One in Twelve Thousandth Percent

Chapter 35:

As we zoom towards the attackers, Belle turns to face us in the back seat. "So what's the plan?" Misaki just gives her a look. "Oh, right. This is Kay. There is no plan. " I just shrug. "We've done great this far without planning."

"Hate to break up the meeting, but they've spotted us and are now shooting at us." Kaz says as she's dodging shots. Belle turns back around. "Looks like they've stopped shooting at Angel. Good." Kaz puts an arm out the window and boosts her shield to full power, while still dodging shots. "Don' know what good this'll do but might as well."

Belle leans out her window. "Kay, boost us." She charges up an energy shot and I transmute it just as she releases it on the shield. The shield now glows purple. Meanwhile, Misaki is using her power to deflect shots.

Kaz parks the car and gets out. "Much as I'd love to ram them, I'd much rather have a car to drive back in." "Fair. Let's foot it." We all hop out and continue on foot. I pull up the occasional dirt wall. Misaki uses parts of that wall to deflect shots. Kazumi takes cover behind a wall occasionally, leaning out and taking shots with her rifle.

Our basic attacks aren't doing much but slowing them down. Taking cover behind one particular dirt wall, Misaki gets an idea. "Hey, I've got an idea." We look at her. "Let's get them confined inside some kind of sphere."

Belle smiles. "Love it, but what? I doubt the building parts will be enough." "Not alone but if they get changed into something else maybe." Misaki looks at me and winks. I nod. "I smell what you're cooking, babe." Kazumi peeks around a wall. "Let's make it quick. They're starting to advance." She turns and shoots at them again.

Misaki looks around the wall. "Three...Two...one...now!" I pop up several mini blocks that she levitates. Belle charges up Kazumi's shield again and we start advancing, frequently changing the fluctuations of her charged energy to keep blocking their shots.

We're getting closer to the nearest ruined building, but we're still about 20 meters away. We take cover behind another dirt, stone and clay wall, shots still going everywhere. I'm transmuting things left and right for Misaki to throw. We're down to about 17 soldiers now.

The twins are maintaining the particle fluctuations of the shield. I grab my pistol and take a few useless shots, snapping and making more projectiles for Misaki. She downs one more and barely deflects a headshot that was intended for her. 16 soldiers.

Flashbacks to Crazy Kay's conversation hit me. ["KEEP. HER. ALIVE."] Holstering my pistol, I reach for my sword. I focus-snap as I draw my blade, again adding the deconstruction element to the blade's edge. Misaki hears the ringing and looks at me. "Hon?" I look at the girls. "It's only like 20 meters, but they're making more progress than we are. We need to move fast. Ready?"

"Kayli–"

I swing around the wall and start advancing. The girls look at each other and shake their heads, then follow me. The soldiers start focusing their fire at me. Using my blade, I start trying to deconstruct their shots by deflecting them with my sword.

20 meters. I deflect three shots. A fourth clips my left shoulder. Push it, Kay. I deflect four more. One clips my right arm and bounces away. I slash several more and one clips my left side. Misaki slings projectiles at several, slowing down their rate of fire. 15 soldiers, 16 meters. The twins are deflecting with Kazumi's shield as best as possible.

Seeing their rate of fire slow down, I move around a little more and deflect three shots. 14 meters. Faster, Kay. Switching back to my centered spot, I deflect three more shots. Coming up close behind me, Misaki drops another soldier. 14 soldiers, 12 meters. I deflect two more shots, then flip over a third that was meant for my legs and slash a fourth on my way down.