The Six Guns

Chapter Fifty: Calm Before the Storm

  The crew spent a few days in Vega. The Yin Hunters and The Six Guns split up. The crew didn't feel comfortable staying so close to Hunters. After a few days, Don approaches the crew and says "Most of my men are in favor of supporting you. So I guess until this war is over, we'll be joining forces".
  "Thanks Donny" Tanya says.
  "On one condition" Don says. "This will end our partnership between us and The Six Guns. We'll no longer have to work with you after this".
  "That's perfectly fine with me" Siran says.
  "Then we have a deal" Don says as they shake hands. Don was happy to finally find a way to get rid of The Six Guns, and The Six Guns were happy to have any support they could get in an attempt to end this war.
  "I have a proposition for you" Blake says as he appears alone without any of his men. "Let me join The Six Guns as an official member".
  "There are no official members" Siran says, "people just kinda join".
  "Well, we do have calling cards" Rose says, "so that makes it seem pretty official".
  "Why do you want to join?" Siran asks.
  "Like I said before" Blake says, "we believe you're the good guys. We never thought that you were the evil ones here. That and I've always kinda been a fan. Besides, once this is over, I'm planning on giving away my leader position in the Hunters group and turning over a new leaf. I want a normal life again. Not a life of chasing heads for scratch".
  "I'll give you a chance" Siran says as he hands the last calling card to Blake, with the number 8 on it. "However, we still don't know you well enough to trust you. One foul move and you'll go down".
  "You don't have to worry about that" Blake says, "I need my second chance at life more than I need the money from your head".
  "And the rest of your crew?" Siran asks.
  "They like holding onto the title of Hunters" Blake says, "but they're good people. Trust me".
  Alex laughs and says "He's reminding me of Siran already".
  Suddenly, Mikoto's phone starts ringing and Mikoto takes a few steps away to answer the call. After a while of speaking, there was a sense of suspense in the air. "That was Lieutenant Nakamura" Mikoto says, "Japan has agreed to help in Omnia and we're still waiting on word from China".
  "Suddenly it feels like the tides have shifted in our favor" Holly says. "Do you think we're ready to attack The Mages yet?".
  "We'll need a plan" Siran says.
  "I'll make you an offer" Don says, "since I'm just so eager to get rid of The Ly'Lum... You said you're getting the assistance of a military force, right? Then how about the Wolf Pack launch the first attack to scramble the troops. Once they get too cocky about fighting a bunch of thugs, we bring in the calvary. Japan's troops come in and kick them down to the ground, then you take it from there".
  "I like that" Siran says, "once you do that, as long as you keep their troops occupied and cut off reinforcement routes to the capital, we'll have a straight shot at The Mages. Once we do that, we can focus on taking The Mages down without interference from their troops. But then we have to think of a way to get rid of all that endo from Naris's body".
  "How soon shall we move out?" Holly asks.
  "I don't know yet" Siran says.
  "Leave that part up to us" Don says. "We'll get everything we need in position, and I'll let you know before we attack. In the meantime, get your girlfriend from Japan to bring her ass down here and get ready for a fight".
  "Wait" Zia says, "down here as in... Vega?".
  "No, that's not what I-" Don begins to says.
  "That's it!" Siran interrupts. "If we can manage to sneak the Japanese forces into Vega, then they'll easily be able to infiltrate by land! Now the question is, how do we do it?".
  "It'll be impossible to sneak that many people into Vega at once" Don says. "However, you maybe able to sneak them in little by little. It'll take a while, but it'll also give us time to prepare".
  "Then we'll do it" Siran says.

  The Six Guns start organizing their attack as Wolf Pack starts preparations. Don moves armored vehicles and weapons across the country, disguised as engineers and sanitation workers moving boxes of supplies and trash around. While that happens, The Six Guns had gotten ahold of Haru Nakamura and told them their plan. Haru didn't think it'd work as well as they had planned, but they tried it anyways. Moving in large groups of soldiers into Vega, bit by bit so no one would notice a battalion of soldiers moving into enemy territory. All the while, the crew was still waiting for an answer from China, but they never gave their answer. Troops from JSDF (Japan Self Defense Force) and SAT operatives moved into Vega. Soon, Vega became very crowded. The air became tense as everyone knew that soon, war would break out. It took three months to prepare and was now April 30th, 2192. All around the world, people were growing restless.

  "I'm going to Omnia" Ying says to Zhang Wei. They were at their police station in China. "I'm going to help The Six Guns in the fight against The Ly'Lum".
  "You're just a police officer!" Zhang demands. "If you get involved, it'll likely bring China into this war too!".
  Ying holds up her calling card and says "That wasn't a request, that was a statement. I'm going to help my friends. They helped us a lot here in China, the least we could do it help them".
  "It's too risky!" Zhang says.
  "Some risks need to be taken, not avoided" Ying says as she walks out of the police station.

  "The Ly'Lum are growing restless" some people in Seeira are discussing, "I think they're preparing for a large scale attack".
  "This wouldn't be a problem if not for The Six Guns" another man says.
  "But they're the ones fighting back!" A woman says, "they're doing what we can not do! Can you really hold that against them?".
  "Guess this war will decide that" a man says.

  "Most of our troops have deployed in Omnia, I heard" a man in Japan says. "Do you think this war will end soon?".
  "With all that's going on right now? I wouldn't doubt it" another man says. "They have Japan's support, The Six Guns, not to mention their leader Siran. He's the guy who took down Naris!".
  "Yeah" a woman says, "if The Ly'Lum can fight back against those guys and win, then we might as well just give up on life. If they can't beat The Ly'Lum, no one can".

  "We have preparations complete" Markwood says in the Mages conference room. All of the Mages eyes have grown slightly darker than before again. They've taken in even more of Naris's endo. "We'll start to push north, toward Seeira until we successfully corner Siran. It's about time we get rid of the key player in this game. It's about time we finish this and clear the board of all its pieces".
  Garreth begins coughing violently, and when he removes his hand from over his mouth, a puddle of blood sat in his hand. "This endo is tearing apart our physical bodies" Garreth says. "We need to finish this soon".
  "Our primary target is Siran" Agatha says, "he's been around for too long and knows too much magic. He's been a pain in our sides for over a century and a half. No longer shall we have this insult to the name of Naris".

  "We're ready to start this fight" Don says to Siran. They were still in Vega, waiting for their time to strike.  "My men have taken several locations near military bases. At my word, war will break out all over the nation. Do you think you're prepared for this?".
  "I'm as ready as I'll ever be" Siran says.
  "Before we begin" Alex asks, "what's your Plan B this time?".
  "If it becomes impossible for you guys to fight" Siran says, "then run. I won't allow them to kill any of you, and I don't want any arguing over heroics. You stay alive and I'll make sure they don't reach you. Even if they get through me, you need to distance yourself from them. If I fall, you'll need time to launch an attack of your own when the time is right".
  "If you die" Zia says, "I'm dying with you".
  "And let them wipe the Mahina bloodline from the Earth?" Siran asks. "Don't give them what they want".
  "I'll do what I want" Zia says, "and I don't care what you say".
  "After all" Ying says as she approaches the crew, "The Six Guns don't have to take orders from anyone".
  "Ying!" Rose cheers as she hugs her. "When did you get here!?".
  "I found my way in, thanks to these people who called themselves Wolf Pack, whatever that is" Ying says. "Once they found out that I'm one of The Six Guns, they led me down here".
  "We're glad you're here" Siran says.
  "I wouldn't miss this for the world" Ying says. "I didn't get a chance to properly thank you guys for helping before".
  "Siran" Don says, "are you ready?".
  "Yeah, I'm ready" Siran replies.
  Don picks up his phone and presses a quick dial button. When someone on the other side picks up, Don says "It's hunting time".