Chapter 10:
Strength of Will
The others had left, leaving Kayla and Lani alone in HQ. Lani remained on the cold metal floor with her hand clasped over her neck watching the flashing lights of the computers. Kayla stood over her in silence.
"You gonna stay down there forever?" Kayla finally asked. "These things aren't going to kill themselves you know."
"I don't think I can help you finish this." Lani said. "It's too much of a risk. The Dark Makers have the power to control me so they the advantage in this…And I don't know how to stop it."
"You don't seem like the kind of person to go down that easily." Kayla said. "Especially in situations like this."
"I know, but what if they make me—"
"Are you going to let some alien force take over you?" Kayla asked.
"No…but—"
"So get your ass off the floor and help me take down some Dark Makers."
Kayla said holding out Lani's gun.
Kayla and Lani entered Haven Forest. Everything seemed in order; green leaves floating down to the soft grass below, the clear water flowing steadily down to the newly formed lake in the center of the forest where the Astro-Viewer Jak had used previously was located. But it was a little too quiet for their liking.
"Why are we coming here again?" Kayla asked.
"I want to take a look at that telescope." Lani said. "Maybe if we get a good look at the ship, we can find a weak spot in its defenses—"
Lani was cut short as the girls realized they were not alone. Scattered among the trees were strange black creatures, taking to the air as well as the ground. They looked almost crystalline in structure, the land walkers with large spikes protruding from their shoulders. Bolts of Dark Eco energy radiated from their bodies. The bird-like creatures hovered above, oblivious to their arrival.
"Those must be the Dark Makers…" Kayla said as they hid behind a group of trees. "Should we just attack them head on or try and sneak past them?"
"Normally I'd say take them head on, but we don't know how strong these things are." Lani said. "Today, we are ninja and shall use the trees to our advantage."
They parted with their trees and moved forward, ducking down behind nature as they went along. They were halfway to the Viewer when a small vibrationtraveled up Lani's neck from where the mechanism had been planted.
"Kayla, wait." Lani whispered putting her hand to her neck once again.
"Why, what's wrong?" Kayla asked. Lani peered out from behind a tree towards the Dark Makers. They began to move around more than they had been when the girls entered the forest. She knew they were looking for something.
"They know we're here." Lani said. "Sorry, but this stupid device is giving away our—"
Kayla quickly pulled out her gun and fired, the airborne Dark Maker soon exploding into tiny black crystal-like fragments. They rained down on Lani, glittering with hints of purple in the sunlight that broke through the canopy. The other creatures turned to their location.
"I guess we're taking them head on." Lani sighed. She retrieved her own gun and the bullets went flying.
The Dark Makers had their own built in weapons, sending bomb-like attacks right back at the girls. They abandoned their hiding spots and ran out into the open, sending shells in every direction. Unfortunately, the land walking creatures casted tough shields, forcing Kayla and Lani to part with a little extra ammo. But that wasn't enough to stop them.
One by one the Dark Makers fell, allowing Lani and Kayla to get closer to the Astro-Viewer. They were only a few feet away from the lake as they stared down the last few Dark Makers. Kayla shot furiously as the Dark Maker's shield began to weaken, finally shattering like glass.
The shards flew in every direction, the largest piece lodging itself in Kayla's thigh. It knocked her off balance, and she fell backwards into another Dark Maker. She elbowed it in its middle and it fell towards the water below. The Dark Maker grabbed a hold of Kayla's arm and brought her down with it.
They hit the bottom, disturbing the sand. It drifted up towards the surface as Kayla fought off the Dark creature. She finally managed to knock it out, its unconscious body floating to the top. She turned her attention to her leg as the clear liquid turned to red. Kayla struggled to remove the broken shield.
She freed the shard and pushed herself up off the lake bottom, but she was out of air. Her fight with the Dark Maker forced too much water into her lungs. Kayla was only a few yards away from the surface when the water began to turn black around her. Unable to swim on, she fell unconscious and sank back to the bottom.
Choking, Kayla rolled onto her stomach and coughed up water. She found herself soaking wet and opened her eyes to see large metal objects soaring through the air around her. Panicking, she quickly sat up, nearly falling off the platform on which she lay. Looking down, she saw smaller platforms leading down to body of water.
"Relax Kayla." Came Lani's voice. "You don't want to fall off this thing do you?"
Kayla looked up to see Lani standing next to the large Precursor telescope. The recent events flooded back into her mind and she looked down towards her leg. There was a large tear in her pants, but the gash was gone.
"My wound…" Kayla said to herself.
"I healed it with my Light Eco." Lani said running her hand across the machine.
"Thanks." Kayla said. She stood up and walked over to the 'scope, peering through the lens as Lani analyzed the mechanism as a whole.
"What do you see?" Lani asked. Kayla was quiet for a moment, scanning the heavens.
"I found it…" Kayla finally said. "Ugly piece of machinery if you ask me…"
She stepped aside and let Lani take a look. She saw a black, bug-like space ship with many tentacle structures swaying freely floating not far from the planet's atmosphere.
"I don't see anything that could potentially be a weak spot." Lani said. "Maybe if we somehow hit it in the—"
A bright white light began to shine through the scope, blinding Lani momentarily.
"What is that?" Kayla asked.
"I don't know." Lani replied as her eyes readjusted. "But it's reacting with the device Errol put in me. They're…talking to me…I can hear them…in my head…"
Lani trailed off and remained motionless as she stared vacantly into the light.
"Lani?" Kayla called to her worriedly. "Are you alright? Lani, can you hear me?"
But there was no reply. It was as if the telescope had extracted her soul, leaving nothing more than an empty shell.
"No way…"
Kayla looked around in search of the sudden voice, but saw no one. She turned back to Lani, but she was lifeless.
"Kayla…are you there?"
The voice was coming from the telescope itself. Kayla walked over to it.
"Lani…?"
"You'll never believe this!" came Lani's voice from the Astro-viewer. Kayla jumped back a bit.
"Lani?" she asked. "Where are you?"
"I think…I'm on the Dark Maker's ship…"
"How is that possible?" Kayla asked. "You're body is still here with me!"
Lani looked down at herself, but instead of seeing her normal body, she found herself within an alien suit of armor. She raised what ordinarily would have her arm and the robot raised the same arm.
"This is…amazing." Lani said. "It seems as if that piece of equipment in my body is allowing my mind to sync with the computer of one of the Dark Maker's robots."
"I bet you can use that to make your way to the control room and destroy their shields." Kayla suggested.
"Sounds like a plan." Lani's voice said. "I'll let you know when it's done."
Kayla dangled her feet over the ledge of the platform and stared down into the water below. Nearly ten minutes had gone by and still no word from Lani. She began to wonder if the Dark Makers caught her or cut the connection, trapping her spirit on board their ship forever. Even so, there was nothing she could do. She sighed deeply.
"Got it."
Startled, Kayla turned back to the telescope. Lani's enchanted body soon came back to life. She turned and smiled at Kayla.
"Their shields are down." Lani said. "Now all we have to do is find something that will hit them hard—ugh…"
She clutched her neck, the strange sensation caused by the device starting up again as she fell to her knees.
"No, not again!" Kayla said running to her side. Lani pushed Kayla back forcefully, knocking her to the ground. Lani's nails grew out into claws and long horns formed as bolts of Dark and Light Eco energy surged from her body. It was taking over her again.
"You little Eco freak, how dare you destroy those shields!" Lani yelled as the communicator began connecting to her brain. "Screw you Errol, get out of my head!"
Kayla could do nothing but watch as Lani had an internal battle with her Eco and the Dark Maker technology planted inside of her. She resisted as much as she could.
"You think you can get rid of us that easily?" Errol asked through her. "Well you're wrong Lani. I'll show you what happens to anyone who stands in my way!"
It was like a surge of electricity pulsed up Lani's spine straight to her brain, cutting off connections to the rest of her body. She fell face down onto the platform, the metal ringing upon impact. It was quiet.
Kayla didn't move a muscle, unsure of what was to come next. She wanted to make sure Lani was ok, since it was hard to tell from this distance, but at the same time she was afraid to go near in case Lani would awake in a rage and lunge out at her. Hesitantly, Kayla crawled over to her.
"Lani…?" she called in a shaky voice. She poked Lani in the side, hoping to get some kind of reaction but nothing happened. She placed her fingers to her neck and felt a steady pulse. At least she knew Lani was still alive. Kayla started to shake her. "Lani this isn't funny, get up. Shit…"
Kayla stood up and pulled out the communicator Jak had given to her.
"Jak?" Kayla said into it. "This is Kayla can you hear me?"
There was static for a moment before Jak's voice came through.
"Yeah, what's up?" he asked.
"I have some good and bad news." Kayla went on. "Good news is, we got the Dark Maker ship's shield down."
"That's great!" Jak said. "I've been told that the planet has a defense system below the surface. If we can reach it and activate the defenses, we can get rid of them for good. How did you manage to turn the shields off?"
"That's kind of the bad news…" Kayla said. "The ship transferred Lani's mind or something onto their ship through the telescope thing in the forest."
Lani slowly pushed herself up with her arms and looked around. Kayla stood before her but her back was to Lani. A wide grin spread across Lani's face as she laughed to herself. Quietly, she forced herself to her feet, her white eyes never wandering away from Kayla.
"Kill her…" Lani whispered,Errol's commands escaping from her mouth.
"She used their weapons against them and got it down." Kayla told Jak. "But when she came back to her real self, Errol took over her again…I don't know what he did this time but she won't get up. She's completely unresponsive and—"
Kayla was tackled to the ground and the communicator escaped from her hands and slid across the platform just barely on the edge.
"Kayla, are you there?" Jak asked.
Kayla freed one of her pinned arms and thrust it back. Lani yelled out in pain as Kayla's elbow came into contact with her eye and she released her grip. Lani covered her eye with her hand, giving Kayla enough time to rise to her feet.
"What's going on?" Jak asked hearing the commotion through the communicator. "Is everything alright?"
"I'll get back to you later Jak." Kayla said. "There's something I need to take care of."
The communicator returned to static as Jak disconnected from his end. Kayla faced Lani ready to fight. Lani showed her white fangs in a big smile, the Eco yin yang on her forehead in perfect harmony.
"What fun." Errol transmitted through Lani. "Watching friends battling it out is always entertaining. I wonder who will come out victorious?"
"Shut up Errol." Kayla said. "Next time I see your ugly face I'll make sure it's the last."
"We'll see about that." Errol said.
Taking complete control over Lani's body he forced her to charge at Kayla with her claws extended. She slashed at Kayla who quickly stepped aside. Lani came to a sliding halt as she found herself standing on the edge of the platform. Kayla pulled out her gun and fired a few rounds but Lani used her Light Eco to form a mini shield in each hand, deflecting the bullets with ease. Her shields disappeared and before the bullets could hit the ground, they stopped in midair. Kayla watched as they hovered just inches above the platform before rising back up. The bullets floated just above the palms of Lani's hands. Lani looked down at the bullets swirling before her curiously before looking back at Kayla and smirked. Holding out her hands, Lani sent the bullets flying back at Kayla. She shielded herself with her arms as the bullets cut across her. When they finally stopped, Kayla dropped her arms to see Lani charging at her again, but she was too slow this time. Lani lunged on top of her, knocking Kayla to the ground and wrapped her hands around Kayla's throat. Upon impact with the ground, Kayla rolled back and used her feet to push Lani off of her. Lani's grip slipped from Kayla's throat and her claws cut across the sides of her neck as she flipped over in the air and plunged down into the water below.
Kayla peeked over the edge of the platform into the clear blue water and watched as Lani came up for air. Lani looked back as she held herself afloat in the water with a smirk across her face. Knowing Lani wasn't in control, Kayla couldn't help wondering what was going through Errol's mind at that moment.
Her feet suddenly rose from the ground with the rest of her body following shortly after. Kayla looked around in panic as she hovered in the air. Remembering what happened with the bullets, she realized Lani's Eco was responsible. Before she knew it, she found herself zooming through the air across the forest. Lani directed Kayla's path of travel. Kayla could do nothing but shield herself with her arms as she entered the canopy, branches and leaves smacking her along the way.
Her trip came to a painful halt as she hit the tree trunk and plummeted down, hitting thick branches along the way. She finally hit the ground and the broken branches and leaves piled on top of her.
Lani pulled herself out of the water and onto dry land. Kayla pushed the debris off of herself as Lani approached.
"What a shame." Errol said through Lani. "I was hoping this fight would be a little more…exciting."
"Sorry to disappoint you Errol." Kayla said rising to her feet. "But I don't plan on giving you what you want."
"Fine then." He said. "I'll force it out of you."
A small ball of blue energy formed in the palm of Lani's hand. It expanded and began emitting electricity, turning a light purple in color. She pulled back then thrust her arm towards Kayla. Luckily she dodged in time and Lani's hand slammed into the tree trunk. The electric current surged up the trunk of the tree, causing it to explode into millions of wooden pieces. She continued her attack as the tree fragments showered down on them.
Lani thrust her electric attack at Kayla who narrowly escaped each blow. As another came towards her face, Kayla dropped to the ground, Lani's hand making contact with the boulder behind her. Bolts of electricity rolled across the rock's surface as Lani focused another attack, but Kayla swung her foot across the ground, knocking Lani's feet from under her. She fell on her back, momentarily dazed. Before she could open her eyes, a sharp pain struck her middle, soon spreading to the rest of her body. Kayla's punch sent an electrical current through Lani's system, paralyzing her. Lani growled and looked up at her and a smile spread across Kayla's face.
"What's your next plan, Errol?" Kayla asked.
"Heh. You think this will keep her immobile forever?" Errol transmitted. "I'm sure the effects will wear off shortly and we can resume."
Kayla knew he was right. The paralysis would only last as long as the electrical current in her body had energy. She quickly centered the Eco into her hand again but before she could strike, Kayla found herself hanging upside down as if a rope tightened around her ankle and suspended her from the tree above. Errol laughed at her misfortune as the paralysis ceased. Lani's controlled body rose to her feet and grinned up at Kayla.
The ground began to shake. Kayla looked around at the disturbed forest and back down at Lani who appeared oblivious to what was going on. The ground beneath Kayla erupted and a cluster of crystals rose from the earth. Their transparent purple and blue surfaces gleamed in the sunlight as they filled the space beneath Kayla. She looked over at Lani again, Errol laughing hysterically through her. Kayla swore to herself not knowing how to get out of this.
The crystals stopped forming, towering a few feet above the ground. Their fine points glinted menacingly up at Kayla who dangled not far above. She saw no way out.
"It was fun playing with you." Errol said. "Wish this could last longer, but I have other matters to attend to."
The levitation ceased and Kayla plummeted towards the crystals, Errol's laughing ringing through her ears. Only inches away from a crystalline death, Kayla vanished into thin air. Errol's laughter immediately stopped at the sight of his failure. He had Lani visually scan the area, making sure not to let his guard down.
Kayla dropped down from above in her Eco form. Lani turned and quickly generated a shield as the Dark Eco ball Kayla formed made contact. Sparks flew in every direction and emitted a bright light as the two opposite Eco forces struggled to overpower the other.
Lani stepped aside and released the shield, sending Kayla and her attack towards the ground. Upon contact she rolled to a halt and looked back at Lani. She wrapped her tail around Lani's ankle and brought her down. She dragged Lani's body across the ground and into the air and like a whip, released her grip around her ankle. Lani was propelled through the air before slamming backwards into a tree. The bark snapped off and rained down on Lani.
Lani glared at Kayla and growled before rising to her feet. Before she could attack, Kayla made another Dark Eco ball and charged at her. She pulled her arm back to strike when Lani threw a small ball down at the ground. It exploded on contact and a large column of Dark energy surged up from before her. Kayla slid to a stop and leapt into the air as waves of Eco radiated from the column's base, bringing with it a flow of electricity. More of the columns arose as Lani tossed the Eco grenades in Kayla's direction.
With her wings supporting her, Kayla dodged each burst of Eco gracefully in midair. Lani ceased her attacks and ran after Kayla. She climbed atop a large rock at running speed and jumped into the air, her own wings spreading and taking flight. Kayla turned and faced her and held up her hand, sending a blast of Dark power at Lani.
Lani could feel the electricity tingle against her skin as she dived out of the way, the energy shooting over her head. Lani looked back to see the blast make contact with a boulder, blowing it to millions of pieces. She turned her attention back to Kayla only to see two balls of purple electricity flying towards her. She managed to dodge one but the other burned across her leg. Her entire leg went numb; drops of red falling to the ground. Not letting that slow her down, Lani soared on, charging up her own ball of Dark Eco.
At lightning speed the two Eco enhanced girls attacked, their Eco charged spheres colliding with each other. Flares and bolts of Dark Eco separated from the orbs as they pressed against each other, matching in strength. The Eco sparked more rapidly, tinting the trees purple with its light as the girls pushed forward, hoping their attack would nullify the others.
Both girls were sent spiraling backwards as the Eco balls repelled each other. Lani managed to right side herself just before smashing into a tree and turned back to Kayla but she was nowhere in sight.
Like a flash, Kayla appeared before her. Kayla extended her leg forward and kicked Lani right in the jaw before quickly disappeared into thin air. Lani fell backwards as Kayla reappeared behind her and kicked Lani in her lower back, sending her flying forward and she disappeared again. Kayla continued her lighting speed rebounding attack, punching and kicking Lani before she even had a chance to react. Kayla reappeared as Lani's beaten body came soaring towards her, forcefully kicking her in the side and sending her flying right back where she came from, giving Kayla enough time to channel her Eco into her hand and release another blast of energy.
Lani used a tree to kick off and set herself straight. She turned her attention back to Kayla only to be knocked off balance by a wave of Dark Eco. The blast tore through her feathered wing, crippling it. Lani struggled to keep herself airborne, flying lopsided towards her target, her wings soaked in crimson. Taking pity on her, Kayla sent out another burst of Eco, knocking Lani out of the air. As she plummeted towards the ground, Kayla used her Blue Eco speed and dived down to the ground as well. Lani neared the bottom as Kayla slammed her fists against the ground, sending a large column of Dark Eco into the air. Lani quickly conjured a Light Eco shield around her. The Dark Eco encased the shield, pushing Lani up into the air as if floating atop a fountain of water. Kayla appeared behind Lani and fired another blast of Eco, sending Lani and her bubble speeding across the forest.
The shield rebounded off of a tree and slid to the ground, sparing Lani from a painful landing. Releasing the shield she tried to stand up, wobbling as she put pressure on her injured leg. There was no time to heal it.
Kayla came charging at her full speed with an Eco ball at hand. She was only a few feet away when everything around her went white. Taking advantage of her blinding attack, Lani leapt into the air and dropped down behind Kayla. She cried out in pain and fell to her knee; Errol having forgotten she was injured in his determination to finish this. Again, he forced her to rise to her feet, shaking as her blood stained the grass.
Lani looked up to see Kayla pull her clenched fist back, and with all her remaining strength she punched Lani right in the stomach, sending a high Eco voltage through her. She yelled out in pain as the electrical current flowed through every nerve in her body. She attempted to fight back and release herself from the electricity flooding her, but her muscles tensed and wouldn't allow it. Finally, her body couldn't take it anymore. She dropped to her knees and fell to the forest floor.
Lani lay motionless on the ground and Kayla hoped she was only unconscious again. She knelt down beside her and pulled out a small knife, steadying it as she felt for Lani's pulse once more. It was faint, but her heart was still beating. The blade of the knife was only a few inches away from the device in Lani's neck when her hand was stopped. Kayla looked down to see Lani's hand gripping her wrist. Lani's white eyes opened and looked up at Kayla.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She said, blood dripping down her chin. She was still under Errol's command. "Try to take the control device out, and I'll kill her."
Kayla hesitated and Errol released her arm. Smirking, he cut the connection between him and Lani and her body lay still once more. Angry, Kayla tightened her grip on the knife and drove it straight down into the soft grass.
"Bastard…" Kayla muttered, slamming her fist against the forest floor. She looked down at her unconscious friend. "Sorry Lani. I don't know if you can hear me right now but I'm going to find a way to get this thing out of you."
She stood up and turned her back on her, returning to normal. She noticed the Dark Eco crystal Jak had given to Lani laying beside her motionless body. Curious, she picked it up, its purple surface glittering in the sunlight. Kayla looked back at Lani one last time and placed the crystal in her pocket before leaving the forest.