GUNZ: The Fiery Lotus <<PART 6>>

[Senvae]

GUNZFACTORIANS BEWARE: Contents may contain scenes of violence which may be inappropriate for younger readers.
GunZ: The Fiery Lotus part 6 -- Click to read on Deviant Art page!

Looking out of the cargo truck’s opened bed, Athyanas could barely see the grey clouds loom in the late evening. The cool wind whispered of rainstorms from the horizons. She hid amongst the cargo crates surrounded by weapons of all kinds, hitching a ride to the upcoming trade between Maxwell and an unidentified Travian clan. The rattle of bullets and empty guns dared not disturb her deep thoughts. Still she bore a great burden and anxious feelings, about the events unfolding into the evening and some further into the future.

Athyanas had worked many years as an assassin, but even during those missions she had always been working for a supported cause or group. But the attack on the mansion had struck into the heart of her power. There were many clan members out on a mission during the assault, so she knew they could be alive somewhere. Regardless, her only known clan member to survive had been Senvae, and she had not heard from any others. Athyanas began to worry the Cardinal had hired assassins to cut off the ends. There was no longer help from anyone, not Axium nor Travia, even her clan was depleted. She was alone against the world’s war. This was not a choice, but rather an answer to cries of agony echoing within my heart, she pondered, desperately trying to hold on to her believes. All she had left now were the ideas of a better world, and her faith. However she knew prayers would not help her tonight, only action. This operation had to be smooth and discreet.

There was another intruder into the upcoming trade, Athyanas had to keep her mind on this detail. His name was Oderix and his employer held the title of Cardinal Breckaning, one of the seniors amongst the Chamber of Councils. His influence overshadowed all others, and his fingers ran long within the webs of criminal clans. A wise warrior would tread carefully when interfering with the business of such men. What was most important to Athyanas, was to ensure the safe transaction of the weapons deal. Beneath the mask of war, which the trade protruded, hid a message even more important for the Fiery Lotus, for Athyanas. Frontiers and barriers were to be shattered that night, gates that obstructed possibilities of a peaceful resolution. Oderix and his employer sought to willingly foil the weapon trade, and build bigger proverbial fences around the world of Axium. Calling an old favor from a former brethren, she had come across information which had led her here. Senvae had devised a complex plan to lure the Cardinal Breckening out of safety, while she intercepted the saboteur.

She felt inertia shift around her, foretelling the vehicle's intentions to stop. Before anyone could spot her, Athyanas secured the matte black cloak around her neck and lifted the cowl over her blond hair. Moving silently on the flatbed, she waited for the vehicle to slow down and dove out for the road ditch. She rolled into shadows, unseen by the following convoy passing by. Her breath had been knocked out by the initial impact, but she fought to maintain composure, so to keep absolute silence. Covered in the matte fabric cloak, she listened the last truck driving by and rose to her knees to observe the surrounding. The cloudy night was exceptionally dark, but her eyes were keen enough to see the immediate environment. They were on abandoned farm grounds. It appeared the meeting was about to take place in the yard between an old barn, a decrypt silo and a large house. She saw the vehicles' lights slashing through the thick darkness of night.

A few tears of rain began to drizzle on her exposed forearm. She looked up in frustration as another obstacle began to fall out of the gloomy sky. Time was of the essence, so she hastily frayed through the tall grass towards the rear of the lugubrious house.

Fighting her way out of the last snakeroots and coneflowers, she immediately scurried for the closest edifice. The large silo was just left of the dull gray house, surrounded by rolled up haystacks across the backyard. They provided excellent cover for her movements. She lunged the silo's wall to peek at the front yard where Maxwell's convoy had settled. Many fields lights were erected for the meeting, giving birth to tall shadows across the field. However it also darkened the faces of most individuals who came in and out of the cargo trucks. Furthermore, the drizzling rain brought about a considerable fog. Damn Oderix, where are you? She pondered. Her training as an assassin had always given her keen insights on perfect locations for ambushes, but she wasn't so sure of the Gun-Priest's intentions. With such dangerous tension building in the air, a professional saboteur would need naught but a single bullet to crash the party. At that thought, Athyanas' eyes scanned the house's upper floors. Perhaps a single silenced shot from a sniper rifle could ignite the situation into catastrophic chaos. Of course, why make it anymore difficult, she convinced herself.

Bouncing between the big haystacks, she tip-toed her way hastily towards the baleful home. She walked across the rear patio as gracefully as her Eternal Blue boots would allow her, sound slightly muffled by the rain and the Maxwell employees' shouts. The first clue to confirm her assumptions was presented by the back door left ajar. The old wood had obviously warped and could no longer be closed by the intruder without making a ruckus. She carefully slipped her fingers behind the door and swung it swiftly to minimize the screech of corroded hinges, doing the same to close it. Finding herself in a narrow corridor between the basement door and the kitchen, she noticed the wet footprints across the dusty gray floor. There were two pairs, Oderix was not alone. She made her way past the kitchen to the front door, and up the stairway to the upper floor. The sounds of the Travian clan's own vehicles could be heard beyond the old front door, urging her to find the intruders. Climbing carefully, her feet stepping to the extreme sides of each step, so not to make the stairs talk, Athyanas heard quiet voices. A man and a woman, and one with a bad accent. That was Oderix by the description Doctor Hyde had given her.

As stealthy as her assassin days, Athyanas approached the last room to the right, where the voices could be heard. She watched her shadow's movements to ensure it would not foretell her presence to the duo. The conversation was already coming to an end.
“Are you sure the shot is corrected for wind?” Oderix spoke.
“I never spoil my shots.” The female voice replied slightly aggravated.

I came too late, Athyanas thought. Pressured by her bad timing, she kicked the door opened swiftly and drew one of her Iron Crow revolvers aiming for the prone woman's head, wearing a Desert Flame outfit. Ready to shoot her in an instant, she stopped in her tracks realizing the devastating effects her gunshot sound would have on the trade taking place below.
“Don't move!” She improvised to recover her bad maneuver, drawing her second revolver to aim it at Oderix's head. He stood abashed at the other end of the dusty, decrypt room, while the woman held her position, prone with the sniper rifle pointing outside the master bedroom's balcony. Whoever her target was, he had been mere seconds away from death.
“What are you... uh... doing here young demoiselle.” Oderix replied, carefully searching each word to slaughter next with his horrible accent. He still had his hands casually inserted into his pockets, with a cigarette in his mouth. Neither of the assassins seemed to show any alarmed reactions.
“You are a funny, little lotus.” he continued. “You come here and... bang, with your gun, then I not need to shoot Travian.” He cracked a big smile underneath the shadow of his top hat. “I like you blondy, you should work for me.”

Athyanas stood silent with her guns in the air, trying to assess the situation faster. But before she could devise a course of action, the woman interrupted her.
“I have a shot!” she told Oderix. Her rifle whimpered beneath the silencer, and shortly after the sound of men shouting below echoed in the yard.

Emotionally struck by the sound of failure, she watched the revolver slip out of her hand, instead of firing at the woman to her desire. Fingers weakened by the shock, the second revolver was kicked out of her hand while Oderix escaped her attention. But the kick brought her back to life, and drew her attention at the man's drawing pistol. Faster than lightning, Athyanas slipped the sword from her back, and in one smooth arc also chopped the top of Oderix's barrel. Bemused, the man threw the useless piece of metal at her and unsheathed a long, thick knife from his belt. The blade was slighty curved and its handle was protected by a brass knuckle guard. Oderix spun it around by the finger rings and taunted her to come at him. But the ex-assassin was not a fool. The house's narrow halls and walls gave the knife a clear advantage over her long and cumbersome sword. As the man lunged for a stab, she dodged the long maneuver and quickly wrapped her cloak around his exposed neck. Using his momentum, Athyanas dragged him out the door and crashing into the stairway's guardrail. They tumbled roughly down the wooden steps and collided with the solid front door.

[Senvae]

Athyanas pushed herself up hastily to maintain her composure, hoping to have cracked the man's neck in the fall. However Oderix also got up and reached back for his top hat like he had simply fallen off a chair. His unbreakable smirk had however faded into a hate filled grimace. The footsteps of his associate, trying to catch up, pressed her to act immediately, but the man scurried towards her. She dodged his foolish lunge again, while opening the front door, smashing the thick wood into his face, giving her ample opportunity to make her escape.

Out into the fresh night air, she saw the driveway to her left where the trade was exploding into a gunfight. To her right, the old barn appeared vacant. She sprinted towards the big doors, leading her pursuers into a favorable fighting ground. Plenty of space to swing her sword, enough obstacles to control the odds, a perfect place to defend herself. Without her revolvers, the sword was her only weapon left so she planned to make the most of it.

The barn's interior was a disappointment to Athyanas. There were wooden pillars everywhere, reaching up to the roof. The empty space in between was loaded with giant haystacks and crates. It was barely illuminated by the stray lights of a nearby vehicle, or an occasional lightning flash. But the ex-assassin was also able to use this environment to her advantage. She rushed toward a wall of hay and hid behind it, waiting for the buffoon to walk by. Oderix walked in carefully with the knife in his right hand, and a gun in the second. From her quick glance she was able to recognize the Iron Crow revolver. That bastard stole my gun! She patiently waited until his shadow crossed over the haystack. Waiting for the right moment, she swung her blade to his neck and held the steel against his skin. Oderix froze in surprise.
“Give me the revolver, handle first, dirtbag!” She grunted at him, but still he wore his unflinching grin. “What's so damn funny Oderix? You think yourself so smart, but your boss has a date with death tonight. Without the Cardinal supporting your clan, its over for you. The Fiery Lotus is going to expose your fraudulent title and the rest goes down the drain. In fact, I think I'm going to let you live so you can taste the humiliation.”
Oderix chuckled at the threats.
“My my, little lotus, such a shame you kill Cardinal for me. I wait to do it myself for years.” he replied with his brute accent.
“Its over asshole!” She insisted.
“My boss is not Cardinal.” he interrupted.
At that notion, Athyanas was left bemused. Doctor Hyde had sworn Oderix's boss was the Cardinal Berackning. She was not amused by the situation, the doc had some explaining to do.
“The revolver, I think I would rather keep it yes.” he continued. “My boss would love a souvenir, he so wished he could be here to finish the job and kill the Fiery Lotus woman.”
Athyanas pressed the blade harder to his skin, shocked and appalled by his remark. But she understood immediately why Oderix had been so confident. From the glare of her blade, Athyanas saw the reflection of the sniper woman, standing on a roof strut. The sniper fired four rounds and Athyanas parried them all with her sword, leaving the fraud priest unattended. He reached for the revolver, while she spun away from his aim, slicing at the hand. The steel kissed the flesh beneath his glove, and she crouched to catch the falling eight-shooter.
Oderix had immediately jumped behind a stack of hay, and the sniper woman came down the roof strut, using her butterfly technique. Fighting defensively, Athyanas drew her fire at the woman instead, but the lady's zig-zags, pillar to pillar, evaded all that she could not block with her sword. Soon the sniper was in striking distance. The women's blades collided in a deadly dance of steel and fire. Sparks illuminating the room from parries and returns, Athyanas decided to falter her opponent's rhythm by slashing a strong vertical blow. The sniper blocked the move she could not parry, and the fight turned to a contest of strength. Both hands on her sword's grip, pressing down on the woman, she glimpsed at her utility belt and spotted her second revolver.
“Sorry, I'm going to need that revolver back!” Athyanas told the woman with a cocky smile.
Shifting her weight to the woman's right, she gave her the perfect opportunity to kill. As Athyanas expected from such a well trained soldier, she took the bait and parried the blow to the side. However the ex-assassin shifted the weight backwards and fell with her right leg wrapped behind the soldier's knee. Caught by the surprise, the woman fell ungraciously on Athyanas' waiting blade.

Stained with blood, she pushed the dying body aside and reached for her second gun. But she soon noticed that Oderix was nowhere to be found. That craven! He ran away?! She would not believe the opportunity to kill the slimy creep had slipped from her grasp, but it had.

Running out of the barn doors, Athyanas was reminded of something that was more important to her than Oderix, beholding the waging battle on the front yard. A desolate feeling invaded her heart as she shut her eyes and listened to the sound of battle, and the sound of a failure beyond the simple battle.

Not again, I can't afford to take another step back, she told herself. The battle was more than a bloody mess to her. Now it would become an icon in the Chamber of Councils, an example of a war that could never end. It took a great will power to fight the tears welling up in her eyes, and sustain the sensation of an iron gauntlet pulling out her heart.

Inspired by the moment of desperation, unable to accept the truth of her failure, she decided to put all her cards on the table, and reach out to them this night. It was all or nothing. Taking a closer look at the battle, Athyanas saw one of the convoy's flatbed, left on the barnyard's driveway, illuminated by a single lamp in the midst of gunfire. She ran towards the truck with all her might, and climbed on top of the driver's cabin, removing the stolen sniper rifle's silencer.
“STOP!!” she screamed above the gunfire, shooting the sniper rifle into the air. “STOP!!” she repeated several times. To Athyanas' surprise, the fire ceased completely, but she was left in silence to explain herself, sighted at gunpoint by both Travians and Maxwell Security.

Exposed on the flatbed's roof, Athyanas looked around her to gaze upon the Travian clan surrounding her with heavy arms. She had wished to keep her operations discreet, but her life was at stake at that moment.
“Gentlemen of Travia,” she shouted to them, “I have come here tonight to foil Cardinal Breckanings' cruel and manipulative plans to continue a profitable war. Lower your weapons in the name of peace! I beg you to forgive, and forget that God and political law were ever enemies! For no one believes in justice more than he!”

All had ceased around her, lying still and unflinching. She dared to think she would walk out alive now, and perhaps shattering barriers between Axium and Travia she had not dared to break yet. Taking the leap, she put her trust in the reason of men.
“I will turn around and walk away now,” she brought herself to say, “I hope your judgment will be sound and reasonable.”

Closing her eyes in fear, she turned away from the circle of armed Travians and Maxwell guards, believing she would not be shot down. Not for the sake of her own life, but rather to believe that peace was not a fading dream.

[Senvae]

I know, I know, this is waaaayyyy late. I just want you all to know I had some difficulties in my own personal life over the last couple of months and I had no intention to give up on this series.

Starting Part 7 and maybe until part 8 or 9, I am drawing up the conclusion of the series.

[m0sesx]

thanks buddy, great series by the way... my favorite on gunzfactor.

[Senvae]

Thank you very much, its the first time I see you on here. Welcome!

[Sarcor]

YESSSSSSSSS This story will give me life for the next 2 months.

I feed on stories that have good sustenence.

[Senvae]

Thanks Sarc

Funny, I forgot how quickly the RPG bumps your story down.

[Junji]

thanksssss

[Senvae]

Originally Posted by ninjakun-lun

thanksssss

Oh you're welcome! Man, I love seeing new people comment on this, I was starting to think Nosedigger was my only fan! LOL

I know my threads for this series have each scored roughly around 400 views, and I realize that not everyone has actually taken the time to read the whole thing. So I want to thank all the readers who never left a comment on my threads before, I appreciate your support just as much as veterans of this Forum Section.

[Nosedagger]

You write the best GunZ fight scenes ever, but you need to work on dialogue's realism and non-corniness.

“Sorry, I'm going to need that revolver back!” Athyanas told the woman with a cocky smile.

Bad line^

[Senvae]

Originally Posted by Nosedigger

You write the best GunZ fight scenes ever, but you need to work on dialogue's realism and non-corniness.


Bad line^

Lol!! I don't think its so bad!

You think all my dialogue is corny, or just those few attempted one liners?

Edit: Don't forget to add it to the listing!

[Nosedagger]

Originally Posted by Senvae

Lol!! I don't think its so bad!

You think all my dialogue is corny, or just those few attempted one liners?

Edit: Don't forget to add it to the listing!

One liners are hard to do right =/

Yeah, I'm gonna add it now.

[Scuba]

awww... only 2 or 3 more parts? :<

[Nosedagger]

Originally Posted by scuba356

awww... only 2 or 3 more parts? :<

I was all =( when I saw that too

[Senvae]

I think you guys are going to enjoy those last few parts though, and I'm not saying I won't ever post anything else. I did want to conclude this particular plot though.