Chapter 6
Heinrich returned to the control center to find Wilhelm and Fredric giggling like idiots. "And just what is so funny?" their irate father asked.
"Oh, Father! You're back!" said a surprised Frederic as he and Wilhelm struggled to contain their sadistic giddiness, "good news, or bad, or whatever. The intruders are still alive!"
"It's true, Count von Karstein," said one of the security personnel, "our troops found the crash site and found the plane intact. No doubt it survived the crash with a powerful spell."
"There's only one magic user in Auradon who'll willingly use such magics," said Heinrich, "Mal of The Isle!"
"Yeah, it's her, Father," said Wilhelm, "we've got her and her boys on camera! Come look!"
One of the screens in the room played back a recording of Ben, Mal, Jay, Carlos, Chad, Doug, Aurora, Phillip, Mulan, Andrew, Jill and Saul, trekking through the forest.
"So, the pup came in person, as I predicted he would," said Heinrich, "and some of my future in-laws."
"Which ones?" Wilhelm asked.
"The adults, obviously!" said Frederic, "gods above, you can be so stupid sometimes!"
"Oh yeah?" asked Wilhelm, "well, which adults? There's like half a dozen of them."
"Uh…give me a second," said Frederic as he looked at the recording with pondering eyes, scratching his head in confusion.
"It matters not," said Heinrich, "their lives were forfeit as soon as they dared to invade Transdoria. How soon till the troops are ready to attack?"
"Oh, we didn't send regular old soldiers, Father," said Wilhelm, "we sent some of the 'volunteers.'"
"You did what?!" asked an outraged Heinrich, causing the twins to flinch back in fear, "you dared to use some of the experimental super soldiers without asking for my permission?"
"I…we…it was his idea!" said Wilhelm as he pointed an accusing finger at Frederic.
"Not it wasn't!" snapped Frederic as he glared at his twin, "it was all his idea!"
"Shut Up!" barked Heinrich as he raised his hand to strike, causing the twins to flinch back even further. But Heinrich calmed down somewhat, "how many did you send?"
"We loaded five into one of the bigger VTOL craft," said Wilhelm as he indicated one of the radar screens scanning a section of the forest. Twelve green blips were slowly making their way across the screen, while a large red blip was approaching from the northwest.
"Four of the lesser freaks and one of the bigger ones, Father," said Frederic.
"Have the smaller ones attack first," said Heinrich, "keep the larger one in reserve. Let's see just how battle worthy the 'volunteers' are when tested in actual combat."
…in the forest…
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Chad asked.
"If you ask that again, son of Cinderella," said Saul irately, "you will not wake up the next morning!"
"Seriously, Chad, you've been complaining almost nonstop since we started hiking," said Jay.
"Well, I'm not used to hiking over such rough terrain," said Chad, "there's rocks and roots everywhere, and I keep slipping in mud! And I keep getting pebbles in my boots!"
"You'd think Ella and Kit would have their son be more of an outdoorsman," Phillip whispered to Aurora.
"You shouldn't criticize them," Aurora whispered back, "it's not their fault their son turned out the way he is. It'd serve you right if they'd criticize us for the way we raised Audrey."
"We should count our blessings our children know us," said Mulan, "there's plenty of children in the world who grew up without parents who love them, or worse, with parents who don't love them."
"Speaking of unloving parents," said Aurora, "or rather, insane parents, I wonder what makes Heinrich the way he is? Was he born this insane or did he have to work at it?"
"You'd have to get inside his head to figure that out," said Andrew, "something I wouldn't wish on anyone. Believe me, I've seen the real evil half of human nature."
"How?" asked Carlos, "how do you know that?"
"I was forced to face my own demons," said Andrew, "Literally. I suppose now's as good a time as any to tell you how I got my Stand. I already said some people are born with the potential for Stands. Others receive Stands one way or another, while mine was forced on me, forced by Shadowcast.
"I, Saul and several others were part of Shadowcast's psychic super soldier programs. They wanted to make psychic assassins who could kill their targets just by thinking about it. Needless to say, it didn't work out the way Shadowcast wanted. Saul, myself and few escaped, along with Jill and others, and we formed Joy Division Circus."
"But what did they do to you exactly?" asked Jay.
"What'd they do to us?" asked Saul, "I'll tell you what they did to us; they raped our brains, that's what they did to us!"
"I wouldn't go so far as to say it was rape," said Andrew, "but it was a violation, not only of ourselves, but of natural law. There are places man was never meant to go. I'm not talking about a physical location, but more like parts of the mind of man that should be left alone. Deep within the human subconscious is a place where our darkest fears and deepest desires hold sway, a mental wasteland where sick, twisted, demented fantasies play out. This is where man's inner darkness lives, waiting to be let out and wreak havoc on the world. That's what Shadowcast did; they forced us to confront our inner darkness and gave us the power to do so."
"But how did they do it?" asked Carlos.
"You really want to know," said Andrew, "very well. Imagine, if you will, a Machine, an advanced and complex computer capable of accessing the human subconscious and manipulating it. Imagine said computer altering the subconscious, forcing you to face your worst memories, your darkest fears and most terrifying nightmares. Then imagine the computer giving you the power to destroy your fears and defeat your nightmares, and finally, imagine that power manifesting itself in the real world."
"Shadowcast used such a machine on us," said Saul, "they called it Psychomech."
"Psychomech," said Mal as she, Ben and the others shuddered in involuntary fear.
"Yes, it is a thing of evil," said Jill, "but Psychomech could have been a thing of great good. Yes, it was originally conceived as a means of producing living weapons, but it had the potential to help the mentally ill."
"I know where you're going," said Ben, "a device…a mechanical psychiatrist, that can free people of their fears and anxieties. Such a thing can ease the sufferings of millions everywhere."
"Can it cure megalomania and world-domination ambition?" asked Mal.
"Program the machine and you could cure anyone of any fear," said Jill, "fortunately we destroyed it twenty-five years ago, for Psychomech's side effects greatly outweigh it's benefits."
"If The Machine gave me and the others our Stands," said Andrew, "if it made us as powerful as we are now, imagine what it could do to someone already with a Stand? Just how powerful can it make an already powerful Stand User? That's the true horror of Psychomech; it has the potential to create a living god."
"Holy shitake mushrooms!" exclaimed Doug, "if someone as crazy as von Karstein gets his hands on Psychomech…he'll…"
"He won't," said Jill, "we smashed Shadowcast's Psychomech twenty-five years ago and destroyed the schematics. As far as we know, Shadowcast hasn't built another."
"They won't risk making more freaks like us," said Andrew, "no, they've moved onto other projects."
Just then Saul raised his fist in a halting gesture, signaling everyone to stop and be quiet. Saul closed his eyes in concentration.
"What's wrong?" asked Ben, only to be shushed by Jill.
"He's listening," Andrew whispered.
"To what?" Carlos whispered.
"Not 'to what,'" Andrew replied, "'for what.'"
"Turbo jets," said Saul in a contemplative manner, "adjustable wings...VTOL craft…dead ahead…closing rapidly."
"I don't hear anything," said Chad. The next instant the faint sound of jet engines was heard over the forest ambiance.
"They're coming!" said Ben, "everyone take cover!"
"Where? We're in a forest," said Jay, "they can't see us from up there, can they?"
"They already know where we are," said Andrew, "they've been tracking us since the crash. Hell, they've tracked us since we first crossed the border."
"You knew they were tracking us?" Mal asked, "why didn't you say so?"
"What good would it have done?" Jill asked, "They can attack us whenever they wish. In fact, I'm surprised it took them this long to make their move. Fortunately for us, we have one advantage."
"High ground," said Andrew.
"He's right, we've been walking up a hill for a while now," said Aurora, "we're near the summit. Whatever Heinrich's throwing at us, it'll have to come at us from below."
"And with Saul's ear," said Jill, "we'll know exactly what direction and how fast it's coming. Speaking of which, what's the word, Saul?"
"The VTOL is accelerating," said Saul as he focused his hearing, "dropping altitude…doors opening, turning away…four heavies."
Our heroes then heard four large objects crashing into the woods ahead of them.
"What was that?" a worried Mulan asked.
"Something big, mean and coming right for us!" said Aurora as our heroes heard the four large objects hurtling through the underbrush.
"SCATTER!" shouted Andrew as the first of four massive humanoids charged, followed by the other three.
Mal rolled out of the way as one of the creatures swiped something sharp at her. Regaining her balance, she got a good look at the creature and regretted it almost instantly. It was a thing right out of a nightmare; over three meters tall, insanely muscled with six digits on each too-large hand. The creature clutched a massive sword and glared at Mal with a misshapen head with glowing yellow eyes. It bellowed at her with a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth and an obscenely large tongue that writhed serpentine-like and drooled saliva in anticipation of fresh meat.
Mal dodged another sword slash and glimpsed the other abominations attacking her friends. Jay, Carlos, Doug and Chad faced one slightly taller but with bigger fists and wearing metal armor covered in spikes. It had especially spiky gauntlets which it swiped at Jay and the other boys. They barely avoided impalement and shredding by the deadly gloves.
The third creature, shorter but more muscular and hefted a wooden club bigger than it was and covered in iron studs. It swung its club at Mulan, Phillip and Aurora, whom barely avoided its crushing touch.
The fourth creature was the tallest and skinniest of the lot but had four arms, each carrying a short and wickedly sharp axe, swinging them at Jill to split her in half. She easily dodged the swinging blades, moving almost as if made from rubber, while Saul tried to distract the creature with sonic attacks from his psychedelic train Stand.
Andrew stood on a fallen tree, aiming Big Bang Theory at the creature attacking Jill and fired. The psychic projectile hit the creature and made it flinch yet dealt no visible damage.
"That's not good," said a worried Andrew, "it's hide is too tough for smaller shells, and I can't risk a larger blast without hurting everyone."
He then realized that the creature attacking Jill was now rushing towards him.
"Oh, not good!" said Andrew as he jumped and ran out of the way, "not good at all!"
"Where's he going?!" Chad demanded as Andrew ran further away with the creature chasing after him. Chad then dodged gauntlet swipe that came so close to ripping his head off, it clipped a few hairs from his scalp.
"Making it easier for the rest of us, I guess," said Carlos, "but that freaky music isn't helping!"
"Just looking for the right frequency," said Saul as Soul Train darted around the area, its music shifting in pitch and tone that proved slightly disorienting to our heroes.
Mal shot a green fireball at the sword-wielding creature, yet the flames barely made it smolder, yet succeeded in making it madder. It bellowed with rage as it rushed headlong at her.
"HANG ON, MAL!" shouted Ben as he leapt from a high tree branch onto the back of the creature and stabbed at it with his sword. His blade scarcely scratched the living horror, yet succeeded in distracting it from Mal. It reached around to try and grab Ben. He jumped clear, rolled, turned around and slashed at the creature's ankle, striking and cutting through the Achilles' tendon.
The creature bellowed with raging agony as it dropped its sword and clutched at its ankle.
"They're weak in the knees!" shouted Jay after stabbing the abomination covered in spiky armor.
"The joints!" shouted Saul, "aim for the joints!"
"And the eyes!" shouted Aurora after shooting the club-wielding creature. She reloaded her crossbow as the abomination writhed in sheer torment. Phillip and Mulan rushed at the living nightmare and stabbed it in the joints, backing away as the monstrosity swung its club at them.
Mal threw a green fireball at her creature's eyes, burning them out and blinding the abomination, then charged up a bolt of purple lightning. She shot the bolt at the creature's recovered sword, the dark lightning electrocuting it. The abomination fell to the forest floor in a massive heap and didn't get back up.
Mal then looked around and saw that Phillip had dealt a death-blow to the club-wielding fiend, slamming his shield into the side of its head and breaking its skull.
At the same time, the armored creature was bleeding to death, caused by multiple cuts dealt by Jay, Carlos and Chad's attacks on the weak points in its armor. Doug finished it off by running up, pulling off its helmet and decapitating it with his axe.
"Well, that…happened," panted Ben as he and the others looked around at the now peaceful battlefield. "Everyone…alright?"
"A little scraped and bruised," said Jay, "and scared out of a few years of my life, but all in all, I think we're alright."
"Where's Andrew?" Doug asked.
Our heroes then heard a massive explosion off in the distance.
"That would be Andrew," said Jill confidently.
They ran in the direction of the explosion and found a small crater blasted out of the forest. All around were splashes of blood and bits of charred flesh and bone.
Calmly sitting on a fallen tree and picking his teeth with a splinter of wood was Andrew, slightly singed and battered but otherwise fine.
"I had to hit that thing with the equivalent of a 40mm high explosive shell," said Andrew as he stood up, "I hate to see what Heinrich has that requires a higher yield on my part."
…The Falcon's Next…
"Inconceivable!" exclaimed Heinrich, "four of my most promising super soldiers and they wiped them out!"
"Guess they weren't as promising as you thought," muttered one of the security technicians. He then winced as he realized he may have just made the worst mistake in his life.
"You think you can do better?" Heinrich asked with mischievous maliciousness, "thank you for volunteering. Your bravery and patriotism is noted. Take him to processing!"
"NO! Not the processing!" exclaimed the technician as two guards grabbed him and dragged him out of the room, "I didn't mean it, Count von Karstein! Please!"
"Can't wait to see what kind of freak he turns out to be," said Wilhelm.
"Let's go watch him transform," said Frederic with wicked glee.
"No, you're not going anywhere until the job is done," said Heinrich, "send the big one."
…in the forest…
"Hang on!" said Saul, "the VTOL is coming back!"
"Now what?" asked Phillip.
"It's circling around," said Saul as he closed his eyes in concentration, "and…it just dropped something…big, something very big."
Our heroes then heard a large object crash into the forest ahead of them, something even bigger than the four abominations they had just destroyed.
Before Mal and the others could take cover, a 10-meter-tall horror covered in bony plate and hefting massive fists, charged at our heroes.
Mal and the others barely dodged the abomination's rush, yet Andrew tripped on a tree root and fell down. The creature then grabbed Andrew, hefted him up and began squeezing the life out of the bespectacled Stand User. Mal could only watch as Andrew, unable to breath, silently screamed his agony as the gargantuan creature crushed his torso.
"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY HUSBAND, YOU DAMN DIRTY FIEND!" bellowed Jill as she rushed at the abomination, her body shining with Hamon as she used a fallen tree's branch as a springboard.
"SENDO WAVE KICK!" shouted Jill as he foot contacted the creature's arm, channeling Hamon into the abomination. It roared in fury as it dropped Andrew to the forest floor.
Saul's psychedelic train Stand steamed under and cushioned Andrew's fall with a blast of compressed air from its smokestack.
Meanwhile, Jay, Carlos, Doug and Chad were attempting to flank the creature and attack the joints, yet the creature's bony carapace proved impenetrable to their swords. The gargantuan nightmare then let out a malicious laugh that made our heroe's skin crawl.
The creature then swatted Chad and Carlos aside as if they were flies, then kicked Jay into a nearby tree. It then stomped on Doug and began crushing him with its foot, laughing even louder as it Doug slowly died.
"NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" shouted Ben as a magic aura engulfed his body, transforming him into a Beast. Roaring with unbridled fury, Beast Ben charged at the gargantuan abomination, slashing at its foot with his claws and piercing the bony carapace.
The creature bellowed with pain as it backed away from Doug. Mall dashed in and grabbed Doug to drag him to safety, while throwing another fireball at the abomination to make it back away further.
"Oh this isn't good," said Aurora as she, Phillip, Mulan, Jill and Saul helped Jay, Carlos and Chad. They looked and saw Beast Ben easily dodge the gargantuan fists and stomps, but Beast Ben's attacks did very little damage in return.
"Tell me about it," moaned Carlos, "I think I'm bleeding on the inside."
"I'm bleeding all over," groaned Chad.
"You'll be fine," said Jill, "it's him I'm worried about."
"Ben," said Aurora, "at this rate, he'll lose himself to his inner beast."
"Just how many people know about Ben's furry little problem?" Mal asked incredulously.
She then saw the gargantuan creature grab Beast Ben and slammed him to the ground. He let out a pained whimper as the creature picked him up again and threw him against a tree.
"NOOOOOOO!" exclaimed Mal as her eyes glowed green and purple smoke surrounded her body.
"Oh no!" said Jay as the smoke cleared, revealing Mal in her dragon from.
"Oh great!" said Chad as Dragon Mal took flight and breathed fire at the creature, "now they're both out of control! We gotta get out of here before they decide to attack us!"
"No, I don't believe that!" said Carlos as Doug helped him back up, "They're still Ben and Mal, they wouldn't hurt us! No matter how furry or scaly they've become."
"Maybe so," said Saul, "then again, they may not be interested in us."
Dragon Mal had succeeded in knocking down the gargantuan creature with another blast of fire. Yet instead of closing in for the kill, she saw Beast Ben get up. The two transformed teenagers looked at each other intensely as if sizing each other up.
"No, they wouldn't," said Jay, "they wouldn't attack each other, would they?"
"They don't recognize each other in this state," said Saul, "they're running on instinct and emotion, seeing each other as a threat, or a challenge to dominate. Either way, things are gonna get ugly."
But then something completely unexpected happened; Beast Ben nodded at Dragon Mal and she nodded back, as if they'd established a rapport on a deep, primal level. Beast Ben then jumped onto Dragon Mal's back and the two of them turned to face the recovering gargantuan.
"Oh, Good God!" said a shocked Saul as the transformed teenagers rushed at the gargantuan, "they're codependent!"
"Is that a bad thing?" Mulan asked as she and the others watched Beast Ben jump off Dragon Mal and latch his claws into the face of the gargantuan, while Dragon Mall bit the oversized creature's left arm, dragging it down.
"Yes and no," said Jill, "it's good that they're cooperating, but they could get stuck like this."
Before Jay or the others could inquire further, Dragon Mall succeeded in tearing off the abomination's arm, while Beast Ben clawed out its eyes. Blinded and minus a limb, the creature thrashed bout in enraged agony.
Dragon Mal and Beast Ben got out of the way of their foe's furious tirade. It was then that they did something that amazed and terrified their friends; Beast Ben and Dragon Mal glowed with magic, Dragon Mal charging up a massive fireball, while a sphere of energy formed between Beast Ben's clawed hands. Growling with righteous fury, Beast Ben aimed his hands and fired the sphere, while Dragon Mall shot her fireball. Their attacks struck the gargantuan and set it ablaze, reducing it to ashes in seconds.
The transformed teenagers let lose a double triumphant roar that resounded for miles. They then turned their animalistic eyes on their friends.
"Everyone submit!" said Saul as Dragon Mal and Beast Ben crept towards them as if stalking prey, "don't look them in the eyes. Just bow and submit!"
At that our heroes knelt on the grown with their heads bowed. Beast Ben and Dragon Mal began walking around them, occasionally sniffing and growling lowly, while Jay, Carlos and the others waited on a tense razor edge.
But finally, the two transformed teenagers backed off. With a flash of magic and puff of purple smoke, Ben and Mal resumed their human forms.
"Oh wow," said an exhausted Ben as he and Mal nearly collapsed, "I really didn't know I could do that."
"Do what?" Mal asked, "shoot magic beams or make my magic stronger?"
"And here I thought you were making me stronger," said Ben. At that he and Mal laughed.
"Oh sure, you think it's funny," complained Chad, "And here are the rest of us with serious wounds, I'll probably get gangrene or something or…"
"SHUT UP, CHAD!" shouted Jay, Carlos and Doug.
…The Falcon's Nest…
"INCONCEIVABLE!" bellowed Heinrich, "UTTERLY INCONCEIVABLE!"
"I guess the mutants weren't worth all that much," said Frederic, at which he and Wilhelm giggled like idiots.
Heinrich responded by knocking the twin's heads together, "if I wanted your opinions, boys, I'd give it to you! Is that understood?!"
"Yes, Father!" said both Wilhelm and Frederic sorely.
"Bomb them!" said Heinrich as he glared at the tactical screen, "signal the VTOL craft! Bomb them! Bomb them into submission!"
…in the forest…
"It's coming back!" shouted Saul as our heroes patched up their wounds, while Jill used Hamon to heal the more serious injuries, "the VTOL craft! It's coming back!"
"Oh, come on!" exclaimed Chad, "can't we have a minute to catch our breath!?"
"Gee, I wonder what new horror Heinrich has up his sleeve?" Jay asked sarcastically.
"It's coming lower, and slower," said Saul, "like they're trying to be…precise. I think they're gonna attack us from the air."
"My guess it's either a strafing run or a bomb run," said Andrew, "but I won't give them the chance!"
At that Big Bang Theory appeared on his shoulder and aimed up at the sky, "Have a taste of flack from my Stand, you bastards!" shouted Andrew, "FIRE!"
The cannon-like Stand fired an anti-aircraft shell up in the air. The shell was right on target as it exploded just in front of the VTOL craft, spraying it with shrapnel that shredding through the fuselage and damaged the engines. Trailing smoke, the doomed VTOL craft passed over our heroes and crashed further down the hill with a near deafening crunch.
"Those poor men," said Mulan as our heroes saw smoke from the wreckage rise, "they were only following orders."
"You do know they were trying to kill us, right?" Aurora asked.
"So did The Huns," said Mulan, "they were following orders from Shan Yu, he was the real evil in the war. Just as Heinrich is the real evil in this war."
"Then it's official," said Ben, "Transdoria and Auradon are at war."
"Then let's end the war before anyone else gets hurt," said Mal, "let's go save our friends and stop Heinrich."
"Uh, in case you haven't noticed, Mal," said Chad, "I'm in no condition to…OWW! Watch it, will you?!"
"Oh, don't be such a baby," said Jill as she attempted to channel Hamon into Chad's wounded torso, "seriously, you're way too sensitive." Clamping one hand on Chad's mouth so she wouldn't be bothered by his screams, Jill placed her other hand on his midsection, sending golden energy into his injured torso.
"Don't look at me, Chad," said Ben as he saw Chad's pleading eyes, "it's not my fault you can't take your medicine."
"Hey, look at this," said Doug as he picked up a piece of slightly charred metal that turned out to be a digital camera, "it must have been on the aircraft. And…yes, it's still transmitting data."
"They can see us," said Mal as she, Ben, Saul, Andrew, Mulan and Phillip looked into the camera lens, "I'll bet Heinrich's watching us right now."
Aurora grabbed the camera and glared into it, "Give me back my daughter, you monster!" With that she threw the camera at a nearby rock. The camera burst apart, the lens shattering to pieces.
…The Falcon's Nest…
With a bellow of unbridled fury, Heinrich smashed the static-filled hologram projector with a metal bar, then proceeded to smash several computers and display monitors.
"Father seems a trifle irked," said Wilhelm as he and Fredric cowered in one corner, while the security technicians, fearful of Heinrich's destructive tirade, occupied the other corners.
"Uh-duh!" said Fredric.
"THOSE BRATS!" yelled Heinrich, "THOSE INSOLENT, IMPUDENT BRATS! HOW DARE THEY!? HOW DARE THEY!?"
It was then that a woman in her late 40's with long, slightly graying brown hair in a braid her left side and wearing very large glasses that magnified her hazel eyes, wearing an orange blouse and skirt beneath a white lab coat, walked in. Closer inspection would reveal metal implants on the right side of her head and face, while her right hand was a cybernetic prosthesis. A tag on her lab coat spore the name 'Dr. Orange.'
"Dear me, what an outburst," she said offhandedly as she looked at the chaos in the room.
"Dr. Orange," said Heinrich as he calmed down and dropped the metal bar with a loud clang on the floor. "I…I seem to have lost my temper."
"To say the least," remarked Dr. Orange, "and here I was hoping to deliver a progress report on Project Steel Claw, Count von Karstein. But since you're in no condition for company, I'll take my leave and come back when you're in a more agreeable mood."
"No, stay," Heinrich insisted, "it's just been a long day. About Project Steel Claw?"
"Steel Claw?" asked both Wilhelm and Frederic, "which one is that?"
"The power mech project," said Dr. Orange, "and I'm happy to report that the Mark 1 Steel Claw prototype is ready for field testing."
"Is it now?" Heinrich asked. He then smiled wickedly, "well, I have the perfect target for a shakedown. Do we still have telemetry on the intruders?"
"Uh…yes, Count von Karstein," said one of the security technicians nervously as he hurried to activate a backup hologram projector, which showed the twelve blips representing Ben, Mal and the others, slowly moving through the forest again.
"Then prepare Steel Claw for combat," said Heinrich, "and Dr. Orange, don't disappoint me."
"I have nothing but the best expectations for Project Steel Claw, Count von Karstein," said Dr. Orange as she bowed gracefully, "you won't be disappointed." With that she walked out of the room.
"Robots, I don't like robots," said Fredric.
"Nah, robots are cool," said Wilhelm.
"No, they're not," said Frederic.
"Yes, they are!" Wilhelm insisted.
"If you two are going to bicker, do it where it won't bother me," said Heinrich irately, "why don't you two go do something constructive for a change?"
"Okay, we will," said both twins, "uh…what should we do?"
It was then that an utterly despicable idea occurred to Heinrich, "go fetch your brides-to-be. It's time they learned once and for all they have no hope in defying me."
"Okay, here's the plan," said Evie as she and Lonnie sharpened bits of a broken wood table into shivs, "as soon as we're ready to go, Elisabeth will take us through the secret passages to the castle's VTOL port. We'll grab a pilot and make him take us back to Auradon. I know, it's a terrible plan but if anyone else has a better one, I'm all ears."
"Sorry, I've got nothing," said Lonnie.
"At least we agree on one thing, Evie," said Audrey as she fashioned a table leg into a club, "this is a terrible plan."
"At least it's a plan," said Jane, "look on the bright side; it's so terrible, it might just work."
"True," said Audrey, "it's about time we're due for some good luck. I'm just sorry Elisabeth won't come with us. This is no life for her. She deserves to be in a better place, far away from her terrible family."
"I agree, but she's adamant about staying," said Evie, "her condition…"
"There's treatment for her condition!" Audrey insisted, "I can't think of if right now, but I'm sure there's a way for her to walk in the daylight without her skin burning. She shouldn't have to suffer like this forever!"
"Wow, Audrey," said an impressed Lonnie, "you're actually being selfless for a change."
"I…I guess I am," said an astonished Audrey, "it's just…there's no reason Elisabeth should endure such cruelty anymore, not when we can help her be happy."
Just then the girls heard footsteps outside the door.
"Change of plans," whispered Evie, "Audrey, hit whoever comes through that door! We're getting out of here now!"
"Righto!" said Audrey as she got in position near the door as they heard keys rattling in the lock. The door swung open and Audrey slammed her club at Wilhelm. Due to the fact he was much taller than her, the club hit him below the shoulder and made him stagger a few paces yet was otherwise unharmed.
"Seriously!?" exclaimed Wilhelm as he spun around and glared at Audrey, "this is the second time you got the best of me, my future bride," He then grabbed Audrey by the wrist and twisted her arm almost to the breaking point. Audrey screamed as she dropped her club and fell to her knees.
"I oughta tear your arm right out of the socket!" shouted Wilhelm.
"NO!" shouted Evie as she and Lonnie rushed at Wilhelm with their shivs, only for Frederic to grab them both.
"Now, now, girls," said Frederic with a sadistic smile, "if you can't learn to behave, you'll all get a good spanking."
"What's going on?" asked Stefan as he walked in, "Father asked me to keep an eye on you two."
"We're just disciplining our future brides!" said Wilhelm as he held the agonized Audrey down, "it's time we broke their spirits!"
"I agree," said Stefan, "but not like this. Father told me what he has planned and wants them to witness what's to come. Now bring them, unharmed, unless you want me to go back to Father and tell him you're defying his orders."
"Whatever you say, big brother," said Wilhelm. He released Audrey and she gasped in relief, clutching her assaulted arm with the other. Her respite was short-lived as Wilhelm grabbed and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of flower and carried her out of the room, while Frederic dragged the struggling Evie and Lonnie along.
"Do I have to get rough with you?" Stefan asked Jane.
"Uh…no, I'll come," said Jane nervously as she followed the others. Stefan walked out of the room, unaware that Elisabeth had seen the entire episode through her spy port.
"And if you'll follow me this way," said Adriane as Uma, Harry and Gil trailed after her through the castle corridors, "we'll soon reach the nerve center of Shadowcast's operations and…Oh! Master Stefan!"
"Ms. van Garrett," said Stefan, "I was unaware you were back from Auradon," he looked at the trio of teenage pirates, "and with friends no less."
"Stop Struggling!" snapped Frederic as he manhandled Evie and Lonnie through the corridor, with Jane following them submissively, "oh, Ms. Van Garret, hi there."
"Wait, what's going on?" asked Gil as he saw Evie and Lonnie, "what are they doing here?"
"Uma?!" exclaimed Lonnie and Evie.
"Uma?" asked Audrey from over Wilhelm's shoulder, "Uma's here? Where? I can't see!"
"Well, well, well," said Uma as she smiled wickedly, "what an unexpected twist. What brings you girls to this cove of the sea?"
"We've been kidnaped, terrorized and tortured," said Lonnie, "what does it look like?"
"It looks like you lot are teetering over the edge of the plank," said Harry, "with a cutlass point at your back and a shoal of sharks below."
"Yeah, that pretty sums it up," said Jane.
"So, you all know each other," said Stefan, "it matters not. Father awaits his future daughters-in-laws to attend to him."
"Wait, what?" asked Uma, "you four are getting married?"
"Yes, to my brothers," said Stefan.
"WE ARE NOT!" shouted Evie, Lonnie, Jane and Audrey in tandem.
At that Uma and Harry began laughing like they had just heard the funniest joke in the world. Gil soon joined them, mostly out of not wanting to look more stupid than he already was.
"Enough already, Father is getting impatient!" said Stefan.
"Yes, we must go see Count von Karstein," said Adriane. She looked at Uma, Harry and Gil, "it's time you met the man with the checkbook."
A short time later found everyone back in the tactical room, hastily repaired from Heinrich's outburst.
"Count von Karstein," said Adriane as he bowed respectfully.
"Ah, Adriane," said Heinrich, "If I'd known you had return, I'd had welcomed you back personally. Needless to say, you are most welcome home." He then looked at the trio of teenage pirates, "friends of yours?"
"Of a sort," said Adriane, "may I present three courageous buccaneers from The Isle of The Lost, whom have been most helpful in Shadowcast's efforts in Auradon; Uma, daughter of Ursula, Harry Hook, scion of Captain Hook and Gil, spawn of Gaston. Everyone, this is Shadowcast's employer, Count Heinrich von Karstein."
"Nice to meet you," said Uma, "nice castle you've got, a little high up, though."
"My many times great-grandfather chose this aerie as his power base," said Heinrich, "and it is from here I shall launch my campaign to dominate the world."
"The heck you will!" shouted Evie, "it's only a matter of time before Mal, Ben and the others come! They'll make you pay for your sick, twisted crimes!"
"I'm glad you brought up your friends," said Heinrich, "for they are in fact already in Transdoria."
The hologram projector showed an image, taken from a hidden camera in the woods, of Mal, Ben and the others.
"Oh great ancestors!" exclaimed Lonnie as she saw Mulan, "my mom's coming!"
"And so are my parents!" said Audrey as she saw Aurora and Phillip, then frowned when she saw who else was in the rescue party "oh, and Chad's coming too, lovely."
"Who are those three?" asked Jane as she saw Andrew, Jill and Saul, "wait, weren't they at the party?"
"Oh for crying out loud!" said Adriane as she saw Andrew, Jill and Saul, "I thought Joy Division wasn't involved! Just great, I'll have to tell the others to expect major trouble."
"So, they're part of the rejects who've been flies in your ointment for so long," said Heinrich, "well, they'll soon be swatted away, permanently."
It was then that Dr. Orange walked back into the room, carrying a large tablet displaying data, "Count von Karstein, I'm happy to report that Steel Claw is on its way."
"Outstanding, Dr. Orange," said Heinrich. He then looked at Evie, "your friends have thwarted my efforts to dispose of them, but no more. This time they're finished," he then glared at Dr. Orange, "aren't they?"
"I stake my reputation on it," said Dr. Orange.
At that Jane stepped forward with a contemplative look on her face, "I know you from somewhere."
Dr. Orange glared at Audrey for a second, then shook her head, "you must be mistaken, child, we've never met."
"No, I do know you," said Jane as realization struck her, "I do know you! You're Edwina Xandrand!"
"My gosh, you're right!" said an astonished Audrey, "it's her!"
"But that's impossible," said Lonnie, "she died fifteen years ago!"
"What are you talking about?" Evie asked.
"Edwina Xandrand," said Jane, "vice chairperson of The Technocrat Rebellion."
"That was a long time ago," said Dr. Orange coldly, "now I recognize you; you're Fairy Godmother's brat. You visited me in the hospital before I took a turn for the worse."
"Would someone explain to me what's going on?" asked Uma.
"It was just after Belle and Beast got married," said Jane, "while they and the other Heroes, Princes and Princesses were organizing Auradon, they appealed to a council of the best and brightest minds in the realms for help. A lot of scientists and scholars joined in, but more than a few refused."
"They didn't want a monarchy," said Lonnie, "even one as good as the one our parents created. They wanted a society run by elite minds and governed by logic and scientific reasoning; a Technocracy."
"After Maleficent and the other villains were banished to The Isle, most of the Technocrats left Auradon to start over somewhere else," said Jane, "but a few remained to usurp the kingdom and take over themselves. Their rebellion was brief but bloody on both sides; with the rebel Technocrats using robots and primitive cyborgs as their army.
"But their most powerful weapon was the most terrifying of all, more terrifying than anything Maleficent did before. They had a war machine of horrifying destructive power and was nearly indestructible itself; Metal Gear."
"And it would have crushed Auradon and all those monarchist morons!" snapped Dr. Orange, "my marvelous machine, my Metal Gear, it would have taken on the world and made the world bow in submission!"
"Wait, I don't get it," said Evie, "no one told me about some war with scientists and a giant robot."
"It's not something we like to talk about," said Jane, "anyway, our parents combined their strengths and courage and stopped the rebellion and destroyed Metal Gear before it could destroy Auradon."
"Strength and courage my eye!" snapped Dr. Orange, "it was an act of cowardly sabotage that destroyed my marvelous machine! That and sheer dumb luck that I overlooked a critical weakness in the robot. It didn't help that I was practically right next to Metal Gear when it blew up."
She glared at Jane, "I spent five years in hospital, mourning my fallen colleagues and planning revenge, all the while your mother visited me practically every day. She hoped I would renounce my wicked ways and use my brilliance for good. She even brought you along to use you as an appeal to my humanity."
"What? No!" said Jane, "my mother didn't use me! She brought me along to help cheer you up."
"She used you," said Dr. Orange, "and not just against me but against you. She tried to impress upon your immature mind the consequence of unchecked ambition." She walked right up to Jane, whom flinched back a pace, "the sight of my scars did more than teach you a lesson, didn't it. It made you lose practically all ambition to become your own self, turning you into a mousy wallflower. Well, I'm glad you grew out of it and developed a backbone of sorts."
"Yes, this is all well and done," said Heinrich impatiently, "but I have invaders to crush. How soon until Steel Claw reaches the targets?"
"Soon, Count von Karstein," said Dr. Orange as the tactical hologram showed a new VTOL traveling towards our heroes, "soon, you and everyone else here will see my mechanical marvel in action."
…in the forest…
Our heroes, sore and tired from battling the abominable mutants, dauntlessly trudged onwards to The Falcon's Nest.
"As soon as we rescue Audrey and the others," said Phillip, "we're having a family vacation as far from trees as possible."
"And with as little violence as possible," said Aurora.
"To live life without violence is an admirable goal," said Saul, "but alas, violence is a part of human nature, for without violence, one would not know what peace was. Such is the nature of human nature."
"Unless you're not a 100% human to begin with," said Chad as he cautiously eyed Ben and Mal, "then you're in a whole other class."
"It was still cool how Ben and Mal teamed up like that," said Jay, "it's like…like…I don't know what it's like."
"I've never seen anything like that before," said Mulan, "seriously, Mal, you and Ben make a heck of a team."
"Well duh!" said Carlos, grinning as he saw how embarrassed Ben and Mal looked, "they're like soul mates or something."
"More like their transformed states understood each other," said Jill, "that they've agreed to cooperate on an instinctive level."
"What are you talking about?" Ben asked, "what instincts?"
"Your animalistic instincts," said Jill, "you in your Beast form and Mal in her Dragon form, they reached out to each other and established a rapport. It's not uncommon in nature for different species to cooperate."
"Really?" asked Mal, "I didn't know that."
"It's true," said Aurora, "growing up in the forest with Flora, Fauna and Merryweather, I saw all sorts of animals work together."
"Yeah, Snow White's animal friends helped her keep the Dwarf's cottage clean," said Doug.
"I'm not talking about the power of a pure heart reaching out to animals," said Jill, "though that is a great power. No, I'm talking about cooperation across animal races. For example, ravens have been known to lead wolf packs to prey, then feed on the carrion. Badgers and coyotes would hunt burrowing rodents. Bottlenose Dolphins would hunt together with False Killer Whales, and this one time, I heard of a fish teaming up with an octopus to hunt smaller fish on a coral reef. And let's not forget the smaller fish that hang around sharks; they clean the sharks of dead skin and parasites while the sharks protect them from other predators."
"Well, aren't you a wealth of knowledge," said Aurora.
"I'm not that smart," said Jill, "not when it comes to animals. No, if you want an expert on animals, talk to Gillian, she's Joy Division's head animal wrangler. She's the one who makes sure the circus' animals are well care for in a way that keeps all the animal activists from freaking out about animal cruelty."
"Gee, I wonder how you pulled that off," said Chad sarcastically.
"You are one big wet blanket, you know that?" Jill asked.
"I'm a what?" asked a confused Chad.
"You know, a wet blanket," said Jill, "a killjoy, a downer, a malcontent."
"Huh?" asked Chad.
"You're one big, fat party pooper," said Jill coldly, "what are you even doing here?"
Before Chad could reply, Saul raised his fist to silence everyone.
"Oh come on!" exclaimed Jay, "now what?"
"Another VTOL craft?" Jill asked.
"No, it's something else," said Saul as he listened with his eyes closed, "something smaller, but…faster, and…I don't know what it is, but it's coming this way."
Everyone then heard something large and metallic crashing into the trees ahead of them.
"What fresh hell has Heinrich sent against us this time?" Phillip asked as he and the others braced themselves for another fight. Our heroes heard crashing trees as whatever was charging towards them accelerated. The trees in front of them were smashed as a 6-meter tall humanoid, steel-gray robot with four arms, the upper pair armed with laser cannons, and a head full of teeth sharper than razors.
"Oh my GOD!" exclaimed Aurora in sheer terror, "it's another Metal Gear!"
Before Mal or her friends could inquire, the metal monstrosity fired its laser cannons at them, missing them by inches. Mal felt part of her hair singe as one of the beams passed overhead.
"RUN!" shouted Phillip, "run for your lives!"
"Why?" asked Jay, "why run? We can take this thing!"
"No, we can't!" said Mulan, "we can't fight it! We need to run! Now!"
"What's a Metal Gear?" asked Carlos as the mecha adjusted its aim.
"A combat robot of great destructive power," said Jill, "I heard about it but…" that's as far as she got before ducking another beam of death from Steel Claw, "I agree, we can't fight it! It's too strong! Run away! Run away!"
…The Falcon's Nest…
"Yes! Run!" exclaimed Dr. Orange with wicked delight as she watched the battle unfold on the tactical display, enraptured at the sight of our heroes fleeing from Steel Claw "run from my mechanical miracle and despair!" she then laughed like the mad scientist she was.
"I'm not impressed, Dr. Orange," said Heinrich, "you assured me your metal monster would destroy the invaders. So far all it's done is make them run away."
"Run away in terror, Count von Karstein," said Dr. Orange with a wicked grin, "but fret not, for Steel Claw shall prove itself in due course."
"Don't count on it!" said Evie defiantly, "Mal and the others, they'll recycle your machine into scrap metal!"
"Then why are they running away?" asked a deviously delighted Uma.
"Uh, they're just looking for a better place to fight?" Evie suggested.
"Nope, they're afraid," said Uma.
"That guy isn't afraid," said Gil as he pointed at the display, which showed Andrew looking at Steel Claw. He stood calmly, a look of puzzlement on his face as the mecha skulked towards him.
"He's resigned himself to his doom!" said Dr. Orange, "he saw the awesome power of my machine and wishes to submit to its destructive force!"
"I wouldn't be so sure of that," said a somewhat nervous Adriane, "That's Andrew Carpenter, the de facto leader of Joy Division and overall thorn in Shadowcast's side. He's always got a trick or two up his sleeves."
"Either that or he's crazy," said Uma, "or just plain stupid."
…in the forest…
"Is he crazy or just plain stupid?!" exclaimed Jay as he and the others took cover behind an outcropping of rock. Jay had peered around the rock and saw Andrew standing his ground before Steel Claw.
"I sometimes wonder that myself," said Saul.
"No, he's got a plan," said Jill, "my husband, despite his eccentricities, he always has a plan."
"You know, you remind me of something," said Andrew calmly as he pointed at Steel Claw, at which Mal, Jill and the others nearly fell over in flabbergasted surprise.
"Seriously, you look very familiar," said Andrew, clearly unconcerned that Steel Claw was less than ten paces from him, "I saw you somewhere before, long, long ago, like when I was a kid. Did I see you on TV?"
"Andrew Davidson Carpenter!" exclaimed Jill, "get your sorry ass out of there before you get yourself killed!"
"Help me out here, Jill," said Andrew as he looked over his shoulder at his wife, "doesn't this guy look familiar?" He then gasped in surprise as Steel Claw gripped him with one of its free hands and lifted him up.
"Well, he's dead," said Chad, "it was nice knowing him."
"Shut up, Chad!" shouted Ben, "we've got to help him!" with that he ran out from behind the rock and rushed at Steel Claw.
"Tell me he's not pulling a Leeroy Jenkins," said Saul. Ben then slammed his sword into one of Steel Claw's legs, barely scratching the mecha but succeeded in getting its attention. Steel Claw aimed and fired its blasters at Ben, whom easily dodged it.
"It's aim is off!" shouted Ben as he dodged another barrage of laser fire, "Come on, you guys! We can take this thing!"
"He's right, we can do it!" shouted Aurora, "let's get it!"
"Yeah! Let's get it!" shouted Jay. With that he and the others rushed at Steel Claw, easily dodging the laser blasts as they closed in. Unfortunately, all their efforts to damage the mecha resulted in mere scratches on its exterior.
…The Falcon's Nest…
"Your machine is a failure, Dr. Orange!" shouted Heinrich.
"I have to agree," said Adriane, "it can't shoot the broad side of a barn."
"The landing impact and trees must have compromised its aim," said Dr. Orange, "I'll have to compensate for such eventualities in the next model. This is the prototype, after all." She then saw how irately Heinrich was glaring at her, "But that doesn't mean it's not still capable of carrying out the mission!"
She then went to a computer terminal, "I am switching Steel Claw combat mode from long range to hand-to-hand. Its firepower may be off its aim, but nothing can withstand it's awesome power! Nothing!"
…in the forest…
Steel Claw abruptly dropped its laser cannons and lunged at Jill with its three free hands, grasping for her to rip her to shreds, while still holding onto Andrew. Jill dodged the worst of the attack, but her jacket was ripped apart and three bloody lines appeared on her back through her shirt.
"I know I know you from somewhere," said Andrew, "this is gonna drive me crazy."
"You're already nuts!" shouted Jay as he and the others were forced away from Steel Claw's slashing talons.
"Hey, can you blame me for being curious?" Andrew asked.
"He's gonna get himself killed," said Chad, "along with the rest of us."
"Good god, could you be a bigger wet blanket?!" Jill demanded.
"Yeah, Chad, stop it," said Ben, "it's bad enough the enemy is trying to kill us, we don't need you dragging us down with your bad mood."
"My mood is my business and not yours, Ben!" said Chad irately, "enemy or no enemy, how I feel is my business!"
"Wait! That's It!" exclaimed Andrew as smiled with sudden joy and snapped his fingers, "I remember now! NM-E!" Andrew then looked at Jill and the others, "it's NM-E!"
"What the bloody hell are you talking about?!" an exasperated Jill asked.
"NM-E!" said Andrew, "from the Ultraforce cartoon from when I was a kid! Seriously, am I the only one here who watched cartoons on Saturday and Sunday mornings?"
…The Falcon's Nest…
"You based your weapon of mass destruction on a cartoon character?!" Audrey asked incredulously.
"I did not!" snapped Dr. Orange, "I would never do something so callously senseless. Making a mecha based on a cartoon character. Why, I never…!"
"Um…actually, Dr. Orange," said Adriane as she looked something up on her phone, "there is a striking resemblance between your robot and the character in question. She showed a picture on her phone of the cartoon version of NM-E, then compared it to a holographic image of Steel Claw, "like I said, a striking resemblance."
"Oh yeah, they're similar," said Wilhelm, at which Frederic nodded in agreement.
"They are not!" exclaimed Dr. Orange, "for one thing, my marvelous machine has a short-range Abremalin field projector, otherwise known as an Anti-Magic field. You see, it was Fairy Godmother who destroyed my Metal Gear twenty years ago."
"My mom stopped it?" asked an amazed Jane, "she never told me that!"
…In The forest…
"So it was FG who stopped a mecha 20 years ago?" Ben asked as he, Aurora and Phillip stood out of range of Steel Claw's slashing talons, while Jay, Mulan and Mal distracted it.
"She did," said Aurora, "Metal Gear was almost unstoppable. No weapon we had at the time could damage that metal monstrosity. Even magic didn't work, it only slowed it down. There was talk about asking the villains for help but what good would that have done?
"So Fairy Godmother did the unthinkable; she used her magic for, in her eyes, an act of evil. She turned the full power of her wand on Meta Gear and blew it to pieces."
"How is stopping a rampaging weapon of mass destruction evil?" Ben asked.
"The blast destroyed not only Metal Gear," said Phillip, "it killed several of the Technocrat rebels and left one badly burned. Fairy Godmother never forgave herself for the harm she caused."
"So that's why she's so against magic," said Ben in a stunned tone. He shook his head as if clearing it of troubling thoughts, "I can't worry about that right now. If magic stopped the first Metal Gear, it can stop this one! Mal!"
"What do you think I've been doing!?" shouted Mal as she stood with one hand engulfed with green fire, the other crackling with purple lightning. She threw a fireball and blasted it with a bolt of lightning, yet both attacks dissolved just before they hit Steel Claw.
"I'm blasting it with everything I've got but nothing works!" said Mal.
"It has an Anti-Magic field," said Andrew, "quite genius, I'm forced to admit."
"Are you just gonna lay there in that thing's embrace all day or are you gonna do something!?" Jill demanded as she made an uncomfortable Chad bandage her wounded back.
"And just what do you expect me to do trussed up like this?!" Andrew shouted, "that thing's got me pinned in its grip!"
"You have one free hand, right?" Mal asked, "and you've got a gun, right?"
"You're right, I do have a free hand," said an astonished Andrew, "and I am packing!" with that he drew his .475 pistol from its holster and aimed it at Steel Claw's head, "'Widley's Here!'"
Andrew pulled the trigger and fired, the pistol letting lose a near-deafening blast and piercing the machine's chassis, yet the only damage was a .457-sized hole.
"Well, that was a big help," said Chad sarcastically.
"If you keep putting out negative vibes like that, man," said an irate Saul, "you'll find yourself all alone in the world."
"THAT'S IT! VIBES!" shouted Andrew, "VIBES!"
"Vibes?" asked a confused Mal.
"Yes, vibes," said Andrew, "vibrations! Saul, make that thing vibrate!"
"Oh, I get it now," said Saul. At that Soul Train appeared and coasted towards Steel Claw, letting loose a cacophony of psychedelic soundwaves as it flew around the malicious mecha.
…The Falcon's Nest…
"Foolish fool!" exclaimed Dr. Orange, "as if music can harm my magnificent machine! Play your discourteous disco tracks all you want, I'll remember to play it at your funeral!"
"Uh…Dr. Orange?" one of the security technicians asked nervously, "there's a disruption in the signal."
"What?!" demanded Dr. Orange.
"It's that sound," said the technician, "it's interrupting the control signal to Steel Claw!"
"No! Impossible!" exclaimed Dr. Orange as she rushed to a computer terminal and typed furiously.
"I don't get it," said Uma, "how's music stopping that metal monster from crushing Mal and the others."
"You really aren't as smart as you think you are, Uma," said Evie, "Dr. Orange, or Edwina or whoever she is, she's controlling her mecha from here wirelessly. Without that signal, she can't tell the robot what to do."
"Oh, right," said Uma, "oh, wait, wouldn't that make the robot go out of control and make things worse for Ben and Mal?"
"OMG, I think she's right," said a worried Lonnie, "what if the robot goes berserk?"
"Ooh, wouldn't that be a sight to see," said a maliciously delighted Wilhelm, while Frederic giggled like the sadistic creep he was.
"Well, Dr. Orange?" Heinrich asked impatiently, "will your machine go out of control?"
"Of course not, Count von Karstein," said Dr. Orange, "there's no chance of it going out of control. I didn't program Steel Claw to act on its own, it responds only to my will, that's why the control signal is so important. Oh…oh crap, the signal's completely blocked. Oh, this is not good, not good at all," she then smiled viciously, "then again, there's always a silver lining to…"
That's as far as Dr. Orange got before Heinrich grabbed her by the throat and hefted her in the air.
"You've failed me!" exclaimed Heinrich as he choked the squirming Dr. Orange, "now you shall pay the price of failure!"
"Count von Karstein, please!" exclaimed Adriane, "she didn't fail! She said…"
"She said her machine would destroy the invaders!" said Heinrich, "they still live!"
"They…they'll…still die!" gasped Dr. Orange, "Steel…Claw…failsafe…!"
"Please, give her one more chance, Count von Karstein!" pleaded Adriane.
"Very well," said Heinrich as he dropped the nearly unconscious Dr. Orange. She fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for air, "but know this; fail again, and I'll personally throw her off the escarpment, and you too, Ms. Adriane, for your association."
"I assure you, that won't be necessary," said Adriane as she helped Dr. Orange back up, "won't it, Dr. Orange?"
"Of course not," said Dr. Orange in a raspy voice, "Steel Claw as a failsafe in such a scenario as this; a failsafe that will activate if Steel Claw is disconnected from the control signal for more than five minutes, or endures a significant amount of damage, all to avoid capture by enemy forces."
"Dr. Orange!" exclaimed another technician, "Steel Claw is taking damage to its limbs and head!"
"It can't move, so Mal and the others are looking for a weakness," said Lonnie.
"But…if what Edwina said was true," said a worried Jane, "then…"
"Then let's hope they get out of there before whatever happens happens," said Audrey.
…In The Forest…
"What are we still doing here?" asked Chad as he watched Andrew, Ben, Mal and the others shoot and stab Steel Claw, "that thing stopped moving, so why aren't we running away from it? And why is that crazy train still playing its crazy music?"
"I'll make it simple so even a child could understand it," said Jill, "Saul's Stand found the right frequency to jam the control signal for that mecha, rendering it immobile. But the moment the music stops, the signal will resume, and the machine reactivates."
"We have to destroy it here and now!" said Ben as he, Mulan and Phillip attacked Steel Claw's, hoping to pry open part of the outer chassis, while Mal, Jay, Carlos and Doug damaged the limbs, "it'll keep coming after us if we run!"
"Hang on, I think we've got something!" said Mulan as they succeeded in opening the head, exposing the inner circuitry.
"Okay, so now what?" asked Phillip, "I don't know anything about robots or how to turn one off."
"When in doubt, start smashing," said Mal as she rushed up and raised her sword.
"Wait!" said Andrew, "it may be booby trapped against tampering. Those wires and circuits could be electrified." At that Big Bang Theory appeared on his shoulder, "everyone back away from it!"
Not wanting to argue, Ben, Mal and the other retreated a safe distance from the mecha. Andrew aimed his artillery Stand and fired a psychic shell into the exposed circuitry. There was a terrific blast as the head blew completely off the main body, which fell in a heap and remained motionless as scrap metal.
"Well, that happened," said Ben as he and the others gathered around the disabled machine.
"Eh, it wasn't so tough," said Chad smugly. He kicked one of the limbs, then winced and hopped on one foot, clutching the other that now sported a sore toe.
"Serves you right, you…" said Doug, whom then frowned in slight confusion, "does anyone beside me hear a beeping?"
"No, I don't!" said Chad as he leaned against a downed tree, "I'm in too much pain to hear anything!"
"It's just a bruise, man," said Jay, "hey, wait, I hear a beeping too."
"Me too," said Mal, while Ben and the others nodded in agreement, "it's coming from…"
"From the mecha," said Ben, "I think it's getting louder."
"And faster," said Doug. Understanding struck him like a bullet to the bone, "Holy shiitake mushrooms! We gotta get out of here right now!"
"Huh!?" asked Chad, just as the remains of Steel Claw exploded.
…to be continued
