"Jesus, you made it!" Tony exclaimed, seeing the group charging towards him as the base began to collapse and come down. "We gotta get the hell outta here!" Holding his paw out for them, he helped first Lily down into the tunnel, then Axel, and finally, noting Emilena couldn't seem to use her hands, he grabbed hold of her armpits before she could protest, and let Axel grab her from the lower half so she wouldn't fall down the ladder and break her neck. "Here!" He said, quickly following down after her as the building was torn apart, the room they were standing in starting to act as if a giant were punching its walls.
The ground shook violently, a virtual earthquake going on around them as the battleship's big guns ripped the base apart, shredding it as effectively as if it were a toy being put through a pulverizer. "Hope this goddamn elevator still works!" Tony said through clenched teeth as they ran down the tunnel, the ferret hearing the sounds of tearing metal and collapsing walls further back from the complex.
Vergil was the first to reach the elevator, piling in and slapping the up button to the ground floor, but then jamming his bulbous finger down on the door open button to ensure everyone got inside. Once they were, his white finger mashed the close button, and they were soon making their painful way upwards, Tony silently praying that the elevator wouldn't tumble back down as the building they were in shook like a leaf in the wind.
The elevator rattled and rumbled its way up to the ground floor, and Tony let out an exhale as the doors opened and he ran out first to get the car ready. Everyone could fit in the car, and they wouldn't need the trailer, but Tony knew the car was powerful enough to reach 100 even with the trailer attached. Throwing himself behind the wheel, the ferret fumbled with his keys, eyes on the destruction of the Purifier base ahead of him, and he swore as he dropped the keys briefly. "Shit!"
Reaching down, he retrieved them and started up the big V-12. Vergil got into one of the back seats, and once everyone was inside, Tony gunned the engine and whipped the car around in a 180 degree turn, tires squealing as he pointed the car towards the highway, but then thought better of it. Looking at the sky, he could see the aerial fleet was concentrating its attack on major buildings and thoroughfares, and the highway was the place to avoid right now. OK... time to take some back streets to escape the city.
"So... I take it Lily's back?" Tony asked when he was certain he was safely away from the Purifier base, and could focus a bit less on driving like he was being chased by all the forces of hell, which in a way, he kind of was. He felt his phone vibrate, and he pulled it out to quickly glance at a text message from his father.
On the bridge of the Red Castle, Kalis was gazing with satisfaction at the destruction of the city. If they submitted, fine, but he doubted he'd have time to occupy this place. Already his fleet had intercepted emergency distress calls to the 9th Fleet, so he knew they were at least inbound. Still... nothing wrong with a little chaos every now and then. Even if he wasn't ready for a stand-up battle just yet, this was an opportunity he wasn't going to waste.
But there was something here... a distant presence he was sensing... a presence he hadn't felt in a long time. But that presence was impossible. There was no way he could be feeling it. Narrowing his eyes, he pushed it from his mind, and instead focused on watching the explosions and the decimation below him, reveling in the sight as if he were at some intense sporting event.
