Doctor Who: Panic Moon Ch. 12

Only this was theirhome, damn it!

It might have even beenbetterto know who these fuckers who had invaded this place were. But there were no clues there, nothing to indicate an affiliation or even areasonfor being here. They were wearing standard battle wear, bulletproof, black and menacing, but there were no insignia or imagery to indicate national affiliation. Their weapons were older models; rifles and pistols from years past, from wars long since concluded. These people, theseinterloperswith deadly intent, were entirely mysterious. Yet this wasn't a random attack; it onlyfeltthat way, at times.

Suddenly, they were out in the main hall; Ren's room lay at the top of a set of stairs at the other end of the room, and... They were not alone.

This room was filled with soldiers; Tsugi might have noticed, had his mind not been clouded with fear and other thoughts. There was a moment of absolute, all consumingoh fuckas he and Kanaria skidded to a stop, both sets of eyes wide. Without really knowing why, as the entire group of intruders- too many to count in the time available- turned to face them, he looked up. He felt like laughing; they were both directly underneath Ren's door. If he craned his neck, he could see the heavy steel glinting in the sunlight. Sometimes, fate really could contrive to betotally fucking ridiculous.

'Freeze!' Again, Tsugi felt the desire to laugh; with so many guns pointed in his direction, whatelsewas he going to do? Only Kanaria's little squeak of fear dampened that desire; an odd surge of protectiveness filled him. Though aware it was a useless gesture, he stepped in front of her, pressing her back against the wall. Given his stature, and the fact that there was only one of him, he couldn't exactly stare down the assembled intruders easily, but he gave it a damn good shot. At this juncture, he was well beyond giving a fuck.

'Command, we've located the programmer and the technician,' Came a voice from the back, seemingly into a headset. 'Looks like they were making a run at the Half. Good thing you had us wait here. Nice thinking.'

'Too bad we locked her in!' One of the soldiers closer to the pair spoke up, rifle at his shoulder. 'Besides... We weretoldto keep you alive, but...'

'Yeah, I'm not totally in on that either,' Came another voice. 'I mean, we could alwayssaythey resisted. Imagine the look on Hackett's face.'

'Alright. Let's dothat,' A grin from the first man, his eye lining up with the sight on his rifle. 'I'm a big fan ofthat.'

'Hey, fuck you!' Tsugi growled, puffing himself up as much as he could to shield Kanaria. It wouldn't mean anything, he knew; the moment they opened fire the two of them would be torn apart whether he was in front of her or not. Even so, it felt...Right, somehow. Him, protecting her. Most natural thing in the universe.

Still, staring down the barrels of too many damn guns, that wasn't too much comfort. He could feel them winding up inside, about to pull the trigger. His death was coming in the form of a hail of burning metal shards, andfuckwas that ever dissatisfying.

The whole thing came to an abrupt stop with the first, sonorous metal clang from above. People started looking around by the second. At the third, everyone was well and truly freaked out. It took until the fourth blow for the echoes to stop messing with their ability to mark position, and they located the sound as coming from the door above.

Still, it was better than getting shot.

One of the soldiers laughed, 'Hey, the Half's trying to get out!'

'She won't, though. That door is deadlock sealed. Ain't gonna open until we say,' Said another.

Another reverberating metal clang, this one resulting in a large dent blooming from the center of the door. Tsugi grinned nastily, as some of the soldiers began looking a little less confident in their comrade's assessment of the situation. One of them piped up, 'Uh, is that so?'

'Yeah.Deadlock seal, leaves no room for error.Nothingis getting through that door. And even if shedoesget out, look at all of us. Look at the weapons we have. We're in the perfect position for an ambush.'

Tsugi nodded, 'Yeah. But is it really an ambush if the ambushee is beating through metal plating to get to you?'

The sounds were coming in quick succession now, boom after boom shuddering through the door, sending the sound of violence cascading down onto the assembled crowd. Even Kanaria's expression had taken on a curious edge as, slowly, the door buckled under the thudding blows from its other side.

Bang. Bang. Bang.

Little by little.Something wicked this way comes...

From the other side of the door came a howl of pure fury, the inferno in sonic form. One crash, and the sound of tortured metal shrieking hot on its heels. The door rocketed off its frame, careening through the air and landing chaotically, taking out a number of soldiers under its bulk. The sounds of pain, the grinding of metal... And the sound of heavy footsteps.

'Okay!' The voice vibrated darkly, so strong and confident it seemed to fill the entire room, like a hammer blow. Tsugi looked up to see it step out onto the floor above him.

Mismatched eyes, incandescent with rage, burning away in the middle of an expression that promised a long and painful death to anyone who crossed her. She was wearing a black bodysuit, like a layer of paint on her skin. Like she had been dipped naked into a vat of tar. It caught the light in odd ways; she was breathtakingly beautiful, in her fury.

She stepped out into the light, rolling her shoulders. Her entire body swayed slightly as she looked out over the gobsmacked crowd, cracking her knuckles in such a cavalier manner; as though shehadn'tjust broken through an armor plated door with them.

She smiled a predator's smile. She was complete. When she opened her mouth to speak, the entire room hung on her every word. Her eyes burned, so deeply, blood red and sapphire blue, alien and human. Familiar and terrifyingly unfamiliar, wrapped up in the one body.

'Alright, hi. My name is Ren Andrei Syfte, and I'm going tofucking murder each and every one of you!'

To be continued...