Levi tensed as he felt the bodies begin to move closer and closer. He had felt the flexing Ki, confused at first before quickly noticing the change and moving to his feet.
"Erwin-"
The man turned to look at him in confusion, but both were cut off by the sudden sounds of startled gasping. Eyes were drawn to the far end of the room, where Premier Zackly clutched a hand to his throat, blood spilling between his fingertips as an assistant stood by his side with a bloodied letter opener in his hand.
Nile was on his feet in an instant, the flinging back of his chair knocking into one of his own assistants, another man who had drawn a knife from secret.
"NILE!"
Erwin leapt over the table and grabbed the man by the back of his collar, yanking him backwards and away as the man struck, knife raised and slashing down. It missed most of the man, only catching him with a cut inside of his thigh as Erwin pulled him over the table, while Levi dove past the both of them.
Eld quickly moved to cover them both, while Levi planted his foot firmly into the assassins' face, kicking the man backwards against the wall which cracked alongside the man's skull, a bloody smear dripping down the side.
Two more knives were flashed, one of them immediately burying itself in the neck of another assistant, someone who apparently had not been on the plan as she fell clutching her throat. The doors were busted open as the Military Police guards outside came quite literally flying in. Oluo moved into view wrestling with one man over his musket, before flipping him over, wrenching the gun free, and blowing off the head of the assailant near Zackly.
Levi moved in a flurry, sweeping the feet of another assassin before throwing a punch into the throat of the other. The woman's throat was crushed and she fell back desperately gasping for air that would never come, while Levi grabbed the man on the ground roughly.
"Why the hell did you do that!?"
The man was silent, squirming in his grip as the brief battle quietened down. The only sounds left were Zackly's bloodied gurgling and the woman's dying gasps. Petra entered, another musket slung over her shoulder and moving quickly to check on the condition of the premier.
"He's almost gone! I'm sorry sir, there's nothing I can do for you."
She had a hand pressed tightly around his throat where his own hands had already attempted to stop the bleeding. He locked his eyes on hers, and shakily tapped her hands before pointing towards Nile. The man was laid on the floor clutching at his thigh while Erwin attempted to help.
Petra hesitated, before he forcibly pushed her off with the last off his strength and sent her on her way, knowing he was already a doomed man. Petra took over from Erwin, cursing as she saw that the man's femoral artery had been cut. Her jacket came off and she tore the sleeve from her inner shirt, she tied it above his thigh and pulled the ramming rod from her musket to form a makeshift tourniquet.
Nile yelled in pain as she tightened it, slamming a fist into the floor to direct his anger somewhere. "Fucking Waltz, worked with him for years and then out of fucking nowhere…"
He hissed in anger and pain, Erwin grabbing the man's head to focus his attention. "Nile, you need to tell me what happened! Why did they do this!?"
"Come on Erwin, we both know why this happened. I did my best but the corruption here has always been too strong, now we've pushed too hard too fast…"
"Captain, we've got incoming!" Eld grabbed another musket passed to him by Gunther, who had collected another two from the guards outside whilst Oluo reloaded his and poked his head to look outside the windows.
"I know." Levi's eyes were watching invisible figures move towards them. "Erwin, we need to go now!"
"Where the hell do we go!?" Oluo asked, rifle reloaded and cocked. "We're in the middle of the city and they still tried to kill us!"
"They'll frame you for this." Nile groaned, turning his focus onto Erwin. "I can't move, and you all need to run. Head towards Stohess, merchant river line, Marco Bott and his team patrol there, you can trust them. Marco was a 104th Cadet, he'll trust you. Marie… fuck, tell her I'm sorry and that I should have been there more."
"Sir! We've got to go!"
"Get moving Erwin!" Nile pushed his comrade away, shuffling himself against the wall and bringing himself to stand up on shaky legs. "Go! I trust you!"
Hands grabbed Erwin and pulled him back into the hallway, the team having sensed the near imminent arrival of their company. They were through the doorway and moving only a few seconds before the windows of the conference room were smashed to pieces and several figures burst inside.
"They're moving through the hallway!"
As the soldiers moved, one reached the hallway and poked his head out only to receive a volley of musket fire smashing into the doorframe and his face. The man dropped with a yell, but despite at least one direct hit, did not show any signs of the rounds having penetrated.
"Fuck! Ki users!" Came the yell from down the hall as the man was dragged away.
"Nice job Carl, you just gave away the element of surprise." Rebuked one of his comrades as he walked towards Nile, the man glaring at him as he held himself against the wall for support. "Hiya boss, how's it going?"
"Fuck you!" The man growled.
"Oooh, you're gonna hurt my feelings."
Nile's sudden punch to the man's nose hurt him a lot more. "Mother FUCKER!"
His hand shot out and beam cut straight through Nile's heart. He gasped, the sudden shock and realisation of the cold death creeping in. Finally, Nile Dok slumped down and died.
The man standing over him rubbed at his nose in aggravation. It wasn't broken or bleeding like it would have been to a normal person, but damn it turned out the man could pack a wallop. If he wasn't so angry, he could have respected it, instead he decided to move towards the hallway.
"Come on people," he pulled out the two pistols of his anti-personnel ODM gear, "let's get to work."
Rushing down the hallway, Petra fired off her rifle and dropped it as she moved, slamming into the man she had only wounded in the shoulder. She had no idea if he was part of whatever secret teams were being used for the assassination, but she had no time to find out otherwise.
She flipped the man over and kicked out a foot, breaking the knee of another man who raised his musket towards her. Around her, the special operations team moved quickly, knocking down any who stood in their way with non-lethal, but perhaps still permanent injuries.
"Towards the end of the hall and out the window!" Levi ordered, Erwin following behind him as he finished strapping in the ODM gear he had borrowed from one of the guards. Erwin would be the only one of them who had their gear, everyone else having likewise travelled without, but he was also the only one of them who hadn't learned Ki control to fly.
"Move through the city, get distance from the ones who can sense Ki and mask yours if you can. Fan out, use the buildings as cover and don't go above the roofline unless you have to!"
The continued their run, more and more shouts of alarm and bells were rung. Several MP's shouted out orders as others looked on in confusion.
"The scouts have killed the Premier and Commander Dok! Stop them!" The narrative was fully under the MP's control, and those not in the loop were quick to fall in line as the sense of betrayal and hatred flooded through them.
Levi reached the end of the hallway and grabbed a chair as he sprinted, he readied himself, and came to an abrupt stop as he flung the chair through the window. A barrage of shots came crashing into the window frame, the Ki users on the other side having sensed them and expected them to burst through.
Levi leapt through and flung his hands up to his head.
"Solar flare!"
The blinding light caught them off guard, as did the series of ki blasts that shot out as the entire team raced through the gap. Several blasts hit a few of them in the air, while others dodged or had been missed in the desperate attack. Levi took a careful eye on those who had been hit, as only a few dropped and stayed down.
As he moved, he took a careful look at the gear of those he passed. It was different, with guns instead of swords built into the handles. Worse, it was armoured in various areas. While it seemed to melt away after one of their blasts, it was enough to allow them a chance to survive with their Ki strength assisting them.
He cursed in his mind. Two quick blasts or one stronger one would be needed if they didn't get lucky in their shots, one more advantage their enemy had over them. They soared past the MP's and into the first outcroppings of the city.
Speed would be their only real chance, they were massively outnumbered, outgunned, and having to spend their Ki on flight meant they would all get exhausted all the quicker.
"They're moving into the city! GET THEM!"
Another barrage of gunshots fired out, but his team were already moving too quickly and erratically to be hit. Erwin it turned out, hadn't lost a step in his ODM gear skills, dodging and weaving through the streets and people with a fluidity that Levi knew very well.
The horde of MP's followed them, buzzing over the rooftops as they pursued with weapons firing, ignoring any collateral of civilians around them.
"Team scatter! Spread their attention and cover for one another, move!"
They each peeled off, Levi sticking with Erwin for security as the two suddenly darted into one of the side alleys and pulled a complete reversal, heading back towards the military headquarters as they threw their pursuers into a confused mess. Soldiers bumped into each other, people hesitated, and the gap between the Scouts and their attackers grew larger.
"Split off! A and B Team with Levi, everyone else pick a Scout and engage!"
The soldiers moved, and Levi noted that it seemed A and B team were specifically the strongest of their teams it seemed. Even as they dodged and weaved at seemingly random, turning sharply and throwing up distractions at every opportunity, the MP's followed with ruthless effectiveness.
"Sir! I need to break away for a while and shake off our friends."
"Go! I'll be fine Levi."
Taking a deep breath, Levi soared up and above the rooftops, a nice and tempting bait.
They took it, as a series of Ki blasts were fired out and straight for him. Abandoning their guns as they went directly for the kill. The energy beams soared up and hit their mark dead on, passing straight through the after-image Levi had left for them.
"What the-"
A fist struck the man as Levi soared back down and struck him with enough strength the send the mans head spinning and neck snapping. Levi grabbed his body and hurled it towards the mans comrade, who dodged out of the way without a single care for him.
Levi had four immediate MP's within reach, and another six who were in movement around him. Good odds he decided.
He darted forwards, grappling with the MP in front of him and twisting her around to be directly in the path of the ki blast fired at him. It exploded, and he saw the woman's eyes widen in shock before the life dropped out of them. Her body was flung away as two of the MP's darted towards him with fists raised.
He ducked and weaved through their attacks, before returning with a blow of his own. His punch shattered the knee of one man, the leg bending backwards as he dropped with a yell. The other man backed off, potentially to create an opening for his comrades to cover him.
It didn't work.
Levi grabbed the screaming man by his broken leg and swung him towards his comrade. The two slammed into each other and were followed by an energy beam exploding into them from Levi.
The last of the immediate MP's around him had backed off enough to be out of reach, deciding to do as the others around him did and let out another series of Ki blasts towards him. Levi leapt away, getting caught by the explosion as it flung him off the rooftop they had been fighting on, and back down towards the street. He crashed down into the road, bouncing off the ground before he managed to flip and get back to his feet.
He didn't wait before darting to his side, gunshots tearing up the spot where he had been. Levi eyed the one of those responsible, who raised his second pistol at Levi before he was suddenly jerked away. A hook had wrapped itself around his ankle and pulled him off the building and down onto the street with Erwin.
Erwin swept out one of the man's feet, though he managed to regain his balance again, bringing up an armoured arm to block the sword that crashed into him. The blade shattered against him, staggering the man and still cutting him in several places despite his Ki and armour, Erwin's blow having carried such a surprising amount of power behind it. Not even a second later however, Erwin's other blade cut a deep gouge into the man's belly, reaching just under the armoured plate and in deep enough to spill free his guts.
The shattered edge of Erwin's first blade cut into the man's neck to finish him off, and Erwin was moving again, the gunfire followed, blowing chunks out of the alley wall that Erwin moved through.
"WELL I'LL BE DAMNED, YOU REALLY DO LIVE UP TO THE LEGEND DON'T YA!?"
Another figure came soaring down from the sky and kicked straight towards Erwin's head, missing by mere inches and crushing the concrete behind him instead. Erwin swapped his ruined blade as he swung, knocking away the man's guns as they came up to fire, shooting just over his head instead.
With his new blade Erwin swung straight towards the man's head, watching as he only grinned and smashed headfirst into it. The blade shattered with not a wound to show for it, only a deep slash through the hat he had been wearing. His foot came up and kicked Erwin back, slamming him against the wall and knocking the wind completely out of him.
"Damn it all, I liked that hat." He looked it over with a frown. "Guess I'll need a new one now. At least you put up a good enough fight for that, would'a been disappointing otherwise."
He dropped the front barrels from his gun, reloading them from the spares he kept at his side. Erwin seemed to only glare at him, making no signs of movement until one of his blades dipped down and caught the edge of a box that Erwin suddenly launched towards him.
The box exploded against the alley wall, the man having ducked and fired, first shot missing as Erwin moved, steam rocketing him up and towards the far side of the wall where he kicked off with tremendous speed, narrowly avoiding the second shot sent his way, small flecks of debris catching his leg and cutting him.
Erwin was not slowed by any blood or wounds, dashing around as more guns trained on him and fired, his original pursuer on him quickly as they reloaded again. Reaching the rooftops he sighted his guns and readied to fire until a shadow seemed to descend over him. He spun, bringing the guns around for defence and catching the kick that hit them.
The weapons exploded in his arms and were followed by a series of blows that rained down upon him, each of them blocked but painfully. He caught the leg of Levi and swept out his other foot only to receive an energy blast to the chest to the chest for his troubles.
"Kenny…" Levi hissed, teeth bared and eyes glowing red as he focused on his former rescuer.
"Well brat, don't you look happy to see me. Ain't this one big fun reunion?" Kenny chuckled darkly as he rose to his feet, dropping the armoured plate from his chest to the ground as it smouldered.
The two of them charged into each other, throwing a series of blows that each caught and counterattacked in turn. The attacks created pops in the air as each rippled with energy, missed punches and kicked tore through concrete as they battled, roof tiles shattered and flung towards each other like knives.
Levi was younger, but Kenny was more experienced, and it soon became very apparent that Kenny's experience against fighting humans was beginning to win out against Levi's Titan killing prowess.
As Kenny swept one of Levi's feet, he suddenly dropped and delivered a spin kick to Levi's chest, sending the man flying backwards and crashing into a chimney that crumbled away. Kenny rose, a ki blast in his hand, and was suddenly hit in the back by a different beam.
Petra flew by, three other pursuers on her tail as she moved. She'd only had the brief window for support, and she knew she hadn't killed Levi's opponent, but that was the best she could do. She dove down into the street level again, gunshots booming down at her as she weaved in and out of cover, turning sharply as she pivoted around one building to come crashing into another MP that hadn't spotted her.
She grabbed the MP and spun him around, using him as a shield against the attacks of the other three. Two had fired their guns, another an energy blast, but the MP's bloodied body had shielded her from harm. It had also taken care of the man lining up on Oluo, who came soaring from behind Petra and crashed into one of her pursuers.
Oluo pushed the MP straight into the edge of one of the building rooftops, before delivered a kick that shattered the man's neck and sent Oluo pushing off again. Oluo's pursuers broke off to chase after Petra, and hers moved after him as they continued down the street.
Their guns remained silent as they moved over to Ki blasts instead, uncaring as they missed and hit the civilian populace instead. Beams shot out and exploded, people dying and losing limbs in the explosions. Gritting his teeth, Oluo pivoted and landed against the side of a small shopping district, pushing off to crash back into his pursuers.
He took one down, grappling the man as they smashed into the back alley of a shop and delivering a series of punches to the mans face. However, the MP wasn't finished, grappling back and twisting around as they fought for control. Oluo managed to slip by, grabbing the man by the throat and hurling him against the wall.
Bricks cracked and broke against him, blood smearing down the wall as the MP's body fell away. Oluo stumbled back to his feet and readied himself to fly before a Ki blast struck him from behind. He was flung forwards and crashed through a collection of wooden crates, hitting the floor in a bloodied heap.
He hissed in pain, rolling over to see the other MP that had waited for her moment and struck him down. She stalked towards him, reloading her guns as she watched him carefully.
"Any last words?" She asked him, bringing up the guns and aiming down at him.
"Fuck you." He spat out, little pieces of blood landing at her feet.
"Always a classic." She fired, and the bullet tore through Oluo's chest, the rounds much more powerful than a typical musket and Oluo took weak to stop it.
He bled out quickly, his pain dropping away as he slumped in death.
Any victory the woman might have celebrated was cut short as a shadow moved above her.
"YOU BITCH!"
Gunther launched a Ki blast directly towards her, knocking her backwards until she bounced off the corner of a brick wall, yelping in pain as she dropped. Gunther had no chance to confirm whether she had died however, as he was still being chased by several others.
They fired blasts of their own which he managed to avoid, however one exploded close behind him and knocked him out of the air. He crashed against the ground and wasted no time before scrambling back to his feet, sensing one of the MP's was already drawing down on him.
Until the MP suddenly wasn't, as Petra flew through and kicked out the man's knee, shattering the joint and dropping him from the rooftop and down to the street. Gunther took flight once again while Petra continued, a trio on her once again as she moved.
She dipped down low, deliberately trying to duck through a marketplace interior as they followed. At breakneck speeds she dodged and weaved past people, stalls, and carts as she stayed hovering only inches above the ground. The MP's followed her, but the gap had managed to widen enough that she kicked down a door and sprinted inside of the building.
It had been some kind of hotel it seemed as she raced down the hallway and up the stairs, twisting around the corner as she sensed for empty rooms. She finally found what she was looking for as she kicked down a door, an empty bedroom and window in front of her. She let loose a small Ki blast that exploded out the window, before turning back around and kicking open the bedroom door behind her.
This time, she stepped inside, closing the door carefully and slipping inside of a wardrobe by the door. She listened carefully, her heart pounding in her ears and own deep breathing too loud to focus. Desperately, she tried to get it under control as she heard footsteps racing up the former stairs. The loud thumping of their feet was echoing throughout the hall, coming to a halt as they reached the open door.
"She went out the window!"
There was the sound of clattering as people moved through the room, before finally she heard the zip and hiss of ODM gear being engaged. Except, only one set did she hear.
There was silence, and her Ki senses told her that the other two had stayed still. There was no way these two had also been taught Ki sensing in so quick a time, right? Whether they had, or had simply noticed something, Petra heard the creak of floorboards as they began to move back towards her room.
She swore internally, crouching down in the wardrobe as she hoped against hope that they would leave, that her deep panting and shaking limbs wouldn't give her away. The floorboards continued to creak, the door groaned, and she sensed the two of them step inside. They moved quietly, carefully, perhaps knowing that she was listening to them and trying to not give anything away.
There was a click, and Petra burst out from the wardrobe just as one of the MP's raised their gun to fire. It went wide, just over head as Petra darted out and kept low. One hand knocked the man's gun away while her other came up and slapped directly onto his face, a Ki blast built and blowing the man's head off.
Blood splattered across the room, but only a smoking stump remained at his neck. His partner showed no hesitation as she struck, both guns firing with one of them catching Petra through the shoulder. She yelped in pain, reflexively moving to grip her wound before forcing herself to continue and crash into the woman.
They both fell down into the opposite room, it's shattered window frame leaving a collection of glass shards that cut into their limbs as they struggled. Petra was on top, throwing a punch into her face that crunched her nose. Despite the pain of it, the MP caught the next hit and brought up her thumb to press directly into Petra's bloody shoulder wound.
She screamed in pain, grip loosening and was flipped around onto the floor. The MP kept her thumb inside of the wound as she reached behind her back for something. A flash of steel appeared as she drew a knife, stabbing downwards towards Petra, catching only her cheek and the floorboards as she twisted.
Petra smacked down hard onto the woman's elbow, bringing her suddenly much closer to Petra and off balance. With a foot planted on her chest, Petra rolled backwards and kicked, sending the woman flying directly out the window. Her shocked expression was cut off by a barrage of gunfire as she was shot by her comrade, not realising it hadn't been his friend who came flying out.
Petra sensed the man outside had been joined by two others. She needed to keep the element of surprise and move while they were distracted, and so she leapt out of the window as well. Her hands rose to her forehead and fingers splayed out.
"SOLAR FLARE!"
The MP's fired blind, one unleashing a Ki blast where he thought he could sense Petra. The beam shot out and found its target.
Petra exploded as she soared through the air, her body disappearing into the alleyway opposite the hotel and out of view.
"Where did she go! Did we get her!?"
"I hit her, but I don't see a body."
The MP's scoured from the rooftop, their eyes still not recovered from the bright light.
"I see blood! No sign of her but she's here somewhere! You sense her?"
"No! No… she must have died, her energy's gone. Move and reinforce the others! We'll grab the body later."
Two sets of gear activated as the MP's flew away, one waiting for a final check before disappearing as well. Down in the alleyway and beneath a pile of trash, Petra's breath was shallow and weak. Her energy deliberately suppressed, she clutched her wound as she tried to slow the bleeding.
"Thank you Gohan, for teaching me this…" It was with a small sense of dark amusement that she realised it likely did not matter. Her body was wrecked and hurt everywhere, she was sure she had no small amount of burns on herself.
As her breathing continued to dip, the world became a little darker, and her eyelids became so much heavier and heavier. It was more and more difficult to keep her eyes open and her wound clenched tightly, and finally her energy dipped away.
Her eyes shut once more and did not open. The grip on her shoulder loosed and slipped away. Unconsciousness reached out and took her, but not before she felt a pair of arms reach out and begin to pull her away.