Chapter Nine

Ace Combat

Revvin' up your engine
Listen to her howlin' roar
Metal under tension
Beggin' you to touch and go
Highway to the Danger Zone
Ride into the Danger Zone

"Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins

As the morning stretched into afternoon, the clear sky above Philadelphia became overcast. It was an ominous sign to observers that the city was no longer a safe haven and the human resistance there had been wiped out. Looking back the way he had come with his friends, Cody felt a pang of regret knowing that he could have done something to save the innocent lives that were lost that day but he had been cowed into running by a woman who possessed so much power that she could wipe him out without batting an eye.

There was only one way to save humanity and that required him to use his power, but utilizing the abilities that he'd been gifted with would draw the enemy to him. Every time he used the light, more and more Demons were drawn to him followed by stronger creatures to include the powerful Champions. It was a paradox alright, but one that Cody was determined to overcome.

"Where do we go now?" Lily wondered, a worried look on her face. Her emotions were understandable as they had no supplies and no plan.

"The closest place holding out against the Demons is New York City, but last I heard they were under siege already. After that it's Miami or Dallas…" Matt offered helpfully. Cody simply shook his head, knowing that going to another human stronghold would only end in disaster.

"We need to stay away from people Matt. Big groups attract the Demons and I only make it worse…" His friend said nothing, but Cody could clearly tell that he wasn't happy. Matt was a fighter, he wanted to do something to help the world, but knowing that he couldn't as long as Cody was around hurt him. He wasn't going to say anything though, because he also knew that Cody could very well be the key to saving everyone.

"Come on, we still have a ways to go before we're out of the city," Cody prompted his friends, going from leaning against a building to standing up straight. Lily and Matt got to their feet and joined him, the trio walking carefully so as not to draw attention to themselves. They went two more blocks before Cody started to feel his chest constrict with dread. There were Demons very close to them, perhaps surrounding them by now but thankfully he didn't sense any of their masters.

"Matt, take Lily and keep going this way," Cody gestured straight ahead.

"What's up?" Matt asked.

"We're being followed…"

Cody peeled away from his friends and walked on the opposite side of the street, hoping that the Demons would come after him first which would buy Matt and Lily enough time to make a run for it. He concentrated briefly and sought out the source of his power, managing to easily find the light and draw a sliver of it inside of his body. Being careful not to draw too much power, lest he attract the Champion hunting him, Cody powered up slightly and with a flourish produced Excalibur.

The last time that he had used the weapon, Cody had reached new heights of power and decimated dozens, if not hundreds, of Demons in defense of Philly. He was confident that nothing short of the greater Demons like the Dragons or the Champions of Chaos themselves would pose a problem. After traveling for another block, he began to hear them. At first it was only the shuffle of feet or a piece of loose debris being kicked aside, but then the sounds of their grunting and heavy breathing reached his ears.

"Here they come!" Cody shouted to his friends, whipping Excalibur down and to the left cutting down an Orc as it came running out of a wrecked office building. He spun around to protect his backside just in time and parried an axe that surely would have split his head open like a watermelon being dropped from a great height. As he turned the attack away, Cody used his free hand the shove the creature away as it was already off balance. Surprisingly, the Orc dropped his weapon and clutched its face, roaring in agony as steam rose from where the teen's hand had been.

He observed this interesting development for a split second and then put the Demon out of its misery. Smoke washed over him from the destroyed Demon as another Orc leapt off the roof of a nearby hardware store attempting to flatten the young human who dared defy them. Cody raised his free hand without thinking and sent a lance of golden light into the airborne Orc, coring through the chest and out its backside. He sidestepped to get out of the way as the Demon landed heavily beside him and watched dispassionately as it dropped to its knees, fell face first into the ground and burst into smoke.

Cody looked around for his friends during the short reprieve and was relieved to see them unharmed and taking cover behind abandoned vehicles further up the street. Looking back around as he prepared to confront the Demons Cody froze as his brain tried to process what his eyes were seeing. Orcs, Trolls and creatures that he had never seen before were pouring into the street he was on from all sides, coming from side streets, down off rooftops and up from the sewer system.

"Cody get out of there!" Matt hollered. Not needing to be told twice he sprinted to his friends, closing the gap between them very quickly and then they all took off running. Cody powered up even more, throwing caution to the winds and was soon enveloped by the same golden aura that had appeared during his last battle. Even as he paused for a split second to send back several lances of light, Cody realized that it was a battle he could not win. For every Demon that went down from his attacks, two more seemed to take its place. All he could do now was run…

"What's that?" Lily yelled as they all heard something above and behind them. Before they could even begin to look around for the strange sound, a brilliant white light snapped on and illuminated the trio briefly before traveling backwards into the pursuing Demons. A backwash of air nearly knocked them over and the next thing he knew Cody was running right towards a military helicopter that was hovering just above multistory apartment complexes in that part of town.

There was a deafening roar as it unleashed a hail of bullets that ripped into the Demon lines, followed by the whooshing noises of rockets sailing overhead and impacting into the ground shredding several Orcs. Now Cody recognized the aircraft as he passed underneath it. Zack had been fond of playing military first person shooters and as he had often dragged his younger twin over to the couch to play with him in co-operative mode, Cody knew it was an Apache gunship that had come to their rescue.

The air shimmered in front of the helicopter as its chain guns sprayed a seemingly unending steam of bullets into the ranks of the Demons which were fast disappearing behind a veil of dark smoke.

"One mile ahead at the park there's airlifts out of here, move it or lose it!" An amplified voice said as the gunship ceased firing and began to rise into the air. It spun around and headed off in the direction that the trio were originally running in. They glanced at each other in agreement and bolted down the street.

Cody felt hopelessness wash over him as they neared the open park and watched several Black Hawks taking off, their rotors spinning with unbelievable speed and engines whining loudly as the aircraft broke away from the pull of gravity and leapt into the air. They all ran faster, desperate to reach their only ticket out of the doomed city. Heart pounding in his chest, sweat pouring off his forehead and breath coming in ragged gasps, Cody wasn't sure if he would make it in time. Matt and Lily were even worse off, they were equally as exhausted as he was, but they didn't have the power of the light to draw on to keep pushing themselves forward.

Then, as the last helicopters lifted off, four more landed behind them to load the last group of escapees. One of the crew chiefs spotted the three teenagers racing across the grass towards them and waved them over in a gesture that simply said 'hurry up!'. Cody slowed as the Black Hawk's rotors buffeted him with powerful gusts of wind and he ducked slightly as he approached, afraid of having his head lopped off by the spinning blades. He waited until Lily and Matt arrived, helped them into the aircraft before getting in himself and taking the last open seat which was rear facing. The crew chief hurriedly strapped the newcomers into the restraining harnesses, exited the bird, slammed the door shut and got back in behind Cody next to where another soldier manned a crew serve weapon.

The helicopter shook as the rotors sped up, spinning the blades faster and faster and the engines whined as they prepared to take off. Cody felt like his heart leapt into his throat as they suddenly jumped into the air, rapidly ascending and watched the ground below them fall away with stunning speed. Tilting forward slightly, the Black Hawk picked up speed and rapidly left the park behind.

"Everyone alright?" The crew chief yelled back to the passengers. There were several affirmative answers and words of gratitude yelled back in response. Cody relaxed into his seat, pretending that the vibrations of the helicopter were a gentle massage loosening his tight neck and back muscles. They would be safe for the time being, up in the air and speeding away from Philadelphia. He took a deep breath to calm his frayed nerves and closed his eyes, intending to get some rest.

A bright flash of orange light penetrated his eyelids and Cody awoke with a start, not having realized that he'd even fallen asleep, looking around for the source. He followed Matt and Lily's gaze as they gasped in surprise at what they saw. Beside and slightly behind their Black Hawk, another helicopter was on fire, black smoke pouring from its engines as it started to spin out and loose altitude.

Just as Cody started to wonder what had brought down the aircraft, he saw several shadowy shapes move forward to chase down another helicopter. There was no mistaking it now, Wraiths had found them and they were safe from the afternoon sun underneath the thick cloud cover they were flying through.

Before the Wraith's reached their next target, an Apache moved up from behind and engaged the Demons, firing dangerously close to the Black Hawk ahead of it. Unfortunately the gunship's bullets passed harmlessly through the Wraiths. Nothing but bright light could stop them. Unless they could rise above the cloud cover, or Cody could somehow get a clear shot, they were all doomed.

Not knowing what to do, Cody powered up, startling everyone around him as his golden aura surrounded him. He gazed through the window, wondering if it would block his energy attacks since technically light could pass through glass and plastic. He placed his palm against the window and gave it a try, watching with satisfaction as a lance of light reached out toward the soon to be doomed helicopter, curved slightly as it homed in on one of the Demons and obliterated it. The rest of the Wraith's scattered after seeing what had happened their companion and then turned for Cody's helicopter to try and put him out of commission. How could he stop them now?

Without conscious thought he extended his aura until it encompassed the entire aircraft. He felt the Black Hawk sway slightly as the pilots jerked the controls in surprise. Cody's split second decision paid off however as his barrier of light successfully repelled the corporeal Demons.

"CLIMB!!!" Cody screamed at the crew chief who had twisted around to stare at him in surprise, "LIGHT DESTROYS THEM. CLIMB!!!" The chief nodded, said something into his microphone and Cody was relieved when he felt them start to ascend through the clouds.

Breaking into the sunlight above the clouds, Cody realized that they had escaped one danger only to have it replaced by another for a pair of Dragons were closing in on them. He couldn't do anything about them and he doubted that the weapons onboard the helicopters would be able to put a dent in their thick scaly armored hides. The Apache that had saved Cody and his friends as they were running through the streets of Philly was engulfed by a plume of flame as the giant Demons caught up with them. He distantly heard the automatic weapons on their helicopter firing in vain.

Unexpectedly the Dragon who had destroyed the Apache was suddenly hit by something big enough to knock it backwards before exploding. Cody braced himself as concussive waves washed over them and watched in awe as it fell away, it's body torn in half by the two powerful explosions that had hit it. What the hell could do that to a Dragon?

Cody's unspoken question was answered as he saw a pair of white contrails race by overhead, created by the fighter jets that had just arrived to save the day. He watched them make a wide turn in the distance and come around for another pass to intercept the remaining dragon with another pair of missiles.

With the threat gone, Cody let his power drop away, not eager to give the Champions of Chaos or their Demons an easy way to follow him and relaxed his body once more. Maybe now they would be safe for awhile. He closed his eyes again to rest, somehow failing to see the shocked expressions of everyone around him sans Matt and Lily.

A/N: Cody and his friends are safely away from Philadelphia after a frantic battle against the airborne Demons. He's protected his friends and helped save countless lives by directing his power against the darkness that seeks to destroy the human race. Where will they go now and what is to become of the world? Better yet, now that the military has seen what this powerful young man can do, how will they handle him once they arrive at their destination?

Find out this and more in Chapter 10: Berserker

Stay tuned! Thanks for reading! =)