*It's the double update special! I got so into writing this since I finally got to the intense scenes that I wrote two chapters in one setting! So here's the next chapter, enjoyz!
Richtofen
"Come now Du'na, come and fight your last battle!" Matak urged, twirling the surging blue blade with eagerness. He was an old Dukni, but age was quite deceptive in their case, he would put up a formidable fight, but a challenge was still a challenge.
"Very well, Elder Matak," I began,"but it will not be me, who dies this day."
"Rid yourself of your rifle, this will be a true battle." he insisted. I glanced at the Dukni, Krolok and ushered my rifle to him which he took without a single word and quickly took to back to Gen. Spade's detachment.
"Yes, now Du'na we shall fight. Prepare yourself!" he demanded holding his blade out. From my belt I pulled out my knife and wielded it steadily, slowly we touched blades, and for a moment all was quiet. The silence was broken as like vipers, we pulled away from each other, weapons drawn and ready to kill. There was utter madness in his reptilian eyes, revenge was keen in them as he stared down at me. I was not afraid of him, I'd taken on Go'ni'za that had been twice my height, but I was cautious, he would know many tricks that could send me to an untimely death.
He made he first strike, slicing only air as I quickly back-stepped to avoid him and another slice followed which I also dodged in haste. Now he held his blade to the ground, but his eyes warned that he would be ready to strike at a moment's notice. I would make no attempt to attack him, I only thought of counterattacks because I knew they would be my salvation. He slashed upwards only to miss once more, but he never let out a cry of anger or rage, it was considered ill-mannered to do so in Dukni traditions.
"You dodge so well now, Du'na." he mocked turning his blade playfully back and forth before trying to strike me again with a barrage of slashes.
The last strike met my knife and he pulled back expertly putting his blade to the ground once again.
"Was it because of that scar I gave you... all those years ago." he hissed. He couldn't be the Dukni who'd scarred me, I was sure I had killed him.
"If you were the one who gave me that scar you would have died on that ship." I explained.
"Or so you would think, Du'na." he said before trying to jab my side to which I plunged my knife down on the blade and forced him to pull back once more.
"It takes more than a simple gutting to kill a Ki'la'zi like myself." he went on.
"Please elaborate on how I would kill you otherwise." I chided sarcastically. The blade came close to my arm, but just barely passed by allowing me to manage a small cut on his forearm.
"Ho'ss!" he growled, retracting his arm, but quickly bringing it up again to strike at me once again. It was a dangerous dance we did, one wrong move and we could both effectively end each other's lives in an instant.
"How does it feel to lose him, Du'na?" he hissed, trying to jab my side again then pulling back. Another slash, this one high, made me have to duck and I got the opportunity to get another slice this time I directed it to his blade hand. I cut him under his wrist and he howled in pain before letting loose another barrage of attacks.
"How does it feel to lose your savior?" he continued letting a strong slice go by at the end. Instinctively I began to go for the vulnerability in his shoulder armor, but too late I realized I should not have. A searing hot pain coursed through my body as the energy blade made contact with my knife arm.
I pulled back immediately, but I was then pelted by a series of slashes and jabs as he took advantage of my current situation. I was still holding on firmly to my knife, it was my only defense and as the last of his attacks came down upon me I held my knife to block it and then pushed him away from me making him falter backwards. I couldn't make use of the opportunity because of my arm being in pain, I took a gamble and switched to my left hand. When the Elder regained his footing he slashed at me with a powerful swing which I ducked under and this time managed to get through to his left shoulder. I plunged as deep as I could to ensure that he was in the most pain and then pulled the knife back out and replanted my footing.
His eyes were wild with hatred and even more mad than before, he was going to finish this at any cost.
"Tell me Du'na, how will you feel when everyone else dies because of what you've done?! You can't run from your past, Edward! He's still there I know it!" Matak shouted before making a backwards slice and then charging with his aims set on a coup de grace. The attack was simple enough to dodge, but in a split second I saw his eyes flash up at me and before I could register it his leathery three fingered hand was around my throat choking the life out of me. I was lifted off the ground and above to where the Elder could look up at me with those insane eyes of his.
"Come out Richtofen! Come out and fight me, you're the one I want to fight!" he yelled, his grip getting tighter. I stabbed his hand with the knife repeatedly, but he would not cease he only tightened his grip despite all the blood spilling from the various stab wounds. My vision was becoming black around the edges, the sounds around me were becoming muffled and my lungs ached terribly. With the last of my fading strength I plunged my knife deep into his wrist, making it through the bone and out the other end.
This effectively made him drop me and it also sent him screaming in pain trying desperately to pull the knife out of his wrist. I gasped for the life giving air and felt my senses return as I made it to my feet again. Matak was grabbing at the handle and pulling with all his strength, now he was an open target having dropped his blade on the ground. I quickly picked up his blade which required me to use both of my hands to fully grasp the handle. Just as he had pulled out the knife successfully I stabbed the blade straight into his midsection and kept going until it would go no further. For a while he shouted and cried in agony, but then he began laughing.
He laughed like a madman, and looking into my eyes he furthered the blade into himself, coming closer and closer to me until we could both see each other's irises in detail.
"They will all die... because of you..." he spat. Blood seeped from his mouth and spattered on the ground, I thought he was done for sure until with his last effort he plunged my knife into my back. The strength of which he used was truly final as the sting of the knife turned into a gut-wrenching agony as I ripped it out of my back and used it to end his life. I sent the knife straight through his skull and into his brain, rendering him truly dead this time.
I let his corpse collapse onto the ground as I fell to my knees in pain, but before I could do anything else I felt blood flood into my mouth. I couldn't breathe, my heart was on fire every time it beat, until I could feel it weakening, fading. He'd managed to force the knife deep enough to pierce my heart and now it was pumping away the very essence of my life. I was dying, I knew I was dying, the cold was setting in, my surroundings were becoming foggy and the edges of my vision were being covered in blackness. I toppled over onto my side, as I heard the muffled, indistinguishable chatter of the many who were coming to my aid, but it was too late for them to save me now.
It was all up to him now, he who clutched onto life so selfishly. It was only by his actions that I could be saved, but in all honesty I would have preferred to have died that time.
Takeo
I had seen the way the Dukni had driven that blade into the doctor's body, I knew well that there was no saving him. He laid on the ground before us, the blood pooling on the ground underneath him and spilling forth from his mouth until finally it stopped flowing. All movement from him ceased and slowly his eyes became glazed over with the shroud of death's embrace. He had fought like a warrior, and he had killed his challenger, but had lost his life in the process. Even if I did not like him I still commended his death, he had gone out in the way of a true warrior.
General Spade had come over to offer any assistance he could, but it was too late, Richtofen was dead. He looked upon him with the face of someone mourning a friend, he removed his special forces cap and placed it over his chest.
"May you rest in peace, comrade." he spoke softly. Thinking back to what I knew then and now, I knew that Spade had known Dr. Richtofen through their time in Legend platoon, but if Spade had this kind of companionship with him it must have been some time. Dempsey had already started to look around for others to help him carry the body.
When he came back he sighed heavily, he did feel remorseful for his death, but not in the way that Maxis would probably feel.
"So... who's going to tell Dr. Maxis about this?" he asked. No one said anything, but I think it was time that I show a little respect for the man.
"I wirr go and terr him about this." I volunteered. Dempsey only nodded and left me to go and break the news to Maxis who would most likely be bereaved.
Now that he was dead, I felt guilty for having tried to study him as an enemy, but that was just in my nature. Even with Dempsey I studied him, just in case I would ever have to fight him, and with anyone else that was also the case. As I got into the 935 building Dr. Maxis was holed up in his office, squeezing a stress ball slowly.
"Vhat is it?" he asked irritably.
"It's Dr. Richtofen, sir." I started.
"Did something happen?" he looked up at me, he was worried for sure, but what I had to tell him would probably cause him much pain.
I paused, came into his office and closed the door quietly behind myself.
"Dr. Richtofen... is dead." I reported. He was quiet I had expected, but he did not look at all as shocked as I thought he would.
"Are you sure he's dead?" he insisted.
"Hai."
"Are you absolutely sure?"
He was probably in denial, not wanting to accept the fact that Richtofen was indeed dead, I had seen his cold corpse with my own eyes. It was lying outside the wall in a puddle of blood, having defeated a Dukni Elder, but sacrificing his own life to do so.
"Yes, he is dead." I repeated. He got out of his chair and gently pushed me out of the way and left the office, I followed him out of the building as I noticed that the other scientists had also begun to file out as well.
"Dr. Maxis...?" I tried to consul him, but he took off running out of the southern gate seeing the crowd that surrounded the body of his dead colleague. I started rushing to reach him and rejoin the group that was getting ready to take his body in.
"Nein, vait!" Maxis shouted kneeling at the corpse of the doctor.
"Dr. Maxis, please. He's gone, but... he saved us by killing the Elder and halting the invasion." Dempsey tried to consul him.
"Nein, he's not dead you idiots!" he denied.
"Please Maxis, we'll make sure to cover the funeral costs and everything." Rune joined in.
"You don't understand! He's not dead yet!" he continued. It was hard to watch him struggle with the reality that his close colleague had died, but he was so adamant on it, he wrenched his arms out of anyone's grasp and insisted on watching the body.
"Dr. Maxis we need to get his body embalmed..." Dempsey tried to speak.
"Damn it you fool! Listen to me, he isn't dead!"
"Look at him you German fool! He is dead, look at all the blood, his skin is pale and his eyes are covered with death! You think he is alive, you are honestly insane!" Nikolai shouted.
"I'm not insane, you have to believe me he's not dead... vell. He is dead, but he von't be dead for long you have to give him time! I beg of you, please!" Maxis insisted, getting angrier and more agitated with each person who tried to shove him off.
"Takeo come help me with the body." Dempsey quietly called. I walked around the agitated Maxis and was beginning to kneel down to help pick up Richtofen's body, but then I saw the impossible happen.
Nikolai
There was a sharp gasp for air, a wretched sound that startled everyone, even Maxis darted around to see where it had originated from. On the ground, Dr. Richtofen had risen from the dead, his chest once again contracting and expanding. His eyes were no longer glazed as he blinked vigorously to clear them, the hue of his skin began to return, it was like watching him die in reverse.
"Jesus Christ!" Dempsey jumped up from the body that had just returned to life.
"What is this horrible witchcraft?!" Takeo shouted as he turned to Maxis for answers.
"I told you he wasn't dead." he explained pointing to the obviously alive Dr. Richtofen.
"But, his heart wasn't beating, he wasn't even breathing, and do you fucking see all that blood on the ground!" Rune joined in with us.
"I understand that, but please we must get him into a stasis chamber soon, or else he vill die." he began to insist fervently.
"Why, he's alive now isn't he?" Dempsey questioned.
"Yes, but just barely, right now he's in a temporary stable condition we have to get him into a stasis chamber as soon as possible."
"The only closest place with stasis chambers is Eisenhower and that's a six hour drive from here." Rune informed the frazzled scientist.
"That's just enough time to get him into one. Ve have to go now, or else he vill die!" Maxis urged. Dempsey looked at me, then at Takeo, and finally at Rune until he nodded.
"Nikolai, help me carry him to the garage." he ordered. I obeyed helping him lift Richtofen all the way to the other side of the outpost.
We put him in the back seat of one of the Duneracers and had to strap him in, despite his condition.
"Rune will drive you to Eisenhower, with her it'll only take four hours tops to get there." Dempsey declared.
"But, Dempsey I'd have to speed, do you realize I'll get pulled over for that." she began to protest. That was true, being pulled over by the police with a nearly dead person strapped in the back would be a very bad situation, but our woes were answered when Gen. Spade entered.
"If you need to get there in a hurry I'll call up the police departments, I'll tell them to make an exception. You'll need to have this though." he offered pulling out a small GPS chip and giving it to Rune.
"When the police see you coming by this will set off their radios to tell them to let you by. You only use this on the way there, got it?" he explained. Rune nodded, and he nodded back and moved out of the way of the Duneracer as did the rest of us.
"Strap in Dr. Maxis," she warned as she started the vehicle, "this is going to be one hell of a ride."
The Duneracer roared out of the garage and took off like bat out of hell down the trail that lead to Eisenhower leaving behind it a huge dust plume. We didn't say anything as we watched the Duneracer's silhouette get smaller and smaller as it went down the trail and finally reached the actual road.
"Dr. Maxis is going to have some serious explaining to do." Dempsey growled as he took off into Garrison. At least now the invasion was over, but that was hardly anything to really celebrate about, we had some other dead to tend to and wounded men that needed treatment.
Maxis
The road for a very long time was virtually empty, give or take a few stray vehicles now and then. I could see why Ms. Albana had warned to me to buckle up beforehand, the speedometer was reading 68 kilometers per hour. I had a feeling that we would get there with time to spare, she didn't seem at all scared at the speed she was going, but there was another look, like she was ready to go faster if she needed to.
"Dr. Richtofen's one hell of a survivor." she broke the silence between making herself loud enough to hear over the sound of the tires almost shredding the pavement.
"Ja, it's just one of his... traits you could say." I replied.
The wind in my face was almost unbearable, I was tempted to ask if she could do something about it, but I really didn't want to seem so concerned for myself when it was Richtofen I should be concerned about. Almost as though she had read my mind, however, she flipped a switch near the wheel and windows slowly encased the openings of the Duneracer. Now the noise of the tires and engine were minimized and we wouldn't have to basically shout over them.
"What I want to know is how he managed to cheat death back there." she demanded in a casual tone. She was waiting for my explaination, but telling her about it would only do bad for me in the long run so I decided to play it safe.
"I'd rather not say until we can get him to Eisenhower and we've made sure he's going to live." I replied.
"Fair enough, but don't think you're going to get out of telling me." she warned. She'd never taken her eyes off the road, which was now beginning to become more populated the longer we drove until it was almost city-like. Billboards, road signs, and evenly paved roads greeted us to actual civilization and the city-scape of Eisenhower rose slowly in the distance. I hardly thought that three hours had passed, but they had and indeed we were already close to our destination and just as General Spade had promised, we had not been pulled over for speeding.
Apparently with all the luck in the world, or just a few calls from Gen. Spade himself the roads were relatively clear, the closer we got to Eisenhower the more police cars I could see. They were blocking some roads off to keep the roads we were using more clear for our express arrival into the city. Ten minutes away from the city the gray and almost oppressive wall that surrounded it came into view and the gate inside the New York-esque city awaited. As we approached a stop at the gate the man in the booth leaned out and inspected us and then looked at the back seat.
"So you're the ones the General called about?" he asked.
"Yes, sir." Ms. Albana responded quickly.
The man picked up a very slim phone and dialed in a number.
"Yes, they're here send an ambulance to pick 'em." he spoke on it before hanging up. "They'll be here in a moment."
"Thank you." Rune thanked.
"Are ve allowed to go vith ze ambulance?" I asked the man.
"You're Dr. Maxis, right?" he asked.
"Yes I am."
"Yeah, they'll want you to help with your colleague there." he answered.
I looked back to Richtofen and then took a glance at Rune.
"Can she come as vell?" I asked.
"What would I do with the vehicle if I went with you?" she questioned.
"We'll take it to the police lot if you want, it'll be safe there." the man suggested. She looked at me with a mixed expression on her face and then she answered.
"Go ahead and do that. I'll go with Dr. Maxis and Dr. Richtofen."
Just then the ambulance arrived and we promptly exited the Duneracer as the man in the booth asked for Rune's keys. Two paramedics came out of the back with a stretcher and placed Richtofen on it and put him into the back.
"C'mon now we don't have all the time in the world." One of them urged. Rune and I both hopped into the back and with practiced precision they shut the doors and started off with the sirens blaring to alert those on the road.
