At that moment, Rose Rogue de Mai came crashing from up above. Landing hard and with a lot of glass falling around her, she swung her rapier in a circle, making the neo shogunate members jump back. She made another precise motion with her blade, cutting the duo’s cuffs loose at the same time.
She unholstered her gun and pointed it at the unit’s leader, aiming at his head with her one eye.

He dodged even before she fired and the bullet only grazed his black hair.

"I can see your every move even before you make it," he commented calmly in his weak, raspy voice.

He then took control of Noix, making him aim his dual Éclairs at her.

"Noix?" Mai was taken by surprise.

"Mai, watch out!" Lalane warned, pushing her out of the way by a gust of wind, alas Noix aimed not at Mai, but at the place where she would land, shooting her weapons out of her hands one by one as soon as she fell to the ground as if he knew exactly what would happen.

"Someone take control of the element wielder," the shogunate leader ordered.

"Darn it Lalane! I didn’t ask for yer help!" Mai was annoyed, getting back on her feet and rushing at Noix.
He fired at her, but she cut open small voids with her hands, catching the bullets inside with precise timing.

"Wha’ good is yer future telling’ when all ye can pr’dict is me kickin’ yer sorry arses!!!" she cut Noix’s pistols with her hands, kicking him backward onto the dark-haired man who stood behind him.
She then picked up the guard’s electric batons and faced the two shoguns armed with the guard’s guns.
Now that she was at least shortly stationary, they took aim and opened fire.
The crimson-coated young woman deflected the rubber bullets with the batons, not even blinking, and then charged at the men.
Just as Mai was going to electrocute them, Lalane came from her blind side and reached for her shoulder, with arms electrified for a shocking grasp.

"Sorry mate," Mai readily ducked under, tripping her friend with a swipe of her boot. Lalane fell and hit her head, losing consciousness.

Mai threw both batons at the two armed men, knocking them out, "I’m a wildcard. A future-teller’s worst nigh’mare," she grabbed one of the rifles and shot the other two shogunate members.

Mai was now left only with the leader to deal with.

"Hmph," the dark-haired man stood up, "You do indeed deviate from the predicted future. You are hard to read... but even you won’t hurt your friends," he made Noix stand in front of him controlled like a marionette.

 "Ye are controllin’ his mind, but ans’er me this; wha’ good is his mind to ye, if his body won’t cooperate?" she fired at the exoskeleton’s centre - the battery, effectively disabling it, making Noix fall to his knees and collapse to the ground.

"Tsk!" the dark-haired man was losing his cards, now desperately making the warden stand up and quickly hiding behind him next, "You know what awaits you if you shoot him."

The shogunate leader released the mind control of the older man, twisting his arm behind his back and the warden came to his senses.

"W-What is going on here?" the warden looked around frantically, "Security! You there, enforcer…help me!"

"Pfft!" Mai shot the warden into his knees with no hesitation.

"Argh! You’ll pay for this," the rubber bullets were not lethal, but they still hurt enough for the warden to go mad.

"Stop yer yammering’!" Mai shot the old man cold, leaving the dark master of the mind surprised with his mouth slightly open.

"…wait!" he put his arms up.

"Why would I?" she pressed the trigger but the gun only made a clicking sound.

"Empty…" she threw it away, running for her own gun and rapier next.

"Listen to me or innocent people will die!" the leader managed to utter just as she found and aimed her weapon at him.

"…speak," the frowning girl decided to listen.

"The five of us are not working alone. There are more members all around the city. We planted explosives at the bases of the tallest structures. If I don’t report to the rest in a while, they will detonate them. Those are their orders," the dark-haired man said.

"Wha’ an idiotic plan…" she kept her aim at him, "Ye thin’ I care?"

"You’re bluffing," the shogunate leader said, "Maybe you can’t be controlled, but I can still read some of your mind. You will not take that risk, at least before you consider other available options. We only demand that you surrender Label to us. Then we will leave this city in peace."

"Surrender Label… hahahahaha!" she started laughing.

"Why does everyone find that so hilarious?" the man scowled.

"We can’t give ye Label, ev’n if we wan’ed to. Only Anciel coulda force Label to do somethin’ he doesn't wanna, an’ even he woulda had a hard time."

"Hmph. So Emperor Caius wasn’t exaggerating…" the man surmised.

"Nay, he was underestimatin’ ‘im, if anythin’," Mai smiled.

"You are… in love with him?" the leader grinned, "Hmm… Is it mutual?"

"Shuddup," she fired a warning shot between his feet, "Get outta me mind or I’ll shoot ye first an’ deal wit’ th’ bombs later."

"What’s going on here?" a group of security guards came rushing in through the main gate.

"Took ye long enough. I deploy me enforc’r juris-… jurdst-…"

"Jurisdiction," one of the guards helped her.

"Aye, that, over th’ situation an’ take full res’onsibility for all tha’ ‘appens. Now arres’ these men."

"Yes madam enforcer" the guards saluted and then grabbed the only convict that was still standing.

The other guards spread across the room and started cuffing everyone else, going for Lalane and Noix next.

"Nay, not them. They be me mates. Oi!" but just as she was going to tap the guard on the shoulder, she noticed two electric batons coming for her back.

Turning around and making an arc with her rapier, she cut them in half.

"Tsk…Ye guys are pup’ets as well?" she scowled.

"What a persistent thorn in the side you are…" the dark-haired man clicked his fingers twice and a group of black-cloaked men wearing traditional Toukoku masks barged into the prison. Some were armed with rifles, while some were gesturing like puppeteers, controlling all of the guards, manipulating them to circle around Mai.
She was surrounded by six prison employees and at least a dozen more men from the neo shogunate unit.

The leader put on a black hooded cloak and a mask featuring a demon.

"Bloody cowards…" Mai knew when she was outnumbered. Her abilities as a master of the void were perfect for overpowering a single target but were lacking in crowd control. Her mind slowly turned to hopelessness.

If only Lalane was awake…or if ... mama was ‘ere. She’d kick their arses…

The demon-masked leader took the gun that his colleague was offering. He spoke...

"Indeed, we are fortunate that it was not Rose Blanche d’Avril we were dealing with, but her beautiful daughter instead. Label will do as we ask…in exchange for your safety. Do you think it was your skill that brought you this far? No, it was me, trying very hard not to damage our bargaining chip."

"Hornswoggle…Label don’t love me. We just met," she hardened the grip on her weapons.

"Yet you are already in love up to your ears. Who’s to say he isn’t?" the man grinned as if he had already won, but Rose Rogue quickly pointed the gun at her chin.

"Say g’dbye to yer bargainin’ chip!"

"No!" the man put his arm forward, but she already took the shot.

"No…Mai…that’s not the answer," Noix barely spoke, his palm burned by the hot gun barrel and his entire body aching from the strain that was movement without the help of the exoskeleton.

"Noix…I…" Mai was on the verge of tears.

"It’s alright… Have faith in them…Label and Anciel are unstoppable together," he barely talked. The girl silently nodded and let her tears flow.

"This all could have gone less painfully, had you cooperated from the start," the leader spoke through the demonic mask, his already quiet voice now sounding even more eerie.
The cloaked men tied them up together and made their way out. Only the leader looked back focused for a few moments.

"This may have been a small hindrance and some changes are in order to keep the future unchanged, but I can still see it... Label is going to Toukoku."