Chapter 4: Airborne combat
I came to in the burning rubble of what had once been a concrete building. What happened? Where was Nox?
I spun in a circle, coughing in the smoke. What a place to wake up. No sign of Nox, chao-form or phoenix, so I sprinted out of the rubble, stumbling over broken rebar and twisted support beams. I reached a street and looked around, panting. Every building for as far as the eye could see was on fire, and the heat was enough to bake me where I stood. Did Nox do this, or was it the Black Arms?
I ran from there, my skates sputtering but still working. As far as I could see, I was alone. Not even Doom's Eye had bothered to follow me. What in the world had Mekion done in the interval that I was unconscious? I pressed a hand over my nose and mouth, and tried to breathe through my glove. The heat was making my head swim. The Chaos Emerald in my left hand was so hot that it was making my robotic sensors react. Stupid me. Chaos relocate!
In three teleports I was out of the burning district, and the air was much cooler. This street looked as if a battle had swept through it; pavement was torn up in great chunks, cars lay on their sides, and a fire hydrant spouted water in a dismal sort of way. Water. My throat was parched.
After drinking a gallon of lukewarm liquid, my mind felt clearer. I moved away from the noisy rushing water and listened. I could hear the distant thunder of the fire I had just left. Somewhere in the distance were sirens and the popping of gunfire, echoing off the sides of the building. Nothing stirred. I was utterly alone. Sonic, Nox, and Black Doom had all abandoned me.
While I tried to feel sorry about this, deep down I was relieved that there was nobody here for Mekion to harm. Nobody but me, and he had returned control to me, hadn't he?
As I stood there, wondering what to do next, I heard a strange sound overhead. Having learned that the Black Arms preferred the Death From Above strategy, I bolted to the nearest doorway and peered out from there.
Purring overhead was a disk-shaped ship the size of a passenger jet. Green and blue lights flashed from its rim, and a single large green light winked from the center of its belly. It had an escort of five aliens on their winged beasts. I watched as the procession swept overhead and out of sight, the hum of the engine fading into silence.
A wild idea occurred to me.
At once I teleported to the top of the nearest skyscraper, jumped to the next one, teleported ahead to the top of a power pole, flashed to the corner of a lower building--
And from there to the back of one of the flying creatures.
The rider was not pleased to see me, and we had a disagreement about which of us would be steering. But after taking a back-hand in the teeth from my metal fist, the rider decided that walking was preferable, and vacated the saddle. Or maybe I'd knocked him out. The Black Arms don't have eyelids, so it's hard to tell.
I slid into the saddle, grasped the two large horns sprouting from the manta-dragon's shoulders, and was faced with a crash course in Alien Flying 101. I discovered that pulling, pushing and tilting the horns, which were attached to flexible joints behind the manta's neck, made the beast drop, accelerate, rise and bank from side to side. It followed my commands instantly, like a machine. It must have been fantastically well-trained. There was a smaller third spike between the two large ones, and I had an inkling about what it did.
I turned my manta's head toward the nearest alien and mount, sighted between the two ear-spikes on my beast's head, and yanked that third spike. There was a puff of red smoke, and one of those projectiles fired from the top wing-joint. It curved through the air and punched a hole through the alien rider's torso. On the far side, the projectile exploded into sparkling purple particles that drifted down upon the city below. As that alien toppled from the saddle, I drew a bead on the next alien up the formation. But the explosion had drawn the attention of the other riders, and they guided their mounts around to deal with me. I dispatched another of them with another well-placed slug, then saw the three other riders fill the air with their own murderous missiles.
"Chaos control!" I shouted.
The aliens, UFO craft, and missiles stood still. My manta continued to glide forward placidly, not seeming to notice that its fellows were attacking it. I rolled to the side to avoid the missiles. As we passed them, I saw that the missiles were actually slim worm-like grubs with frills along their bodies to ensure even flight. Their heads were armored with black horn, insuring their ability to punch through concrete or flesh with equal ease. I wondered what made them explode.
My manta stretched out its neck, snatched a grub out of midair, and swallowed it. Oddly enough, it burped from the openings on its shoulders. Wondering uncomfortably about the anatomy of these beasts, I wheeled my manta about and fired point-blank at the three pilots from behind.
When time started again, the three aliens were surprised to find themselves being blasted out of the sky by their own weapons.
Now I had four additional manta-dragons at my disposal, and I had to persuade them to do what I wanted. Riderless, they were slowing down, heads turning from side to side, searching for landing places. And all the while, the flying saucer was flying further and further ahead. I goaded my manta after it. Then I teleported to the back of the next manta. It felt me and immediately sped after the manta I had just left, trying to return to formation. I let it, and teleported to the other mantas in turn.
Once I had them all back in their positions behind the saucer, I began shooting their grub missiles at the saucer, one at a time. The saucer had shields around it, which rippled and shimmered green with each impact. To my surprise, every time a grub exploded in a glittering purple cloud, the nearest manta would swoop through it, jaws open, and red gas puffed from their wings. I figured that they must need the energy to spawn more worm-missiles or something, and let them get on with it.
The high buildings of the city's center fell away, and we soared above a burning, blackened city marred by smoke and angry red flames. Now I could see that the flying saucer was headed for the ridge in the near distance, where the bulk of Sapphire City's residents lived. The east side, which was full of evacuees ... I imagined Nick falling to the ground with plasma burning into his back. No. Not while I was breathing.
I teleported among the mantas so fast that they all seemed to fire at once. Then they dove forward to devour the remains of the exploded missiles. The saucer's shield was dimmer with each barrage. I might be able to take it down before it neared the houses ...
The next barrage took the shield down completely, but now the saucer pilots seemed to have noticed where this attack was coming from. It rotated in midair and fired plasma bolts that might have melted a tank. My mantas parted ranks and neatly dodged the bolts, and I made them all fire again.
The saucer took the first three hits without flinching, but the next few hits punched holes in its armor. I fired from my last manta, and the worms flew through the openings, burrowed into the machinery inside, and detonated.
Liquid purple flame splashed from the entire circumference of the saucer. I must have hit the plasma chambers. Enveloped in black smoke, the saucer fell from the sky, toppling end over end, to explode in a spectacular blue fireball in a parking lot hundreds of feet below.
I grabbed my manta's steering horns and guided it back the way we had come. The others broke ranks and flew away in different directions, looking for places to land. My own manta's wingbeats were slower, more weary. It wanted to descend, too, but I fought its horns and kept it flying. It had to get back and find Nox and Sonic. I had to know what I had done.
We had chased the saucer a long way. It was twenty minutes before I spotted the burning buildings where I had awakened. I kept my manta away from the heat and smoke, and tried to figure out how I had reached this area. It didn't look familiar at all. I circled, looking for signs of life, and caught sight of flashing lights eight blocks over. I turned my manta in that direction.
In the distance I heard a rhythmic thump-thump-thump sound. It sounded familiar in a foreboding way. I peered around and saw a helicopter rising from a helipad on a skyscraper. Its gleaming cockpit turned in my direction. I looked at my manta and swore. They had no way of knowing that I wasn't an alien.
The helicopter was flying in my direction, fast, and I saw that it was one of the combat deals with twin machine guns. It had to be within range, as fast as it was moving--
I teleported off the manta just as several hundred tracer bullets effectively ended its threat to Mobius. I reappeared in the street below, and watched as the sad, tattered remains of my manta crashed to the pavement. As it lay there, I saw the missile-worms crawl out of its shoulders and burrow into the pavement. I bolted, and heard them explode behind me. Helpful or not, the manta was still a member of the Black Arms. Although I could think of several more humane ways of putting it out of its misery.
I rounded a corner and nearly plowed into the Eye. It was floating lazily in place, for all the world like it was waiting for me. As I skidded to a halt, Doom's voice boomed in my ears. "Shadow, you are a traitor."
"Oh, for the UFO, right," I said. "Well, here's to that." I gave the Eye a crude gesture.
Even aliens know when they've been insulted. They Eye's expression did not change (no eyelids), but its tentacles made clenching motions, as if it would like to sieze me and tear my limbs off.
"You are too arrogant for a parasite," growled Doom. "Perhaps this will teach you respect."
The Eye swooped at me with the speed of a bullet, and cracked me across the head with a tentacle. It hurt, and there was a power in it that broke Mekion's wall. I heard him whining in pain and confusion. I fell for an endless time, finally hitting the ground with enough force to leave a crater. Consciousness drained away like sand through an hourglass, and I sank into blackness.
Shadow. Shadow. Shadow.
My name repeated over and over, like the ticking of a clock. Consciousness began to trickle back into my brain. My face was resting on dirt. I tasted it in my mouth. My head throbbed as if my skull had split, and each heartbeat formed the words, "Shadow. Shadow. Shadow. Shadow."
Finally I realized that it was Mekion speaking. I lifted my head a fraction and forced my eye open. For a moment the robot half of my body was absent, and all I could hear was that nagging voice. Then my metal returned as dead weight. Mekion's eye flickered on. "Reboot complete," he said, sounding annoyed. "The teleport damaged my control center and temporarily suspended motor commands."
I sat up and gingerly rubbed the knot on my head. "What happened? You said we teleported?"
"The Eye did it," said Mekion sulkily. "His blow damaged my security software."
That was when it occurred to me that Mekion was communicating, not merely taunting me. "Let me guess," I said. "He made it so you can't block me."
There was a long pause, then Mekion said, "Correct."
I grinned to myself, who did not appreciate it. "So then, Mekion, why did you let me attack that UFO if you're working for Doom?"
Mekion said nothing, but now that his blocking measures were gone, I sensed a sort of digital resentment from him.
I looked around, blinking away blurriness. I was sitting in the shade of a pillar that was fifteen feet across at the blase. Thirty feet above the ground it was broken off, the edges softened by years of weather. I was glad of the shade, because burning sand stretched away in all directions. Here and there, more pillars and jumbled stones poked above the cacti and sagebrush. The sky was purest blue, and there was total silence. I didn't realize how accustomed to city noise I was.
I stood up. The silence was eerie. "Mekion, where are we?"
Without his block, I realized just how far he had penetrated into my mind. When he opened his map program, I saw it with both eyes, not just my robot one. I shook my head and blinked, trying to see the outer world again. All I did was make the map program transparent, so I could see through it. I watched as Mekion scanned for a satellite, located one, and extended a search probe to investigate its security. Information flashed through a side window. Mekion uploaded his hacking worm, and within seconds we had access to satellite radar.
He scanned for our tracking number, located us, and panned over the West Mobius continent. My heart sank as the image moved away from Sapphire City and out toward the middle, where the green gave way to yellow-brown. Our blip appeared near the middle. "Location confirmed," said Mekion. "We are in--"
"The Great Desert, yeah," I said. I felt his irritation. How strange ... Mekion had emotions now? Or was he only manipulating mine to represent his? I wished for Nox. I hoped that he would be all right without me ...
"So, what now?" I thought. "Doom did a good job of getting rid of us, didn't he?"
Mekion didn't answer, because a distant boom broke the silence of the desert like a sledgehammer through a mirror. I spun around to see a cloud of smoke billowing up from the southern horizon. I dashed toward it.
"Shadow."
I spun around in mid-stride. Behind me floated the Eye, keeping up with me as though I were standing still. "Not you again," I snarled, and kept running.
I could still hear his voice, though. "The humans have noticed the concentration of our troops, and have come to stop us," he said. "You must wonder at the source of these ruins around you."
"Not really," I said, but Mekion said, "Yes, we observed them." I shot Mekion a mental glare. He returned it.
"Shadow," said the Eye, or Doom, or whoever was talking. "I have something you might need." I looked over my shoulder and saw that one tentacle was coiled around my orange Chaos Emerald.
I reversed directions. "Thanks," I said. "I thought you wanted them?" As I took the emerald, I realized that the alien's body heat had made the gem red-hot. I switched it to my robot hand before my glove caught fire.
"I desire all seven," said Doom. "You are useless without your emerald."
I had already taken off running again, but this remark made me bristle with indignation. "Hey, watch who you're calling--"
I was interrupted as the ground ended, and I sailed off into space.
"If you had analyzed the map," said Mekion sarcastically, "you might have noticed that we are on the edge of a shelf of land two miles above the remainder of the desert."
"Shut up," I snarled, which is difficult to do while in freefall toward rocks two miles below. "Chaos relocate!"
The trouble with teleporting out of freefall is that even though you teleport to the ground, your momentum still slams you into it pretty hard.
As I lay back up on the clifftop, hoping that my lungs would decide to inflate soon, the Eye observed me. "If you are curious about the explosion, it was caused by one of our damaged gunships striking the cliff wall."
I had no breath to speak, so Mekion said, "Who damaged the gunship?"
"A particularly determined Mobian of unidentifiable species," said Doom. "Pity that the annelids shall have to destroy him."
My lungs let in a trickle of air, and I gasped, "Annelid?"
"Yes," said the Eye. "Follow me."
It is an interesting sensation to have half of your body get up. My robot arm and leg hoisted themselves almost to a standing position, while my living half was still doubled up and choking for air. The Eye drifted away along the top of the cliff, and Mekion and I followed at different speeds. This resulted in me walking in several circles before I got my legs sorted out and my lungs started accepting oxygen again.
The Eye led me deeper into the ruins. Here were collapsed buildings, tunnels filled with windswept sand, pillars engraved with writing too eroded to read. Here and there I saw various aliens, all busy digging the tunnels open. They paid no attention to the Eye and me.
"The warriors are taught to be efficient at everything they do," said Doom. "And I am aware that you have already familiarized yourself with the Oaks and Hawks."
One of the giants that I had seen before turned its head and watched us pass. So that was a 'black oak'. I wondered if Doom's translation to New Mobian was entirely accurate. The Black Hawks must be the manta-dragons. They didn't look like hawks to me, but I supposed, again, that the translation from Black Armish wasn't entirely perfect.
The Eye halted. "Ahh, here are the Annelids."
We had come to a wide sandy area where several pillars once stood. Now they laid in cracked chunks on the ground. The annelids turned out to be giant worm things with three jaws. They were busy looping in and out of the ground, occasionally rearing up fifteen feet to snap at something on one of the broken pillars.
My vision zoomed in on the figure on the pillar. Mekion traced it with a scanline and ID matched it. Red fur. Dreadlocks. Echidna. Knuckles. "He's on our side," I told Mekion in the privacy of my head.
"Whose side is that?" Mekion retorted. I looked up at the floating Eye, then down at the pendant on my chest. Whose side was I on, anyway?
"The annelids track their prey by infrared sensors in their bodies," said Doom. "They also have a sophisticated sense of smell."
I watched as a worm lunged at Knuckles, who punched it in the head with one of his signature fists. Metal glinted in the sun. He was wearing some sort of steel coverings over his knuckles. Wise echidna. The worm fell to the ground with two broken jaws.
"Doom, I hope you don't mind if I watch from over here," I said, circling the sandy arena.
"Do not disturb the annelids," Doom replied.
I sensed Mekion's snarl. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," I replied. "Absolutely--" I dashed into the arena, leaped into the air, spun and landed on the head of a worm as it emerged from the sand to greet me. There was a satisfying crunch. "--nothing."
I lightly leaped up on the pillar beside Knuckles.
He spun to face me, and his eyes widened. "Shadow! What're you doing here? I thought--" He broke off, having just noticed the Eye.
I shrugged. "No point in letting the annelids get you."
One of them reared up to attack us, and I looked straight down its slimy throat. I lunged forward, grabbed it just under the jaws, and body-slammed it, metal side down. Wounded and bleeding purple slime, it tried to burrow back into the sand, but I grabbed it around the middle, slung it over my head in an arc, and beat its head against the pillar.
"Nice," said Knuckles. "If you break their faces, they can't burrow."
"They have faces?" I said, spindashing another that had emerged. It escaped me, and I turned to see Knuckles watching me with a frown.
"Why are you helping me? Really?"
"I was bored?" I said, as Mekion refused to scan for Annelids.
Knuckles shot a look at the Eye. "So why is that thing watching us?"
"I'm not supposed to help you," I said. "It wants me to work for it, but I don't. Stop it, Mekion." Mekion was sneakily trying to put those iron bars around me again. Mentally I caught them and forced them back while sticking out my tongue at Mekion.
Knuckles jumped off the pillar and jogged out of the arena. "Well, thanks, but I don't need your help."
I glanced at the Eye, who whispered, "Kill him."
I didn't answer. What Doom didn't know wouldn't hurt him. I skated after Knuckles.
