Target Acquired
[[ Usual NSFW tag. Language and Violence below the ‘Keep Reading’ line! Part Nine (finally) of the series of stories that @macelongclaw and I have been writing together!]]
Most of the week had been spent looking through the black and white haze of night vision goggles, infiltrating demon holdings and snuffing out traitors to get to their main target. Information hadn’t been drawn out of these traitors easily, and most wouldn’t give up much. Luckily, a location was finally confirmed deep in the Antoran Wastes. They had been there several times, going back and forth between there and Krokuun on some wild fucking goose chase. It seemed now, though, that Agent Seven was convinced the last traitor they took down was finally telling the truth.
Dusts of the wasted plains they walked upon caked against their armor, Sable finding herself thankful these people didn’t know who she was. They all smelled like assholes, and she was no exception. Baths were simply not a privilege one could partake in often enough, and she would be glad to find herself home for that fact alone. A goddamn bath.
Their backs were pressed against the outside of a cave wall, the entrance dark and from here it looked uninhabited. A frustrated sigh escaped from the assassin’s lips, her concealed eyes burning towards her leader. “You sure this is the right fuckin’ place, Seven? Looks like another dead end.” she huffed out, turning to take a quick peak into the depths of the darkened cavern.
“I am more than sure. What we did to the last one ensured truth, Twelve. Fret not, we shall chase them no longa.” Seven laughed out. It made Sable’s nerves grate for a moment, but soon found them soothed by his usual light outtake on everything. Dreadlocks shifted softly as he turned to the other agents. “Three, Eight, Ten.. You shall pick the rear. Twelve and I shall head in first. We are all we have now to complete this mission. Any more casualties is absolutely unacceptable. I do not know who you are, but we all have lives outside of these masks and missions. We must ensure the rest of us get back to them. Now let us show the Burning Legion who the Uncrowned is. Yes?” Still he was grinning behind his mask, pulling not his blades, but an anti-magic grenade. Those fucking things had been their saviors against the fel magic of their foes since they arrived... and this, Sable was sure, was nearing their last one and resupply was not an option.
They had already been on Argus three days longer than expected, their particular mission supposing to have been in, out and done. However, as usual, that was NEVER the case. Sable knew, and Seven knew they were sent here to die, and they were so far down seven agents from when they arrived. She shook those thoughts from her head then, taking another peak around the cave entrance. “S’get this shit over with.” she grumbled out, unsheathing her weapons and fading into the darkness around her in a swirl of shadow and distorted light. She knew they had this one last chance to finish this mission. When that grenade went off, they would no longer be able to use their abilities and the window of opportunity to take down their target was more than limited. Seconds.. they had seconds.. Just like that last ones. But, this one was stronger and would be a challenge -without- magic. Once she and Seven were inside, the others carefully followed.
Three, Eight, and Ten carefully placed bombs all around the entrance. A back up plan had to be made if they couldn’t kill the thing like they planned. Sable and Seven held the detonators. It would take all of them down, but if that was their last option, then so be it. More bombs were placed along the walls as they continued on through the cave. No signs of life were to be found and it was dreadfully silent.
Not a word was shared among them as they continued on, only signals given by Sable and Seven to follow or head a different direction. It seemed like the cave went on forever. Silent were their footsteps, not even a pebble crunched beneath the leathers covering their feet. Sable’s eyes were ahead of her, blades drawn up in a defensive position.. just in case. Nothing.. she saw nothing, and neither did the others. She knew they were a good mile into the cave now, the air heavier and colder. Suddenly, she halted and held her hand up, motioning to the gas-like masks attached to their belts. She lifted hers, and strapped it around the lower half of her face, directly over the cloth that covered it already. At that moment, she was thankful for gnomes, the masks attached to small oxygen tanks upon their backs, should they need it. Either way, it filtered out the smells around them, giving them cleaner air to breath for the time being.
It was then they not only saw it, but heard it right ahead of them. A burst of fel fire and a loud laugh as other voices screamed. “Your souls will provide well for this portal!” The voice was deep and monstrous, as if belonging to the Pit Lords they had seen others out on the field taking down... Those that were in more numbers than they were. “Fuck...” Sable whispered out. This was NOT what they were expecting. A demon sure.. but not of this caliber. They had no time to waste now. They remained cloaked and their feet started moving faster, now at a swift sprint.
From his hand, Seven lobbed the anti-magic grenade into the room that horrid voice echoed from, just off to the side of the main cavern. He closed his eyes behind his goggles and softly counted down. “3, 2, 1..” his voice was naught but a whisper and then....
BOOM!
The explosion was set off! A thundering roar followed as the last human life in the room choked out at the same time. “NOW!” Seven exclaimed, all the agents filtering in with weapons drawn. Three and Eight held pistols. Seven, Ten, and Sable all had blades of varying length and style. The sound of gunfire quickly filled the room, hitting true. First an eye was put out. Several exploded inside the gut of the thing.
Sable was nearly awestruck at the size of the thing, and how tall the fucking ceiling in the cave was. How deep in the fucking mountain side were they? She didn’t know and right now she didn’t have time to ponder and care about it. Quick on her feet, she moved along with Seven and Ten. The two women made a leap in the air about a foot from the demon, swinging his arms about and howling in the pain caused by his injuries. “I WILL END YOU! YOU THINK STOPPING ME WILL STOP WHAT IS COMING!?” he bellowed out.
“Nah, bitch.. But a dead demon is a fuckin’ good demon.” Sable retorted, telling herself that could have been more clever. Whatever. She was right in his face, her daggers digging into his neck, on the front, Ten’s from the back. Seven was moving about like a shadow in the room, appearing from first one place and then the other. It seemed at first as if he was doing nothing to harm the demon, but when he came to a stop, blackened blood began to ooze from all over it from various gashes he had created. He had severed tendons on the backs of its legs, causing the beast to be unable to stand.
Quickly, Sable and Ten jumped from their positions, pulling their daggers as blood shot from the wounds they created. All the demon could do now was howl and spit curses at them as it crashed to the ground. They could all feel the anti-magic field dampening, the only way that Seven was able to move like that. It wouldn’t be long before the demon was on his feet again.
“OUT! NOW!” Seven shouted and they made no qualms in taking off at a dead run towards the entrance of the cave. “We will have to detonate on the way out! I hope you set up the bombs correctly!” He cackled out, still running. He was still trying to keep their hopes up, knowing they would all die in here with one simple bomb out of place. Another roar echoed behind them, filling the cavern. Behind them began to feel hot, the heat rising in unnatural volumes.
Fel fire bit at their heals, and if it kept moving at this rapidity, they would not need to detonate the bombs. The fire would do that for them. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Sable screamed as she felt the skin on the back of her leg burn through the resistant material of her suit. She couldn’t slow down, none of them could. They kept running for what seemed like hours, their bodies threatening to give out, though it had only been minutes.
“We are nea’ly there!” Seven assured them, “Keep running, agents! That is an orda!” And still they ran, making their half way mark as more fire licked at the backs of them. The first bomb nearly twenty feet behind them now set off, sending shrapnel and debris at them. A few of them were hit, but they didn’t stop, or slow, sheer adrenaline carrying their feet now. The light of the outside appeared ahead of them as a small tiny pin pricked hole. Almost.. just a few more minutes. Keep running. Keep running. Sable, keep running, she told herself, fatigue starting to set in as blood began pooling down into her boot from a wound she couldn’t even feel, let alone know where it was.
The explosions continued to follow them, showering them with falling debris and constantly shaking their footing. They were stumbling by the point they reached the entrance, and most of them kept running. Sable stopped for one, brief,and single moment to catch her breath, leaning over with her hands on her knees. She was bleeding from... somewhere, pain wracking her entire body by this point, making it hard to pinpoint it. She closed her eyes a moment and then...
WOOSH! CRACK! BOOM!
She was blown forward harshly, twisted about in the blast, feeling more shrapnel and rocky debris bite into her skin. She heard the cry of her call-sign hit the air in panic and desperation. But.. still she had the strength to stand, her shaking hand moving up to her face, her vision was blurred and she had heard something crack and break. When she moved her hand away from her eye, blood decorated her gloved fingertips. She couldn’t see it, but it appeared she was covered in crimson, glistening against the black leather she wore. “S..Seven?” she murmured out, as he stood horrified, looking at her.
A large piece of shrapnel was sticking OUT of her eye, the other part stabbed into it through the goggle lens. Seven’s breath was heaving in his chest and he screamed loudly as she then fell to the ground.
She couldn’t hear him screaming, screaming out her -actual- name. They knew each other. And only they knew of the other’s true names.
Everything, then.. just faded away.
... to be continued.
