Chapter 10: That sinking feeling
Finally acting on their mission, Salamander and Alexander stood with the other passengers aboard the airship heading for Juno. They kept quiet among the mass of chit chat and mutters that filled the ship, avoiding any attention for now. Through the clouds ahead of the ship, Juno slowly came into focus for the passengers. Sal tapped Alexander on the shoulder and smirked. Alexander nodded and drew his spear from behind him and took a deep breath. With a quick turn he pierced three of the passengers, causing others to turn in shock. Salamander in his new gear grabbed a seed from his jacket and threw it onto the deck of the ship. The seed dug down into the wood and expanded into a large bundle of vines with large mouths atop. The vines shot around the deck, grabbing people and pulling them further into their clutches, releasing screams of terror and pain into the air.
Alexander cornered a group of the passengers and laughed as he threw his hands into the air, charging energy into them. He slammed his hands to the deck, releasing the stored energy into a black cross shaped wave of energy. The people reached out for salvation, but were caught by the blast and destroyed. Salamander turned his attention to the last few passengers who were on the verge of jumping ship. He grabbed another seed, a black one this time, and threw it over board. Within seconds a jagged stalk of spines shot upward and grazed the ship, taking the few passengers by surprise as they were carried up by the sharp spines. Salamander and Alex laughed with each other and headed inside of the ship, making their way to the captain's bridge.
"Remember, once this crashes, we'll have exactly ten minutes until the next one arrives for us to hijack. So I'll get to the drive system while you hold them off for eight minutes, I'll then take the system down. I'll have two minutes to return to the surface and we both get aboard the ship. Got it?" Sal asked Alex.
"Indeed, now then." He said while kicking the door to the bridge open. "Let's introduce ourselves to the captain and his men hehehe."
Horrible screams came from the bridge that echoed down the empty halls. With no one at the helm, the ship lost control and began a slow veer off to the left. Salamander pulled free a vial of acid and dripped the corrosive cocktail onto the control panel, causing mayhem to breakout in the wiring. Soon the ship came to a pivot and continued on a steady march towards the floating city.
Wasting no time, Alex and Sal made their way back to the deck and stood on the railing.
"Wait for it. Almost…Now!" Sal shouted as he took to the skies, spreading his body out to catch the wind.
Alexander followed after, holding his arms out despite his heavy armor. Salamander took one of his homunculus eggs from his pants and inserted it into an incubation tube. With a quick shake he threw the tube to the ground. The instant the glass broke, gelatinous ooze spread across the surface below them, giving them plenty of space to land. Sal angled himself forward, picking up speed until he dove into the soft gel of the homunculus. Alexander flipped backward, pointing his feet downward to pick up speed as well. His descent was slowed greatly when he touched the ooze, allowing him to hit the bottom smoothly and slide out of the side.
"Well, that seemed to work a lot better than I figured huh?" Salamander asked himself while he collected a sample of the homunculus, leaving the rest to die.
Alexander looked back to watch the ship crash directly into a good portion of buildings in the city. Fire broke out which spread to the gas tanks, setting them off along with various other things in the neighborhood and in the ship. People who survived the ship's plowing ran to the streets, holding limbs, carrying the injured and screaming at the top of their lungs for help. Soon enough guards swarmed the crash site, dowsing the flames with water magic and hoses.
Alexander cracked his neck and ran towards the crowd, stopping only to nod to Salamander. His metallic boots sparked madly as he skidded to a stop just before reaching the guards. He used the momentum in his slide to turn and draw his spear, jamming it into one of the guards who was casting magic.
"That will be enough of that!" Alex spouted while lifting the body above him and tossing it to the others who immediately registered Alex as an enemy.
Salamander took the chance to run into the alleyway until he stumbled upon the maintenance hatch for the Juno branch Alchemy guild. He pried the metal away from the building and jumped through, making his way down the access hatch. A little further inside and Salamander caught wind of something that spiked his interest meter. An access tube to the water supply called out to him as he rubbed his hands in anticipation. With the hatch open, Salamander tossed a handful of one kind of seed into the flowing water, then another type. He closed the hatch and shimmied his way down the rest of the narrow structure.
Back outside Alexander continued to make new friends with the locals. Three of the fire fighting guards were dead and Alex was working on his fourth one already. He spun the spear around and slammed it into the ground before stomping with frightening strength. The ground quaked and split into shards of rock that lifted the guard slightly in the air, enough to throw his balance off and send him crashing to the ground. Alex capitalized and dashed over, driving his spear into the recovering man's head. The blood splattered over his armor and some on his face, the warmth filling his mind with incentive to continue.
Out the corner of his eye he spotted a refueling station for the ships further in the city equipped with two gigantic fuel tanks. With a devilish grin on his face he began to take a charge towards the gigantic canisters that stood out more than anything else. He jumped the small flight of stairs, spun and stabbed an oncoming guard with the spear and dropped his body there where he drew his short sword from the sheath. With a full head of steam and locomotion that had yet to be rivaled, he continued his rush onward, taking out several civilians and guards on his way while tanking any damage they managed to throw out to him.
Inside, Salamander watched from behind the scenes as many of the alchemist were in a panic in light of the outside demonstration Alexander was giving. They mobilized some of their best alchemist to assist the guards. As they evacuated the area, Sal slipped through the vent and out into the main hall where he sped towards the basement levels. He maintained a constant speed, only stopping to hide in the shadows to minimize any threat possible. Ahead of him waited a doorway with a blue tint coming from within. Sal inched his way towards the door with his back stapled to the wall until he could peek around the corner. Inside were a handful of alchemist and bio chemist that were performing analysis on a summon crystal. Salamander's eyes lit up with excitement at the chance to obtain his own Precor Deus.
Outside, Alexander left many bodies, rubble and all around devastation in his wake. He neared the tanks, but stopped when the sound of cannons being fire caught him by surprise. The huge shells nailed him dead in the chest, throwing him back into the wall of a nearby building, reducing it to a pile of bricks, dust and rats. Alexander laid there for a moment before shaking his head and sitting up.
"My my, that one actually hurt a bit. What in the world was that?" He asked himself as he stood, but not before more shells flew his way.
He lifted his sword and took a deep breath, watching the shells approach him in slow motion. With more speed than he looked to have, he turned to the side and slid the blade under one of the shells, lifting it and turning it around without having it lose momentum while dodging the other. The shell flew into the air for a while as Alexander turned to identify his assailant, the sound of heavy footsteps brought his attention to the mechanic walking towards him in his magic gear armor.
"Oh, now I see. So you've brought the heavy machinery out have you? Well then, I suppose I can take this to the next level!" He yelled out while running forward. He quickly stopped when more shells flew for his body, but from other directions.
Without waiting a moment, he jumped into the air, dodging the oncoming shells that would have surely done more damage than the last. While in the air he looked up and to his surprise, he was eye to eye with the first mechanic who jumped along with Alex. The giant robotic arm swung around with little effort, but Alex threw his arms in front of the attack, blocking it successfully, but pushing him back down towards the ground at top speed. Down below one of the other mechanics slid under Alexander and aimed his cannons directly at Alex's blind spots. He fired a handful of shells that found their mark, pushing Alexander forward before he made contact with the ground. The back of his armor began to show dents and small tears from the rear assault.
Down below, Sal had monitored the room and formulated a plan. Near one of the computers sat three carts used for transport. There were seven people in the room, two groups of two, one group of three stood at the center near the crystal. None of them had weapons at the ready which put Sal at a great advantage. He returned to his stationary pose on the wall and took a breath.
"Here goes nothing I suppose…Heh." He convinced himself before running into the room, heading straight for the carts.
The others in the room immediately reacted, all of them reaching into their coats, pants pockets and bags. Bottles of acid and fire grenades flew for his body, but Sal dove to the ground, sliding to the carts. He grabbed one and closed his eyes as his jacket sleeves began to expand and grasp hold of the cart. The cart changed to a darker color with a figure of a devilring perched inside. He poked his head from behind the cart and laughed as he turned it towards the group of three.
"Cart cannon!!" He commanded with an echo as his newly remodeled cart opened, revealing a small convenient blaster that began charging energy.
The cannon shot forward, ripping a clean hot hole through one of the computers and two of the three alchemists by the crystal. One of the bio chemists ran to the nearby computer and typed in a few lines, sounding the alarms and closing the blast doors to the room. Sal grumbled and ducked back below the cart to pull a manual from his jacket.
"Let's see, let's see! Ah! There!" He excitedly spoke to himself as he began to tinker with some of the items in the cart.
Without exposing himself, he threw an item into the center of the room that rolled lazily after it touched down. They peered over their cover to see what it was and to their shock it was a coconut.
"…A…Coconut? That's all? Heh…Hahahahah!" One began to laugh as he jumped over and grabbed the thrown coconut.
"Rico! Drop it, we don't know what that is!" One of the bio chemists yelled.
"Relax! This guy must be desperate if he's tossing island fruit treats at us." He taunted with a laughter that would soon come to an end.
The coconut rumbled for a little before spikes protruded from the brown shell. The spike lunged deep into Rico's hand, drawing blood and paralyzing him instantly with pain.
"Son of four bitches! Help me!" He yelled out in pain.
One of the other alchemists ran over and tried to assist without puncturing himself and also injuring Rico any further. As he maneuvered the coconut slowly out of Rico's hand, a small counter caught his attention.
"Shi-!" He tried to swear but the counter reached zero and the small bundle of cataclysm exploded between the both of them, sending needles through the room and into the two alchemists.
"Three left." Sal reminded himself as he began throwing more and more objects around the room.
He'd effectively turned this shut in into an extremely dangerous situation. One of the two bio chemist slowly positioned himself, with a bottle of acid and a fire grenade, to launch a sneak attack on Sal. He stepped over a banana that was tossed and cautiously moved his way towards the cart without so much as a bottle clanging together to make noise. Just as he lifted his arms to throw the surprise bottles, the banana behind him sprung into the air and began to twirl. The yellow spiral gained speed and released a fine smoke around the area that two more bananas mimicked from other places in the room.
Sal rolled from the cart, pulled the front part of his jacket over his mouth and nose and used his fantastic memory to recall the exact layout of the room, where his bombs were and where the other alchemy members were. With a duck, weave and a hop he stood behind one of the bio chemist and the last alchemist who were stuck in a coughing fit. Quickly he grabbed two seeds from his coat and jammed the sharp ends of the seeds into their spines, making sure to drive them in as far as possible before running the opposite direction. Large plants began to shoot from their bodies, ripping flesh and clothing as they did. The plants wrapped spiny vines around their bodies, using the blood as nourishment. The petals engorged themselves with the crimson liquid until the bodies were dry and the plants bloomed large, beautiful red flowers. The smoke died down some and the last bio chemist had hit the ground to avoid the choking hazard.
He stood with his sleeve over his face, trying to see results of this smoke screen.
"Thomas! Rachel! Are you both alright?" He asked, but got no reply. "Dammit…Not you both…"
Salamander began laughing in the veil of the last bit of smoke. His voice slowly inched into the bio chemist's mind as the room finally cleared. Ahead of him were his two colleagues, wrapped in vines, pale from their face to their arms and much skinnier. He covered his mouth with his hand and resisted the urge to run over and attempt to help them. Salamander walked up to the female alchemist and laughed while his face poked between the vines enough for the bio chemist to see. His hands wrapped around the now sagging breast, careful to avoid the vines at all cost.
"Maybe I should have kept her alive, she could have provided hours of entertainment for me in my lab, Ohohoho!" He teased.
"You shut your filthy mouth! I don't know who you are or where you learned these techniques, but I assure you once the king is notified, you will hang from your heels from a wagon while they drag your starving body through Turtle Island!" He shouted, his anger already causing him to think irrationally.
"Oh come on now you've forgotten me so fast? Just think about it for a moment. You bastards all exiled me years ago and even took the time out to kill me, or so you thought you did. Think real~ hard about that. I'll give you a clue, I was the one who did those wondrous experiments on your little brother. Oh the noises he made, I wish I had recorded them. Oh wait..I did. Remember how you listened to tape after tape?" Salamander folded his arms while speaking, causing the face mask to fall down his face and back into his jacket.
"N-No! Cross! How!? We killed you! I watched your head roll from your shoulders!" The bio chemist yelled, tightening his grip on the bottles.
"Oh quite easy actually. You see, I knew well enough of the raid of my lab and home. I simply took all the data I required, stowed it away and left one of my wonderful homunculus there for you to find. Once you caught him, you executed a soulless doll and everyone went home to sleep well while I sat back in the shadows and watched everyone. Even now, my homunculi sit in the alchemist guilds, recording every shred of information." He told with no problems.
"Lies! All lies!" He retorted, the bottles cracking his hands.
"Odd, I recall your little brother saying that when I told him about my human experiments. Now look at him. Tell me, one of my cameras were offline that day, how did the results turn out on him? Did he stabilize or was my hypothesis correct?" He asked with a tilted head and finger to his chin.
The bio chemist bit down hard as hot tears came from his face. The bottles snapped in his hand, causing the liquids in both to splatter onto his hands and clothes. He jumped back, swatting at his clothes and trying to remove his gloves but it was too late. The acid dug into his skin, burning straight through with no resistance. He stumbled backwards with loud incoherent screams, now dealing with the ignited fluid on his jacket. Salamander walked around the computer and stood before the flaming man with arms folder.
"Sorry, but my time is up here. I'm afraid I'll need to cut this chat short." He announced as he kicked the bio chemist back into a small pile of fruit.
The fruits of course were bombs that Sal threw out from behind his cart barrier. Being on fire only meant a swift ignition for the bombs and so it happened as such. The coconuts, durian and apple bombs caught the flame and erupted behind the biochemist, spewing his insides across the room. Salamander wiped his face clean and turned his attention to the floating crystal in the tank. From inside his jacket he drew a small seed that he latched onto the glass. With a small sprinkle of water via the sweat on the back of his neck, the seed spread out and constricted the glass in a tangle of vines. The container creaked and cracked until finally it gave under the massive strain and shattered.
Sal reached inside with no time wasted and smirked. He stuffed the crystal into his jacket and ran back over to the cart. He knew well enough there would be an armada outside waiting for him, but he took precaution upon entrance. He rolled his right sleeve up, looking at the watch underneath.
"Five minutes left, I must hurry." He said while pulling the sleeve back down. "Should be about time anyway."
No sooner had he spoke, sharp vines and bladed petals shot from within the water pipes of the facility, taking out anyone unfortunate enough to be caught by them. The swelling of the vines began to cut of circulation of water, backing up the boiler and other major functions of the alchemic facility. Without warning, explosions began to occur around the area, shaking the foundation of the facility to the core.
Sal took another corrosive bottle free and tossed it to the corner of the blast door to watch it melt that small area away. Through the hole he could see feet running back and forth and the shadows of people settle near the perimeter of the door. He chuckled to himself and rolled the cart to the door. He began tinkering around until he pulled a small amount of bombs from the cart and rolled them out from the small hole. Sal stood a good ten feet away from the door as mutters came from outside, followed by laughter and lastly a deafening explosion. The door crumpled into large chunks of metal that scraped the floor upon impact. He took the cart, pushing it slowly down the hall while whistling.
Outside Alexander had his hands full with the three mechanics out for his head. He knew he had only a few minutes left until the next airship arrived on schedule. His armor was riddled with dents, scratches and some parts were even broken. He hadn't prepared for this kind of battle and it was showing.
"I suppose I'm at a disadvantage here gentlemen. None-the-less, I have a mission that my leader is counting on me to finish! I cannot play any further!" He yelled as he removed his damaged shield from his back and placed it in his hand.
He ran for one of the mechanics, the assault plan laid itself out for him as his adrenaline kicked into maximum. Just as he went for the first step of his plan, the ground shook and erupted with flames from under the ground. He jumped back as one of the mechanics was engulfed in a super hot fire that caused his magic gear to overheat. He dove from the gear as it exploded, spraying hot oil and parts around the area. Alex noted their inability to handle extreme heats and the original plan came back to his head. He took a turn and made a mad dash for the huge gas tanks.
The mechanics opened fire, spraying a barrage of bullets for Alexander's body. He ducked and swerved around the heat and jumped into the air. With his spear below him, he pierced the side of the tank, spilling the gas on the ground. The combustible liquid surrounded the mechanics feet. Just as they went to jump from their certain doom, Alexander launched his shield at one, knocking him back down to the ground. He waited for the other to near him before jumping to meet him head on. He grabbed on and pulled his body backwards, flinging the gear into the other tank. His body pierced the tank, spraying gas into the air. As the other mechanic was getting to his feet, Alexander was standing just outside of the gas spill holding his short sword.
"I'd say this is mission complete." He said while swinging into the ground, causing sparks to rain onto the gas. Immediately the gas caught blaze, trailing to the standing mechanic and up the side of the tank.
Alex turned and walked away as a mighty explosion tore down the buildings surrounding the tanks and annihilated the two magic gears and the three mechanics. He sighed and grabbed his right arm, feeling pain fill that side of his body completely. He almost had the feeling of invincibility being with The Advents, but he realized that was only hopeful thinking. He stopped walking and looked up at the new batch of guards and civvies that took up arms. With his short sword and a shake of his head, he yelled out and charged into the fray.
Salamander strolled down the hallways, watching his newly grown flora take over the facility. The halls were cramped with vines and thorns, leaving little room for moving. Most of the people inside were cowering in rooms and shelter areas in fear of the plants. Sal had effectively created chaos, something they were ultimately striving for. He continued onto the highly restricted area, taking care of the various doors with potent acids. Down the many flights of stairs and a few leaps later, he stood before a giant gyroscope that moved almost faster than he could actually keep up.
He checked his watch once more and pulled a black and red seed from his jacket. He placed the seed on the platform under the gyroscope and pulled a small shard of glass free from the cart. With a quick prick of his finger, he dripped the smallest drop of blood onto the seed's covering, causing it to jump around madly. His job was officially finished as the seed split open, releasing rapidly growing plant life around it. Giant creatures made of hardened vines and stalks grew more and more until they collided with the gyroscope, halting its movement and shattering it into thousands of parts.
He laughed at the destruction and made his way back up to the main floor, already feeling lighter as the city began to plummet. Outside, a siren sounded to alarm people of the impending doom approaching in the form of the ground below. Alexander stopped his own set of carnage when the people looked around and began to run away. He knew right away what that signaled. In his mind he had been keeping time since the moment they jumped from the ship and it was about time for the ship to arrive. He ran back towards the front of the city, looking in the air. The smoke made it hard to see, but he was almost certain he heard the ship approach.
A sharp jerk from the now falling mass caused him to lose his balance and drop his blade over the edge of the city. He grumbled and fell to his knees, trying to keep his balance. Down in the labs, Salamander took the main hallway rather than his access tunnel, avoiding the tangled mess that was now taking over the innards of the building. At the entrance, two alchemists were directing people outside from outside, quickly getting them out to safety where they could gather on the ship.
Sal's usual creepy smirk slid on his face as he snuck up behind the unsuspecting people. With a handful of seeds he threw them towards the ground and moved back. They burrowed into the ground and released ravenous plants that bit the legs and feet of the passing people and the evacuating alchemist. They fell to the plants, getting more and more of their bodies bit the longer they stayed down. Without their knowledge, the plants began pumping venoms through the bodies of their new meals, causing nerves to cease function and eventually left them on the ground paralyzed to be eaten.
The thick smoke outside blanketed the city, making it hard to tell rather it was day or night. Sal checked his watch one last time before looking to the sky. He could hear the ship in the air and he knew well enough it was mobilization time. Through the many people who ran for the dock, he spotted Alexander at the head of the group, keeping them at bay with a sharp ended pipe. Sal took to the back of the crowd and laughed, drawing their attention.
"Ahem! Ladies and gentlemen, we at Advent enterprises would like to announce that the flight to Rachel has been canceled due to poor visibility, however we offer an express route to the ground below and we certainly hope you keep Advent enterprises in mind." His words flew out with sarcasm while he made his way towards Alexander.
"A-Advents?! Don't fuck around! Let us by or we're done for you bastard!" One civilian shouted above the rest, starting a riot.
The ship appeared with lights bright through the smoke. It was a heavenly sight to the frantic people, but their hopes would soon be crushed.
"Ah my large friend, let's take our leave for I'm sure my little surprises have enough nutrients to greet these fine people." Sal said while holding his arms out to the people and smiling.
Alexander grabbed Sal's jacket with one hand and the edge of the cart with his other arm and took to the skies as though they weighed nothing. In might flight he tossed Sal into the air and onto the ship with minimal effort to free up a hand. Just shy of the edge, Alexander drove his hand into the side, halting his soon to be descent. With one arm he thrust his body upward with enough force to shoot him atop. Quick to his feet, he nodded to Salamander before raising his arm and punching straight down, opening a hole into the ship.
Salamander dropped down into the hallway and knocked on the bridge's door before kicking it in.
"Gentlemen, there's a change in our schedule. You see, you're now flying Air Advent and we need to immediately get to Rachel. Sal said while grabbing two seeds from his jacket.
"You have not authorization to be here!" The captain spoke from his chair.
"I don't think you heard me…" Salamander spoke quietly, tossing the seeds at the captain.
They landed on his coat, causing him to try and swat them off. The seeds sunk through his coat and into his skin, locking in instantly. He grabbed his skin, his veins pulsing outward, and screamed in absolute agony. He fell to the ground with slob exiting his mouth and blood pooling in his eye sockets. Sal stood over his shaking body and shrugged.
"Guess that one needs a bit more testing, there was no sprouting at all." He said with no care. "Now then, I'm taking over, if anyone wants to dispute this, step up now, if not, I suggest we start making our way towards Rachel…Now!"
The crew members looked at each other and went back to the consoles, lifting the ship up. The people below began to scream louder in riot and panic, trying to reach out to the ship. Children cried and parents tried to jump to reach the ship, but their efforts were in vain. Though their dooms were certain, it wouldn't be a quiet one. The grounds split apart and giant fanged plants surfaced from the piped hallways of the Alchemy guild. They released a saliva filled screech through the air, slamming their vines and roots down as the airship parted. Alexander folded his arms and watched the destruction unfold.
In the air, a black bird circled the area before flying to the ship and landing on Alex's shoulder. Sal stepped from the door behind Alex and nodded.
"Good, good. Unit thirty one has completed its recording I see. Now then." Sal said while pulling one of his small monitors from his jacket and hooking a cable into the bird's neck with a sickening pop.
The small eyes on the bird began to flicker and flutter wildly while the screen surged to life. With a quick yank of the cord, Sal laughed and placed the monitor in the talons of the bird. It took off, leaving the wake of chaos behind it as it made its way towards Prontera. Behind it, the city of Juno plummeted into the ground, setting off various explosions from within. Bodies of people, pets, homunculi and plant creatures fell from atop of the city, leaving them in a twisted scene of disaster and cataclysm. Salamander couldn't contain his laughter and smile while he watched the greatest feat of chaos he has yet to witness. Now the spotlight was on Azulong, Yumi and Kuroi, for act two was starting.