Chapter 1: Resurrection
Disclaimer: See Prologue. Celtis is mine still. Other than that,enjoy!
Outside of the city of Legion's walls, much of the land is covered in forests and vegetation. Here and there, though, the greenery is broken by smaller settlements, towns populated by those who feel that the bustling, closed-in life of the city is not for them. These places are far from being unproductive or backwards, though. Satellite dishes bristle from many a rooftop as people communicate with their fellow workers in the city or in other towns. In an age where poverty and unemployment is almost non-existent, there is no-one in the world without access to the various aspects of technology present in the world of 24XX. (A/N: Alright, I'm not sure about the year, but hey, it'll do for now!)
Far off to the south, one can catch a glimpse of the tempting blue waters of the ocean. Much of the coastline is covered with beach resorts and hotels, as well as a few seafaring towns. To the east, nearer to Legion than one would think, are barren desert lands. Again, far from underpopulated. Here and there are the camps and bases of the more hardy individuals, mostly mercenaries and bounty hunters who prefer to have a base of operations far away from the city. One such organization is the infamous Hunter's Camp, a gathering place for all manner of people always on the lookout for the promise of quick cash. It's not the best life, but, as many of them would argue, hey it's a living.
All of this scenery was lost on the pilot of the fast-moving Hunter vessel as it flew overhead. Streamlined, and painted a dark green, it was built along the lines of a shark, a long tail protruding behind it with one long stabilizer fin above and two smaller ones mounted underneath. On the two stubby wings from either side of the fuselage, a pair of high power jet turbines growled, catapulting the craft along at roughly 250 kph. Along one side was stenciled the emblem of Legion HQ, next to which was written the name 'Speedburn'.
The pilot, and sole occupant of the small ship sighed and leaned back in her seat, running a hand through her long, dark green hair. She looked to be about nineteen years old, and with a figure to match. She opened her eyes to reveal a pair of startlingly purple irises. Her hair was in a ponytail at the back of her neck, tied with a crimson ribbon
"Celtis, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" She groaned, staring up at the roof.
A slight recap of the events leading up to this point may prove useful to the reader.
Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana, the girl's full name, or just plain Celtis to her friends, had lead an interesting life. As a baby, she had been found at the entrance of Hunter's Camp, abandoned. The Hunters had taken her in and raised her as one of their own. Since then, she'd lived the life of a bounty hunter, always living for the thrill of her next job, each one rich with the promise of a new adventure. Unfortunately, she had one main weakness.
She was terrible with money. As in really, really bad. Thus, every month, no matter how many jobs she'd done, somehow, she always found herself scraping the bottom of her pockets for any spare change she might have to pay the rent on her battered apartment. She'd been looking for a room-mate for a while now, as she'd somehow managed to accumulate about two-months rent, and was currently flat broke, to put it politely. This ship was the only thing she really owned, apart from several sets of clothes, a couple weapons and a few other things she'd ended up blowing her money on.
After a week of constantly being pestered by her landlord and other potential debt-collectors, she'd finally had it. She'd stormed out to Hunter's Camp HQ and pulled up a list of sites where ancient technology had been found. Partly because of sheer exasperation and also partly because she'd grown tired of all of the low-ranked (and therefore low-paying ) jobs that she'd been getting, she had come to a decision.
She was going to go and make the ancient technological find of the century! There HAD to be something like that out there, still hidden by nature, something so amazing it would overshadow all of the other recent finds, just waiting for the right person to find it. That person was going to be her, Celtis vowed. With something like that behind her name, she'd be famous! (and not to mention very, very rich. Legion was notorious for its generosity, particularly when it came to ancient technology.) That way, she'd get a lot more high paying jobs and she could move out of her apartment and buy one of those huge mansions, like the kind you'd see on an episode of Lifestyles of The Rich and Famous,with countless servants waiting at your every beck and call, and a chandelier in every room and a huge king-plus sized bed. Maybe located high up on a hill somewhere, where she had a sea view, facing the sunset. Ooh, and one of those sleek Porsche 30XX's, and what about some new outfits, like that slinky miniskirt she'd seen the other day...
Have I mentioned she was very bad when it comes to money?
Anyway, while Celtis had been day-dreaming about her money and the many, many, many things she was going to do with it, a loose page had dropped out of the folder she was examining. When she picked it up and took a closer look, she discovered that it was a fragment of a much larger file. The strange part was that the break in the data was much too clean for it to be an accident. Someone had removed the rest of the data deliberately!
What she did find though, was a segment describing the discovery of the remains an ancient, automated facility somewhere in Area-N.
'Area N? Where the heck is that? And how come I never heard of it before?' Celtis wondered suspiciously. A quick check of the maps on a nearby server confirmed that there was no record of an Area-N anywhere.
Beyond that one snippet, however, she couldn't find anything of use. All information that could have possibly been used to find this 'Area-N' had systematically been erased from the file.
'Rrrg! This is getting me nowhere fast!' Celtis fumed. She was about to toss it aside, planning to get into Legion's database to see if she had better luck there, before a thought struck her. Pulling it back, she read through the report again, searching for a date. After a few moments, she grinned.
The actual day was missing, but the month and year were all too easy to read:
March, 2304!
With this information in hand, she turned back to the data terminal, first calling up a recently made map for the current year, and then calling up a map of the same area, only making sure that this one was published before 23XX.
When they'd both loaded up, she compared them, and frowned after a few moments. There was Area-N alright, clear as day on the older map. On the newer one, though, there wasn't a single sign of it.
"Well, well, well. It certainly looks like I found something somebody doesn't want found. This could be exactly what I was looking for." She mused, a pleased look crossing her face. With that, she overlaid the older map on top of the newer one, commanding the computer to compensate for any landscape changes that might have occurred during the timespan between the two maps.
After a brief wait of approximately ten or so minutes, the computer beeped signaling the completion of its task. Celtis grinned.
There, flashing triumphantly on the screen, was the current location of Area-N, its contours only slightly altered in the few years since it had been mysteriously erased from the records.
"So, that's the secret Area N..." She murmured. There must be something really important hidden there then, for someone to go through this much trouble to hide it. Something very, very valuable too no doubt...
Her work done, she quickly made a copy of the co-ordinates for Area N and packed up the remaining books she'd been using. Depositing them on the surprised librarian's desk, she hurried out, eager to find out what secrets lay buried in the remains of Area-N.
Had she not been so intent on getting started on her treasure hunt, she might have noticed a dark figure step out from behind a bookcase less than three meters away from where she had been sitting.
"So, someone has finally found Area-N...Interesting." It murmured, before a grin spread itself across the figure's shadowed face.
"This may be just the answer I've been looking for...Heh heh heh..."
The figure turned and walked away, laughing quietly, its red greatcoat flaring up behind it.
All of this serves to explain why, less than an hour later, here Celtis was, flying at approximately 300 kph towards an area that apparently was not supposed to exist, searching through some ancient ruins, which were probably going to be hell just to find the damn things, for ancient technology which might or might not actually still be there.
Still, it was the only lead she had, and there was no way she was going back to Hunter's Camp without something to show for it, (or at least, failing that, something to pay for the fuel she was burning on this trip.)
"How much further do I have to go anyway? Why the hell did they have to pick a place like this to go and find ancient tech? Couldn't they have just found it near to a local train station or something?!"
Of course, on the other hand... she looked thoughtful. If it was way the hell out here, chances are good that it wasn't very likely that many other people would have been here before her. So maybe there'd be something worthwhile in those ruins after all...
Celtis grinned, her spirits lifting slightly. At that moment, the navigation computer beeped, signaling that she was now entering Area-B, where the entrance to Area-M and therefore Area-N lay.
"Well, here we go!"
The Speedburn's thrusters howled as she began to decelerate for the landing.
Somewhere in Area- M, half an hour later...
Celtis shivered and looked around at the twisted walls around her, pieces of machinery poking through here and there.
"Man, this place gives me the creeps. Still, it looks like there's definitely a lot of tech around here I can use, so it's not a complete loss!"
She looked up to see a massive door ahead of her, already open. Around its perimeter, eight symbols gleamed in the half-light of the tunnel.
"Whoa...I'm glad I didn't have to come through here when that was closed! It's frickin' huge! I wonder what these things mean...?"
She stared curiously at the markings of each symbol for a moment, before she shrugged and moved off.
"Oh well, it's not like I have time for that, now. Maybe next time."
Another half an hour later...
"Man, how big is this place anyway?! My legs are killing me!" She groaned. After walking for half an hour, she'd finally gotten inside the entrance to Area N. Now she stood staring at a massive expanse of deadly spikes. On the other side of it was a door, leading to the next area. If there was any tech worth getting, it was in there. Otherwise, why go through the trouble of setting up a trap like this? It appeared that the only way to get across was via a series of blocks that were constantly disappearing and reappearing above the spikes. Unfortunately, after who knew how many years of operation, they timing mechanism for the platforms had gone haywire. They were appearing randomly in about a zillion different spots and staying solid for widely varying lengths of time, or, as was more common, didn't appear at all. There was no possible way to use them to get across anymore. Still... Celtis grinned.
"Whoever designed traps like these definitely wasn't counting on Celtis Arcana showing up!" She boasted proudly.
Having said that, she reached back into her belt and pulled out a grappler shell. Loading it into her trusty Hi-caliber laser handgun, she reconfigured it for solid projectile and aimed it carefully at a spot in the ceiling, halfway between the two ends of the spike pit. When she was sure she'd found the right spot, she pulled the trigger, firing the shell. It flew straight and true, embedding itself deep into the roof of the cavern, trailing a length of cable behind it. She unclipped it from her gun and gave it a few test tugs. Satisfied, she held the cable with both hands and backed up a few steps to get a running start.
"Well, here goes!" She grinned and launched herself forward, jumping off of the ledge and swinging outward, the wind whistling past her face. The cable dipped, and for a moment, she thought she'd bought it, before it suddenly starting going back up again towards the other side. Timing it just right, she let go of the cable at the apex of its swing, letting her own momentum carry her over the edge and onto safer ground. A perfect landing!
At least, it would have been perfect, if not for the fact that one of the platforms suddenly decided to materialize a few inches ahead of her.
KER-WHAM!!
Five minutes later...
"Stupid f--ing platforms! Of all the times it has to decide to suddenly start working, it has to pick to materialize right in front of my face! Stupid, stupid -ow- piece of crap!" Celtis staggered through the door and down the corridor holding her head and swearing.
The next moment, a second door hissed open in front of her. Looking up in surprise, she beheld an amazing sight.
The next chamber was huge. It was at least the size of a football field, lined with ancient devices and machinery, like some kind of lab. In the back wall, she saw a massive hole in the wall, black and gaping, debris strewn all around it. In fact, looking around the area she could see evidence of a fight everywhere. There was hardly a piece of machinery anywhere that hadn't been damaged, some to the point of uselessness.
"What the heck happened to this place? This looks like one hell of a fight went on in here!" She wondered aloud as she examined what looked like the marks of energy rounds burnt into the wall. Not only that, but there were several long, clean cuts on some of the machinery as well, the results of some kind of bladed weapon, Celtis guessed. She looked uneasily back up at the huge crater in the wall. One thing was for sure: She most definitely did NOT want to tangle with whatever caused that.
As she rounded a corner, she heard a faint humming noise. She halted, surprised. Could there still be something functional down here? Maybe there was something she could take back after all! With that uplifting thought in her mind, she picked up the pace, following the humming, which increased in volume as she drew nearer to the source.
When she finally managed to climb over a crumpled piece of the ceiling which had collapsed, she found herself face to face with another door, only this one was broken. The only way through was a large crack that had split it through the center. Celtis paused for a moment, sizing it up. After a few moments, she gave a sigh.
"Well, I guess there's no other choice then." She said, her voice resigned. Reaching up, she began to undo the front of her jacket. Once the last clasp came undone, she wriggled out of it, revealing a skintight top that ended just above her midsection and left most of her shoulders bare. She shivered for a second at the touch of the cool air on her uncovered skin, before she pushed the jacket through the crack in the door, letting it fall out on the other side. Celtis hesitated in front of the crack again and looked down at her top reluctantly.
"Aw, man, and this is one of my favorites, too. It'll cost a bunch to get it repaired if I mess it up..." She sighed and looked back at the crack. Well, her jacket was already over there, so she might as well go through with it.
With that, she squeezed herself into the crack. Her previous estimation had been right. If she'd been wearing her jacket, there was no way she'd have been able to fit through the gap. Even without it, though, it was still a tight fit. She experienced a moment of panic when she got her waist stuck halfway through, but after a bit of inventiveness, she managed to wriggle free. She pulled her last leg free, losing her balance in the process and landed on her rear.
"Owwww...That hurt..." She complained, wincing slightly as she pressed a hand to her sore behind. She glanced down and immediately gave a groan of disbelief.
Her prized top was now scuffed and dirty, the insides of the crack having been covered in years worth of dust and grime. Here and there it had actually been caught on the metal, and she'd torn it getting free. As a result there were also a number of small rips all over it too. She looked back up at the crack again and gave a wry smile. For once she was grateful her chest size was only a C-cup. Any bigger and she'd definitely have gotten stuck.
She looked around for a few moments before she spotted her jacket in a heap near the door. Dusting herself off, Celtis got to her feet and picked it up. In one fluid motion, she swung it over her shoulder, sticking her left arm into its sleeve, before doing the same with the other. (A/N: Think Devil May Cry.) No sooner had it settled onto her shoulders than she gave a shocked yelp and danced around wildly, struggling frantically with it before she flung it off. The damn thing was soaking wet!
Trying to rub some warmth back into her shivering body, she stared angrily back at the spot she had picked the jacket up from. Sure enough, when she'd pushed it through the crack, she'd dropped it right in the middle of a puddle of ice-cold water. To either side, it was dry, but nooo, she just HAD to go drop it there!
Right about then, she realized there was something very wrong with this room. For one thing, in comparison to the decay and disrepair of the other chamber, this one was in pristine condition. Aside from the battered and aged area around the door, the rest was relatively untouched, aside from a coating of dust over everything. Wordlessly, she picked up her jacket and slung it over her shoulder, before walking to the large device set in the middle of the back wall.
It was approximately eight feet high, from the ground to the top, a variety of cables and supply tubes were hooked up to it, with several heavy-duty locking mechanisms clamped onto the perimeter. It was basically a large cylinder, nestled onto a larger base and the whole apparatus was half embedded into the wall. Next to it were several monitors and consoles, each displaying different information. Other than the featureless gray metal surface, there was nothing else marked on the capsule-like smaller cylinder. Save for one thing.
Painted in blood red crimson in the dead center of the steel surface was a single large symbol. It resembled an upside down U, only more circular. Two short lines extended outward from each of the two prongs, before making a short upwards bend.
It seemed familiar, like she'd seen the symbol before. She was pretty sure it was from some other ancient language or the other, but its name just kept slipping away.
Celtis stared at it for a moment, wondering why someone would paint that there. Still, something about that sign made her uneasy. She moved off to take a look at the display screens next to it. What she saw there stunned her.
What the screens were displaying were biological readings! There was something alive in there!
"What the hell is going on here?!" She demanded, shocked.
She hung her jacket over one of the chairs, before tapping in some instructions on the keyboards. More information obediently scrolled up the screen. She scanned through it, her eyes widening. The capsule was a containment unit, designed to hold a certain Reploid in stasis until a Maverick aspect of its programming had been 'removed' using an extremely advanced anti-virus program. The information also went on to say that it had first entered the stasis several years ago, in the year...
Celtis gasped. 2304!! The same year this place had been wiped off the maps!
Not too much further down, the information ended, but not before it delivered one last shocker.
There, emblazoned in full color was the gold letter G on a pink background: The emblem of the Guardians Organization!
Celtis stepped slowly away from the computers and turned to look back at the capsule. She'd first come her looking for ancient technology, but she'd never expected to find something like this! A centuries old Reploid, sealed away only a few years ago, with so many traps and locks around it...Whatever this was, she was pretty sure something strange was going on here.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the silence. Celtis' eyes flew back to the capsule. For one heart-stopping moment of terror, she thought the thing inside it had woken and was smashing its way out. There was another rattling sound and she realized, to her relief, that it had come from the other room and the Reploid was still deactivated. Then she heard voices outside and froze as something occurred to her. This place was supposed to be empty! No-one was even supposed to know of its location!
So then who was that outside?
Fighting back the urge to panic, she carefully tiptoed over to the door. Slowly, she inched her face closer to the crack and peeked through. Her eyes widened as she saw the source of the noise.
Where the room had been empty before, now it was crawling with people. Not only that, but they were well armed, too. She counted at least ten or eleven heads, meaning she was seriously outnumbered. Then one of them turned around, talking to one of the other soldiers, and she immediately recognized who they were. The distinctive hostile environment facemask the soldier wore was well known to all members of Hunter's Camp.
'Raiders!' Celtis snarled silently. If there was anything she truly despised in this world (besides paying rent) it was the Raiders. Those low-life scum worked on the opposite side of the law from the Hunters, taking anything they came across and immediately claiming it as their own. Countless treasures had ended up in the greedy hands of unscrupulous collectors on the black market because of them, instead of where they rightfully belonged, in museums, or in Legion's scientific labs for study. Quite often they'd crossed swords with the Hunters, as well as the Guardians and also Legion's security forces. A favored tactic was to wait for some hardworking group of Hunters to go through all of the trouble to excavate artifacts, and then when they were finished, the Raiders would swoop in, stealing everything and killing anyone who tried to resist. There were many different bands out there, but they were all classified as Raiders. Some of them weren't too bad, like that group that had defected over to the Hunters a few years back, but there were still a few really bad groups out there. One in particular had developed a notorious reputation for its sheer ruthlessness and merciless tactics. Every site they had attacked had yielded no survivors. From the rumors Celtis had heard, it was said to be lead by a fearsome Reploid, believed to be almost unkillable, with terrifying fighting skills. The only clue that the authorities had managed to get was the symbol of their group: A black lion's head, roaring against a red background. The bounty for that group was said to be well into the six-figure numbers.
At this moment, though, Celtis didn't really care about all of that. Right now she just wanted to get the hell out of here! Which provided a slight problem, considering that the Raiders were blocking the only exit out of this place. The next minute, her view was abruptly cut off as something blocked the crack. Irritated, she moved her head slightly, trying to get a better angle. The next moment, the object shifted slightly and with a jolt she realized what it was.
One of the Raiders was standing right outside the crack, on the other side of the pillar she had climbed over, his back turned to her. She bit back a gasp, and stifled her breathing, sure that he'd hear her. Then she heard the sound of voices outside and realized the Raider was talking with one of the others. She pressed an ear to the crack, listening intently. What she heard shocked her to the core.
"Man, this place gives me the creeps! How much longer does the boss want us to keep looking, Captain?"
The other Raider shrugged.
"Until we find her, I guess. It's either that or we get the same as what happened to Bill."
Raider #1 shivered. "Yeah, that was awful. I mean, the boss took off his head just cause he looked away from the radar for a moment and he happened to miss that girl's airship!"
Captain nodded. "Uh-huh. But, on the bright side, following that chick out here wasn't all that bad. I mean, look at the bonus we got! This place is crammed with ancient technology! Do you have any idea how much this stuff could go for on the black market, Steve?! We'd be millionaires!"
Steve agreed whole-heartedly. "Ohhh yeah. I think everyone can walk away satisfied from this job for a change. I mean, not only do we get all this stuff as a bonus, we still get the payment for getting rid of the girl!"
"Mm-hmm. Speaking of which, what was her name again? It was some really weird one, Cel-something or the other... Celtic? No, that wasn't it..."
"Celtis?" Steve offered.
"Yeah! Yeah, that was it! Pity, though..."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. She was a real looker, huh?"
"Mm. Well, still, a job's a job, right? We'd better get back to looking, or the boss'll have a hissy fit again and go disembowel somebody else."
Steve nodded in agreement and they both moved off. On the other side of the door, Celtis slid slowly down the wall, her legs too weak to hold her up anymore, a shocked look on her face.
These people weren't just here through some lucky fluke. They'd been following her since she'd left Legion! They were after her life! And not only that, someone was paying them to have her killed! Why the hell would anyone want to kill her?! Sure, she'd pissed off a few people during her career as a Hunter, but not to that extent!
So disoriented was she that she didn't notice when she slipped the remaining few centimeters and landed in the puddle of water with a splash. The sudden cold brought her back to her senses, as she realized just what a foolish thing she had just done.
"Hey guys! I heard something! Over there!"
"Shit!" Celtis swore, and leapt up. The Raider who had been nearest the door heard her splash back out of the puddle and skidded to a halt near the door. He gave a whistle.
"I'll be damned! There's another room back here!"
"You're kidding! Think she's in there?"
"Well, considering the fact that I can see someone's jacket on the other side, I think it's a good guess, moron!"
Celtis swore again as she realized she'd left her jacket in plain sight. Frantically, she looked around the room, searching for another exit.
There wasn't one.
She felt a wave of despair sweep over her. They had her pinned like a rat in a trap. This room was literally a dead-end. With no other way out, and nothing but her pistol, her chances of survival were slim at best. A sudden scuffling noise over by the door drew her attention.
"Hey, Hunter girl! You in there?"
Dead silence greeted the Raider.
"If you come out now, nice and quiet, we might let you live!"
Silence.
"Suit yourself!" he yelled. Turning back to his partners, he shrugged. "Bust it down."
On the other side of the door, Celtis nodded grimly and started making her preparations for the onslaught. Pushing the consoles forward, she formed them into a makeshift barricade. Sure, they wouldn't stand up to concentrated firepower, but at any rate they'd hold out long enough for what she had in mind. When they finally broke down the door, she figured she'd have about five seconds to shoot like crazy while they were still packed in the doorway, before they got inside. If she took out enough of them, she could probably force them back, long enough for her to get past them and around the corner before they could hit her.
Then, she realized it had gone suspiciously quiet outside. She briefly wondered about that for a moment, before she became aware of a slight ticking sound. Her eyes immediately widened in shock as she realized what they were planning to do. She swore and dove behind her makeshift barricade, curling into a protective ball.
Microseconds later, the explosives the Raiders had wired to the door exploded, blasting it clear out of the frame and sending it hurtling across the room. Celtis muttered an expletive and brought her gun up.
Three Raiders fell to her first shots, while the rest ducked back before she could hit them. She pulled her head down as a few shots whirred over the barricade. She'd fired five shots and taken down three enemies. Not bad, but not too good either.
After several minutes, and four more Raider casualties, the Raiders pulled back slightly. Celtis grimaced. So much for Plan A. There were far more of them outside than she'd thought. Her eyes flickered over the surroundings, searching for another way out.
That proved to be a dangerous mistake.
A sudden blur of movement near the ruined door caught her attention and she spun back towards it. Her eyes widened in horror as she recognized the familiar cylindrical shape of a plasma grenade sailing through the air towards her. It clanged onto the ground behind the barricade and skidded to halt about a meter away from her.
Before it had even finished spinning, Celtis dove towards it. Acting on pure reflex, she scooped it up in her free hand and, twisting her body slightly, flung it with all her strength back towards the door, desperately praying to whatever higher power was listening that she'd moved fast enough.
The grenade had made it halfway back across the room, when its fuse finally timed out. It exploded in a burst of orange and yellow flame with a tremendous blast, magnified by the enclosed space. The only thing that saved Celtis was that it was already close to the door, meaning that most of the force was directed outwards, instead of in at her.
Still recovering from her throw, Celtis didn't have time to get back into cover. The shockwave picked her up like a doll and flung her backwards across the room. She slammed hard into the surface of the metal capsule, a sliver of shrapnel slicing across her left shoulder, scattering a few drops of red blood onto the capsule's surface.
In the darkness within, a pair of red eyes snapped open.
Celtis gave a cry of pain, her gun dropping from her useless fingers as she slid down the wall of the cylinder behind her. She clutched at her bleeding shoulder, biting back tears of pain as the dust settled around her.
After a few moments, the sounds of boots crunching over the debris signaled the Raiders approach.
"Well, you put up a good fight, but in the end, what you possibly hope to do against us, darling?" The voice was a deep growl.
Celtis winced and glared up at the Raider angrily, her defiant expression fading to shock as she saw the voice's owner. Eight feet tall, the massive form of a Mutos Reploid stared down at her, his claws clicking slightly as he opened and closed his hands. On his left shoulder, the black lion roared.
'The sign of a black lion on a red background...Eight feet tall...Beastlike...I-it's them...!' Celtis was too stunned to respond, fear racing through her body.
"Y-you...!" She managed to stammer. It glanced down at the symbol emblazoned on his shoulder, indifferently.
"I see you're familiar with our sign."A wicked smile creased his features, revealing a row of razor sharp fangs. "As well you should be, pathetic Hunter!"
Celtis growled up at him.
"You scum...! You're that group who's been attacking excavations and other Hunter squads!" Imperceptibly, she inched her hand out to the side, searching for her gun.
"Of course. Those fools don't deserve to get their hands on such finds. You people don't understand the kind of money you can get for such finds on the black market." He grinned. "A much better use than simply sticking it up on a pedestal in a museum, don't you think?"
"You bastard...!" Celtis gritted as she stared up at him, seething with hatred. "Do you have any idea how many of my friends I've lost to your group?!"
"Oh, I imagine quite a lot." It replied nonchalantly. "I personally made sure we left nothing behind. Our commander's quite thorough."
His eyes hardened.
"Just like I'm going to do now." He growled, moving closer.
'NOW!' Celtis thought, as she felt the metal edge of her gun beneath her fingers. Mustering the last of her strength, she snatched up her gun, firing it pointblank at Lion's face.
Six shots rang out as Celtis held the trigger down, putting as many shots into her opponent as she could before the smoking weapon finally dropped from her shaking fingers.
"Heh...heh-heh-heh... N-not bad for a 'weak' Hunter, huh?" She smirked, staring up at Lion's motionless form.
"Not bad indeed." A voice came back.
Celtis froze. Th-that was...!
She didn't even have time to react as the massive armored boot swung around and connected solidly with her ribs, lifting her off the ground with the impact and sending her flying a full three meters across the room.
She slammed hard into the wall, the force of the impact driving all of the air from her lungs in a tortured gasp. She collapsed to the floor, her vision blurred with pain. She was sure she'd broken at least two or three ribs, not to mention dislocated her left shoulder. She somehow managed to sit up as the enemy's massive form drew closer in her hazy vision.
The Mutos came to a stop in front of her, its left eye now a smoking ruin.
"You'll pay for that you little-!"
The Mutos cut itself off as it opened its jaws to their full extent. Inside the gaping maw, a green glow of a charging plasma cannon began to form. Celtis swore hopelessly as she stared up at it, despair creeping over her.
'I-is this really how it's going to end...?'
Images of her past achievements and all of her dreams began to pass through her mind as the glow grew brighter.
"D-damn it..." She choked, squeezing her eyes shut as she fought back the tears of despair.
The next moment, a loud, metallic sounding clang echoed through the room. The Mutos paused its charging, eyes flickering suspiciously around the surroundings. Behind it, the remaining Raiders did the same, looking around worriedly. Against the wall, Celtis opened her eyes, aware that something was wrong.
Another clang sounded. This time, Celtis saw it. A massive outward dent had appeared in the capsule in the wall, deforming the solid steel surface. The next moment, another clang echoed out as another dent appeared in the metal.
"The hell...?" One of the Raiders muttered, as the rest of them trained their guns on the capsule. Even the Mutos Reploid turned towards it.
A third dent appeared, along with a cracking noise as the locks along both sides of the capsule began to break.
Celtis suddenly remembered the biological readings she'd seen on the screen.
'Could that thing have woken up?' She wondered.
Moments ticked past silently, everyone watching the motionless capsule warily. One of the Raiders lowered his gun slightly.
"...Is it over...?"
With a tortured scream of metal, the capsule cover exploded outward, hurtling clear across the room, plowing into the unprepared Raiders and wiping four of them out as it crushed them brutally against the unyielding wall.
"What the hell...?!" The Mutos' head swiveled back to the gaping capsule. Celtis eyes widened in shock as a hand reached out and gripped the torn edge of the capsule, the white clad fingers leaving dents in the metal. A dark crimson boot appeared, landing heavily on the ground, crushing an abandoned Raider rifle.
"I-It couldn't be...!" Celtis gasped.
Slowly, the light of the fires caused by the grenade glinting off of it, a jet black helmet came out of the darkness, two crimson fins running along its surface as a deep blue gem pulsed ominously in the center.
The Reploid's blazing red eyes opened, staring out at the wreckage of the room. As its gaze moved towards the now-unsettled Mutos' and the shocked Celtis behind it, a twisted smile spread across its features.
On the other side of the room, the glow of the fires gleamed on the twisted remains of the capsule cover. In the strange half-light, the sign painted on the now-distorted metal appeared to glow blood red.
If Celtis had seen it now, she would have recognized it easily.
The Greek symbol of the End...Omega.
Heh heh heh...CLIFFHANGER
Please R&R! This chapter's still open for changes, so let me know if there's anything I should fix
Till next Chapter, DarkShift Out!