the way. The elevator ride down only takes a few seconds. The mine is well lit, and sparsely guarded now. The party won't take long to incapacitate or kill them as needed. And then they arrive at a large, open section of the mine. This one is where a massive mining effort has taken place, only half complete. Sparkling gems can be seen in the walls, as well as huge salt deposits. There's a group of at least fifteen men and women chained up in the room, and only three guards there. Easy pickings. If it weren't for the older asian man with a knife to a little girl's throat. The guards here, too, have guns to the heads of three of the captured people here. "Hold it! Drop your weapons, or the girl and the slaves eat it!" Yells out Sars Ito. Yari pauses, eyes wide. She hesitates. "Mommy!" Yells Linh Takane, shivering with steel at her throat.
Kirikou	Kirikou was trying not to kill, but he'll shed no tears over these deaths. Yari's opinion in this counts a lot more than Nagato's for him. He also makes a mental note; no more holding back. If Yari wants to kill, NEEDS to kill, he'll support her in this and let her do what she needs to. When they enter the mine's open section, with the guy with the knife, he pauses. But only for a moment. Deciding he should probably be a distraction, he takes a step forward. "Whatever you say. You're the boss." Kirikou claims. With a shrug he divests himself of his weapons. His pistols anyways. He rarely uses them, but he's had them for this set of missions. With a shrug he tosses the pistols casually to the ground off to one side, stepping forward as he does so. "Just let the girl go. Let all the slaves go, you might walk out of this one alive." he suggests diplomatically, taking a slow steady step forward. He's got nothing here, not really. Just a big guy with really big gauntlets, open and empty. He can and will take a hit, but he can also be a really big distraction so some ninja type can shoot the asshole with a paralytic dart to the face, or something. "Hurt her, and they'll tell horror stories about your death." he adds, cracking a grin that's not at all friendly or pleasant.
Yuna Kagurazaka	Well, that's ... not giving them much of a choice, is it? Yuna disengages from Powered Form, Jiina rematerializing just behind and to one side of her as Yuna holds up her gloved but empty hands. "Hurt any of them, and you'll suffer all the more for it, Sars Ito," the blonde girl calls out, not trying to hide the anger or disgust in her voice. "We came to rescue your slaves. All of them. All the 'workers' you've mistreated. We're taking them with us, one way or the other ... but you can decide what your own fate will be, coming out of this." She looks around briefly, seeing the gems and the salt .... and she shakes her head briefly. "With the money you've been making, you could have treated all your employees like human beings, paid a decent wage, paid for safe working conditions, and you'd still be turning a handsome profit. And you would never have had people like us kicking your door down. Your old company is out of business for good, most likely, but if you give up your slaves to us ... I'd be willing to leave you your freedom. You could start fresh, if you can figure out a way to escape the publicity about your old factory - and if you swear to us never to subject your employees to slavery-level conditions, ever again."
Nagato	Once that's all done with, Nagato's gunblade goes back into a holster and she stares down Sars, the battleship's unarmed now, weapons still within reach, though with everyone seeming to take the voice, she does make the Paladins badge known to Sars. "I never met a human with such contempt for their own species life." she comments, "Under law I should be bringing you in, but my concern is over the people that you've got in slavery. Such contempt for your own species, what if one of those people you've been mistreating was a granddaughter of yours? My allies here have the right of it, I'm going to back this up with what I can." Nagato sighs a bit, a hostage situation is something she's never had to encounter before...
Sanary Rondel	Sanary inhales sharply each time a tile shatters near her, but the pain from the ones that do get through her defenses doesn't stop her from steadily advancing after the grenades explode. She keeps that cover going as long as she can, even going as far as hurling some of them ahead to keep Yari and Kilik covered as best she can. Once the bullets finally stop, she lets what's left of those magical tile shields crumble and drop on the ground, leaving bits of stuff on the ground that look vaguely similar to broken plastic toys blocks. The surrendering soldiers get some piercing glares sent their way along with a slow shake of her axe. Not quite quickly enough to be an immediate threat to their safety, but certainly easy enough to take as a warning. She could start carving them up, but... No, Sanary's going to keep behaving for now. Any guards foolish enough to come close to the group will get some magically conjured spikes sent their way, but for the most part? Her gunaxe stays clean. When the group reaches Sars Ito, however, Sanary's expression shifts. She looks furious at first, but then she stops to take a long breath while Kilik works on trying to distract him and Yuna tries to reason with him. And then she starts laughing. Not the happy comedy laugh, but the derisive insulting sort that one would give after hearing and seeing something so incomprehensibly dumb. "... Seriously? You think /that/ would stop me?!" She slams the gunaxe on the ground behind her before starting to advance on Sars and his remaining guards slowly, dragging it against the ground and dragging up as much of the ground behind her. "I've brought life back to a /demon king/ that's been dead for hundreds of years in a jar! What makes you think I'd have any trouble with mere humans?!" It hurts to dredge that part of her past back up and to take such a risk with Linh hearing it, but... Well, she's technically not wrong about that first part.
Kushiko	Ohhh yeah. Ninjas cheat. Especially technically the Tenno, though it's less cheat and more exercising their force in absolutely, perfectly measured overkill. Maybe. Nonetheless, once they actually cleared out the tank, Nova Prime followed along silently for the time being--mostly because they tended to, at this point, let their actions speak for them by large. The hostage situation was not Kushiko's standard thing she actually dealt with, truth be told. This... however, is where things get a little more different... and the presence of hostages, namely in the way of Yari's daughter... well. Nova drops like a puppet with her strings cut to the ground. In the place of her, however, a figure manifests, a howling cry as a strange energy manifests, the figure--a girl? Is curled up around nascent golden energy. And then that cry reaches a fever pitch of a scream as she bellows--wave after wave of energy racing along the ground in outward pulses--towards Linh. Towards Sars Ito. The hell is she-- That's about, if Sars didn't react or get distracted by the others, maybe be hit. Maybe even the hostage. But the waves of Void energy, that energy that was akin to the Warp for those who knew of the Imperium (but more?) would wreathe Sars, wreath the guards in that energy--and lift them off their feet. Like puppets themselves. Strangely, Valkyr too, fell--where was she? Either way, there's an instant where she's hoping that others can take full advantage of it and get Linh out of the way of the ensuing bloodbath.
Yari Takane	Down go the pistols, and Sars tch's derisively at Kilik! "Do you really think I'm that stupid? As soon as the slaves are gone one of you will kill me and the guards! Just look at that horned bitch's eyes!" His chin gestures towards Yari. They've gone wide, and there's a lurking menace in them. She's dropped her sword. But anyone with keen eyes might spy two handfuls of shuriken just waiting to be used, hidden in that long billowing sleeves of her kimono's. Her face, her body, it all screams the need and want to kill. It's all directed at Sars Ito, only tempered by a very naked fear for her daughter's life. Her tail is trembling. Yuna gets spat at! "Oh, I'll find my way out of this one girl. And you know...you believe all of that, don't you? You'd really just let me go! You really don't get it, do you? It's not about the money! It's about power! I sold weapons to everyone who'd buy! Politicians, governments, militaries...they all owe me! The law means nothing! I'm above it! Now run along! Naieve girls shouldn't be with a pack of killers!" This Sars Ito is a true jerk. Nagato similarly gets a scowl! "Well at least you're an honest woman of the law. I'll give you a nice fat bribe if you just run away! No need to risk yourself for a bunch of useless slaves! They're scum!" He kicks the girl's shins. She gruns, and Yari's face screws up in silent rage. It's Sanary and Kushiko, however that change things. Sanary's laugh, how she drags her axe without care...Ito backs up against the wall. One guard drops his gun. "A...demon!?" He crosses himself. The other guard too drags up an old woman, almost like a shield, against the slowly advancing axegirl. "Stop! Right there!" And then a cry that wreathes Ito and the remaining guard in energy. The last guard drops to his feet. Ito, however, screams. His hand on Lingh loosens by a mere fraction. Barely enough, but it might just give a certain songstress time. "DIE! ALL OF YOU!" That's when Sars Ito levels weapons at the team. Eight metal arms rip out from his back, the fruits of his company's cybernetic and weapons research. Large bored laser guns start to fire searing hot beams at them! Yari is a touch too slow, and takes a blow to the side, landing in a heap from the hard impact.
Yuna Kagurazaka	In the middle of Kushiko's attempt to tele-psionically whatever Sars Ito, there's a brief flash of golden light - and Linh Takane softly and silently vanishes away, because a certain robo-faerie had a priority task courtesy of Yuna. Rescuing the slaves was more important than anything else to Yuna from the get-go, if not from before then ... but rescuing Linh herself was more important than anything else. If lives were destined to be lost, Linh's life COULD NOT be among them, and Yuna made her decisions with an eye to even poking destiny itself in the eye, if push came to shove. So the instant that Sars' grasp on Linh loosens enough for Elner of Wisdom to intervene, the Apostle of Light - the little robo-faerie who accompanies Yuna on virtually every mission - takes action, whisking Linh away from harm with a swift, precise teleport, finding a safe location and placing the little girl there, followed by Elner itself blinking into existence in front of her. "You'll be safe here while Yuna and your mother finish their battle. You've seen Yuna as an idol singer; she has another calling besides that ..." Meanwhile: "SHUGOSEIHEKI!!!!" Yuna's voice is very nearly a scream - not of terror but of rage - as she re-invokes her kite shield; devastating laser beams hammer at the shield, causing the protective aura of Yuna's Light Suit to flare as it suffuses the very sturdy material and reinforces it still further. Her first impulse as the shield takes form is to cover Yari - but she's too far away, and the lasers are too powerful for her to get there fast enough. That doesn't stop her from trying - she definitely won't be the first person to protect Yari, but she can and will offer what cover she can, not to Yari alone but to other protectors who got there first. And once she's in position, Yuna once again digs the kite shield into the ground, burying its lower point just far enough to keep the shield upright, even in the rock of the mine's floor - and freeing her left arm up so that she can draw her main weapon into existence. No sooner as the Matrix Divider appeared in Yuna's grasp than its blade/barrel assembly - the weapon's full business end - begins to glow, crackling, flaring with an increasing influx of power, channeled by Yuna's will. The petite blonde in her gleaming battlesuit glowers over the top edge of her shield, ducking under cover when further laser blasts seek her out, but she keeps focusing as much energy as she can into her first and favored weapon. There's a piece of her which will shed no tears if Sars Ito dies today. He's sinned grievously against too many innocents, maybe too many to count, certainly too many to ignore despite her earlier bargaining words. But that piece is pitted against Yuna's nigh-eternal compassion - to take the corrupt, enslaving CEO down decisively hard but to spare his life despite the weight of his sins. The actual shot is long in coming - very likely long enough for the outcome to be decided by hands other than Yuna's own, delayed not just by the conflict in Yuna's heart but by her determination to pack every spark of force she can gather into this attack against the augmented Sars Ito. Only at the last second, when she feels the Matrix Divider is at its limit, capacitors all but sizzling from the energy they're struggling to contain and focus ... only then will she poke her head out one more time, along with her weapon - and if the battle still rages at that moment, a single blast is loosed from the Divider, with all the wrath of the Savior of Light channeled into that one shot.
Kirikou	Kilik doesn't have to look at Yari to know what look's in her eyes. Sars Ito may be an asshole, but he's no idiot. He's not making it out alive. In Kirikou's own world he'd no doubt have been on the Path of Asura, and Kilik would be feeding his soul to his Weapons in a few more moments. No one's going to shed a tear over this man's death, and all that counts is getting him away from Linh for long enough to make it a reality. Still Kilik's not upset by Ito's scorn or reaction. Kilik KNOWS his talk is useless. Others may believe what they're saying here but he was just spitballing, being a distraction. When things go to hell, he's already moving. His first instinct was to move towards Linh but she vanishes. He's not sure how, not sure who, but it doesn't take a genius to realize that one of his current allies has taken steps. So he goes the other way, charging for the heavy weapons. Seeing Yari get shot and going down, he cries out. "NO! Yari!" Without thought, his feet change direction. He takes a hit, but the beam doesn't have enough time to cripple him at the speed he shifts. He leaps in the path of those deadly beams, blocking them with his fists. If he happens to block a few with his body too... oh well. He's just not thinking about the consequences. After his headlong leap, Kilik's not really thinking of anything much at all. But slowly, as he crouches down behind his fists, he realizes he's not getting laser burns all over his exposed body. He doesn't have all that much exposed body, true. He hunches down pretty low behind his invulnerable fists. But the lasers fire from several different places at several angles, and his defense is hardly perfect. Not for his own body, and not for Yari's either. But Yuna's there. Huh... guess she's not just a goody-talker after all! Maybe diving in headlong wasn't such a dumbass move for him after all...
Sanary Rondel	"A demon /king/. Get it right, pissant!" Sanary practically screams at the cowering guard, and the one trying to use the old woman as a shield just gets another contemptuous, yet still insulting glare from the healer. ".. Really? She's already on her last legs, anyway!" Just how much of this is her acting and how much of it is real? Still drawing ever closer, the healer finally stops when Ito and the guard are drawn up by that mysterious energy. She still doesn't have a clear shot, but the gunaxe looks ever poised to cleave right into the targets of her cackling rage. Her composure breaks somewhat when Sars Ito reveals his true form, however, and she swings herself to the side to avoid taking a laser directly to the face. Speed still isn't Sanary's forte, though, and the best she can manage is getting a laser searing across her side instead. She howls in a mix of anger and pain, tempering it all with the knowledge that Linh's been brought to safety. Mental note: Thank Yuna for that later. For now, though, the healer's priority is not on tearing the cybernetic monstrosity and his minion apart, but on making sure the team gets out alive. The healer lets another shout out as whips the axe around to outright fling it at Sars, and then she focuses all of her magic on healing. Green clouds of magical light burst out of the healer. Several of them are headed Yari's way to help neutralize the laser blasts she took, and yet more heads towards Yuna and Kirikou to help mitigate the laser fire. There's even some energy heading Nagato's and the Nova Prime's way to give them a sizable boost to their energy levels.
Nagato	If there's one thing that Sanary and Nagato shared in common... speed. Or the lack of it. Still, when all hell breaks loose, Nagato's /not/ reaching for her weapons. She can't afford to kill and sully her record, these guys aren't Abyssal ships after all. Using Yuna's cover, and the energy boost from Sanary, she quickly lets the Yugana Kaze overtake her limbs and she shoots up and around Yuna's own body and goes to fufill an order given to her by the ninja herself. Nagato's using the speed she can get from the Yugana Kaze to dash right in, fist bared and she takes a single gut punching swing... to disable and knock unconcious so she could take him back to Paladins HQ and have him tried. Meanwhile, missile pods appear upon the Yugana Kaze's shoulder, marked in blue as she lets a barrage of stun missiles go... to help out!
Kushiko	Sometimes it works. Sometimes it does not. For the better part still, the Way of Zenurik -- Void Pulse -- did the jobs it needed to. It may not have lifted or kept Sars at bay, but it did what it needed to with the others. As the projection of that... /whatever/ the hell it was, faded into motes of lilac light that whisked chaotically into the ether, both figures rose--and with them, Nova Prime was the first among Kushiko's frames to act. With the hostages--and most important among them secure, the control rods on the back of her head, her arms and upper thighs suddenly cycled out of her, the funnels of energy flaring brightly as she gathered into one hand that volatile antimatter energy into one hand, and slamming her fist into the ground. It's released in a radial, criss-crossing wave of energy that should hit friendlies--but does not. It douses their foes, however, in particles of strangely glowing antimatter particles, molecularly slowing down--and more importantly, making things... rather more painfully explosive for them. Something that was followed up by her gathering an orb of solidifed silver-hued antimatter orb to absorb a doubleblast from that shotgun as she guided it towards Sars. Valkyr on the other hand as this happened? It was with a primordial /howl/ of fury she sprung forth out of that temporary moment of no motion, wreathing herself in lilac-hued energy, and that coalesced into a set of deadly energy claws that had only one place they could reside--Sars' throat. They'd settle for his spine, maybe, however much there might be, diving head first into bloodthirsty battle. Her berserker fury /might/ come close to Sanary's right now, but in this instant? Yeah, that's not going to happen. Still, she'll cut loose another howl--a bolstering Warcry to make /every/ one of them swing a lot more faster, herself included as she becomes a blur of motion and feral claws. Yeah, speed is very much Kushiko's forte here, be it subverting the speed of others, or bolstering others for certain. Kilik, Yari, Sanary, all of them ought to enjoy that melee speed enhancement.
Yari Takane	FWOOMP! Linh lands with only the faintest of red lines across her neck. Not even a cut, merely a scrape from the knife that could have ended her destiny. She's a tough girl. Remarkably so, even. Her cry is one of relief. And one of worry moreso. Falling to her knees in the mostly empty mining town, she looks to Elner. "...Is Mom going to be okay? And Miss Yuna? And Sanary? And the Admiral and everyone?" No, the fear in her eyes isn't for herself, but for others. This is a young girl who isn't sparing a single thought for herself, but fearful that others might be hurt just for her. The beams burn, but Kilik endures. Several score his body, but the young Meister is strong indeed! He helps take up the mass of beams, fists slamming into the greater lightshow. From the scorches, and Yari's cough breaths, she'd be toast several times over it it weren't for Kirikou's rush to defend her. A hand reaches out, and Yari's using his shoulder to pull herself upright. Healing energy fills Yari, and then that axe is flung! Sanary's gunaxe is a weighty thing indeed, and with his position and hostage gone, he can't flee! The left side of his body has an axe deeply embedded in him! There's a spurt of a black, oily substance! A crash of metal on metal as the cleric-warrior's weapon smashes into him! He staggers back, body half tilted to where he was hit! Yet, still the beams come! Sars laughs, voice growing far more mechanical and weak. "D...don't underestimate the technology of Ito!" Comes his voice, crackling. There's the smell of burnt wires, and only the smallest smell of dripping human blood. This CEO is chromed to the gills! Nagato charges with help from Yuna's cover! And she swings beautifully! A punch right for the gut! There's once more a hard ring of metal on metal, and his gut literally is crushed in from the impact! More oily black fluid spits from Sars Ito's mouth, he staggers back, smashed into the wall by the power of Nagato! And yet, given the man's enhancements he still stands! Bare hands reach high, and massive blades flick from his fingertips, ready to plunge for Nagato's back! And then the missiles go off, and he screams, hands furiously flailing in the air hard enough to cause salt and gems and dirt to crash around Nagato! He's open! And Kushiko comes as well. In she goes, crying out in war, and then those energy claws lash for Sars Ito's throat! Everyone hits all that much more swiftly. Their attacks combining as Sars is pinned to the wall. Just in time for Yuna. That long delay is more than enough for those gathered, even a battleship, to get away in time. A single blast reaches out, furious in it's love, it's anger, it's self righteousness. The metal, the falseness of Sars Ito's body is eaten away by that divine, pure power of Yuna and her Matrix Divider. What's left is a skeleton of a man, if even that. Metal bones, utterly useless. There's not even what could be considered a heart running Sars Ito's body. There's just a pair of shoulders left, a single cord leaking fluid from Kushiko's and Sanary's attack, and a human head capped off at the throat with metal. "N...Nooooo huuraaaaaagh!" Screams the thing that is the CEO. Smoke exits his nose in a blast downstream, and that horrific head goes flying off above the heroes' heads! As if to try to escape in this pathetic, lowly form! HIgh above, the head laughs, grinning in deranged victory. It's suddenly silenced as a dozen shuriken pepper his face, and he falls lifeless. Breathing hard, bleeding, side still scorched even after Sanary's healing, the malice in Yari's eyes finally dies out. "No one...threatens my daughter and lives." She mutters, before falling in a heap as she passes out. Good thing she'd had those shuriken in hand. The slaves, as it all comes to an end, let out a cheer for the victorious men and women gathered here. The end of Sars Ito. And the end of true evil.
Yuna Kagurazaka	For one moment, in the wake of her blast, Yuna stares in horror. She hadn't meant to strip the flesh from Ito's bones, she didn't even know the Matrix Divider could do that - or that SHE could do that. Then it moves - What's left of Sars Ito MOVES and speaks, or screams, despite not having lungs ... and the pieces fall into place. Of course a human body couldn't have hidden those massive mechanical limbs, there wouldn't have been room for vital organs. Yuna is no less horrified for realizing that she didn't take Ito's life in spite of her (probably righteous) wrath; her horror now finds its roots in the revealed 'nature' of their enemy. But Sars Ito's final fate doesn't rest in Yuna's hands, after all. The thrown blades find their mark, and as Sars Ito - what's left of him - collapses into apparent (and far overdue) death, Yuna traces their flight back to their source: Yari, now unconscious. Yuna lets out a slow, shaky, carefully measured breath, dismissing the Matrix Divider before she uses the Wall of the Guardian Star to pull herself back to her feet. The slaves' cheers prompt a wan smile, and as she dismisses her kite shield, Yuna bows to them - mostly her head, with a bit of her shoulders, so it comes out more of a nod than a real 'bow'. The horrors of the battle are still settling in; she'll probably be curled up REALLY tight in her bed tonight, revisiting the fray in her nightmares, but - Linh is safe. The slaves have been rescued. And the villains have, indeed, paid the price for their sins and their crimes. "I'll go get Linh and Elner, meet you on the way out ... Have we got an airship or something for evacuating the slaves and transporting whatever surviving prisoners?" She's already getting directions from Elner to find Linh and help see her out. Fortunately, Jiina - who didn't have time to re-combine with Yuna - is right there to support Yuna, and make sure she doesn't topple over before they're all safely departing.
Kirikou	He's hurt, but Kirikou's not hurt as bad as Yari. Who, it seems, is still strong enough to rise with assistance, and to lash out to end the threat. Kilik's more than willing to provide the assistance. He'll try to bring her to Linh. The two might not be in much shape to party or anything, but he figures they'd be more than happy to embrace and help each other leave. If he gets to help with that too, he's willing. At the moment, getting to his feet and limping out of here isn't beyond him... and he has a pair of twins also willing to lend hands. Assuming their enthusiastic aid isn't worse than no aid at all. They at least TRY to be gentle, but their judgment is notoriously not too good. "Easy, Yari. I gotcha." Kilik says gently. "Damn it, why did I jump in front of freaking laser beams? Not normally THAT dense. Guess I just don't like the thought of lasered lizard." he says casually, grinning. Yeah, he's going to hear about that one later. Assuming Yari's conscious enough to hear it. And if she isn't, he'll have to repeat it later. It's too good to NOT get punished for.
Yari Takane	The guards in the room, one might note, are a mess. Literally. Antimatter particles aren't good for guards. They're less guards right now, and more very, very deep stains on the ground and walls. If Yari ever manages to remember that bit, she might try to ask the Tenno what kind of poison made that effect. The ninja might have slight tunnel vision when it comes to her work. One probably shouldn't encourage her to follow that train of thought.
Kushiko	It's very, very rare for Kushiko to exhibit something like disdain for someone's crowing. Usually, it's just written off--whatever one says, only actions will cement it's truth. Then Ito did have to say something about his technology not being underestimated, and well. <"Your technology means /nothing/ to those who do not care for anything but your end."> The voice itself is a projection, coming not from the Warframes themselves but the air itself, echoing and distant, feminine but the age--despite the brief instance of projection shows no easy cues beyond 'young'. Valkyr vaulting off Sars Ito's back in order to you know, get out of the way of everything else being done--and frankly she's all the more ready to do something more. But that 'more' isn't needed, and with a slight flick of her wrists, releases the energy wrathfully harnessed, a momentary shower of sparks radiating off of her before she seems to relax. Nova in the meantime sprints over nimbly to where Yari is, checking on her along with Kilik and Yuna, the faceless Warframe making a slight canting of her head. <"Let's not linger here long. Get everyone home here."> A brief pause. <"Allow us to deal with the ones who remain. The Lotus will make arrangements for these former slaves."> Indeed, something that she had arranged maybe ahead of time. Or maybe can be blamed on Goddamn Ninja. Either way... ...pay no attention to the whisks of smoke and flame some of those bodies became thanks to that antimmater release. If it is that.
Sanary Rondel	The tension in the room seems to have subsided substantially as Ito is slain, and even Sanary's earlier bluster fades once she realizes she doesn't quite need to keep that act up like before. Turning to the old woman from earlier, the healer gives her an apologetic (and very awkward) smile. "Er... H-hey, sorry about that. I didn't /really/ mean you were... Erm..." Quick, time for a focus shift! Glancing around quickly, the healer instead just hurries back to where Yari and Kilik are. She snickers lightly and gives the latter a light jab on the shoulder before closing her eye, then letting more healing magic flow out of her to envelop the area surrounding them. Anyone that wanders nearby could even soak in some of that healing energy themselves if needed! "Well... You did good. Thanks, Kilik. Someone had to... You too, Yuna. Ehm... Everyone, even." She turns back to each of her allies in turn, nodding towards Nagato and the Nova Prime as well before slumping over onto her side. It's not so much that she's injured badly as she's just tired. So very tired. She'll be sleeping well tonight, though.
Kushiko	Speaking of bersekering and other things like that, Sanary speaking up--and speaking in a way that totally does not track with her earlier act, elicits an amused noise from Valkyr. So to speak. It's really Kushiko, the way she possesses those frames, making her way over. <"Ah, we hadn't had a chance to see you in person since that one time. If you'd acted a little differently than that act, we might have been concerned."> At the least, Sanary /might/ recognize Nova Prime as being part of what maybe was why she got wormhole accelerated Izuna Drop'd that one tgime she was gothier than most. And Ophelia. Good times, really. (Not really.) Still, the Warframe will give her a hand at least in terms of making sure the tired healer gets home okay as ships arrive.