Ultima Ratio

Chapter 7: Negotiations

For the next minute, nobody moved. Not even the energetic sergeant said anything as if they too were waiting for any sign of movement from the relentless goddess.

They were still surprised when the newly fallen debris burst into the air once more, and a blood-curdling scream echoed through the empty streets.

"You've got to be kidding me," Hale grumbled.

Akira agreed, but she couldn't say as much. All she could do was fall to her hands and knees, her exhaustion hitting her as hard as Danya would have. The world swayed viciously around her, but Akira knew closing her eyes would only induce nausea. Instead, she focused on her sweat dripping from her head onto the gray ground beneath her and the sound of her own heavy, ragged breaths.

While Danya had returned, Akira's booster had run out.

"And that's why I don't need boosters," Hale said unsympathetically.

Akira raised her gaze just as Hale was raising her weapon towards Danya, and Akira grabbed Hale's ankle with most of her remaining energy.

"Wait," Akira gasped, then glanced at Danya.

If the woman was unhinged earlier, that was nothing compared to what she was now. While she had completely freed herself from the makeshift tomb, she didn't care about the people that put her there. Instead, all of her focus was set on destroying the remains of the rubble, as if crushing everything into pure dust would prevent it from burying her ever again.

As Danya leapt high into the air, soaring ten meters above the pile of debris before crashing down into it, Akira caught a glimpse of not just the rage on her face, but also the fear that hid behind it.

"You know we're next after she's done with her temper tantrum," Hale said. "I don't know why she's so important to you, but we can't keep this up for much longer. We have to switch to lethal shots now, before this gets any worse."

"Hate to say this, but I agree with the guardian," Sergeant Gupta said over the comms. "We had a good run, but she's too powerful. And very, very pissed off, in case that wasn't obvious."

"We have a shot," Beringer said. "On your order, Captain."

Akira hesitated. None of that felt right. Sure, Danya would probably kill her immediately and wouldn't be the least bit affected, but it was Akira's fault she was there in the first place. While the goddess's alternative was to be buried alive, at least she would be alive. At least she had a chance for survival.

Instead, she was running rampant across Base, causing chaos from within. Anyone that was hurt would be on Akira's conscience—that included Danya.

"Captain!" a familiar voice called out from behind them.

Akira spun around to see a frazzled Izzy stumbling over the rocky narrow street. His long white lab coat and vintage graphic T-shirt of some twenty-first-century cartoon was stained with black streaks and red splotches, and a thin trail of dried blood framed the right side of his face.

"You shouldn't be here!" Akira said as she struggled to her feet, knowing full well Izzy wouldn't listen. "And what happened to you? I thought she killed you!"

"Oh, she gave me nothing more than a minor concussion, probably," Izzy said, waving a hand frivolously in the air. "But that's not important. I have something that can stop her, but I need your help."

Akira sighed, but it only took her one glance at Danya repeatedly swinging a forklift's fork over her head and onto the concrete mountain to convince herself it was worth a shot.

"Fine," Akira said, turning back to Izzy. "What do we do?"

Izzy grinned, probably thrilled Akira didn't need much persuasion. "Could you keep her still long enough for me to get close to her?"