"How are we going to do this?" Risále asked, looking at the two motorcycles and the eight people present. Nine including the baby, "We've got a goddamn baby now too, we need to be careful. And two severely injured people."
"Maybe take the basket and the two injured on the motorcycle?" Leon asked, "And then everyone else walks or runs?"
Fenix seemed to be looking somewhere else though, "Hey, does anyone know how to start a car without a key?"
Within a few minutes, they'd all managed to push the car out of the small area it had been parked in, and Risále had broken the window in, unlocking the car. With her expertise in mechanics—Which seemed to surprise Risále herself since she was sure she had no idea when she had learned how to start a car without a key, though she shouldn't have been surprised after being able to operate a motorcycle with no experience at all—The car started, "It's cyborg-chip related," Leon said to her, "We'll deal with that later. Fenix, we're trusting you to drive, alright? Hyunwoo and I will be driving the motorcycles in front of you while Bella and Risá clear the way if any guards get in the way. "
"I got it. Trust me, I'll be careful," Fenix said. Leon reached over and gave him a one-armed hug, doing the same for Owen, "You both stay safe and keep them safe as well, alright?"
Carefully, they moved Nia and an unconscious Val into the car, buckling them in. Hyunwoo handed Nia the baby basket, "Keep this in your lap, alright? Make sure to hold onto it tight."
Nia nodded, her eyes still barely awake, struggling to stay conscious. Owen got into the passenger seat as Fenix finally started the car. Hyunwoo closed the door for them, making his way back to the motorcycle parked in front of them. Bella and Leon were already on the other motorcycle, Bella finding her balance to stand on the bike and swinging her hammer, one hand using Leon's shoulder to hold herself up.
"Ready to go?" Risále asked.
"Are you?" Hyunwoo asked back.
She shrugged, "As ready as I'll ever be. I'm just praying I won't fall off."
Hyunwoo hummed, "What if you drive and I'll do the dirty work? I'm more used to it comparatively, I think," He said, pulling out his gun.
Risále nodded, "I think that would be better, yeah," She said, and with that, he mounted the bike. Hyunwoo carefully got on behind her, holding onto her shoulder.
"You good?"
"Yeah, I'm alright," Risále said, revving the engine of the motorcycle. She looked over to Leon, "Alright, let's go. We've got a wave in front of us, so you two have some work to do," She said to Bella and Hyunwoo.
With that, the motorcycles set off, the car following close behind.
As soon as they hit the first wave, Bella was already swinging her hammer and Hyunwoo was quickly shooting with one hand while using his spear to stab with the other. They were making decent progress when things started to go wrong.
"Uh, guys?" Fenix said, looking through the rearview mirror, "We have a problem…"
"What is it, Fenix—" Bella asked through the phone. She turned around, only to let out a string of curse words herself. Approaching quickly from behind Fenix were multiple cars, all with the royal guard symbol on them, "Oh, fucking hell."
Risále looked at her, "What do we do, Bella?"
Surprisingly, Hyunwoo was the one who answered, "God, I really don't like this idea but right now it's the only thing we can do. All three of us split up and take different back alleys, meet back up at the gates!"
"What?!" Fenix yelled, "Wait, wait, what are we supposed to do?! The only one who can fight here is Owen, I'm driving and the other two are out of commission!"
"You go on ahead!" Leon yelled, "Take a right and go through the alleyways! We'll hold them off for as long as we can and then we'll meet up with you later! Hurry up, the cars are getting closer!"
Fenix cursed, but quickly reversed the car and turned right into the alleyway, "Stay safe, all of you!" Owen yelled back to them.
"Get those two the help they need!" Hyunwoo responded. One of the cars tailing them sped up, going to turn into the alleyway to follow Fenix, but was immediately flipped forward by the spear piercing through both of the front wheels.
Hyunwoo pulled out his gun as the car caught on fire, "Let's get this show on the road," He said lowly, his eyes flashing.
Then he charged in, grabbing the nearest object that he could hit someone with and using his left hand to fire his gun. Risále gulped, "You know, I'm aware this is absolutely not the time for this but…He is really hot."
"God, I know," Leon muttered, his face about as red as hers.
Bella chuckled, smacking them both lightly on the back of the head, "Alright, loverboy and lovergirl, let's hurry up and help our man, shall we?"
Risále grabbed her mace, Leon unsheathed his sword, and Bella raised her hammer. Risále ran forward first, sprinting into the fray and swinging the mace around with clear technique, knocking down at least three people in one go.
Bella whistled lowly, and then looked over at Leon who was watching her in awe, "She's gorgeous like this, isn't she?" She said, a smirk on her face.
"Yeah…" Leon seemed to realize what he said a blushed, "I mean—Uh. Okay, just, come on! We need to join them!" He quickly ran into the group of people as well, and Bella couldn't help but laugh.
"You're adorable, Leon Song. No wonder you've got three people head over heels for you," She said fondly. Suddenly, she heard the engine of a car and turned to see a car trying to go into the alleyway after Fenix, "Oh no," She muttered, moving towards the car and quickly gaining speed, "You're not going anywhere near my brother, you bitch!" She yelled, swinging her hammer so hard that it completely destroyed the windshield and hit the driver, causing the car to come to a stop. She jumped on the hood of the car, quickly stepped onto the roof, and swung the handle of the hammer against her palm, "Alright! Who's next!"
Fenix swerved a sharp right, "Is everyone alright back there?!" He yelled, looking in the rearview seat to check on the two in the back, "You still got a good grip on that basket, Nia?" He asked her. The girl nodded, "Good, keep a tight hold on it," His eyes flicked up to see the car that had managed to get past Bella and the others, "I'm about to take a few sharp turns here and there. Hold on tight," Nia leaned over, pulling Val closer to her and wrapping her arm around them.
Fenix swerved the car to the right, putting his weight on the gas pedal, and speeding up as fast as he could. Owen gripped tight to the handle, yelping, "Fenix, what—"
"If I don't do this, we're all going to end up dead," Fenix replied, his hands deathly tight on the steering wheel, taking another sharp turn towards the left. He stopped as he realized that the only way forward was a narrow alleyway. It was going to be a tight squeeze. He cursed, "Fuck, hold on tight guys!"
"Wait—"
He slammed on the gas pedal and the car jerked forward. The side mirrors were immediately broken off by the force and speed of the vehicle and they could hear it scratching against the sides.
Suddenly, something hit the back of the glass, causing a crack in it. Owen whirled back to see Nia had ducked down, covering the baby basket and Val as much as she could, "They're shooting at us!" She called to Owen.
The boy muttered a string of Spanish curses, "Alright, stay down. Don't move too much or you're going to aggravate your injuries more," He pressed a button on the front of the dashboard and Fenix turned to look up as he heard the roof of the car opening.
"Owen, what are you—"
"Focus on the road, Fenix," He grabbed the gun that he had tossed into the car when they'd first got in, stepping up and popping his head above the roof of the car.
"Owen, get down, you're going to get yourself killed—" Nia hissed, but Owen cut her off.
He loaded the gun, "If they keep firing at us, eventually one of us is going to get hit. You and Val can't stand a bullet with the state you're in. Fenix is driving, if he gets hit then we're screwed. At least if I get hit, the damage won't be as irreparable, and if I manage to hit those guys, I can help us," He said, looking through the gunsight to line up his shot.
Nia took a deep breath, "...Fine. Don't you dare get hit," She said softly.
Owen grinned, "I'll try my best."
Thankfully, the gun had multiple magazines in it already, since Owen wasn't quite used to using a gun. He missed a couple of times since the bumpy road threw him off balance, but as soon as he found his center of stability, his shots were much more accurate. Through the sight, he could see the was cracking the windshield and kept firing. Finally, he saw the glass break and without hesitating, he continued shooting at the driver rapidly, hoping that one of them would hit.
And it did.
The car careened to the side, crashing straight into a building and immediately catching on fire. There was no way anyone inside survived. As Owen moved down, he heard Fenix and Nia cheering for him. Before he could say anything though, he shot back up to look out the roof of the car, hearing the revving of motorcycles.
"Oh, fuck."
Fenix groaned, running his hand through his hair, "I'm guessing that those aren't our friends. Alright, hold on tight, I'm about to make a turn—" Before he could do anything though, they heard the sound of a bullet and the sound of glass shattering.
"The back windshield broke!" Owen yelled, leaning back to try and check on Nia, Val, and the baby. The girl handed the basket over to him.
"They're safer with you, I'll take care of Val," Nia said, her eyes telling him just to take it.
"Hey, guys!" Fenix called as he looked over his shoulder, "They're gaining on us!" He flinched as another bullet hit the side of the car, probably lodging into the metal. Owen took the basket quickly, "What's our plan, guys, we need a plan!"
Nia groaned, "God, I really hate this plan but I don't think we have any other choice," She sat up and grabbed Val by the shoulders, shaking them violently, "Wake up!" She screamed in her friend's face, gently slapping her face to try and get Val to open their eyes, "Come on, Val, wake up, wake up!"
Slowly, the other person seemed to return to consciousness, groggily. They groaned in pain and Nia let go of them, "What…What's happening—"
"I'm really, really, really sorry, but we need you right now," Nia said, grabbing the gun and checking the magazine, "Fuck, only one bullet. Val, we have two people chasing us on bikes and—" Everyone flinched as another window crashed open, "—We need you."
Val's eyes were already glowing purple, "Leave it to me," They said, loading the gun and putting it over the backseat and through the open window. Looking through the sight, they locked on their targets. One bullet meant they would have to take both of them at once. Slowly, they waited until the motorcyclists were one in front of each other before aiming at the first one's heart. They took the shot.
And as their title said, Val the Rebellion's Arrow never missed.
"Okay, now that that's over with it, I'm taking a nap again," Val said, sliding down the backseat. Suddenly, their eyes shot open, "Xingxing!"
Owen smiled, "Right here, Val. She's alright. So is Alya. We're going to keep them in there for now so that they don't have to see what's going on."
Val relaxed, "Oh, okay. If it's alright with you guys, I think I'm gonna close my eyes for a bit."
"Me, too," Nia muttered, letting her head fall back against the headrest of the seat.
"Might as well wait, you two. We're here," Fenix called, finally pulling over to a stop at the gate to the exit of the town, where people were being herded into escape shuttles.