So, since nobody seemed to think that the previous chapter was too violent, I will continue on with the style. Part inspiration: Avatar the Last Airbender, that one episode where they were in tunnels, but these animals were changing the paths were Earth bending. Don't forget, I still have that poll that needs voting. Now, onto the next chapter of War of Monsters…
Old Man had somehow managed to stay at the front of the group, even though he was the one with the cane. They were nearing the mountains, fog beginning to lift from the ground around them.
"You wouldn't happen to have anything I could eat, would you?" Old Man asked Edger.
Edger grumbled under his breath. He did not like the idea of trusting this old Lizard to lead them to the main capital. Edger tossed him half a ration bar, not really caring whether or not the old, half-blind Lizard caught it.
Surprisingly, Old Man caught it and quickly took a bite, just as quickly spitting it out on the ground. "Blech! You actually have to eat this? This can't be real food!" he said, handing the ration bar back to edger.
Edger didn't accept it, considering how it was already bitten and covered in saliva. "No thanks," he grumbled, ignoring Old Man's outstretched hand.
Suddenly, Old Man froze and sniffed the air. The rest of the group stopped along with him, their tracks pausing on the dry leaves below them.
"What? What's going on?" Kiki asked, reaching for her lightsaber. She scanned the area, not sensing any immediate danger.
Old Man's pupils narrowed to thin slits in his bright yellow eyes. Without warning, he dropped his cane and dashed off into the bushes, mush like the way a full-grown Lizard would dash to catch it's prey—on all fours.
Everyone completely froze. None of them expected Old Man to be able to move so quickly, especially considering he was always complaining about his arthritis.
Old Man's head popped up through the bushes a split second later, what appeared to be a large weasel in his mouth. In swift one move, he broke its neck and swallowed it whole, its tail disappearing down his throat.
"Well, I'm not hungry anymore!" he said cheerily, hobbling back through the bushes to retrieve his cane.
The entire group was still frozen as Old Man bent over to pick up his cane. The last thing they thought they would see was the Old Lizard moving as fast as lightning and attacking an animal in the bushes.
Note to self, Edger thought, still watching Old Man, do not piss off the old Lizard.
Kiki felt like she had underestimated their prisoner as she put her lightsaber back on her belt. She raised an eyebrow at him, but didn't say anything.
The trek to the mountain was long, but they eventually made it sooner than they had anticipated. The entire time, Old Man seemed on edge, warily glancing left and right as he hobbled.
They soon arrived at the mountain entrance. The cavernous entrance loomed before them, the light not penetrating very far into the gaping chasm. "Well I guess we go in now," Nirisa said, taking a step toward the cave.
Old Man remained completely still, his eyes focused on something hidden within the bushes. His small body was completely taut, his eyes narrowed at the foliage just to their right.
"What's wrong?" Anakin said quietly.
A deep, low growl emitted from Old Man's throat, his snake-like tongue flicking out through his teeth.
Just as quickly as it happened, the moment passed. "We won't get anywhere just standing around, now will we?" he asked jovially, moving toward the tunnel entrance faster than Anakin thought possible—or necessary.
Old Man was hiding something from them, Anakin could sense it, but he didn't know what.
The group entered the tunnel, and immediately felt the temperature spike. "Whoa, it is hot in here!" commented Marik, setting the temperature controls in his helmet to cool himself down.
"Don't worry," Old Man said. "That's just because of the lava flowing in rivers below our feet."
"Lava?" Ratchet asked, stopping in his tracks.
"Well, it is a volcano, after all," Old Man said, giving Marik a look over his shoulder.
"There is no lava," Kiki said, rolling her eyes. "We're reaching the center, and wind doesn't normally travel through here, that's why it's so warm."
Their group stopped when they suddenly reached a dead end. A wall of rubble blacked them in their path. "Uh-oh," Old Man muttered under his breath.
"Dead end," Anakin said. He immediately spun on the old Lizard. "This is a dead end! Where exactly are you trying to lead us, Old Man?" Anakin activated his lightsaber and held it up to Old Man's throat.
"You need to watch where you swing that thing, sonny. You could hurt somebody," Old Man said, masking his threat under a smile.
Anakin deactivated his lightsaber, but glared in Old Man's direction.
"I wouldn't mislead you. What kind of 'thank you' is that for not killing me?" said Old Man, the slightest hint of annoyance in his words. He hobbled forward, placing his hand on one of the large boulders that blocked the path. "We'll have to take a different way."
"What other way is there?" Nirisa asked, looking about the darkened cave.
"There is a small passage to your left. It is a little round about, but it will get us through the mountain." Old Man walked over to a narrower passageway, his cane making a tap-tap noise that echoed through the room.
In order to follow him, the small group of clones and Jedi had to go through the passage single-file. "I don't like this at all," Ratchet said, already beginning to feel twitchy and fidgety.
"Easy Ratchet," Kiki said, looking over her shoulder to check on him. "Just stay calm. We'll be out of this soon."
Rex used his 360 camera to view Ratchet. He was confused; claustrophobia was a fear the Kaminoans made sure to take out of their DNA when they were cloning them. Why Ratchet was starting to get fidgety made no sense to Rex. He re-focused his camera, making a mental note to keep an eye on him.
Old Man exited through the other side of the small passage way, calling back to the rest of the group. "We've gotten much closer now," he said, once everyone had exited. "We just have to—" he cut himself off, a growl coming from his throat again—this one louder than before. His eyes were trained on the wall of rock surrounding them.
"Okay, what is going on?" Nirisa demanded. The sound of a rock falling rang through the room.
"Everyone through the next tunnel!" Old Man yelled, dropping to all fours again and moving swiftly to the next entrance.
Rocks crashed around the small group, breaking and smashing on the ground. While the Jedi were quickly and agilely jumping out of the way, the clones were having more trouble.
"Gah!" Edger yelled, narrowly avoiding a boulder. It seemed like the entire mountain was coming down on top of them.
A wall of rock piled up, separating one half of the group from the other. Everything was deathly silent as dust settled around one half of the group. "Is everyone all right?" Nirisa said, standing up and dusting herself off. She looked around to see if there were any injured men.
"We're fine, General," Marik said, helping up some of the others.
"Can you hear me?" Nirisa yelled through the wall of rock.
"Yes, no need to yell," Kiki said from the other side. She looked around her, counting how many clones she had with her. Not including Anakin and Old Man, there were seven. "How many men do you have?"
"I have six," Nirisa said, not liking the looks of things.
"We have to keep moving. They know we're here," Old Man said, hobbling to the wall and placing a bony hand upon it.
"What do you mean 'they'?" Anakin asked, walking up to Old Man.
"The rest of my clan has been following us through the tunnels. That was exactly why I suggested we go through the mountain instead of around it—"
"Wait, you knew that we were being followed, but didn't say anything?" Kiki yelled. "I knew we should have killed you the moment we saw you!"
"Now, no need to jump to conclusions," Old Man said. "I never said that they were tailing us accurately through the tunnels. I took too many turns for them to follow."
"Then what are we supposed to do now?" Anakin demanded. "We have half our team on the other side of this wall, and we can barely complete the mission as it is!"
"We'll just have to make sure they don't keep trying to change the paths, and we'll be fine," said Old Man.
"Changing the paths?" Kiki gave Old Man a venomous glare.
"Of all the dead ends we've hit, none of them were natural. They were openings covered with piles of rock." Old Man seemed to be sensing something again; a growl was growing in his throat.
"We'll be fine General Skywalker!" Rex said from the other side of the rubble.
"Yeah, we'll head back the way we came and find another route!" Nirisa said, moving beside Rex.
Before Kiki or Anakin could say anything, they heard footsteps begin to walk away from the rock wall. "This is just great," Kiki muttered under her breath.
"Generals, I suggest we continue through the tunnels," Bliz said, pointing to a large opening to their left. "I'm sure the second group will find their way through, this is a relatively small mountain."
"You're right, Bliz," Kiki said, motioning to the second opening. "Let's go, men!"
A few hours later, Group A (consisting of Kiki, Anakin, Old Man, Bliz, Ratchet, Jax, and a few men from the 501st) moved through the winding paths of the mountain tunnels. The deeper they got into the mountain, the warmer the air turned, until Anakin had sweat stinging his eyes.
"I think we're almost out," Kiki said, wiping an arm across her brow.
The deeper in they got, the more Anakin was starting to sense in the Force. Something was following them, and he only hoped that they would be able to make it out of the mountain before it caught up to them.
Meanwhile, Group B (consisting of Nirisa, Rex, Marik, Cord, and Edger) wove their way carefully through the dark tunnels. They had been keeping in contact with Group A ever since they split up, making sure that neither band got lost.
"Sir, I think something's following us," Marik said, not liking the chill that was rolling down his spine.
"What makes you think that?" One of the other troopers asked. Marik didn't fail to notice the almost cynical tone in his voice. His clumsiness tended to bring out that tone in others.
"I dunno…" he said, faltering slightly. "I just…feel it. There is definitely something following us, General." Marik paused to swivel around and aim his DC-15 blaster into the darkness behind them, the lights from his headlamps bouncing off of the various stalagmites and stalactites.
"I agree with Marik on that one," Edger said, walking up beside Marik.
The trooper who had questioned Marik turned around, shooting both Edger and Marik a condescending look. Just to prove his point, he scanned to black tunnels behind them. "There's nothing there," he said, his voice annoyed.
Nirisa felt exactly what Marik and Edger felt. They were being followed. "Just stay alert, men," she said, continuing forward with a slightly hurrying pace.
"What was that?" Marik said, whipping around again. His heartbeat starting speeding up as adrenaline flooded his system. Something just felt off, and it was a feeling that unnerved Marik.
"Probably just your imagination," the same clone said.
"Wait!" Nirisa stood stock still, holding up a fist to halt her men.
The noise that Marik had heard echoed through the dark tunnels; a low hissing noise bouncing off of the walls.
One of Nirisa's men yelled as he was pounced upon by a large, dark figure, his armor making dull thudding noises when he was slammed into the ground.
Nirisa activated her lightsaber as more Kirzmin Lizards flooded both ends of the tunnel they were in. She struck down the Lizard before it could cause any harm to the clone it was on top of.
Marik fired at almost anything that moved, trying hard to protect himself and his brothers around him. I knew this would happen! I knew it! Marik thought angrily. Why can't they ever take me seriously?! He fired until the approaching Lizard fell at his feet, smoke tainting the air in the dank passageway.
Kiki's wrist comm. beeped, halting her movements. "Kiki!" Nirisa's voice rang out over the crackly transmission. "Kiki, we're under attack! The Lizards have followed us through the tunnels. We're surrounded!"
"Nirisa! Where are you?! Can you here us?" Kiki spoke frantically into her wrist.
"Position—" Nirisa's voice suddenly cut off.
"Nirisa!" Kiki whirled on the men behind her. "We have to go—"
"Kiki, you know we can't," Anakin said promptly cutting her off. "We don't know where they are, and—"
"We have to try, Anakin! I'm not just going to—"
"Sir, we have bigger problems on our hands!" Bliz said, aiming down the dark tunnel way.
Kirzmin Lizards were racing towards them, hissing and snarling loudly. When the clones turned their head lamps, the Lizards faltered for a moment, not used to the sudden brightness that the lights provided.
The clones took this opportunity to start firing at the momentarily disabled Lizards. Kiki leaped into the path of a Lizard who was trying to down an occupied clone trooper. Her lightsaber hissed and burned through the Lizard, causing the acrid smell of smoke to begin clouding the air.
Nirisa counted the number of Lizards coming towards them while she struck them down. The number remained steady, but soon she could see that it started dropping. Her men were beginning to get tired, having fought non-stop for so long. Nirisa let the Force begin to flow through her, calling upon it for strength. In one move, she rose the Lizards up into the air, and forced them back against the wall, effectively knocking them unconscious. Nirisa paused, trying to catch her breath.
"Thanks General," Marik said, walking towards her.
"How many men do we have?" Nirisa asked, looked about herself.
"We haven't lost anybody, sir," Marik said, the relieved smile evident in his voice. He helped up a fallen trooper.
"Good," Nirisa said, genuinely relieved.
Kiki struck down the last Lizard, chest heaving and sweat stinging her eyes. She looked around her, scanning the tunnel ways. "Where's Old Man?" she demanded, her voice a little sharp.
"Right here!" he grunted, pushing a dead Kirzmin Lizard off of his tail. "Well, that was certainly unexpected," he said, his voice barely containing any humor. "We don't have much farther to the exit, I can feel the breeze." He sighed and closed his eyes, hands resting on his knobby cane.
"Kiki? Are you there, Kiki?" Nirisa's voice cut into their conversation.
"Nirisa! Are you alright? Where are you?" Kiki held her wrist up to her mouth.
"I'm fine, and we didn't lose any men, thank goodness," Nirisa said, relief flooding her voice. "We're almost out, how far are you?"
"We're on our way, the air is getting cooler," Anakin said.
Nirisa smiled, already continuing her trek with her men. "Good. Maybe we can finish this battle soon." Around a corner, she could see pale light coming through an opening. Just before she could take another step, the Force slammed into her with a warning, assaulting her mind with image after image. She could see nothing but darkness, but she could feel the pain of so many people, not all of whom were military. Screaming and cries of agony overtook her senses, constricting her breathing. The pain she was feeling was almost unbearable. The horrible images began to focus into one scene. Nirisa was being held by Kiki, chaos completely surrounding them. Men were dying, and the Lizards seemed to come in an endless flow, slaughtering anything in sight, but Kiki and Nirisa remained still, frozen in their own time. The images jumped forward to a different time. Kiki holding two lightsabers in her hand, and striking down the Lizards around her—but it wasn't in self-defense. Nirisa felt the pure anger, hatred, and darkness coming from Kiki through the Force, so much it was almost suffocating. Kiki would strike down any Lizard that was moving—whether it was armed or not, they would die.
She was letting her emotions control her actions.
Nirisa gasped and came back to reality, hands and knees braced on the ground. She struggled to catch her breath as the memory of the images swam in her head.
"General, are you alright?" Cord said, instantly by Nirisa's side. With his helmet, he checked Nirisa's vital signs.
"I'm…I'm alright, thank you, Cord," Nirisa answered, still trying to control her breathing. She shuddered, and stood shakily to her legs. The vision she had just seen meant something, but she was too disoriented to make anything out. Goosebumps arose on Nirisa's arms as she rounded the corner, the sense of foreboding still weighing on her senses.
Way over-due, I know! The next chapter is most likely going to be the second to last chapter-flashback, and then we'll get back to present-day problems. Please tell me of any problems I may have with spelling/grammar. The poll will most likely come down at the end of the month, since some of the choices are tied.
Kiki has a special Force ability simply known as empathy—but hyper-sensitive. She could feel people's emotions and almost hear their thoughts without her wanting to. She can also predict what someone's next move would be, but this Force-ability has made it extremely hard for her to concentrate on one thing/task, so she has a very short attention span. Nirisa also has a special Force ability, which is known as precognition or, when she's sleeping, precognitive dreams. I guess every Jedi could do that, but hers are in HD, with surround-sound ;p Put together, these two would make a valuable and deadly team. Until next time!
~AAx