"Get that door open La'lilly. We'll buy you some time." Ovara called out as Aria deployed her bastion shield.

  The sb of metal opened up to the same size as her wings when they were fully extended and covered just over half of the hallway with its width. It also had a convenient window pane for her to see out of. Gotta be some impressive storage capacity in her mutation for all that. I was also tempted to grab one of the many guns stuck to it but Sapphire gave me a pointed look not to try.

  Now that she was covered Tayatts bunny guard started cutting into the side panel of the door and pulling out wires that she connected to her tablet.

  Ovara roughly shoved Tayatt down with me still on top until she was happy we were covered. Sapphire gave a nod then peaked with her sniper around the side of Arias shield.

  "State your reason for being here. We have Acolytes and reason to believe you have hostile intentions. We will not hesitate, this is your only warning." My blue mia called out into the empty hallway.

  There was no response.

  "Maybe they ran away?" Tayatt offered a slight waver in her voice betrayed her nerves.

  "No they're still there." Sapphire replied her tongue darting out.

  As if on que the puff of a smoke grenade sounded from the end of the hallway. Aria brought out her quintuple barrel and slotted it into a hole in her shield but didn't fire. "Of course they use smoke. Why wouldn't they?"

  Again silence reigned within our stand-off neither side making a move. I could feel the surge of adrenaline in my system coiling all the muscles in my body just waiting for it to release. Tayatt underneath me wasn't fairing any better as I could feel her heart beating between my legs.

  A burst of gunfire heralded the start as it cnked off Arias shield before another burst rattled off the slugs followed by a burst of zer all form different directions in the cloud. Arias barrels began to rotate warming up but still she held off firing. The smoke not giving her a target.

  That was until a third burst of slugs clipped the side of her shield that sapphire was peaking out of, a stray round nicking my mia in the side of her head.

  "Sapphire!" I shouted abandoning my position on Tayatts back to catch Sapphire as she fell.

  Aria took that as her que to start blindly firing and I answered one of my questions when I noticed she was using zer rounds.

  "Sapphire." I said again, the mia in my arms visibly dazed but still alive, even with a trail of blood begining to form. Thank fuck for her mutation.

  "Sapphire speak to me!" Aria called out as Ovara peaked from the other side of the shield and let off her own burst of controlled fire.

  "She's alive. Probably has a concussion." I replied in her stead.

  "I'm fine." Sapphire finally spat out. "Get rid of that smoke and I'll return the favor to them."

  "No can do." Ovara called back. "They just used another smoke grenade. They probably have a way of seeing through it and are using that to their advantage."

  Growling Sapphire spun out of my grasp and onto the ground, peaking out just enough to get one of her own rounds off before ducking back. Even though the smoke I saw the unmistakable spsh of red coat the side walls. How the hell did she even hit someone from that angle.

  "Fuck they also have rally shields. La'lilly how's that door coming along!" Ovara shouted as she ducked behind Arias shield just in time to avoid another barrage of enemy fire.

  "Whoever shut this door really doesn't want us getting through. I'm going to need five minutes." The bunny girl called back before cursing at her tablet.

  "Two minutes is too long! And we're in the hell is security? The arms should have called them already." Ovara spat pcing a hand on Tayatts back to make sure she was okay then reloading to apply more suppressing fire.

  "Jammed! Everything's jammed to high hell right now. Nothings getting in or out of this area electronically. I could make a bypass but we don't have the time."

  A roar of something sounded over the gunfire that made every hair on my arms stand on its end. Tayatt almost seemed seemed to piss herself in fear.

  "Shit they have a Refacut. How in the void did they get one on the station? Get that door open now La'lilly! We don't have the weaponry to punch through it's armor right now without a grenade and I'd rather not blow a hole in the side of the station!" Ovara panicked.

  "Punch through." Sapphire mused, a smile on her face. "Well I'm about to bring security running regardless of arms, be ready."

  Sapphire began to pull parts out of her storage and started putting them onto and on her sniper rifle like it was a Lego set until the whole thing looked like she'd made a psma, zer and slug thrower into one gun. She finished it off by pulling out a single round that looked to be the same size as her head.

  "That's going to go straight through a Refacut and the wall behind it!" Aria shouted at Sapphire over the sound of her gun.

  "Yip. If you have a better idea I'm all ears, but if not I'll deal with the repercussions once Johns safe not a moment sooner." Sapphire snapped back her new and improved weapon starting to wine as it lit up.

  Loading the single round into the chamber Sapphire wrapped her tail around my hips and pushed me back against Tayatt to get me out of the way. She then took a second to steady herself, brushing away the trail of blood that was running freely down the side of her face. "Aria tell me when."

  Aria seemed to hesitate but clenched her teeth. "Void dam it Sapphire." She growled as she stopped her hail of zer fire.

  Almost instantly another roar shook the ground followed closely by the offspring of a triceratop and grizzly bear that seemed to have been conceived almost exclusively through hate fucking charging out of the smoke.

  Ovaras rounds from her slug thrower bounced harmlessly off its skull not even slowing its charge. The Vattare cursing under her breath.

  "Now Sapphire!" Aria yelled as she slotted another battery into her mini gun.

  Sapphire spun with a practiced ease, already lining up the shot before she was even out of cover. She then waited half a second to make sure her tail was properly bracing for the recoil and she didn't miss. Not that she could have with the size of the thing.

  With a final exhale my mia pulled the trigger causing a shockwave of sound to bounce around the metal walls and briefly throw my whole bance off. Thankfully I was still on my knees so I wasn't face first in the ground.

  Sapphire was thrown back slightly from the force but not enough that she couldn't dive back into cover, as she began pulling the parts back off the weapon so she could use its less destructive version.

  Ears still ringing I could see sapphire yelling something at La'lilly as she modified her sniper but the words didn't make it through. What did catch my attention through Arias peeping window was the Refacuts corps sitting in the middle of the hallway with a perfect hole in it's head, going all the way through its body and the wall behind. They weren't lying when they said it would go all the way.

  Red lights fshed just as sound was coming back to me and I was thrust back onto Tayatts back by Ovara.

  "Doors opening get ready to move." I heard La'lilly yell but it sounded far away and I was struggling to think straight.

  Tayatt wasn't fairing much better, the Vattare swaying slightly as she tried to rise to her feet. She didn't get much time before Sapphire shoved her from behind forcing her to rise or taste how many creatures have walked these halls.

  The doors clunked slowly open and I suddenly saw the urgency in our guards. Our assants were using the creatures corps as their own personal shield to get in closer and with Arias mini gun not being able to pivot enough to suppress both sides at once they were making ground rather quickly.

  With enough room to squeeze through La'lilly led the charge making sure the other side was clear. I could briefly make out some kind of sasquatch woman on the other side that looked rather confused at the bunny girl coming through. That confusion didn't st long enough because when she noticed Tayatt an myself she went for the pistol on her hip.

  La'lilly didn't even hesitate, her own shotgun that had been against her back the whole time fshed into her hands letting off two rounds of single slugs. One found the sasquatch's chest while the other pstered her brain on the wall.

  Stopping only long enough to make sure her shots had connected La'lilly ran ahead until she made it to a fork in the hallway. She called something out that I missed but Sapphire shoved Tayatt again to get her through the opening before letting of another few shots around Aria's shield. I could make out another cyclops and what looked like a smaller elf pushing forward with their own shields raised. Those shields did wonders to block Arias guns but when hit with a physical slug caused them to stumble, allowing Sapphire to pick at the exposed limbs.

  Ovara wasn't far behind the two of us as we made our way through the doors, Sapphire hot on her paws. Aria held back only long enough to pull a shotgun off her bastion shield before dismissing the whole sb into her storage. The closest elf wasn't given enough warning to dodge when my angel suddenly appeared in front of her.

  Unfortunately for me my ears had healed enough that I could hear the wet smack of the pellets as they broke through her rally shield and her face.

  Aria emptied the clip between her and another couple that had gotten too close before bringing her wings up around her body and head, Sapphires mutation protecting her as they finally started to return fire. From behind her wings she reloaded while trying to run backwards to catch up with us. A feat that was paired wonderfully with Sapphire who no longer needed to worry about moving around Aria's shield and was very proficient with shooting while moving.

  Another three were dropped by my mia the rally shields blocking most zer and small arms fire but cking greatly at stopping shotguns and her sniper rifle even downgraded as it currently was, before we made it round the corner only to have to stop when we saw La'lilly being held at gunpoint by what I hoped were station security judging by the uniforms and not more of them.

  "Drop your weapons we won't ask again." The one in front demanded.

  "Screw you. Acolytes under fire we need to get through." Ovara yelled back pulling Tayatt up short so she was in front of us. Sapphire sided up beside us so she was in front as well but her tail had enough behind if needed.

  "Prove it."

  Sapphire was about to retort when Aria came around the corner a few stay shots hitting her wings but not doing much more than that. The security team flinched at the sight and I wondered how they couldn't have heard anything at all.

  "Cover the bloody Acolytes or get the hell out of our way!" The big woman growled her wings visibly sizzling from the zers as she covered our rear.

  The security team seemed to freeze, unsure what to do. Some looked down right confused as to why they were still blocking us while a few were clenching their teeth. La'lilly clicked something in her weapon not looking in our direction as she spoke. "The door was shut using a security lockdown protocol."

  All of our girls visibly flinched, their weapons not aimed at security but definitely not stowed either. Sapphire let out a hiss, the blood trail reforming and making her already threatening dispy moreso.

  "Move aside. Acolyte guards." Came a call from the other side of the security group presumably from Tayatts other two guards Bamba and Ivugro.

  Still the security group refused to move a few looking at their sergeant with concern. Sapphire was the one to break the stalemate by aiming her gun directly at the Sargent. "Move. We can get away with murdering you. You will not get away with harming an Acolyte."

  The room seemed to chill with her words and most of the security team did move out of the way. All except the Sargent at those that were visibly frustrated with us being there, who just smiled.

  "This is unfortunately as far as you go. I surprised you actually made it this far to be honest." The Sargent crackled pulling her uniform back to reveal what I really hoped wasn't a bomb vest. The rest of her team let out sharp intakes.

  I guess La'lilly was right about security being in on this or at least some of them.

  "All you had to do was let the Acolytes die. We don't care about you guards, you could have still lived." The Sargent said with mock disappointment. "But no you had to try being the heros, and don't bother trying to kill me it's hooked up to my vital signs as well as this here button." She showed a small red button in the palm of her hand.

  Sapphire growled still not dropping her gun but her finger was no where near the trigger. Aria got in close to Tayatt and myself but clenched her teeth when she was the vest. I don't think her bastion shield would stop it then. Neither La'lilly or Ovara made any movements and even with the security team out of the way and Bamba and Ivugro visible they didn't approach the suicidal Sargent.

  "So st chance. Kill the Acolytes and you can all walk away."

  "Over our dead bodies." Ovara spat.

  "Then it really is a shame. But there's to much on the line to let you live. Goodbye." The Sargent pushed her button and all our girls threw themselves over Tayatt and myself creating the best body bunker they could. Aria was in first her wings and bastion shield deployed as much as she could between the bomb and us while the others tried to patch up any gaps they could see with their own bodies.

  And then nothing. No explosion, no life fshing before my eyes just a lot of flesh pressed up against me.

  After about five seconds the girls all started to look around and when they realized it was safe started to untangle themselves.

  The reason for the sudden shift stood smiling with her signature toothy grin and fellow guards.

  "And this is why even in training you never let your Mana run out." Vanaress chuckled with her hand raised. "I do apologize for being te. It seems you weren't the only group targeted."

  The Sargent stood frozen in death the bomb vest partially still in time just after it had gone off. Like a paused 3D movie.

  "Secure the area." My teacher said to her guards who moved with uncanny silence to round up the remaining security who had tried to run and clear out any remaining people behind us. One of her guards seemed to howl and grow twice her size then fall onto all fours like a giant wolf to hunt down those we'd run away from.

  Definitely want a mutation like that. Or just a spell in general.

  "Are your Acolytes harmed?" Vanaress turned back to us.

  "No ma'am." Ovara responded giving Tayatt a part, the Acolyte visibly shaking.

  "Good get them somewhere safe. Galrett will assist and mia!"

  "Yes?" Sapphire flinched in surprise.

  "Do be careful where you shoot this. I believe it's illegal to fire it outside of pnet side, if anyone else were to find it you might have gotten into a lot of trouble." She threw the bent remains of a spent round at Sapphires tail. The same round that had gone through the Refacut and the wall behind it.

  Surprised Sapphire picked it up and put it in her own storage bowing to Vanaress as she did so. "Thank you very much Mage Vanaress."

  "I don't believe in punishing guards for protecting their Acolytes regardless of their methods. That being said if this were to become common practice for you I won't always be around to find it first." Vanaress subtle warning was said as if it meant nothing to her when if I was hearing it correctly could have had Sapphire behind bars or the space equivalent.

  "It won't be." Sapphire bowed again.

  Vanaress snorted. "Now get out of here and I expect a report from a guard for each Acolyte present before the days end. Dismissed!"

  One of her guards came forward to accompany us as we headed out, the girls creating a very tight formation now that there was seven of them.

  "You got very lucky there Sapphire." Aria called out.

  Sapphire looked at her. "I was willing to sacrifice myself so John and you could remain. I do agree I got lucky but if the outcome was different I would still have done it."

  Aria shook her head but still smiled. "Well don't go doing it too much. I very much enjoy your company."