A Frozen Dream [On Pause]

Chapter 5: Backup?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Shots rang out from a street down the ruins of Chernobog. LM's eyes scouted around the area as he fired his guns, seeing if there were anymore enemies approaching. Unfortunately, there were way more. He looked back at his team and saw Jessica curled up in a corner, clearly afraid while Frostleaf was standing around the corner, ready to take down any enemies that got in too close. As for Meteorite.. she wasn't available today. That's why LM was brought down here. He was informed last second (something he hated, by the way), dragged from his free time, and was brought down here. This was clearly not a good day for him. 

He sighed with annoyance as he ducked back down behind the bins and reloaded. This was a bad situation as well. He could only go so long before he ran out of ammo for his guns. This was what happened when he was dragged out last second without knowing the situation. Mephisto had appeared earlier, but LM warded him off with his shots, which immediately injured those grunts guarding him. Mephisto probably say that he couldn't heal them fast enough and quickly left before his guts would get splattered.

"Frostleaf, can you hold them down for a little while? I need to do something real quick!"

"Affirmative, but make it quick!"

Frostleaf said with a nod, walking out to the open to take down the Reunion forces who were cornering them in an alleyway. LM quickly ran to Jessica and tugged at her weapon. If she wasn't going to use it, then he would. He was not going to die in the alleyway like some dog. 

"Jessica. Hand me your weapon."

"...B-but.. I'm not supposed to give my weapon..."

"If you're not using it, I sure as hell am. Either get up and start shooting, or I'll knock you out and take your weapon."

"I-I'll try..."

Jessica trembled as she got up and shakily reloaded. As she aimed her gun shakily at an enemy figure, LM sighed and snatched the gun from her hand. At this point, she would just end up shooting one of her allies or missing all her shots. Were all BlackSteel Operators like this? If so, he would formally ask to not be put in with one of them again. This was turning out to be a real pain in the ass for him.

"Hand me the rest of your ammo. When you have the conviction to fight again, come back and take your gun from me. Otherwise, I'll be using it and possibly toss it away later. If you can't listen for the order to fight, then at least follow this order and stay hidden."

"LM, you're just going to send her to shock at this point! Just let her be and come back me up again!"

Frostleaf shouted as she continued struggling against a Reunion grunt. LM used Jessica's weapon and shot in the direction of Frostleaf, flawlessly taking down the grunt and missing her completely. As he finished the shot, he felt a tug on his wrist. When he looked down, Jessica had the ammunition in her hand and was presenting it to LM. LM nodded and took it before rushing back to back up Frostleaf, who quickly pulled back as LM began firing again. Just as he was firing, he saw a glimmer on top of the roof. Upon seeing it, he jumped back as the area in front of him was torn to shred by a crossbow bolt.

"Tch-! Frostleaf, be careful! There's a sniper!"

"Roger! Can you do anything about it?!"

"Depends if you can do anything about the grunts and casters in my way. My handguns are no snipers, but I have a trick up my sleeve as a marksman."

"Then we'll do it when he fires his second bolt! Make sure to avoid it!"

"That's way easier said than done! Do you think that this is the matrix or something?!"

Frostleaf just gave a smirk at that as LM rolled into the open again, firing multiple times into the enemy forces. Once he saw the glimmer again, he quickly dodged. Whether it was luck or skill, he managed to avoid it twice. That's when Frostleaf charged forth and into the enemies, having LM run after her and point his guns at the sniper's location.

"Now, LM!"

"On it!"

As if on cue, Frostleaf sliced at the enemies as LM focused his arts abilities into his handguns. He willed the bullets' properties to change and fired them. The sniper, who clearly hadn't been expecting it, managed to dodge it. The bullet landed right behind the wall that the sniper was lying at. That was the signal for Frostleaf and him to back up.

"Frostleaf, fall back! I've planted it!"

"Understood!"

LM and Frostleaf both backed up into the dark alleyway where the sniper wouldn't be able to get them. Right there and then, the sniper stood up to take aim again. That's when LM made a swiping motion with his hands. The bullet that landed behind the sniper quickly shot out multiple originium spikes, some of which pierced the back of the sniper, who side stepped before the spikes expanded to their fullest. When the sniper stood further from the spikes to take aim in retaliation, the bullet itself from the spikes blew up in an explosion, shooting shard of originium that also exploded, engulfing the entire building roof in flames. Frostleaf was just looking in awe at the show.

"Did... that work?"

"I doubt it, but he won't be coming back anytime soon. If there were no Reunion troops, I could have gotten a clear shot and taken him down."

"I believe that. So.. what now? You're almost out of bullets."

"...We wait for backup. That's all we can do. I'm at a range disadvantage here, but I can still fight with my melee weapons. I won't be as useful, but don't expect anything much."

"Better than nothing. If this is the end, it was a splendid fight."

"Likewise, get ready."

LM took out a throwing axe and had a gun in one hand. He wanted to avoid using Originium bullets again since they would endanger his crew. If worst was to come, then he'd have to use another one of his special moves. But hopefully backup would come-

"THIS WAY HOSHI! THEY'RE GETTING CLOSER!"

"Doctor! Wait! I think your crew is in there!"

"I see that! Let's hurry and get them out so they can back us up!"

"On it!"

Like the Reunion soldiers, LM and Frostleaf along with Jessica all looked in confusion at the sounds. What the heck was going on? Did they just hear correctly? Doctor? Hoshiguma? They were here with backup? No, by the sounds of them, they expected them to be the backup. The only thing LM knew was that this was no time to be cornered in an alleyway. Together, dragging Jessica, all three of them ran past enemy lines with LM using the last of his ammunition blasting through to retreat.

"When we make it out of this, want to go for a drink in the cafe at Rhodes? My treat."

"You bet, Frostleaf."

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Author's Notes

Akise: Sorry for the long updates! College life has actually been a lot more taxing than I expected, but I will continually update!