Another day, another chapter. Now, review response time! Guest; well whilst Yang does love her hair, she also has a pretty good point. No way all her hair would fit in without squeezing her head. As for what the Master plans...you'll see soon enough. OutlastTheDark; how did he manage to get the Rifle and Armour in? Video Game physics my friend...video game physics. You know, I've seen a lot of people making bondage references to Blake but I've never actually noted any reason FOR those references, care to enlighten me? And of course the plan doesn't work! That's like...rule number one of escape plans, they never work! And a lot of creepy RPG's tend to have blood as a main resource, so maybe that's what you're thinking of. Now, on with the show!
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Chapter 14: The Escape
Alarms blared all over the Main Control Room as Soldiers and Officers alike rushed around the room, checking Data Feeds and Consoles for any sign of the Hero. He had been spotted on Level Five, but they had quickly lost track of him soon after. Troops had been directed to move in on his last known location, but only a few squadrons had actually made it to that level so far.
"Find that Bastard immediately! You see him, I want to be the first to know about it!" the Captain barked, prowling through the aisles of the Control Room. Seconds later, the doors opened as the Overseer quickly entered the room, making his way over to the Captain.
"What's the situation here Captain?" the Overseer asked, quickly scanning the Consoles littered around the room.
"The Hero's been spotted on Level Five sir." the Captain quickly replied, quickly standing up straight. "The Knight and Queen intercepted them but refrained from pursuing further."
"What?" the Overseer hissed, quickly spinning around to meet the Captain's gaze. "Why?"
"They said they would like to show you personally sir." the Captain stated, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "Sir, if I may suggest, I believe now would be an ideal time to utilise the War Do-"
"No!" the Overseer interrupted, holding up his hand to silence the Captain. "Whilst loyal to us they are mindless without the Masters control. I will not risk them tearing him apart when the Master wants him alive!"
"Sir!" an Officer quickly shouted, gaining the attention of both Captain and Overseer. "The Hero's been spotted in Sector Eleven! He's headed for one of the Perches!"
"Close all access to Sector Eleven immediately!" the Captain ordered, quickly making his way to the Officer in question.
"It's too late, they've made it past the Blast Door." the Officer explained, shaking his head rapidly. "The only thing we can do is ensure our forces block them off."
"That's not the only solution..." the Overseer butted in, causing both the Officer and Captain to turn and face him. "Are the Batteries in a serviceable condition?"
"Yes sir," the Captain nodded, his voice slightly cautious. "Why, may I ask?"
"I believe it's time we left this sector, don't you?" the Overseer murmured, causing the Captain to lift his head up slightly.
"I'll initiate the order immediately sir!" the Captain stated, quickly nodding to the Officer who began to type in multiple commands on the Console before him.
The Overseer then turned to leave the room as the orders were initiated. His task was done, now he needed to speak with the Knight and Queen about why exactly they ceased their chase.
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The Hero and Yang quickly sped through the corridor, stopping only to turn and fire a few rounds from Ember Celica or a few blasts of Shock and Inferno at their pursuers. Some blasts would hit their mark, stunning or out right obliterating the Soldiers, but most shots missed by a fair amount. As the pair continued, Yang fired a blast at a control panel they passed, quickly causing a large door to slide across the passageway.
One of the Soldiers made it through before the gap closed, quickly spinning to face the door as his colleagues skidded to a halt. As the Soldier continued to back away from the door, Yang quickly grasped hold of his waist and threw him over her, causing him to land on his head before sprawling onto his stomach. As the Soldier began to lift himself up off the floor, the Hero delivered a kick to his stomach, sending him crashing into the wall, knocking him unconscious.
"Nice combo." Yang complimented, brushing her shoulders slightly as she spoke.
"Thanks." the Hero replied, nodding towards Yang in the process. "How long do you think that door will last?"
"Should be at least a minute or two." Yang responded, waving off any concern of the doors longevity. Seconds later, a large abundance of sparks shot out as the Soldiers on the other side simply began to cut their way through the door.
"Or not long at all..." Yang muttered, slumping her shoulders as the Soldiers on the other side continued cutting through the door.
"We can't outrun them..." the Hero stated, looking behind him at the long corridor behind him.
"Quick! In here!" Yang hissed, grabbing the Hero as she pulled him into a side room, the door closing behind them.
Seconds later part of the door fell forward as a large contingency of Soldiers poured through, one of them quickly moving up to their unconscious colleague to check for a pulse as the others all looked around.
"Spread out and find them!" one of the Soldiers ordered, quickly signalling for the troop to move forward. "They can't have gone far!"
The Soldiers quickly nodded and moved forward, a small number staying behind as they awaited a medical personnel to arrive and treat their wounded colleague.
"Now what?" the Hero whispered, leaning closer to Yang in an attempt to be as quiet as possible.
"Well we can't just sit here, that's for sure." Yang murmured in response, watching as the Soldiers continued to wait. "But we can't bust them up before one of them calls for back up."
"Maybe we can..." the Hero whispered back, quickly removing his back-pack as he pulled out his Rifle. He ensured the weapon was properly loaded with the correct ammunition before taking aim.
"Wait, you're gonna take them all out with THAT?" Yang asked incredulously, an unimpressed look on her face.
"Believe me, it's faster then it looks." the Hero reassured, only for Yang to roll her eyes exaggeratedly in response. "Trust me, it'll be over before you know it."
Immediately after speaking those words, the Hero burst out of his cover, the doors opening as he approached. The Soldiers all turned to face the Hero...and all were on the floor with holes the size of golf balls in their heads before even a single one could raise a weapon in defence. Yang stepped out seconds later as the Hero loaded fresh ammunition into the weapon, her jaw slacked as the Hero smiled smugly at her.
"That fast enough for you?" the Hero asked, raising an eyebrow as Yang turned to face him.
"Yeah that was...pretty fast..." Yang muttered before shaking her head rapidly. "We should get moving, they'll have heard that."
The Hero nodded in response, quickly following Yang down the corridor they had been travelling down. True to what Yang had said, the other Soldiers had indeed heard the commotion and were now back tracking on themselves. They soon came across a group of six Soldiers, all of them quickly approaching the pair.
"You take right, I'll take left!" Yang shouted to the Hero, who nodded in response.
Yang quickly dodged incoming fire from one of the Soldiers and jumped towards the wall, launching herself towards the first Soldier. She wrapped her legs around his waist and fired a round from Ember Celica into his neck, causing him to fall to the ground unconscious. As the body fell back, Yang rolled forward to the next Soldier, who quickly aimed a Pistol at her.
She grabbed hold of his arm and pushed it away from her head, causing the Soldier to shoot the ceiling instead. Yang then pulled the arm back by the wrist whilst one hand grasped onto his elbow, pulling it back and snapping it, causing the Soldier to scream in pain. Yang then kicked him in the stomach, causing him to keel over slightly before she delivered a ground level sweeping kick to his legs, knocking him to the ground.
As she rose, she delivered a kick to the Soldier behind her, knocking the Rifle out of his hands. She went to follow through with another kick, but the Soldier parried the blow, causing her to spin around from counter strike. As she steadied herself, the Soldier grabbed her from behind in an attempt to restrain her, though Yang quickly elbowed him in the face, stunning him momentarily. Taking advantage of this, Yang grasped hold of the back of his head and threw him over her shoulder before punching him in the face, knocking him out.
Yang then turned to face the Hero, who was still dealing with his share of the Soldiers. One was already down on the floor, blood seeping out of his throat, though the other two seemed to be more troublesome than the first. One of them lunged for him with a Short Sword, though the Hero easily parried the blow with his Rifle, pushing him to the side. As the Soldier recovered, he lunged for the Hero again, only for him to shoot him in the face.
The final Soldier kept his distance, quickly loading a fresh magazine into his weapon. The Hero then shot his left hand, causing him to recoil from the blow in a comical fashion. The Hero then shot him in the left foot, causing him to rapidly raise his foot in an attempt to dodge the shot, making his posture even more comical. The Hero then shot him in his right flank, causing him to spin slightly as the shot hit him, exposing his stomach, which the Hero then shot, causing him to keel over before falling to the ground, dead.
"Done?" Yang asked, tilting her head as the Hero turned to face her.
The Hero then briskly walked forward in a rushed manner, causing Yang to step back in response. He then walked past her and slammed the butt of his Rifle into the face of a Soldier, who was just beginning to get up.
"Now I'm done." the Hero stated, quickly loading fresh ammunition into his Rifle.
"Then let's go!" Yang said, motioning for the Hero to follow her. "The sooner we get out of here the better!"
The pair continued onwards, the alarms blaring even louder then they had been previously. They encountered more and more resistance as they traversed the corridors, though all were easily taken care of. Despite this though, it was clear the constant fighting was beginning to take its toll on the pair.
"We can't keep up like this..." Yang panted, wiping her forehead as the pair recovered from their most recent encounter. "We need to find a way out of here like...now."
"Agreed." the Hero stated, quickly removing the back-pack attached to his back and chucking it on the floor. "All that extra weight wasn't particularly helping either."
"What about your gear?" Yang asked, facing the Hero as he turned to face her as well.
"All the essentials are in here." the Hero reassured, patting the brown satchel on his belt. "Besides, the Armour is too recognisable out there. I'll stick out like a sore thumb."
"If you're sure..." Yang murmured, quickly turning to continue down the corridor. "This way, if we're lucky we can-"
Yang was cut off as a black clothed figure leapt out of the shadows, delivering a kick to Yang, who only just managed to parry the blow with Ember Celica, the force of the blow sending her rolling backwards.
"Yang!" the Hero shouted, quickly charging forward to assist the Blonde Brawler, only to freeze in his tracks when a large figure in black armour stepped out in front of him, holding a Rifle with a small flame in front of the barrel.
Before the Hero could properly react, the Soldier pulled the trigger, a sheet of flame suddenly shooting out of the barrel towards the Hero, who backed away rapidly in response.
"Sparrow!" Yang shouted, turning to face the Hero as he was forced to continuously back peddle from the Black Armoured Soldier.
As Yang turned to help, the black clothed figure charged again, delivering another kick to Yang, who quickly parried again, the blow sending her to the floor once more. The black clothed figure then delivered an overhead kick, Yang sliding back quickly as she dodged the blow. As both rose up, the black clothed figure delivered a kick to Yang's right flank, causing her to stagger back. The figure then delivered a kick to her stomach, causing her to stagger even further onto the floor. The figure then leapt into the air, attempting to deliver a spinning kick, though Yang quickly rolled beneath the strike, turning around to face the figure as he landed.
The figure then dived forward and delivered a right hook to Yang, followed by a left hook, but both blows were easily parried by Yang who backed away with each blow. The figure then delivered another kick, which was once again parried by Yang. The figure attempted to deliver another kick though Yang ducked beneath the strike and thrust forward with Ember Celica, sending the figure flying backwards.
The figure then leapt up to meet her yet again and charged again, delivering three consecutive kicks which were all parried. As the figure attempted to perform a roundhouse kick, Yang ducked beneath the blow and kneed him twice in the stomach, before throwing him behind her. To her surprise, the figure followed through with the momentum, performing multiple acrobatic flips as he turned to face her yet again.
This was the first real chance Yang could get a close look at the figures Armour. There was very little to be honest, mostly found covering the face, forearms and shins, the rest of the armour being some form of kevlar or leather. Yang took note of the spikes protruding out of the elbows, as well as the multiple knife sheaths strapped to the jacket and boots. She also took note of the two Daggers strapped to his back, thankful the figure hadn't seen the need to use them yet.
The figure continued with their assault, though now Yang was more prepared then she had been previously. The figure started with a kick which Yang parried, before following through with a right hook which Yang ducked beneath. Yang then delivered a number of gut punches before kicking the figure back. The figure did not relent however, and charged to perform another kick, though Yang countered with her own, kicking his shin as he raised his leg. As the figure staggered back and clutched the limb in pain, Yang delivered another kick to his stomach, staggering him further. Yang then delivered an overhead kick, knocking the figure to the ground with a loud thud.
Yang turned around to help the Hero, who was still struggling slightly with the pyromaniac back there, until she heard the figure warily stand up. Turning around yet again, she opted to instead just flat out charge the figure, quickly pinning him to the wall with an audible thud before punching him in the face, finally knocking him out. Panting loudly, Yang turned to face the Hero to see he was finally starting to get the upper hand.
He had been forced back a great deal by the Flame-Thrower Soldier, who seemed to have held the advantage for the majority of the fight. The Hero had been forced back all the way to his discarded back-pack, which he now used to his advantage. Grabbing hold of it, he flung it at the Soldier, who was forced to momentarily cease his attacks as he was staggered slightly by the blow. The Hero then exchanged his Rifle for his Sword, quickly rolling beneath the Soldiers arm as he swung out to grab him.
That was when Yang began to notice a loud hissing noise emanating from the Soldier, who looked around in confusion. The Hero backed away rapidly from the Soldier, who looked down to see the hose that connected what Yang assumed was a propane tank on his back to the Flame-Thrower had been severed, and was now grasping it wildly in a state of panic. The Hero then threw an Inferno blast at the Soldier, who was quickly engulfed in flames as the gas inside ignited, the Soldiers screams echoing across the corridor.
"Well, looks like that guy couldn't take the heat." Yang chuckled, turning to face the Hero who had a somewhat unimpressed look on his face. "What? You don't like puns?"
"I wouldn't say now is an excellent time to be saying them honestly..." the Hero replied, to which Yang laughed sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head. "Come on, lets get moving before-"
The Hero paused as he suddenly felt the ground rumble beneath his feet, nearly falling over as he attempted to balance himself. Both Huntress and Hero looked around as the corridor began to groan and creak in protest against...something, they weren't sure what.
"Okay, what was that?" Yang asked, looking around warily as the corridor continued to shake.
"I have a feeling we'll find out soon..." the Hero muttered back, before breaking into a sprint down the corridor, Yang close behind him.
The corridor continued to shake, nearly knocking the pair over as amber lights suddenly began flashing rapidly. It wasn't long before a droning air siren began to sound, deafening the pair slightly as it ricocheted off the metal walls. They encountered more Soldiers along the way, easily defeating them as they too were knocked off balance by the constant shaking.
"All Personnel, please be ready to disengage in 90 seconds!" a female automated voice suddenly announced, causing the pair to halt in their tracks as the message repeated itself.
"Did she just say...disengage?" Yang asked, her eyebrows raised slightly in confusion. "What exactly are they disengaging from?"
"Let's not find out!" the Hero responded, causing Yang to nod in agreement.
The pair continued through the corridor, the automated voice repeating the warning 30 seconds later. As the pair turned a corner, they were suddenly greeted by a blast of fresh air, nearly knocking them to the ground.
"Look!" Yang shouted, pointing to an opening that miraculously led outside. "A way out!"
"Then let's not waste another second!" the Hero responded, charging forward alongside Yang.
As the pair continued onwards, gunfire resounded around them as a number of Soldiers had caught up with them and were now firing on their position. The Hero swapped back to his Rifle again, firing a number of shots at the Soldiers, some finding their mark whilst others managed to duck behind cover. As the pair finally made it outside, Yang skidded to a halt as she approached a waist high wall, the ground at least five levels away.
"You sure we can make that jump?" the Hero asked, firing more shots at the Soldiers, who had resorted to taking pot shots now from their cover.
"Trust me, we'll be fine." Yang reassured, looking down at the ground below. "What's the worst that can happen?"
That was when the ground began to shake uncontrollably, nearly causing Yang and the Hero to fall over. Then she heard what sounded like the roar of an engine, more precisely a Ship's engine. When she peered over the edge again, she saw that the ground was starting to get further and further away with each passing second.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Yang shouted as the air sirens continued to blare out again. "This thing is a Ship as well?!"
"Yang, whatever plan you have, please hurry!" the Hero shouted, ducking quickly as a Soldier with a Sniper Rifle opened fire, nearly blowing his head off in the process.
Yang looked back and forth between the inside of the Ship/Base hybrid and the ground below, which was quickly getting further and further away with each passing second. Taking a deep breath, Yang quickly vaulted over the ledge, screaming as she rapidly approached the ground. She soon landed with a loud grunt of pain, rolling forward in the process. Yang clutched her arm as she felt a stinging sensation run up it, quickly spotting a fresh cut along her arm. She must have landed on a branch when she first hit the ground. Looking up she saw the Hero quickly fall, admittedly more gracefully then she did, instead landing in a kneeling position.
"Come on, let's go!" Yang quickly shouted, gesturing for the Hero to follow her as she headed for the tree line, the Ship/Base hybrid rising higher in the air. "We'll be able to lose them in the forest, then we can head back to-"
BANG!
Yang yelped in pain as she fell forward, quickly clutching her shin, a bullet having cleaved straight through the flesh and muscle. The Hero turned around to see a Soldier with a Sniper Rifle on the balcony they had just been standing on aiming the weapon at the pair. The Hero returned fire with his Rifle, forcing the Soldier to duck beneath the wall as the Hero continued to fire.
"Come on!" the Hero shouted, quickly hefting Yang up and supporting her on his shoulder. "We need to move!"
"Leave me." Yang seethed, wincing slightly as the Hero helped her up off the floor, unintentionally applying pressure on her wounded leg. "I won't just slow you down, I'll get you killed!"
The Hero froze at those words, turning to face Yang with a sad look in his eyes. He had heard those words before, back with Walter in Aurora. But this time was different. He wasn't going to let her die as well.
"I'm not going to lose you too." the Hero stated determinedly, quickly guiding Yang through the tree's into the cover of the forest. He wasn't going to lose someone close to him. Not again.
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The Soldier ducked beneath the wall as the Hero fired multiple shots at his position. Despite the obvious drawback of not being able to see his target, it gave him the perfect chance to reload his weapon as well. Quickly inserting a fresh magazine into the weapon, he broke cover again and aimed at the Hero, who was now considerably slowed down by the girl. He aimed at the Hero's shin, his finger tightening on the trigger ready to deliver a crippling blow…
"Cease fire Soldier!" a voice behind him ordered, causing him to quickly spin and face the owner of the voice, none other then the Overseer himself.
"But sir," the Soldier started, lowering his Rifle slightly. "Your orders..."
"Let them go, we'll find them soon enough. Besides," the Overseer began, pausing as he quickly pulled something from his belt. Now grasped in his hands was a flask the size of a fist, filled with a red liquid that glowed with a golden aura. "We have everything we need from him."
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Next week, the main villain will finally arrive and the secret will finally be out! Liked it? Please review and constructive criticism is welcomed. Any questions? Either PM me and I'll answer when I can or leave in your reviews and I'll answer next chapter.
Raging Archon out.