AN: I own only my own characters and lore! Nothing else!
"Quick move!"~ Person talking
'Bang'~ telepathic communication
"Time to attack."~ Synthesized voice
"Three dog here. / Daddy! / Report in."~ Radio/Shade/Comm. Speech
Critical Systems failure~ Computer text/ Speech
Chapter 7: Assault and Discovery
(Alex, Scrapyard)
I looked over the expanse of scrap and junk that lay out before me, occasionally using a Push field to move a car chassis out of my way. Every time I did so I couldn't help but look at my progress with no small amount of amazement. I hadn't expected to progress as fast as I have, when Daegor was teaching me he would say how I was progressing astonishingly quickly. Two months he said that I had progressed to about half of a level one standard. Levels were like the grading when it came to Drakyllen. He himself was easily the most powerful as he ranked level seven. It was mostly attributed to the fact that he had lived and trained with his powers for several millennia. I chuckled slightly as I recalled the various moments when I would train with the old dragon, as I went along in my training I would ask him about his race. One particular thing he had told me was that his kind couldn't die from old age.
They could still be killed, but to this day not one of the Star dragon's had died from old age. Whenever I would ask how old he was, he would just get a funny look in his eye and chuckle. One of the things I learned right away was that the dark energy that was called on by each individual Drakyllen was a different color. While mine was silver, his was a burnt orange. One other thing was talents, two unique abilities each of us had, like he himself was able to build energy constructs out of his dark energy, and he could focus it into a beam attack. Then there was the councilor, who we were informed was also a Drakyllen, he was capable of short term Universal and Temporal displacement. In English it meant he could for the short time one minute displace himself from his current universe and into another, and as a side affect he temporarily stopped time in the area he appeared. And with great effort he could permanently place small nonorganic items into that universe, but once this is done that item is permanently anchored to that universe. He himself was a level three.
The thought of abilities like those made me giddy with excitement in the thought of acquiring them. Unfortunately Daegor kicked the daydreams right out of my head as he said it had taken himself twenty years to unlock his abilities, and the councilor himself had only just unlocked his two years before he had grabbed me and Jason. So the likelihood of me unlocking mine while my abilities were just beginning to come about was slim to none. But then again I had progressed quickly, here I was with only three months of training yet I was probably up to level one. If I was perfectly honest with myself this both excited me and scared me. As I progressed in my abilities faster than anyone had I began to wonder why that was.
I mean the only reason I had managed to attain these powers was because of the Red-or was it Blue now-Marker that sent some kind of mental wave that unlocked the power and lent me access to its own dark energy field. I wasn't even 'natural' when it came to terms with my powers. I was an accident. Was this power increase going to burn my mind out? Will my body not be able to handle the stress of the energy and eventually just give out? Don't even get me started on the nanites that was swimming through my bloodstream, how would they fit into this? They made my body stronger than it could have ever become, but what was the price?
I shook my head. Having thoughts like those would drive me crazy, and they weren't helping me find my objective. I refocused on finding the bunker entrance. Then I noticed it: the earth didn't sound right. Normally when it walked over the dust and rock I was greeted with the muted thud of my boots hitting rock. What I heard this time was a solid clunk. I was very familiar with this sound, my boots made it every time I took a step back on the Ishimura. I looked down at my feet. It looked like dirt, but there was no doubt in my mind that I had just stepped on some particularly thick metal.
'Jason, come here, I think I found the entrance.'
'Where are you?' I pulled out my pistol and fired once in the air. 'You do know that's illegal right?'
I shrugged, more out of habit than anything else, 'Something tells me I don't have to worry about the cops.' Jason mentally sighed and said he would be there soon. About a minute later he was looking over the ground with his SV. After a moment he glance back at me and gave a quick nod. We'd found the enemy base entrance. Now we just needed to figure out how to open it.
"What are we looking at?" I asked.
"Based on my scans, it's the equivalent of a basement door, it has very little armor on it. Well, in relative to our weapons that is. It seems that they weren't expecting the base to be found. Even if it was it looks like they only compensated for standard raider weaponry." Jason tapped the side of his visor a few times. "Can't get much more of a reading than that. Some kind of energy field seems to be projecting two inches off the ground and around the entrance. I'm pretty sure that it isn't meant to block the suits systems, so it must be something else."
I knelt and placed a hand on the disguised entrance. I pulled my sword out, triggering it's cutting field as I did so.
"Let's see what is behind do number one!" I grunted as I forced the blade downwards, it felt like a hit a barrier just two inches away from the metal. But the resistance was only momentary and my blade continued on its path not a second later. Not wasting a second I began to cut into the metal. It wasn't as easy as cutting through the metal like I would have anticipated. When I used the blade to cut through a Super Mutant I felt resistance, like a knife through butter. When I cut through that slaver Eulogy the resistance was like that of a knife through water. I chalked this up to the difference in the bodies of the human and the Mutant. With this metal however it was like trying to cut through rock. It was most likely that the metal itself was much denser than those of the Mutant and human.
Still in a quick minute I cut a sizeable half corner off the metal, and using equal partsDark energyand muscle I bent the piece out of the way just enough that we could slip inside. But this also allowed the two of us to here the Klaxon going off from inside the bunker. We quickly descended down a ramp and were greeted to the sight of a six feet high and eight feet wide door. Well, door might not be the best word to describe it would probably be gate, what with the bulk of it and the two turrets hanging at either corner.
Speaking of which said turrets were staring the two of down, a low whine beginning to fill the air. In a quick movement I threw my arm up, like I would if I held a shield and a barrier of silver energy suddenly appeared in front of us. It was one of my better decisions as not a second after I did so both turrets fired a single round of pale blue energy at my makeshift field. I felt a pulse from the impact of the first round on my shield, as well as the shockwave that came when it shattered on contact. The round dispersed but the second followed right after and hit me dead center in the chest. Pain ripped itself upwards through my torso as I was launched onto my back.
Mark III Energy Pulse detected. I grunted slightly as I made out the words of the suit's computer. Recommend caution.
"No shit Sherlock." I growled as I pushed myself upwards. I glanced up to see Jason roll to his right. Firing off two shots at one of the turrets. Two loud thunks, and the mechanized gun's sudden jerk to the left, was the only evidence he had hit the thing.
'Anti-matter didn't do much.' Jason thought as he dodged an energy pulse. I grunted as I emptied a whole clip from my pistol into one of the turrets. Predictably the bullets that did manage to hit didn't even tickle it. I growled as I threw up a barrier stronger than the last, I prayed it would be strong enough as the turret fired an energy round right at me. The impact was just as heavy but instead of shattering outright the barrier it cracked like glass and then shattered. Not much, but it was still an improvement. I heard Jason fire his rifle three more times, and a series of thunks to follow.
'Think the MDB would work' I asked as I drew the blade.
'You have super strength, not super reach.'
'No but I can throw it.' I dove backwards, just avoiding the energy pulse that would have hit. I initiated a throw, jerking one of the turrets to the side, just as it finished charging, thus forcing it to shoot the wall
'You couldn't hit the side of a barn door with a gun, what makes you think you can hit a turret with a sword by throwing it?' I scoffed and coated the blade in DE, fingering the trigger and threw the blade like a javelin, using the energy to keep it on course. I smirked in victory when the blade impaled the turret at the base and the machine powered down. From my guess I'd managed to hit the thing's battery. I refocused on the remaining turret.
"Current stratagem – insufficient" I balked at the robotic voice, and I could feel Jason's dread on top of my own.
'Please don't be what I think it is.'
"Rapid pulse active."
"Oh hell no bitch!" Jason said, bringing his rifle to bear. He was just about to pull the trigger when several smaller globs of energy slammed into his chest. He yelled out in pain as he was knocked backwards onto his back, dropping his rifle in the process. Before I could make a move to help my friend the gun pointed its barrel at me. As I stood there I felt something, I felt… empty. Not like an emotional emptiness, but I literally felt empty, like there was this gaping hole somewhere in my being that demanded to be filled, then the gun fired. What happened next wasn't conscious thought, it wasn't reflex, it was instinct. I threw my arms up and crossed them over my chest, pulling at the feeling. Then a small field of energy came into being in front of me, but instead of the usual silver energy, what came into existence had no color whatsoever, it was transparent, looking through it was like looking through glass, and it was as thin as a sheet of paper. I began to dread the inevitable impact as the turret fired off a three energy blasts at me. I tensed as time seemed to slow and the pale blue bolts sailed to my inadequate protection. I cringed as the first of the three made contact, preparing for the inevitable impact. However to my shock the bolt seemed to be sucked into the energy, and then it was expelled out toward me in a stream of silver energy. Before I could express my shock the other two made contact only for a similar result to take place.
I blinked as the silver energy not unlike my dark energy. I looked back at the turret which had paused in its firing. After another second it began an all out barrage. Dozens of bolts hit the transparent energy, and not one of them made a difference. Soon the gun had stopped firing, presumably because it had finally gotten that what it was doing wasn't helping. I looked at the sea of silver that now circled me. Using my Drakyllen abilities I reached out to the energy and pulled. Almost instantly the energy rushed towards me. When the energy made contact I felt it enter me, my body absorbing it. In that moment the emptiness disappeared and I felt… great. Better than I had at any time in my whole life. I stood straight, feeling the maelstrom of power that now swirled inside me. I threw my hand out, firing a wave of dark energy at the turret. When it hit it obliterated the gun. I laughed heartily as I turned to Jason.
"What the hell was that?" he asked as he pushed himself up, careful not to agitate his injury. The suit however had already repaired the damage done to itself and was currently working on him if his face that slowly showed relief was anything to go by. I glanced down at my own chest to see the damage done was fixed and the nanites inside me had already fixed me up.
"I think I discovered a new ability. The ability to convert some form of energy into dark energy and absorb it, making myself more powerful" Jason gathered up his sniper rifle and replaced the clip.
"Think you're powerful enough to break down that door?" I shrugged, idly holding my hand out and focusing. My sword which had been lodged in the second turret was suddenly ripped out of its resting place and brought into my hand. I sheathed the blade and turned.
"Let's find out." I focused a chunk of the new energy into my hand, as the energy gathered I condensed it, attempting to make a powerful blast to break down the door. When I was satisfied I prepared to launch the blast forward, the feeling left me, and I felt a light impact in my hand. When I looked at it I found that in place of the dark energy that I had taken up there was a perfectly round silver crystal ball, about the size of a baseball. I blinked in surprise as I looked at the ball. I could turn dark energy into solid crystal? I sent a pulse of dark energy to the ball experimentally, and was greeted to an explosion of color from inside the crystal. Just then the large door began to open and we both tensed. When the door was fully opened we were greeted with half a dozen men in pitch black armor, an bright red outline of a sun in the center of their chest piece, all of them armed with assault rifles. Pointed right at us.
"Surrender! Put your hands above your heads NOW!" One of them yelled, a series of clicks signaled that they had taken the safeties off.
"What the hell is in his hand!" another yelled. Confused I looked down to see that the crystal was now a glowing beacon of silver light. I got the feeling something that something bad was about to happen so I threw the glowing ball at one of the soldiers with all my might. Like a bullet the ball sailed through the air and smashed into his head with a sickening crack that couldn't be anything but the sound of his skull cracking. Not a second later the crystal exploded outwards. There was no sound as the light ripped through the air, only the shockwave that washed over us, pushing Jason back a few feet but not doing much to myself. I turned my head quickly, so as to shield my eyes from the brightness of the blast, I could see Jason doing the same just a few feet away from me. When the light died down and we looked back, we saw the soldiers. Or at the very least what remained of them.
The ball had exploded like a grenade unleashing all the dark energy that had composed the crystal, the result was that it had disintegrated two of the closest due to how close they were to the blast, the others however were horribly burned and crushed beyond recognition.
"Dark energy grenade?" Jason asked. "Sweet." He stepped to and over the corpses of the soldiers. "Come on." He turned to me. "Let's save the kids and kick some ass." I smirked as power pulsated through my being.
"Gladly."
ΩΩΩ
(Gateway station
The Councilor stood unusually rigid, his face set in a perpetual scowl as he looked at the screen displaying Alex and Jason as they began to fight the enemy forces. Now he had a chance to finally study what they were up against. He immediately could tell that those they were fighting were little more than basic infantry, and where they were wasn't the main base. Too few guards. Then there was his other point of concern: Alex. He looked at the boy as he brought up a shield to block the rifle rounds directed at him before launching it forward. His abilities were progressing quickly. Too quickly. When he had gained his own abilities it had taken him years to gain an understanding of his abilities, he had gained his abilities when he was ten. Now here he was in his sixties, he only just gotten into his two talents. But Alex, only at sixteen (Technically), and he already had a certain kind of mastery over his gift that the Councilor himself, couldn't begin to hope he had at his age. Then his talents, He had already unlocked them, and if how easily he was creating marble sized crystal balls and using them as flash bangs.
"How is that possible?" The human turned to the star dragon behind him with a critical white eye. Daegor had chosen that he would watch the two and their progress today, as he apparently had no duties to fulfill. The dragon himself was shocked by the rapid increase in his students power. Even he who had taken to his Drakyllen abilities like a fish to water hadn't progressed this quickly.
"I don't know." The Councilor said as he turned back to the screen. His voice could have frozen a lake solid. It could be said that he hated being uniformed but it would have been a lie. He absolutely loathed being uninformed with every fiber of his being, he'd much rather gargle a mixture of oil and acid than be left in the dark about something. It should have been impossible for him to progress this far, he had been aware that the boy had made it through his training in leaps and bounds, but this… this couldn't be right.
"My friend." Daegor said slowly, "You found these two in the Alpha Vera Universe correct? Could this be a result of their nativity to it? Pushing the most obvious aside, I've never seen anyone adjust to the mental imprints so easily." The Councilor turned to the screen and with a swipe of his hand, replaced the image with that of what looked to be a cluster of stars, all of them connected by a network of ethereal lines. The image focused and zoomed on one of the stars, this continued until instead of a star it looked to be a collection of billions upon billions of galaxies.
"Daegor. Were you not there some Eight centuries ago when this universe was discovered, and have thus been with the Gatekeepers through the whole ordeal, we may have discovered other universes over that time but this one remains the very first discovered." The councilor turned fully to face the large alien being. "How is it that this universe has drawn so many to it?" he walked around the image trying to take in every detail he could.
Daegor nodded. "It is suspect. First to be discovered, then it produces a Drakyllen who has progressed with incredible speed, allowed the boys to grow accustomed to their mental imprints in record time, and now even you seem drawn to it." The councilor tensed ever so slightly for an instant before his body relaxed. But even so, the star dragon saw and took notice.
"You are not alone in that respect my friend. It has a pull that I cannot explain. We will have to watch and see how this plays out. For now at least." The Councilor grunted and turned back as the hologram switched back to the boys.
ΩΩΩ
(Alex, Bunker)
I dove to the side, avoiding a flurry of bullets and turned, throwing my hand out in an arc, sending out a shockwave. The blast knocking the soldiers off their feet and into the wall behind them. I assumed that I had knocked them unconscious from how they didn't get back up. Had to give these guys credit, they were about as dangerous as the average infantry unit in any RTS, but they were persistent. They had fought us for every inch of the bunker, and it had mostly been a losing battle for them, but they never gave up. Probably because they didn't have anywhere else to go if they failed. Three loud bangs echoed behind me, signaling that Jason had taken out three more. I looked over my shoulder and corrected myself. One of them just didn't want to die so it had taken three shots to finish him off. From the looks of it he had gotten lucky and the first two had been blocked by his armor, the third however he wasn't as lucky since the round had torn through his skull and painted his brain all along the wall. A quick inspection of the area showed that we had defeated the last of them, it was just as well, they were starting to get annoying. I turned forward, looking at the door in front of us. I charged a push and launched it at the obstruction. When the blast hit it severely bent the door out of shape, but it still held strong. I frowned, I could feel the power in me, but it had diminished, I had been using more power than I had originally thought. Still I should have enough for this. I charged one final push and fired it. I smirked in victory when it blasted the door out of place. The triumph however didn't last long as the emptiness that I had felt before hit me with all the force of a freight train. I doubled over, gasping for air as the feeling began to overwhelm me.
"Alex!" Jason yelled in alarm, I could hear him begin to take steps towards me but was stopped when a transparent dome enveloped me. The emptiness, it was overwhelming. I needed something to be rid of it. With that one thought the energy collapsed inward and slammed into me, bypassing my armor completely. I screamed in total agony as I felt every nerve in my body scream out in unison.
I grit my teeth as the pain continued to bore into me, but then I saw something rise out from my armor. A wisp of silver energy. It took me a second for my pain addled mind to comprehend what was happening, but when it came to me my blood turned to ice. The when I absorbed the dark energy initially it had blocked out the emptiness, but now that it was gone, I had subconsciously called on my new ability to convert more energy into dark energy. But as it seemed I couldn't just convert energy, I could convert matter as well. I had called on my ability to convert the nearest mass into dark energy, and that was me. I was converting my own mass into dark energy. Alarm ripped though me like a bullet. I focused, concentrated with all my might, ordering- no demanding the energy to stop. For a second the pain continued before the energy exploded outward and dissipated into nothingness. When the pain finally died down, I could feel the emptiness, not as strong as it was before, but it was there, like a serpent, lying in wait, for the perfect moment to strike. With some effort I pushed the feeling to the back of my mind. I couldn't focus on that now, I needed to focus on the mission.
"Dude what the hell was that?!" Jason exclaimed
I winced, "I'll tell you later." I could feel Jason's concern and annoyance flow through the link. "We need to get the brats. Come on." I pushed myself up and towards the door, not giving Jason the time to answer. His Annoyance grew but I could feel him reel it in.
"Fine but you better deliver." I gave a stiff nod and together we stepped in thought the door. In the room was dozens of video screens, each showing various things. A desk with a holographic interface at the far side of the room. Standing next to the desk was a man in buttoned up white lab coat, his hands and feet covered by black gloves and boots. His skin was pale, almost as white as his coat, his long hair pitch black, eyes cruel and yellow.
"About time you two got here." He said smoothly, "I had thought you were just going to stand out there and keep me waiting." I wretched slightly, His skin, hair, eyes and now voice, were all vividly familiar.
'Guy could pass as Orochimaru's long lost brother.'
"Ku ku ku ku." He laughed. "Such amusing thoughts Mr. Miles. I think I shall enjoy experimenting on you and Mr. Vickers. " My blood turned to liquid nitrogen. Jason's alarm smashed into my own like a car crash. Alexander Miles. Jason Vickers. Our names.
'How in the hell does he know our names!?' Jason screamed mentally. The man smirked.
"Oh come now my boy." He chided mockingly, "It should be quite obvious how I know your names." He tapped his head.
"Telepathy." I whispered. His mocking smirk grew.
"Very good." His tone was really starting to piss me off, but I bit back my anger. I had no idea how strong he was with his ability. "I suppose you may call me Orochimaru, as you have no need to know my name." a sadistic gleam flashed through his cruel yellow eyes. "I do hate to cut this conversation short but you have gotten too far." I didn't like the sound of that at all. I move for my sword but an invisible force slammed into me and I faded into unconsciousness.
ΩΩΩ
(Alex, Unknown Area)
Alex groaned as he sat upward. He opened his eyes taking in where he stood. He found himself in a strange jungle, trees bent and looped in strange patterns and shapes. The grass was a deep red, the tree trunks a deep purple, their leaves a soft pink, the sky was emerald green with navy blue clouds.
"Where the hell am I. And why do I feel like hitting Jason?"
ΩΩΩ
(Jason, Unknown Area)
Jason jumped up, landing roughly on his knees. He looked around frantically only to find himself in the desert. Except the sand was a dark brown, a dust devil some ways away was colored a bright orange, the sky was hot pink, and purple clouds soared overhead. The brown haired man scratched his head and spoke.
"Either I'm in some other universe, or high on some good LSD." He chuckled lightly but shivered right after. "Yep Alex wants to hit me." He sighed and dusted off his armored legs. "So where am I?"
ΩΩΩ
"I can answer that."
Alex &Jason spun around in their separate locations to see Orochimaru standing a ways ahead of them.
"This is your mind." The pale man said, smirking cruelly, "And I shall flay you alive!" He dashed forward with inhuman speed. The two readied themselves, this was a new kind of fight. One they couldn't afford to lose.
Holy Crap! Alex and Jason are in a new kind of fight with this Orochimaru look a like.
Can they defeat this new and dangerous enemy?
Lets find out.
Remember to review!
Arokhsteel has left the building.
