No Longer Prey

Old Flames

There is a certain daze that accompanies the shock of an ambush. The cloudiness of your mind as you are being led away by soldiers, the inability to completely process what had just happened. And then there is the sudden shock of awareness you experience as you are being pulled back by the enemy.
Kyoni blinked multiple times before she finally acted upon realizing this. Two arms were holding her under her underarms, dragging her in the direction of the fault in the ceiling. There was absolute chaos around her, soldiers scrambling to escape safely into the lower levels while a select few fought back the enemies on the ground. Kyoni locked her hands behind the neck of her captor. She firmly placed her feet on the floor and flung him over her shoulder as she bent her upper body. She waisted no time in running in the opposite direction, though through the confusion and chaos of the current situation, she quickly grew confused herself. People poured from the crack in the ceiling, and though many soldiers were attempting to hold them off, they were unarmed and caught off guard by the sudden visit. Many soldiers lay unconscious on the ground. The other trainees were all nowhere in sight, probably already in the lower levels, either gearing themselves to fight or simply waiting out the attack.
What a stupid idea, placing the assignments on one of the uppermost levels. Did they never anticipate or plan for something like this? Kyoni was very suddenly knocked to the ground with the force of a miniature tractor. Her breath was knocked out of her, and she lay on the ground trying to breathe. An enormous man stood over her with a look of amazement on his face, as if he was shocked that he had managed to accomplish something impossible, but Kyoni hardly noticed. She rolled over on her side and very clumsily attempted to bring herself to her feet. The man in the black mask seemed to be helping her, but he then swept her off her feet and carried her in the direction of the opening in the ceiling.
"What are you--let me go!" Kyoni thrashed in the man's beefy arms, but he seemed to not be struggling in the slightest. He had a look of joy in his eyes, and no matter how hard she hit him on the side of his head, it didn't falter. He approached the opening above, and it wasn't until now that Kyoni saw another struggle between the people near it. Soldiers who had managed to hold off a few of the assailants were being restrained by three or four enemies each, holding their arms, covering their eyes and mouths, and being carried up small baskets on a cable out of the hole in the ceiling. Of the few soldiers who had chosen to hold off the invasion, fewer were still standing.
"Aahh!" The man holding her yelped. Kyoni took his hand out of her teeth and he dropped her to the ground. She leaped to a stance and kicked him in the face. He was knocked out cold instantly. She was glad that her limited training helped with something for once. Before Kyoni had even managed to move, a hand covered her mouth, and she soon found herself struggling against four masked assailants.
She struggled with every ounce of her strength against the--what she assumed were--large men in all black, but to no avail. She was carried into a steel basket, still restrained. Her limbs were growing sore now, and despite wanting to just give in and go limp, she was terrified of where she was being taken, what would await her when they arrived at...wherever they were going. She couldn't panic, not now. The second she'd be released was the second she would unleash the kraken within her and escape the enemy's grasp. She hoped, at least.
Without realizing it, the steel basket was halfway to the crack in the ceiling. Kyoni's breathing sped up, and her eyes bulged in fear. It's okay, you'll make it through this, she thought. The chaos below her had died down a little, but she hardly noticed. Her breathing was fast now, so fast. Kyoni was panicking now, exactly what she told herself not to do. She had to calm herself. You're okay, you're going to be okay, she repeated. You are going to find a way out, you are a weapon, a living, breathing, weapon that will shove these people's heads up their--
CHINK! A sharp metallic sound snapped Kyoni from her state of panic, and very abruptly.
"Team Two, spread your attacks!" A deep voice came from below. Kyoni's captors cursed in a language she didn't understand. Their grip on her arms and legs tightened, and Kyoni nearly cried out in pain. She managed to see out of the corner of her eyes a metal claw attached to one of the basket's harnesses before the entire thing jerked violently to the left. Two of the men in black stumbled, letting go of Kyoni's right arm and uncovering her mouth. She was left dangling, hanging by three arms holding onto her. She yelped as, out of nowhere, someone leaped into the basket with the grace of a feline. The metal claw attached to the cables released itself the moment the person landed right next to Kyoni. The claw, she saw, was in fact a cable itself that wound itself back into place on a device attached to the woman's forearm. The woman was swarmed as fast as her arrival by the men. Two of them had been flung over the side of the basket and where left dangling by their fingers, flailing. The blonde woman was throwing the men back as far as she could with the limited space, kicking and punching.
"Hey, grab my hand!" She panted as she threw one of the attackers off of her. She held her hand out to Kyoni. Wasting not a second, Kyoni gripped the woman's hand like a lifeline. The woman then held Kyoni close to her and she leaped from the basket. Kyoni let out a scream as she held on and they both tumbled down to the floor. Her eyes were closed, so Kyoni only felt the sudden change of gravity. One hand was holding her back tightly, while Kyoni had both of her arms around the woman's neck and she hoped she wasn't chocking her to death. Her eyes flew open, and she saw the woman was using the device on her arms, the one Kyoni saw, to shoot a clawed cable at the ceiling, swinging like Tarzan to the floor. Taking a look at the device, she recognized it. It was the hand gear that the Special Ops squad used in combat. A metal glove and sleeve covering most of the forearm, with different types of whips and cables for different needs wound up in the inside of a hollow mechanism. Oh, how badly she wanted one.
The woman very suddenly released the claw from the ceiling, and they fell about two feet before hitting the floor. Kyoni stumbled out of her arms and tripped, shaking her head to clear it. Graceful, she thought. Very graceful.
"Are you alright, hon?" The woman said, with more command in her voice than concern.
"Yeah, I'm...I'm alright." Kyoni said as she stood back up.
"Good. You need to get out of here immediately. Go to the lower levels, stay with the other trainees, alright? Don't do anything rash, let us take care of it." The woman turned and released another few cables to hoist her into the basket. A few soldiers were trying to lead Kyoni away and into the lower levels, but she had to see what was happening. She saw a few combatants, now armed on the floor with their holographic shields. Some hand-gear armed soldiers had gone through the crack in the ceiling to fend off any more upcoming enemies, but much to the dismay of some squad leaders. Kyoni turned in the direction of a very familiar accented voice arguing with another familiar voice.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Emmet?!" A full-figured young woman said to a green-haired young man. "You can't just take off with my--"
"Technically," he interrupted. "This hand gear is ours, Auvry. And if you don't mind, I'd like to try out our little adjustment to the mechanism--"
"Shhh!" She said. "Don't go parading it around!" She very audibly whispered. She then said something in a very inaudible tone, to which the soldier, Schitez, Kyoni remembered, leaned down and replied in an equally inaudible tone. He was very tall, and the young woman was of average height, so he had to lean down. The young woman, Auvry, grew red in the face and slapped him upside the head.
"Ow!" Emmet Schitez exclaimed.
"Don't ever say that again. And fine! Test it out, but be careful, Emmet."
He beamed a large childish smile at Auvry.
"Will do. Now, if you excuse me, I have to see if...um...they're here." He released the claws and swung upwards in a flash if green hair and grey suit. Auvry let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head. And, for a second, she and Kyoni made eye contact. Realization struck her face as she noticed the trainee uniform and she suddenly grew horrified.
"What are you doing here?" She hysterically asked Kyoni, walking over to her. "You should be in the lower levels! Come with me, you can't be here." Auvry grabbed Kyoni by the shoulders and led her into the automatic doors. The last thing she saw in that room was a sudden blast of energy, magic. The last thing she heard was defiant yells and muffled German swearing.

A/N: I ain't dead! I finally updated! Celebration! I'm really sorry to keep the few of you who are reading this waiting so long. At first I had school, but then it was just laziness, but no longer! You have received. Next chapter, different POV. Who's excited?
-Meister