Chapter 10
Two weeks ago…
The Russian tundra is not a hospitable place to any species. Those few animals who survive there are known to be very tough and stalwart. It would also make sense that the dragons who live there are also sturdy so it is rare to see one on the run.
"I must have lost her by now. Vhat have I done to bring her down on me?" muttered the dragon to himself, peering round a corner to check for pursuit. He turned around to see a figure in the shadows before a helmet filtered voice said "Oh, you're just a test run, comrade."
The Russian dragon snarled before sending a column of fire at the figure.
A translucent energy field sprung up, blocking the flame. "Bad boy," said the figure, tauntingly, tossing what looked like a tear gas grenade at the dragon.
The dragon quickly picked up the grenade and prepared to throw it away. The figure just leaned back as several prongs shot out the side of the spike, attaching painfully before lightning began arcing from it, the dragon juddering in place before apparently shifting to human and falling like a puppet with its strings cut. The spikes on the grenade shot back in and an affirmative beep was heard. "Good...perfect," said the figure, picking up the canister and walking out into the St Petersburg street, leaving the lifeless body to freeze.
...
Present
Matt looked at the paper in front of him. He had picked up the newspaper to look at the funnies, but he found something considerably more serious.
The headline was full of how a goblin gang had apparently been wiped out, the papers calling it the return of the Huntclan's 'Chi killer'.
Just then, Chloe walked in and said, "What's the latest news from the grapevine?"
"Sounds like something big is brewing in the underworld, not sure how literal that is yet," said Matt as he handed over the paper.
Chloe looked at it. "This has to be some sick joke. We killed that guy. It was the old CPS director, Colonel Andies, working with this ninja idiots," she said.
"Well, someone's doing it again," said Matt, getting up, "Well, we'd better go report. Call Techo so he can come. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll get an encore."
Chloe smirked and said, "Oh, that was something to remember. I still crack up at those pictures."
...
Jake was already being told what to do should he run into the 'killer' as Matt and his team pulled up.
"Most importantly, young one, never keep your back turned for more than five seconds," said one of the councilors before pausing as Matt's team approached.
"We just shoot traitorous scumbags. That's why Reaper team exists," commented Matt, before Chloe could stop him, instead choosing to sigh.
"Mr. Lynch, I see you are aware of the current crisis," said the Atlantean councilor coldly.
"Yeah...I turned the guy into a colander, I believe," said Matt casually.
"And yet the same modus operandi is being used," said another councilor.
"The colonel was a scumbag. He got all he deserved and the NSC sealed the technology," said Chloe. "Oh please..." said the same councilor, only for Matt to say "Ask the council, it's how we ended up bumping into them..."
...
6 years ago
90 miles outside the New York State line
6 Huey choppers, heavily modified shot through the sky, bearing down on the signal. "Ok, here's what we got, lads and lasses. We finally found the bastards who hit CRC Tech last month. Control's sure that we'll find em. They might also be linked to the Xeno we found in Central Park last night," yelled Captain Leyton over the rotor noise.
"Do we have any idea what kind of xeno that was yet?" asked Techo.
"No, they sent the corpse to Executive Genetics but they've got no idea yet," called Leyton before a voice from the front said "This is your captain speaking. We will be arriving shortly at scumbag central. Make sure your plasma rifles are in the upright and locked positions."
Matt muttered, "Smartarse."
"I've heard worse from you," commented Chloe.
"This is Colonel Andies to all teams. We don't know who owns this facility but we are detecting what we think are energy cells. You run into more then you chew, you scrub and get out of there," said the voice of CPS's current leader.
"Oh, look. The boss has come back from his mountain," muttered Wilson.
"Nice to see he cares about the little guys," said Matt sarcastically.
"Fuck him. All teams stand by. Raptor team...make a door," said Leyton.
...
The Huntsmen on sentry duty all agreed that it was the most boring job around. The facility was so well hidden that nobody could find it if they even stepped on it. "Why must we stand watch while the others are out hunting dragons?" complained one.
"Perhaps you are here because you let that fairy slip through your fingers," teased another one.
"Yeah...what the?" said the first one, looking at a camera feed from the perimeter. A formation of choppers was seen flying overhead, before the same appeared on the next camera. "Hey, call the Huntsmaster. The National Guard is real far out of their way," he said, cautiously.
The second one was checking the other monitors and spotted something in the fourth camera feed. "MISSILE INCOMING!" he shouted.
The ground shook faintly and all the cameras cut out, the lights flickering. "Security alert," chimed the computer, before a camera bank came back, showing the choppers going to hover, one aiming at the main door.
"Sound the ale-" he began before the chopper's 'lockpick' missile hit the ground and blew a brand new skylight in the arena.
If any camera were left functional in the area, they would have seen several lines drop from the camera, allowing troopers to slide down to the ground. Others were just jumping straight out, small booster packs slowing them down to allow them to fire at arriving security.
...
However one team wasn't fighting. "THIS SUCKS!" yelled Matt, the sound of weapon fire in the distance...at least til Chloe hit the mask function on his wrist comp, causing his helmet to slam over him. "Ow, you hurt my nose," mumbled Matt.
"You nearly gave us away. Techo, do we actually know where the damn stuff is, do we actually KNOW what we're looking for?" Chloe snapped
"Uh, I don't know what it looks like, but it should definitely show up on the energy scan," said Techo. Matt held up his wrist comp, showing the energy scanner as a huge signal lump over the entire floorplan. "Oh smeg," muttered Techo.
"Room by room it is," said Matt.
"That could take all night," complained Talia.
"Bloody Col Andies," muttered Techo, opening a door, staring before shutting the door slowly.
"What's in there?" asked Matt.
"Uh...trophy room, I think these guys are really into hunting," said Techo, looking a little sick. Matt walked forward and Techo said, "No...you really do not want to go in there."
Matt looked at the door before stepping back. "Fine," he said before their radio's turned on.
"This is Colonel Andies to all teams. We think you may have more of those Xeno's in the facility. Concider host-" said the colonel before Matt turned the radio off.
"Anyone object to that?" asked Matt.
"Not at all," said Chloe.
"Ok, strongest signal's in here," said Techo, pointing to a door.
What the gang wasn't aware of was that someone else had also infiltrated the base and was watching them from the vents. Sun Park peered into the room Matt and his team were about to 'open', looking in horror at the canisters of dragon chi. Anyone else, she would have wondered what sort of monster could do such a thing...then she saw the Huntsclan squad guarding them. The facility shook again as the new attackers hit another section.
"Ok, let's get these chi canisters out of here," said one of them, none of them bothering to look up at the vent.
As they were moving, one of them said, "Careful, you don't want to break one open and get infected by their unnatural magic."
"Hey...you guys smell burning?" asked one, before they turned to see two dots burning round the edge of the door rapidly.
"Oh shit...GET TO COVER!" called one before the dots met at the top of the door and it exploded, some of the new intruders coming in firing.
Suddenly, one of them yelled, "Whoa, whoa, ease off the ammo, this place is loaded with...uh, something that you might not want to shoot at."
"Hands up. Do it. Do it now!" snapped one of them in a London accent, pointing a futuristic weapon at them. The Huntsclan all complied slowly, one edging towards where his staff was, out of sight.
A woman with a similar accent said, "Wilson, call Leyton and tell him we've found it, whatever it is."
Another trooper, face hidden by a mask and helmet nodded and began talking into his wrist, though the language wasn't recognizable.
"What is this? It smells of life essence...explain," said a particularly tall one, looming over a Huntsman who whimpered.
"Ha, you think we'd be so spineless as to give away our secrets because of a small show of intimidation?" said one of the Huntsclan.
The tall trooper growled causing the Huntsman beneath him to cry, "They're full of dragon chi, please don't eat me!"
The trooper glared, grasped the Huntman's head like some claw machine and effortlessly lifted him to eye sight. "Do I look like a fool?" he said coldly.
"Which answer do you want sir?" gibbered his victim before fainting
There was a faint snickering sound and the woman turned to another trooper and said, "Ok, grow up, Matt."
"That wasn't me," said the trooper.
"Sure it wasn't," said the woman.
"You really think we're that dumb?" said the first trooper, "Dragons aren't real and even if they were, they're reptiles so you couldn't make milk to make cheese with."
The Huntsclan gave a deadpan looks as if to say 'Really?', The woman, guessing said, "I live with him. I know how you feel. Now please keep your hands up or we'll blow your heads off. Hey you, back here." aiming at the huntsman inching towards his staff.
The Huntsman looked uncertain, clearly considering whether going for the staff is really worth it. "Ok...take these things back," began Matt.
That seemed to be the deciding factor for the Huntsman. "You will not ruin our work," he said before diving for his staff.
"What the hell?" began the leader, before having to dive to the side as the Huntman's staff fired. Sun turned her head away as the sound of weapon fire was heard before a stray blast knocked her out.
...
Eventually, Sun came back around. As soon as she was able to focus, she could see that a battle had gone on while she was out. The troopers seemed to have lost a few men but none of the Huntsclan had survived. "Oh..." said Sun. Even though she had no love for the Huntsclan like the rest of the magical world, she still hated killing.
A radio on the trooper crackled at that. "This is Commander Anakra of DARKRIFT. We are now in command of the operation. All CPS units are to return to base. This is an Alpha class order on behalf of the council. My men are moving in...any CPS staff still on sight will be classed as hostile," said a cold calculating voice.
"Then I don't have any time to lose," said Sun. She quickly started looking among the chi canisters. Fortunately, the Huntsclan have labeled where the chi had come from. But when she got to the spot she was looking for, it was missing.
...
Meanwhile, Matt and his team were running back to the chopper. "How comes I have to hold the radioactive lava lamp?" complained Techo.
"Cause you still owe us money at poker, that's why," snapped Matt, turning the corner and having to jump back as several blasts shot past.
"Don't let the dragon lovers escape!" came a yell.
"Colonel, call DARKIFT off, our way out's blocked!" shouted Matt into the coms, firing blindly round the corner
"All this for a smelly can of cheese?" asked Techo.
"SHUT UP, TECHO!" came the unified yell before Matt tried again. "COLONEL...WE NEED TIME TO GET OUT!"
"Damn it, Lynch, you aren't supposed to be on time!" snapped the colonel.
"Wait...what?" said Matt, confused, "What are you talking about?" However, all Matt got was a flat tone. "He hung up on me! The smegging git hung up on me!" yelled Matt.
"What did he bloody mean by on time? Shit, we gotta go to plan B. DARKRIFT'S 3 minutes away," said Chloe, before looking up. "Helibay, this way," she said, pointing.
Sun finally got back to the entrance and spotted the troopers. She could also see one of them holding the chi canister. "Wait!" she called. However, one of them screamed and shot back at Sun.
"WILSON, MOVE IT!" came a cry.
"But there's a-"
"NOW!" said the female voice as he tried to interrupt
Sun was lucky that the shot had missed her, but she couldn't let that chi go. She ran after them and saw them climb into a chopper. "No, wait!" she called, taking off after them, trying to grab on to climb in.
...
"Argh…it's all over me...lava lamp goo!" yelped Techio as the clank made him drop the canister on himself.
"Great, you are now the sample," snapped Matt, peering back to see the xeno hanging on. "Raptor team, you still around?" he said on the comm
"Lynch, what are you still doing back there? You should have got out 3 minutes ago," came the reply.
"We had trouble with transport, smartarse. NOW GET THIS THING OFF US!" snapped Matt.
"Alright, alright, we're coming, keep your pants on," came the reply.
The chopper shook again as the xeno tried to grab the tail and a smash from behind indicated the rest of the canister was now all over Techo. "ANY TIME TODAY!" screamed Matt
"Oh...oh god, this isn't cheese, this isn't cheese at all!" cried Techo.
"RAPTOOOOR!" screamed Matt before ion rounds shot around the xeno as Raptor 3 flew in behind, its sideguns blazing. The xeno quickly let go and flew away from Raptor 3.
"You are free and clear, Lynch. See you back at base," said the reply.
"Ugh, I'm gonna need 10 decon showers to get rid of this feeling," groaned Techo.
"Oh shut it," said Talia.
...
Present day
"So you fired at one of us and stole chi?" said the Atlantean councilor coldly.
"We didn't know she was a dragon and we didn't even know what chi was," said Chloe.
"Councilor, calm. They were unaware at the time..." said one of the dragon councilors
"Wait, wait, wait, hold up, are you guys telling me that Sun was some super-secret agent?" asked Jake.
"All dragons are expected to perform their duties as guardians of the magical world," said the European councilor, "Since this was before your dragon powers start manifesting, Sun Park was taking care of this mission."
"Ok, but why Sun doing that mission instead of Gramps or someone else?" asked Jake.
"Because the matter was rather...personal," said the African councilor.
...
Sun looked up, the choppers vanishing over the treeline. "Urgh...who were those?" she muttered, before taking a picture out. The picture showed Sun along with a slightly younger woman with an undeniable resemblance to her. "I won't let you down, my sister," said Sun softly.
With a little difficulty, she took off again but the choppers were already dots heading for New York State. "I can't let them get away," she told herself, "Who knows what they're going to do with her chi." She followed the choppers, barely able to keep up before the choppers vanished into the maze of skyscrapers, heading for the dockyards.
Sun was close to the verge of panicking when she paused and muttered a few mantras to calm herself. Once her mind was at relative peace, she started pondering where the copters would go. The docks seem obvious, but the obvious choice isn't always the right one.
The choppers could be heard from the docks, flying round the corner to see the Huntsclan chopper shooting down into an open-topped warehouse far too fast.
She flew quickly to the warehouse, but the hatch slammed shut before she could get in.
More strangely though, there was nobody around the warehouse No lights and no sounds of choppers.
"Hmm...I don't recall the Huntsclan ever being this good at being secretive," muttered Sun.
She looked around before sighing. She would have to check tomorrow. If this was Huntsclan, there would have been guards. This was something else. She could sense the chi, it was there.
...
Present day
"Wait a minute, you said that the chi canister was broken on your friend," said the African councilor, "But then that would mean..." Matt suddenly started laughing his head off at that.
...
The morning following the attack...
The CPS barracks were usually peaceful, anyone trying to wake mercs early making their final mistake, however today a blood curdling scream broke the quiet
Matt grumbled as he got up and said, "Unless someone's played a really funny prank, I'm gonna have to dent some foreheads."
Matt wandered over to where the scream had come from, the restroom which now had a weld where the lock was, from a laser. "Ok, come out, who's locked themselves in the loo?" he said, knocking.
"GO AWAY!" yelled someone from inside.
"Techo? Techo, open the door, NOW!" said Matt, recognizing the voice.
"NO!" yelled Techo.
"Open it or I will!" snapped Matt
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" yelled Techo.
"Fine, GET THE C4!" said Matt, yelling the last part theatrically loud
"Whoa, whoa, you're not blowing up the door, are you?" called Techo.
"You refused to open it," said Matt, pulling some silly putty out his pocket and slamming it onto the door.
"Ok, ok, I'll open up, but promise me one thing," said Techo.
"What's that?" asked Matt.
"That you won't laugh."
"Not a chance. Open up or I'll turn off the vents. It was curry night in the canteen last night. You'll suffocate," said Matt, stepping back as there was a flash and the door came loose. "Ok...get the crow-" began Matt, calling to some of the watching mercs to get the door open only for claws to grab the door through the sliver and pull it open effortlessly.
Techo didn't quite look like his normal self. His skin was covered in seafoam-colored scales and his hands were sporting claws. He couldn't wear shoes because his feet had become digigrade and clawed as well. Techo glared at them and said, "No laughing."
Matt was surprisingly the only one who DIDN'T laugh, just staring. "Techo, you haven't been eating anything...odd, have you?" asked Matt.
"Did I eat any genetic serums? No, it's not meatloaf day till Friday," said Techo sulkily.
"Ok, let's try to look at this logically," said Matt before turning the laughing others and said, "Can you keep it down?"
Techo's eyes narrowed. "That bloody goop...THAT DID THIS! I'LL KILL THOSE NINJA JERKS!" snapped Techo.
"I was about to suggest that same thing," said Matt.
"Now what?" moaned Techo.
"Well...it's probably some mutagen they cooked up. Wait, didn't another one attack us on the way out?" asked Matt.
"I didn't see, I was too busy holding onto the stupid can," growled Techo.
"I remember it...almost looked like you," said Wilson, smirking.
"Could have been someone else who got doused in that goop and probably went feral," said Talia.
"Dunno...it was actively going to essential systems on the chopper. We checked after landing," said a merc.
"Well, in either case, it may be the key to fixing...this," said Chloe, indicating Techo.
"A patient zero, you realize the Colonel'll lock Techo in quarantine the minute he gets wind of this, right?" said Talia.
"Which is why we have helmets and gloves," said Matt before shoving a helmet over Techo's head.
"And the boots? And something's poking me up the arse..." snapped Techo, muffled.
"I ain't touching that," said Wilson.
"Screw you, let's just find the feral, kick its arse and toss it to the techies so they can cure this," said Techo, angrily.
Chloe sighed and said, "Another good morning at CPS."
...
Present Day
Just then, the door opened and Sun Park walked in. "You wished to see me, Councilors?" she asked. "Hey, Sun, we were just reminiscing old times, like when we first me," said Matt.
Sun sighed, remembering...
...
Sun was sitting in the room she had rented upon arriving in the US. She had tried asking members of the local magical community who owned the warehouses near the river, but not even the council had found out much other than it was not the Huntsclan. The Council did send her a message, but it was ordering her to return to Korea. But something didn't seem quite right about it...
...
"Who's Humvee is this, out of interest?" asked Chloe, the group driving down Broadway.
Matt shrugged and said, "Andie's."
There was silence for a second before everyone shrugged, Matt 'accidentally' shooting the radio as it beeped, showing 'Col Andies' as the incoming caller
"So, have we got that tracker working yet?" asked Chloe.
"Almost, thanks for the blood sample, Techo," said Talia, Techo just grumbling.
"A big blue lizard thing's bound to stick out anyways," said Wilson.
"Ok, should get a single...bloody hell, there's hundreds of signals, look," said Techo, passing the scanner
Matt looked to see a map of New York lit up like a Christmas tree. "Smeg, how are we supposed to find the one from last night?" he said.
"I could scale it down, but it'll take a biiit...ok, done," said Techo, fiddling with the signal and causing almost all the dots to vanish.
"Great, which one's the one we want?" asked Talia.
"The best match is some out of the way apartment block in Harland," said Techo, prodding the screen with his claw before twitching.
"Techo, are you feeling alright?" asked Chloe.
"I'm fi-gik, gak, duik!" yelped Techo as he started spasming. Suddenly, a pair of antler-like horns sprouted from his head.
Matt did laugh this time.
…
Outside, a guy was watching as what looked like a military Humvee started swerving all over the road. "Huh...National Guards on a celebration drink," he muttered. Just then, the Humvee started swerving dangerously close to where he was standing.
"Oh no," muttered the cop, closing his eyes before opening them again to see his bike had become alot flatter, the Humvee careening around the corner, taking out a trashcan. "Great, how am I supposed to catch them without my bike?" he asked.
...
"GIVE ME THE WHEEL! YOU'VE ALREADY TAKEN OUT A MOTORBIKE!" yelled Chloe.
"Killjoy," grumbled Matt.
Techo, his claws digging THROUGH the seat said weakly, "Are we nearly there?"
"Almost," said Talia, "Just a few more blocks."
...
Donald was a leprechaun from the 'old country', and also ran one of the few hotels in New York, though more and more magical creatures headed to the big apple each year...mostly criminals trying to find an area without council jurisdiction. However, he's seen new guests arrive in many vehicles, a military jeep was quite another thing.
"-you sure it's in here, Techo?" said a voice before several humans climbed out, a Korean dragon with what looked like a cyborg arm, also getting out.
"No, but I'm pretty sure it's the best place to start looking," said the dragon.
"Ok, we got the picture? What, it's worth a try," said the leader, as the group walked forward.
"What ken I do ya for?" asked Donald in his most genial tone possible.
"We're looking for someone, have you seen this alien?" said Matt, hopping suddenly with a yelp, a female human pushing him aside
"Er, I don't know what ye've heard, but no illegal immigrants here. No need ta be deportin' anyone," said Donald.
"We mean actual aliens...OW!" said the weird human, the woman smiling a bit desperately. "Ok, look, have you seen someone looking like Exhibit A over there? Judging by the fact you didn't call 911, you know it," she said, jerking a thumb at the dragon.
"Miss, I be a simple innkeeper. I don't go pryin' inta the affairs of me customers," said Donald.
"Hang on, I got a definite signal," said another woman.
Donald gulped. "Yer Huntsclan. Have mercy!" he yelped, causing the group to exchange glances.
"Who?" said the leader.
"Er, ye ain't here to hunt magical creatures?" asked Donald.
"Magical creatures? Yeah right, like they even exist," said another man.
"Er...ye don't notice anyting weird aboot yer friend there?" said Donald carefully.
"Well, I'm pretty sure these aren't for receiving TV transmissions," said the leader, flicking one of the dragon's antlers.
Donald muttered, "Buncha basketcases..." before saying loudly "Ok...I tink I know that room. Room 414...Miss Park. Shall I tell her you're comin?" he said.
"No, no, she already knows us," said the leader.
"I'm sure she does." said Donald. As soon as the team had left, Donald grabbed the phone and punched in a number. "Hey, Fu? It's me, Donald. I've got a wager I'm bettin' ya wanna get in on."
...
The lift doors to the 4th floor opened...well, tried too. It took the efforts of both Matt and Wilson to open it before the team spread out down the corridor. "Ok, I think it's quite clear this thing's sentient," said Matt quietly as they headed down the corridor, blasters out.
"Perhaps we may be able to reason with her instead of shooting up the place for once," said Chloe.
"Ok, keep the guns concealed," said Matt, nodding to the others, before typing a few buttons on his wrist comp, his uniform changing to that of a NYPD uniform, "We'll take the 'we need to ask some questions at the station' approach."
"Which she won't believe if she spots your scaly hide," said Talia to Techo.
"Fine, I'll be over there...ow...owowowowow!" he said, getting the twitches again.
"Oh boy," said Matt dully.
Just then, the door on Room 414 started opening.
"Hello...Officer Lynch with the NYPD. We've had some reports of break in's in your area and we're doing checks in the worst hit areas to make sure the homeowners are aware and making the relevant security precautions," said Matt in an almost perfect American accent, causing the hidden gang's jaws to drop open, given Matt's usual stealth track record.
Chloe fumbled for her hologram disguise and just got in activated when Matt dragged her into view. "This is my partner," said Matt, "She'll be doing a brief security check around your room."
Chloe noticed that the figure was a Korean woman, in her late twenties maybe, though her bio scanner nanites were having trouble locking on. "That's right ma'am. Mostly checking locks, windows...possible access points," she said with a warm smile.
The Korean woman gave them a slightly suspicious look before saying, "Well, I would be able to sleep easier at night if I know I'd be safe from burglars."
"Of course, Ma'am. This is just routine," Matt said, covertly pressing a button on his wrist comp, getting it to do a proper scan. "So, how long have you been living in the area, Miss..." he said remembering to leave a gap for her name, the scan's progress bar appearing on his glasses HUD.
"It's Miss Park, and I have not been here very long or were you aware of that?" demanded the Korean woman, sounding more suspicious.
"Of course. All the more reasons to make this call," said Matt, assuredly, his wrist comp, in a voice only he could hear, saying "Unlisted xeno detected in zone...scanning...pinpointed to local building...isolating." Matt just kept the friendly smile, his hands behind his back, motioning to the others to get ready. He was getting an idea where it was gonna 'pinpoint'.
"If this is routine, than why haven't you gone to the other rooms yet?" demanded Park.
"We like to be thorough, ma'am," said Matt, managing to keep his composure as the scanner locked on to Miss Park.
"Alert...proximity to unlisted xeno. Code Delta. Automatic contract in effect...apprehend ASAP," said the wristcomp.
"Well, if you aren't really here to check on my security, I must bid you good day," said Park before attempting to close the door.
...
Sun tried to push the door when the officer immediately said "Koma asida tima," pulling his pistol and aiming. (splitter for 'hands up sucker)
"Mulleo gala," responded Park before using her dragon strength to slam the door on the officer's fingers. (Korean for 'begone')
Another voice behind her yelled in English "NSC...HANDS UP!" Park turning to see the 'partner, aiming her own pistol. A swift kick from Sun sent the pistol flying out of the partner's hand. It also hit something hidden on her wrist, causing sparks to fly and the uniform to become something out of a sci-fi film, a nastier looking pistol being pulled just as the door opened to see the first 'cop' writhing gripping his hand.
"Hey, try it and you're dead," said an African American trooper, holding a stocker rifle version of the pistol.
However, Sun wasn't nearly as harmless as these people might think she is and she proved it by changing into her dragon form and sending the African across the hallway and through the door on the other side.
Two more troopers were outside, and were forced to dive aside from a fireball. A final voice said, "Ok, don't even move, lady." causing Sun to turn...and pause in shock. What she was a near-spitting image of her sister in dragon form. Of course, there were some big difference like the robotic arm or the fact this dragon was male. But the resemblance was uncanny.
A voice, of the first officer, behind her said, "Good one Techo. Gonna kick that bloody dra...xeno's butt." before, with a 'bzzz' noise, everything went dark.
...
"You shot me?" said Sun, annoyed as Matt filled in the blanks.
"You punched Wilson through a wall into a kitchen. He landed in the fridge," retorted Matt childishly.
Sun gave him an annoyed look and said, "Since I wasn't conscious during the next part, perhaps you'd like to fill in what happened."
"Sure, well, we didn't know what was going on back then. The dragons I met were alot different, so we called you in as a cold delta. That's when things went south. Some men from Cougar Squad were helping and..."
...
"Ok, make sure those energy cuffs are sealed. She's got a kick," said Matt, annoyed and still rubbing his fingers.
"Lynch, this is control. Transport is en-route. ETA is 45 seconds."
Matt nodded. "Good, Mridas, everything clear on the roof?" he asked, talking to the avianos in charge of the Cougar team squad who had arrived to help.
"All clear, not even pigeons to get in the way," said Mridas.
"What? You should be able to see it by now," said Matt, curiously before he noticed a signal approaching. However, the ID was marked as one of Reaper team, the CPS's in-house police force, a team specially formed to take down renegade employees. "Control, please confirm. Reaper 1 is approaching. I thought it was a transport."
"Of course Reaper 1 is approaching, I sent it," came the reply.
Matt gulped and said, "Colone Andies, if this is about your truck..."
"Oh this is about much more than a simple carjacking," said Andies.
"What is it about?" said Matt innocently.
"Well, just you working with vermin, good day," said he Colonel, hanging up suddenly. "Oh...shit...Mridas, get off the roof, NOW!" yelled Matt, not noticing Sun was semi-conscious.
...
Mridas and his men turned as a Ioa class gunship decloaked in front of them. "GET TO CO-" he began before gunship ion miniguns fired and he and his team ceased to exist.
...
"HIT THE DECK!" yelled Matt, as the gunship lowered down, strafing the room and the corridor, some of Cougar squad getting caught in the fire and falling in heaps.
"What the smeg is going on?!" demanded Chloe.
"I think we've been fired!" yelled Mat, shielding Sun as the rounds shredded the apartment. "Techo, hack the comms. I want to know what they're planning...and you said to leave the ion cannon in the car!" he yelled, aiming the last at Chloe
"Like I could have seen this coming?" snapped Chloe.
"I'm just venting!" snapped Matt. Techo however was having a full on panic attack before accidentally burping, sending a fireball out that almost hit Matt, bounced off a wall and shot out, striking the gunship, causing it to peel off.
"Hack complete...comm track online," said Matt's wrist comp, before a voice said "Reaper 1 to control...damage to starboard...deploying teams on the roof. Dead or alive, sir?"
"Dead, make sure there are no witnesses," said Andie's voice.
"Roger that, control. Team 1...deploy...sweep n clear," said the voice before cutting off. At the same time, voices were heard from the far corridor. "Here comes trouble, boss!" yelled Wilson.
...
"Yes, I remember that, vaguely. I mostly remember you all running but I wasn't really sure what it was from," said Sun.
…
There was a soft groan as Park started to come around. "Great, as if we haven't got enough trouble," said Techo.
"Hit her again. We don't need attacks from both directions," snapped Wilson, ducking as several troopers in black armor ran down from the roof.
"My pleasure," said Techo before getting ready to club her with the butt of his gun. Park's hand shot out grabbing Techo's wrist, making him jump. "Oh blooody hell!" he swore, trying to jump back.
"You shall not take me so easily, hunters," said Park. The shattering of another window was heard amidst the gunfire.
"Lady, can this wait until we're not in risk of being made into colanders?" snapped Matt.
A trooper yelled "Targets...end of the hall!" before a blast shot through him. Matt lost it at that, firing a shot around the corner, a yell of 'BOUNCER!" being cut off by multiple ricochet noises.
One of the others peered round the corner once the ricochets had stopped "All clear, let's go," he said, the others getting up.
The one called Matt turned to look at Park. "Cut her loose. We don't need this."
Park glared at Matt and said, "Do you expect me to forgive so easily?"
"No, but I expect you to listen to common sense and survival instinct," said Matt.
Park was a bit shocked at that. Huntsclan had been known to stick to their victims even with the treat of council dragons coming. More so they definitely did not attack their own. A wail got her attention to see the 'gunship' hovering past the window. "Who are you people?" she demanded.
"Introductions later, survival now," said Matt's partner.
Matt said at that, "You're gonna follow us, aren't you."
"I don't have much of a choice in that matter, do I?" said Park, "These...other people seem to not care who they're shooting."
"Fine, just stay down," snapped Matt before yelling "OK, GO!" He and his men jumped up and ran for the stairs, the gunship rotating to brings its guns to bear. Some of them men didn't bother with the steps, either sliding on the rails are jumping down the flights.
Another trooper pushed Park forward before the gunships began firing, shredding the corridor behind them. "Move faster, you dumb xen-urk!" the trooper managed before the hail caught up with him.
Park didn't need any more prompting, she leapt down the stairs, quickly reaching the front of the line.
"The jeep, the bloody jeep!" yelped a trooper in a strong British accent, pointing to a Humvee peering out the opposite alley.
"You think that gas-guzzler will protect us from that thing?" asked Park as the gunship was setting its sights again.
"Looks aren't everything," said the same trooper, pressing a button on his gauntlet and causing the Humvee to cheap as its alarm and locks released. Matt immediately threw the back door open just as the gunship began firing on the jeep, pulling something out just in time
"Shoot it, shoot it, shoot it!" yelled Wilson.
"It needs to charge up first!" yelled Matt.
The English trooper paused for a second before yelling "RUN AWAY!" as the gunship, side hatch opened to fire a rocket at the Humvee, blasting it to scrap. The troopers ran in every direction, making them a much harder target for the gunship to lock onto.
Park backed up into the shadows. She needed to tell the council that there was another faction other than the Huntsclan in play in this situation. She was about to change to dragon form when someone grabbed her arm. "Bad idea, lady," said Matt, pulling her back just as the gunship's rotation went past their hiding place.
Park gave Matt a stern look and said, "I'm only going with you because I need to save the dragon chi."
"I presume that's what gave my tech expert a scaly make over. Believe me, he doesn't want them," said Matt dully, peering round the corner, "Ok, let's go. We'll keep to the alleys and head for the city center. That gunship's staying low for a reason."
As Matt and Sun started heading through the alley, Sun said, "Er, shouldn't we..."
"Hey, I know where I'm going," said Matt.
...
"Are you sure you know where we are?" asked Park carefully as the duo stared at the Hudson.
"Yes," lied Matt, "I meant to...uh oh." as the gunship wailed back into view.
"Quick, if we get to the river..." started Sun.
"They blow us out like fish in a barrel," finished Matt for her.
On cue, the tube over Matt's shoulder beeped. "About time...Carnotech are not getting repeat business," muttered Matt, unslinging it.
"What is that?" asked Sun.
"It's a bit too technical to get into at the moment, but let's just calling a big smegging cannon. These smeggers killed my friends and my men. They shot at me, my jeep and blew a hole in my hat. I have had ENOUGH!" said Matt, yelling the last as he fired, a blue blast shooting out and blasting the ship's left engine to pieces, causing the ship to lurch. "Hah, how do you...oh come on," began Matt as the ship's lurch caused it to spin towards them without apparent escape.
Suddenly, Matt felt scaly arms wrap around him as he was suddenly lurched up from the ground. He simply watched as the gunship was flipped into the bay before looking up to see an almost spitting image of Techo's current condition. "I just want it noted. I'm not going to say 'let go of me'. I'm not that stupid," he said, somehow keeping his voice steady.
...
"You always were hopeless with directions," said Chloe.
"Hey, the alleys are a labyrinth, I got turned around," said Matt.
"Oh don't worry, mate. They have these strange devices called 'signs'. HAHAHA...OW!" said Techo, laughing up until Matt punched him.
Chloe grinned, "Ok, but despite that, doesn't change the fact that nobody knows how to recreate the syphon tech."
Techo shrugged, "As long as I don't get scales again..."
"Whoa, whoa, time out, what syphon tech?" asked Jake, "What's all this have to do with now?"
"That was the fun device the first time round, sucks out chi, souls, whatever you want," said Matt grimly.
"Fortunately, if it was only the chi, one could survive, though not for much longer," said Sun.
"Wait, when you guys took my dragon chi..."
"That was a different procedure," said the European councilor, "Delicately applied and leaving enough chi to prevent fading. About the same amount of difference as performing surgery with a scalpel and a cleaver."
"The device however just rips it all out," said Techo grimly.
"Those that were able to survive the shock needed to be put on life support," said the African councilor, "Without their chi, they would, at best, be put into an unending coma."
Suddenly, Matt's comm turned on. "All CPS units, proceed to magi settlement 21-b. Hostage situation in progress. Multiple marauder class units led by unknown hostile. Syphon signal detected in zone." said the comm.
"But you just said..." started Jake.
"I've been proven wrong before," said Matt, "Hopefully I'm not this time, but we better head over anyways."
...
The marauder shuddered back as several blasts ripped through him before he slumped down against the wall. "I don't get this. I know marauders sometimes freelance, but whoever hired them musta known we were local. They musta known they wouldn't last a second," said Techo, kicking the dead marauder. The marauders that had been holding the area had panicked the minute the first CPS units had arrived, not even thinking to use the hostages who had also turned on them. Especially since the 'hostages' were the local werewolves whose karaoke night they had just ruined.
"You don't think we're walking into a trap, do you?" asked Jake.
"No, we'd have picked up anything. I don't like this," said Matt, pausing at the door into the next room, where comm said the gang's leader was.
A female voice said cheerfully, "Aren't you going to come in, sergeant?"
"It's not polite to walk into a lady's room without knocking, especially if the lady isn't decent," said Matt.
"Oh, me and Dago are fine. Isn't that right, Dago?" said a voice, a worrying silence heard.
"That other guy better be gagged or unconscious in there," said Matt.
"Break the door," said Chloe, aiming a hand at one hinge, Matt doing the same with the other before they melted the hinges. A strong kick and the door fell over, everyone pointing their guns through the doorway.
Jake came in second and paused, a female in a dirty CPS uniform and what was...left of a European dragon slumped next to her. "Oh, you're just in time," the woman said with a mad smile.
"You look familiar, have I threatened or arrested you before?" asked Matt.
"No, silly...but you met my father briefly. Don't you remember him?" said the woman, smiling insanely before noticing Jake's stare, "Oh, don't mind Dago, he's shy."
Jake turned to Matt and said, "Uh, you don't think that ex-colonel who was using that Syphon tech had kids, do you?"
"Oh, he did...he did..." said the woman, grinning before saying, "Oh, where are my manners? Diana Andies," making a mocking bow, seemingly not bothered by the fact she was surrounded.
"Well it's obvious who she takes after," said Chloe.
Diana looked around before looking at Techo. "Oh, this won't do. You aren't ready yet," she said to him, sounding annoyed.
"Uh...ready for what?" asked Techo.
"All units, we have an ID: Diana Andies, responsible for a breaking at a DARKRIFT storage center last month," said the comm as Diana pulled out a pieced together crystal that was already glowing from all the anger in the room.
Matt's face paled as he recognized the crystal. "That's impossible. I saw that thing blow out like a light bulb," he said.
"It's amazing what glue can do," said Diana, tossing the gem at Techo and a flash grenade with the other. There was more than a little confusion and chaos as both items went off with a bang.
When his vision came back, Matt immediately was checking his reflection, and sighed with relief when he saw that he was perfectly fine...before glaring around to see that Diana had escaped, leaving a holodisk.
"Oh, not again!" snapped Techo. Matt turned to see that Techo had been turned into a dragon.
"Hey, at least you're not Korean again," said Matt.
Luckily for Jake, Techo chose to swear in splitter. Chloe however had picked up the holodisk which was labeled 'Watch me'. "Hmm...I bet it's full of egomaniacal goodness," said Chloe.
"I'm betting more 'maniacal' than 'ego'," said Matt.
Chloe clicked the disk in and a holo-version of Diana appeared, the voices of her team and someone begging. "Ah...you got my message. I have no doubt you're wondering why...oh, shut that lizard up!" she said, yelling the last to someone off the viewer, a blaster sound cutting off the begging. "Ah, much better," she said.
"Ok, she has a few less voices than her head than I thought," said Matt.
"Well, I could say it's...well, revenge," said the holorecording before the smile vanishing. "You and those...lizards ruined my father's career. You didn't even leave him his life!" she snapped before calming down. "So, it seems right that I finish his work. Oh, I'll give you a chance. You can stop me, if you remember your history right, that is," said Diana before looking over her shoulder as faint gunfire came over the recording. "Oh, I think you're here," she said, grinning evilly before cutting the comm.
"The apple doesn't fall far in her family tree, does it?" commented Matt.
"I dunno, she planned this out perfectly, even down to making sure Techo looks the part," said Chloe, nodding over at Techo who was grumbling in the corner
"Well, if she wants to repeat history, she'll have thought about how to avoid ending up like her old man," said Matt.
"She said that we needed to 'know our history'..." muttered Chloe.
Matt shrugged. "I doubt it's that old motel. It's been demolished...wait..." he said.
"What? Did you know somewhere else she would be?" asked Jake.
"Well, yes, we didn't get to fill you on the rest of what happened," said Matt, "I think we can skip past my flight with Sun to where we were all meeting back up and getting our facts straight..."
...
"Are you off your nut?" snapped Techo, the group looking across at a normal looking law firm office block, "We're going to these thugs?"
"They've sent a gunship after us and killed some of our guys. We deserve some answers from them" said Matt.
"Look, I know Reaper is Black 13, but you really think they'll let us walk in?" said Chloe.
Matt waved to the people walking around. "It's a public place. We'll just call 911," he said, before walking across the road.
Chloe sighed and said, "I can't let him go unsupervised." The group all followed, Sun a little reluctantly. The gang had all dropped their main combat gear, rightly realizing that armored troopers would get attention. Fortunately, they had a spare holo-collar for Techo since he didn't seem to have much control over the shapeshifting dragon power that Sun apparently had.
The lobby of the building was surprisingly empty for a law firm, the receptionist looking up as the group came in. "Can I help you?" he said as the group approached.
"Yes, we've just had a narrow brush from some nitwit flying their personal plane inside city limits and I'd like to know who to sue about it," said Matt.
The receptionist said rudely, "We're closed. Please leave or I will call security."
"No, you'll stay open as long as this case stays open because I'm pretty sure I saw this place's logo decorated on the side of that plane," said Matt.
The receptionist glared before reaching for something before the tallest of Matt's team reached over and picked him up. "You know who we are. We wish to see your leader," he said in a rumbling voice.
The receptionist gave him a sharp look and said, "If you know who we are, you'll know that our security is nothing to trifle with."
"Yeah, but I bet the people out there will call the police before you get us," said Matt, grinning before waving, "Xander, put him down."
After the receptionist was put down, he made a quiet call before saying, "You have 10 minutes to talk with him. If you don't have a good reason to keep talking after, security will step in."
A man in a standard security uniform walked up. "Mr. Nandis will see you now. You may bring one person," he said coldly.
"I'll be coming," said Sun, "I believe I have been wronged more than just by that plane."
"This way please," said the guard, turning and walking towards a lift at the far end of the lobby. Matt and Sun followed, taking a step back as the lift opened to show two mercs wearing full armor with 'B13' on it.
"No funny business," warned one of the mercs.
The lift ride was unusual, going down instead of up for at least 10 minutes before it opened up into a pitch black room, the only light coming from a holo-computer in front of a bank of monitors, showing various Black 13 mercenaries on contracts or just resting.
"Word of advice, Mr. Nandis doesn't have a sense of humor," said the other merc.
Matt gulped as the lift doors closed behind them. "You still wanted to come? Nobody's ever met this guy. He even only sends representatives to the council," Matt said quietly.
"He's only human, right?" whispered Sun.
"Nobody's sure," said Matt, looking at the strange hieroglyphs appearing every now and then on the holo-computer as a skittering noise was heard from the dark. Matt gulped as they walked towards the desk. As they got closer, Matt could see a glass box on the desk with several somethings crawling around inside it and making hissing sounds.
Sun backed up until a rasping voice said, "Madagascar hissing cockroaches…perfectly harmless...yes...food...for companion," The group turned to see two yellow reptilian eyes staring out the darkness...before two more pairs opened above them. "Rivals...come into my hive...you will explain or pet will have new food," the voice said
Sun was completely tongue-tied by terror but Matt managed to say in as level a voice as he could, "Someone flying one of your ships made an attack on us this afternoon, in broad daylight and within the city."
"Not my hive...terran gunships widely sold. Your hive only other hive here. I see all here...your hive leader responsible," said the voice, a clacking noise heard as he spoke.
Matt had a feeling Andies had a thumb in this, but he wasn't expecting much more than being bribed to keep it quiet for someone else. "Well, I suppose it would be unwise to go back to my...hive for help, wouldn't it?" he said.
"You no longer part of their hive...you go back only to die," said Mr. Nandis from the shadows.
Sun finally found his voice and said, "I was never part of his...hive, but he has stolen something precious from me, from several others and I'm here to get them back."
There was an angry hiss at that. "Avalarian...you dare bring hive scorcher into home," hissed Nandis angrily.
"She's not from Avalar and I'd ask how you would know about it, but I'm guessing I won't like the answer," said Matt.
"You will not gain that knowledge. Time has elapsed. You will leave," said Nandis angrily.
"First off, we haven't been talking for 10 minutes, it just took us too long to get down to this pit. Second, you can't just toss us out because you've got a stake in this too. Think anyone else would notice or care that the ship in the river wasn't under your ownership?" said Matt.
At that a claw shot out, grabbing Matt round the throat as what, to Sun looked like a Krylock demon without the snake head skittered out. "You will leave. You are not my master, terran. You and your pet will leave or die," it hissed, its mouth opening in far too many parts for a normal mouth, complete with mandibles.
"I'm the least of your problems," gasped Matt, "My hive doesn't all follow Andies word for word and they'll be wanting payback. You let your hive's name be smeared and your hive will get smeared."
The creature that was Nandis pulled Matt closer with a hiss, glaring into Matts eyes before unceremoniously dropping him. "You will leave," he hissed.
"But we still-" started Sun.
"Sun, let's not aggravate the giant praying mantis any more than we have already," said Matt.
Sun helped Matt up and they headed for the already opening lift, the guards still there. "Ok, that could have gone...hey, what's this?" said Matt, pulling what looked like a contract chip from his pocket. "Sounds like the boss has made you an offer. Don't turn it down too quickly," said one of the guards.
"Sneaky bug," muttered Matt.
...
Once the gang had left the law firm, Matt tried the number listed with the contract clip. A familiar voice said "Contractor?"
Matt actually laughed at that, "Dante? Is that you?"
"Lynch? How did you get this number?" demanded Dante.
"Your boss gave it to me," said Matt.
"Like he'd give a two-bit busybody the time of day," said Dante. "Well, let's just say I put a flea in his ear," said Matt.
A voice in the background said "Verified code, boss." and Dante moaned. "Oh, you have got to be kidding."
"That's right, you better listen to what I have to say if you don't want your boss to bite your head off," taunted Matt.
"You...you saw the boss?" said Dante, his voice shaking.
"Enough of him," said Matt, he didn't see much more than his face and claws, but that was more than enough for him.
"Fine...what's the job?" said Dante, his voice steadying...until Matt said "We're gonna break into CPS command."
"Is this some twisted sort of joke?" demanded Dante.
"Nope, the colonel's into something twisted. I think he sent a team after us. So we're gonna break into his files and get the dirt," said Matt, gleefully enjoying Dante's terror.
"You do realize you're talking about a suicide run," said Dante.
"Maybe, unless you had someone who knew the layout, like us," said Matt.
...
"I thought Dante worked for the Empire," said Jake.
"Well, he's had a few career changes before that," said Matt.
"Yeah, last I heard Mr. Nandis was offering a bounty to anyone who brought him to Black 13 control alive. That was after he went on the empire payroll," said Techo, wincing as he remembered Matt's description of Nandis.
Matt nodded, "Anyway, getting into command was harder than it...our history... We got to get to headquarters, the old headquarters."
...
CPS hadn't always used the same location for their HQ. However, at least they made sure to take everything from the old HQ and not leave it lying around. Which is why when they arrived at the old dockyard, it looked like no one had been there in years.
Matt looked around the warehouse they were in, the only sign anyone was ever there being a few badly rusted jeeps. Matt looked around before firing a plasma ball at a seemingly normal section of wall, revealing a hidden liftshaft. "Down we go," he said, grimly.
"Think they've got any of the old security?" asked Chloe.
"I doubt it, but let's go carefully just in case," said Matt, jumping down.
...
Jake looked around the old corridor, the base looking like a fire had swept through.
"Then won't this place be weakened and unstable?" asked Jake.
"No, it's built to last. Come on, the colonel's office is this way. We'll have to go through operations," said Techo, still annoyed over his scaliness, made more insulting that the gem had locked onto remnants of the spell that Malefor had once used on him.
"So why set up shop down here?" asked Jake, "I mean, this place might have history, but she could find a better place to...do whatever it is she's doing with that chi."
"That's what I don't like," muttered Matt.
"You think she knows about you two being...you know?" asked Jake.
"Certainly, we were big news for a while," said Chloe, checking a corner
"So do you think the syphon tech would work on you?" asked Jake.
"We'd survive. The device was based off a DNA bomb, nanites protect against it usually," said Techo, looking around a corner before the group spotted a light in the distance, coming under a door.
"I get the feeling she's going to try anyways," said Chloe.
The group slowly walked forward before Matt tried the control on the door, the door sliding open. "Ok...that's not good," said Techo, "There shouldn't be any power."
"Like a generator is so hard to drag along," said Jake.
"No, that's the thing, nobody else was down here. That lift's the only way up or down," said Matt, looking in to see that the room beyond was the very one they had been after, the old holo-terminal powered up, with several files already open and a pending pre-recorded message waiting.
"This better not be another one of those 'follow the messages' things," said Jake.
Techo looked at the files and paled. "Oh, this is not good. Looks like the colonel kept the specs for the syphon on here...and had a backup made," he said.
"So his little girl can pick up where her father left up," said Chloe.
"Hey, what's this?" said Techo, activating the pre-recorded audio.
"Oh, well done. You actually do have a brain," said Diana's voice from the computer.
"We're not going to be playing follow the leader all day," said Matt, "You better show where you're hiding."
"Matt, it's pre-recorded, it can't respond," said Chloe.
"I know, I just needed to say that," said Matt.
"Now, you're no doubt sick of playing 'follow the leader' knowing your file, so I'll make this quick. Come to where it all ended...if you get out in time that is. Goodbye captain," said Diana's voice before a monotone voice said "Demolition charges now armed...detonation in 60 seconds."
"Figures," said Matt, "Everyone out, double time!"
Jake said "You sure they'll still..." before he was thrown off his feet as an explosion shook the room.
"That was just a firecracker compared to what the rest of the place is about to do," said Matt, "Move it!"
The group ran for it, those with wings using them to double the speed and carrying those without. As it was they barely got out in time before a fireball followed them out.
They watched as the warehouse was quickly consumed in flames. "Well, at least we know we're on the right trail," said Jake, "I'm guessing 'where it all ended' was where you took down the colonel."
"Yeah, it was. We got the files easily enough. Leyton was the real guy in charge by that point and alot of the guys were behind them. We didn't even have to hide. Turns out after we were attacked, Andies legged it..." said Techo.
...
"I say we gut the smegging rat!" yelled a mercenary from Condor team at the back of the command center. Needless to say the entirety of the teams in New York was baying for the colonel's blood, much to Sun's horror.
"Now, now, I agree that two-timer ought to be hanged by his entrails, but that doesn't mean we need to go after him like a raving lynch mob," called Leyton before turning to Matt and Chloe and adding, "No offense."
"None taken," began Matt only for Techo to physically lift him out the way.
"Screw that, I want his head on a bloody stick," snapped the draconic merc.
"Please, do not let yourself be consumed by violence," said Sun, "I would hate to see my sister's chi corrupted by savage bloodlust."
"Hey, I deserve some payback for...whoa, whoa, whoa, did you say this is your sister's chi?" asked Techo.
"Yes," said Sun.
"I'M GONNA TURN INTO A GIRL?!" cried Techo.
"Nah...probably not," said Wilson, patting Techo on the back before rubbing it behind the merc's back mouthing pain.
"This doesn't solve the problem of working out where he legged it to," said Chloe
"The slimebucket's covered his trail pretty well," said Leyton, "Unless our guest has some magic trick to locate him."
Dante, who was sitting at the back said, "You bothered to ask our boss?"
"He...didn't seem the type to be prodded," said Matt.
"Hey, last thing we need is another crackdown by the council," said Dante.
"Well, if ye have any information worth sharin', please feel free to do so," said Leyton.
Dante shrugged before walking off to talk to one of his team, Techo's opposite number who immediately walked over to one of the op consoles and began fiddling inside a panel. "Very little escapes our boss's notice," said Dante, "He's been keeping tabs on Andies' collecting for a while."
Matt glared. "And he hasn't shared," he said sarcastically, causing Dante to chuckle and say "Would you have?" before a screen map of New York appeared, zooming out to the state then further out.
"He's gone pretty far." said the techie. Eventually, it zoomed out to an image of the globe before it rotated completely around and started zooming in on the Chinese Sea.
"Really far," commented Techo before it finally zoomed in on a small cluster of islands. "Weird, that place isn't marked," said the techie before a text post appeared, exclaiming "QUARANTINE ZONE BY ORDER OF DARKRIFT DIVISION!'
"That is near the Isle of Draco," observed Sun.
"Never heard of it," said Dante promptly.
"If DARKRIFT sealed it, not surprising, those guys do whatever the hell they want," said Wilson.
"I'm guessin' the Isle of Draco isn't named that way just for the tourists," said Leyton.
Sun hesitated to speak. "Sun, this is not a good time for secrets. Lives are in the balance," said Chloe.
"It is the home of the council...our leaders," said Sun reluctantly.
Dante shrugged. "Smart, standard ops, take out the head, and the body falls over," he commented bluntly.
"Not to mention the leaders are probably full of extra-powerful chi," said Wilson.
"Crap," muttered Matt before trying to upload a route to the island, only to get errors as the DARKRIFT firewall fell like a hammer. "Smeg, we need to get there," he snapped.
"That's the other side of the world, it's going to take too long to get there, even if we went orbital," said Techo.
"If we knew where it as we could do a site to site warp jump," said Dante, before he and Matt turned to look at Sun.
"You are asking me to reveal council secrets and I can't just do that with anyone who hasn't earned the trust," said Sun.
"If you don't reveal them, there won't be a council," argued Wilson. Sun paused before asking for a notepad which Chloe provided, using it to write down some map coordinates.
"Ok, so shall we attempt to sneak in and disable their plans before we realize we're there or do we hit them hard and fast before they know what's happening?" asked Matt.
"If I was Andies, I'd have a full force defending the bomb, especially as it's on this council's doorstep," said Dante, before saying, "Well, you did hire Black 13, might as well go all the way."
Matt and Chloe watched as Dante walked off to make a call before Matt said, "I never thought I'd ever say this but, go Dante."
"Hopefully things get less surreal after this," said Chloe.
...
Andies looked at the so-called Huntsclan all clustered around him. If he'd had his way, a team would have been setting up this device...but thanks to Lynch getting away he'd had to run and as such was forced to do it himself. Still, that dragon chi was powerful stuff if the reports he had heard were true. If he could utilize it properly...well, he was certain this 'Huntsman' wouldn't notice a few canisters missing.
"Device will be ready in a few minutes. I even had a backup device made," he said, before his smile melted away in the face of the Huntclan master's glare. "You don't smile much, do you," he said, turning back to double check the detonation cylinders. "So tell me, what do you plan to do with all that dragon chi once you have it? Empower your weapons? Sell it to the highest bidder?" asked Andies.
"Destroy it so its evil cannot corrupt anyone," said the Huntsmaster coldly, making Andies gulp a little.
"Well, as noble as your mission sounds, nobility doesn't pay the bills..." started Andies.
"You will be paid when the job's finished, no sooner," snapped the Huntsmaster.
"Fine, fine," muttered Andies.
The Huntsmaster glared before saying "I have business elsewhere. I must see to my apprentice's training. Do NOT fail." before slamming his staff down and vanishing in a teleporter flash.
"I hate it when he does that," muttered Andies before his wristcomp beeped. "Alert...incoming aerial contacts."
...
Matt was hanging his legs out the side door of the transport the group were in, said transport part of a swarm of vessels that had just jumped into the airspace about 4 minutes flight from the islands.
"Matt, stop fooling around before you fall out!" snapped Chloe.
"Hey, I've got a perfectly good grip and I'll be ready to drop on time," said Matt.
"This is a bad idea, if this is a DARKRIFT zone..." began Techo before Matt's comm beeped, the same message going to Dante.
"Mercenary units, this is DARKRIFT 2-90. You are entering a restricted area. Alter your headed on bearing 4-2-6 out of the area."
"We have good reason to be here," replied Matt, "Colonel Andies, or should I say ex-colonel, is building a weapon of mass...assassination on this island that needs to be destroyed."
"We are not at liberty to defend non-council races. Again, alter your heading on 4-2..." began the voice only for Sun to call into Matt's wristcomp, "They are going to murder hundreds of my people. Is that not worth action?" Everyone stared in horror at Sun, all knowing of how DARKRIFT had NO rules at all.
There was silence for a second before the voice said, "Heading approved. Continue on your way. Our sensors confirm a 90% above average lifesign reading on the central island. We are issuing an automatic bounty on Colonel Davis Andies to both Black 13 and C.P.S. Do you accept?"
"Uh...sure, how much?" asked Matt.
Chloe slapped Matt and snapped, "Of course."
Dante chuckled and said "Black 13 representative, Dante, accepts."
The voice said, "Contract acceptance confirms. Backup is 10 minutes away. Good hunting. DARKRIFT 2-90 out."
Sun gave Matt and Dante a scornful look and said, "I hope the survival of my people means more than a monetary bonus to you."
"Miss Park. When it comes to traitors, the cash is a bonus. We do not like our men being murderers," said Dante, sounding hurt.
...
Meanwhile, Andies was trying to get the clan ready for the incoming assault. But as this was the Japanese division, they hadn't seen CPS or Black 13 in action and weren't very impressed.
"I'm telling you, get some damn snipers inside the buildings," he snapped, pointing to the concrete squares that made up the old WW2 fort they had found on the island.
"We are Huntsclan. There is nothing we cannot handle," said the leader of the clan left behind.
"You haven't seen anything like these people. They'll rip you to shreds if you aren't prepared," said Andies.
"Hah," said the leader, not seeing the flash in the fog behind him, before a blue laser pulse shot out and hit him in the back, a half dozen gunships flying out the smoke.
"Take cover!" yelled Andies before running for it himself.
"PROTECT THE COLONEL! ONLY HE KNOWS HOW TO ACTIVATE THE DEVICE!" yelled a Huntsclan, the clan opening fire on the emerging mercs as one of the choppers shot over them towards the fort.
...
"Looks like the bombs in the topmost area!" yelled the pilot, steering the chopper up. The battle below so far was in the mercs' favor, though they were outnumbered
"Get us as close as you can, we can jump if you can't land," said Matt.
"Thermal's got plenty of friends in there. I'll clear the way for you first, Lynches," said the pilot, a Black 13 pilot before turning the chopper to fire its wing cannons at the wall, pulverizing it and the clan inside.
Suddenly, a plasma blast shot out and hit the tail rotor, causing the chopper to start spinning out of control. "I'm losing iiit!" yelled the pilot, desperately trying to right it, before Matt and Chloe were tossed out by the spinning, the chopper exploding below.
"We lose more choppers that way," said Matt.
"I hope the others got out before it crashed," said Chloe.
A hail of gunfire shot out at that, forcing the two to dive for what cover some rubble made. "You PAINS IN MY BUTT!" yelled Andies' voice.
"I was wondering when he'd eventually say that," said Matt.
"He's been calling us that since our training days, when you started that fire in the lounge," said Chloe.
"You are NOT messing up this payday, you little brats!" yelled Andies, firing another burst of gunfire.
"I think you need to look a bit further than that," called Matt, "I don't see much of a long-term career ahead of you at this point."
"This could have worked, these things are dangerous," snapped Andies before spotting Chloe moving and firing a burst into the weakened floor. The floor quickly gave out and Chloe had to snatch the side of the hole to keep her from falling through.
Another hail of gunfire shot towards her, only for Matt to tackle Andies, the two rolling back as the bullets shot around. Chloe yelped and lost her grip, luckily bouncing down a series of small outcroppings to land at the beach below, where the battle was slowly turning against the mercs. As she got back up, she noticed that Sun was nowhere to be found. "She deserted us, I can't believe she deserted us," said Chloe.
"Go, go, fall back to the fort!" yelled a Black 13 merc, before a plasma bolt shot through him. Their opponents had quickly gotten their act together and were fighting back with monstrous firepower.
...
Matt however was learning why the colonel had held his position so long as a knee connected with his chest and he was pushed across the room. "You could have kept your nose out of this. You could have just perished before you stirred up too much trouble," snapped Andies.
"So...is genocide the company line now?" called Matt, looking for his blaster and quietly moaning as he saw it in the wide open.
On cue, a device in the middle of the room said "Stage one arming sequence complete...preparing stage two."
"Not genocide, harvesting. Once the leaders were gone, we could have swooped down and snatched up the rest. They could have been the next generation of supersoldiers," said Andies.
"Didn't the Ancients try that? And Sy Yong? Look what happened there," called Matt.
"We learn from their mistakes. Just as I'm learning from my mistake of letting you run around," said Andies as he aimed his gun at Matt's knee.
Matt barely pulled his leg behind cover. "Oi, you'll have someone's leg off with that," said Matt, sarcastically, before pulling a knife out and tossing it at Andies' gun, the 'blaster knife' blowing the front off.
Andies tossed aside the gun and said, "Enough toying around, I'd like to see you keep prattling with a broken neck."
Andies then noticed the blaster, both of them running for the blaster, the device claiming "Stage two complete. Beginning final firing sequence."
"You're too late anyways, Lynch," said Andies, "Might as well quite while you still have a head." He and Matt both pounced for the blaster at the same time.
Matt struggled to take the blaster away. "I won't...let...you…" he winced, forcing the blaster down before managing to fire a single blast into the device.
"Critical error. System failure. Protocol 5 beginning arming abort and shutdown."
Andies stared in horror before headbutting Matt. "No...NO!" he yelled, running towards the sparking device. Andies frantically pulled panels back at the damaged part, "Don't you give up me. I am not getting out of here empty-handed." However, the sparking seemed to be getting worse instead of better.
"Unable to comply. DNA bomb targeting offline...Protocol 5 shutdown and disarm...complete…" said the device before the lights went off, though a hatch opened revealing another machineblaster.
A click behind Andies was heard and Matts voice said, "Show's over...you...lose."
"I haven't lost just yet," said Andies before yanking out the blaster and spinning around to face Matt.
Matt barely had time to dodge before a spread of rounds bit into his armor, sending him flying back. Andies, a mad grin on his face, strolled over to the hole and looked down to where the Huntsclan were firing at the beleaguered mercs. "Looks like your friends will lose too," he taunted before a fireball shot out the fog and sent several of the Huntsclan flying.
"What?" snapped Andies before he and Matt looked up and seeing a large group of dragons flying down and raining fire upon the Huntsclan.
"Huh, didn't expect this to happen to me again," said Matt.
"You...YOU!" began Andies madly, firing at Matt again before another fireball melted the front off his gun at the same time that a blast blew the blastdoors to the chamber open, a force of mercs running inside.
"Andies, you're under arrest by order of CPS," called Leyton.
"Wait a minute, who says you're getting his collar? Black 13 has his bounty," said Dante.
"Hold, this monster is under arrest by order of the council," said a female purple dragon.
"Are you guys really just gonna argue about who gets him when you don't even have any cuffs on him yet?" asked Chloe as she walked forward with a pair of handcuffs.
However, when she got close, Andies suddenly grabbed her and pulled out an energy dagger which he put next to her throat. "No one's getting me today," said Andies, "Not unless you want to go over her dead body."
The purple dragoness said "You will not escape..." before jumping as a single blaster shot rang out, Andies, with a puzzled look slowly slumping over with a smoking hole in his forehead. "Nobody...touches my sister," said Matt, coldly lowering his blaster.
They stared down at Andies' body for a few moments before Leyton said, "Well, I suppose Lynch gets the bounty now. We'd better stay here, let DARKRIFT finish this..." only for the purple dragoness to snarl.
"No, your memories must be removed," she said before a laser sight appeared out of nowhere, several dozen black uniformed troopers shimmering into view, one of them saying "I wouldn't try that."
...
"Yeah, that wasn't our best example of first contact, but fortunately we've been able to reach a peaceful agreement," said Matt as the jets flew on towards the island. He was feeling better since the Voodoo Anklet of Extreme Discomfort have been removed for this mission, with the subtle hint that it may stay off if it was successful.
"Drake 1, we have a confirmed signal in the old fortress...bearing 2-8-4...it's a syphon bomb for sure," said a voice on the comm as the island came into view.
"She can't be really planning a carbon copy of her dad's plan, it might be a red herring," said Matt.
"System match...it's already approaching stage 2 prep. We gotta move," said the voice again, the jets switching to VTOL mode to hover in place.
"But you guys and the council set something up in case someone ever tried this again, right?" asked Jake.
"I doubt it, they woulda told their agents otherwise," said Techo, grumbling in the back.
"Well, at least we have more than enough dragon power to take her on, right?" said Jake.
"Screw you!" yelled Techo, annoyed.
"Someone's sore. Let's go. Takes us round to the old hole," said Matt, sniggering at Techo.
...
Diana was busy putting the final bit of rigging around the syphon bomb when she heard the gunfire outside finally starting to ebb. "I would have thought marauders would have lasted longer. That's why I get for putting more credits into the tech than the men. Oh well, Plan B," she said, walking over to a beach seat and pulling out what looked like a lighter just as the door exploded in. "Hi," she called cheerfully, not bothered by the terran and Avalarian dragon growling at her as well as the dozen laser sights on her.
"You know, for someone so eager to follow in her daddy's footsteps, you didn't do that much to improve upon his plans," said Matt casually.
"You can't talk, your plans usually end in explosions. Tell me, did you bother to do a scan sweep as the manual demands?" said Diana, twirling the lighter in her hand before flipping it open to reveal a glowing ruby button and pressing it.
"You rigged the place to blow, didn't you? Crazy, but I suppose that I should have expected," said Matt.
"And we have only 60 seconds before we go out with a bang, not enough time for you to fly away," said Diana before glancing at her watch and saying, "Correction, we have 45 seconds."
Techo glared and leapt forward, snatching the detonator and using a drill that folded out from his cybernetic paw to open it. "Ah, the MK 15, I designed this," he said, grinning evilly at Diana.
"Which is why I tweaked it a little," said Diana.
Techo looked down to see that all the usual markers he had once placed in had been removed. "Sod it...come on...come oooon..." he muttered.
"20 seconds, boys, any last words before we go see dear old dad?" said Diana, manically.
"Who says we're going to the same place?" said Matt, "I'm pretty sure I've scored better karma points than he did."
Techo however finally managed to find the core, cutting one of the two remaining power cables and sighing as the lights died. Surprisingly, Diana didn't look bothered, simply raising her hands while still smirking.
"If you're think of taking any hostages, don't. Your father found out the hard way that was a bad idea," said Matt.
"I'm smarter than my father," said Diana, muttering, "You'll just have to make do with me breathing." before laughing at Matt as she was dragged away.
"Is it me, or was that too easy?" asked Jake, "I mean, I thought it was going to build up to something more exciting than this."
"I know. Let's just get...that dismantled," said Matt, looking at the now offline Syphon bomb.
...
Diana, sitting in a cell looked up as a guard on the intercom said, "Hey, prisoner 82, visitor."
"If it's Lynch, tell him I'm not seeing him," said Diana.
"It isn't him," said the guard, the door hissing open.
Diana simply smiled as she recognized the figure. "Took your time." she said.
There's another chapter up. I would have done it sooner, but I had a busy week. This is a sort of buffer between the last chapter and the finale, not that it's any less exciting. We get a glimpse of Matt and Chloe before the whole EXP madness and see how effective Sun Park is. We may be seeing Diana at some point in the future. I'm not really sure when, but definitely one to watch out for. The final chapter will be up tomorrow so keep an eye out for it. Please review.