[hr][hr][i][h1][color=red]Meifeng[/color] & [color=dodgerblue]Lihua[/color] [color=red]Zh[/color][color=dodgerblue]ao[/color], [color=yellow]Alice Barrett[/color], [color=gray]Quentin[/color] & [color=darkslateblue]Reed[/color] [color=gray]Tay[/color][color=darkslateblue]lor[/color].[/h1][sub](collaboration between [@Mr Allen J], [@Nosuchthing] and [@Zombiedude101])[/sub][/i][hr]
[b][code]Hailey Boulevard, Silver Hills_[/code][/b]


The squad was lead through the tunnels of the base, precisely following the pathway provided to them by their good informant friend within RAVEN. Meifeng was the one leading the group, with her weapons ready to shoot whatever the hell got in her way. Hopefully, with the RAVENS keeping the IU's attention above them, they could sneak around down here. Thanks to Lihua's planning, they didn't even need to get close to the Beast. They packed some left over C4 charges, and all they had to do was set it up around the beast, and [i]BOOM![/i] The beast would be dead before he could even get a start, and they could worry about the Machine... hopefully. Eh, it was best that they keep a flexible mind because, at this point, anything and everything could happen. Of course, there was a large explosion coming from the place where they literally just came from! Meifeng stopped for a moment as her head leered around her shoulder to look behind her. Hoping that it wasn't anything bad. That something just [i]fell.[/i]

The earpiece they each had buzzed, and Reed's familiar voice spoke up. "We've got a problem."

"Oh, I was [i]so[/i] looking forward to this part," Meifeng muttered to herself, before she pressed her earpiece. "What is it?"

"There's a... there's a [i]shield[/i] over the base," The DOVE Investigator said. "Same as the one that appeared over Verthaven."

Lihua, listening, shook her head. She remembered the shield being mentioned in Marcelle's logs, but she never expected them to have a smaller version for their base. "... This is a... unforeseen factor, to say the least." She said, trying to keep calm.

"Not just that, the tunnels you snuck in through were caved in. No going back," Reed continued, and Meifeng couldn't help but facepalm. "But the teams on the roof reported some kind of object projecting a beam. I'll keep you posted, just... watch yourselves."

"Thanks, Mr. Taylor," Lihua said to Reed.

"...Essentially, we're boxed in with a ticking time bomb." Meifeng groaned, she looked up towards the base above them. "Best that we keep pressing on. Shield, or no shield, it won't matter if the beast gets out." She tried to push on forward.

A hand grabbed onto her shoulder, and stopped her, "Meifeng," Lihua said. "While that is true, they most likely anticipate us knowing about their secret tunnels... even if they don't know we're here, they likely prepared for the possibility." 

As she explained, she released Meifeng and took a step back. "In the event we cannot stop the Beast before it's completed..." She closed her eyes as she sighed. "... It'll be a massacre."

"So, what do you think we should do? Waste [i]even more[/i] time?" Meifeng said, "I don't know if you [i]noticed[/i], but the doomsday clock is ticking."

"For this situation to turn out in our favor, [i]we have to[/i]," Lihua said. "But, you're forgetting we have one of the... fastest RAVENS." Lihua said turning her head towards Alice.

"A small strike team splitting up from ours, and going to the rooftop should be sufficient," Lihua reached into the bag that Meifeng was carrying, and pulled out one of the C4 charges, presenting it to Alice. "Go there, Alice. The odds are less and less in our favor by the moment."

"But, don't go alone," Meifeng said. "That's just asking for trouble."

"I'll go with her," Quentin volunteered, well aware of the risks involved. "She can plant the charges whilst I keep watch. Anything we come across, I'll deal with it."

Alice took the charge, strapping the bulky rectangle awkwardly to the back of her vest. It would be extra weight, but it would also be the only thing she had capable of damaging whatever machine was projecting that force-field. She looked to Quentin, grateful that someone had volunteered to watch her back. She might be fast, but she was not invulnerable. She paused before she left, "Are you sure about this? If I take down that shield then the Beast will be able to escape it too. Can we take that risk?"

"...The shield emitter is going to be destroyed anyway," Lihua said as she put a hand on her hip. "That was probably their plan from the beginning, at least the difference being that we at least get a chance to retreat and regroup." She noted, realizing that Alice didn't quite grasp the severity of the situation.

The blonde shook her head, "we can't take that risk, there are still innocents in the city, not everyone has evacuated. The Family might not give a shit about them, but we should. I might not be a cop anymore, but I took an oath to protect and serve, and I'll be damned if I go back on it now."

Lihua narrowed her eyes at the woman. "Child, we don't have time for your foolish rhetoric," She said, getting incredibly annoyed. "[i]We[/i] didn't put up the shield, the Family did. They're just going to drop it once their Beast is done wiping out RAVEN, and set their Beast on the city to keep RAVEN off their tail."

Alice bristled at 'child', biting her tongue in her response, "with respect [i]ma'am[/i], our duty is to protect the people out there, and sacrificing innocents for the 'Greater Good' is exactly why we're in this fucked up situation in the first place."

"And we're also the only people capable of destroying their Machine - which, in case you forgot, also has the potential for a mass loss of life," Lihua said. "And are you forgetting that they have people here, as well? People that have been tortured for God knows how long. That shield is not to protect the people at large, and you're stupid for thinking the Family gives two damns about them to begin with..."

Then again, she realized that her argument would fall on deaf ears. "If you can't follow orders, then I guess I'll have to do it myself." She said as she turned around.

"Wait, Mom," Meifeng said as she was tired of sitting in the sidelines of this conversation. She didn't agree with either of them to be honest, but they were already wasting enough time. "We need to come to a middle-ground here... a compromise." She knew that apart of Lihua didn't want to risk herself getting killed... Lihua still promised the Liu sisters they would get Jiao-Long back, and Lijuan still needs her. "We're here to stop the Beast from even getting finished above all else."

Pulling her glare away from the Matriarch, Alice turned to Meifeng.

"What do you suggest?"

For a moment Meifeng looked at Lihua as she said, "We set the charges on the emitter anyway, and only detonate them once the Beast is dead." Lihua scoffed, but didn't seem openly against it. "That way... we're keeping our options open - but, we really need to stop wasting time." She said.

"Every second we waste, is another second the Beast gets closer and closer to completion...." That was the bottom line. 

Alice visibly relaxed, she realised that she had been going toe to toe with a superior officer on the subject, although potential career futures were hardly a concern right now.

"You're right," she looked back to Lihua, "We've already slowed down too much, you go, I'll take Quentin."

She put her hand on the bigger man's shoulder, glancing back at the group they were leaving.

"Kick his ass for me..."

Meifeng saluted Alice, before they turned down the hallway and kept moving. She knew that Lihua probably didn't care too much (and was most likely only annoyed), but she was concerned with the mission over the concerns of a subordinate. Meifeng made sure to pick up haste because they had to make up for all the time they lost arguing about it.

They kept moving through the halls, getting closer and closer to their objective.

"G...guys?" A familiar voice called out from the shadows, and Lihua was the first to shine a light on it. It revealed Cindy Keagan in tattered clothing, leaning up against the wall as if she was injured.

"Shit? Cindy?" Meifeng asked, as she lowered her weapons. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"S-sorry, I tried so hard, but the Hound captured me again," Cindy pleaded. "I need help getting out of here."

"Shit, let me-" Meifeng outstretched a hand, only to be stopped by Lihua.

"Meifeng, no," Lihua said, staring directly at Cindy. "Something doesn't feel right here..."

"But, mom, she's Cindy," Meifeng pleaded. "The girl you've known for years now. The girl that took care of Lijuan, and hell, she let her live with us for a few years."

Instead, Lihua kept her shotgun trained on Cindy. "But, that was before we learned the Family had [i]mind[/i] control."

Cindy narrowed her eyes, then Lihua did the same, wondering who would pull the metaphorical trigger first (or Lihua, who's packing the literal trigger).

"...Prove you aren't, Ms. Keagan," Lihua said, before she shook her head. "Actually, we don't have time for this; show us you have no weapons, and put on this collar for us." She said, presenting.

"Mom..." Meifeng said.

"I can't believe you would doubt me, Ms. Zhao," Cindy said, before a sinister grin formed on her face. In the blink of an eye - far faster than Lihua's reaction timing would allow - she had created a shield out of glass to absorb the inevitable shotgun shell from Lihua. A small hole formed as Cindy chucked a grenade through it that rolled towards the center of the group idly...

"S-shit!" Meifeng's instincts were to blast the grenade away with a gust of water... but, that was when Cindy broke the glass shield up into powder. And began to barrage them with a storm of green glass that would be hell. Meifeng had to cover her eyes, as she ran out... She couldn't believe [i]Cindy[/i], her best friend, was subjugating her to this... and now she suddenly felt bad for all the people they fought over the years. Getting out of the storm of glass, Meifeng couldn't help but cough out,

"Shit! Retreat!" Meifeng shouted, as she went down the hallway away from the every expanding glass storm... she didn't know where the hell the others were. But, she heard a scream that had to be Maxine. "Max?! What is your status?!" Meifeng asked in the comms. Only to get no answer.

"Shit, I'm coming!" Meifeng said as she started running.

[hr]

Thank God Lihua put on this damn helmet.

Without the visor and helmet, the glass storm would have killed her. Though, some of the glass got in despite her best efforts. Lihua managed to creep out of the glass storm, to catch her breath in one of the side rooms. She found herself in one of the labs, she quickly scanned the room, and realized it was desolate. The next thing she did was pull the helmet up to get all this damn glass out of her eyes, then dump the glass out of the helmet. Well, this plan had gone horribly wrong, right before it even started. Apparently the Family had guessed their exact angle, to the point where Lihua wondered if she should have pulled some more advanced mind games. Eh, that isn't the point.

Their forces are so expended that all they could spare was Cindy... Oh, Cindy. It was Lihua's worst fear. The girl has been mind controlled... she's got to save Cindy from the Family, and their machinations-

Before Lihua could get lost in her thoughts, she heard the sounds of a cane tapping against the ground, slowly approaching as the door opened. It was hard to see her at first, before she created a small light to illuminate herself.

"...Biyu," Lihua hissed at her mother.

"[i]I figured you'd be here... Qiaolian,[/i]" Biyu said, in a gentle tone, as she slowly closed the distance.

Lihua stood straight up, and had primed that shotgun on her mother. "[i]Don't think I won't kill you... Mother.[/i]"

Biyu scoffed as she looked at Lihua, "[i]That just goes to show how little respect you have for me... or anyone. You just do whatever is truly convenient for yourself... Qiaolian.[/i]" Taking one step forward, Biyu stopped. "[i]I, unfortunately, have little time to teach you some damn discipline... so, I think I'm going to bring this to a close...[/i]"

For a moment, Lihua let her words sink in as she considered an angle she was too bitter to consider before.

"[i]...It doesn't have to be this way, Biyu,[/i]" Lihua tried to plead with her, lowing her weapon. "[i]We're both two strong women... we're better than this... Fighting to the death like[/i] animals."

"[i]Oh, Qiaolian,[/i]" Biyu said... before she disappeared in a flash of light, appearing in the air right before Lihua, her hand was pointed at her, and she fired off a ball of light that cut through the air. Would have hit Lihua dead in the chest, but instead, it burned her arm as she desperately rolled out of the way. Lihua hissed as the heat singed her arm... not a feeling she was new to, but it definitely hurt.

"[i]If you're so desperate to end things in blood...[/i]" Lihua said, as she hopped to her feet to face Biyu down. She had clenched her fists tightly, and said, "...Then so be it."

[hr]

Unfortunately, Max wasn't able to get away from the glass storm as... successfully, as the others.

She was stumbling away, barely holding onto the walls as she was coughing up blood and glass powder, trying to get the garbage out of her eyes. Desperately. In the darkness of the base, she had no idea what was going on, and she knew that getting attacked now would be a death sentence.

Well, all her worst fears came true when the glass spear pierced through the back of her knee.

Max screamed as she fell down, and looked at the long glass weapon that had destroyed her knee, and made it impossible for her to stand up. She reached for her side-arm, but another thick glass spear went right through her hand and elected another painful grunt as Cindy stood over her.

"Maxxie..." Cindy said as she gently put her hand on Max's back... Ending up on her head, and her hand lingered there for a few moments. Before glass began growing on Max's body.

"...[i]Never liked you much.[/i]"


[hr][hr][i][h1][color=red]Meifeng Zhao[/color], vs. [color=springgreen]Cindy Keagan[/color].[/h1][/i][hr]
[b][code]Hailey Boulevard, Silver Hills_[/code][/b]


By the time Meifeng reached Maxine... the girl was facedown by the side of the hallway.

She ran over to the girl, and announced into the comms, "Max is down!" She knelt down and flipped the girl over... only to see one of the most gruesome sights she had ever laid eyes upon. The green glass that she [i]knew[/i] was Cindy's was piercing out through her mouth, eyes... all over her. Almost like she was filled to the brim, and her body couldn't contain it anymore. Her eyes were dead and lifeless as they could get, Meifeng wished that she could have been faster, then she could have saved Max... but, this wasn't Cindy. This had to be that God damn mind control, because the [i]real[/i] Cindy would never do this to even her worst enemy.

The sound of glass breaking announced her presence, Meifeng rode on a spinning pillar of water and dipped out of the way as a glass spear was flying towards her. Ready to impale her the same way Max was impaled. It merely hit the wall as Meifeng stared down Cindy, the dead lifelessness in her eyes, mixed with that smile... unnerving.

It reminded her of [i]Luis[/i].

"Cindy," Meifeng said as she balled her fists. "You're not yourself... but, I promise you, no matter what it takes..."

[hider=Kingdom Hearts II OST - Rage Awakened][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g29X3YcZquo[/youtube][/hider]

"...I'm going to find a way to reverse it."

Cindy didn't even respond, she merely pointed her hands forward, and a hail of glass crystals came floating outwards towards Meifeng. It was too slow for Meifeng, as girl's reflexes were quick enough to quickly whip her hand downwards, and a jet of water came bursting out of the pipes in the ceiling. The jet of water quickly froze, and trapped the glass. Along with creating a wall allowing for Meifeng to shield herself from further attacks from Cindy.

"Agent Rogue Wave here, I have located Agent Keagan, but she seems to be under the effects of a Domination type Metahuman," Meifeng said as she pressed her comms piece. She noticed Cindy prepping a large orb of glass to pound against it. Meifeng reached for the canister of containment foam. "...I'm moving in to detain."

When the orb went through the ice, Meifeng quickly rolled the canister towards Cindy, and, as expected, all of Cindy's efforts went towards wrapping glass around it to shield herself.

[i]If I'm going to stand a chance against Cindy, I'm going have to keep her on the defensive,[/i] Meifeng thought to herself, she had created a floating orb of ice, and swung out a kick that flew towards the distracted Cindy and hit her right in the arm. Meifeng was aiming for her chest, but this was a battle of attrition. Only difference was that Cindy could shred her to bits in an instant if she slips up even for a [i]second[/i]. [i]Remember Cindy, I know you. I know the woman underneath it all. All of her strengths... all of her weaknesses.[/i]

Sliding across the ground, Meifeng was closing the distance best she could. Cindy was only equipped with what she had during the raid. The kelvar vest, a pistol... Meifeng would have to be careful. If Cindy shoots her... the fight's over. Meifeng was going have to use her own weapon if all other attempts to disable Cindy fail.

[i]I'll do anything for you, Cindy. You know that, right?[/i] Meifeng said as she swung out her foot with such speed and grace that Cindy could once again go on the defensive erecting a glass barrier. Both their powers clashed as the water jet bounced off the glass - knocking the glass barrier back. [i]That's why I'm doing any of this... because you're such a valuable friend not just to me, but to mom, my lil' sis, Quentin, Reed, even Shizuka...[/i]

Planting her foot down firmly, Meifeng quickly whipped around with her other leg, shooting out a water enhanced back kick - right before the moment of impact, the water turned into hard ice and punched through Cindy's ill-prepared shield like it was nothing. Putting her foot down again, she skipped forward, with water arcing around her hands. The water beneath her feet shot her up into the air, and she cocked her fist back, water was forming a coil around her hand.

[i]Which is why... saving you from the Family is my top priority.[/i]

Cindy grinned. The glass that Meifeng had previously broken and scattered all over the floor had quickly shot upwards. The RAVEN armor provided to her was enough to stop most of the blades, but Meifeng had to cover up her face as the glass tore apart the flesh on her head. She groaned as her momentum was utterly shut down, and it let Cindy do what Meifeng feared.

[i]Go on the offensive.[/i]

What glass was left floating around was quickly used to create an emerald-green javelin, which was sent flying at Meifeng's midsection the moment she hit the ground. Meifeng's eyes shot open as she pointed her hand off to the side, and fired a giant blast of high-pressurized water out of her pocket dimension. The force created by the water was enough to push Meifeng out of the way... then, she did a grabbing motion that pulled all the water into a column that she swung like the mightiest of weapons.

Cindy had merely backtracked out of the way of Meifeng's improvised water weapon... leaving behind a little surprise on the ground, that she knew Meifeng would miss.

After seeing that she had missed, Meifeng's first instinct was to hop on an orb of water and dash after her... but, the second she hopped on her orb, she felt something stab her in the leg. She let out a surprised gasp as she looked down, and saw that Cindy had left behind a glowing "glass seed" as she called them. It had "exploded" into a blade that pierced through the armor with ease, and hit her in the leg. She smashed it with her leg, but what Meifeng had feared had occurred.

A barrage of glass was flying down the hallway, and Cindy kept pumping it out by the second. By the time Meifeng noticed, all she could do was create a flimsy dome made out of ice to shield herself from the barrage. Crouching down, and lowering her body the best she could, she could hear the glass scraping against it. She watched as Cindy walked up, with that same evil-grin on her face.

[i]I'm not even going to try that "I know you're still in there, fight it" bullshit, because if there was even a semblance of Cindy in there, she would have stopped this by now.[/i] Meifeng watched again as Cindy walked up, gathering the glass to create a multilayered wrecking ball out of glass. It pounded against the ice barrier more and more... but, Meifeng was the person who knocked the barrier over. Launching it into shards that went in all directions as she lunged at Cindy, throwing a punch that hit her square in the jaw. Sending her stumbling backwards. Another fist was ready to punch her, but when she threw her punch, Cindy side-stepped it, and grabbed her wrist tightly.

She coated the tips of her nails with glass as she tried to jam her fingers into Meifeng's eyes, the woman had to tilt her head to avoid Cindy poking her damn eyes out. The glass covered nails were dragged downwards across her flesh. Meifeng quickly grabbed onto Cindy's wrist that was holding onto her, and jammed it upwards hard as she could. Electing a grunt from Cindy as she threw a punch, but the girl dodged it, and followed up on it. Her hand was covered in glass, and she punched Meifeng hard as she could in the face. That was the punch that knocked Meifeng on her ass, seeing [i]stars[/i].

She felt a weight on top of herself... Cindy planting her body firmly on top of her with no intent of letting her leave. Especially stunned as she was.

[i]Hell... it only felt like a few days ago we were having a good time in the bar. You getting drunk off your ass... yeah... I remember it fondly.[/i]

Cindy gently put her hands on Meifeng's face, caressing it... before she began to grow glass on her face.

[i]What... no... I can't... let her...[/i]

Meifeng realized that her hands were free enough to grab her gun... but, was she really ready to kill her own friend? After everything they'd been through, and her own desperation to save the last Keagan?

[i]There is a way... a way I can save everyone... but, I have to act fast.[/i]

It was a last ditch effort. Banking everything on creating one water orb in the distance between herself and shooting it hard as she could. It wasn't that hard... but, it stunned Cindy for a moment. And in that moment, Meifeng managed to flip Cindy off of herself. The first thing she did was pull this damn glass off herself before she stopped breathing. The crumpled glass fell off, but Meifeng was on her knees, and Cindy was standing. Prepping her next attack - but, how long could she keep this going? Stunned to all hell, and bleeding... there's no way she could beat Cindy alone.

She remembered... the promise.

[i]Save Cindy... whatever the cost.[/i]

Her hand drifted towards that sidearm that she had, but quickly whipped it out and drew it while Cindy was in the middle of her next attack - another spear out of glass that would have killed Meifeng... if it wasn't for what she was about to do next.

[i]Forgive me, Cindy. You might not walk right ever again...[/i]

Meifeng knew the golden rule of shooting is: there [i]are[/i] no shots to disable. You shoot to kill, and [i]only[/i] to kill, but there was that shred of idealism inside of her that told her that Cindy can more than survive this bullet. She pulled the trigger, the moment she did, there was nothing that Cindy could do to defend herself. The bullet cut through the air at super sonic speeds, and hit Cindy in the leg. The mind-controlled girl screamed loudly as she grabbed her leg. Immediately limping in pain.

Well, that went better than expected. Part of her [i]feared[/i] she would hit a main vein... Meifeng pushed herself to her feet as Cindy fell. Okay, time to take Cindy back to headquarters until they find a way - [i]some way[/i] - to fix all of this.

She walked over to Cindy.

"N-no," Cindy said. "I was told by Mistress to kill you... I... I-I can't fail her."

Meifeng had the power suppressant collar ready, that would eliminate Cindy as a threat for the moment. They would have to drag her out of here, but that was the price. As Meifeng approached, Cindy quickly shot her hand out, and a which jet of glass powder came out of her hand that sprayed Meifeng in the face. The RAVEN loudly screamed as she reached up to cover herself.

The mind-controlled DOVE hopped up to her feet - well, the best someone shot in the leg could - and began limping off. She created a large glass seed with one hand, and threw it over her shoulder... and the seed exploded into a wall that went from one end to the other. Nothing that Meifeng couldn't break... but, it bought Cindy enough time to get a sizable distance. Meifeng ran over to the wall, and slammed her fist against it. Cindy... she was crafty. All those play-fights had finally paid off... but, she had to go catch up to Cindy before she could lick her wounds - or get help from someone worse...

...Not that it would matter when she was bleeding, but Meifeng had other matters.

There was a large crash in the distance, one created not by an explosion, but what had to be something else. Then it occurred to her:

"Concrete Dragon, your status?" Meifeng asked, only to get no answer. "Mom, what is going on?!" She tried to plead.

While she was concerned about Cindy... she'd have another chance to help her. Because now... now...

...There was someone else that needed her help.


[hr][hr][i][h1][color=dodgerblue]Lihua Zhao[/color], vs. Biyu Liu.[/h1][/i][hr][hider=NieR OST - The Wretched Automatons][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmc3yji0G84[/youtube][/hider]
[b][code]Hailey Boulevard, Silver Hills_[/code][/b]


While Lihua said she was against the fight... there was a part of her that was more than accepting of this outcome. A part of her that vaguely [i]wanted[/i] this.

A wall was blown open by Lihua's ability as she rode out on a stone. A flash of light came from the hole, and Biyu appeared right outside the room they were previously in. It became obvious that she was keeping her distance far away from Lihua as she could. Which was painfully easy when she could transform into light and teleport... The problem was wondering how good Biyu's reflexes were in her age. All Lihua had to do was get one hit on her. [i]One[/i]. However, Biyu pointed her finger forward, and a bright yellow beam of light came out of the finger. It traveled at light speed and hit Lihua in the side, which made the woman loudly groan in pain. It dug a hole in her flesh that was the least pleasant experience on the planet.

"[i]Oh, it seems my aim isn't what it used to be...[/i]"  Biyu mused to herself, as she realized the destination of the beam was off. It was supposed to go through her head. Nonetheless, Biyu knew that Lihua couldn't kept up with all these wounds. That arm was practically useless, and all Biyu had to do was to keep filling her with holes until she's dead.

Lihua slammed her foot onto the ground, and Biyu instinctively turned into light, appearing some distance away to dodge the spike that broke through the ground, but that was just a diversion for Lihua. While Biyu was reforming, she hit the ground with her foot, and tore chunks of stone out of the ground. Just needed three. These three chunks of stone floated a little bit in front of her, as she assumed one of her Tai Chi stances that she could remember fondly... 'High pat on the horse', they called it. One leg was in front of the other as she dropped all of her weight onto her back leg. Both hands were up, pointed towards the ceiling. She was going to be the one who survived this. Survived this for Lijuan and everyone else who were counting on her.

When Biyu had re-orientated herself, she quickly kept the offensive up. Both hands were open, and she fired two large beams of light. Unbeknownst to her, the three blocks of concrete were covering most of Lihua's body. Leaving as little of her exposed as possible. As Lihua predicted, the light merely bounced off, and the moment they did, Lihua continued keeping up the offensive. She threw a punch forward, and the stones broke off into tiny pieces that sprayed the area in front of her with a hail of rocks. Biyu was blinded by her own light, and didn't even realize the spray of rocks. They slammed against Biyu as the elderly woman scrambled to teleport away.

The woman reappeared down the hallway, in a nexus of sorts. It was a fairly large room, where most of the hallways met. Biyu had to stop for a moment to catch her breath... She traced a finger over her bleeding wounds, and examined her bloody fingers. Nonetheless, that was just a motivation for Biyu to kill that [i]worthless[/i] daughter of hers. Her head looked over her shoulder as she heard the heavy footsteps of her daughter's boots... the second her gaze went over her shoulder, all she could see was Lihua diving through the air, riding the chunks of concrete. The woman disappeared into another blinding yellow flash of light as Lihua came crashing down. Punching the ground which made a spire of stone pop out. Her head whipped around towards the light, and she grabbed the spire by wrapping around it with both arms, and lugged the construct at Biyu. Blood was dripping down her very being as the excessive use of her power was tearing through her flesh itself.

Once again, Biyu barely had any time to reorient herself when Lihua kept up the assault, but Biyu was so damn fast. Lihua came to realize that there would be no way to take her out the "old fashioned way." The second that Biyu had returned, she had both hands ready, and Lihua reacted on instinct to shield herself from the barrage of light. But, Biyu wasn't firing any mere blast of light... It was a massive beam that was twice the size of her body. It clashed against stone... but, the sheer heat it was giving off was unbearable to Lihua - still, she persevered in the face of the heat. Packing up more and more stone on top of her shield in an attempt to block out the heat.

[i]There is a line, Biyu,[/i] Lihua thought to herself as she took steps away from the hot stone. [i]You can't keep this up forever... everyone has a point where they have to stop... and I promise you, you'll get there before I do.[/i] She meant that.

The beam of light came to a stop as Lihua predicted... That woman was getting tired making zero progress, but, with one thought, she had teleported off to the side, and created one orb of light that went flying towards Lihua. The woman reacted by strengthening her defenses from that angle. Only for Biyu to try the same tactic from a different angle... but ending with the same result. Biyu grunted as she tightly clenched her cane, heavily panting as she thought of a way through Lihua's defenses.

But, Lihua couldn't help but break out into a fit of laughter... Muffled by the stone, but she made sure to be [i]loud[/i].

"[i]We have reached an impasse...[/i] Mother," Saying that word deeply wounded Lihua worse than the burns, because she would never, in a million years, declare this woman her 'mother'. "[i]You're too fast for me to possibly hit... and my defense is so strong that you can't possibly pierce it.[/i]"

A cocky grin was on Lihua's face; not like Biyu could see it, but it symbolized their impasse.

"[i]It now comes down to[/i] who [i]gives up first, and I assure you, it will[/i] not [i]be me.[/i]" Lihua firmly said. "[/i]I have too much on the line to simply[/i] give up [i]and die like a dog. You, on the other hand, are just a... whore of Polaris and the Family.[/i]"

Those words made Biyu clench her cane tightly. She wanted to tear this whore apart, piece by piece... but, her usual tactic of keeping away wouldn't work. She knew Lihua had to give up at some point, but she also knew that she would be the last person who would be fighting alone. If she was going to kill Qiaolian... she had to do it here and now. She realized that, in order to win, she had to think outside the box. While Qiaolian was expecting a blast of light from somewhere... would she expect this?

Biyu grinned as she eyeballed some cracks in the shield. She blinked over towards Lihua's flank, and in the instant that Lihua tried to reinforce her defenses, Biyu instead teleported inside the shield. The flash of light was startling to Lihua, but Biyu was so scared of Lihua injuring her in this moment of vulnerability. She barely even thought as she stuck her hand out and created a large dome of a burning hot light that briefly engulfed the two of them. Lihua loudly screamed in pain as she was burned from essentially [i]every[/i] angle. That familiar feeling of being burnt alive, it was too much for her. She fell to the ground, along with all of the stone she was manipulating... It was only for a brief moment, before Biyu had to stop for a moment to begin panting, kneeling forward.

That was the first time in ages that she had used her power this excessively... Nonetheless, the victory was hers. Lihua Zhao was nothing more than a whore. She pointed a hand at Lihua, and got ready for a blast of light that would finish her once and for all. It was mercy at this point...

"...No!" Meifeng loudly shouted, as suddenly, an arrowhead shard of ice had impaled Biyu clean through the hand. The elderly woman gasped as she was completely caught off guard. The feeling of having the ice impale her... the cold. It was unbearable. And Meifeng kept coming with more ice shards. Lunging forward by a burst of water, she threw a kick at Biyu, followed by a gust of water. The elderly woman tried to teleport away but, the reflection given off by her water disrupted the teleportation, and she took the entire blast of water. She was launched across the room, yelling as she hit the ground rolling very hard. That's where she stood.

"Shit, Mom, are you okay?" Meifeng said as she knelt down to her burned mother, she earned a nod that made Meifeng exhale in relief. She pressed her earpiece, "Reed, Lihua is injured, and I need to get her out of here, how is that shield coming along?" Meifeng said as she tried to help Lihua to her feet. Hoisting the women over her shoulder. Getting her out of here was the first priority.

"Heh, amazing that you're still conscious," Meifeng said as she carried Lihua out of here. "I know you're toughing than that... bear with me, I'm going to get you out of here."

Meanwhile, Biyu forced herself back to her feet.... which was difficult with the ice shard impaling her hand. She was fixated on her hand. Staring at it as she let out many groans of pain. "[i]That whore... how d-dare she?[/i]" Biyu gritted her teeth in anger as she turned her eyes towards Meifeng. She was not going to let them get away with them... not that easily. They had to pay for this... that whore of a daughter was the first.

Her other hand started glowing as Biyu let anger consume her. She blindly cast an orb of yellow light at the two of them.

"H-huh?!" Meifeng said, as a flash of light had appeared behind them. She was whipping her head around, but... Lihua had shoved Meifeng out of the way. She hit the ground hard, but quickly rolled over.

"N-No..." Meifeng said. "I... Mo... Mom...."

[hider=Kingdom Hearts II OST - The Other Promise][youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zexYz6m1SDA&t=53s[/youtube][/hider]

Lihua fell onto her knees, as Meifeng couldn't help but look on in horror. A moment later, she fell face-first onto the ground...

...A large gaping hole from one end of her chest to the other. She was hit by the blast of light, and had all of her insides burned out of her chest from Biyu's powerful attack. She had a few moments of consciousness left that she spared for Meifeng. Looking at her as she hit the ground.

[i]This is... for the best.[/i] Lihua thought to herself, before the last fraction of her life had faded.

"No!" Meifeng shouted as she scrambled over to Lihua grabbing onto her shoulders. Unable to grasp what had just happened. "Come on, mom, please! You're..." She stammered out as tears began to pour from her eyes. Shaking her deceased mother hard as she could. It was... the worst feeling of her life. Family gone... while they didn't get along for a majority of her life, she... just couldn't come to terms with this. Her hands were tightly clenched around Lihua's clothes.

"Hahaha!" Biyu cockily laughed. "[i]That's what that whore gets![/i]"

...And suddenly, that sorrow turned into rage. Meifeng hopped up to her feet with newly invigorated energy... She didn't know what was powering her anymore. Summoned water had launched her up into the air towards Biyu, and she raised both hands up. Drawing every once of water that she could, before throwing it at Biyu in the shape of a tidal wave that packed as much of a punch.

"...[i]I'll kill you![/i]" Meifeng screamed.

Biyu looked up at her, and merely grinned. She created a massive flash of light that blinded Meifeng, and teleported away. She had no energy to face Meifeng down... and, the lingering anger inside of her would completely destroy her.

Once the light faded, Meifeng hit the ground. "No..." Meifeng said underneath her breath. "Get back here, you coward! You..." She said before she broke down into tears, falling onto her knees.

At that moment, Meifeng's earpiece buzzed. Of all people it had to be Shizuka, who had called in urgently to update the RAVENs on some alarming things his own little team had learned so far. "Hey guys, Phantom here to bring more bad news to--" The sarcastic tone quickly changed to concern when he picked up sniffling noises from the Chinese agent. "Mei, why are you crying? What happened?"

The words brought Meifeng back to the world. She pressed her earpiece, and hollowly said, "M-Mom's... Mom's dead..."

"What?!" Then another, rougher voice came up across the comms. "Wave, what's your status?!" Quentin spoke, alerted by the sound of Meifeng's cries being transmitted across the team. "Wave, I-... fuck this, [i]Mei[/i], I'm sorry... fuck, I'm sorry, Mei."

"I'm sorry to hear about Lihua, too," Shizuka said her Meifeng through the comms, and he really did mean that. "We'll send her off properly after all this is over... But how is this possible? Lihua is a veteran agent - soldier to the very core - so it's hard to believe that... she's gone." As annoyingly prideful as she was, he had to admit that a woman with so much authoritative vigor like her wouldn't just get herself killed without a very good reason.

"Bi...Biyu tried to kill us... and she... she threw me out of the way," Meifeng said... before coming to realize that she couldn't give up now. Despite Lihua's loss... this was... this was the way she'd want it. Herself dead before Meifeng and Lijuan. And if she gave up now, Lijuan was going to be next. Meifeng was going to preserve the rest of Lihua's legacy, no matter what. She stood up, wiping her own tears, before she pressed her earpiece with clarity, "I... I'm in the nexus, heading towards the Beast." She said, looking down the hallway. "If I go alone... it'd be suicide, awaiting reinforcement." She said with a fairly cold demeanor.

[i]Talk about[/i] more [i]bad news[/i], Shizuka thought as he kept quiet while listening to the Meifeng's recount. His reaction towards Lihua's passing was nowhere as emotional as those two, but he couldn't help having the same deja vu feeling when he watched Sonya and Cass murdered before his - and the rest of the Verthaven survivors' - eyes. A pang of regret at how time was ruthlessly robbed from these people before he could get the chance to know them better. His relationship with Lihua didn't begin on a good note, because back then they were too prideful to see each other in the eye. Just when he thought that things were starting to improve after age had mellowed out their respective arrogance, she just had to leave the world without a goodbye.

He recalled the recent - and few - conversations he had with the Zhao woman. The night at the bar with a bitching-drunk Cindy, and then the emo bullshit with Jennifer and her missing hand. He remembered her talking about her willingness to give up her life for her daughters. He knew how much she loved them, and he even felt a little jealous at Meifeng for having a mother who actually cared for her... but he could also see how Lihua was blinded by her own motherly love for her children like most mothers do. He wasn't sure if she actually got his hint when he told her not to get too far ahead with her 'mum's heroism' thing and take a step back to think about how her daughters might feel if she was really gone. Especially since Lijuan was still a child, at the age where she still needed her mother to be around for her.

Regardless, he couldn't blame her for saving Meifeng from being killed by Biyu - [i]her own mother[/i]. The thought of that old hag's name made Shizuka grit his teeth. If she could kill her own blood without any remorse, everyone else was expandable as far as that bitch was concerned. Once she was done with her own family, who would become her next target? It might even be his own family, since he had crossed paths with her back at the party. All the more he had to join forces with Meifeng and those against the evil side, to remove this rotting threat once and for all.

However, they would have to save the grieving for later. Right now, their priority was to continue what they had come to the Family's base to do... and finish the job for Lihua.

Which came to why he had called in the first place. "...I have more bad news for you all. Two of the Blessed Three members were spotted in the Silver Hills base: Julia, and Ezekiel who's found dead according to Haru. She's extremely powerful, so don't engage her carelessly if possible. I think you all know already about the same shield as Vert that covers the entire base [i]above ground[/i] - they're probably planning to wipe out everyone trapped inside together with the lab... and the Beast." At one glance, it made no sense to anyone why the Three were in the base they were planning to destroy... But that just meant there was definitely a way to get out of the shield.

"Yeah..." Meifeng said. Trying to hide her emotions the best she could. She honestly couldn't care less about the Blessed Three... They were only enemies at this point. "Got it."

"And..." Shizuka hesitated. He knew that now was a bad time to tell her this other piece of information, but there was no point hiding it from them anymore, either. "...Sorry for not saying this earlier, that Jennifer is also part of my team. She was last seen with Julia... I don't know what else has happened between them after their encounter. As you know, she got subjected to memory manipulation, but I can confirm that there are signs of her fighting against the control." He was unable to connect with her comm-piece, but he believed - [i]wanted to believe[/i] - that she wasn't as weak as she had been trying to convince herself. He knew she would survive this, once she got the answers to free her from her mind dissonance. "I need to say this, though - she came on her own accord," he added quickly.

"Look..." Meifeng said. "I'm not worried about Jen at all... she's [i]survived[/i] so much before, I trust she'll do it again... let's just focus on the mission. We'll find Jenny later." Meifeng felt a little harsh saying that... but, there was no time to waste bickering over irrelevant matters.

...On the contrary, that went much [i]better[/i] than Shizuka had anticipated. The him from the past would be glad that it was actually the right time to tell her that, but now... it was just as she had said: focus on the immediate task at hand, and worry about the others later. Jennifer was old enough to take care of herself... well, under the assumption that the mind control thing no longer worked on her to turn her against her own friends. He shrugged. "That's the spirit. I'll update you guys again if I've got anything new from my side." And he cut off the line as abruptly as he had called in.

When the comms went silent, that's when Meifeng kept it moving.

[i]I promise I'll come back for you... I'll make sure no one forgets you... Mother.[/i]