The echoing sounds of firing guns and plasma shots turned indistinct and directionless, rebounding off the metal time and again. Soon, they receded under the groaning and whirring of the gears. Lazarus had definitely knocked something loose, and the rest of the mechanism wasn't so happy about it.

  "We're targeting the Three Equalizers, correct?" said Erina as they ran. She could see Akira eyeing up the walls of gears. "Not defacing the building?"

  "One kick," said Akira. "No, two kicks. Give me two good shots to mess these assholes up. Can't expect me to walk through the guts of BA HQ and not pull out a couple of 'em."

  "Will that help?"

  "Might cause another collapse or two. It'd help me , anyway! God knows it'd feel good."

  "Please resist the urge."

  Akira rolled her eyes. "Only 'cause you asked so nicely. Then do me a favor and pick up the pace! If I can't stick my boot in here, I'll stick it up theirs!"

  Onwards they went, up flights of stairs, down more, and climbing more still. Whirring gears and humming machinery rushed by as they rushed down the walkways, chasing the glittering trail of Erina's butterfly that showed them the way. .

  The path opened into a large hall. More accurately, it opened into a large space that wasn't fully occupied by clockwork mechanisms. A woman in white tactical gear got up from where she rested crouching on the floor, dusting herself off and brushing back her pink hair with a bored expression on her face. The path forward continued behind her—a set of closed elevator doors, and the large stairs beside it.

  "I know we booked out time for this," she sighed, "but what a pain. Not that I have a choice. What the boss says, goes. Unless there's any chance we can reschedule and I'll pen you in for another day?"

  "You wanna come over here and say that to my face?" called Akira across the hall. "C'mon, up close and personal, don't be shy!"

  "Of course not," groaned the pink-haired woman. "I really have to do my job today, don't I?" She frowned, tapped her wired earpiece, and sighed again. "Yes, I know what I get paid for. Thank you."

  "We have to proceed." Erina stepped forward, flicking a single green orb to float at her side. "Should I assume it's too much to ask you let us by?"

  "You bet it is," said the woman in white flatly. "Well… time to get this over with. Binding Association Public Relations Deputy Manager, Fujiwara Haruka."

  The words came off the assembly line like she'd said them a thousand times before. Haruka adjusted her gloves with a bored expression. Thin pink lines glowed to life, running down her fingers and focusing in her palms.

  "Direct superior," she droned. "First Equalizer, Darius Lohrs."

  Erina gulped.

  "You give that spiel every time you pick a fight?" piped up Akira.

  Haruka ignored her and adjusted her wired earpiece. "Do you copy? Darius? Julian, sir?" Her scowl deepened. "Roger. Engaging the enemy."

  Green-black venom spanned the gap like the stroke of a calligraphy brush, and Akira's first kick hammered to a halt against a bright pink barrier. Erina started.

  Haruka blocked with a spell circle as a shield, albeit one with an entirely different design from Erina's. The runes spun and the shield expanded, blocking Erina's barrage of lasers, and then one shove sent Akira flipping back.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "What the hell?" Akira landed on her feet, bouncing another step back as she sized her up.

  "What is it?" Erina gestured rapidly, her orbs growing into a flowing cloud at her back.

  Akira shook her head. "Just take her down!"

  One more motion, and Erina's cloud opened fire all at once. Streaks of green light hammered against Haruka's barrier, dozens of them every second in an unrelenting barrage firing off like a machine gun. Stray lasers struck the ground and far wall, burning scorch marks into the metal as pink and green light filled the hall.

  Her cloud was almost out. The accelerator array formed before Erina, the spear flashed into her hand, and Erina loosed it with the powerful crack of the sonic barrier breaking.

  Branches of light exploded through the hall, snaking everywhere in an instant. Metal screeched as the force of the branches' impact knocked them loose. A shower of parts clattered loudly to the floor behind Haruka, ripped free by the crossfire of the lightning spear.

  "Like I thought," said Akira in a low voice. "Alright, I gotta know. What the hell do they put in the food at the Association?"

  Haruka's shield stood tall and unbroken. The pink light shimmered and blinked out as she lowered her guard. For a moment, the flow of the battle waned.

  And she opened her mouth, and yawned.

  "You little fuck!" Akira's boots clanged across the metal on her way to cave her face in. "Fine by me! If all you can do is block, y'know what I call that? Target practice! C'mere!"

  The barrier flashed into place and Akira rushed in with a storm of attacks. Every blow could bust through a brick wall and smash apart solid stone. Each kick struck home with a resounding clang and a flare of light as the shield responded in kind, but Haruka's guard held steady through it all.

  "C'mon, you turtling fuck!" Akira squeezed the words out between gritted teeth. "What's the matter? Momma never teach you how to hit back?!"

  Haruka shifted with each impact, body moving slightly as the recoil fed back through her. The shield inched back a little with every blow. Sensing progress, Akira gave it her all with one last kick.

  The shield tilted, sparks flew as Haruka deflected the blow aside, twisting with the redirected movement—

  A fresh barrier sprang from her other hand and the second Akira's kick, aimed at her now-exposed back, met too with failure.

  Akira backed up, boots shuffling lightly across the floor.

  Haruka turned to face them properly and rolled her shoulder. She regarded them with the same flat expression… until a dry, coy smile crossed her face. "Heh."

  "You makin' fun of me?!" Akira launched a fresh offensive, more furious than ever, every kick powerful enough to make a dragon buckle under the force of her blows.

  Erina watched as Akira hammered home one hit after another, the shield glowing again and again. "We're not… making any ground…"

  No, she realized. Even worse. Akira was losing ground!

  Akira shuffled back and forth constantly, kept herself mobile, always ready to dodge while winding up for the next attack. That was her style. After weathering several kicks, when Akira moved a touch further back to gather herself for an instant, Haruka took one step forward. Slowly, one barrage at a time, without even attacking on her own, Haruka was pushing back Akira!

  "Why do you look so surprised?" said Haruka over the din of battle. "At the end of the day, I'm Darius' second-in-command. When incidents go down, we're first on the scene. Getting a job like mine doesn't come easy." Those dull eyes took on a playful glint. "Or do the yakuza let pencil pushers climb the ladder without knowing how to fend for themselves?"

  Akira looked ready to burst a vein. One more hard strike to no avail, and she withdrew. She never turned her back or let her eyes leave Haruka as she paced away. "Let her have it, Erina!"

  The air filled with the distinctive scream of an energy bolt accelerating to preposterous speeds. Erina loaded and armed the railgun, spell circles glowing brightly before her. She leveled her aim directly at Haruka, and declared, "Firing!"

  Green lit up the entire hall, and the ensuing blast rocked the building as a wave of smoke enveloped them. The air whipped into a mad frenzy with the explosion. Gears rattled and belts slipped, groaning and clanking noises echoing everywhere around them.

  As the smoke began to clear, it was the rim of Haruka's large shield circle that poked through first. She perked up behind her barrier, a distinctly cheeky smile on her face.

  "I don't know what kind of enemies you've fought before," she said, "but I'm a little different."

  But her opponents were nowhere to be seen.

  "You can be invincible for all I care!" Akira's feet pounded across the floor as she and Erina ran past under cover of smoke, their eyes on the far end of the hall. "Who gives a damn? All we gotta do is get past you and keep climbing! Erina, knock out the ceiling!"

  "Sir!" Erina skidded and pivoted, spear flashing into her grip as her eyes locked onto the machinery above—

  Akira ran face-first into a glowing pink barrier and bounced off, swearing. Large spell circles powered up and rendered visible, walling off the way forward.

  "In case you haven't figured it out yet," said Haruka loftily, turning at a leisurely pace. "Binding Association Headquarters is closed for the day. If you're looking for an appointment, I'll book you in for a later date. Please come again, 'kay?"