Lykaios & Yuffie

[Lykaios]

Agni barely escaped her attacks, and moved to rip into her soft underbelly as she up-ended herself, before he landed. But neither of them attacked the other successfully; they barely grazed one another.The most unfortunate side-effect, however; was that both of them left the encounter with injured Zoids. Agni growled low in his throat, aching to finish this fight once and for all. But was met with disappointment as her commander issued the order to retreat, and even more when she complied - albeit regrettably - with his command. Agni bellowed with pent up frustration as she retreated and escaped, while Agni and Night struggled to rise up to Night's full height. Night roared in anger or pain, his cockpit nearly crushed; glass falling onto Agni in rain. Agni howled as glass struck the right side of his face, shrapnel tearing a gash down his right cheek, from beside his eye, and another piece tearing through the flesh of his eyelid. Howling in pain from that, Agni's right eye remained closed, yet blood still clotted his vision, the damage intense enough to nearly ruin his vision. Night roared again; the damage to the Zoid near unbearable for Agni to imagine of his closest friend. The fight was finished for now, and Hunter was feeling put-out. She'd killed his father, and then retreated, before he could exact his revenge.

"Come back here, you selfish bitch!" he roared in frustration after her. But it was far too late.

-----------------------------------

He awoke with a start, sweat beading on his head, shoulders and chest. The nightmare was too frequently visited to be unknown to him, but every time he suffered the dream, he always woke feeling like shit. It was mid-afternoon, but he'd needed to rest, having been up all night planning the heist. Mercia had kept watch, so when his comrades came to question him further on his plan, she had the task of declining them, so he could be rested for what he would have to do tonight. When he had the chance to collect his thoughts, he sat upright over the side of his cot, his head in his hands. The dream always haunted him, as did the girls face, whenever he shut his eyes. Two years ago, she'd left his village with her - figurative - tail between her legs, and he'd gone berserk with rage and sadness. It was nearly a month before the townspeople saw him again, without a distant look of torment in his gaze. In the month after his fathers death, he'd been unapproachable, even his sister Mercia hadn't been able to get through to him, and the funeral had driven him mad enough, to be removed for his cries of agony and hatred. The villagers were deeply moved, and yet, strikingly uncomfortable around him at the time. They felt his loss as painfully as he did; every echo of sadness and anger in his cries were amplified by the shared feelings of loss the entire village possessed. Rodrigo Dalgaard had been a friend to them all, always helpful and cheerful. His time in the hospital had shown him that his son and daughter were gems, that needed to be shown off. Everyone had loved the Dalgaard family; and two years ago, a third of the family was killed, another third destroyed with madness, and the last third terrified of what her brother would end up doing.

Now, Agni's only thoughts surrounded protecting his own, advancing his team, and sticking it to those filthy Imperialists wherever he found a possible chink in their collective armour. Agni Iacchus Dalgaard was the son of a rebel sympathiser, and since his fathers death at the hands of the Imperials, he was a rebel contingent in himself; finding the ability to ruin an Imperial squads days single-handedly. Though, in two years, he'd never once seen that girl again. Night, his faithful Shadowfox needed payback for the damage her Ixion-Wing had bestowed upon him, and Hunter needed to live up to his nick-name; and hunt that bitch down. He rose slowly, and moved towards the basin in his room, washing his face free of sweat. He would have a shower soon, but first he had to show his team he was in the game. And that started by showing Mercia he was okay. Her worries constantly grew, as he did more and more reckless jobs. Opening the door to his room, he found her waiting outside, still denying his companions entry, when he heard one shout out, after seeing him before Mercia did.

"'ey Dalgaard sir! I think that you might want to hear this..." with that, the man closed distance with him, and he raised a hand to stop him. Not focusing on the man at the moment, he looked to his sister, now facing him with worry on her features, and gave her a sly wink and a gentle thumbs-up. She frowned, and let them be.

"What do you possibly have of interest right now, Xshu?" Agni asked, and signalled the overly-enthusiastic young man to sit. Xshu responded quickly, retelling the story as it happened, and gave Agni a brief description of the girl the bar-tender had spoken too. Agni's vision went red. It was her, back to haunt him in the flesh this time. And she wasn't going to leave without a proper welcome from him.

"Are you sure she said she wasn't Imperial?"
"Positive, sir..."
"The bitch is lying. Have her followed. Now!" he roared, the anger searing his mind. This time she wouldn't get away.

The moment the young man had left, Mercia came inside, and knew the hungry look in his eyes. He'd found their fathers killer, finally. And now he'd repay it in her blood. Her face was impassive, though he knew she'd be thinking of how to talk him out of it. It was far too late, however. She'd signed her own death penalty murdering his father. But he had to keep control, for now. He still had a mission to accomplish tonight, and if he wanted a better chance at her with her Dragon Zoid, unfortunately, Night wouldn't hack it. And he and his associates had plans to nab him a brand spanking new Zoid. An Imperial Zoid, no less.

"Mercia, send Rai and Tank in. It's time to finalise our plans, and I need to know if that outpost has had any changes in the last twelve hours. Less, if possible."
"Of course, brother...but you have to promise me you won't get hurt."
"I won't. You know I won't." he responded.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

AS Night began to fall, the near-invisible shape of the dark-painted zoid crept slowly over the ridge of the canyon, peering down at the compound full of imperial soldiers below. And there it was. The Geno Saurer. It was a fantastic sight, the perfectly clean black paint glittering in the electric white glow of the flood lights, red eyes blank in its rest, inactive for now. She had to admit, she was a little jealous...but she had no need of an idiot zoid like that...not when she had her Ixion wing...

"you ready, Sora?" she whispered, placing a gentle hand on the console, as if petting a faithful, beloved dog.
'READY TO COMMENCE OPERATION/' the digital letters appeared, the zoid crouching low, waiting for its orders. But they never came...her eyes -or eye, rather- were no longer fixed on the base below, but a tiny glint in the canyon to her right flank, below her. Thankfully her zoid's radar jammer and midnight-coloured paint blurred out her outline in the darkness of the night, and the zoid had gone to night vision mode, so only the most unnoticeable of infa-red backlights filtered through the thick green glass of its eyes, as it turned its gaze to see what its pilot had spotted in the dark...

Her heart froze...in all her days since that fateful day 2 years prior that had sealed her fate as a murderer and served as a constant torture to her mind, she had never thought she would see it again...the day she'd mercilessly murdered and innocent man who had only been protecting his home...how misguided she had been then. But what stood in her zoid's vision now brought it all back in painfully vivid colour; it was the very same Shadowfox zoid from that desert town, crouching low in the darkness to let its pilot out for some reason. It then clicked what they were doing...the boy, Dalgaard, was trying to get into the base she had also been intent on invading, but she could tell it was likely not for the same reason. Despite her better judgement -and Sora, her zoid- telling her not to, she turned her attention away from the imperial outpost and crept her zoid back from the ledge, to slink down over the canyon wall and up behind the group of men, only then did she deactivate her radar jammer, her zoid lowering itself and sitting back on its metallic haunches to be sure they would not take its presence as a threat, thought it was likely for naught, given who they were confronting.
She did not say a word, only waited for the man's response, ever hopeful he would accept her yield and allow her to speak.
'after those two long years...it is as if the gods themselves have seen fit to show mercy to my bloodstained soul and give me a chance to make amends with Dalgaard's son...' she mused to herself, trying not to let the hopeful tears spill that she could feel prickling her eyes. She made no move and spoke no word, but her zoid's eyes were fixed squarely on the man in question...just its posture and the silence of its pilot should have been enough to indicate that she was waiting for something from him.

[Lykaios]

Agni had his two closest comrades ushered into his meeting room; his dining room from his own small little place he and his sister shared. Rai and Tank were his two best supporters in the field, in Zoid's. They could trust each other with their lives, but they all knew only three Zoid's would be going out into the field tonight. This raid, was strictly Agni's idea, and Tank was the muscle for the operation. If things went south; Tank would start up his Zoid, and begin to distract their adversaries, while Rai would extract Hunter. This was a monumentous task, and Rai and Tank were just like Mercia: terribly worried that Agni was going to get himself killed doing this, but they were going to back him as best they could, to try and prevent it. He was their unofficial leader; Agni was the strongest link in their chain, and if he died, their tiny army would crumble, and the Imperials would have their way with the village, with nothing to stand against them.

"So, tonight we do this thing. We're all set on our assignments?" Agni asked, to nods in response.
"Good. So the General will be nowhere near his Geno, and I'll have how long?"
"Approximately seven minutes, before the guards get in on their next round." Rai responded coolly, not alluding to his concern at all.
"I only need six." Dalgaard responded confidently.

They both looked at him with exasperation; both knowing he was beyond reproach, much less reconsidering. He'd planned this heist for weeks, and it was going to be his first major play against the Imperials. The move that would tell them there was a new knife in their back. Mercia came in then, giving them all reason to lighten the mood, to not scare her any further than she already was about his plan. But he was beyond reconsidering. He'd made this decision the day of his father's funeral.

She hugged him tightly, and he squeezed back, hoping it wouldn't be the last time he ever saw her. He was going to do his best not to let the worst case scenario, become the way it ended. Because he'd only just started to play with the Imperialist bastards properly. And it wasn't over for him just yet. Letting his little sister go, Agni looked her in the eye.
"What'll I be?" he asked her.
"Back before tomorrow."
"Exactly. So, go stay with Ammy and her parents till I come get you, okay?"
"Okay." she responded slowly, sure he was going to be doing something extraordinarily stupid, very soon.

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Once Agni knew she was safely at Ammy's; Rai, Xshu, Tank and four others set out with him, to begin this insane mission. Everyone knew their parts, and so they all set out to do what they were tasked to do. Only Rai stayed with Agni, as he would be needed to pilot his Shadowfox when he successfully acquired the Geno Saurer; the General's personal Zoid. They'd researched extensively, and knew that the Geno Saurer hadn't been fitted with any prohibitional devices that would restrict who would be able to pilot the Zoid, and that had been why Agni had decided that this particular opportunity was far too good to pass up. He would make the General's Zoid, his own. And whatever damage he and his friends could accomplish upon his escape to the sight, was an even better secondary objective that they could easily accomplish when he'd succeeded with the first.

Rai looked at him, and they nodded to each other, Hunter piloting Night for what could be the last time, but knowing that if he succeeded, adding the Geno Saurer to his arsenal beside Night, would never be able to release the bond he had with his Zoid. Tank and the rest of the crew for this job had already snuck into a safe alcove for their use for this job, earlier in the evening, and now only Rai and Agni had to get there. Agni was in control of Night, and new every in and out of this canyond and the guards patrol routes from their months of spying, so they knew how to sneak into their alcove when the nearest guard was half a klick away. Shadowfox had been his faithful Zoid since he could pilot, and Night wasn't going to become neglected because of a new toy. When they eventually reached the cliff, where Rai would wait in Night, for extraction, the rest of the group who would be waiting within a moment of their own Zoids, prepared to camp till the fun started.

"Wait here, everyone. My earpiece will be in the whole time, so if anyone sees something; let me know straight away. Clear?" he asked the crowd, who all muttered their assent.

Now to bag me a new toy. he thought with a rueful grin. but at that moment, they all heard the tell-tale sounds of a Zoid moving close to them. They all knew there shouldn't be anyone else attending this meeting, let alone this assignment; but another Zoid appeared none-the-less. All less than comfortable, they looked in the direction of this newcomer; dropped low to communicate that it meant no harm to them. But Agni recognised the model; it was an Ixion-Wing. Though, the colour appeared different to the vast majority of the Imperial produced Zoid's, it was still an Imperial Zoid. What was going on?

But then he saw the outline of the pilot, as she - for she was clearly female - stepped out of the cockpit. Once they adjusted to see who she was...when her face became clear to him, his mind struck right back to two years ago. That same face, only younger than now. She looked weathered, but it was still her. The Imperialist bitch who slew his father. Before realising it, he was holding a gun, and Rai and Tank were easing him, trying to stop him from pulling the trigger and giving away their position. They had it tough, but he relented. Knowing the cost his ultimate revenge would bring if he did it within gunshot echo range of the base they were planning on infiltrating.

"Back off, Imperial. My revenge will come to you soon. But I have a job to do right now, and you aren't going to interfere." looking around, he saw his followers surrounding her, guns raised.
"Now, get down from your Zoid without a fuss. Or there'll be a lot more than simple pain, coming for you, bitch." motioning to Xshu, he continued. "Tie this Imperialist bitch up. The leverage just might help, if things go south." he finished, the harshness of his tone and features not at all quelled by his friends.

Coming to him, herself was noble. But he was still going to kill her.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

The girl did not move, still, for a few moments, merely staring at the man she had wronged so deeply. But after a moment, she cooperatively stepped down from her zoid, pulled her pistol from her jacket and emptied the ammunition, tossing it to the ground and holding out upturned wrists to be tied. Still her eyes never left the man fron two years prior. But she no longer stayed silent as they approached her with their guns drawn. "that hardly seems fair...I've dropped my gun, so why don't you drop yours?" her voice was low and held a soft note that hadn't been there two years ago. "they aren't needed, I have no reason to attack you"

As the men glanced around at each other, exchanging confused glances, Rai signalled for all but him to drop their weapons, and so they stood down, though they kept the girl surrounded as Rai approached her to tie her wrists together. He then pulled her over to Agni, though she put up no fight and followed him. As she came closer, her unnaturally sharp eyesight in the one useful eye she had finally was able to make out the details of his face. His entire complexion was sunken and emotionally ill, and across his face ran two very deep scars...scars from glass by the looks of it. It occurred to her that she might have caused them, they looked at least that old and he certainly hadn't had those scars when she first met him. But despite the self-hatred that gnawed at her heart, she did not pull her eyes away, meeting the dark, angry gaze of Dalgaard without hesitation.
"I must correct you, Dalgaard. I am no longer an Imperial war-dog." she said after a short silence. "I will not ask forgiveness of you for taking your father from you, but I must ask that you do not exact your revenge upon me," with that, she pushed Rai's grip from her shoulder and dropped to her knees, so she was looking up at Dalgaard, though her eyes remained locked on his face. "I wish to repent for my crimes as a former Imperial soldier, that is why I came here...I am seeking my former commander. Halvardus, he was the one who lead the attack on your home." she awkwardly shuffled in her pocket for the picture, with her bound hands, holding the image out to Dalgaard. "I seek to end his service as an Imperial commander. I had thought it was the only chance I had to try and clean the stains of the innocents I killed from my hands...but meeting you again has changed that," tears began to well in her eyes as she continued to stare into the pain-filled eyes of the man before her. "I was a child, then...I was raised believing in false truths taught to me by imperial parents...I am not proud of my acts as a brainwashed imperial slave...and I regret taking your family from you. I hated Republican rebels because I believed them responsible for the death of my family...because war took my father and brothers from me and their absence meant my mother's death...I blamed my sorrow and loneliness on innocents trying to find freedom...I realise now that in the end it was the empire who is responsible." she continued to speak, not expecting the man to accept her pleas, but trying anyway. "I defected from the military to join the rebellion. I had thought that perhaps that could help me to repent for my days as an imperial war-dog...but no matter how much I tried, I still felt to blame, so now I have given up on finding forgiveness. The things I have done cannot be forgiven, but I want to try and change myself, to be better than I was then." She paused, then, glancing briefly back at her zoid, as it shifted to look down at the ground, the pistons and wheels in its neck joints giving off a soft whirring as it moved. She then turned back to Dalgaard, her eyes deeply apologetic. "I do not ask for forgiveness...but I offer you my skills as a pilot, and the command over my Zoid. I know that outpost well from time served there, if you will allow me to, I wish to offer my assistance in your mission. It is the only means left for me to make up for my mistakes in my earlier years...to make up for my ignorance." She was beginning to feel anxious, not used to speaking so much or so openly. She preferred the silence of solitude and rarely spoke to anyone but Sora, who couldn't even talk back. But she fought to keep her calm, waiting in silence for Dalgaard's response.

[Lykaios]

Agni was perturbed by her decision to speak, and explain what it was she believed she had done. Dalgaard was concerned that she was telling him this, and furious she expected him to let her stay near to him, to help him? Madness! She took from him and his sister the only family they'd had left. Not expecting forgiveness, but asking to be given a chance to repent? Agni only thought of one way she could repent for her crimes, and it didn't involve her keeping her life. But he would ask for her to 'repent' for her crimes later. Where it would be appreciated by all those she had helped to wrong.

"You don't get a say. You're probably a spy, and they can't act if you haven't given them the intel on what we're doing just yet." he responded in a growl. Rai gave him a look of discomfort and Agni noticed it, raising an eyebrow in response. The pair looked to Xshu, who had taken her weapon and was on the verge of saying something himself. Agni was getting intolerant to their actions, and wanted simple answers. "What?" he demanded.
"I think she's telling you the truth, Hunter." Xshu said, before Rai had the chance.
"And just why do you believe her?"
"Can't you see the earnestness in her eyes, A--Hunter? Her eyes remind me of Mercia; she's terrified, but trying to fix things!" Rai asked, gesturing he look at her in the face.

Agni looked at the girl carefully, studying her. She looked earnest, sure. But it didn't change that she looked and still was, the girl who murdered his father. What they were asking he do, was to look past that. They couldn't begin to imagine how hard that thought was. Oh, but to appease them; God's he was trying. He looked again; trying to see past all his hatred.

She was young, scared and tortured. He saw this as he inspected her gaze, and realised she wasn't much older than Mercia. His gaze defocused, as he stared at her. She was definitely terrified and hopeful. Hopeful of what? Ugh, Agni couldn't handle this. He had a mission to take care of; undetected and unrestricted. He had to steal this Geno Saurer from the general tonight. Exasperatedly, he sighed in admission.

"Marauder, Rider, give us a minute." he asked Rai and Xshu, using their nick names for identity protection. They acquiesced, and gave Agni some space. He sighed again, and sat in front of her. He watched her intently for a few moments, before deciding on anything. She had to know. To learn what she did, and to really suffer the repentance stage she was sorely overdue.
"These scars, are from you. Emotional scarring, too; from when you slew my father mercilessly right in front of my very eyes. My sister was mortified. I was violent and dangerous; no one could safely approach me after our fight. My sister only barely. Because I live to protect her. You don't seek forgiveness, yet ask to help? To repent?" he paused for effect, "How can you ask to be in my presence, when you should understand just how much I've despised you these last two years? To me, that's asking far too much of someone whose life you ruined. How can I trust you?" he asked.

He sighed again, ready to get his mission underway, and deal with her later. But perhaps she would actually help him.
"How can I get in undetected and unnoticed, and get through this long enough to activate the Geno Saurer, and use it to escape? You can get your target, and I'll get mine: The Geno Saurer. After that, so long as all goes to plan; we blow the rest of this outpost to shit. What do you think we should do? If you really wish to help." asked, trying to see what else could be done, in case his method was gonna get him caught. She claimed to want to pledge her service to him, as atonement, it was time to show where her new loyalties lie.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

When "hunter" explained the scars she had left him with, the guilt and hurt in her expression seemed to deepen, her eyes not leaving his face. "...I know that I did you wrong...but I truly regret what I did...I was too young to understand then, I'd lost my own father to war and blamed it all on the Republic alliance...I didn't see rebel sympathizers as humans like me, I didn't take a step back to think how you might have felt to lose your father as I lost mine..." she admitted, wringing her hands, in their binds. "These past two years have been torture for me, as well...at first I didn't understand why I felt guilty, but as the months went on I began to understand what I had done...so I betrayed the monsters who had made me into a killer..." She said, reaching up to awkwardly try and brush her hair from her pale face.
When hunter then seemed to agree to her help, after a moment, the tears began to stream down her face, and a soft smile crossed her features. "you...you're going to let me help you...?" she seemed in disbelief that he was willing to give her a chance. "I...th-thankyou! I promise, I will do everything in my power to help and protect you, Sir! To lose my life would be a small price to pay in order to atone for the scars I have burdened you with" she swore, her eyes becoming hardened as diamonds in determination. "My name is Eira Aeronwen Montero, the last of the Montero line. My Ixion wing, Sora, is yours to command, sir, I pledge our claws to your service!" As if to voice its agreement, Sora gave a low rumble and bowed its head in a form of greeting to the man.
"I can lead you in past the security if you'll allow me to, it will be easy going past the gates, it's once we get inside we should be careful." she shifted uncomfortably, seeming to be getting anxious from all the talking again. "getting to Geno-Saurer will be tough, but its not impossible. You and I should go alone for that...too many companions could jeopardise our safety. Once we have the Geno, between it, your companions and Sora, laying waste to the outpost should be child's play." she then lifted her hands, with a slight frown. "um...can you untie me now, please?" she asked, politely, her voice seeming to have faded under the pressure of so much speech, lacking a lot of the volume it started with, now rather timid.

Once she was let loose, she timidly stood and took a step back from Hunter, not wishing to be too close since she still felt to blame for his suffering. After a momentary pause, she then moved to retrieve her pistol, which she slipped back in her jacket, though the clip was clipped at her belt for now, not wishing to be distrusted for her weapon. She then turned back to Hunter again. "I will follow you, sir, but I must request we find Halvardus before we leave...I came here to end his cruel ways for good, and I will not leave until that is done, one way or another."

[Lykaios]

Agni was listening as she responded to his words. She seemed to have a fairly good idea of how they could get in with minimal risk, and that was a start to him. Dying wasn't something he wanted to come to terms with. He was far too young, and was incredibly against dying when he still had a little sister to look after. He narrowed his eyes as she requested taking the life of someone she deemed important enough to be removed. Apparently she had her own motivations for helping them tonight.

"I take it, after you have this Halvardus' head, you'll go your own way?" he asked, honestly hoping to be right. He had yet to consider the real option he had at the end of the day: if he took his vengeance, or didn't. It was going to be one very hard choice for him, because he'd been anxious for this day for the past two years.

Frowning, he looked at her, and tried to decide on what he needed to do, and what he would do after success.
"Alright. It's time to get to work!" he said to everyone, looking to Tank, who nodded and made way for his Dark Horn, then to Rai, who winked, and took to Agni's Shadowfox. Once everyone was in position, he looked to Eira. Still torn, he could only snicker, and remain calm.
'Now it's time we got to work. We should get moving." he told her, keeping his tone level. Hiding his weapons, he began to make his way towards the outpost. He kept close to Eira, making sure she was leading him in the right direction.
"Name's Agni, by the way." he whispered, as they closed distance to the base of the cliff. "How do we get in here unchecked, again?"

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

When Agni asked if she would be going her own way come her work with Halvardus being done, she moved to reply, but not before he announced they should go, so she decided she would tell him later once the job was done. Once his friends were all in their Zoids ready to go, she moved to lead the way, not at all surprised as Agni made sure to stick close to her and keep an eye on her. As they approached, and Agni asked how they were going to get in, she put a finger to her lips to silence him, a little unnerved by how loudly he spoke, even when he whispered. "first we need to get over the fences. They're spotlight monitored so we have to time it right. I'll go up first, wait for my signal and I'll pull you up" she explained, her voice barely a whisper though the silence made it at least audible. "Once we're over the wall, we have to follow the overhang on the inside, so we stay in shadows until we get to the store-house. We can get into the maintenance shafts from there, which run through the generator room under the compound, that will lead us inside the main building, but we should be careful. You never know when a worker might be down there, but keeping out of their way should be easy enough if anyone is even down there at this time of night." She then gestured for him to remain silent and wait there for her signal, before she crept out from their cover towards the wall, waiting for the spotlight to pass before she ducked out and up to the wall, standing right beside the wall where she wouldn't be seen as she pulled a pair of heavy steel hooks from he cargos, buckling them tightly around her gloved hands. From the back of the hooks ran a wire to a small pack tied on her waist around the small of her back; these hooks were a form of weak power-claw similar in function to a zoid's lazer claw, though they were too weak to glow like the zoids' did. She then turned to start climbing, the claws digging through the wall easily and silently, meaning the only effort required on Eira's part was pulling herself up to move the hooks again. Once she was close enough to the top, she ducked close to the wall to let the spotlight pass by again before she vaulted over the wall onto the ledge there, ducking as close to the light tower as possible to avoid being seen. She then waited for the light to pass before she signaled to Agni with a small reflector, so that the light would only be seen by him. As soon as he ran over to the shadows where he was out of view, she dropped a weighted cord down for Agni to grab onto and she then quickly helped him to climb up, before retrieving the rope and dropping down from the side of the wall and under the ledge underneath the rim, waiting for Agni to follow before she would continue along the wall, pressed up against the cold cement to stay in the shadows, so the guards at the main entrance several yards away wouldn't see them as they passed by. The storehouse was a fair way away, but not so far as to make it dangerous for them.

[Lykaios]

He listened and nodded in response as she explained what they should do. Agreeing with her battle plan, he waited in safety till the spotlight went past, and he sprinted out, and leapt up the wall, grabbing the rope and beginning his ascent at high speed. Once to the top, he waited for the spotlight to pass, and flung himself straight over; using his gloves to allow him to slide down the rope at high velocity. Unfortunately for him, the light swung back around too soon, so he dismounted by kicking off the wall, back-flipping and landing on all fours, to roll against the wall. At that moment, he watched as Eira pulled the rope back down to herself and began to crawl against the wall. He followed close behind, not wanting to be caught in the light, and kept low.

"Shit, that was close..." he breathed, as he realised just how close he'd come to detection. In his ear, he heard Rai curse having seen his trick dodge. He barely caught something akin to 'Freakin' show-off' before the link went silent completely. He smirked, understanding that Rai expected him to not do anything flashy, where they needed to focus on stealth.

Keeping close to Eira, and a hand gently on her shoulder, so she knew he was right behind her; he maintained silence, for fear of managing to alert a guard, by sheer dumb luck.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

When they reached the store-house, Eira quickly ducked forward to put one hand around the man's face to silence him and grabbed his neck in a sleep hold, dragging him back into the store-house as he collapsed and setting his unconscious body down behind some crates. "He should be out for well and truly long enough. We'll have been and gone before he wakes." she whispered to Agni, as she shut the door, checking the room before she gestured for him to continue following her. She wouldn't say so, but she'd been rather impressed by his dodge back at the wall...he was quite talented.
She lead the way to the maintenance ducts and broke the electric lock so the door would come unbolted and let them through. The corridors through her were narrow and dimly lit, but Eira didn't seem at all uncomfortable. Soon the cramped hall opened up into a huge open room, the hall itself opening onto a metal walkway suspended high above the actual floor. There were guards patrolling down below, but it was far too dark up where they were for the soldiers to see them. She gestured for Agni so keep his footsteps light so they wouldn't be caught and began to silently tiptoe across the walkway, past the huge, loudly humming generator for the compound. It was quite warm in this room thanks to the machine, but they were soon back in the cool, cramped service ducts again and after a short climb up some ramps and stairs, they found themselves at the brightly lit corridors of the outpost. Eira checked down the hallways carefully before she gestured for Agni to follow her, taking off down the halls at a full run, though she was surprisingly light on her feet, since she was trained for this kind of work. She did not head straight for the zoids' hangar however and instead went for the commanders' quarters, searching the hall carefully for the right room. As she had expected from her research, Halvardus was fast asleep. She told Agni to wait a moment before she hacked the door lock and crept inside the room, leaving a small mechanical object on the desk beside his bunk, with a note attached. She'd rigged the grenade herself to set off the 7 second timer when sounds louder than a certain decibel level sounded. Namely the compounds alarms...she intended to set them off on her exit initially, now all they'd have to do was make their presence known once the Geno Saurer was theirs. Then the alarm would go off and wake Halvardus to his chilling final message...'You were always a coward, and now you shall die as one - E.Montero'

She then crept back out of the room, gesturing for Agni to hurry and leading the way to the hangar. As they reached the T-junction with the hangar elevator to the left turn and a long hall to the right, she put her arm out to stop Agni and pulled a dart launcher from her jacket...she seemed to nearly have a gadget for nearly everything. She the gestured for Agni to take the second guard once she'd downed the first. As soon as she fired the dart gun, the only sound being the tiniest 'click' followed by a small hiss as the compressed air forced the dart out of the gun and stuck it into the neck of her target, who very promptly staggered before collapsing, his companion moving to reach for his radio, though he wouldn't reach it before Agni reached him.

[Lykaios]

It was hard to keep quiet for so long, but he did so without regret. Keeping undetected till he got into the Geno Saurer would be his biggest priority. From there, he and Eira could make as big of a fuss as they wished. Agni knew she wasn't going to lead him astray now, they'd already come so far that betraying him now would serve no purpose at all. He smirked as she stopped him outside a room and she snuck in, leaving a 'parting gift' of her own for Halvardus. She was certainly prepared to demonstrate her contempt and disgust at the man. It was impressive watching her in action against the very reign she had once so willingly served.

But his comfort was short-lived when his mind unwillingly returned to the memories of what she'd taken from him. It stung him to his very core. And not even for himself. Mercia missed her father despairingly. She still visited his grave weekly, and Agni paid his respects to the man he had wanted to stay with because he was his father. His smirk devolved into a wounded and haunted look, as he averted his gaze as Eira returned to him. She was saying something about where to go, but he didn't hear it. He only then looked at her properly, noticing the blindness in her eye. The determination and life within. She was strong, undoubtedly; but he sensed something defeated about her. Somehow, he felt she shared his loss.

"Lead the way, Eira." he whispered, using her name in a way that said he was beginning to trust her. But trying to hide his conflicting emotions as best he could.

He followed quietly, until they reached the hangar, and he was shocked at how many zoid's were within. It was something they'd pre-empted, but it didn't prevent the chilling effect it gave a rebel sympathiser. He knew what he had come prepared to do as well, shrugging the bag off of his shoulders that was small, but just enough to house enough explosive charge to bring down at least two walls of a hangar this size. He smirked again, indicating to Eira that he had it under control.

"As you suggested, Rai. They've got enough zoid's to reduce our home to rubble. Arming the bombs." he whispered to Rai via his communicator.

Sneaking around the edge of the hangar, Agni set about to arming the charges at the weak-point in the walls. Which he tested with a few curt knocks on the surface of the walls. He charged adjoining walls, so as to bring down at least half the roof onto his enemies zoids, and since he placed them right, tearing open the door would further assist the hangars destruction.

From there, he pulled out his arming device, and armed both charges to simultaneous detonation. Tank had taken the detonation device, to please the big guy: he wouldn't take no as an answer to his request to blow the place to hell.
Agni looked around, keeping to the shadows; as he sought his primary target. He found the Geno easily enough, and cautiously made his way toward it. Getting close he noticed a pair of guards talking, and he kept hidden till they parted ways. Stalking the larger one, he hunted his prey, knowing they needed neutralisation for their ease.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Eira had noticed the strange expressions and unusual tones in Agni's voice, but said nothing of them, merely continuing with the mission for now. Once they reached the hangar and Agni had placed the charges, she followed him to the sectioned off bay which served as the Geno Saurer's temporary home, it was heavily guarded, with patrols going past regularly and infa-red sensory arrays focused on the zoid, to be sure nothing moved near it. Eira assisted in taking out the two guards so they would have time to steal the Geno and get out of there. Once the guards were down, she quickly grabbed Agni's arm to keep him from going any closer to the zoid. "You know of the infa-red security sensors they have arranged on the zoid, right?" she clarified, to be sure he knew of what they were up against. "we need to disarm them, before we can steal the Geno Saurer...I'm not sure where the power grid for the system is, though. We will have to search if we want to find it" she said, already looking around, her one mauve eye looking around for something to indicate where the security system was getting its power from. It didn't take long for the two of them to find the circuit breakers that controlled the power to the sensors on either side of the towering Zoid. So the two of them each took one switch and simultaneously deactivated them, though by now, Eira could hear the sounds of footsteps around the next row of Zoid bays, indicating the next patrol was coming by very soon, so she signalled to Agni to quickly take the Zoid, running over to climb up onto its shoulder, where she would wait until they got outside, where her zoid would be waiting for her. Then, they'd level the joint.

[Lykaios]

Agni stuck close to is selected mark, and soon had the capacity to ghost his trail without fear. Agni took his cue from Eira when she snuffed the other guard, which caught his guards attention just long enough for Agni to use the distraction, and snap his neck. It was quick and quiet, which had been to plan.

Only when Eira warned him of the infra-red sensors, did he find himself nervous. They hadn't planned for that heightened security, but it was easily enough discarded as a threat, when Eira found the breakers. Deactivating them, he moved for the cockpit and watched Eira out of the corner of his eye, move into the Geno's hand. Hidden, she would be able to provide cover if he didn't get in before the next guards patrolled through. But it was lucky, as he leapt inside the cockpit as they rounded the corner; never seeing him. Waiting with the cockpit still open was nerve-wracking, but he held strong till they were out of sight before closing the hatch. Starting up the zoid, he worked on his memorisation of the Geno's systems from practice tests, put together by his teams spies.

Initiating start-up, Agni prayed he got everything right to get set.
"Rai, Tank, commence diversion!" he ordered, to instant replies acknowledging him. And a moment later their attack commenced on the facility, alerting the Imperialists with a blast. Agni Iacchus Dalgaard smirked as the guards bolted towards the security room, to check the cameras. Months of obssessive planning had led to this moment, and all was going off without a hitch. It was satisfying to watch, and participate.

Now, he started charging the charged particle cannon, taking the Geno Saurer out the front door while the guards sounded the alarm, alerting all to the attack from outside, but never expecting one from within simultaneously. A few seconds passed, until...

An explosion rocked General Halvardus' quarters, and ruined his surrounding area. Just after that, Agni fired the Geno Saurer's charged particle cannon, demolishing the hangar door. Releasing the cannon-stabilising state, Agni charged the Geno through the front door into the open. Until the CPC could recharge, he was on bare essential combat parameters, which meant escaping fast.

He knew his ground team had planted their explosives on the facilities key components while he and Eira had been inside, and they'd not flashed red - the discovered or in danger signal - over their comms, so he suspected they were all clear. Which meant it was time to shoot out. Thumbing his comm, he opened to all frequencies.

"Calling all local Imperials, this is your night-time terror; Hunter, as you have so aptly named me. I'm sending this message to all Imperials in the local vicinity as a warning: leave this village in peace, or I will do to your future teams, what I've done tonight. I will hunt and acquire all you hold dear, destroy your forces, and return to the safety of the night, without so much as a blink in regret. And this applies to all towns and villages outside your reign of terror. If you have any sense at all, you will end this ridiculous campaign, and try to resolve this problem peacefully. The choice is yours." he finished, the final sentence being his code to detonate the explosives placed in and around the facility.

That done, he broke a full-speed run for freedom, Rai and Tank coming up to support him. Amara emerging from Eira's Ixion-Wing to return to Tank's Dark Horn on the gun. Having delivered Eira's Ixion-Wing to her, Amara smiled at her as she passed.

"That's a magnificent zoid you have." she commented.

Four zoids in their unusual team, the Geno Saurer, Ixion-Wing, Datk Horn and Shadowfox began tearing apart straggling enemy zoids to send the message distinctly.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

As the zoids approached, Eira heard the distinct sound of Sora's metallic roar, calling to her. She climbed up onto the Geno Saurer's hand and jumped into the open cockpit of her Ixion-wing, catching the glance from the other girl as she left, nodding appreciatively at the compliment on her zoid. As soon as she had grabbed hold of the controls and closed the cockpit, she set into action. Her zoid slipped its clawed feet sideways to wheel around to a stop and with a loud roar, it activated its booster and spread its wings to fold out the long, razor sharp blades hidden in their leading edge. As it charged, the blades sliced clean through all 5 of the zoids that were in its direct path. Knowing that she couldn't go too far, Eira then activated the Magnesser system and her zoid took to the skies, she then gave the left control stick a twist and pulled it back, Sora responding by banking to the left in flight and wheeling around to swoop down and fly close behind Agni and his team, using the two-barreled shock-cannon hooked up to its chest to rain heavy fire down on the zoids that stood between them and escape, the loud sounds of the cannon echoing in the canyon not too far away, with a distinctive clap that was somewhere between the wheezing crackle of a lazer and the heavy thud of cannon-fire. As soon as the path was clear, she lowered her zoid towards the ground and as its forepaws hit the ground it began to run along the dry earth and folded its wings onto its back as the glow of the Magnesser system faded from around them. She followed closely beside Agni's Geno Saurer, off to the left and slightly behind him to keep herself between him and any cannon-fire that might come from any other fleeing imperials they might have missed. She wouldn't let anyone take his life, she vowed silently that if she had to die to do it, she would see that what small family he had left remained together, no matter what may come.

As the group finally escaped down the canyon and into the night, the tall frills on the back of Sora's head spread out slightly and rotated up like a frilled lizard might spread its frills to scare off a predator. However these frills were not for intimidation purposes and immediately as the moved, her zoid's motion dropped off all radar entirely. She then opened a visual link across the comm-line between Agni's zoid and hers, the small image popping up on the HUD display in his cockpit. "Mission success, Dalgaard, sir" she said, simply, seemingly fiddling with some controls on her control panel. "I wish to offer my thanks for allowing me to complete the task I came here to carry out and for allowing me to assist you in yours. I also have an offer to make, sir." she paused briefly, seeming a bit unsure of how to say what she wanted to say. "I...would like to join you and your companions in your fight against the imperials...I already number as one the many republican soldiers in the war, but I wish to serve under your command so that I may make up to you the mistakes I made 2 years ago. I will protect you and all those dear to you with my life, sir, that I swear" the look in her eyes was an honest one, and the determination in her voice was clear even when she spoke in such a soft tone.

[Lykaios]

Witnessing Eira fight first-hand was almost completely different to what he watched now. At least fighting her, he'd been able to imagine a fighting chance; but as he watched her dust off and fend off surviving Imperialists, he was more than a little bit sympathetic to their plight. Agni had been on the receiving end once, and had very nearly died because of it. If he hadn't had something to fight for, he had no illusions of the outcome being the same. And while he spared no pity for Imperialist scum, who had made a game of raiding his village; he did feel that being destroyed by an Ixion-Wing was something that death wouldn't even cure the dissatisfaction of. It was a pretty unfair fight, but for now; Agni had no time for fair play.

On screen, he had vid-links to Rai, Amara and Tank; who all looked a little bit scared by the Ixion's prowess.
"I'm glad she's on our side." Rai spoke, grimacing. Tank and Amara nodded in agreement, whilst Agni furrowed his brow in a mix of frustration and thought.
For how long? he thought.

Made good on their escape, he noticed the Ixion-Wing had dropped off his scanners completely, before she opened a video-feed between his new Geno Saurer and her Ixion-Wing. He listened as she thanked him for his assistance, and allowing her to assist him. It was then she said she had an offer to make him, and he raised an eyebrow in a very 'oh, this'll be good' fashion.

His jaw dropped at her offer, and a twitch that betrayed everything he thought occurred. The offer was good, and she seemed to be a woman of her word, but he still wasn't completely sure of her, because of their history. Even though this was only his second meeting with her, the last time had ruined his life. He didn't feel that he owed her a chance, but for her assistance tonight, he felt he owed her the chance to prove she deserved one. He closed his eyes, counting in his head to try and clear his head.

"I don't actually lead any rebel forces. Rebel, Republican, anything. It's really just been me and these guys for the last two years; causing trouble where possible, that also worked to keep our village safe. I can't offer you direct action all the time. And I'm honestly still a bit at odds with giving you my complete trust. If anyone understands why, it'll be you...but I have to admit; that you didn't lead me astray, or to an ambush tonight, so if someone deserves a chance to prove themselves for redemption...I have to honestly admit you've earned it." he said, pausing as he thought about something. "You wouldn't have anywhere to stay tonight, would you? And it's a bit late to get a room in the inn...so, I'd say it's best you stay at my place. That way, I can keep an eye out...for your sake, and the locals..." he finished. He wouldn't be taking no for an answer, as they all filed their Zoids into the hangar the village had close enough for defence, and far enough that the noise didn't wake villagers at night.

As they met up at the entrance, Rai grinned to Tank, who laughed as the five of them began heading back home.