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This article, Chapter 73 - Fighting to Save Her, is the property of Flame Lizard and cannot be tampered with or referenced without his permission. |
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Axel ran through the smoldering path of Vax’s walking workshop, following his scent back to the atrium of machines. The fires below must've started to spread, because smoke had begun to fill the hallways as well. Axel didn’t pay that any mind through. His thoughts where on his friends, and that mechanical golem the masked man had just unleashed. He could feel the magic power radiating from it as it booted up, and it was already far stronger than he was by the time Vax unleashed it into the dessert. Those zombified things where hard enough to deal with, and that golem rooming around would only make things harder for everyone. He had to put a stop to this now.
He skidded down a pipeline leading from the workshop back into the building, leaping through a hole in the wall they’d no doubt created throughout the course of their battle. He found Vax hovering off the ground a few feet from his spire, hastily attaching the glass box of bones to the operating table before it. "What was that thing?" He demanded, pointing outside. "Where is it going?"
"I told you, Axel the Dragon Slayer..." Vax mumbled, seemingly regarding him as nothing more than a distraction at this point. "Its my Juggernaut. It's purpose is to follow any magic source it can find, then destroys whoever it comes across." He hooked one last pipe into the top of the box, then teleported back over to his display and began typing into the keyboard. "I'm afraid your friends are as good as dead."
"But Amber is out there too!" He screamed at him again. "If she's not here then she must be somewhere in the city, right?"
Vax slowly looked back at him, his mask concealing any expression he had. "Oh... Oh, that's right... I'd forgotten." Axel dropped his shoulders; how could he forget something like that? From his tone though, it seemed like the honest truth. Vax slowly looked outside, up at the bright red moon hanging in the sky, then simply shrugged and returned to his work. "Well... It doesn't matter... I'm so close now..."
"What do you mean it doesn't matter!?" Axel screamed at him. "You can shut that thing off, right?" Vax ignored him, which only added to his irritation. "What if she's the first one it finds!? What if it kills her!?"
"She knows enough to stay away from it." Vax shrugged again, never looking back at him. "But... Her death would bring such sadness... She has a family I need to bring back as well..." He slowly reached up to scratch the chin of his mask, then stood up straight with his finger in the air as if he'd had an epiphany. "Ah... Of course. If she dies, i’ll simply bring her back to life as well."
An image flashed through Axel's mind. An image of Amber with Siri's sickly blue skin and dead looking eyes, as well as the dead woman's broken personality. The thought of Vax turning Amber into something like that infuriated him. "You wouldn't." He growled, electricity crackling all across his body.
One last screen on Vax's display blinked out of existence, and a sudden heaviness filled the room. A strong blue light radiated from the top of the spier, and a mechanical humming noise filled the air. "Ah... Finally." Vax slowly turned around, watching a vast array of probes, diodes, and clawed appendages descend on the box. As an emitter bathed it in an intense blue light, Vax began to mumble. "The process is in motion. I just need to wait for the results." He teleported away for a brief moment, reappearing closer to Axel with his sword clutched in his mechanical hand. "Now... All that's left is put an end to your metaling. And gather your magic for my next attempt."
Bearing his fangs, Axel took a defiant step forwards. "Just try it!" He roared, and the two mages flew at each other once again.
A great ape dropped out of the sky, crashing through several floors of a building before rolling out of the side and crashing into the street. Nico appeared above him in a flash, raining throwing knives down into the smoke of the collapsing building. Suddenly, a great maw lunged forth, and Jak's crocodilian jaws snapped shut on Nico's ankle. There was no damage done; Nico’s leg had found a small gap between Jak's teeth to rest in. Though it kept him from harm, it left him at the beast's mercy as he began throwing his head from side to side like a dog with a toy.
In a desperate attempt to get away, Nico tried teleporting again, but Jak was transported along with him. They made only a few dozen meters down the road, Jak's incredible stature in his crocodile form being much harder to travel with than his scrawnier human form. They teleported again, reappearing in a basin a block away. Jak reared back his head, and Nico teleported a third time. This time was more successful, Jak slammed his head into the ceiling of the room they'd teleported into, loosing his grip on Nico's leg.
Now free, the bandaged man teleported again, reappearing behind Jak's large head. Instantly, the end of Jak's tail shot up to jab him in the stomach, stopping his assault. He turned to counterattack, but Nico vanished, leaving Jak's long claws to rack across the wall behind where he'd just been.
The beast grunted in frustration, flexing his fingers and listening for any sign of an attack. He sniffed the air, but Nico’s scent was indistinguishable from the stink of rot that seemed to permeate the entire ruin. He heard the familiar buzz of Nico's teleportation magic behind him, and he turned to swipe with the back of his fist. Nobody was there though. He turned towards another short buzz, but to a similar effect.
"Stop doin' that." The beast growled, waiting for his chance.
More throwing knives clattered against his back, but did nothing against his thick scales. Just as he turned around however, Nico reappeared atop his back and stabbing his sword into Jak's shoulder. The beast howled in surprise, grabbing at random for the bandaged man. Every attempt was a failure, and Nico teleported again to deliver a shallow slash across his stomach. Jak kicked blindly, thrown into a frenzy. In his flailing, he lost his footing, and tumbled through the wall behind him.
Gravity took over at that point. There was no floor beyond, just a wide, dark expanse. Jak's massive body fell for about three seconds, before splashing into a dark liquid that had collected in the basement of the building.
He crashed through a dark, sludgy membrane that sat on the liquid's surface, causing it to tare and brake apart in places. Nico teleported closer, landing on a partly submerged machine that rose only a few feet above the surface of the muck. He grabbed a trio of his throwing knives from his robe, ready to strike at the first sign of action, and waited.
Seconds ticked by, the soft sloshing noise of the recently disturbed sludge echoed throughout the room. The sound of a distant battle reverberating off the walls, pulling Niko's attention momentarily away from the muck.
Suddenly there was a splash. Nico snapped back to attention and threw his knives out into the dark, towards the wake of something moving below the surface. The second his knives left his fingers, Jak burst from the water only feet away, his jaws closing around the bandaged man’s torso. Nico grunted I surprise as Jak's huge teeth plunged into his chest and back, the echo of his crushed bones filling the basin. A light began to build, and an electrical charging noise filled the air. There was another, much brighter flash, and suddenly they where airborne.
Or rather, it would’ve been more accurate to say they where in freefall, high above the ruined city. Not wasting his chance, despite Nico already going limp in his jaws, Jak gripped the man's legs and upper torso, and tore the bandaged man to pieces. There was no blood, sand fell from the chunks that remained. It was as if his body had only been held together by the bandages that he wore. Jak saw a building race past him, and he spun over to find the ground fast approaching. His long tail and scales vanished as he morphed into his bat form, spreading his wings mere seconds before slamming into the ground.
The sound of clashing blades echoed out over the dead city, rattling exposed rebar and shaking the dust loose from nearby structures. Three quick slashes ripped through one of the casino walls, creating a triangular shaped hole that collapsed in a cloud of dust. It was from this new opening that Geno flew backwards into the moonlight, skidding his heals through the sand and readying for the next clash.
He barely had time to raise the broken Agrus before Keel flew out after him, his long jawbone shaped blade opening like a pair of scissors to snap at him. He avoided it by a hair's margin and whipped his chain into the side of Keel's face. Though his attack had hit the mark, it didn't seem to affect the undead bandit, who's ever grinning face drew ever closer. He grabbed Geno's wrist and raised Naberus to the sky in preparation for his next strike, but Geno stomped into the man's stomach and kicked himself free.
Keel swung anyway, leaving a small divide in the sand. Geno jumped back, but Keel was faster still. He lunged forewords, the jaws of his weapon opening again. Geno deflected the bladed side with his broken sword, but the closing of the jaws still caught him, two of it's teeth leaving a pair of shallow slashes on the underside of his arm.
Geno grunted in annoyance, playing defensive was getting him nowhere. He stepped into Keel's next attack, getting inside the reach of his swing and lunging at his face with an elbow tackle. Keel took the blow head on, knocking two of his teeth from his mouth and forcing him back a few steps. Though surprised, he recovered faster than lightning, grabbing Geno by the hair and slamming his knee into his chest. He tossed Geno away like a discarded doll, but despite the pain, Geno already had a counterattack in mind. He rolled with his first bounce, flinging Agrus like a whip with his chain looped through the end of the hilt.
Again, Keel was caught off guard, and the broken broadsword buried itself up to the cross-guard in the dead man’s stomach. Even despite this however, he remained unfazed. He glanced at Geno's weapon, following the chain attached to it's hilt back to Geno's hand. "Nice move..." He grinned, roughly yanking the weapon from his torso and tossing it aside. "But it still ain't good enough. Rip my guts out all you want, ya still won't kill me."
Keel charged again but lurched upon taking his first step. It was a momentary mistake, and it left Geno precious time to evade the strike that followed. He dodge-rolled out of the way and retrieved Agrus, turning to see Keel wobble again. Keel himself seemed to be oblivious to this, but the new wound to his emaciated torso seemed to be affecting him. This realization that the damage was slowly building on the undead man gave Geno an idea, and he grasped his chain in both hands. He jumped to his feet and charged, just as Keel drew Naberus to his shoulder and the Jaws opened again.
He lunged at Geno, looking like he was trying to cleave him in half. Geno leapt above the closing jaws, feeling the snap in the air as it's teeth clashed together. He flew over Keel's head, looking the grinning man square in the eye as he looped the chain around his neck. Keel gagged as the chain went taught, and Geno pulled hard the moment his feet hit the sand, throwing the dead man over his shoulder. He landed farther out in the street, rolling into a crouched position. His head sat at a strange angle however, and he was much slower to get up than before.
Geno pressed the assault, chasing Keel out into the street. He whipped Agrus at him again, the broken sword adding just enough weight for it to whirl around Keel's neck a second time. By the forth rotation, Keel was upright, and the open jaws of Naberus snipped the chain link that connected it to Agrus. The weapon tumbled away through the air, but it had done its job. Geno grabbed the two ends of the chain and yanked them both downwards. At the same time, he threw himself forwards, smashing the top of his head into Keel’s chin, creating a sickeningly wet crunching sound as the dead man's head snapped backwards.
That still wasn’t enough however, Keel threw a strong right hook into Geno's gut, knocking the air from his lungs, then kneed him in the stomach, causing him to hunch over. Keel reared upright, swinging Naberus high over his head for a decapitating chop, grinning the whole way. Geno dodged back at the last moment, jumping into a flying knee kick which landed in Keel’s throat. On his way down, he wrapped his arm around the dead man's neck and let the weight of his fall spin Keel's head almost backwards on his body.
The two combatants collapsed to the ground, splattering blood all across the sand around them. Geno gasped for air, feeling the sting of the sand in the numerus wounds that littered his body. He lay there for a few good seconds, realizing that he had some time to catch his breath when the grinning bandit failed to finish him off.
Geno finally sat upright, seeing Keel splayed out in a heap with his head sitting at a funny angle. "Ha..." He wheezed, still ever grinning. "Ha... Ha ha, That's a... Damn cheep trick."
"The hell it was." Geno grumbled. Keel continued to wheeze, and Geno got up to retrieve his wayward Agrus. It melted into a blob of blood and flowed back into his system, adding some much-needed circulation to his still rapidly beating heart. "Undead or not... Can't move if your neck is broken."
Keel began to laugh again. Even in his state, he still found some amusement to his situation. "You're right. I can't... But... I think, it, can..." Geno glanced down at his fallen opponent just as his body began to twitch. It didn't look like Keel was trying to move, more like... Something was moving inside him. He took a nervous step backwards, and Keel hickuped. "Makin' me remember what fun feels like... I think... We woke it up!"
Keel suddenly lurched, and a great black mass flew from his mouth. It looked like blood at first, but was jet black in color and bubbling all over. Geno raised his arms to defend himself, when a dozen black tendrils lashed forth to ensnare him. Suddenly he looked down to see Keel's weapon, Naberus, dissolving as well, into the same black goo that now hung in the air above the dead man. A multitude of yellow eyes bubbled to the surface, all fixated on Geno, and a hoarse voice echoed from the mass like a hiss. "I... Live..."
The thing lunged forwards, pulling itself into Geno's mouth and flowing into his innumerable wounds. He gargled something, trying to fight it off, but the fight had left him weak, and his hands moved through the mass like it wasn't even there. It was over in a moment, Geno consumed the entire thing in a flash, but a lingering sense of dread came over him. He could feel it, not just in his stomach, but in his mind, feeling it's consciousness creep in.
"What... The hell?" He gasped, fighting off it's influence with everything he had. His skin began to turn jet black, littered with small, white runes that flowed across his skin. He could hear the thing's voice, screaming and roaring in his mind. He could feel his other weapons as well. Scox and Mammon where scratching like a pack of wounded, wild animals trying to claw their way out of his head. The black tone of his skin soon faded away and the ruins turned blood red. His eyes rolled back in his head, and despite his best efforts, Geno lost consciousness. His body however, continued to move, snorting and growling like a feral animal. The thing looked to the sky and roared, radiating a burst of magic like an explosion. It crouched over the now deceased again Keel, before dropping onto all fours and galloping off into the night.
Slowly, as the ringing in her head began to subside, Shelly pushed herself up from the sand. "What...? Where?" She stuttered, her thoughts in a pained haze. She could feel an incredible stinging sensation from her forehead above her left eye and reached up to feel a long trail of blood running down her cheek and jaw. A small stone, that up until a moment ago had been buried just under the sand, lay before her, a small splatter of blood adorning one of its corners. She looked up further and found Amber laying a little farther away, at the base of a steep sand dune. "Am-..." She coughed, feeling a small amount of sand hit the back of her throat. "Amber...?"
"Shelly?" She turned towards the call to see Rift sliding down the sand dune a block away. Zeke sat on his shoulder, and the two of them raced towards her the moment they hit flat ground again. Once they where a little closer and got a full look at the gash on Shelly's forehead however, Rift gasped in disbelief. "What the hell?"
Amber rolled over as well, but the angry expression she'd been wearing throughout the fight left her the instant she saw the wound on Shelly's head. She looked afraid. Mortified even. Seeing her like that seemed to take the fight right out of her. "Shelly...?" She pushed herself up to her knees, and Armeria walked up next to her. "Shelly, I-."
"What's the plan here, Amber?" She recoiled at the sound of Rift's voice, under what she must've thought was an accusation. "This fight isn't helping..."
"I didn't... I didn't want to-." She hickuped, fighting through her exhaustion to get back to her feet. She stuttered a couple times, clutching at her chest and turning to Shelly. Any anger she may have still harbored seemed to evaporate away the instant she looked at her. "I didn't mean to... I... I'm sorry Shelly." She stumbled forwards, still having some trouble retaining her balance. "But you have to listen to me, please! You're not safe here, you need to leave."
"I'm not... Going anywhere." Shelly stuttered, shakily standing up and wiping her bloodied hand clean on her skirt. Her head cleared as soon as she was on her feet, and the ringing in her ears finally passed. "Don't you want to go home?"
She recoiled again, farther this time. With her back literally to a wall, Amber turned her head away from all three of them. "I can't go back..." She mumbled softly, barely loud enough to be heard at all. "It's my fault..."
"How could it be your fault?!" Zeke bellowed, tears staining his furry cheeks. "You where with us, Amber! You had no idea that masked guy would attack the guild master, did you?!"
Still not looking at them, Amber bit her lip and shook her head. They'd finally gotten her to calm down, but it looked like the argument still wasn't over yet. "Amber, c'mon... Just talk to us." Rift encouraged, taking a small step forward.
Recoiling, Amber turned and franticly dashed away the moment she saw him approach. Armeria let out a short sigh, before morphing into a shapeless blob and flowing along after her.
Shelly took off right after her, grabbing her two discarded short swords from the sand and sprinting off down the street. Rift lunged forewords to stop her, but once again she was just out of his reach. "Hey, wait a sec!" He called, obviously growing frustrated with the constant running. "Shelly, you're hurt!"
"I'm fine!" She called back, quickly turning back and pointing to her wrist. "Solid Script: Boost!" The word appeared in green glowing letters on the inside of her forearm, and she became surrounded in a soft light glow. She could feel her body becoming lighter, and she dashed off down the street in a flash, leaving Rift in the dust. She flew around a street corner to find Amber just a few feet away, having stopped to catch her breath. They both gasped the moment their eyes met, and Amber took off running again. Shelly was right on her tail, a single of her strides matching any two of Ambers. She was keeping up. No, she was actually gaining on her.
Just as they passed onto the next street, Shelly tried to grab at the back of her shirt, only for Amber to spun around and slap her hand away. "Armeria: Sirin!" Her familiar jumped into her hand, taking the shape of a single edged sword, which she swung upwards just in front of Shelly's face. It wasn't so much an attack as a means to ward her off, but it was ineffective none the less. Still glowing with power, Shelly moved at lightning speed, stepping around Amber's swing and throwing a shoulder-check into her side.
Amber stumbled, gritting her teeth in frustration. She reached back and grabbed the shoulder of Shelly's shirt. Boosted or not, Shelly was still a small girl, something which Amber was fully prepared to take advantage of. With a strong tug, she turned on her heel and tossed Shelly down the street.
Rolling with the momentum of her landing, Shelly hopped upright almost instantly. She was running out of time though. She'd lost track of how long her Boost spell had been in effect, but she couldn't have much time left. Using it again would burn through her stamina, so it was now or never. She raised her arm and said. "Solid Scri-!"
"Armeria: Crimson Eye!" Amber was faster on the draw. She tossed her sword into the air, splitting into a pair of whirling blade rings. Shelly dodged to the side, rolling head over heals and jumping to her feet. Amber was on her the moment she turned around however, grabbing both wrists and forcing her back against the brick wall that ran parallel to the road. Shelly pushed back as hard as she could, but Amber's height gave her an advantage, and soon she was pinned against the wall. "Armeria!" Amber screamed, holding Shelly's arms out to the side.
Shelly looked up from the struggle to see a pair of red streaks fly at her. She felt a chill run up her back and instinctively closed her eyes. The hilts of her swords jerked in her hands, and a pair of quick metallic snaps followed by the crack of stone filled the air. She opened her eyes again just as Amber threw her away from the wall, facing an oncoming street of a three-way intersection. Her body felt week, her boost spell having just run its course, and she looked back to see Amber glairing down at her with the two blade rings imbedded into the wall beside her. She stood up slowly but found something was of. Her hands where lighter, and she froze in place when she discovered why.
Both her mother's swords where both broken, snapped off near the hilt leaving barely an inch of blade left to either of them. "Armeria: Viper Chain..." Amber muttered. Shelly barely had the time to think on her broken swords before a chain coiled around her legs and yanked her feet out from under her. She landed hard on her butt with a small gasp and looked up to see Amber still glairing at her. "Just go away... You can't help me."
Rather than feeling defeated however, all Shelly felt was frustration. As Amber turned to stumble away, she leapt to her feet and, fighting through the burning feeling in her legs, charged at her again. Weather she simply didn't notice or was to tired to mount any sort of defense, one way or the other, Amber turned around just in time to see Shelly coming before being tackled to the ground.
The struggle didn't last long. Amber quickly recovered and gained the upper hand, rolling over to straddle Shelly's stomach and pinning her arms up beside her head. She bore a furious glair down at her, gritting her teeth and gasping in anger. "Why won't you just listen to me!? I don't want you're help!"
Gasping under the weight of another person sitting on her stomach, Shelly slowly grinned. "You're lying again..." Amber's expression changed, gaining the same defeated look she'd worn after their tumble down the sand dune. "You're really not a good liar."
Amber continued to stare at her a moment longer, though whether she was trying to formulate some kind of response or was taking a moment to catch her breath was difficult to discern. Either way, a chain coiled itself around her waist, which slowly began pulling her off of Shelly and towards the wall of the intersection. She kicked and clawed at the sand to stop herself, but finally gave up when she looked back to see Rift on the other end of the chain.
This proved to be the final defeat. Once Rift stopped pulling, Amber leaned back against the wall in complete exhaustion. The others rushed to her side, but still kept at a small distance. "You two done now?" Rift growled, casting a disapproving gaze Shelly's direction.
"We want to help you Amber, we really do." Zeke mumbled from behind Rift's shoulder. "Why won't you listen?"
"You can't..." She wheezed, slowly turning to Shelly. "You're dad, he... He's not..."
Ignoring her comrade's spurn, Shelly took a small step forwards and knelt down. "Dad's going be fine." She said softly. "You're scared... Like I was when we where kidnapped. But you kept telling me we’d escape, and we did." Slowly, Shelly reached down to pick up one of Amber's hand in both of her own, feeling that they where finally making some headway. "Now I want you to listen to me this time. Just take a deep breath and tell us what you want."
Armeria morphed into her imp form, standing by Amber's feet. "Honestly, this time."
Amber stared up at her, a full-fledged look of defeat on her face. There was something else though, a slight glimmer of hope, in the form of a small tear building up in the corner of her eye. "I-I..." She stuttered, staring into her lap rather than look any of them in the eye. "I want you to..." She looked up a the four of them, but her eyes flashed wide. "Run."
Shelly huffed, having thought they'd finally gotten through to her. "Amber..."
"Run!" She reared up to a kneeling position, planting a hand on both Shelly and Rift's chest. "Run Shelly! Ru-!" A sudden flash raced towards them just as Amber pushed them away. Armeria jumped up and took the form of a shield just as a large orb of light crashed into her, shattering the wall and throwing up a vast plumb of smoke.
"Whoa, whoa!" Rift gasped, stumbling out of the smoke and covering his face. "What the hell-!?"
Shelly covered her face from the explosion as well, but franticly jumped back to her feet and stared at the smoldering scorched spot where Amber had just been. "Amber!" She raced through the smoke to the other side of the wall, a sick, heavy feeling bubbling up from the pit of her stomach. She waved through the smoke, kicking at the scorched sand and bits of stone that had until moments ago made up the wall. "Amber, where-!?" She stopped when she saw her, hunched over on her knees and tightly clutching at her stomach. Shelly raced to her side and dropped down to check on her, but as soon as she lay a hand on her shoulder, a large bubble of blood erupted from Amber's mouth and she flopped onto her side.
Recoiling slightly, Shelly tore her eyes away from the blood-soaked sand to tend to her friend. "She's hurt." Zeke soared down next to her, looking equally as distraught. With no other options, she did the only think she could think of. "Rift! Rift, she's really hurt!"
"What... The hell is that?" the two of them turned around to see Rift standing in the gap in the wall, but he wasn't looking at them. He flipped up his shades and was staring down the street, where what appeared to be a large suit of armor was lumbering towards them. Glowing red runes littered its body, and the same red light shined out from between the metal plates of it's limbs. Another bright orb of light began to gather in it's outstretched hand, and Rift dropped his shoulders. "What the fu-!"
Another orb of light flew down the street. Rift dodged for cover as more of the wall was destroyed in another brilliant explosion. Shelly turned away, doing her best to protect Amber from the flying rubble. "Rift, what is that!?" She tried looking back, but the sand stung her eyes. "Rift, where are-!"
"Just stay there." She turned towards his voice, where she saw him leap atop an as of yet undestroyed section of wall. "Take care of her! I'll draw it off!" He slammed his fists together, then called. "Iron Make: Longsword!" He fell out of sight, but the sharp sound of metal colliding with metal soon filled the air.
Shelly spun around again, but had no idea what to do. Jaina's first aid lessons kept racing through her mind, but her eyes where locked onto the pool of blood that was still leaking from Amber's mouth with each breath she took, making it impossible to think. Amongst the sounds of explosions and metallic clashes growing farther and farther away, and Zeke urging her to do something, Shelly was paralyzed with a fear that she'd never experienced before. The fear that Amber was going to die right in front of her, and there wasn't anything she could do about it.
Next Chapter – Chapter 74 - Men of Metal