"When our allies swarm in..." Saffron said, but his words died as the King and Queen were rushed away, flanked by a pair of guards, whistles blowing. Not just from the throne room, but beyond as the palace went up in arms at the incursion. Lina charged at Saff while Marv met blades with the guards. Blades sparking, moving down, hilts bumping each other, Lina moved in, grunting, "Yeah, you'll need them." Saff shot a foot out behind Lina's, one arm looping between their swords and Lina's body. Shifting his stance, he gave her a shove, Lina's foot backing up into Saff's as she tried to counterbalance, failing and dropping onto the ground, sun dress fluttering as she tumbled. Lina braced herself, lying on her back and holding her sword at the ready, prepared for an onslaught, but rather than press the advantage, Saff's expression was flustered, face flushed as he turned away. Returning to her feet, Lina said, "I'm not going to go easy on you because you're a gentleman." Eye twitching, Saff leaned into his blow, stabbing his sword at her, but Lina was already on the move, following after the King and Queen while his blade poked only dead air. The first after her was not Saff, however, but Marv, who'd slipped past the guards, several of which he'd down, sprinting towards Lina with his unreal speed. "You'll pay for embarssing me, you little pest! I'll end you in an instant!" Tanto brandished he moved in as Lina turned to face him, kicking out and smashing him right in the face, before continuing her run as he fell back. "H-how did you keep up with my speed!?" Lina grunted, exasperated, "You don't move faster than sound, so learn to shut the hell up!" Saffron snorted, before the two pursued. She'd had the upper hand thus far, but having crossed blades with both of them, she could tell that if they got serious, she'd be in a pickle... --- "Sir! The King and Queen are under attack!" Pulled back from the battle, the trained Balder Knights meeting the Azure Company evenly, despite being outnumbered, Johannes clenched his fist, before turning back to the palace. "They cannot die, not on my watch! I'll handle it personally." Ceding command to his next in line, Johannes slipped through the gates, streaking across the empty courtyard, only such because of Macario, still hard at work fending off the Crimson Company. He also noted the shelling had stopped, mentally thanking Kuhn. He might have considered Chester, but he wandered off when he realized that Johannes hadn't literally meant that his men were at Chester's disposal. Some sort of unfortunate wording, or bizarre interpretation had left Chester moping off somewhere. His comrades insisted he would be fine, yet Johannes hasn't seen hide or hair of him since. At least his comrades were reliable. --- Like a bullet, Saffron flew again, Lina jumping to the side as he tore into the wall. The halls had become tighter, and now Saffron seemed to be using that to his advantage, hopping off the walls and jumping right at her, blade poised like an arrow. The first time she'd found out the hard way, shoulder torn and blood pumping out of it as she ran. Marv was gone for some reason, but she wasn't about to complain. Panting, she called ahead to the King and Queen, now only protected by a lone guard, "Are we close!?" "One more tur-ghrk!" The guard tried to explain, before Saffron darted out again, running him through. "I missed," Saffron muttered, clicking his tongue as he drew his blade out. Bearing in on him, Lina eyes flashed red as she struck out with a flurry of strikes. Saffron was gashed twice on the chest before he tried to back off, eyes widening with surprise at Lina's ferocity. Despite her anger though, the openings in her stance shrunk rather than grew. Saffron was put on guard, being pushed back as she hemmed him in. Eyes darting towards the fleeing royalty, he hopped back, crouching against the wall before shooting off after them, once again missing, shattering the stone and pelting the two with debris. "Lina!" Queen Sika cried out in horror. Saffron hit the ground, legs shaky from the rapid uses of his speed, just as Lina's eyes returned to their natural deep green. Catching her breath, Lina shut her eyes tightly, shuddering for a moment, before she picked up her pace, skipping past Saffron as she rejoined the royal pair, taking the final turn, down the last stretch to the safe area. Saffron caught his breath, starting to fear that woman. That anger was so unlike anything Saffron had felt, yet is was such a bright flame. Wishing things had been different, he returned to his feet, giving chase. As he made the turn, he saw that two guards from the end had passed the two royals and Lina, blocking him. Pumping his pained legs, he met the guards, cutting one down instantly, before ducking down on his knee, dodging the incoming axe head before returning the favor. Clear of interruptions, he grunted as he stood back up, hobbling after them as he started to recover his breath, before buckling his legs for another jump, just as the bunker door was opening. Once it was at its peak, the king and queen entering, Saffron jumped, launching forward and speeding down the hall. Lina tried to close the door behind her, but he launched past her, slipping through just as it closed. Slamming into a pile of beri bills, scattering them about as he slid out of sight, Saffron took a breath, muttering, "The vault, huh? Of course..." "Y-you can take as much as you can carry!" the king pleaded desperately, Lina scowling at the proposition. Saffron chortled, "You speak the Quartz Company's language." Standing up, he took a series of breaths, before throwing off the remainder of his guard disguise, revealing a yellow vest and white dress shirt. "Shame I'm more literate than you: you couldn't afford to sway me." Glancing around the vault, the only other wealth inside besides the cube of bills he'd smashed into being a few dozen of gold bullion and bags of coins. Back leaning against the vault door, blood still running from her shoulder, legs shaking, Lina sputtered, "You guys learned the hard way that money doesn't solve all problems last time." Recovering from his fatigue faster than Lina, Saffron scoffed, "If I was there it'd have been different." "Yeah, I'd have pushed two of you through a window~" Lina jeered, sticking out her tongue. Saffron's nostrils flared as he grasped his hand over his heart. "Dammit, why'd she have to be so cute?" A dead silence crossed the vault, Saffron raising an eyebrow, before his mind finally recognized the echoing of his own words on the walls. If it were possible, he'd have liked to find a hole to crawl into so he could die. "I'm not going to go easier on you." "Sh-shut up!"