Freedom and Capture

All six of them bringing out their firearms at the same time, it seemed the fight between Hyliad, Ringo and Slant, versus Felicia, Shelly, and Tony had already been drawn to a stalemate. "Well, I've got the weapon that can kill all of you here...including ourselves." Ringo realised, keeping his grenade launcher kept in the general direction of his three opponents, whilst slant switched his nitro pistols to knives. "I've got all of you aimed at also," Shelly replied, three of his arms having rifles aimed at the opposing trio. A brief moment of silence occurred before Hyliad finally spoke up. "Infiltrating my operation when you don't even know what it's about...I assume that you weren't here for me then. Although I knew you were chasing Ringo, he isn't exactly the most business intuitive of people, neither is Slant, and they'd admit it themselves." Slant nodded gleefully per usual, muttering "Sir Hyliad knows how to use our strengths well enough for us to be useful!" whilst Felicia spotted that Ringo's expression changed from one of content to a split-second of cunning, and back again to content. "So who's the client?" Hyliad inquired further. "They must be wary enough of my existence and Ringo's infamy also, huh?" Shelly smiled, still beaming in confidence like he had during basically the entire time except for Hyliad's punch into the ocean. "Just my job to take criminals in, and you're a criminal. That's it really." Hyliad giggled again, with Slant joining in also. "You guys were a fun bunch, always nice to have some energy in this life. However, time to wrap things up!" The half-pony, half-man exclaimed, firing a blast from his horn to Shelly's abdomen, causing him to be sent back to the door, the impact causing him to crash through it.

Before Tony could react, Slant also made his move. Attempting a slash to the face, he caused Tony to duck, although with his other arm he jabbed a knife towards Tony's side, who was able to try and leap away it still grazed his side, some blood leaking out. Tony knew that he didn't have time to tend to that at the moment, but finish off Slant. However, Slant's body figure was almost as if he'd snapped a lot of bones and joints, plus his quick movement, taking him down would be difficult. Slant threw himself back into the mix, this time aiming a strike with his knives at Tony's legs, although Tony was anticipating a swipe this time, leaping above the knives and burying a kick right at his face, sending him back a few feet and also causing slant dizziness. Tony responded to Slant's brief moments of vulnerability and took out his gun to fire a non-lethal blast at him, hitting him, bringing him down...but seconds later was getting up, barely. Slant had always made sure he followed through with orders. Even the money that Hyliad and other clients had paid him for these types of activities weren't the true reason or benefactor for all of this. Enjoyment out of battle and fighting is what stirred him on. With this, he retaliated to Tony by chucking his knives towards him, Tony who was momentarily shocked that Slant had taken a full knockout blast, couldn't dodge it quickly, one knife digging into his shoulder, and another leaving quite deeply on the side of his right thigh, nearly overwhelmed with pain, Tony was able to endure it for a few moments as he fired at Slant once more, this time knocking him clean, out. However, Tony slumped to the ground himself, as blood leaked out of his shoulder and thigh. Felicia and Ringo were fighting hand to hand, both of them at the beginning being able to dodge the others attacks or block them as if they were warming up and looking for an opening. As they were on the other side of Hyliad's office from where Slant and Tony were, Felicia didn't have time to see if Tony was doing alright or not. Felicia tried to use a similar takedown technique that she did on Ringo at the gas station, but Ringo is able to easily twist the attack, and slam Felicia right into the wall, but it wasn't the most reinforced so Felicia fell through into another room, the one with the three chairs they were tied to. As Ringo tried to walk through the hole he made in the wall, he was met with a spinning kick to the face, as Felicia was quick on her feet, knowing what brought where she was today, Felicia knew she could take many people on in hand to hand combat. As she ran at Ringo again to try and take him out, Ringo aimed a kick in an uppercut-esque style, but Felicia was able to leap back in time. As Ringo stood up, he reached into this side as there was enough distance between them to fire one of his grenades. Felicia noticed this and instantly charge towards Ringo, tackling him before he could. Ringo brought both his hands together and slammed them down onto Felicia's now exposed back. She yelped in pain getting off Ringo, before he tried a straight jab to the face, that with Felicia's pain that had now resulted in anger as she caught Ringo's fist a buried a punch into his face. Although having to ignore the pain, Ringo kicked Felicia in the gut as well causing her to crash onto the ground again. His nose bleeding but the dizziness of the punch lessening, Ringo approached Felicia as the edged closer to the e that the trio was booted off from before. As Ringo got closer to Felicia, she used her arms to throw herself upwards, grab onto Ringo's shirt, hook her leg behind his and successfully once again flipping him onto the ground, his feet dangling off the edge as she stood up, took out her rifle and put it on lethal mode. 'Fuck whatever that eight-armed freak says, this prick deserves it.' She thought. Ringo though, despite the situation he was in, started to chuckle slightly, his expression turns into one of greed. "You kill me, you lose your way out of here. That dumbass pony freak has been annoying me since I got here, or well since he 'employed me'. I've had a bigger client since then. He's taking unicorns from Bronia and other factions, snatching their horns and melting them, drinking the liquid. Disgusting, I know. I have no idea why he doesn't and he's never bothered to tell me this past couple of months. But don't worry, someone's here to kill him and dismantle this operation. However, he's gonna be here soon. That Tony or whatever you're allied with? He'll kill him and the spider-freak. I was only in it for the money, but you guys can get out of here, say the mission is solved." Ringo said, leaving Felicia in a dilemma. Listen to Ringo to save Tony, or think he's lying and blow his brains out. Whilst that occurred, Shelly took on Hyliad. Hyliad charged at him once he blasted him out of the room, trying to fire at Shelly, but he was quick to recover and draw out his guns too, leaving them at stalemate again. "Come on, Shelly! Drop the weapons so we can fight! I'm honoured to take on an Arcanian like you!" Hyliad exclaimed, ready to drop his dual nitro pistols. Shelly smirked and dropped his in response, Hyliad doing so also, as Shelly was the first to strike, digging two arms into Hyliad's chest, another two at his face. Hyliad just fired with his horn again at Shelly's face this time, almost making him unconscious already. As Shelly was stumbling to the ground, Hyliad kicked him into another room, one full of rainbow coloured drinks, with machines loading cups full of it. Shelly laid on the ground, dizzy and unable to get up as Hyliad towered over him, a cunning, yet fake grin plastered on the side of his mouth. "All that this operation is about, I take my ponies and rip off their horns, melt that good stuff and I drink it all up..ha...you're probably wondering why and because I don't want to actually kill you, but enslave you, you can know. I'm dying, Shelly. So I need this stuff. Years ago, a boy called Bilbo poisoned me with something he said that would kill me in...three years now. Well, it was supposed to kill me in that year but I discovered horn fluids. (Don't make it weird ._.) they delay the poison. It's still there in a way but i-it's l-like it s-spreads it out or something..." Hyliad started to mumble, as Shelly stared at him, slowly getting up, still weak from the close-range blast. Horn fluid usually can stop a lot of poison but was highly addictive, and that's what turned Hyliad to this, he assumed.

As soon as this thought flew through his mind, the walls and doors of this room, and every room burs open, armed soldiers rushing around everywhere, surrounding Hyliad and Shelly, and also around Slant and Tony, although they were both knocked out at this point, Slant by Tony's blast, and Tony by blood loss. Entering the room where Hyliad & Shelly resided was a young man, with jet black hair, wearing a doctors suit with glasses on also.

Hyliad: D-Dr Septic? How..Why...you've destroyed everything...everything I ever had...

Septic: What do you mean? This is mine now. Anyway, e're here to collect, knock him out so that shitty task force doesn't follow us.

Someone fired a tranquilliser at Hyliad before Septic turned to Shelly, who had turned from his cheeky, gleeful self, into having an expression of absolute fury.

Septic: Oh, hello there, Shelly! My mighty test subject, patient zero, or how I like to call you the one who ran away.

Shelly: YOU CAN'T WI-

A tranquiliser dart was put into Shelly as well, with Septic curiously examining his body. He told guards to put him in one of the ships they had brought to raid the place, before meeting one of his employees, Ringo dragged an unconscious Felicia along with him as he handed her over to guards.

Ringo: She seems pretty immune to most illnesses and fortified mentally and physically. A good subject for you, sir.

Septic: Hmm, okay. Was thinking we burn this place to the ground but let the task force do their thing first. I found my patient zero though, so that's good enough. Did you like working with Hyliad?

Ringo: Nobody would want to work for an addict like him.

Septic: Yeah, sure. Or was it because he was paying you less?

With that, they soon left the building, and then the bare faction Hyliad had found 5 years ago. Created a giant trafficking system, just for it to topple in the matter of a day. However, this is when Tony woke up, although still cold.

Meanwhile, Adiffs stood in front of the King of Kappa Land, Subaru, or he'd call a childhood friend.

Adiffs: A pretty nice castle you have here. Too bad you aren't the fucking leader of it, Whaitea.

Subaru: The people call me Subaru, Dr Adiffs. Sad that there was a time you wanted to save people instead of harming them.

Adiffs: I'm still saving all the good people. I'm just beating up the assholes. Including you, mate.

Subaru: How's your mother now? Is she dead?

Adiffs: You're only making this easier for me to bury your face in.

Subaru: What? If she is, it's your fault. Not mine, you pathetic excuse of a man. A son, even a boyfriend. All pathetic. You couldn't learn how to attain power. I'm not even from here. But a trip to Dr Septic and an assassination did all the wonders to get me here. I look like Subaru, I talk like him, I share his memories. I might as well be him. That's how you attain power.

Adiffs: But you aren't. You're a liar and you lied to an entire faction.

Subaru: Hmm...guess you're right. But that's what it really takes to be a king. Sometimes honesty isn't the best policy, thought after what happened to Riley you'd realise tha-

Adiffs: Just fight me already, you fucking bastard.

Subaru laughed, before taking out another of the mudae cards that Protegy and Izuru were using before. This surprised Adiffs greatly, as Ange, FM and company had informed him that a proper investigation was going into where you can find these seemingly magical cards, as Subaru (Whaitea) turned from a short-haired, slim but handsome looking man, to another...short haired...handsome...guy... but with two blades and uniform. He yelled, "LEVI ACKERMANN!" Before transforming, pouncing at Adiffs, attempting to slice at him in every direction. Adiffs dodged swiftly, leaping or moving out of the way of the blades as Subaru swung them harder and harder as time went on. Adiffs although was usually not the calm of people, he could find his calmness in battles like this, where his hatred was insurmountably high that he wanted to destroy the person with as much efficiency and professionalism as possible. Almost rubbing it in their face in a way. Subaru was one of them, a reminder of his past, and what brought him here. Soon enough though, Subaru was able to get a small cut on his cheek. Adiffs, finally tired of dodging attacks calmly, smiled at Subaru, and said:

Adiffs: Let me use my hammer.

Yanking out of his pocket, a single steel hammer, smacking it into Subaru's stomach, sending him flying back from where he tried to stack him from, right through the wall, and submerging into the river behind the castle. Protegy burst into the room then, assuming that Subaru could be a handful, but was shocked to see what had happened.

Pro: What the fuck happened here?

Adiffs: I committed regicide.