Shadow blinked,
"I beg your pardon sir?"
"A few hours ago, one of our surveillance units send a picture from the Cradle, we have a 82.6% confirmation that the person photographed was Arcreus" The Commander said, picking up a remote and pointing it at the HIP, the hologram of Angel Island disappeared and was replaced by a hologram of a street, covered with bored up shops and the homeless, burdened with boxes and bundles containing their valuables. Shadow then spotted a grey hedgehog, his clothes torn and covered in blood, his trench coat coated in mud and dust and his quills were spikier than the last time Shadow had seen him. The Commander pointed at the hologram of Theo,
"That's him" he muttered, Shadow leaned forward and looked at the hologram,
"My god, what's happened to him" Shadow asked
"We don't know, but our guess is that he has been sleeping rough for the past two months, trying to keep a low profile" The Commander said, "We need you to go into the Cradle and apprehend him, Dead or Alive". Shadow stood up,
"I can't do that sir, he's my friend" The Commander slammed his palm on the table, making Shadow jump,
"He's a cold hearted murderer, he slaughtered a dozen people and he was involved in a plot to kill King Elias, the Theo you knew before is long gone!" he roared, "We have a chopper crew leaving in 5 minutes. Get some weapons then go!" Shadow thought about arguing back, but decided against it, he nodded,
"Certainly sir, I'll get Arcreus into custody" he turned sharply and left the room.
"I have a bad feeling about this" Shadow thought…
Theo awoke sharply, by someone gently shaking him, he opened his eyes to find that a fully clothed Chaos was gently shaking his shoulders,
"Evening, sleepy-head" she said smiling, Theo grinned and threw the covers off himself, not caring that he was completely naked, he got up and began to look around for his boxer shorts,
"What time is it?" Theo asked, Chaos checked the alarm clock on the bedside table,
"4:20pm"
Theo found his underwear and put them on, yawning slightly as he did so,
"Sleep well?" he asked, Chaos smiled as she sifted through the files and papers,
"I was sleeping with you, idiot, of course I would have slept well" Theo blushed slightly and began to put on his blood soaked trousers and shirt.
"What are you looking for?" Theo asked, walking over to the table to wear Chaos was searching through the mountain of papers,
"I'm just trying to work out where to go next" Chaos sighed,
"Why don't we just head straight to Lost Point?" Theo asked
"Well according to some ancient manuscripts, a ritual is required to give you the power to become Rafael, but" She flicked through some more papers "The requirements for that ritual aren't here"
"Shit" Theo muttered "So back to square one then".
"Not quite"
Theos ears pricked up "What?"
Chaos pulled out a picture from the bottom of the pile, showing a tall thin man with neatly-combed grey hair and tiny eyes obscured by his big bushy eyebrows.
"This is Professor Albert Pickle, he's a professor of archaeology at Spagonia University".
"And?" Theo asked
"Well he's the man who assembled all of these files for GUN but he deliberately left out the ritual, for fear of it falling into the wrong hands"
"So if we go to Spagonia.." Theo reasoned
"We can find him and get the information out of the bastard" Chaos finished, Throwing the picture back onto the pile, at the back of Theos mind like a small annoying insect was another reason that he wanted to see the professor, but this thought was so crazy that he ignored it, the humming of a helicopter sounded over head but they both ignored it.
"Spagonia is at least an 8 hour drive on a decent motorbike" Theo said walking over to the cabinet and clasping on the gauntlets "So first things first we need to-
He was cut off by a loud shattering sound as the window smashed as a rain of bullets pelted through it, ripping apart the wall behind,
"DOWN!" Theo yelled and grabbed Chaos by the shoulder and threw themselves down to the floor. The bullets ceased and the dust began to settle, Theo anxiously crawled towards the door, he turned back to look at Chaos,
"Try and draw its fire, I'm gonna head outside and see what the hell is happening"
Chaos opened her mouth to protest but then decided against it and nodded.
"Ok, three, two, one. GO!" Theo yelled and sprung to his feet, the bullets began to rip up the room again as Theo raced towards the door, meanwhile Chaos rolled so she was crouched underneath the smashed window and she quickly launched bolts of lightening blindly out of the window at irregular intervals, trying to hit the target. Theo threw himself at the door, the hinges snapped, sending the door and Theo crashing into the corridor, however Theo was still travelling with speed, his head smashed into the door, causing an incisor in his upper jaw to stab itself into his bottom lip, he winced, he felt blood beginning to ooze out of the wound and trickled down his chin, he scrambled up and edged his way down the dust covered hallway, each footstep picking up a small plumb of dust. He heard more gunfire coming from the room and more electricity being fired, but he didn't stop to look. He clicked the safety off both gauntlets and checked they were loaded to their maximum capacity, He heard the door burst open down in the pub and the pair of at least a dozen rhythmical footsteps march into the bar, then some yells and screams and then a few seconds later a few warning shots that silenced the room into a whispering grace.
Theo moved forward slowly so he was almost peering down the staircase that led down to the pub, however his foot stepped on a dust covered floor-board that creaked loudly, however the silence in the pub bellow ensured that the footstep was heard and it didn't help that his boots were quite heavy. He heard footsteps hurry over to the foot of the stairs, and the unmistaken sounds of assault rifles being loaded,
"Come on out, Arcreus, this is GUN, come out with your hands up"
"Fuck" Theo muttered and straightened up, an incredibly ferocious plan sidled into Theos head, it would mean that he could obliterate all of the GUN forces but it would also mean that a load of innocent people would have the shit kicked out of them, but as if he could give a damn. He began to walk down the steps, each heavy footstep echoing around the bar; even the gunfire from the upper floor had stopped.
When he was half way down he could see that the door was now lying in splinters, and over 20 GUN soldiers had filled the room and had the mercenaries lined up against the wall so that the bar was calm and clear, cracked glasses and smashed bottles of exotic liquers lay scattered across the floor like children's playthings. Six soldiers were lined up at the bottom of the stairs, their guns raised, cold, battle hardened eyes gazing up at him, Theo knew that look all to well, it was the look of someone who was determined to kill, no matter the cost.
"Lye on the staircase with your hands behind your back" one of the soldiers yelled at him, Theo simply chuckled darkly, he raised his hands in mock surrender, one of the soldiers approached and quick as a flash, Theo grabbed the barrel of his gun and bent the barrel upwards, completely contorting the metal, then using the barrel he threw his fist round and smashed the edge of the gauntlet into the soldiers head, crushing his skull, the other soldiers opened fire on him, Theo threw the body at the line of soldiers, making them stubble, Theo took this chance and darted forwards and fired five bullets from the left gauntlet as he moved, each projectile hitting its target, since the bullets were 50. Calibre, they punched through the soldiers, throwing bits of flesh and pints of blood all around. The other soldiers aimed at him, Theo jumped up and swung off the chandelier, the roof began to tear itself apart from the hail of bullets that came his way, he jumped down and landed on top of one of the soldiers, he quickly pinned his head down and fired two bullets into the soldiers head, blowing it apart and throwing up blood into Theo's face. Then he felt a butt of a gun slam into the back of his head, making him collapse forward in a daze, his hands were yanked behind his back and a pair of bulky handcuffs were attached on to him.
Theo felt blood, hot and wet run down his head, he began to become concerned whether the head injury was serious or not, he was yanked to his feet by a large sergeant and forced out of the door and into the evening air. Theo looked around, clearly this had been a large operation, three choppers circled above the street and one was hovering next to the window in which Chaos was fighting it off, it let loose another hail of bullets from the two gatling guns attached to its belly, dropping thousands of tiny bullet casings on to the street bellow. Armoured convoys covered every exit and about 50 soldiers patrolled the deserted street, from whichever way he looked at it, his situation looked grim,
"We got you, you son of a bitch" Shadow said, pushing his way through the giant platoon to reach the party coming out of the pub, he walked towards them so he and Theo were face to face.
"Your looking well" Theo snarled "Hows your shit job with a corrupt government coming along?'" Shadow punched Theo in the stomach, making him double over, blood rose up his throat and Theo spat it out onto the pavement, staining his lips crimson.
"What happened to you?" Shadow asked, his voice now concerned, Theo smirked
"I saw the truth" Shadow glared at him,
"Get him out of my god-damn sight" The soldiers continued to march Theo forward towards a GUN truck, its back doors hanging open, preparing to receive him. Theo then laughed long and hard, like a madman as he was dragged towards it, this unnerved Shadow,
"What's so funny?" Shadow demanded, his hands curling into fists, Theo turned his head and for a split second, Shadow saw the demon, eating away at him in his eyes, Theo managed to subdue himself to a fit of giggles,
"It's just that…GUN really needs to get better handcuffs" and just before Shadow realised what happened, Theo snapped the cuffs off and electrocuted the guards either side of him, they fell, bodies shivering from the voltage coursing through them.
"OPEN FIRE!" Shadow yelled, the fifty soldiers all simultaneously opened fire, the gunfire echoing and ricocheting off the buildings defining everyone, Theo fired bolts of electricity at the GUN army, bullets were cutting through him, but his power was healing them instantly, but the blood still flowed from the crinkled holes of the healing bullet wounds. The three copters began to descend, and fire at him, the tarmac began to rip itself apart, throwing up dust and bits of rock that peppered Theo's chest. Theo bowed his head and raised his arms, and began to charge up electricity in his hands, but did not fire, he simply stood there and took the fire from the soldiers.
"What the fuck is he doing?" Shadow yelled, confused, then he felt something change in the air, his fur began to stand on end but not with cold or with fear, but something else. The 50. calibre bullets tore into Theo, Theo grunted and fell to his knees, blood flowing faster and more ferociously from his body, he still kept his arms raised, electricity jumping between his fingers. Seeing this Shadow realised what he was doing.
"GET THE FUCK OUT-" Shadow screamed, but Theo then released his plan, the static electricity all around them, burst forth, amplified and chaotic. Its raw energy cut its way through everyone, causing their hearts to either give out or for their brains to give up first causing them to pass out, the electricity flowed through the very air, cooking off the fuel in the convoys and choppers causing them to explode violently, throwing debris into the air and releasing choking black smoke into the heavens. Theo was stopped over, electricity running through his, rupturing his organs and instantly healing him; his ebony veins spread and pulsed as he let loose the electricity, blood began to flow from his eyes, his ears, his nose and his mouth. His screaming died away as the electricity faded from the air, Theo gasped as if he had just been held underwater, he staggered and fell, panting and retching up bloody vomit onto the tarmac.
"CHAOS!" he screamed through his retches, she didn't appear but the mercenaries were now running outside onto the scene of carnage,
"Holy shit!" the large dog, who had threatened him earlier said, his eyes wide.
"He's over there" someone shouted, the group ran towards Theo who was now lying on his back, breathing quickly and shallowly, his eyes rolled and he gratefully blacked out.
Shadows eyes opened slowly, his head spinning, his mouth dripping blood, he sat up and looked around at the devastation all around, the convoys and choppers lay in ruins, nothing more than piles of twisted blackened metal spewing smoke, bodies lay all over the road, either dead or unconscious but he didn't stop to check, the sky was dark so it had been a good few hours since he had passed out and it seemed that anarchy reined on the street. Some of the building either side were burning with a devilish ferocity. Shadow stooped down and picked up a sub-machine gun from the body of a dead soldier. He began to walk forward towards the Gun and Knife bar, gun raised, preparing for the worst.
Then by the door, he noticed a cream coloured cat, her body curled into a ball, her clothes were ripped and covered in blood, she was shivering and whimpering slightly. Shadow approached her and gently tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up and wheeled up right and began to hurriedly back away into the wall,
"Hey, hey take it easy" Shadow said "You're Chaos right?"
"Yes" she said, her voice laced with fear,
"What happened?" Shadow asked
"He wiped us out, everyone's dead, he killed everyone in that bar" she whispered her face strewn with tears,
"Theo?".
She nodded she gulped and began to talk slowly,
"He woke up in a bad state, the blast had taken its toll on him, we had patched him up, I said that we need to find some way for him to become Rafael. Then he just started killing everyone. One after the other, stabbing them, gutting them, shooting them, within two minutes, everyone was dead, except me". Chaos let out a dry sob and continued "Then he picked me up and- and"
"Raped you" Shadow finished her sentence, she nodded
"Then he simply tossed me aside like a used toy and took off" Shadows face when white, at the story, Chaos shivered and continued "Something changed about him in that blast, now, the demon has been revealed"
"Ok" Shadow said, comfortingly "Stay here, I'll be one minute". He got up and walked towards the shattered remains of the door that led into the bar, he pushed it open and was greeted by a grizzly sight. Mutilated bodies lay everywhere, blood soaking into the floor boards, their bodies either burned beyond recognition or sliced open with their entrails hanging out, flies feasted on the open flesh, planting their maggoty spawn upon it. On the far wall, a skunk was hung on the dart board his chest ripped open and darts skewered in his guts, making stomach acid and bile drip from the burst organs. Shadow grimaced and turned away, disgusted by the horror,
"Farewell, Thunder Child" Shadow muttered, he had coined the name "Thunder Child" for Theo when he first showed off his powers properly and when he was older he always listened to the musical version of The War Of The Worlds, and Thunder Child was the name of the warship that gets destroyed in it. Shadow picked up the sobbing Chaos and walked away, glancing around for any sign of a radio with which he could use to contact HQ; his own had been melted in the static blast.
He placed Chaos on the floor among the bodies as he spotted a slightly charred radio lying on its side, he picked it up and turned it on, a burst of static came through the radio, it worked, he tuned it into frequency and spoke into it.
"Shadow to GUN HQ, do you read me?, over"
"Roger we do read, over"
"I have a Code Black situation, at least 50 casualties, and all equipment has been destroyed and the target has escaped, over".
"Roger, Code Black received, relief squad are en route to your position, over and out". Shadow turned off the radio and sat down on the floor next to Chaos and sank into the nightmare that had just happened, trying to make sense of it all.
Theo raced though the desert on a stolen purple and silver motorcycle, his quills flying around in the high wind, the moonlight made the sand glow deep silver. The road was dark and deserted, Theo knew that at this speed, he would reach Spagonia in under 6 days, which was fine by him. He now knew, he won't for fill destiny and do nothing, neither will he become Rafael, he will destroy both sides with no mercy, and in Spagonia lay his key to doing this. He smiled and raced on into the desolated night…
A/N: Please review, I would like to know your views on this game-changing chapter. Remember to vote on the Good/Evil poll on my profile. Till next time!