Hey guys! SATs are over, but I'm still missing some homework and my parents are ragging on me about it, so I still need to finish it. But you guys don't care about any of that, you're here for the story! (I hope...) Anyway, here's a new chapter for you to enjoy!
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Chapter 8: Repairs
I tried not to look down as whatever-the-hell-grabbed-me continued to carry me over the streets of the Lantern District, bits and pieces of my concrete shell crumbling off my body and falling to the ground. Eventually, I was held over what appeared to be a rooftop greenhouse - and dropped.
I fell approximately ten feet before smashing through the glass roof and hitting the ground, the impact smashing the rest of the concrete. Scrambling to my feet, I glanced around before noticing Delsin on an adjacent rooftop, also standing back up from his fall.
"Hey!" I called. "You alright?" Delsin glanced around for a few seconds before smiling.
"Ah, the Lantern District. Where we were going all along. Just took the scenic route." I couldn't help but grin at Delsin's antics; he always found a way to crack jokes at everything. I glanced around as well, my gaze eventually settling on a DUP base not far from where we were - and the Mobile Command Center inside it. I caught Delsin's attention, then motioned toward the base; he grinned and nodded before jumping off the roof, using his neon thrusters to slow his descent.
...
"Well, that was slightly harder than it should have been," I commented as I stepped over a fallen DUP agent, whose arms and legs were fused to the ground with brick as he struggled to escape.
"Yeah, Reg wasn't kidding when he said 'ramped-up DUP presence.'" Delsin replied as he absorbed the smoke of the now-destroyed Mobile Command Center, then turned his attention to any Core Shards nearby. I, meanwhile, glanced around at the people beginning to crowd around us, shouting our names and praise. I started to feel slightly self-conscious; I wasn't a fan of having a whole crowd focused on me.
Once Delsin was done with his little power-up session, we turned and began walking back out, Delsin occasionally Smoke Dashing just to show off to the crowd staring after us.
Then, Delsin's phone rang.
"Hey, uh, is this Delsin Rowe?" An unknown voice asked; whoever was talking didn't sound like he normally got out much, sounded way too shy.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"I take it you're Marshall Tern. I, I am just a huge, big fan of your work. Delsin, that tag you put on the Needle, 'the Yin-Yang conflict of avian desire,' right? And you, Marshall, with all those soldiers you'd catch and hang where everyone can see?" At this, Delsin glanced at me confused. I responded with a grin; I'd had to find some way to pass the time, so why not something that'd get me some practice? "See I get what you guys are doing, the whole 'give power to the powerless' thing, and I want to help."
"Okay, if you want to help you could always try and help us find one of the escaped conduits who might be here in the Lantern District."
"Oh... why do you want him? Or, her?" He added after a moment's hesitation. I was becoming skeptical of this guy real fast; he sounded like he was hiding something.
"I just want to shake his... or her... hand."
"Okay, well uh, I've heard the DUP's planning to take all the suspected Conduits they've rounded up and move 'em to this holding facility they built downtown. Convoy's supposed to come right through the Lantern District. Cutting across the I-90 overpass."
"Okay, you happen to know if any of these people have actual powers?"
"Oh, yeah yeah, totally. Absolutely. Yes." I narrowed my eyes; this sounded more like a trap than anything else, but I was willing to give it a shot.
"Huh... well, thanks... uh, I'm sorry man, what'd you say your name was?"
"It's uh, it's Eugene. It's a dorky name, I know."
"Hey, my mom got 'Delsin' off an old 'Western.'"
"My parents named me after a character in a book." I added, frowning and crossing my arms. "Always hated that thing..." The line went dead and we took off, heading for the overpass.
...
When we arrived underneath the thing, Delsin took one look at the supports before grinning. He called up Eugene again.
"Hey man, I'm thinking the best thing to do here is, somehow drop the road a little. Y'know, pull the rug out from underneath 'em."
"You could just blow it up?" Eugene suggested.
"No, can't take the chance it'll kill the Conduit I'm looking for. I think I'm just going to cut the supports and the trucks will make it drop a little. Bam! Instant road block."
"Okay!" Okay, now Eugene seemed psyched about this. "See, man this is why I'm such a huge fan! I wish I could be there to see it."
"Well, feel free to come out and watch; just try and keep a safe distance, alright?" I spoke up as I shot out a support.
"Right, right. Well uh, you know what, on second thought then I'm gonna, stay home. I'll let you know if I find anything more about the convoy, though."
Right about then, a DUP patrol decided it was a good time to show up.
...
I shot the last support down as Delsin pulled out his phone again.
"Hey Eugene, when's this convoy supposed to show up?"
"Ah, tonight, sometime? I mean, I don't really know for sure. Are you still at the overpass?"
"Yep, still here, just been making friends with the locals. Doesn't seem to be any traffic up top, man."
"Well yeah, 'cause the Dupes took it over, ah, closed it off to citizens. So, you finish with the supports?"
"Yep, all done. About to head topside and get ready to play a little game of Chicken with the Dupes."
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HOURS LATER
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Delsin played what looked like a more modern version of Space Invaders as I merely listened to music, both of us occasionally glancing down the road for any sign of the convoy. Eventually, though, we could see the headlights coming toward us. The moment they passed over the busted supports, however, the overpass gave way, the front of the convoy collapsing to the ground below. Delsin and I chuckled a bit as we surveyed the destruction.
"Suckers." Delsin quipped.
As soldiers began to pour from the wrecks and the rear of the convoy, Delsin put his phone on speaker.
"Hey Eugene, talk to me man. What am I looking for in this convoy?"
"I don't know. I mean, they're moving a lot of prisoners, so maybe look for some busses." A sudden explosion, however, caught our attention. "What was that?"
"I think those are helicopters; I don't think they can see us in the fog, though." I stated my thoughts as I punched another DUP agent, cracking his faceplate and sending him flying.
"C'mon, just hand over your prisoners and we'll call it a day, huh?" Delsin offered as he subdued two more agents blinded by a Sulfur Bomb.
We continued to fight our way through the convoy, subduing when we could; eventually, we came to several busses in the rear of the convoy, guarded by several dozen Dupes. I glanced at my friend.
"You take left, I take right?" Delsin shrugged.
"Sure, why not?"
...
Once the agents were taken care of, we moved toward the busses; Delsin had barely touched them before we heard a loud whirring. Delsin glanced up, his eyes widening; following his gaze, I could see why.
A DUP helicopter was spinning out of control - and heading right for us.
