Chapter 9: Battle to Toledo
Emmet found himself in a valley, the sides metallic. To his left was a man with brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. He had claw-like gauntlets for weapons. On Emmet's right was a blond mustached guy wearing a red bandana, wielding a large rifle shaped like a cleaver.
"You ready to go Dunban?" The blond asked. Emmet was confused. His name wasn't Dunban. He looked down to see a red blade in his hand, blue etched along the side. A smile crept onto his face. The blade gave a faint blue glow as a beam of light extended from the sword.
"With the Monado in hand," he said, his voice deeper and wiser sounding than usual, "we can stop the Mechon assault right here. Mumkhar, Dickson, together, we fight!" The Monado glowed purple briefly, a wave spreading from from it. His allies were surrounded by a purple aura as they all charged.
Dickson shot at the Mechon as Emmet and Mumkhar swung at them with the Monado and claws respectively. The three of the took down Mechon left and right as more and more charged at them. As Dickson shot, Emmet realized the shots were exploding on the Mechon in a small burst of red, instead of simply piercing them. Before long, a pile of Mechon parts and scrap were under Emmet's feet. A pain shot into his body, forcing him to his knees. Then everything went black.
Emmet woke up to find a large metallic claw coming down on him. Frozen in place, he watched as his death approached, thinking his quest was over. As the three pronged claw closed in, he heard a grunt and light filled his eyes. He saw Ron with his bizarre weapon stabbing at the Mechon that tried to kill him.
"C'mon Emmet," Ron shouted. "We gotta help the others." He motioned at a sword laying in the grass. Emmet stumbled to his feet and picked up the sword. Looking around, he saw Ron rushing to a small swarm of Mechon. He charged at the swarm, slicing the backsides of the evil robots as Ron stabbed with his bizarre weapon.
Within minutes, the Mechon were reduced to scrap. Annabeth and Sheldon were laying unconscious. Ron went in, slinging the two over his free shoulder.
"We need to get out of here." Ron sounded distressed. Emmet nodded and the two ran to the horizon, closing the distance from a city. It was a long run, and well after nightfall, they made it through the Toledo borders, and stopped to rest under a highway.
"We're not getting anywhere fast," Emmet whined. He realized they didn't have any of their stuff, and groaned in distaste.
"These Mechon are really getting on my nerves," Ron complained. "What are the chances of getting plane tickets now?"
"None with these two knocked out. We just gotta wait for them to wake up." Emmet looked up into the sky, annoyed with his luck. In the few days they've been on their quest, it's been either sitting around or almost getting killed. And they were only a few states from where they started.
Footsteps echoed under the overpass, and Emmet turned to see their visitor. It was a scraggly looking man, with disheveled grey hair, and a sunken look in his eyes. His clothes were in tatters, holes in the shirt and jeans.
"Hey," Ron called out, "What brings you 'ere?"
"Oh just, wandering the reality of the world," the ragged man replied. "Most people don't realized that this is how the world once was and still is." He looked at Emmet. "But you know exactly what I mean about that." A chill went down the demigod's spine.
"Who exactly are you?" He asked, suspicion growing in his head.
"Not important. Point is, you have a couple of friends that are out cold, and you're trying to get somewhere important, right?" The boys nodded as the old man looked around. "Well, I can help you out. Besides, there're unnatural things at work. You four need to complete your mission." The greyed man fished into his jeans pocket before pulling out a pure black card. "Two miles west is a parking garage where a vehicle is sitting."
"Hold up." Ron interrupted. "How do you have a car, when you look so homeless?" The man laughed.
"I forgot," he replied, chuckling. "You're just a mortal. Either way, drive the vehicle as far as you need to go. I can't promise it'll take you to your destination, but it'll save you time. Good luck." He dropped the card, letting it bounce before disappearing into thin air.
