.

Chapter 6

Interior

XxXxXxXxX

After dealing with Grand General Budo, the sniper of the Night Raid began to pick off the Imperial troops that line the walls. She glanced back and saw the Army surging forward, making steady progress despite the mighty opposition, but with the Grand General dealt with so early in the war, that definitely put a damper on the Empire's morale.

Still, they had some fight in them and Mine took great pleasure blasting whoever foolish enough to stick their head out.

Mine fired rounds after rounds, taking out snipers and gunners, but she wanted to save her fight for the copycats that would pour out when things got out of hand.

Which led her to start firing through the ramparts, enticing many many fearful cries and screams from the Empire troops, she fired again and again, akin to warning shots until she noticed several catapults loaded with a sinister weapon: the Rolling Teeth.

"No…"

As a child she saw what kind of weapons it could havoc, she saw towns completely overrun with just a few sent in your general direction. Growling, she took aim and began to fire, she knew she couldn't prevent all the Rolling Teeth but at the very least she would spare the Army troops on her own side. She blew several projectiles out of the air and the catapults, but to her dismay the Empire were frantically and desperately chucking the fuckers out so quickly even with her turrets she couldn't nail them all.

"FUCK! QUIT CHUC—!?"

Mine was knocked off her feet, even as she let loose a barrage at a distant Rolling Teeth, she heard a despicable laugh before she was kicked in the armored ribs, the turrets fired only to be punched into pieces.

"You lil tin can bitch! Ruining my fun? Not any more!"

Mine rolled as the kick missed her, even armored the kick from the copycat definitely left her ribs bruised. She rolled to her feet and dodged a sucker punch by the copycat, a male soldier, grinning at her like Syura with ice capped fists.

"C'mere—!?"

"FUCK. OFF."

Mine didn't waste time, Pumpkin glowed and morphed expanding it's barrel before firing small pellets in a wide hit box, resulting with the copycat strewn all over the ground, some traveling a distance off, she hoped it didn't incur friendly fire. She glance at the corpse, ice raced over the corpse but Mine didn't wait and blasted it again.

Blood poured out of the holes she made, she cocked Pumpkin again and fired

Just as the corpse leapt at her, blowing it's face apart, sending bone fragments, blood and brains all over itself. It gurgled at her, clawing and she stood aside as it fell over itself, clutching at the ground.

Mine glared at it before resuming fire, but with one copycat dead she could already feel the sinister chill that they brought and she verbally cursed when a trio showed up, licking their bloody frost tipped knuckles. There wasn't any talking or petty banter, Mine just threw herself at the copycats as they rushed her, making ice weapons and hammering into her metal frame especially the turrets, knocking two out of commission; she spun, kicking and punching them into the ground.

Seeing the opprotunity she let loose a her devastating blasts, sending bloody chunks all over the battlefield; the copycats did not rise again, their blood soaking the ground. Mine frowned, that was…too easy.

Regardless she took a moment to catch her breath before observing the wall, she began moving north of the perimeter of the wall, seeing as majority of the troops fled there, leaving the rubble of the wall she had made at the start of the war. A few brave troops were still taking futile potshots at her and she retaliated with her own being more effective as the body count rose every time a foolish soldier tried.

"Better thin the numbers—."

Mine felt the ground underneath her ripple; nearly causing her to trip over, a blast of killer intent exploded behind her and she spun to see smoke rising against the wall. Even at a distance, she could make out the Grand General beneath a dark cloud.

Budo was seething around a dust cloud and had begun to send shockwaves towards the troops, not only slowing them down but sending morale plummeting as one of the major obstacles had not been taken care of.

The troops that led her away cheered, cackling and jeering at her, Mine felt her cheeks flush and her blood boil as she was duped by them. Not intentionally, but they took credit for it anyways. Mine snarled and charged the modified Pumpkin, she didn't like her temper getting the better of her but the troops definitely didn't make it any easier.

But after turning them into a puddle of melted flesh, marrow and innards she felt a lot better.

Mine ran full speed at the Grand General, Pumpkin had overheated and her turrets were still being reconstructed so she had to deal with Budo with a pair of pistols she fashioned out of the turrets that wasn't destroyed by the copycats. The shots definitely got the general's attention, her head shots were perfect, hitting the mark and staining the ground with brain matter.

Budo's personal copycats had finally arrived and took the lethal shots instead.

Mine cursed as Budo thundered forward, "There you are, rebel bitch! I'll repay you a thousand fold for your cowardly tactics!"

The gunner rapid fire at the speeding general who scooped up the ground and used the slabs of earth to protect himself from the shots, Mine leapt over the bulldozer that was Budo and fired at him above and behind as she landed.

Again the copycats protected him from the lethal shots, Mine spun and kicked the other one into the ground and blasted his head off. She had to keep Budo occupied while the rest of the Army breach the walls, the Grand General alone could lay waste to the Army forces on the East so she had to take him out or buy time.

Budo rounded to her as he was flanked by 10 copycats, she braced herself for one hell of a fight.

[Earlier]

Esdeath grunted as she crashed against the rampart walls, Syura flipped her off before vanishing again through the portal. She stabbed her sword into the wall, frustrated that she committed such an amateur mistake, fuck…so damn used to using my Imperial Arms to get me out of jams…next time I might not be so lucky…

She glanced up and saw several bug eyed soldiers looking down at her, she rolled her eyes before throwing ice shards and watched the bodies fall from the amazing height. She paused seeing a massive amount of rubble at the base of the wall then glanced at the Army's artillery, it was a pathetic display.

Projectile fouled the air and many were shot down by the opposing side, though stray ones managed to pass through the barrage, but it was a matter of time before they ran out of things to throw at each other. Had she been in full power she could bombard the Capital and the Army at the same time for days until nothing was left but a new land covered in ice and corpses. She glanced up again and saw soldiers again, this time they pointed their rifles at her, Esdeath pushed herself off the wall and flipped, throwing ice shards overhand and underhand and watched more bodies hit the hard ground below.

She shot a pile of thick fluffy snow to land on before making as many ice shards as possible, hoping to start cracking the walls with very precise ice chisels. The moment the chisels flew and slammed into the wall in a vertical line, the rubble underneath rocked and she paused before the pieces flew hundreds of feet into the air, she scoffed at the sight of Budo casually dusting himself.

"Sleeping on the job, Grand General." Esdeath mocked, although the Lightning Geezer looked uninjured he definitely looked grumpy from sleeping with a couple tons of wall fragments on top of him.

Esdeath smirked as Budo exhaled like a bull, trying to catch his breath as she made herself an ice shard and casually toyed with it before throwing it for Budo's head, hoping to crack his head like an egg.

She sighed as Budo caught it without looking and crushed it, a blast of killer intent radiated off him and she smirked.

Budo managed to survive the repeated attacks of the Night Raid and the Revolutionary Army and whether she liked it or not, she was incredibly impressed with the man's tenacity and dedication to the Empire.

"I hope you still got some fight in you, Budo. I want my turn throwing you around the battlefield."

"Shut your cunt mouth, traitor. You may have been 'the Empire's Strongest' in the past, but you're nothing now."

The Ice General grinned evilly at him as she pointed her blade at him, "I made war without my Imperial Arms, fighting you won't be any different, geezer."

Esdeath lunged forward as Budo roared, bringing down his fist and sending a massive shockwave that sent debris and chunks of ruptured earth at her direction. She easily leapt over the attack before pivoting on a jutting rock and swung with her entire body weight delivering a lethal backhand cut at the general.

When her blade cut air she dived away, Budo came crashing down from the sky, fully intending to smashing her brains out. Without hesitation he tackled the general to the ground, Esdeath threw a sheet of ice on the ground just in time to slide away as Budo formed an electrical lance to spear her with.

"Die traitor!"

The spear electrified everything in a 100 feet radius. Esdeath sent herself upwards via ice pillar to avoid being electrocuted, she flipped in the air and chucked an ice shard breaking the ice pillar before another sent it spinning at Budo.

The general smashed the ice to bits and crackled with electricity as Esdeath regained her footing, "This Empire is stability for these lands, you have no idea how brutal life was before the Empire was formed, you would destroy countless years of effort, sacrifice and time for your petty ideals. Hmph, well, their not even your ideals, right Esdeath? You just want dick from a prepubescent boy!"

Esdeath smiled at him with all her ugly fury.

"Wrong Budo, I'm going to level this place not because of ideals, stability, justice or Tatsumi…no, it's quite simple: I WANT REVENGE. Whatever happens after the snow settles won't mean a fucking thing to your corpse. I'm going to raise you high upon the palace, Budo, Partas style."

Budo glowered at her as storm clouds began to swirl above them, "For the Empire."

Esdeath shot forward, ice cascading down her long legs and onto the ground using them to quicken her approach as Budo's pistons cocked itself and glowed bright blue. The general made ice shards and threw them, hoping to lodge one into Budo's thick skull, but the moment the pistons crashed out, she cursed and covered herself in ice only to have it rupture and the air around her screamed.

THUNDER GOD JUDGEMENT: SHOCKWAVE

Whatever caught in the blast was smeared all over the fractured wall.
And the ground.

Budo then turned to face the Army.

The war was inevitable.

The Prime Minister looked on from the safety of the palace grounds as all around him was sounds of explosions, panic and conflict. It was enough to give him a terrible ulcer, he tried in vain to stop the child Emperor from panicking and demanding all sorts of counter measures against the march of rebels, many of which only a child could think of.

"Use an Imperial Arms to wipe them out! Isn't there something like that? Right? RIGHT!?"

"You said they couldn't have that much support!"

"They have that monster dragon rebel don't they!?"

"What if they poison the food!? The water!? The air!?"

"What did my parents do when there was trouble?!"

"Why is this happening?!"

"My Empire!"

The Prime Minister grind his teeth at the thought, this is MY fucking EMPIRE, piece of shit brat! Everything that it is now, is because I cultivated it from the ground up! I made it possible to slew enemies of the state with impunity, killed any rebellion or resistance! Fund expedition and exploration for Imperial Arms only to have your fucking parents squander it! No vision or ambition for the future! If they stayed in power any longer the Empire would be in a fraction of its size! Making sure the economy is healthy? Keeping your subjects happy? THEY SHOULD BE FUCKING GRATEFUL THAT THEY LIVE UNDER THE SHADOW OF THE EMPIRE! I HAVE BROUGHT ORDER AND STABILITY TO THE WILD UNTAME AND UNWASHED LANDS BEYOND THE CAPITAL!

So what if thousands of nameless and faceless nobodies grease the wheel of prosperity? What matters is that the ones who made it possible benefits from their hard work and toil for however long they can milk it!

Honest thought fondly of his past exploits, grinning and fanning himself as he blushed at fonder memories than the present ones, licking his greasy lips. He was snapped out of it when an explosion erupted in the Interior of the Capital, the echoing boom reached the Palace.

A distinct cry rattled his nerves once again.

Fucking spineless brat…

It would have been easier to kill the brat with his parents, but the Empire's people and Budo would have definitely revolt at the idea, he was the previous Emperor's advisor; him usurping into the throne would have had his head cleaved off in a second. The boy was his ticket to untold power and debauchery; he was not disappointed, with all the years he sat comfortably at the brat's side he amassed quite a fortune in every form possible.

Money.
Power.
Authority.
Treasures.
Sexual pleasures.
Dominion over countless people.

Nothing was ever beyond his reach. He could obtain it with impunity and his devout followers partake in crumbs of indulgence of flesh and debauchery.

Now…his paradise was endangered by self-righteous fuckers who didn't have the guts to do what was necessary, too lazy to make their way in the world and cling to more self-righteous deluded fools so that when they threw away their lives they can think it made some sort of difference in the world.

In reality it amounted to shit.
Utter shite.

The echoing sounds of battle did worry the Prime Minister some.
Thankfully, his son, the copycats and some trump cards would level the field.

And in the off chance it didn't.

He could always make a discreet getaway.

[Capital Interior]

"OH FUCK!"

Lubbock smashed through a window headfirst, feeling the glass shards cut into his face before tumbling onto the wooden floor, the wire master scrambled to his feet, pulling his wire whip to a neat coil, ready to lash it out at the corpse.

Seeing no undead captain, he cursed at being teleported away from Najenda.

He wiped his face gingerly, flecking off the minute shards that bled his face, he looked around the room for a moment before realizing the undead captain had likely just separated him and the Boss, taking away her Imperial Arms wielding bodyguards: Esdeath and himself.

Lubbock yelled when the ceiling suddenly caved in as a slab of rock tore right through, the floor gave and Lubbock hastily threw the whip at the impromptu opening and pulled himself topside. The wire master took stock of where he was: the interior of the Capital. The Raider was behind enemy lines cut off from the Army's main body, Lubbock felt his senses on edge as he quickly sidestep and leapt to the next building, the house he stood on exploded from another lobbed explosive.

"Hey! Quit running ya little fucker!" Syura taunted as he landed on the adjacent building, he grinned as Lubbock stared him down, "What bitch? Cat got ya tongue?"

Syura howled in pain when the whip suddenly got him across the face without him realizing or even when Lubbock's hand moved to send the whip flying. The corpse hurriedly jumped through a portal to avoid Lubbock's follow up attacks, the Night Raider glared at the spot where the corpse had fled, unable to keep his anger and frustration in check; he roared,

"YOU DICKLESS COWARD!"

Lubbock huffed before sending his whip flying, dislodging chimney stacks or ceramic flower pots at marching Imperial troops, likely reinforcement before he made for the Capital's wall, hoping to scale it and head back to the boss. He quicken his pace when he felt an familiar explosive tremor, his thoughts turned almost frantic, hoping it wasn't what he was thinking, he threw his whip and swung himself to higher buildings until the wall was in view.

Lubbock choked at what he saw.

A fist.
Clocking him and feeling his nose crack.

The wire master reeled back before two hands grabbed his jacket and a knee found his gut, Lubbcok gasped before being thrown across the rooftops and smashing into shillings.

"You got a lot of nerve screaming in the middle of the Capital, ya know that's disturbing the peace!" Syura lectured the wheezing Night Raider, "And while you're on your back, why don't you take a dirt nap? My father's Empire will wipe your motley rebels beneath his heel!"

Lubbock pushed himself up, wiping his chin and face, smearing blood across it, Syura's disgusting smile and recurring presence no matter how many times he was felled made Lubbock livid beyond imagining. He spared a glance at the wall, the troops stationed there were taking a beating but they were definitely dishing it back, they weren't completely on the defensive as troops were geared for close quarters combat. The wire master sidestep on instinct as Syura tried to clobber him again, this time with a fist studded with ice spikes.

Pulling out his knives, Lubbock stared down his hated adversary.

Syura gave him a cocky smirk, "Finally, a little one-on-one fight with yours truly~ ready to shit your pants bitch?"

"Eat shit and die, fucker!"

The two slammed into one another, Syura opened his mouth and ice needles spew forth, Lubbock spun away before chucking his knives but it was easily deflected. Syura grinned before glancing back then he laughed loudly, "Oh, look some my copycats wants to play!"

Lubbock growled and chucked more knives, Syura grinned and leapt away, seeing wires tied to each knife.

"Little bitch boy, you better stop that before I break your puny neck!"

The wire master pulled his knives back got ready to contend with the swarming copycats, there had to be at least a dozen of them, all foaming at the mouth and ready to rend him to pieces with their ice weapons.

He made himself some razor-wire trap balls hoping to thin out the numbers.

Syura hung back, content with the Night Raider to tire himself out before coming in with a surprise attack.

Lubbock prepared himself for the worst as the copycats were mere feet away, he gave his war cry as he unfurled his wire whip and lashed two down. He got ready to throw the wire traps when the copycats completely disregard him and ran past him, all of them lunging for the walls.

The Raider turned his attention back to the two he struck and they roared at him,

"BLOOD!"
"BLEED FOR US!"

He tossed the razor-wire traps and leapt away as it rapidly unwind bone splitting wires tore through the two copycats. Ice cocoons sprung over their corpses and Lubbock was having none of that and he lashed them, kicking over the contents over the rooftops and leaving a bloody print on the ground below.

Lubbock spun to Syura who was looking at the sky, his eyes pried open and only showing white, he was speaking gibberish to himself. The Night Raider didn't know nor cared what he was on about so he took the opportunity and whipped Syura sending him flying back.

The corpse laid on the rooftop spread eagle, still not registering that he was struck.

Lubbock wasn't at all fazed, if the corpse was just going to take the hits, that was fine by him. He readied to lash Syura again before he sprung to his feet as if he had an epiphany, he was promptly sent on his ass again, his face split.

"I…I understand now! What this Danger Beast wants! All along…I was—!" blood spitting everywhere.

"SHUT UP AND DIE!"

Syura gagged as the whip cut open his throat he snarled and sent ice shards at Lubbock but he deftly broke them apart with his whip. Syura looked around before giving a guttural grunts and roars, echoing across the interior, it sounded…inhuman, something no human should be able to do even if they were reanimated by the insane Demon Extract.

The roars were loud and beastial, not caring if Lubbock lashed over and over again, spraying coquagulated blood all over the rooftops. Syura gave an epic crescendo before Lubbock struck him again but this time wrapping around his throat and letting him gurgle in his blood.

"SHUT UP ALREADY!"

Syura grabbed the whip cord and pulled, Lubbock flexed but he was pulled towards the undead captain nonetheless, seeing a fistful of ice, Lubbock flipped over Syura and tangled him in more wires and swung as hard as he could. Syura roared as he pulled back and the wires tore into him while Lubbock hoped his hands wouldn't be torn off.

"GRRR! FUCKIN' LITTLE SHIT!"
"EMPIRE CUNT!"

Lubbock flopped forward and he rolled to the side as Syura teleported and appeared above him, driving his foot through the rooftop. The Raider got to his feet before he spun away, with one hand he threw and tangled his wires all over Syura's Imperial Arms and arm, the undead captain grunted and pulled back just as Lubbock's sly fingers wormed wires into the mechanism.

The result was the Imperial Arms clicking without activation.

Syura tore his eyes away from Raider for one crucial second and looked at his escape route. Lubbock with one hand disabling the teleporter; he used his free hand wrapped in wires, punch the corpse harder than he believed possible, breaking his fingers but managing to put his best wires into the undead that quickly wrapped around his internal organs and spinal cord.

Syura screamed in surprise, working through the pain Lubbock pulled his hand out and unsheathe one of his knives and stabbed Syura in the eye. Then it was Lubbock's turn to hold back a scream when the head split down the middle and a shapeless mass of blood lashed out at him.

YOU DARE STRIKE ME—!

Lubbock now stuck to the corpse narrowly dodged the flailing blood mass.

The corpse began to break and shed allowing more of the blood to ooze out, but with all the moving the wires inside of the Imperial Arms slack and it clicked.

Clicking erratically.

Without warning the two were pulled and tossed across the Capital as Shambhala teleported them without warning.

Lubbock blinked seeing Esdeath for a moment as he and the corpse crashed into her before they warped, the sound of explosion seemingly chasing them as they escaped.

The wire master grunted as he and the corpse smashed against buildings, Esdeath fell below before they were warped again; they were flailing in the air, Lubbock tried to concentrate the best he could.

They were in the battlefield.
They were in the market district.
The two colliding into a window.

Lubbock yanked himself closer to the corpse as a flaming rock slab nearly splatter him in midair. Before kicking the rabid corpse away.

Rooftops.
Cobblestone streets.
Living rooms.

Lubbock roared in confusion as they seemingly materialize within Imperial and Army ranks, taking unfortunate soldiers along. He watched in regret as the poor rebels died from a 1000 feet fall. He laughed otherwise when it was Empire soldiers.

The corpse wasn't having a grand time, it roared and tried to sever the wires. When that didn't work it tried to tear its arm off, Lubbock stabbed the corpse again but it swung away just as they teleported again.

Lubbock grunted feeling something slash his back. He spared a glance behind him and saw a terrified Leone. The corpse snarled forcing Lubbock to face it before they warped again, leaving Leone to collide into a bookshelf.

Lubbock tried to yell a warning to Tatsumi as they warped behind him and teleporting elsewhere.
He did the same for Akame but it was too late as they crashed into her and teleporting her somewhere. Wave vanishing as well.

The corpse had enough and tried to crush Shambhala, the Raider snarled and he too tried to break free, he unintentionally relocated his friends from the place they needed to be. This mishap also separated him from Najenda, leaving her with just regular guards.

The two's struggling finally got the Imperial Arms to reach its limit, it glowed hot red and began to smoke.

FUCK!

Before Lubbock could unravel his wires that managed to get all over his arm, Syura with monstrous strength yanked on the wires, breaking the wire master's fingers and extension his wrist. The Raider howled in pain as his finger contorted and bones splintered, his skin split and blood spurted, his flesh being minced.

Nearly fainting from the pain, Lubbock wrapped what little wires he had left above his broken limb and amputated himself free. He stumbled back and fell, just as the wires slack for Syura as well, the corpse readied to throw it

And it detonated.
Blowing apart the corpse.

Lubbock was thrashed across the ground, he raised himself pale face and dimly surveyed the damage.
He saw blood and mangled pieces of the corpse everywhere, the disembodied head of Syura looking at him a few feet away.
He didn't have the strength to be delighted as he numbly tourniquet his missing arm.

He flinched when he finished when the head spoke up,

YOUR END…HAS BEGUN…

Lubbock didn't have time to decipher what it meant before he blacked out.

XxXxXxXxX

Now everything makes sense.
Just a recap where the Raiders are:

Mine is still at the West Wall with Budo, Najenda still there.
Leone is somewhere in the Palace.
Tatsumi + Akame in the North Wall.
Esdeath in the Interior.
Wave is...somewhere.

All courtesy of Lubbock.

Whew. Much thanks to the avid readers still reading this fanfic, I know my current track record isn't the best when it comes to speedy updates but thank you all for sticking with me. Hiatus man...they suck.

Ciao,
I AM NRG

END OF TRANSMISSION